Exploring the Effect of Multi-Method Approaches in Socio-Ecological Systems

Dear Colleagues,

Combining multi-method approaches has been widely acknowledged as a way to improve the sustainability of socio-ecological systems. This Special Issue aims to advance the state of the art in the integration of different types of knowledge, such as ecological, economic and social and tacit, as well as combining quantitative with qualitative approaches to support healthy socio-ecological system management.  

More sustainable models are needed, in the form of transdisciplinary approaches, to develop landscape transformation solutions that acknowledge the economic, ecological and social importance of ecosystems. This means integrating socio-economic viability, as well as the multifunctionality of different ecosystems, in a way that stakeholders’ perceptions and values are considered.

The complexity associated with socio-ecological systems, which has been increasing due to the impacts of climate change and the lack of ecological-based landscape planning (e.g., wild fires, droughts, and floods), calls for new collaborative approaches to support informed decision making to protect and regenerate the natural environment.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

- Theoretical and empirical analysis;

- Systems thinking approaches to socio-ecological systems;

- Integrated water management;

- Nature-based solutions;

- Green infrastructures;

- Land use planning;

- Landscape planning;

- Environmental risk assessment;

- Concrete case studies;

- Citizen engagement and participatory approaches;

- Co-planning and co-management processes;

- Cross-cutting methodological approaches.

Dr. Rita Lopes
Dr. Selma B. Pena
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• socio-ecological systems
• rural fires
• tacit knowledge
• stakeholder engagement
• multi-method approaches
• co-planning and co-management