Ecosystem services are intrinsically social-ecological. The capacity to provide them over time is both dependent on the functional attributes of species that contribute to ecological processes and social assets underpinning management practices. Yet, these two dimensions are rarely integrated or empirically assessed, even though their interaction contributes to the overall capacity of a social-ecological system to respond. In this study, theoretical frameworks of resilience, adaptive capacity, and ecosystem services are combined to explore “social-ecological response capacity” as the ability of a social-ecological system to respond to extreme weather events. This study focuses on Swedish livestock farms and was set up in response to the drought of 2018 and concerns raised about the general lack of drought mitigation and adaptation strategies in Europe. 15 surveys and semi-structured interviews were conducted and combined with ecological data collected before the drought, to create a baseline for the capacity to respond before the disturbance. The relationship between assets and drought impact on farm performance was indirect and results revealed that social-ecological response capacity was not a mitigating factor of the impacts of drought on the financial and subjective success of farms. However, financial capital and diversification of income might have a disproportionate influence on the farms performance. Moreover, results showed that farms used a wide diversity of strategies to handle drought effects that focused on increasing current and future fodder supply. These findings can provide useful information for all stakeholders that rely on the stability and provision of essential ecosystem services when navigating similar, as well as other disturbances in the future. Additionally, this study contributes to insights on the empirical assessment of properties that are essential for specified and general resilience.

Den mänskliga populationen har tredubblats på 70 år och det råder konsensus om att människan är den dominerande faktorn till klimatförändringarna och den negativa påverkan på ekosystemens processer. Det betonar att den globala utvecklingen främst vilar i mänsklighetens händer, inte minst den urbana utvecklingen då städer i hög grad driver på klimatpåverkan. Därför behövs social-ekologiska hållbara system i städerna utvecklas för att bidra till global hållbarhet och för att främja människors välbefinnande. I städer är grönområden viktiga för människors välbefinnande och gynnar även den ekologiska anknytningen som är betydande för miljöfrämjande värderingar vilket understryker vikten av invånares integreringsmöjligheter med grönområden. Studier pekar däremot på att upplevd otrygghet kan hindra integreringen med grönområden och att kvinnor i högre utsträckning upplever barriärer än män.  Samuelsson, Peterson, Legeby, Brandt, & Barthel (2018) studie syftade till att undersöka människors upplever i Stockholm ur ett miljöpsykologiskt perspektiv. Med den studien som utgångspunkt syftar detta examensarbete till fördjupad förståelse för hur den urbana miljön påverkar registrerade upplevelser baserat på upplevd trygghet och även ur ett könsperspektiv. Samuelsson et al. (2018) utgick från en upplevelse- och deltagande baserad metodik för att förena rumsliga och erfarenhetsmässiga aspekter. I detta examensarbete utfördes därmed två statistiska kvantitativa analyser där den första syftade till att studera samband mellan upplevelser baserat på upplevd trygghet och miljökvalitet. Resultatet visade att positiva trygga upplevelser registrerats främst i grönområden och negativa otrygga i byggd stadsmiljö. Baserat på så få negativa registrerade upplevelser i grönområden syftade den andra analysen till att enbart analysera skillnaden mellan kön och positivt registrerade upplevelser i grönområden och i byggd stadsmiljö. Resultatet visade att kvinnor skattar både byggd stadsmiljö och grönområden i högre grad än män. Resultatet visade även att grönområden i högre grad skattats som positiva än byggd stadsmiljö. Det fanns ingen interaktionseffekt mellan kön och miljökvalitet, men en tendens till ett signifikant resultat.  