Resilience is not enough: Toward a more meaningful rangeland adaptation science

Authors: Wilmer, Hailey; FERGUSON, DANIEL - University Of Arizona; DINAN, MAUDE - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA); THACKER, E - Utah State University; ADLER, PETER - Utah State University; BILLS WALSH, KATHERYN - Cornell University; BRADFORD, JOHN - Us Geological Survey (USGS); BRUNSON, MARK - University Of Utah; Derner, Justin; Elias, Emile; FELTON, ANDREW - Montana State University; GRAY, CURTIS - Utah State University; GREENE, CHRISTINA - University Of Arizona; MCCLARAN, MITCHEL - University Of Arizona; SHRIVER, ROBERT - University Of Nebraska; STEVENSON, MITCH - University Of Nebraska; SUDING, KATHERINE - University Of Colorado

Submitted to: Rangeland Ecology and Management
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/8/2024
Publication Date: 5/20/2024
Citation: Wilmer, H.N., Ferguson, D.B., Dinan, M., Thacker, E., Adler, P.B., Bills Walsh, K., Bradford, J.B., Brunson, M., Derner, J.D., Elias, E.H., Felton, A., Gray, C.A., Greene, C., McClaran, M., Shriver, R.K., Stevenson, M., Suding, K.N. 2024. Resilience is not enough: Toward a more meaningful rangeland adaptation science. Rangeland Ecology and Management. 95:56-67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2024.04.003.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2024.04.003

Interpretive Summary: In this paper, we reflect on a multidisciplinary rangeland resilience research project which focused on U.S. western rangelands. The project included multiple researcher and outreach partners and produced ecological, social and outreach products. However, the team did not manage to achieve effective transdisciplinary knowledge integration. We develop a framework teams can use to overcome conceptual barriers to transdisciplinary rangeland science to achieve a meaningful and effective form of science. This includes 1) a deeper engagement among and beyond disciplines and 2) engagement in scholarship and action as a relationship to one another and to the systems upon which we depend.

Technical Abstract: Resilience has become a popular conceptual framing but its potential to inform meaningful rangeland adaptation science is still limited by traditional disciplinary silos. In this paper, we reflect on a multidisciplinary rangeland resilience research project which focused on U.S. western rangelands to develop 1) projections of net primary production under future climate scenarios, 2) social science describing ranchers’ views of resilience, and 3) outreach efforts with rangeland managers. However, we ultimately struggled to operationalize transdisciplinary methodologies, as human dimensions and ecological researchers largely worked in parallel sub-teams during the project. Resilience can be an important conceptual umbrella that integrates scientists and managers across multiple disciplines. However, our experience indicates that the resilience conceptual framework is not sufficient to foster an effective transdisciplinary research effort in rangelands. We suggest that promoting transdisciplinary science and management in rangelands also requires a shared sense of meaning, or a common contextual framework shaped by a sense of responsibility to one another and social-ecological sub-systems. We draw on Donna Haraway’s volume Staying with the Trouble (2016) to help fill this gap. These ideas center on shared social-ecological responsibility and commitment to building relationships with one another and the ecosystems we study and manage. Haraway discusses collective subjectivity and argues that our responsibility to nurture social-ecological relationships (kinmaking) is essential to building a thriving future for people and ecosystems. Applying these concepts to the intersection of rangelands, ranching, and resilience demonstrates that a more meaningful rangeland adaptation science will require 1) a deeper engagement among and beyond disciplines and 2) engagement in scholarship and action as a relationship to one another and to the systems upon which we depend.