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Evolution of Social-Ecological Research in the LTER Network and the Baltimore Ecosystem Study

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The Challenges of Long Term Ecological Research: A Historical Analysis

Part of the book series: Archimedes ((ARIM,volume 59))

Abstract

The addition of two urban sites, based in Baltimore, Maryland, and Phoenix, Arizona, to the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program in 1997, posed challenges for creating a truly integrated social-ecological framework. Proposals to include social “core areas” to sites with social science agendas were developed in concert with national environmental priorities being set within the scientific community. Although the National Science Foundation rejected these proposals for LTER as a whole, researchers at the urban sites pursued their goals of developing more sophisticated multi-disciplinary frameworks for the study of urban patterns and processes. The Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES) illustrates how the conceptual basis of urban ecology evolved over 20 years, developing new strategies to manage cross-disciplinary interactions and relationships. Researchers drew especially on the concept of “boundary objects” as articulated by S. L. Star and J. Griesemer, and on General Stanley A. McChrystal’s conception of the “team of teams” as a way to engage with complex problems. Looking forward, BES is positioned now to expand to a long-term, transdisciplinary science platform which we call the Baltimore Ecosystem Alliance. Its goals include developing an authentic urban ecology on local and regional levels, while also serving as a national and international leader in urban ecology.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    During this time, a 1991 Cary Conference on humans as components of ecosystems was held to examine the state of the science and the needs and opportunities for examining the role of humans in ecosystems. This conference was funded largely by NSF and led to a 1993 book by the same name (McDonnell and Pickett 1993). NSF program officers from the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Directorate and the Division of Environmental Biology attended the conference.

  2. 2.

    As of April 2020, the LTER Network website notes: “Two additional themes emerged with the addition of urban LTER sites, but it has become clear that they are also relevant for the rest of the Network.” https://lternet.edu/core-research-areas/

  3. 3.

    Charles Redman (CAP) and Morgan Grove (BES) led the workshop. Many of the workshop participants were recommended by Tom Baerwald and were internationally-recognized leaders in their fields. Workshop participants and their affiliations included Charles L. Redman, Nancy Grimm, Ann Kinzig, Lauren H. Kuby, and Ed Hackett (Central Arizona–Phoenix LTER); J. Morgan Grove, Bill Burch, and Steward Pickett (Baltimore Ecosystem Study); Steve Carpenter and Peter Nowak (North Temperate Lakes LTER); F. Stuart Chapin (Bonanza Creek Experimental Forest); Ted Gragson (Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory); Craig Harris (Kellogg Biological Station); Bob Waide (LTER Network); Tom Baerwald (NSF/Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences); Anthony de Souza (National Research Council); Grant Heiken (Los Alamos National Laboratories); Peter Kareiva (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration); Emilio Moran and Elinor Ostrom (Indiana University); Sander van der Leeuw (Sorbonne); Tom Wilbanks (Oak Ridge National Laboratory); and Brent Yarnal (Penn State).

  4. 4.

    https://lternet.edu/wp-content/themes/ndic/library/pdf/reports/ISSE_complete_30April.pdf

  5. 5.

    Not all institutions or disciplines that have been or are part of BES are listed in these examples. See https://baltimoreecosystemstudy.org/people/ for more information.

  6. 6.

    Previously in this chapter, co-produced has been used to refer to transdisciplinary production of actionable scientific knowledge jointly by researchers and other stakeholders. Here, we use the same term for a distinct idea that urban systems are themselves co-produced by the interaction of biophysical and social processes.

  7. 7.

    For example: Social-Environmental Immersion Program for Post-Graduate Fellows, https://www.sesync.org/for-you/educator/programs/immersion; National Science Foundation, 2018, Dear Colleague letter: Growing convergence research, https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2018/nsf18058/nsf18058.jsp; Belmont Forum, Transdisciplinary science funding opportunities, http://www.belmontforum.org/opportunities/. Accessed 4 January 2019.

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Acknowledgments

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grants # DEB-1637661, DBI-1052875, DBI-1639145, the USDA Forest Service, and the University of Maryland. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation, the USDA Forest Service, or the University of Maryland. We thank Miriam Avins for her thoughtful review and suggestions. We thank Scott Collins and remember the late Henry Gholz for visionary leadership and support for social-ecological research in the LTER network. None of this would have been possible without them.

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  1. USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Baltimore, MD, USA

    J. Morgan Grove

  2. Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY, USA

    Steward T. A. Pickett

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  1. J. Morgan Grove
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  2. Steward T. A. Pickett
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Correspondence to J. Morgan Grove .

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  1. Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Robert B. Waide

  2. Department of History of Science and Technology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Sharon E. Kingsland

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Grove, J.M., Pickett, S.T.A. (2021). Evolution of Social-Ecological Research in the LTER Network and the Baltimore Ecosystem Study. In: Waide, R.B., Kingsland, S.E. (eds) The Challenges of Long Term Ecological Research: A Historical Analysis. Archimedes, vol 59. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66933-1_10

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