Going beyond 'it depends:' the role of context in shaping participation in natural resource management

Public participation is increasingly advocated in natural resource management to meet a spectrum of instrumental to normative goals. However, the success of participation in achieving these goals is highly variable, depending on both societal and institutional contexts. Whether participation realises its benefits or succumbs to its pitfalls is shaped by dynamic interactions operating among three contextual dimensions: participatory rationales (instrumental to normative), institutional fit of different levels (types) of participation (information delivery to partnership to delegation), and social structures (such as cultural context, social capital and power distribution). Some levels of participation may support the existing power hierarchy, others benefit organized stakeholder groups and special interests, and still others foster deliberative democratic outcomes. We argue that wise choice of levels of participation in particular contexts shapes the balance of participation’s benefits and pitfalls

Interactions between changing climate and biodiversity: Shaping humanity's future

Scientists have known for more than a century aboutpotential human impacts on climate (1). In the last 30 y,estimates of these impacts have been confirmed andrefined through increasingly precise climate assess-ments (2). Other global-scale human impacts, includingland use change, overharvesting, air and water pollu-tion, and increased disease risk from antibiotic resis-tance, have risen to critical levels, seriously jeopardizingthe prospects that future generations can thrive (3–5).Earth has entered a stage characterized by humandomination of critical Earth system processes (6–8).Although the basic trajectories of these changes arewell known, many of the likely consequences areshrouded in uncertainty because of poorly understoodinteractions among these drivers of change and there-fore their effects on ecosystems and societies.Fil: Stuart Chapin III, F.. University of Alaska; Estados UnidosFil: Díaz, Sandra Myrna. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentin

Changes in the surface energy budget after fire in boreal ecosystems of interior Alaska: An annual perspective

Understanding links between the disturbance regime and regional climate in boreal regions requires observations of the surface energy budget from ecosystems in various stages of secondary succession. While several studies have characterized fire‐induced differences in surface energy fluxes from boreal ecosystems during summer months, much less is known about these differences over the full annual cycle. Here we measured components of the surface energy budget (including both radiative and turbulent fluxes) at three sites from a fire chronosequence in interior Alaska for a 1‐year period. Our sites consisted of large burn scars resulting from fires in 1999, 1987, and ∼1920 (hereinafter referred to as the 3‐, 15‐, and 80‐year sites, respectively). Vegetation cover consisted primarily of bunch grasses at the 3‐year site, aspen and willow at the 15‐year site, and black spruce at the 80‐year site. Annual net radiation declined by 31% (17 W m^(−2)) for both the 3‐ and the 15‐year sites as compared with the 80‐year site (which had an annual mean of 55 W m^(−2)). Annual sensible heat fluxes were reduced by an even greater amount, by 55% at the 3‐year site and by 52% at the 15‐year site as compared with the 80‐year site (which had an annual mean of 21 W m^(−2)). Absolute differences between the postfire ecosystems and the mature black spruce forest for both net radiation and sensible heat fluxes were greatest during spring (because of differences in snow cover and surface albedo), substantial during summer and winter, and relatively small during fall. Fire‐induced disturbance also initially reduced annual evapotranspiration (ET). Annual ET decreased by 33% (99 mm yr^(−1)) at the 3‐year site as compared with the 80‐year site (which had an annual flux of 301 mm yr^(−1)). Annual ET at the 15‐year site (283 mm yr^(−1)) was approximately the same as that from the 80‐year site, even though the 15‐year site had substantially higher ET during July. Our study suggests that differences in annual ET between deciduous and conifer stands may be smaller than that inferred solely from summer observations. This study provides a direct means to validate land surface processes in global climate models attempting to capture vegetation‐climate feedbacks in northern terrestrial regions

Changing Forests in a Warming World

Severe fires can dramatically alter the future growth of a spruce forest. A severe fire is likely to change the forest to one dominated by broadleaf deciduous trees, especially in drier places.York's Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

Changing Daily Wind Speeds on Alaska’s North Slope: Implications for Rural Hunting Opportunities

