RCN-SEES: Advancing our social and environmentalunderstanding of complex mountain landscapes and their vulnerability to environmental change

该项目将建立一个研究协调网络（RCN），以发展国家和国际研究合作和伙伴关系，以解决如何减少复杂山地景观中自然和人类系统脆弱性的首要问题。美国的北落基山脉地区拥有美国本土最大的未开发景观。然而，该地区的人口正在经历城市化和非城市化的快速增长。作为世界上典型的山谷环境，该地区是一个复杂的自然-人类耦合系统：一系列以剧烈的生态和气候变化以及社会经济转型为特征的景观。这项工作利用来自爱达荷大学、华盛顿州立大学、蒙大拿大学和美国林务局落基山研究站的一个核心小组，协调研究规划，为复杂山区景观中的决策过程和森林和水资源的可持续管理提供信息。该地区的研究网络将是由学术机构、州和联邦机构、美洲土著部落和非政府组织组成的伙伴关系。该RCN的一个重要目标是有效地将生态系统如何在复杂的山地景观中发挥作用的多种知识来源联网，以提高其自然资源和生态系统服务的社会和生态弹性和可持续性。这项工作将首先在包括爱达荷州、华盛顿州东部、蒙大拿州西部、怀俄明州和加拿大西南部山区在内的北落基山脉地区展示这一过程。后续工作将把该模型扩展到国内外其他复杂的山地景观。通过与欧洲、北美和南美11个国家的研究人员和组织建立合作和伙伴关系，以及通过国际长期生态研究网络，将促进区域模式在国际上的推广。该项目将通过与公共、印第安人和私人教育机构建立和扩大伙伴关系的活动，以及通过外联为决策和治理提供信息，从而提高社会和生态弹性，对当地利益相关者和土地管理者产生实质性的更广泛的影响。教育项目的范围将从建立国内和国际研究生协会到课程开发，其主要目标是增加来自代表性不足群体的个人的参与。年会、国内和国际研讨会以及现代通讯能力将促进交流，使研究成果跨越地方和国际界限。

This project will establish a Research Coordination Network (RCN) to develop national and international research collaborations and partnerships to address the overarching question of how to reduce the vulnerability of natural and human systems in complex mountain landscapes. The Northern Rockies region of the United States contains the largest undeveloped landscapes in the contiguous United States. However, this region is undergoing rapid growth in human populations through both urbanization and ex-urbanization. As is typical of mountain-valley environments throughout the world, this region is a complex coupled natural-human system: a set of landscapes characterized by dramatic ecological and climatic changes and socioeconomic transitions. This effort leverages a core group from the University of Idaho, Washington State University, University of Montana and the United States Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station to coordinate research planning for informing decision processes and sustainable management of forest and water resources in complex mountain landscapes. The research network for this region will be a partnership of academic institutions, state, and federal agencies, Native American tribes, and non-governmental organizations. An important goal of this RCN is to effectively network multiple sources of knowledge on how ecosystems function in complex mountain landscapes for the purpose of improving social and ecological resilience and sustainability of their natural resources and ecosystem services. The work will first demonstrate this process in the Northern Rockies region encompassing Idaho, eastern Washington, western Montana, Wyoming, and southwestern mountain regions of Canada. Subsequent work will extend the model to other complex mountain landscapes nationally and internationally. Extension of the regional model internationally will be facilitated through collaborations and partnerships developed with researchers and organizations in eleven countries throughout Europe, North and South America and through the International Long Term Ecological Research Network. This project will have substantial broader impacts on local stakeholders and land managers through activities that build and expand partnerships with public, Native American, and private institutions of education and through outreach to inform decision making and governance that improves social and ecological resilience. Education programs will range from creating national and international graduate student associations to curriculum development, with a primary objective being to increase involvement of individuals from underrepresented groups. Annual meetings, national and international workshops, and modern communication capabilities will facilitate exchanges that incorporate findings across local to international boundaries.