Fuzzy system boundaries and mechanisms to address the social sustainability of ecosystems on different scales

Background/Question/Methods

The interactions between ecological and social well-being is difficult to track, due to system 'leaks' that occur in both systems.  We address this issue by analyzing differentially defined units of analysis: watershed, community, and county and different data sources and sampling techniques
Results/Conclusions We found that in Iowa, a decrease in agricultural diversity was associated with an increase in out-migration and an increase in poverty over time and space.  In the Andes, where data is much more difficult to link, we found similar patterns.  In both cases, increased size of farm was related to decreases in agricultural biodiversity.