Social-Ecological Systems. Facing Global Transformations

Dear Colleagues,

Social–ecological systems comprise constant and reciprocal interactions and feedbacks between ecological and socioeconomic structures. Current land use changes, mainly due to agricultural intensification, rural abandonment and urbanization processes, cause serious shifts in social–ecological interactions and associated ecosystem services; however, land policies do not often consider such interactions. There is a clear need to include the framework of social–ecological interdependencies in landscape assessment, planning, conservation and management, including criteria for the establishment of protected areas and the valuation of their effectiveness.

The journal Sustainability is hosting a Special Issue on “Social–Ecological Transformations”. Studies are welcome that formulate innovative theoretical and methodological approaches focused on the interaction between society and nature and how they condition and define each other. Contributions on the following themes are of particular interest, though other relevant topics will also be considered:

• Analytical methods to quantify the links between ecological and socioeconomic structures at different scales
• Spatial identification of social-ecological systems and their degree of biophysical and socioeconomic coupling
• Models of social-ecological transitions: change trajectories of social metabolism and land use
• Social ecological approaches for ecosystem services assessment
• Cross-scaling governance and resilience in social-ecological systems
• Sustainability of tourism-based social-ecological systems
• Social-ecological approach for the establishment and management of protected areas
• Development of tools based on social-ecological interactions for land planning and decision making

Dr. María Fe Schmitz
Dr. Cristina Herrero de Jáuregui
Guest Editors

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