Integrating Ecologic, Economic, and Social Sciences Using a Spatially Explicit, Landscape Dynamic Simulation System

Chris Stalling, RMRS Forestry Science Lab

Acknowledgement

• Jimmie Chew, RMRS

• Kirk Moeller, RMRS

• Anne Black, ALWRI

• Adam Liljeblad, ALWRI

Introduction

• Integration of knowledge– The interactions of the biophysical, social,

and economic landscape components

• Use of models for better understanding and communication

• Modeling with SIMPPLLE– A method– A tool developed specifically for integration

Ecologic Social

Economic

Theory

From theory to reality

Ecologic Social

Economic

Reality

How do we bring these seemingly divergent

perspectives together?• Modeling that helps us think about

the world by:– Representing interactions of socio-

economic values with biophysical environment

– Displaying trade-offs necessary for sustainability

– Communication using visualization and interactive, ‘real-time’ modeling

Designed to simulate complex landscape-scale interactions

between vegetation and other abiotic and biotic landscape components.

Developed to help managers make decisions that address ecosystem sustainability based on issues, concerns, and knowledge

Runs on site-specific empirical, mechanistic, local and expert-knowledge as logic

SIMPPLLE as the ecological core

SIMPPLLE, A Simple Methodology

• Basic rule of modeling is to help people better understand the world

• Acronym = modeling philosophy to keep things as simple as possible, add complexity only as needed

• Modeling system platform allows users to interact and communicate issues and concerns about landscapes

• www.fs.fed.us/rm/missoula/4151/SIMPPLLE

Users Decide How to Represent the Landscape

• What is the appropriate scale for issues?• Is the analysis to be irregular polygons

or grid-based?• Should time be in decades, years,

seasons?• Include vegetation, landforms, aquatics,

man-made structures, social values?• Should vegetation be dominant forest

species, multiple life forms, grass types?

SIMPPLLEthe ecological

core

FIA Plots

Climate Change ModelsNAU

Insect and Disease Research

VegetationFVS Model

Fire ModelsFMOs

Wildlife Models R1,GAP, Birdlife Int’l – Europe

Economic ModelsMAGIS-JFS, BEMRP

SPECTRUM, R1 Planning

FCCS PNW

Invasive Species MSU, MESA VERDE NP

Watershed Models USGS, CO Plateau

What are we missing?

Ecologic

Economic

SIMPPLLE

SocialSocial

A planning problem:People care about their landscape; yet most planning and analysis activities don’t explicitly acknowledge or incorporate these attachments.

A solution?Incorporate information about ‘attachment to place’ directly into our ecologic/economic models.

Ecologic Social

Economic

possible acceptable

feasible

cohesion

identity

Biophysical settings

activities

outcomes

Social settings

Conceptual framework

(c)

(a) (b)

Attachment to place

(d)

(e) PVT

Cover Type

Landform

Cover Type/Structural phase

Location

cohesion

identity

Biophysical settings

activities

outcomes

Social settings

Conceptual framework

(c)

(a) (b)

Attachment to place

(d)

(e) PVT

Cover Type

Landform

Cover Type/Structural phase

LocationPersonal

Community/Cultural

Family/Friends

Social & PhysicalAttachment

Social Outcomes

IndividualFamily/Inter-Social

Community SubjectiveObjective

Physical Associates

ManagementInfluenced

Physical

ActivityRelated

OwnershipRelated

DensityRelated

Social & PhysicalAttachment

IndividualFamily/

Inter-SocialCommunity

Social Outcomes Physical Associates

SubjectiveObjective

ManagementInfluenced

Physical

ActivityRelated

OwnershipRelated

DensityRelated

RelaxationNatural Inquiry

Physical

Economic

EmotionalEmployment

SubsistenceExercise

Social & PhysicalAttachment

Social Outcomes

IndividualFamily/Inter-Social

Community SubjectiveObjective

Physical Associates

ManagementInfluenced

Physical

ActivityRelated

OwnershipRelated

DensityRelated

Density RelatedUncrowdedOpen Space

Ownership RelatedWildernessAbundance of Rec. Opps.

Activity RelatedInterconnected Trail SystemNatural Sounds

Adapted from Firey, 1960

So What?