A conceptual framework for researching the sagebrush-steppe: A social-ecological approach

Background/Question/Methods

The sagebrush-steppe of the western United States exhibits strong relationships between social and ecological systems, but we do not fully understand the nature of these interdependencies. These complex interactions merit interdisciplinary investigations to understand how future perturbations such as continued climate change, biological invasions, increased fire frequency, or additional social conflict will influence the coupled system. For our study, an ecohydrologist, plant ecologist, wildlife ecologist, and social scientist have designed an integrated research approach nested within the Integrative Graduate Research Education and Traineeship (NSF-IGERT) program. Lacking a model for integration, the purpose of our initial team design was to develop a conceptual framework for investigating social-ecological issues in sagebrush-steppe. We interviewed stakeholders, consulted with experienced scientists, and inventoried the literature to highlight the main foreseeable issues for this social-ecological system. We also performed literature reviews to highlight key knowledge gaps within each of the disciplines represented. Lastly, we reviewed relevant literature on social-ecological systems throughout the world to identify successful conceptual models for interdisciplinary research.

Results/Conclusions

Results from our inquiry suggest that different stakeholders base their land use decisions on different knowledge of the system, and the ecological properties of the system can be influenced by these land use decisions in different ways. Combining our findings, we developed a framework highlighting fruitful areas of research for the social-ecological system of the sagebrush-steppe. Additionally, we constructed relevant questions that cross-cut the disciplines, which may initiate pathways of research leading to a more holistic understanding of the sagebrush-steppe. Some of those questions include 1) how do social factors influence land-use decisions, 2) how drivers of change influence land-use decisions, and 3) how do land-use decisions affect ecological properties and, thus, ecosystem and cultural services? We provide a variety of mixed-method approaches to effectively answer these questions.