Because of their reliance on the harvest of fish and game, Alaskan rural communities have experienced a variety of impacts from climate change, the effects of which are amplified at high latitudes. We collaborated with hunters from the coastal community of Wainwright, Alaska, to document their observations of environmental change (e.g., sea ice, wind, temperature) and the implications of those changes for opportunities to hunt bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) during spring and caribou (Rangifer tarandus) during summer. We integrated hunter observations on wind with statistical analysis of daily wind speed data collected in the nearby community of Barrow, Alaska, between 1971 and 2010 to characterize changes in the number of days with suitable hunting conditions. Hunters in Wainwright currently observe fewer days than in previous decades with wind conditions suitable for safely hunting bowhead whales and caribou. The statistical analysis of wind speed data supported these conclusions and suggested that the annual windows of opportunity for hunting each species have decreased by up to seven days since 1971. This study demonstrates the potential power of collaboration between local communities and researchers to characterize the societal impacts of climate change. Continued collaborative research with residents of rural northern Alaskan communities could produce knowledge and develop tools to help rural Alaskans adapt to novel social-ecological conditions.Les collectivités rurales de l’Alaska dépendent de la récolte du poisson et du gibier et à ce titre, elles sont assujetties à une panoplie d’incidences découlant du changement climatique, dont les effets sont amplifiés en haute altitude. Grâce à l’aide des chasseurs de la collectivité côtière de Wainwright, en Alaska, nous avons consigné les observations de ces chasseurs relativement à l’évolution de l’environnement (en ce qui a trait, par exemple, à la glace de mer, au vent et aux températures) de même que les incidences de cette évolution sur les possibilités de chasse de la baleine boréale (Balaena mysticetus) au printemps, et du caribou (Rangifer tarandus) à l’été. Nous avons intégré les observations des chasseurs au sujet du vent à l’analyse statistique des données de la vitesse quotidienne du vent, données recueillies dans la localité avoisinante de Barrow, en Alaska, entre 1971 et 2010, afin de caractériser les changements quant au nombre de jours où les conditions de chasse sont convenables. Comparativement aux décennies précédentes, les chasseurs de Wainwright observent un moins grand nombre de jours, à l’heure actuelle, qu’au cours des décennies précédentes pendant lesquels le régime des vents se prête à la chasse sécuritaire de la baleine boréale et du caribou. L’analyse statistique des données de la vitesse du vent permet de soutenir ces conclusions et suggère qu’annuellement, la période pendant laquelle chacune de ces espèces peut faire l’objet de la chasse a diminué dans une mesure allant jusqu’à sept jours depuis 1971. Cette étude témoigne du pouvoir de collaboration qui pourrait exister entre les collectivités de la région et les chercheurs dans le but de caractériser les incidences du changement climatique sur la société. Les travaux de recherche en collaboration continue avec les habitants des collectivités rurales du nord de l’Alaska pourraient permettre de produire des connaissances et d’élaborer des outils qui aideraient les Alaskiens à s’adapter aux nouvelles conditions socioécologiques

Changes in the surface energy budget after fire in boreal ecosystems of interior Alaska: An annual perspective

