Information about landscape services affects social network interactions in collaborative landscape adaptation

In bridging the gap between environmental science and practice, most attention has been given to the transmission ofinformation from science to practice, and to forms of knowledge coproduction. Much less is known about the impact thatenvironmental knowledge and tools have on social processes within groups of actors engaged in collaborative landscapeadaptation. In this essay, I select socio-ecological practice cases from my own experience to reflect on the role the conceptof landscape services may have played to influence network building, searching for collaborative solutions and makinggovernance agreements. Four types of influence are identified: (1) Applying the concept of landscape services creates a level playing field for governments, business and citizens which facilitated social network building. (2) When groups of actors were informed about multiple landscape benefits generated by green infrastructure, they recognized that if they seek to increase those benefits, they are mutually interdependent, which motivated them to cooperate. (3) Because landscape services thinking implicates demanding and supplying roles, the concept facilitated the formulation of governance agreements.(4) Collaboratively produced landscape maps indicating where the green infrastructure can best be extended fostered joint action. The essay concludes with recommendations for further research