Integrating Landscape Approaches
and Multi-Resource Analysis into
Natural Resource Management
SUMMARY OF A WORKSHOP
Dominic A. Brose, Rapporteur
Committee on the Practice of Sustainability Science
Science and Technology for Sustainability Program
Policy and Global Affairs
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001
This summary report and the workshop on which it was based were supported by the U.S. Geological Survey under Grant/Cooperative Agreement Number G11AC20535 and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under contract number WC133R11-CQ0048, TO #5. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number 13: 978-0-309-39215-0
International Standard Book Number 10: 0-309-39215-2
Digital Object Identifier: 10.17226/21917
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Printed in the United States of America
Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Integrating Landscape Approaches and Multi-Resource Analysis into Natural Resource Management. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21917.
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COMMITTEE ON THE PRACTICE OF SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE
Ingrid C. Burke (Chair), Director, Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Wyoming and Ruckelshaus Institute
Steve Bergman, Principal Regional Geologist, Global Geology Research Team, Shell International Exploration & Production Co.
Robert J. Johnston, Director, George Perkins Marsh Institute and Professor of Economics, Clark University
Joseph Kiesecker, Lead Scientist, The Nature Conservancy’s Conservation Lands Team
Elizabeth Murray, Research Biologist, Wetlands and Coastal Ecology, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center
Staff
Jerry Miller, Director, Science and Technology for Sustainability Program
Dominic Brose, Program Officer, Science and Technology for Sustainability Program
Jennifer Saunders, Senior Program Officer, Science and Technology for Sustainability Program
Emi Kameyama, Program Associate, Science and Technology for Sustainability Program
Yasmin Romitti, Research Assistant, Science and Technology for Sustainability Program
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Preface and Acknowledgments
The responsible management of natural resources for present-day needs and future generations requires integrated approaches that are place-based, embrace systems thinking, and incorporate the social, economic, and environmental considerations of sustainability. Landscape-scale analysis takes a holistic view by focusing on the spatial scales most appropriate for the resource values being managed. Multi-resource analysis is an approach to landscape-scale analysis that integrates information among multiple natural resources, including ecosystem services, and is designed to evaluate impacts and tradeoffs between development and conservation at landscape scales. This approach implicitly addresses the social, economic, and ecological functional relationships.
The Science and Technology for Sustainability Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a committee to plan and hold a workshop on using landscape and multi-resource analyses to better inform federal decision making for the sustainable management of natural resources. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) sponsored the workshop and are just two of several federal agencies embracing these approaches to encourage broader interdisciplinary thinking across and within their mission areas.
The goal of the workshop was to identify ways to better integrate landscape and multi-resource analyses across several focus areas, including adaptive management, ecosystem services, and resilience, which together form a scientific foundation for making sustainable natural resource management decisions. The workshop used case studies of pragmatic approaches that aim to integrate landscape and multi-resource analyses into practice on issues related to sustainable natural resource management. The workshop was organized around discussions
of knowledge gaps and priority areas for research. The workshop was held on June 2, 2015, in Washington, D.C. A participatory approach was used that allowed for open discussion, and included participants from federal agencies, policy makers, and the broader scientific community.
This workshop summary was prepared by the workshop rapporteur as a factual summary of what was presented and discussed at the workshop. The planning committee’s role was limited to planning and convening the workshop. The statements made are those of the rapporteur and do not necessarily represent positions of the workshop participants as a whole, the planning committee, or the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. I wish to extend a sincere thanks to all the members of the planning committee for their contributions in scoping, developing, and carrying out this project.
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for quality and objectivity. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process. I wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report: John Battles, University of California, Berkeley; Patrick Huber, University of California, Davis; Julia Jones, Oregon State University; Lynn Scarlett, The Nature Conservancy; and Ione Taylor, Queens University. Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the report, nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Roger Beachy, University of California, Davis. Appointed by the Academies, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the rapporteur and the institution.
Dominic A. Brose
Rapporteur
Contents
2 DECISION-ORIENTED APPROACHES TO NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
3 IDENTIFYING NEEDS AND CHALLENGES FOR LANDSCAPE AND MULTI-RESOURCE ANALYSES
4 METHODS FOR SPATIAL ANALYSIS: IDENTIFYING SCENARIOS
5 METHODS FOR EVALUATING SCENARIOS: RECONCILING QUANTITIES AND VALUES
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