Linking scales and disciplines: an interdisciplinary cross-scale approach to supporting climate-relevant ecosystem management

Christian Berger, Mari Bieri (), Karen Bradshaw, Christian Brümmer, Thomas Clemen, Thomas Hickler, Werner Leo Kutsch, Ulfia A. Lenfers, Carola Martens, Guy F. Midgley, Kanisios Mukwashi, Victor Odipo, Simon Scheiter, Christiane Schmullius, Jussi Baade, Justin C. O. Toit, Robert J. Scholes, Izak P. J. Smit, Nicola Stevens and Wayne Twine
Additional contact information
Christian Berger: Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Mari Bieri: Thünen Institute of Climate-Smart Agriculture
Karen Bradshaw: Rhodes University
Christian Brümmer: Thünen Institute of Climate-Smart Agriculture
Thomas Clemen: Hamburg University of Applied Sciences
Thomas Hickler: Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBiK-F)
Werner Leo Kutsch: European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ICOS ERIC)
Ulfia A. Lenfers: Hamburg University of Applied Sciences
Carola Martens: Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBiK-F)
Guy F. Midgley: Stellenbosch University
Kanisios Mukwashi: Thünen Institute of Climate-Smart Agriculture
Victor Odipo: Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Simon Scheiter: Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBiK-F)
Christiane Schmullius: Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Jussi Baade: Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Justin C. O. Toit: Grootfontein Agriculture Development Institute
Robert J. Scholes: University of the Witwatersrand
Izak P. J. Smit: South African National Parks
Nicola Stevens: Stellenbosch University
Wayne Twine: University of the Witwatersrand

Climatic Change, 2019, vol. 156, issue 1, No 9, 139-150

Abstract: Abstract Southern Africa is particularly sensitive to climate change, due to both ecological and socio-economic factors, with rural land users among the most vulnerable groups. The provision of information to support climate-relevant decision-making requires an understanding of the projected impacts of change and complex feedbacks within the local ecosystems, as well as local demands on ecosystem services. In this paper, we address the limitation of current approaches for developing management relevant socio-ecological information on the projected impacts of climate change and human activities. We emphasise the need for linking disciplines and approaches by expounding the methodology followed in our two consecutive projects. These projects combine disciplines and levels of measurements from the leaf level (ecophysiology) to the local landscape level (flux measurements) and from the local household level (socio-economic surveys) to the regional level (remote sensing), feeding into a variety of models at multiple scales. Interdisciplinary, multi-scaled, and integrated socio-ecological approaches, as proposed here, are needed to compliment reductionist and linear, scale-specific approaches. Decision support systems are used to integrate and communicate the data and models to the local decision-makers.

Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10584-019-02544-0 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:climat:v:156:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1007_s10584-019-02544-0

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/economics/journal/10584

DOI: 10.1007/s10584-019-02544-0

Access Statistics for this article

Climatic Change is currently edited by M. Oppenheimer and G. Yohe

More articles in Climatic Change from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().