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Abstract Although metacommunity theory provides many useful insights for conservation planning, the transfer of this knowledge to practice is hampered due to the difficulty of identifying metacommunities in bioregions. This study aims to identify the spatial extent of metacommunities at bioregional scales using current and historical habitat data, especially because contemporary biodiversity patterns may be a result of time‐lagged responses to historical habitat configurations. Further, this estimation of the metacommunity spatial extent is based on both the habitat structure and the dispersal ability of the species. Focusing on dragonfly and damselfly (odonate) species in the eastern Swiss Plateau, the research uses wetland habitat information spanning over 110 years to create a time series of nine habitat networks between 1899 and 2010. From these networks, we identified the spatial extents of metacommunities based on the year of habitat information as well as on watershed boundaries. To identify the best metacommunity spatial extents, the study investigates whether patch pairs within a metacommunity exhibit greater similarity in species composition (i.e. lower beta‐diversity) than patch pairs between metacommunities. For the different metacommunities, we further investigated correlations between gamma diversity and metacommunity size and compare them to theoretical expectations. In both analyses we found that augmenting spatial metacommunity identification with historical geographical proximity results in stronger associations with biodiversity patterns (beta and gamma diversity) than when using only current‐day habitat or watershed information.

Abstract Previous experiences play a multifaceted role in shaping current perspectives in integrated natural resource management. We used qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey to study the similarities and differences in terms of the links between the diverse actors' previous experiences and their current perspectives on the various issues to be resolved in a real‐world integrated watershed management project. We found that the quantity and quality of experiences in past projects including water management, participation and politics are dissimilarly linked to the information, mental models and beliefs of perspectives regarding present issues. More experienced actors generally have broader perspectives than less experienced actors. Less experienced actors are particularly curious about approaches to water management. Actors with more experience in water management are more focused on ecological issues due to positive experience. Actors with more experience in participation are more sceptical about constructive solutions due to negative experience. Actors with more experience in politics emphasise the importance of agriculture and learning processes due to positive or negative experience. Actors with more negative experience in water management, participation and politics can nevertheless be motivated for participatory processes and integrated natural resource management. We conclude that previous experiences are critical factors that should be considered when designing participatory processes in integrated natural resource management. It could be valuable to include mixed compositions of actors with different types of previous experiences and different aspects of current perspectives to benefit from their complementary strengths. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Abstract Dynamic process‐based modelling is often proposed as a powerful tool to understand complex socio‐environmental problems and to provide sustainable solutions as it allows disentangling cause and effect of human behaviour and environmental dynamics. However, the impact of such models in decision‐making and to support policy‐making has so far been very limited. In this paper, we want to take a critical look at the reasons behind this situation and propose steps that need to be taken to change it. We investigate a number of good practice examples from fields where models have influenced policy‐making and management to identify the main aspects that promote or impede the application of these models. Specifically, we compare examples that differ in their extent to how explicitly they represent human behaviour as part of the model, ranging from purely environmental systems (including models for river management, honeybee colonies and animal diseases), where modelling techniques have long been established, to coupled socio‐environmental systems (including models for land use, fishery management and sustainable water use). We use these examples to synthesise four key factors for successful modelling for policy and management support in socio‐environmental systems. They cover (a) the specific requirements caused by modelling the human dimension, (b) the importance of data availability and accessibility, (c) essential elements of the partnership between modellers and decision‐makers and (d) insights related to characteristics of the decision process. For each of these aspects, we give recommendations specifically to modellers, decision‐makers or both to make the use of models for practice more effective. We argue that if all parties involved in the modelling and decision‐making process take into account these suggestions during their collaboration, the full potential that socio‐environmental modelling bears can increasingly unfold. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.