Spatially Explicit Approach to Operationalizing Social-ecological System to Inform Land Use Planning: Case study: Baffle Basin, Australia

Despite previous studies on combining social and ecological factors in natural resource planning and management, mechanisms to effectively integrate these dimensions to inform land-use planning decisions are poorly developed. To address this challenge, this research examines the use of social-ecological systems framework in a spatially-explicit way. This study used public participation geographic information systems to obtain social data, as well as species and habitat information in the Baffle Basin in Australia. The findings contribute to the current knowledge of assessing social-ecological hotspots, identifying factors underlying land-use conflict, and understanding the effects of different social data on selecting priority conservation areas.

Advisors: Prof Marc Hockings, Assoc Prof Patrick Moss, Assoc Prof Greg Brown