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Understanding Human–Landscape Interactions in the “Anthropocene”

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Abstract

This article summarizes the primary outcomes of an interdisciplinary workshop in 2010, sponsored by the U.S. National Science Foundation, focused on developing key questions and integrative themes for advancing the science of human–landscape systems. The workshop was a response to a grand challenge identified recently by the U.S. National Research Council (2010a)—“How will Earth’s surface evolve in the “Anthropocene?”—suggesting that new theories and methodological approaches are needed to tackle increasingly complex human–landscape interactions in the new era. A new science of human–landscape systems recognizes the interdependence of hydro-geomorphological, ecological, and human processes and functions. Advances within a range of disciplines spanning the physical, biological, and social sciences are therefore needed to contribute toward interdisciplinary research that lies at the heart of the science. Four integrative research themes were identified—thresholds/tipping points, time scales and time lags, spatial scales and boundaries, and feedback loops—serving as potential focal points around which theory can be built for human–landscape systems. Implementing the integrative themes requires that the research communities: (1) establish common metrics to describe and quantify human, biological, and geomorphological systems; (2) develop new ways to integrate diverse data and methods; and (3) focus on synthesis, generalization, and meta-analyses, as individual case studies continue to accumulate. Challenges to meeting these needs center on effective communication and collaboration across diverse disciplines spanning the natural and social scientific divide. Creating venues and mechanisms for sustained focused interdisciplinary collaborations, such as synthesis centers, becomes extraordinarily important for advancing the science.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the National Science Foundation (NSF awards EAR 0953254 and EAR 1045002) and the University of Oregon for the financial support of the workshop that led to this article. The authors also thank Y. Gao and L. Laurencio for producing Fig. 1, and four reviewers for their helpful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, University of Tennessee, 304 Burchfiel Geog Bldg, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA

    Carol P. Harden

  2. Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Denver, CO, 80217, USA

    Anne Chin

  3. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA

    Mary R. English

  4. Department of Geological Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

    Rong Fu

  5. Department of Anthropology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    Kathleen A. Galvin

  6. International Studies Association and Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Andrea K. Gerlak

  7. Department of Geography, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 974032-1251, USA

    Patricia F. McDowell

  8. Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Wilmington, NC, USA

    Dylan E. McNamara

  9. Department of Agricultural Economics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506-4011, USA

    Jeffrey M. Peterson

  10. Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    N. LeRoy Poff

  11. Department of Sociology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA

    Eugene A. Rosa

  12. Department of Geography, Hunter College of the City University of New York, New York, NY, 10021, USA

    William D. Solecki

  13. Geosciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    Ellen E. Wohl

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  1. Carol P. Harden
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  2. Anne Chin
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  3. Mary R. English
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  4. Rong Fu
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  5. Kathleen A. Galvin
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  6. Andrea K. Gerlak
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  7. Patricia F. McDowell
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  8. Dylan E. McNamara
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  9. Jeffrey M. Peterson
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  10. N. LeRoy Poff
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  13. Ellen E. Wohl
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Correspondence to Carol P. Harden.

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Eugene A. Rosa—deceased.

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Harden, C.P., Chin, A., English, M.R. et al. Understanding Human–Landscape Interactions in the “Anthropocene”. Environmental Management 53, 4–13 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-013-0082-0

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