Conceptualising the analysis of socio-ecological systems through ecosystem services and agent-based modeling

In this article we present a conceptual model for analysing socio-economic systems using agent-based modelling, with ecosystem services as the focus of analysis. This is designed to allow the development of integrated models of human land managers, the landscapes which they manage and certain species of interest which live in these landscapes. We argue that in order to understand the effect of humans on the landscape and ES provision, we must take into account the preferences and priorities which they have; it is necessary to firmly embed their models into a rich socio-ecological model context, while taking into account the idiosyncrasies of human decision making. This requires a rich representation of plant and animal responses to human actions, in order to provide dynamic feedback on the results of courses of action and move beyond the static indicator frameworks commonly used. After exploring possible implementations of parts of the conceptual model, we conclude that it will provide a useful tool for analysing the effects of human behaviour on ecosystem services.