Utifrån behovet att utveckla hållbara social-ekologiska system i städer för att främja global hållbarhet finns även ett behov att studera människors upplevelser i den urbana miljön. Utifrån resultaten i examensarbetet dras slutsatsen om att åtgärder i stadsutvecklingsprocessen främst bör riktas att designa den byggda stadsmiljön för att främja människors välbefinnande och att grönområden ska bibehållas och stärkas. Studier har visat på att kvinnor i högre utsträckning upplever barriärer för att interagera med grönområden men detta resultat visade inga belägg för det utan tvärtom att kvinnor skattar upplevelser i grönområden högre än män. Därmed anses det vara intressant att i framtida studier studera andra individuella skillnader som kan påverka upplevelserna, exempelvis fysiska och psykiska barriärer. Det vore även intressant att vidare studerar hur element i den urbana miljön, som belysning och bullernivåer, påverkar människors upplevelser och upplevda trygghet. Dessutom bidrar det här examensarbetet med betydande förbättringsförslag till hur framtida PPGIS-undersökningar kan utformas för att förbättra analysmöjligheterna. / The human population has tripled in 70 years and there is a consensus that humankind is the dominant factor in climate change and that ecosystem processes are adversely affected. It emphasizes that global development is primarily in the hands of humanity and, not least, the urban development as cities are greatly driving climate change. This requires sustainable urban systems to contribute to global sustainability and to promote people's well-being. In cities, green spaces are particularly important for people's well-being and also promote the ecological connection that is important for environmental-promoting values. It underlines the importance of residents' integration opportunities with green spaces. Studies, on the other hand, suggest that perception of unsafety can hinder integration with green spaces and that women experience barriers to a greater extent than men.  Samuelsson, Peterson, Legeby, Brandt, & Barthel (2018) study aimed to investigate people's experiences in Stockholm from an environmental-psychology perspective. Based on this study, this thesis aims at a deeper understanding of how the urban environment affects experiences based on perceived safety and from a gender perspective. Samuelsson et al. (2018) study was based on an experience- and participation-based approach to combining spatial and experiential aspects. In this work, two quantitative statistical analyses were carried out in which the first analysis was aimed to study whether there were links between experiences, based on perceived safety, and environmental quality. The result showed that positive safe experiences were recorded mainly in green areas and negative unsafe in built urban environments. Based on a small percentage of negative experiences in green areas the second analysis aimed to analyze only the difference between gender and positively recorded experiences in green areas and in built urban environments. The results showed that women estimating both built urban environment and green spaces in a higher grade than men based on perceived safety. The results also showed that green spaces were more appreciated as positive experiences than built urban environments. There was no statistical interaction between gender and environmental quality, but a tendency of a significant result.  Based on the necessity to develop sustainable social-ecological systems in cities to promote global sustainability, there is also a need to study people's experiences in the urban environment. Based on the results of this thesis, it is concluded that actions in the urban development process should primarily focus on designing the built urban environment in order to promote people's well-being and green spaces should primarily be maintained and strengthened. Studies have shown that women in a greater extent experience barrier to integrate with green spaces, but this thesis showed no evidence of this, instead women rate experiences in green spaces higher than men. Therefore, it is considered interesting to study individual differences that can affect experiences instead, such as physical and mental barriers. It would also be interesting if future studies aimed to study how elements of the urban environment, such as lighting and noise levels, affect people's experiences and perceived safety. In addition, this thesis contributes significant improvement proposals to how future PPGIS surveys can be designed to improve analysis opportunities.

