Global environmental change is increasing livelihood pressure for many communities, and agricultural households in the Global South are particularly vulnerable. Extant research has debated whether and to what degree this amplifies the migration flows while also acknowledging that migration can be an adaptive strategy. However, little is known about which contextual factors are most relevant and how they interact in shaping environment-related migration. We shed light on this issue by conducting an in-depth qualitative, yet multisite and yet medium-N study of farming households in the northern Ethiopian highlands. We utilized qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) -a novel approach in the research field-to overcome the existing methodological challenges. We found that migration experience within the household in combination with either the usage of the longer summer rainy season (Kiremt) or non-farm in situ diversification are sufficient causes for migration. Non-farm income activities and favorable environmental conditions during the Kiremt season increases economic household resources and as such migration ability. However, only together with migrant networks, which can reduce the costs and risks of migration and shape migration aspirations, can these drivers explain why households engage in migration. Our findings reveal that capabilities and networks, rather than commonly cited push factors, are far more important drivers of environment-related migration at the household level. Additionally, we illustrate that while migration is an important adaptation strategy, it cannot be adopted equally among households and as a result often reinforces existing inequalities.

The crucial role of stone pavements in arid environments for aeolian or alluvial processes and as numerical dating tools is increasingly acknowledged. This role is based on the assumption that stone pavements are stable landforms, formed gradually over time and predominantly by vertical processes. However, this is challenged by evidence of stone‐pavement clast reworking or burial. Bimodal, mostly slope aspect‐symmetrical clast orientation is a frequent phenomenon in various study areas. It implies that stone pavements may be influenced by unidirectional lateral processes besides vertical ones. Here, the finding of lateral processes contributing to stone‐pavement evolution is supported by numerical modelling and physical experiments. These unequivocally show that unconcentrated overland flow can transport clasts to form a closely packed stone mosaic with characteristics similar to those of natural stone pavements. The commonly observed length‐axes orientation angle of 40 ± 14° for natural stone‐pavement clasts is consistently reproduced by angle‐dependent force equilibrium. Monte Carlo runs confirm the natural scatter and allow characterization of the control parameters of clast orientation. The model explains up to 70% of the natural variance. It is further validated by flume experiments, which confirm model predictions of single object orientation angles. Experiments with multiple objects yield artificial stone pavements with properties similar to those found in the field. The unidirectional lateral process acting on natural stone pavements requires the presence of a vesicular horizon. This underlines the tight genetic coupling of this common epipedon feature and the clast cover. The presented findings highlight the role of stone pavements as process and environment proxies. However, stone pavements represent information since the last surface disturbance only. This has to be considered when using them as age indicators. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS) was established in 2011, and is now one of the major international social-ecological systems (SES) research networks. During this time, SES research has undergone a phase of rapid growth and has grown into an influential branch of sustainability science. In this Perspective, we argue that SES research has also deepened over the past decade, and helped to shed light on key dimensions of SES dynamics (e.g. system feedbacks, aspects of system design, goals and paradigms) that can lead to tangible action for solving the major sustainability challenges of our time. We suggest four ways in which the growth of place-based SES research, fostered by networks such as PECS, has contributed to these developments, namely by: 1) shedding light on transformational change, 2) revealing the social dynamics shaping SES, 3) bringing together diverse types of knowledge, and 4) encouraging reflexive researchers.

Place-based research faces multiple threats, including both natural and global health hazards and political conflicts, which may disrupt fieldwork. The current COVID-19 pandemic shows how these threats can drastically affect social-ecological research activities given its engagement with different local stakeholders, disciplines, and knowledge systems. The crisis reveals the need for adaptive research designs while also providing an opportunity for a structural shift towards a more sustainable and inclusive research landscape.

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