Hydrology and earth system sciences· 2026Q1
HESS Opinions: Operationalizing sociohydrology from systems thinking to systems doing for sustainable and resilient water management
- 1citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
A new framework operationalizes sociohydrology by linking canonical feedback structures (e.g., levee effect) to critical pathways, enabling repeatable intervention design and adaptive learning for water management.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Sociohydrology's translation into decision support is uneven; a practical bridge is needed.
- Canonical feedback structures (e.g., levee effect) make cases comparable.
- Critical pathways trace how interventions propagate through behavior, exposure, and outcomes.
- A 'systems doing loop' links feedback mapping, pathway tracing, indicator selection, and iteration.
- Equity and legitimacy are explicit constraints on knowledge and action in water management.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Abstract. Sociohydrology has advanced explanations of coupled human-water systems, but its translation into decision support remains uneven. We argue that a practical bridge from systems thinking to systems doing can be built around two complementary abstractions: (i) canonical feedback structures that make cases comparable without erasing context, and (ii) critical pathways that trace how interventions propagate through behavior, exposure, and outcomes. Canonical forms help organize recurring emergent phenomena such as the levee effect and reservoir effect, while critical pathways turn these insights into a repeatable workflow for intervention design, monitoring, and adaptive learning. We propose a minimal "systems doing loop" that links feedback mapping, pathway tracing, indicator selection, and iteration, with equity and legitimacy treated as explicit constraints on what counts as useful knowledge and acceptable action. This framing complements integrated water resources management by making unintended consequences operational and by clarifying what to monitor and revisit when system behavior changes.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Hydrology and earth system sciences, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Field: Management Science and Operations Research
Management Science and Operations ResearchDecision Sciences