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Världens befolkning ökar idag i rask takt. Om cirka 30 år beräknas det bo närmare tio miljarder människor i världen, varav över sex miljarder beräknas bo urbant. Urbaniseringen ökar kraftigt vilket sätter stor press på den fysiska planeringen. För att kunna inhysa en ökande befolkning är det många kommuner som satsar på att förtäta städerna. Dock leder förtätning till att de grönområden som finns i städerna blir allt färre vilket gör att städerna blir fragmenterade och att invånarna får allt längre till rekreationsområden. Vilka är viktiga för människans hälsa och välbefinnande. Städer måste ha grönområden som klarar ett ökat besökstryck eftersom slitaget ökar. Slitage, förändrad markanvändning och fragmentering påverkar biologisk mångfald och ekosystemtjänster negativt, både lokalt och regionalt. Ett samhälle med låg biologisk mångfald och få ekosystemtjänster har sämre förutsättningar för att klara chock och stress såsom pandemier och en ökad befolkning. I denna kvalitativa studie undersöks hur Järfälla kommun, Sollentuna kommun samt Sundbybergs stad i Stockholmsregionen arbetar med ett ökat besökstryck på sina grönområden. Samtliga kommuner har olika förutsättningar men gemensamt är att alla har en förväntad befolkningsökning samt hög befolkningstäthet. Empirin har samlats in med hjälp av intervjuer med kommunala tjänstemän samt dokumentanalys av kommunernas översiktsplaner. Det teoretiska ramverket utgörs av tidigare forskning kring ekosystemtjänster i urban miljö samt social-ekologiska system. Resultatet visar att samtliga kommuner i någon form har förändrat sitt arbete till följd av det ökade besökstrycket och det beräknade ökade invånarantalet. Förvaltning, planering, samverkan, kunskap och värdering är viktigt för att skapa ett hållbart och resilient samhälle. / The world's population is growing rapidly. It is estimated that almost ten billion people will live in the world in about 30 years, of which over 6 billion people are estimated to live in urban areas. Urbanization is increasing, which puts great pressure on urban planning. In order to accommodate an increasing population, many municipalities plan to densify the cities. However, densification leads to fewer green areas in the cities, which means that the cities become fragmented and that the inhabitants have longer distances to recreational areas. Which are important to human health and welfare. Cities must have green areas that can withstand an increased visitor pressure as wear and tear increases. Wear and tear, changes in land use and fragmentation have negative effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services, both locally and regionally. A society with low biodiversity and few ecosystem services is less able to cope with shock and stress such as pandemics and an increased population. This qualitative study examines how Järfälla municipality, Sollentuna municipality and the city of Sundbyberg in the Stockholm region work with increased visitor pressure in their green areas. All municipalities have different conditions, but they all have in common that they have an expected population increase and a high population density. The empirical data has been collected with the help of interviews with municipal officials and document analysis of the municipalities' general plans. The theoretical framework consists of previous research on ecosystem services in urban environments and social-ecological systems. The results show that all municipalities in some forms have changed their work because of the increased visitor pressure and the estimated increased number of inhabitants. Management, planning, collaboration, knowledge and evaluation are important for creating a sustainable and resilient society.

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<p>The thesis analyses relationships between ecological and social systems in the context of coastal ecosystems. It examines human impacts from resource extraction and addresses management and governance behind resource exploitation. The main premises are that a lack of ecological knowledge leads to poor ecosystem management and that the dichotomy between social and natural systems is an artificial one. The thesis illustrates the importance of basing resource management on the ecological conditions of the resource and its ecosystem. It also demonstrates the necessity of accounting for the human dimension in ecosystem management and the challenges of organising human actions for sustainable use of ecosystem services in the face of economic incentives that push users towards short-term extraction.</p><p>Many Caribbean coral reefs have undergone a shift from coral to macroalgal domination. An experiment on Glovers Reef Atoll in Belize manually cleared patch reefs in a no-take zone and a fished zone (Papers I and II). The study hypothesised that overfishing has reduced herbivorous fish populations that control macroalgae growth. Overall, management had no significant effect on fish abundance and the impacts of the algal reduction were short-lived. This illustrated that the benefits of setting aside marine reserves in impacted environments should not be taken for granted. </p><p>Papers III and IV studied the development of the lobster and conch fisheries in Belize, and the shrimp farming industry in Thailand respectively. These studies found that environmental feedback can be masked to give the impression of resource abundance through sequential exploitation. In both cases inadequate property rights contributed to this unsustainable resource use. </p><p>The final paper (V) compared the responses to changes in the resource by the lobster fisheries in Belize and Maine in terms of institutions, organisations and their role in management. In contrast to Maine’s, the Belize system seems to lack social mechanisms for responding effectively to environmental feedback. The results illustrate the importance of organisational and institutional diversity that incorporate ecological knowledge, respond to ecosystem feedback and provide a social context for learning from and adapting to change.</p>

