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Humans place strong pressure on land and have modified around 75% of Earth's terrestrial surface. In this context, ecoregions and biomes, merely defined on the basis of their biophysical features, are incomplete characterizations of the territory. Land system science requires classification schemes that incorporate both social and biophysical dimensions. In this study, we generated spatially explicit social-ecological land system (SELS) typologies for South America with a hybrid methodology that combined data-driven spatial analysis with a knowledge-based evaluation by an interdisciplinary group of regional specialists. Our approach embraced a holistic consideration of the social-ecological land systems, gathering a dataset of 26 variables spanning across 7 dimensions: physical, biological, land cover, economic, demographic, political, and cultural. We identified 13 SELS nested in 5 larger social-ecological regions (SER). Each SELS was discussed and described by specific groups of specialists. Although 4 environmental and 1 socioeconomic variable explained most of the distribution of the coarse SER classification, a diversity of 15 other variables were shown to be essential for defining several SELS, highlighting specific features that differentiate them. The SELS spatial classification presented is a systematic and operative characterization of South American social-ecological land systems. We propose its use can contribute as a reference framework for a wide range of applications such as analyzing observations within larger contexts, designing system-specific solutions for sustainable development, and structuring hypothesis testing and comparisons across space. Similar efforts could be done elsewhere in the world. Copyright © 2022 by the author(s).

Agradecimentos: This research is supported by National Science Foundation Award [DEB-1518518], Complex Dynamics of Telecoupled Human and Natural Systems; Michigan AgBioResearch. It is also supported by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo [14/50628-9 and 15/25892-7] and by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (grant number NE/M021335/1) via Belmont Forum CRA13 Type 2 project, ‘Food Security and Land Use: The Telecoupling Challenge' Abstract: Land-use changes across distant places are increasingly affected by international agricultural trade, but most of the impacts and feedback remain unknown. The telecoupling framework - an analytical tool for examining socioeconomic and environmental interactions over distances - can be used to conceptualize the impacts of agricultural trade on land-use change and feedbacks across borders of importing and exporting countries and across spatio-temporal scales of land systems. We apply the framework to design an agent-based model (TeleABM) that represents land-use changes in telecoupled systems to investigate how local land-use changes are affected by flows. The Brazil-China telecoupled soybean system is used as a demonstration. With examples of research questions, we explore the possible applications of this model for assessing farm-level income, fertilizer usage, deforestation, and agricultural intensification, as a tool to quantify socio-ecological impacts between distant places and holistically inform sustainable land-practices across system boundaries Fechado

This study addresses risk, vulnerability, and their implications for the adaptation of communities to the problems they face in the everyday life and to those derived from climate change. Based on the literature about risk, vulnerability and adaptation to disasters and on a case study conducted in the Northern coast of São Paulo - Brazil, we summarize the converging themes in the analysis of vulnerability and adaptation to climate change, which are divided in three components: (i) interdisciplinarity for studies about environment and society, requiring multiscale analysis, (ii) the integration of land use management instruments, and (iii) risk governance and communication. Based on the results of a risk perception survey (914 interviewees), we analyze vulnerability according to three interconnected axes (physical risk, social vulnerability and protagonism) by emphasizing the role played by the population in face of physical risk situations, as a way to guide integrated and participatory work efforts to encourage the engagement of the population to cope with and reduce the risks derived from historical and recurrent problems - such as poverty, social and spatial segregation - or with those that are about to come, such as climate changes. Resumen Este artículo aborda el riesgo, la vulnerabilidad y sus implicaciones en la adaptación de la población a los problemas ya que se enfrentan en su vida cotidiana y del cambio climático. Basado en la literatura sobre el tema y en el estudio de caso en la costa norte de São Paulo - Brasil, el artículo hizo una síntesis de los temas que convergen en el análisis de la vulnerabilidad y la adaptación al cambio climático, que se resume en tres componentes: (i) la interdisciplinariedad em invetigaciones sobre el ambiente y sociedad, que exige una análisis multi-escala, (ii) la integración de las políticas de ordenación del territorio y (iii) la gobernanza y comunicación del riesgo. Con base en los resultados de una encuesta de percepción de riesgo (914 encuestados), los resultados permiten la reflexión para el análisis de vulnerabilidad en tres ejes interconectados (riesgo físico, la vulnerabilidad social y el papel de la sociedad) que destaca el papel de la población ante situaciones de riesgos físicos, por lo que se orientan los esfuerzos de trabajo en el manejo integrado y participativo para fomentar la participación de la población para hacer frente y reducir los riesgos de los problemas históricos - pobreza, segregación social y espacial - o los que están por venir, ya que los cambios climáticos. Resumo Este artigo trata sobre risco, vulnerabilidade e suas implicações sobre a adaptação da população aos problemas já enfrentados em seu cotidiano e os advindos das mudanças climáticas. Com base na literatura sobre o tema e no estudo de caso no litoral norte de São Paulo - Brasil, o trabalho buscou sintetizar os temas que convergem na análise da vulnerabilidade e adaptação às mudanças climáticas, resumidos em três componentes: (i) a interdisciplinaridade para estudos em ambiente e sociedade, exigindo análise multiescalar, (ii) a integração de políticas de ordenamento territorial e (iii) a governança e comunicação de riscos. Com base em resultados de um levantamento de percepção de riscos (914 entrevistados), é apresentada uma reflexão para a análise da vulnerabilidade sob três eixos interconectados (risco físico, vulnerabilidade social e protagonismo), valorizando o grau de protagonismo da população que enfrenta as situações de riscos do meio físico, de maneira que sejam orientados esforços de trabalhos integrados e participativos que propiciem o envolvimento da população para enfrentar e reduzir os riscos advindos dos problemas recorrentes e históricos - pobreza, segregação social e espacial - ou daqueles que estão porvir, como os das mudanças climáticas.