Biocomplexity in the Big Thicket
Callicott JB, Acevedo M, Gunter P, Harcombe P, Lindquist C, Monticino M. 2006. Biocomplexity in the Big Thicket. Ethics, Place and Environment. 9(1):21-45
Few ecosystems are now free of extensive human influence. However, the way human activity affects natural systems and the way those anthropogenic changes in natural systems reciprocally affect human behavior is poorly understood. Therefore, the aggregate impact of the several decisions of private persons, corporations, and governments to buy and sell land, to explore for minerals, to harvest timber, to build homes, strip malls, factories, and roads is only perceptible after the fact. Detailed prediction of anthropogenic land-use/land-cover change is impossible with current tools. However, computer models can simulate the complex interactions between human and natural systems reliably enough to enable stakeholders and policy makers to visualize, in advance, a suite of scenarios to which present decisions might lead—and thus have the opportunity to take other decisions to optimize outcomes. Our central goal is to model this particular form of biocomplexity—coupled natural and human systems—to better inform decision taking and policy making. We chose the Big Thicket as a study area because it is especially dynamic and because its extraordinary biological diversity is gravely threatened. In a free-market democracy, stakeholders and policy makers may choose to sacrifice biodiversity for the sake of other benefits, but we believe that good simulation helps make better choices and may even reveal paths to win–win integration of usually zero-sum benefits, such as development and biodiversity conservation.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Callicott, J; Acevedo, Miguel; Gunter, Pete; Harcombe, Paul; Lindquist, Christopher; Monticino, Michael
- Units
- BITH