The concept of biodiversity – the phenotypic and genotypic variation among organisms – is central to conservation biology. There is growing recognition that biodiversity does not exist in isolation, but rather is intrinsically and evolutionarily linked to cultural diversity and indigenous knowledge systems. In Canada, caribou (Rangifer tarandus) occupy a central place in the livelihoods and identities of indigenous people and display substantial variation across their distribution. However, quantifying caribou intraspecific variation has proven challenging. Interdisciplinary approaches are necessary to produce effective species characterizations and conservation strategies that acknowledge the interdependent relationships between people and nature in complex social-ecological systems. In this dissertation I use multiple disciplinary traditions to develop comprehensive and united representations of caribou variation through an exploration of population genetics, phylogenetics, traditional knowledge, language, and visual approaches in the Sahtú region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. First, I examine caribou variation through analysis of population genetics and the relationships Dene and Métis people establish with animals within bioculturally diverse systems. Next, I focus on how the Pleistocene glacial-interglacial cycles have shaped the current patterns of caribou phylogeographic lineage diversification. Finally, I explore how art can be used to facilitate cross-cultural collaboration and externalize the unique heterogeneity of biocultural diversity. The results demonstrate a broad scale understanding of the distribution, spatial organization, and the degree of differentiation of caribou populations in the region. I found evidence for caribou population differentiation that corresponds to the caribou types recognized by Dene people: tǫdzı “boreal woodland caribou,” ɂekwę́ “barren-ground caribou,” and shúhta ɂepę́ “mountain caribou.” Phylogenetic results reveal that in their northern margin the boreal ecotype of woodland caribou evolved independently from the northern Beringian lineage in contrast with southern boreal caribou which belong to the sub-Laurentide refugia lineage. In addition, I demonstrate how art can be used improve communication, participation, and knowledge production among interdisciplinary research collaborations and across language and knowledge systems. A collaborative process of research that facilitates łeghágots'enetę “learning together” has the potential to produce sustainable conservation solutions, develop efficient and effective wildlife management policies, and ensure caribou remain an important part of the landscape. / February 2017

The thesis analyses relationships between ecological and social systems in the context of coastal ecosystems. It examines human impacts from resource extraction and addresses management and governance behind resource exploitation. The main premises are that a lack of ecological knowledge leads to poor ecosystem management and that the dichotomy between social and natural systems is an artificial one. The thesis illustrates the importance of basing resource management on the ecological conditions of the resource and its ecosystem. It also demonstrates the necessity of accounting for the human dimension in ecosystem management and the challenges of organising human actions for sustainable use of ecosystem services in the face of economic incentives that push users towards short-term extraction. Many Caribbean coral reefs have undergone a shift from coral to macroalgal domination. An experiment on Glovers Reef Atoll in Belize manually cleared patch reefs in a no-take zone and a fished zone (Papers I and II). The study hypothesised that overfishing has reduced herbivorous fish populations that control macroalgae growth. Overall, management had no significant effect on fish abundance and the impacts of the algal reduction were short-lived. This illustrated that the benefits of setting aside marine reserves in impacted environments should not be taken for granted. Papers III and IV studied the development of the lobster and conch fisheries in Belize, and the shrimp farming industry in Thailand respectively. These studies found that environmental feedback can be masked to give the impression of resource abundance through sequential exploitation. In both cases inadequate property rights contributed to this unsustainable resource use. The final paper (V) compared the responses to changes in the resource by the lobster fisheries in Belize and Maine in terms of institutions, organisations and their role in management. In contrast to Maine’s, the Belize system seems to lack social mechanisms for responding effectively to environmental feedback. The results illustrate the importance of organisational and institutional diversity that incorporate ecological knowledge, respond to ecosystem feedback and provide a social context for learning from and adapting to change.