The research journey: Travels across the idiomatic and axiomatic toward a better understanding of complexity

In this paper, seven researchers reflect on the journeys their research projects have taken when they engage with and synthesize complex problems. These journeys embody an adaptive approach to tackling problems characterized by their interconnectedness and emergence, and that transcend traditional units of analysis such as ecosystems. In this paper we argue that making such a process deliberate and explicit will help researchers better combine different research paradigms such as expert-driven and participant-directed work, thus resulting in both broad explanations and specific phenomenon; research tensions traditionally defined as oppositional must be approached as complimentary. This paper includes researchers. personal journeys as they dealt with the emergent properties of complex problems and participant involvement. This paper argues that that research journey should be more than accidental but is a methodological necessity and should guide the theoretical and practical approaches to complex problems

Compositional changes in soil water and runoff water following managed burning on a UK upland blanket bog

This study examines the effect managed rotational burning has on soil water and runoff water compositions at the end of a 10 year burning cycle and into the year following a managed burn. This study includes aluminium, iron, calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium, sulphate, chloride, bromide, fluoride, phosphate and nitrate along with pH, conductivity and DOC. The main findings of this study are: 1. The presence of burning leads to lower concentrations of species associated with deep water sources in both soil and runoff waters. 2. Following burning, soil water has increased concentrations in shallow soil water components (i.e. Al, Fe). Conversely runoff water shows a decrease in the concentration of shallow water components 3. Principal component analysis shows that in the post-burn period, soil water is less mixed with rainwater and runoff water becomes more rainwater-like in composition, i.e. compositions of soil and runoff have diverged as a result of the burn

Effects of managed burning upon Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) in soil water and runoff water following a managed burn of a UK blanket bog

The burning of heather and grass to maintain a mosaic of different aged vegetation stands is a widespread management practice in the uplands of the UK. However, there is concern that burning also releases dissolved organic carbon (DOC) into drinking water supplies. This study was based on a long term experiment examining different rotational burning cycles and grazing intensities on upland vegetation. The study aimed to understand the effect these management practices have on water quality both in the long term and in the short term following a managed burn. The study has found that: 1. At the end of a burn cycle, DOC concentrations in soil water or runoff water are not significantly affected by burning treatment. However colour (absorbance at 400 nm) was found to be significantly lower on 20 year burn plots than unburnt controls. 2. In the weeks following the burn there were peaks in DOC concentration and colour in the soil water of burnt plots compared to unburnt controls but these peaks were short lived and neither DOC concentrations nor colour were significantly elevated 1 year after burning. 3. The composition of the DOC in soil water and runoff water is not affected by burning treatment; rather, the variation in data is controlled by time of sampling and season. 4. Values for three carbon parameters (absorbance at 400 nm, DOC concentration and specific absorbance) are significantly lower in runoff water than soil water. 5. Grazing does not significantly affect carbon parameters in soil water at the end of a burn cycle however grazing effects can be seen in runoff water at the end of a 10-year burn cycle

Hydrological responses to managed burning and grazing in an upland blanket bog

The management of the UK uplands by rotational burning and grazing is a widespread practice that aims to control the development of vegetation in order to create suitable habitats for grouse and sheep. By modifying the above ground biomass it is possible that above and/or below ground hydrological regimes may be altered. This study investigates the effect burning has on various hydrological parameters of an upland blanket bog. The study was conducted on a long-term experimental site examining different combinations of managed burning and grazing intensities. The study has found that: (1) Although depth to water table shows strong seasonal trends, the shallowest water tables were found on those sites that were burnt every 20 years and grazed by sheep. The deepest water tables were found on those sites that had never been burnt. (2) In the year following a managed burn, water tables on those sites that were burnt were significantly shallower than before the burn. (3) Hydraulic conductivity, as determined by dipwell slug tests, was found to be significantly lower on those plots that were burnt every 20 years. (4) Runoff occurrence was recorded and occurred at a significantly greater frequency on those sites that had recently been burnt. (5) By using antecedent weather conditions, significant parameters were found that could be used to model runoff generation. This paper demonstrates how the use of managed burning in upland settings can affect various hydrological responses of the peatland. These variations in hydrological response will have important consequences on DOC export through changes in water table and the partitioning of precipitation into runoff

Property rights in UK uplands and the implications for policy and management

Rural areas are subject to changing and often competing demands. Where agricultural production was once paramount, it now competes with other ecosystem services such as carbon storage, rural amenity, and wildlife habitat. If rural areas are to be managed to produce this broad range of goods and services, then more diverse and complex management regimes are needed. This paper explores the literature on property rights before using a 'property rights bundle' approach in the UK uplands to (1) examine the distribution of property rights between stakeholders in a multi-resource system and (2) evaluate the effect of state intervention on the redistribution of property rights and the resulting management regimes. Private land owners were found to be the dominant type of property rights holder and private property the dominant management regime in the uplands of the UK. Government intervention has also created private-state regimes for some public goods such as biodiversity but common property management is still in its infancy with regards to ecosystem services and few stakeholders have claimant rights over resources. As a result, many stakeholders are unable to influence management to produce the goods that they want. A property rights perspective highlights that single management regimes alone are unlikely to manage land sustainably for both private and public goods. Instead, a complex mix of private, private-state and common property regimes are found to be emerging in this multi-resource system. These mixed management regimes have the potential to produce sustainable outcomes but only if the appropriate management regime is matched to each resource, if links are developed between each regime to deal with conflict and if mixed management is adaptable enough to cope with new and changing demands.Property rights Management regimes Multi-resource systems Ecosystem services Public goods State intervention

Environmental change in moorland landscapes

Moorlands are unique environments found in uplands of the temperate zone including in the UK, New Zealand and Ireland, and in some high altitude tropical zones such as the Andean páramos. Many have been managed through grazing, burning or drainage practices. However, there are a number of other environmental and social factors that are likely to drive changes in management practice over the next few decades. Some moorlands have been severely degraded and in some countries conservation and restoration schemes are being attempted, particularly to revegetate bare soils. Native or non-native woodland planting may increase in some moorland environments while atmospheric deposition of many pollutants may also vary. Moorland environments are very sensitive to changes in management, climate or pollution. This paper reviews how environmental management change, such as changes in grazing or burning practices, may impact upon moorland processes based on existing scientific understanding. It also reviews the impacts of changes in climate and atmospheric deposition chemistry. The paper focuses on the UK moorlands as a case study of moorland landscapes that are in different states of degradation. Future research that is required to improve our understanding of moorland processes is outlined. The paper shows that there is a need for more holistic and spatial approaches to understanding moorland processes and management. There is also a need to develop approaches that combine understanding of interlinked social and natural processes