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Contributed Talk

Session: : Socio-Ecological Coupling 1

COS 22-5 - Relationship with the land as a foundation for ecosystem stewardship

Monday, August 7, 2023
2:30 PM – 2:45 PM PDT
Location: E142
Abstract: We examine the hypothesis that adapting to ecosystem change on working landscapes can be enhanced by supporting the place-based stewardship values of landowners. Using a survey of >500 landowners across a landscape dominated by working lands, we clustered landowners into 5 groups based on their sense of place meanings. Relationships with the land are differentiated by the degree to which their land makes positive contributions to well-being and the degree to which the land supports livelihoods. Positive contributions to well-being are related to stronger stewardship-oriented management styles, yet a combination of well-being and livelihood dependence is most closely related to increased sensitivity to ecosystem transformation. In a social- ecological system dominated by private lands, understanding the link between relationship with the land and adaptive capacity can improve the identification of policy options that improve responses to ecological transformation.