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Social networks are frequently cited as vital for facilitating successful adaptation and transformation in linked social–ecological systems to overcome pressing resource management challenges. Yet confusion remains over the precise nature of adaptation vs. transformation and the specific social network structures that facilitate these processes. Here, we adopt a network perspective to theorize a continuum of structural capacities in social–ecological systems that set the stage for effective adaptation and transformation. We begin by drawing on the resilience literature and the multilayered action situation to link processes of change in social–ecological systems to decision making across multiple layers of rules underpinning societal organization. We then present a framework that hypothesizes seven specific social–ecological network configurations that lay the structural foundation necessary for facilitating adaptation and transformation, given the type and magnitude of human action required. A key contribution of the framework is explicit consideration of how social networks relate to ecological structures and the particular environmental problem at hand. Of the seven configurations identified, three are linked to capacities conducive to adaptation and three to transformation, and one is hypothesized to be important for facilitating both processes. We discuss how our theoretical framework can be applied in practice by highlighting existing empirical examples from related environmental governance contexts. Further extension of our hypotheses, particularly as more data become available, can ultimately help guide the design of institutional arrangements to be more effective at dealing with change.

With the rapid advancement of urbanization and industrialization, ecological patches within cities and towns are fragmented and ecological corridors are cut off, regional ecological security is threatened and sustainable development is hindered. Building an ecological network that conforms to regional realities can connect fragmented patches, protect biodiversity and regional characteristics, and provide scientific reference for regional ecological protection and ecological network planning. By taking Qilin District, the main urban area of Qujing City as an example, and using geospatial data as the main data source, based on morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) and minimum cumulative resistance (MCR), this study identified ecological source areas, extracted ecological corridors, and build & optimize ecological networks. (1) All landscape types are identified based on MSPA, the proportion of core area was the highest among all landscape types, which was 80.69%, combined with the connectivity evaluation, 14 important ecological source areas were selected. (2) 91 potential ecological corridors were extracted through MCR and gravity models, there were 16 important ones. (3) The network connectivity analysis method is used to calculate the α, β, and γ indexes of the ecological network before optimization, which were 2.36, 6.5, and 2.53, while after optimization, α, β and γ indices were 3.8, 9.5 and 3.5, respectively. The combined application of MSPA-MCR model and ecological network connectivity analysis evaluation is conducive to improving the structure and functionality of ecological network.

With the backdrop of climate change and human activities, the complex interactions within the social‐ecological system have brought unprecedented challenges to sustainable development. However, there is still a lack of quantitative methods for analyzing the dynamics of the social‐ecological system. Here, we introduced a social‐ecological network approach incorporating supply and demand of ecosystem services (ESs) as bridges and took the Dongting Lake basin in China as the research area. From 2000 to 2020, we discovered that the number of linkages among meteorological elements and ESs supply decreased from 5 to 0. Along with this, the network density (from 26 to 22) and network connectivity (from 43 to 28) showed the decoupling trends of the social‐ecological networks. These results implied the decreasing impacts of meteorological elements and the importance of considering human activities impacts. Based on the average degree analysis of the networks, proportions of cultivated land and forest land were key for ESs supply (both around 0.900), while population density and artificial land proportion were important for the ESs demand (around 0.850 and 0.800, respectively). More management practices are required because these elements have significant impacts on the supply‐demand alignments of multiple ESs. We further illustrated the spatial supply‐demand mismatches of ESs, along with the negative effects of urbanization. This study highlighted the advantage of integrating the ecosystems services approach into the social‐ecological network analysis, and provided policy insights serving for sustainable development of the typical great lake basins. Plain Language Summary The social‐ecological system is increasingly affected by climate change and human activities, posing risks to sustainable development. To quantitatively analyze the dynamics of the system, we developed the social‐ecological networks incorporating supply and demand of ecosystem services (ESs) as bridges. We took the Dongting Lake basin in China as the research area. From 2000 to 2020, we applied network density and network connectivity to characterize the impacts of social and ecological elements on multiple ESs. We discovered that both indicators were declined, from 26 to 22 and from 43 to 28, respectively, driven by the decreasing number of linkages among meteorological elements and ESs supply (from 5 to 0). These results suggested that the impacts of meteorological elements on the social‐ecological networks were gradually decreasing compared to the lasting of human activities impacts. We also found that proportions of cultivated land and forest land had significant impacts on ESs supply based on the average degree analysis (both around 0.900), while population density and the artificial land proportion were important social elements affecting the ESs demand (around 0.850 and 0.800, respectively). Meanwhile, there were spatial mismatches among the supply and demand zones of ESs under the influences of urbanization. We emphasize that, for sustainable development, it is not only necessary to focus on key elements management but also to pay attention to the linkages among social/ecological elements and multiple ESs, in order to achieve systematic governance. Key Points Social‐ecological networks incorporating supply and demand of ecosystem services as bridges were constructed The social‐ecological networks were decoupling driven by reducing impacts of meteorological elements Network analysis identified population density and proportions of cultivated land, forest land and artificial land as key social‐ecological elements

