Complex Effects of Telecouplings on a Coupled Human and Natural Syste

Rural areas around the world are increasingly exposed to the effects of telecouplings (socioeconomic and environmental interactions over distances), often with profound implications for sustainability. To support economic growth that is ecologically sound, there is an urgent need for improved understanding of the complex effects of telecouplings on rural areas.;This dissertation presents investigations of the complex effects of telecouplings on an exemplary rural coupled human and natural system (CHANS) -- Wolong Nature Reserve (Wolong) in China. Wolong is connected to the outside world through telecouplings, such as payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs [e.g., the Grain-to-Green Program (GTGP) and the Grain-to-Bamboo Program (GTBP)], nature-based tourism, and labor migration. Specific objectives of this dissertation were to: (1) reveal the pathways through which telecouplings affect socioeconomic outcomes; (2) uncover the spillover, feedback, and interaction effects of telecouplings; and (3) assess interrelated changes in livelihoods and human well-being after the sudden changes of telecouplings caused by a natural disaster.;Using the GTGP and the GTBP implemented in Wolong as examples, we showed that telecouplings shaped interrelated livelihood activities and formed complex pathways affecting socioeconomic outcome (Chapter 2). By elucidating the underlying pathways, we identified specific reasons for the unexpected negative impacts of the GTGP and the GTBP on household income. We also found that the impacts of telecouplings spilled over to nontargeted areas and generated unintended consequences (Chapter 3). In addition to the lost revenue from cropland enrolled in the GTGP, the GTGP intensified crop damage on remaining cropland, leading to a hidden cost that is often ignored in the design of PES programs' compensation scheme. As the impacts of telecouplings on the focal CHANS accumulated, feedback occurred (Chapter 4). Our results showed that the crop damage on remaining cropland caused by the GTGP increased the willingness of local households to enroll it in future GTGP, which triggered a positive feedback that will strengthen the influences of GTGP in Wolong and beyond. Different telecouplings interacted with each other and generated unexpected impacts on environmental outcomes (Chapter 5). Our systems modeling results show that the interaction between the telecouplings of nature-based tourism and labor migration weakened their total effect on forest recovery. Evolution of telecouplings in Wolong was interrupted by a natural disaster, generating profound impacts on post-disaster recovery outcome (Chapter 6). Our analyses show that livelihoods in Wolong experienced substantial changes in response to the changes in telecouplings after the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake. However, most of these livelihood changes negatively affected, instead of facilitating, human well-being recovery.;This interdisciplinary study provided a solid example showing how the complex effects of telecouplings on a CHANS can be studied by integrating approaches from different disciplines. Findings and methods from this dissertation provide essential information and tools for understanding, predicting, and managing telecouplings to achieve Sustainable Development Goals in an increasingly telecoupled world.