2024
Research News
Study Unveils Positive Social-Ecological Transition in Yangtze River Delta
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Social-ecological systems (SES) are complex, dynamic systems with interdependencies between their ecological components and social actors. Studying the transient (e.g., nonlinear) dynamics of interlinked SES provides valuable insights into achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
However, identifying critical transitions in real-world SES remains a major challenge. A knowledge gap exists in index framework for characterizing dynamic behaviors within SES changes. This issue is compounded by the scarcity of long-term datasets spanning entire transition periods, which limits the comprehension of the Anthropocene landscape changes.
In a study published in PNAS, an international team led by Dr. LIN Qi and Prof. ZHANG Ke from the Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences advanced an evolutionary framework that utilizes a dynamic metric based on Rate of Change (RoC) derived from multidecadal socioeconomic and geobiophysical (lake sediment) records, and applied the co-evolutionary framework to Lake Taihu watershed, Yangtze River Delta region, China.
By integrating sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) metabarcoding, multi-proxy paleoenvironmental analyses, and socioeconomic data, researchers elucidated the temporal dynamics of regional SES over several centuries.
Starting in the 1950s, the SES underwent a shift towards an interconnected and ecologically unsustainable state, driven by a series of deleterious positive feedbacks. This process exacerbated water eutrophication, soil erosion, air pollution, and ecosystem resilience loss under human stressors. Since the early 2000s, a decoupling of socioeconomic development from eco-environmental degradation has occurred, signifying a potentially more sustainable reconfiguration of the regional SES.
"Thanks to the wide-ranging environmental laws and policies, conservation and ecological engineering projects, and institutional innovations, the recent decoupling signal discloses a sustainable development pattern which has not been observed over the past millennium in this iconic region,” said Dr. LIN. The signal highlights the crucial role of adaptive management and policy intervention in fostering positive transformations.
"Adopting the co-evolutionary framework to address the complexities of SES dynamics, just like in Lake Taihu case, can offer a blueprint for where and how transformative steps can be taken to achieve a good Anthropocene,” said Prof. ZHANG.
This study provides insights into the resilience and adaptability of regional SES facing similar ecological and environmental stressors. It demonstrates potential strategies for transformative action as outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals.
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