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Characterizing the Networks of Digital Information that Support Collaborative Adaptive Forest Management in Sierra Nevada Forests

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Abstract

Some of the factors that can contribute to the success of collaborative adaptive management—such as social learning, open communication, and trust—are built upon a foundation of the open exchange of information about science and management between participants and the public. Despite the importance of information transparency, the use and flow of information in collaborative adaptive management has not been characterized in detail in the literature, and currently there exist opportunities to develop strategies for increasing the exchange of information, as well as to track information flow in such contexts. As digital information channels and networks have been increased over the last decade, powerful new information monitoring tools have also been evolved allowing for the complete characterization of information products through their production, transport, use, and monitoring. This study uses these tools to investigate the use of various science and management information products in a case study—the Sierra Nevada Adaptive Management Project—using a mixed method (citation analysis, web analytics, and content analysis) research approach borrowed from the information processing and management field. The results from our case study show that information technologies greatly facilitate the flow and use of digital information, leading to multiparty collaborations such as knowledge transfer and public participation in science research. We conclude with recommendations for expanding information exchange in collaborative adaptive management by taking advantage of available information technologies and networks.

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Notes

  1. The full list of SNAMP publications is available on the SNAMP website at http://snamp.cnr.berkeley.edu/.

  2. A foreign educational institution is classified under Academic not Foreign.

  3. The first day of the month is chosen for publications that have only the month and year.

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Acknowledgments

This paper is SNAMP Publication Number 38. The Sierra Nevada Adaptive Management Project is funded by USDA Forest Service Region 5, USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Water Resources, California Department of Fish and Game, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and the Sierra Nevada Conservancy. We also want to thank the SNAMP Public Participation Team: Lynn Huntsinger, Kim Rodrigues, Susie Kocher, Kim Ingram, Anne Lombardo, and Adriana Sulak Bombard.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of California, Berkeley, 130 Mulford Hall, #3114, Berkeley, CA, 94720-3114, USA

    Shufei Lei, Alastair Iles & Maggi Kelly

  2. Geospatial Innovation Facility, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720-3114, USA

    Maggi Kelly

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  1. Shufei Lei
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  2. Alastair Iles
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Correspondence to Maggi Kelly.

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Lei, S., Iles, A. & Kelly, M. Characterizing the Networks of Digital Information that Support Collaborative Adaptive Forest Management in Sierra Nevada Forests. Environmental Management 56, 94–109 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-015-0497-x

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