1252 Coupled Human and Natural Systems (CHANS): Agricultural landscapes as coupled human-natural systems: Are there commonalities in coupling mechanisms?
is scheduled on Wednesday, 4/14/10, from 10:00 AM - 11:40 AM in Washington Room 2, Marriott Exhibition Level
10:40 AMAuthor(s):
*Guillermo Pablo Podesta - University of Miami, Rosenstiel School Federico Bert - University of Buenos Aires, School of Agronomy Elke Weber - Center for Research on Environmental Decisions, Columbia University Michael North - Center for Complex Adaptive Agent Systems Simulation, Argonne National Laboratory Charles Macal - Center for Complex Adaptive Agent Systems Simulation, Argonne National Laboratory Pamela Sydelko - Center for Complex Adaptive Agent Systems Simulation, Argonne National Laboratory Santiago Rovere - University of Buenos Aires, School of Engineering Carlos Laciana - University of Buenos Aires, School of Engineering Angel Menendez - University of Buenos Aires, School of Engineering Fernando Ruiz Toranzo - Asociación Argentina de Consorcios Regionales de Experimentación Agrícola (AACREA) Marcelo Torrent - Asociación Argentina de Consorcios Regionales de Experimentación Agrícola (AACREA)
Introducer(s): Jianguo Liu Thomas J. Baerwald - National Science Foundation Session Description: A defining feature of Coupled Human and Natural Systems (CHANS) is that interactions occur between social and biophysical components at multiple spatial and temporal scales. In this symposium we will apply and critique co-evolutionary theory which posits that environmental and social subsystems interact through feedbacks and co-evolve. We define adaptive coupling as linkages between biophysical-social subsystems that prevent environmental degradation and maintain the integrity of the biosphere and social systems. If linkages and interactions between subsystems lead to environmental or social degradation, we consider this to be a case of maladaptive coupling. This symposium will analyze and compare interactions and feedbacks between and within social and biophysical subsystems that serve to couple the human-natural subsystems in agricultural landscapes. The goal is to identify commonalities in coupling mechanisms that govern the trajectory of human-nature linkages agricultural systems. A diverse array of agricultural systems, ranging from smallholder, subsistence farming systems in the Bolivian Andes to the intensive, industrial grain production systems of the US Corn Belt will be examined. These agri-food production systems vary in terms of the scale and importance of market outlets as well as the environmental and social context in which they are situated. To compare these diverse agricultural systems, speakers will address three synthetic questions:
1) What are the social and biophysical drivers and consequences of the agricultural system and at what scales do they operate?
2) Is there evidence for adaptive/maladaptive coupling?
3) What are the metrics for assessing adaptive coupling? Is adaptive coupling scale dependent?
