432
Assessing Human Processes in Society-Environment Interactions
rates of activity that may be accelerated or delayed by
human intervention. . . .
The concept of time is therefore one that changes from
issue to issue and from one set of interactions to another.
Political decisions and economic action may have instantaneous effects but social change may take a generation and biophysical process may take hundreds of
years .... Time can be conceived of as made of different strands, different time scales, intertwined as a braid
rather than as linear sequence of events. (Campbell and
Olson, 1991, p. 21)
A second component of the temporal dimension
that requires attention in studies of environmental
issues over time is that variables used in these
analyses may change over time in their character
and in their implications for resource use. Does a
variable have the same existential meaning when
compared from one area to another or from one
time period to another? This is particularly true of
categorical variables that define the analytical
structure of research. Two examples illustrate this
issue.
In most society-environment analyses, the concept of economic class would be an important category. Its definition might well have different implications for modeling from time 1 to time n. For
example, an American defined as average middle
class in 1930 would have a very different material
quality of life from an average middle-class American in 1996. Their expenditures on goods and services would be significantly different in terms of
demands on environmental goods. In comparing
across time, therefore, the definition has to be adjusted for the characteristics under investigation.
Soil type is a second example of an important
environmental variable that influences human interaction with the environment. Soil maps are common and widely used in planning. It would be
tempting to interpret a particular soil as having similar implications for land use over space and
through time. In terms of this interaction, soil capability is a function of soil characteristics as well
as the technology applied to the soil. Both may
change over time and be different from one area to
another. Different farmers with different economic
and technological resources will view the capability of the soil differently-this is the existential
soil. Therefore, a soil map may have a different
meaning depending on the context.
What may be generalizable under such circumstances may not be the variable itself, but more the
conditions of causal linkage that affect the variable,
the processes that underlie the changes in the existential quality of the variable. Indicators that portray their presence and intensity may identify such
causal linkages. Successful identification of such
indicators is predicated on a plausible theoretical-conceptual framework.
Many contemporary projects are actively exploring frameworks that effectively link societal
and biophysical processes and that are sensitive to
methodological issues, such as time, scale, and uncertainty (Houghton et aI., 1990; Lambin, 1992;
Zimmerer, 1994; Turner et al., 1995). The similarities and differences found in the approaches of political ecology and landscape ecology provide a fertile basis for exploring such a framework.
28.7 Conclusion
The impact of land cover transformations on
ecosystems is of major concern for those addressing environmental issues that relate to the longterm viability of Earth's ecosystems. These include
climate change, environmental sustainability, biodiversity conservation, land degradation and desertification, air quality, and the conservation of
marine ecosystems.
We must find ways to quantify patterns of variability in
space and time, to understand how patterns change with
scale and to understand the causes and consequences of
pattern. This is a daunting task that must involve remote
sensing, spatial statistics, and other methods to quantify
patterns at broad scales; theoretical work to suggest
mechanisms and explore relationships; and experimental
work, carried out at both fine scales and through wholesystem manipulations, to test hypotheses. Together, these
can provide insights as to how information is transferred
across scales, and hence how to simplify and aggregate
models. (Levin, 1992, p. 1961)
Within such an approach, selected sets of relationships can be analyzed using numerical models
that serve to predict land transformations. Others
are more difficult to quantify and are most effectively analyzed using approaches such as narratives, scenario analysis, and role-playing simulations. These different approaches are not inimical,
and outputs from one can serve as inputs to another.
The material presented in this chapter illustrates
themes of importance from the perspective of the
social sciences. The social, political, and economic
dimensions of the interaction between environment
and society are complex and interrelated. Issues
such as the exercise of power by institutions and
individuals and differentiation by socioeconomic
class, age, and gender are seen as critical to an effective scientific analysis of environmental issues
Assessing Human Processes in Society-Environment Interactions
rates of activity that may be accelerated or delayed by
human intervention. . . .
The concept of time is therefore one that changes from
issue to issue and from one set of interactions to another.
Political decisions and economic action may have instantaneous effects but social change may take a generation and biophysical process may take hundreds of
years .... Time can be conceived of as made of different strands, different time scales, intertwined as a braid
rather than as linear sequence of events. (Campbell and
Olson, 1991, p. 21)
A second component of the temporal dimension
that requires attention in studies of environmental
issues over time is that variables used in these
analyses may change over time in their character
and in their implications for resource use. Does a
variable have the same existential meaning when
compared from one area to another or from one
time period to another? This is particularly true of
categorical variables that define the analytical
structure of research. Two examples illustrate this
issue.
In most society-environment analyses, the concept of economic class would be an important category. Its definition might well have different implications for modeling from time 1 to time n. For
example, an American defined as average middle
class in 1930 would have a very different material
quality of life from an average middle-class American in 1996. Their expenditures on goods and services would be significantly different in terms of
demands on environmental goods. In comparing
across time, therefore, the definition has to be adjusted for the characteristics under investigation.
Soil type is a second example of an important
environmental variable that influences human interaction with the environment. Soil maps are common and widely used in planning. It would be
tempting to interpret a particular soil as having similar implications for land use over space and
through time. In terms of this interaction, soil capability is a function of soil characteristics as well
as the technology applied to the soil. Both may
change over time and be different from one area to
another. Different farmers with different economic
and technological resources will view the capability of the soil differently-this is the existential
soil. Therefore, a soil map may have a different
meaning depending on the context.
What may be generalizable under such circumstances may not be the variable itself, but more the
conditions of causal linkage that affect the variable,
the processes that underlie the changes in the existential quality of the variable. Indicators that portray their presence and intensity may identify such
causal linkages. Successful identification of such
indicators is predicated on a plausible theoretical-conceptual framework.
Many contemporary projects are actively exploring frameworks that effectively link societal
and biophysical processes and that are sensitive to
methodological issues, such as time, scale, and uncertainty (Houghton et aI., 1990; Lambin, 1992;
Zimmerer, 1994; Turner et al., 1995). The similarities and differences found in the approaches of political ecology and landscape ecology provide a fertile basis for exploring such a framework.
28.7 Conclusion
The impact of land cover transformations on
ecosystems is of major concern for those addressing environmental issues that relate to the longterm viability of Earth's ecosystems. These include
climate change, environmental sustainability, biodiversity conservation, land degradation and desertification, air quality, and the conservation of
marine ecosystems.
We must find ways to quantify patterns of variability in
space and time, to understand how patterns change with
scale and to understand the causes and consequences of
pattern. This is a daunting task that must involve remote
sensing, spatial statistics, and other methods to quantify
patterns at broad scales; theoretical work to suggest
mechanisms and explore relationships; and experimental
work, carried out at both fine scales and through wholesystem manipulations, to test hypotheses. Together, these
can provide insights as to how information is transferred
across scales, and hence how to simplify and aggregate
models. (Levin, 1992, p. 1961)
Within such an approach, selected sets of relationships can be analyzed using numerical models
that serve to predict land transformations. Others
are more difficult to quantify and are most effectively analyzed using approaches such as narratives, scenario analysis, and role-playing simulations. These different approaches are not inimical,
and outputs from one can serve as inputs to another.
The material presented in this chapter illustrates
themes of importance from the perspective of the
social sciences. The social, political, and economic
dimensions of the interaction between environment
and society are complex and interrelated. Issues
such as the exercise of power by institutions and
individuals and differentiation by socioeconomic
class, age, and gender are seen as critical to an effective scientific analysis of environmental issues