Project Details
Projekt
GRK 3004: Ecological Regime Shifts and Systemic Risk in Coupled Social-Ecological Systems (ECORISK)
Subject Area
Geography
Term
since 2024
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 518865889
The research training group ‘Ecological Regime Shifts & Systemic Risk in Coupled Social-Ecological Systems’ (ECORISK) addresses the causes of ecological regime shifts & their potential consequences in social-ecological systems (SES). Socio-economic developments have led to unprecedented levels of interconnectedness between ecosystems & human activities, e.g., in Agri-Food Networks, which are not without risk at the systemic level. The consequences of ecological regime shifts (i.e. sudden transitions to new states of ecosystems) may involve undesirable & even catastrophic effects on society. Thus, ecological regime shifts pose a major risk to society as their cascading effects can transcend the regional level ripple out to the global level. Such consequences are referred to as ‘systemic risk’. This describes an adverse risk to one component of a system that can extend to the entire system due to the interconnectedness of the system components. Regime shifts often result from gradual processes such as global warming & increased nutrient loads, e.g., from manure. As a result of these processes, the systems move towards a tipping point where a general system shift occurs that can lead to the collapse of the entire system. An example where such developments are particularly pronounced is the intensification & globalisation of agriculture. The associated farming practices have multiple negative impacts on ecosystems that may lead to local collapses & subsequently regime shifts. At the same time, the increasing integration of agriculture into global production networks has led to strong interdependencies that cascade effects & foster both the spread & rise of irritants that can threaten food security. ECORISK will address these multiple challenges with an interdisciplinary team through a holistic systemic-level approach. Ecological regime shifts and complex risks will be explored. ECORISK will also analyse the perception of these risks by different actors. In addition, ECORISK will explore responses to actual and expected regime shifts at the level of individual behaviour & governance systems. ECORISK will adopt intensive agriculture as a guiding example to contextualise the generic & conceptual research approach. To this end, several case studies & models will be linked, all of which relate to this guiding example. By integrating excellent interdisciplinary research with comprehensive doctoral training, ECORISK will both provide fundamentally novel scientific insights & train a new generation of scientists. ECORISK’s graduates will combine disciplinary depth with a holistic understanding of the systemic risk in SES emanating from the cascading effects of regime shifts & methods for analysing these, enabling them to work effectively in interdisciplinary solution-oriented teams needed to address major environmental or societal challenges.
DFG Programme
Research Training Groups
Applicant Institution
Universität Osnabrück
Spokesperson
Professor Dr. Martin Franz
