IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v10y2018i5p1646-d148000.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Framework for Tracing Social–Ecological Trajectories and Traps in Intensive Agricultural Landscapes

Author

Listed:
  • Daniel R. Uden

    (Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska—Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA)

  • Craig R. Allen

    (U.S. Geological Survey, Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska—Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA)

  • Francisco Munoz-Arriola

    (Biological Systems Engineering Department, University of Nebraska—Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA)

  • Gengxin Ou

    (Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska—Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA)

  • Nancy Shank

    (Public Policy Center, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA)

Abstract

Charting trajectories toward sustainable agricultural development is an important goal at the food–energy–water–ecosystem services (FEWES) nexus of agricultural landscapes. Social–ecological adaptation and transformation are two broad strategies for adjusting and resetting the trajectories of productive FEWES nexuses toward sustainable futures. In some cases, financial incentives, technological innovations, and/or subsidies associated with the short-term optimization of a small number of resources create and strengthen unsustainable feedbacks between social and ecological entities at the FEWES nexus. These feedbacks form the basis of rigidity traps, which impede adaptation and transformation by locking FEWES nexuses into unsustainable trajectories characterized by control, stability, and efficiency, but also an inability to adapt to disturbances or changing conditions. To escape and avoid rigidity traps and enable sustainability-focused adaptation and transformation, a foundational understanding of FEWES nexuses and their unique trajectories and traps is required. We present a framework for tracing trajectories and traps at the FEWES nexuses of intensive agricultural landscapes. Framework implementation in a case study reveals feedbacks characteristic of rigidity traps, as well as opportunities for modifying and dissolving them. Such place-based understanding could inform sustainable agricultural development at the FEWES nexus of intensive agricultural landscapes worldwide.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel R. Uden & Craig R. Allen & Francisco Munoz-Arriola & Gengxin Ou & Nancy Shank, 2018. "A Framework for Tracing Social–Ecological Trajectories and Traps in Intensive Agricultural Landscapes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-14, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:5:p:1646-:d:148000
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/5/1646/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/5/1646/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Craig R. Allen & Hannah E. Birge & Shannon Bartelt-Hunt & Rebecca A. Bevans & Jessica L. Burnett & Barbara A. Cosens & Ximing Cai & Ahjond S. Garmestani & Igor Linkov & Elizabeth A. Scott & Mark D. So, 2016. "Avoiding Decline: Fostering Resilience and Sustainability in Midsize Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-24, August.
    2. Gengxin Ou & Francisco Munoz-Arriola & Daniel R. Uden & Derrel Martin & Craig R. Allen & Nancy Shank, 2018. "Climate change implications for irrigation and groundwater in the Republican River Basin, USA," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 151(2), pages 303-316, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sobratee-Fajurally, N. & Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe, 2022. "Inclusive sustainable landscape management in West and Central Africa: enabling co-designing contexts for systemic sensibility," IWMI Books, Reports H051652, International Water Management Institute.
    2. Inga C. Melchior & Jens Newig, 2021. "Governing Transitions towards Sustainable Agriculture—Taking Stock of an Emerging Field of Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-27, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dustin L. Herrmann & William D. Shuster & Audrey L. Mayer & Ahjond S. Garmestani, 2016. "Sustainability for Shrinking Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-9, September.
    2. Whittemore, Donald O. & Butler, James J. & Bohling, Geoffrey C. & Wilson, Blake B., 2023. "Are we saving water? Simple methods for assessing the effectiveness of groundwater conservation measures," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 287(C).
    3. Yihao Jiang & Zhaojin Chen & Pingjun Sun, 2022. "Urban Shrinkage and Urban Vitality Correlation Research in the Three Northeastern Provinces of China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-22, August.
    4. Dustin L. Herrmann & Wen-Ching Chuang & Kirsten Schwarz & Timothy M. Bowles & Ahjond S. Garmestani & William D. Shuster & Tarsha Eason & Matthew E. Hopton & Craig R. Allen, 2018. "Agroecology for the Shrinking City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-14, March.
    5. Romana Hajduková & Alžbeta Sopirová, 2022. "Perspectives of Post-Industrial Towns and Landscape in Eastern Slovakia—Case Study Strážske," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-20, July.
    6. Assela Pathirana & Mohanasundar Radhakrishnan & Richard Ashley & Nguyen Hong Quan & Chris Zevenbergen, 2018. "Managing urban water systems with significant adaptation deficits—unified framework for secondary cities: part II—the practice," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 149(1), pages 57-74, July.
    7. Alexandru Bănică & Marinela Istrate & Ionel Muntele, 2017. "Challenges for the Resilience Capacity of Romanian Shrinking Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-20, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:5:p:1646-:d:148000. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.