Rapid urbanization has led to deteriorated wetland water quality, reduced biodiversity, and fragmented wetland landscapes, which seriously threaten the sustainable development of regional ecology. Based on land use data of Dongying City, Shandong Province, in 2020, this study selected the landscape disturbance degree and landscape fragility index to construct a landscape ecological risk evaluation model and to analyze the spatial distribution characteristics of landscape ecological risk in Dongying City in 2020. The MSPA-Conefor-MCR model was used to extract the ecological network of wetlands in Dongying City, and the topological structure indices were quantitatively analyzed. Combined with the actual situation within the study area, the source sites to be optimized were identified by risk zoning and source importance; the ecological resistance surface was modified using landscape ecological risk, and the ecological network was optimized by simulating edge increase in order to evaluate the robustness of the ecological network before and after optimization and to verify the edge increase effect. The results show that the ecological risk in Dongying is high, mainly distributed in the central region and extending to the northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest. A total of 131 ecological source sites (6 core and 125 resting-stone source sites) and 180 ecological corridors were extracted, and the whole ecological network was found to be less stable and to have stronger network heterogeneity using a topological analysis. By simulating 11 additional edges, the robustness of the optimized ecological network was significantly improved. Optimizing the simulated-edge increase can enhance the smoothness of ecological energy flow, which can provide a scientific basis for the construction of the ecological security pattern of wetlands in Dongying City.

To highlight the potential value of network analysis for conservation biogeography and to focus attention on some of the challenges that lie ahead in applying it to conservation problems. Global. We briefly review existing literature and then focus on five important challenges for the further development of network-based approaches in the field. Our five challenges include (i) understanding cross-scale and cross-level linkages in ecological systems (top-down and bottom-up effects, such as trophic cascades, have been demonstrated in food webs but are poorly understood in nested hierarchies such as reserve networks and stream catchments), (ii) capturing dynamic aspects of ecological systems and networks (with a few exceptions we have little grasp of how important whole-network attributes change as the composition of nodes and links changes), (iii) integrating ecological aspects of network theory with metacommunity frameworks and multiple node functions and roles (can we link the spatial patterns of habitat patches in fragmented landscapes, the parallel networks of interacting species using those patches and community-level interactions as defined by metacommunity theory in a single framework?), (iv) integrating the analysis of social and ecological networks (particularly, can they be analysed as a single interacting system?) and (v) laying an empirical foundation for network analysis in conservation biogeography (this will require a larger data bank of well-studied networks from diverse habitats and systems). Recent research has identified a variety of approaches that we expect to contribute to progress in each of our five challenge areas. We anticipate that some of the most exciting outcomes of attempts to meet these challenges will be frameworks that unite areas of research, such as food web analysis and metacommunity theory, that have developed independently.

The fulfilment of the benefits resulting from services provided by nature requires an integrated framework that combines appropriate ecosystem service governance with spatially explicit models of service provision. Here, we propose using a social‐ecological network approach to develop a ‘landscape governance framework’ that identifies how different types of governance can act on supply, demand and flow of ecosystem services through changes in landscape structure and connections. Starting from undesirable situations where demand exceeds supply, we exemplify the application of this conceptual model considering hierarchical (e.g. creation of protected areas), market (e.g. payments for environmental services) and community‐based (e.g. enhancing links between stakeholders) governance approaches. We show how interventions associated with each of these approaches act in distinct ways to regulate different components of the service provision chain in heterogeneous landscapes. Filling such knowledge gaps can help identify appropriate governance interventions depending on factors that limit provision: restricted supply, demand or flow. The application of the landscape governance framework entails challenges related to availability of data and limited understanding of key underlying mechanisms. However, it opens important new research questions at the interface between governance and ecosystem services, with great potential as a tool for landscape management that aims to achieve ecosystem service sustainability. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Mutualistic interactions among plants and animals have played a paramount role in shaping biodiversity. Yet the majority of studies on mutualistic interactions have involved only a few species, as opposed to broader mutual connections between communities of organisms.Mutualistic Networksis the first book to comprehensively explore this burgeoning field. Integrating different approaches, from the statistical description of network structures to the development of new analytical frameworks, Jordi Bascompte and Pedro Jordano describe the architecture of these mutualistic networks and show their importance for the robustness of biodiversity and the coevolutionary process. Making a case for why we should care about mutualisms and their complex networks, this book offers a new perspective on the study and synthesis of this growing area for ecologists and evolutionary biologists. It will serve as the standard reference for all future work on mutualistic interactions in biological communities.