Understanding links between the disturbance regime and regional climate in boreal regions requires observations of the surface energy budget from ecosystems in various stages of secondary succession. While several studies have characterized fire‐induced differences in surface energy fluxes from boreal ecosystems during summer months, much less is known about these differences over the full annual cycle. Here we measured components of the surface energy budget (including both radiative and turbulent fluxes) at three sites from a fire chronosequence in interior Alaska for a 1‐year period. Our sites consisted of large burn scars resulting from fires in 1999, 1987, and ∼1920 (hereinafter referred to as the 3‐, 15‐, and 80‐year sites, respectively). Vegetation cover consisted primarily of bunch grasses at the 3‐year site, aspen and willow at the 15‐year site, and black spruce at the 80‐year site. Annual net radiation declined by 31% (17 W m^(−2)) for both the 3‐ and the 15‐year sites as compared with the 80‐year site (which had an annual mean of 55 W m^(−2)). Annual sensible heat fluxes were reduced by an even greater amount, by 55% at the 3‐year site and by 52% at the 15‐year site as compared with the 80‐year site (which had an annual mean of 21 W m^(−2)). Absolute differences between the postfire ecosystems and the mature black spruce forest for both net radiation and sensible heat fluxes were greatest during spring (because of differences in snow cover and surface albedo), substantial during summer and winter, and relatively small during fall. Fire‐induced disturbance also initially reduced annual evapotranspiration (ET). Annual ET decreased by 33% (99 mm yr^(−1)) at the 3‐year site as compared with the 80‐year site (which had an annual flux of 301 mm yr^(−1)). Annual ET at the 15‐year site (283 mm yr^(−1)) was approximately the same as that from the 80‐year site, even though the 15‐year site had substantially higher ET during July. Our study suggests that differences in annual ET between deciduous and conifer stands may be smaller than that inferred solely from summer observations. This study provides a direct means to validate land surface processes in global climate models attempting to capture vegetation‐climate feedbacks in northern terrestrial regions

Putting local knowledge and context to work for Gunnison sage-grouse conservation

Successful conservation requires adequate understanding of focal species and ecology, practices that may assist species survival, and a community of people willing and able to conserve the species. For many species at risk, we operate with imperfect knowledge in complex conservation contexts. In this case study involving the Gunnison sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus), we interviewed 26 community-defined local experts, including both those with and without related academic degrees, to assess the utility of local knowledge for understanding and informing conservation opportunities.This project suggests several benefits of integrating local knowledge that apply specifically to rare and endemic populations, including the ability to gain (1) access to a deeper temporal perspective, (2) observations made during different seasons and life-history stages, and (3) insights regarding the applicability of management strategies formed and science conducted on similar species. The contributions of local experts also can help identify conflicting narratives of species decline and, therefore, important future research directions. The patterns of expert referrals in this project provide evidence that long-term collaboration in conservation has created a pool of local Gunnison sage-grouse experts with technical training and long-term experience. Systematic assessment of the pool of local experts may improve long-term conservation by providing increased insight into the conservation context

Community resilience for a 1.5 °C world

Ten essentials are presented for community resilience initiatives in the context of achieving a 1.5 °C world: enhance adaptability; take account of shocks and stresses; work horizontally across issues; work vertically across social scales; aggressively reduce carbon emissions; build narratives about climate change; engage directly with futures; focus on climate disadvantage; focus on processes and pathways; and encourage transformations for resilience. Together the essentials highlight that resilience initiatives seeking to retain the status quo will be detrimental when they enable societies to cling to unsustainable activities. Instead, climate resilience initiatives need to be viewed more as a process of transformative social change, where learning, power, inequities and relationships matter. Finally, there is an urgent need for researchers to shift focus away from examining the nature of resilience to accelerating learning about fostering resilience in practice

Policy language in restoration ecology

elating restoration ecology to policy is one of the aims of the Society for Ecological Restoration and its journal Restoration Ecology. As an interdisciplinary team of researchers in both ecological science and political science, we have struggled with how policy-relevant language is and could be deployed in restoration ecology. Using language in scientific publications that resonates with overarching policy questions may facilitate linkages between researcher investigations and decision-makers' concerns on all levels. Climate change is the most important environmental problem of our time and to provide policymakers with new relevant knowledge on this problem is of outmost importance. To determine whether or not policy-specific language was being included in restoration ecology science, we surveyed the field of restoration ecology from 2008 to 2010, identifying 1,029 articles, which we further examined for the inclusion of climate change as a key element of the research. We found that of the 58 articles with “climate change” or “global warming” in the abstract, only 3 identified specific policies relevant to the research results. We believe that restoration ecologists are failing to include themselves in policy formation and implementation of issues such as climate change within journals focused on restoration ecology. We suggest that more explicit reference to policies and terminology recognizable to policymakers might enhance the impact of restoration ecology on decision-making processes