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The environments in which we live are complex, adapting and evolving in non-linear ways. The ecosystem services produced in landscapes supply resources, support livelihoods and are foundational to human wellbeing. The assessment of individual ecosystem services has been the focus of much work but evaluating the dynamic nature of multiple ecosystem services has been limited. Sustainably managing landscapes requires an understanding of how different social and ecological factors shape the distribution of ecosystem services and how those services are related to one another. The ecosystem service bundles concept refers to reoccurring sets of ecosystem services and is useful for focusing on interactions among ecosystem services. It is also critical that methods for assessing ecosystem services are feasible and accessible to landscape managers. The prolific public data in Sweden is an interesting case to explore the ability of publicly available data to express ecosystem services at an applicable scale. Using publicly available data at the municipal scale, the thesis first identifies bundles of ecosystem services in the Norrström drainage basin in Sweden. Five types of bundles were found spatially aggregated across the basin. Further analysis explored the evenness of the distribution of the ecosystem services across the region. These human dominated landscapes were found to be highly multifunctional with regards to the diversity and evenness of the ecosystem services, as well as in comparison to other places. Second, four theory-based models were developed to explore the social, ecological and geographic drivers of the ecosystem services and ecosystem service bundles found in the Norrström drainage basin. The models were created by distilling the core assumptions of four theories of human-nature interactions into social, ecological and geographic driver variables to test their ability to explain the distribution of the ecosystem services and ecosystem service bundles. No one model was best at predicting the distribution of all the ecosystem services. Bundles of ecosystem services were not predicted as well as the individual ecosystem services. Nevertheless, a clear picture of the variation of ecosystem services in the region could be seen even with this limited information. Third, ecosystem service bundles were assessed using publicly available data at the municipal scale for all of Sweden across four time periods. Little change in the distribution of the ecosystem services bundles was detected across the time periods which start in 2000. The relationship between the ecosystem services bundles and a range of social, ecological and geographic variables was assessed. The fixed geographic variable latitude along with forest and arable area had the largest impact on the distribution pattern of the ecosystem service bundles. Finally, the thesis examines the different conceptualizations of the concept of ecosystem service bundles. The benefits to using an ecosystem service bundles approach are highlighted, including how bundles simplify analysis, simplify management, help advance social-ecological theory, provide guidance with missing information, and bridge separated research fields and stakeholder groups. Ways to improve research on ecosystem service bundles are presented through discussions of social-ecological indicators, scale, and internal ecosystem service relationships and drivers. A framework for finding points of compatibility between bundle studies and navigating comparisons is provided, because there is so much to learn from comparing ecosystem service bundle research.

How can assessments of multiple ecosystem services intelligently analyze interconnected ecosystem services. When carrying out ecosystem service assessments to determine and understand bundles of ecosystem services it is vital to consider 4 key areas that will aid in the understanding, practicality, reliability, and comparability of the study: 1) Ecosystem service bundle dynamics and characteristics will depend on what indicators are used, and what part of the ecosystem service production chain they represent (production potential/supply, use/demand, value/need); 2) Drivers and their interactions influence ecosystem service bundle dynamics and configurations at different points in the ecosystem service production chain; 3) Issues of scale–in terms of spatial extent, temporal scale, social organization and the resolution of analysis; 4) ecosystem service bundles are more than the sum of their parts, and are also an expression of an emergent dynamics of the social-ecological system that produces them.

This talk will provide a summary of the ongoing PECS working group on "Social-ecological dynamics of ecosystem services". The working group has brought together researchers representing regional case studies that have investigated ecosystem service trade-offs and synergies within social-ecological units across different landscapes and seascapes. The initial aims were to: i) find typical patterns of trade-offs and synergies among ecosystem services found across the studies; ii) identify shared types of bundles of ecosystem services and whether bundles can be understood as signatures of social-ecological systems; iii) select key drivers of the differences among bundles; and iv) find methods useful to identify ecosystem services, trade-offs, bundles, and drivers across different social-ecological contexts and the data needed to undertake such analyses. In this talk, I will focus on the application of the different methods and conceptual frameworks that have begun emerging from the working group. I will discuss some of the key considerations for the assessment of ecosystem services bundles and the importance of social relationships in the analysis of ecosystem services bundles, and also present some preliminary analyses of ecosystem services and trade-offs across landscape gradients and discuss and a framework to synthesize ecosystem service interactions in a range of landscapes.

Phnom Penh’s sanitation system is a combination of the drainage system and sewage system.Storm water, household wastewater, and industrial wastewater all flow together out of the city tothe detriment of the natural environment and the humans that depend on it. This continuedpersistence of an inefficient and harmful system is explored using path dependency theory. Pathdependency constrains the system to linear development and reflects the historical context inwhich decisions were made. Phnom Penh’s sanitation system is used to exemplify components ofpath dependence and their effect on implementing change.To incorporate room for change into Phnom Penh’s sanitation system, the inherent longevity inbuilt infrastructure must be overcome. Building infrastructure is expensive and the learning andcoordination that is associated with it is not easily replaced. The social context is ultimatelyresponsible for the investments made and the type of system expressed. Phnom Penh’s sanitationsystem reflects a historical legacy of colonial rule, decades of war, political chaos, and an influxof international aid contributing to an inefficient system being developed. The presence ofunpredictability and inflexibility in the system can result in an inefficient system being sustained.