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What is an Agent-based Model (ABM)

Definition

An agent-based model (often called ABM) comprises diverse autonomous agents interacting with one another and their environment**.

ABM is simulated over time: agents make decisions and act based on their attributes and/or in response or anticipation of other agents’ behaviors or changes in the environment at each time step or event. Many agents' micro-level actions and interactions give rise to macro-level patterns and dynamics, typically the focus of analysis. The agents thus respond diversely to the contexts (usually depicted by the model's parameters and variables) they jointly created, and their actions' outcomes then lead to an emergence of the macro pattern.

What are Social-ecological Systems (SESs)

Definition

‘Social-ecological systems’ (SES) is a concept for understanding the intertwined nature of human and natural systems in an interconnected and interdependent way ^1.

SESs are not merely social plus ecological systems, but cohesive, integrated systems characterised by strong connections and feedbacks within and between social and ecological components that determine their overall dynamics ^2. As such, SES are a type of complex adaptive system, and studying SESs often requires the methods or the applications to cover the social domains, ecological domains, and the emergence from their dynamic interdependence ^3.

ABM is an essential method in studying SES

Several characteristics of ABM make it an essential method for SES research:

  1. It focuses on the change of an SES over time from mutual adaptations of agents and their environments.
  2. It can lead to emergence, -system-level outcomes from micro-level interactions and macro-level feedback.
  3. its ability to represent the diversity and heterogeneity of human and non-human actors and the spatial characteristics of an SES.
  4. its capacity serves as a virtual laboratory in which researchers and stakeholders can experiment with an SES to explore possible consequences of interventions.

When and How ABM to Study SES

Agent-based models of SES are often developed for one of the following purposes ^1:

  • Exploring or explaining the emergence of social-ecological outcomes and understanding the SES's evolution over time.
  • Assessing the impact of a new policy or disturbance on an SES that is understood as a complex adaptive system, including potential unintended consequences.
  • Supporting a participatory process that aims to enhance problem understanding.

References

  1. Reinette Biggs, Rika Preiser, Alta de Vos, Maja Schlüter, Kristine Maciejewski, and Hayley Clements. The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods for Social-Ecological Systems. Routledge, London, 1 edition, July 2021. ISBN 978-1-00-302133-9. doi:10.4324/9781003021339. ↩↩

  2. Carl Folke, Stephen R. Carpenter, Brian Walker, Marten Scheffer, Terry Chapin, and Johan Rockstrom. Resilience thinking: integrating resilience, adaptability and transformability. Ecology and Society, 15(4):20, 2010. doi:10.5751/es-03610-150420. ↩

  3. Carl Folke, Reinette Biggs, Albert V. Norström, Belinda Reyers, and Johan Rockström. Social-ecological resilience and biosphere-based sustainability science. Ecology and Society, 21(3):art41, 2016. doi:10.5751/ES-08748-210341. ↩