Sustaining Multifunctional Landscapes Through Expertise Networks: A Case Study from Southwest Wisconsin, USA

Abstract

Multifunctional landscapes are essential to human and non-human well-being, but they are challenging to sustain against systemic perturbations like global climate change, political upheaval and market development. Mixed public and private ownership increases challenges for sustaining multifunctionality across landowner boundaries. Adaptive co-management (ACM) through social networks has shown promise as a framework for sustaining multiple objectives at landscape scales. However, we lack an approach for evaluating ACM capacity in these social- ecological systems. This research uses a case study from southwest Wisconsin, USA, to develop and demonstrate a conceptual framework and methodology for evaluating ACM capacity in mixed-ownership, multifunctional landscapes.

Using the Institutional Analysis and Development framework, I analytically organize mixed-ownership landscape governance by landscape expertise and governance level. Then I begin the evaluation with natural resource experts at the collective-choice level. Using qualitative and social network analytical methods, I compare their information network structure and context to the standard of a modular adhocracy from ACM studies. Results show ACM capacity is moderate. While forestry and agriculture are structured as distinct modules, they are interconnected by weak ties that may not be flexible enough to form effective adhocracies given rigid institutional arrangements and a slowly eroding culture of collaboration.

This evaluation approach demonstrates a novel resilience assessment of networks of adjacent action situations in social-ecological systems. Evaluation findings have implications for improving collective-choice strategies and constitutional-level policies at the local, state and national scales.