DISES: Water and Community Resilience Through Spatial Integration of Ecohydrological Processes and Traditional Sociocultural Knowledge

新墨西哥州北部的传统灌溉系统，也被称为acquias，体现了综合的社会环境系统--它们既是有形的地表水输送结构，又是社区水管理组织。由于阿卡克斯依赖河流和溪流的改道，它们极易受到地表水可获得性变化的影响。在周期性缺水地区，ACQUAAS的复原力历来取决于保持内在联系--地表水和地下水之间、灌溉景观和流域之间以及参与水管理程度不同的社区成员之间的内在联系。新的看似事关生存的威胁挑战了acquias的韧性。这些措施包括气候变化导致的融雪径流减少、向以前耕种和荒地的住宅扩建、旅游和娱乐发展、减少青年参与农业、受干旱和野火影响的森林健康以及减少社区对水管理的参与。这些挑战将需要新的适应，以维持木杉灌溉农田、其相关社区和贡献流域的复原力。在二十年合作伙伴关系的基础上，该项目是当地利益相关者和大学研究人员在社区参与的最高级别之间的创新研究合作，研究的方向是社区主导的问题定义、现有系统驱动因素的确定和复原力情景的开发。该项目将支持一套新的适应21世纪的社区方案；这些方案可以改变水和土地管理以及支持健康和富有成效的社区和景观的法律和政治网络。该项目产生的新知识将通过正式和非正式渠道传播，包括科学、推广和外联出版物、大学课程内容以及社区会议和讲习班。该项目将采用一种创新的融合研究方法，将生物物理学和社会科学纳入生态水文学和社会科学。研究过程包括：1)数据收集，以表征生态水文过程和社会结构；2)元胞自动机导出的综合指数，以模拟水资源使用和可用性的空间整合；3)基于气候、管理和社会投入的未来情景；4)向社区成员、决策者和其他研究人员提供信息；以及5)社区反馈，以完善研究并加速影响。在社会环境系统复原力方面的进展将超越潜在的分离的社会水文学和水社会系统方法，制定一种完全整合的EHS方法。这项研究侧重于在新墨西哥州北部三个不同的用水者营养流域(WUN流域)社会环境系统中，相对于干湿基线条件，水、农业、社区和生态系统的社区优先弹性。从新墨西哥州北部传统农业系统中进行的这一项目的经验教训将提供关键的理解，以指导对社会变化和气候变化的适应，以影响世界各地其他类似的WUN流域社会环境系统的韧性。该项目由综合社会环境系统动态计划和既定的激励竞争研究计划(EPSCoR)联合资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Traditional irrigation systems of northern New Mexico, also known as acequias, embody integrated socio-environmental systems—they are at once physical surface water delivery structures and community water management organizations. Because acequias rely on diversions from rivers and streams, they are acutely vulnerable to variable surface water availability. In region subject to periodic water scarcity, acequias’ resilience has historically hinged on maintaining inherent connectivities—between surface water and groundwater, between irrigated landscapes and contributing watersheds, and among community members¬ with different levels of involvement in water management. New seemingly existential threats challenge acequias’ resilience. These include reduced snowmelt runoff due to climate change, residential expansion into previously farmed and wild lands, tourism and recreation development, reduced youth involvement in agriculture, forest health impacted by drought and wildfire, and reduced community involvement in water management. These challenges will require new adaptations to maintain resilience of acequia-irrigated farmlands, their associated communities, and contributing watersheds. Building on two decades of partnership, this project is an innovative research collaboration between local stakeholders and university researchers at the highest level of community engagement where the direction of the study is community-led in problem definition, identification of existing system drivers, and resilience scenario development. This project will support a new set of community adaptations for the 21st century; these could transform water and land management as well as the legal and political webs of support for healthy and productive communities and landscapes. New knowledge generated in this project will be disseminated through formal and informal channels, including scientific, extension, and outreach publications, content in university coursework, and community meetings and workshops. The project will employ an innovative convergence research approach that integrates biophysical and social sciences into Ecohydrologic and Social (EHS) science. The research process includes: 1) data collection to characterize ecohydrological processes and social fabric, 2) cellular automata-derived integrated indices to model spatial integrations of water use and availability, 3) future scenarios based on climate, management, and social inputs, 4) outreach to inform community members, decision makers, and other researchers, and 5) community feedback to refine the research and accelerate the impact. Advances in socioenvironmental system resilience will be achieved by going beyond potentially separate sociohydrology and hydrosocial systems methods to craft a fully integrated EHS approach. This research focuses on community prioritized resilience of water, agriculture, communities, and ecosystems in three distinct Water-User-Nourished Watershed (WUN Watershed) socio-environmental systems of northern New Mexico over range of wet to dry baseline conditions. Lessons learned from this project conducted in traditional agriculture systems of northern New Mexico will provide critical understanding to guide adaptation to social changes and climate change to have an impact on resilience of other similar WUN Watershed socioenvironmental systems worldwide.This project is jointly funded by the Dynamics of Integrated Socio-Environmental Systems program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.