W/WS: Connecting Ecological and Social Systems: Watershed Research Relating Ecosystem Structure and Function to Human Values and Socioeconomic Behaviors

小行星9726861 本研究将探讨生态系统和社会系统如何通过积极或消极的反馈相互影响。 核心假设是，生态系统的相对健康和完整性是人类业绩和生产力提高的原因，反过来又是人类业绩和生产力提高的原因。 目前的研究将使用与标准统计方法相结合的观测技术来衡量生物物理和社会系统之间的可量化联系。 这项调查还将为实地实验奠定基础，以测试恢复退化的分水岭是否可以显着增强相关人类社区的社会互动。 国家的最先进的分析方法将被用来表征约30个子流域的关键水文，化学，生物，经济和社会参数。 将把大量的生物物理和社会措施纳入定量范围，以便对预测进行检验，并生成流域质量的总体指数。

9726861 Benoit This research will examine how ecological and social systems influence each other through either positive or negative feedbacks. The central hypothesis is that relative health and integrity of ecosystems causes and in turn is caused by enhanced human performance and productivity. The current research will use observational techniques integrated by standard statistical methods to measure the quantifiable linkages between biophysical and social systems. This investigation will also lay the groundwork for a field experiment to test whether restoring a degraded watershed can significantly enhance social interactions in associated human communities. State-of-the-art analytical methods will be used to characterize approximately 30 subwatersheds in terms of key hydrological, chemical, biological, economic, and social parameters. This large number of biophysical and social measures will be integrated within a quantitative context that allows testing of predictions and generation of an overall index of watershed quality.