Abstract The existence of the utilization of the Tanjung Lesung Special Economic Zone (SEZ) as connectivity, interaction relationships, and the balance of resource governance influence cultural ecosystem service. This research aimed to map out the social-ecological system components of coastal and marine cultural ecosystem services. The focus is on examining the connectivity network between resource governance (RG) components such as resource actors (RA), resource units (RU), and resource systems (RS). The data obtained were analyzed using the stages of social-ecological network analysis. The results show a significant influence and strong interaction between resource governance (RG) components and other components. The presence of institutional structures and typologies is a crucial component that serves as a guideline for SEZ management influenced by actor centrality through links. Several performance indicators are still lacking based on the interaction conditions, indicating the need for strategies to strengthen governance. However, a particular challenge that needs attention is the implementation of every governance strategy formulation. Cohesion among stakeholders in enhancing resource governance performance with the surrounding community is paramount. Improvement can be achieved through strong collaboration to ensure the sustainability of coastal and marine cultural ecosystem services. Highlight Research The components of the social-ecological system of cultural coastal and marine ecosystem services can be identified and analyzed in a case study of a special economic zone. The complexity of the social-ecological system was analyzed using a network perspective approach. Centrality analysis was used to determine the magnitude of influence of each component in the system. The performance condition of governance can be determined using analysis of the resource governance interactions.

Urbanization has significantly impacted ecological connectivity, making the optimization of ecological networks (ENs) crucial. However, many existing strategies focus on overall network structure and overlook the spatial concentration of local ecological processes flow (EPF), limiting the effectiveness of ecological planning. This study proposes a novel EN optimization framework based on urban–rural gradient spatial zoning to enhance connectivity from the perspective of EPF. The framework divides areas outside the core urban zone (CUZ) into the urban fringe zone (UFZ), urban–rural interface zone (UIZ), and natural rural zone (NRZ), applying tailored optimization strategies in each zone. These strategies include increasing corridor redundancy, reducing corridor resistance, and expanding corridor width to alleviate EPF concentration. Using Jinan, a mega-city in China’s Yellow River Basin, as a case study, this study simulated EN changes over 20 years and validated the framework’s effectiveness. Optimization validation showed that increasing ecological land in low-flow corridors to 65% in the UIZ and expanding NRZ corridors to 5 km improved connectivity by 6.3%, addressing seven pinch points and three barrier points. This study highlights the importance of optimizing ENs via urban–rural zoning to support sustainable development and ecological protection policies.

The acceleration of urbanization has resulted in varying degrees of impact on the stability and health of high-density urban ecosystems. Building urban ecological networks is crucial for safeguarding biodiversity and sustaining ecosystem vitality. In this study, the city of Foshan was selected as the study area, which is a prime representative of a high-density water network city. Additionally, a morphological spatial pattern analysis was employed to identify the ecological source. We built an ecological resistance surface using geographic, natural, and behavioral elements, adjusting it based on the density of the water network and the building height. Following this, the circuit theoretical model was utilized to create an ecological network by identifying ecological corridors. There were three key findings. First, the ecological network consisted of 30 ecological source sites and 53 ecological corridors, and 103 ecological “pinch points” and 193 ecological barrier points were identified. Second, the ecological sources were predominantly situated in the southwestern and northern parts of Foshan City. Meanwhile, the suburbs of Foshan City contained the primary ecological barrier points, mainly stemming from new construction sites, while the key ecological “pinch points” were concentrated at river junctions. The third outcome was the recommendations to (a) boost the connectivity of the ecological network in the suburbs, (b) improve the connection of the water network in urban areas, and (c) focus on enhancing landscape connectivity. The objective was to develop approaches for optimizing urban ecological networks, leading to better connectivity and improved ecological network quality.