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Viewing the Urban Socio-ecological System Through a Sustainability Lens: Lessons and Prospects from the Central Arizona–Phoenix LTER Programme

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Long Term Socio-Ecological Research

Part of the book series: Human-Environment Interactions ((HUEN,volume 2))

Abstract

Cities are complex socio-ecological systems (SES). They are focal points of human population, production, and consumption, including the generation of waste and most of the critical emissions to the atmosphere. But they also are centres of human creative activities, and in that capacity may provide platforms for the transition to a more sustainable world. Urban sustainability will require understanding grounded in a theory that incorporates reciprocal, dynamic interactions between societal and ecological components, external driving forces and their impacts, and a multiscalar perspective. In this chapter, we use research from the Central Arizona–Phoenix LTER programme to illustrate how such a conceptual framework can enrich our understanding and lead to surprising conclusions that might not have been reached without the integration inherent in the SES approach. By reviewing research in the broad areas of urban land change, climate, water, biogeochemistry, biodiversity, and organismal interactions, we explore the dynamics of coupled human and ecological systems within an urban SES in arid North America, and discuss what these interactions imply about sustainability.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Cities as defined here are synonymous with urban SES and the two terms are use interchangeably throughout the chapter.

  2. 2.

    In this chapter, we do not include “supporting” ecosystem services as a type of ecosystem service, since these refer to ecosystem processes and indirectly contribute to services (such as nutrient cycling, primary production, and so forth).

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Acknowledgments

This moderately comprehensive and, we hope, forward-looking review is based upon 13 years of research, but especially the most recent 7 years, by a large and talented CAP LTER team. The material presented in this chapter is the work of many current and past CAP LTER investigators, project managers, post-doctoral, graduate, and undergraduate scholars, and countless field teams, technicians, data specialists, and other support staff, and we thank all of them for their contributions over many years to the success of the project. We especially thank Marcia Nation for assembling the many pieces of the story in various reports and drafts. We acknowledge our funding from the National Science Foundation (LTER core grants, supplements, and related projects) and the support of the LTER network. We thank multiple units across Arizona State University for financial and other material support, and for creating an environment that fosters and supports interdisciplinary scholarship. For assistance in preparing the graphics, we thank Bryan Barker and Travis Buckner. Michael Bernstein provided invaluable support in assembling and formatting the literature, obtaining permissions, and copy-editing the manuscript. We acknowledge the reviewers and editors of this volume and thank them for their patience and support. This paper was partially based on work supported by the National Science Foundation while Nancy B. Grimm was working at the Foundation. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Sciences, Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    Nancy B. Grimm Ph.D.

  2. School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    Charles L. Redman Ph.D. & Daniel L. Childers Ph.D.

  3. School of Sustainability, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    Christopher G. Boone Ph.D.

  4. School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    Sharon L. Harlan Ph.D.

  5. School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    B. L. Turner II Ph.D.

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  1. Nancy B. Grimm Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Nancy B. Grimm Ph.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Klagenfurt, Faculty for Interdisciplinary Studies (I, Institute of Social Ecology, Schottenfeldgasse 29/5, Vienna, 1070, Austria

    Simron Jit Singh

  2. University of Klagenfurt, Faculty for Interdisciplinary Studies (I, Institute of Social Ecology, Schottenfeldgasse 29/5, Vienna, 1070, Austria

    Helmut Haberl

  3. Yale University, Yale School of Forestry and Environmenta, Center for Industrial Ecology, Edwards Street 380, New Haven, 06511, Connecticut, USA

    Marian Chertow

  4. , Ecosystem Research and Monitoring, Federal Environment Agency, Spittelauer Lände 5, Vienna, 1090, Austria

    Michael Mirtl

  5. University of Klagenfurt, Faculty for Interdisciplinary Studies (I, Institute of Social Ecology, Schottenfeldgasse 29/5, Vienna, 1070, Austria

    Martin Schmid

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Grimm, N.B., Redman, C.L., Boone, C.G., Childers, D.L., Harlan, S.L., Turner, B.L. (2013). Viewing the Urban Socio-ecological System Through a Sustainability Lens: Lessons and Prospects from the Central Arizona–Phoenix LTER Programme. In: Singh, S., Haberl, H., Chertow, M., Mirtl, M., Schmid, M. (eds) Long Term Socio-Ecological Research. Human-Environment Interactions, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1177-8_10

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