Novel ecosystems and the emergence of cultural ecosystem services

Collier, Marcus

doi:10.1016/j.ecoser.2014.06.002

Cited by 35 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Furthermore, the concept of novel ecosystems (Hobbs et al ., ) and the growing literature on social‐ecological resilience (Stone‐Jovicich, ) highlight the interaction of human agency with other biological actors, resulting in dynamic hybrid landscapes. The work of Marcus Collier (; ) suggests that such landscapes are a resource for the future that ecologists themselves do not yet appreciate or understand. As Rademacher (: 145) contends, comprehending these ‘multiple ecologies of urbanism’ will require ‘ethnographically sophisticated analytics that address how urbanites actively reconfigure place‐specific fragments of meaning to create, and recreate, urban nature in the present’.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weeds, Pheasants and Wild Dogs: Resituating the Ecological Paradigm in Postindustrial Detroit

Draus¹,

Roddy²

2018

Int J Urban Regional Res

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The Chicago School of urban sociology has been criticized for its over‐reliance on organic and ecological metaphors. We propose that a useful updated integration of urban sociology and ecology could be achieved with the aid of complementary concepts, such as patch dynamics and assemblage, from both fields. In this exploratory article, we draw on more than 50 qualitative interviews conducted with residents of three different Detroit neighborhoods, together with field observations, photographs and documentary evidence, to examine both actual and metaphorical references to the natural world. We consider allusions to ‘drug infestation’ as well as other references to territorialization processes and associations with plants and animals that emerged out of our interviews and interactions with neighborhood residents. In conclusion, we maintain that social science may have much to learn from contemporary ecological research, and that a resituated ecological paradigm would challenge and benefit contemporary urban research.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weeds, Pheasants and Wild Dogs: Resituating the Ecological Paradigm in Postindustrial Detroit

Draus¹,

Roddy²

2018

Int J Urban Regional Res

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“…Acknowledging that novel ecosystems are conceptualized through a social process highlights the complex interactions between nature and culture (Collier ). This complexity is especially evident in the biotic component of novel ecosystems, which can be characterized by species assemblages that have no recognizable historical analog and that are partially or predominantly composed of exotic taxa (Hobbs et al .…”

Section: Novel Ecosystems Are Socially Definedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grappling with the social dimensions of novel ecosystems

Backstrom

Garrard

Hobbs

et al. 2018

Frontiers in Ecol & Environ

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The novel ecosystem concept has emerged in response to the increasing prevalence of modified ecosystems. Traditional conservation and restoration strategies have been deemed inadequate to guide the management of ecosystems that are the product of anthropogenic environmental change and have no “natural” analogs. Opinions about novel ecosystems are currently divided between those who embrace the flexibility offered by the concept and those who see it as a shift toward the abandonment of traditional strategies. However, the debate is missing a key element: recognition that all conservation decisions are socially constructed and that the concept of novel ecosystems is most practicable within a decision or management context. Management of novel ecosystems should be framed in such a context, and the concept evaluated for its capacity to meet social, ecological, and economic objectives.

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“…In this context, recourse to historical ecosystems is 'no longer practical… [as] we leave behind traditional goals that underpin conservation and restoration, notably connection to historically rooted ideals' (Hobbs et al, 2013d, 59). Accordingly, supporters of this perspective suggest that new more 'realistic and optimistic conservation actions' (Hallett et al, 2013, 25) are required that focus on maintaining and enhancing ecosystems services rather than ensuring a particular species composition (Collier, 2014, Sack, 2013. Released from mooring to historical referents, promoters of this conservation strategy predict that 'novelty will lose visible context to people, at which point we will simply be living in a new normal of rapidly changing ecosystems' (Marris et al, 2013, 348).…”

Section: Engagingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moral-Material Ontologies of Nature Conservation: Exploring the Discord between Ecological Restoration and Novel Ecosystems

Lennon¹

2017

Environmental Values

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Recent years have witnessed growing concerns about how we should conduct conservation activities in a world of human-altered biophysical conditions. The 'novel ecosystems' perspective has emerged as a way to meet this challenge. Yet its focus on accepting 'new natures' as the 'new normal' has drawn much criticism from those wedded to conventional forms of conservation, such as 'ecological restoration'. This paper: 1) provides a much needed review of this dispute; 2) formulates and deploys an original analytical framework, which draws on Thomas Kuhn's 'theoretical history' of science and Charles Taylor's moral philosophy to extricate the entangled moral and material ontologies of nature which conflate facts with values in the world-building activities of disputants; and 3) identifies and examines the processes underlying these world-building activities. The paper closes by offering an initial suggestion on how to explore options for resolving this highly contentious debate.

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Novel ecosystems and the emergence of cultural ecosystem services

Cited by 35 publications

References 29 publications

Weeds, Pheasants and Wild Dogs: Resituating the Ecological Paradigm in Postindustrial Detroit

Weeds, Pheasants and Wild Dogs: Resituating the Ecological Paradigm in Postindustrial Detroit

Grappling with the social dimensions of novel ecosystems

Moral-Material Ontologies of Nature Conservation: Exploring the Discord between Ecological Restoration and Novel Ecosystems

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