Journal article
Coupled and complex: Human-environment interaction in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, USA
Geoforum, Vol.39(2), pp.833-845
2008
DOI: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2007.05.009
Abstract
Complexity theory has received considerable attention over the past decade from a wide variety of disciplines. Some who write on this topic suggest that complexity theory will lead to a unifying understanding of complex phenomena; others dismiss it as a passing and disruptive fad. We suggest that for the analysis of coupled natural/human systems, the truth emerges from the middle ground. As an approach focused as much on the connections among system elements as the elements themselves, we argue that complexity theory provides a useful conceptual framework for the study of coupled natural/human systems. It is, if nothing else, a framework that leads us to ask interesting questions about, for example, sustainability, resilience, threshold events, and predictability.
In this paper we attempt to demystify the ongoing discussions on complexity theory by linking its evocative and overloaded terminology to real-world processes. We illustrate how a shift in focus from system elements to connections among elements can lead to meaningful insight into human–environment interactions that might otherwise be overlooked. We ground our discussion in ongoing interdisciplinary research surrounding Yellowstone National Park’s northern elk winter range; a tightly coupled natural/human system that has been the center of debate, conflict, and compromise for more than 135 years.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Coupled and complex: Human-environment interaction in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, USA
- Creators
- David A. Bennett - University of IowaDavid McGinnis
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Geoforum, Vol.39(2), pp.833-845
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.geoforum.2007.05.009
- ISSN
- 0016-7185
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 2008
- Academic Unit
- Geographical and Sustainability Sciences
- Record Identifier
- 9983557268902771
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