College of Agriculture & Natural Resources

• ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY -- Integration across a metacoupled world

  Published on November 26, 2017
  This paper presents an integrated framework of metacoupling: human-nature interactions within a system (intracoupling), between distant systems (telecoupling), and between adjacent systems (pericoupling).

• JOURNAL OF TRAVEL RESEARCH - International Tourism Dynamics in a Globalized World: A Social Network Analysis Approach

  Published on May 16, 2019
  Global tourism networks have become highly consolidated over time and that reduced transaction costs (e.g., language, distance, and visa policies) are more important in attracting international tourists than natural and cultural attractions.

• FRONTIERS OF ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT - Macrosystems as metacoupled human and natural systems

  Published on February 1, 2021
  In other words, all that’s local is a lot more global, and the scientists say solutions can only be found through broader views and collaborations nearby and far away.

• NATURE SUSTAINABILITY -- Impacts of International Trade on Achieving Global Sustainable Development Goals

  Published on July 13, 2020
  International trade positively affected global progress towards seven environment-related SDGs. International trade improved SDG scores of most evaluated developed countries but reduced the SDG scores of over 60% of the evaluated developing countries

• AMBIO - Coupled human and natural systems: The evolution and applications of an integrated framework

  Published on March 16, 2021
  An intived “Behind the Paper” reflection on the paper by Liu et al. 2007 Ambio, one of the “most influential papers in the past 50 years” since the first issue of Ambio, a Journal of Environment and Society, by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

• SCIENTIFIC REPORTS - The spatial and temporal dynamics of global meat trade networks

  Published on October 7, 2020
  Researchers combined network modeling and cluster analysis to simultaneously identify the structural changes in meat trade networks and the factors that influence the networks themselves

• FRONTIERS OF ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT - The evolution of macrosystems biology

  Published on February 1, 2021
  Analyses indicates that macrosystems biology emphasizes large scales, has deep roots in ecological disciplines, and may emerge as a new research frontier, but this last point has yet to be proven.

• SUSTAINABILITY - Sustainability Evaluation on the Grain to Green Program in the Hexi Corridor of China: A Metacoupled System Perspective

  Published on February 1, 2021
  Establishing a metacoupled model to quantitatively evaluate aspects of ecosystem sustainability in China, providing insight to the theory and application of sustainability science.

• NATURE COMMUNICATIONS - Impacts of irrigated agriculture on food-energy-water-CO2 nexus across 2 metacoupled systems

  Published on November 17, 2020
  Understanding irrigated agriculture's impact on the food-energy-water-CO2 nexus

• ECOLOGY, ECONOMY AND SOCIETY - An integrated framework for achieving sustainable development goals around the world

  Published on September 15, 2018
  One of the biggest global challenges is to achieve the United Nations‟ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), agreed upon by 193 countries in 2015

• SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT - Spatial variation and influencing factors of the effectiveness of afforestation in China's Loess Plateau

  Published on January 29, 2021
  Results suggest ways to improve af- forestation design and implementation.

• SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT - Synergies and tradeoffs among Sustainable Development Goals across boundaries in a metacoupled world

  Published on September 3, 2020
  Understanding SDG synergies and tradeoffs across spatial/administrative boundaries using the metacoupling framework using tourism and panda loans as an example.

• SUSTAINABILITY -- Through the Lens of Telecoupling and Metacoupling: New Perspectives for Global Sustainability

  Published on March 9, 2021
  An editorial reviewing the contributions and impacts of telecoupling and metacoupling.

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  Farms, tables and revealing vast impacts between and beyond

  Published on November 17, 2020
  A unique study in Nature Communications examines how food, energy, water and greenhouse gases create a vast front in the battle to feed the planet.

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  Diving deep into water and energy trade-offs

  Published on April 30, 2019
  Two papers by Michigan State University (MSU) scientists begin challenging a more simplistic, input/output view of natural resources in favor of a way that better reflected how the world really works.

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  Striving and stumbling towards sustainability amongst pandas and people

  Published on September 3, 2020
  Understanding how achieving one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals spins off more SDG success – or sabotages progress on another goal across spatial and administrative boundaries.

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  Scientists advocate breaking laws – of geography and ecology

  Published on February 2, 2021
  All that’s local is a lot more global, and scientists say solutions can only be found through broader views and collaborations nearby and far away.

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  Networks, clusters and how global meat markets tick

  Published on October 7, 2020
  MSU researchers in Scientific Reports combined a network model approach with cluster analysis of meat trade in 134 countries from 1995 to 2015.

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  Well-off countries need trade to cut environmental woes

  Published on July 13, 2020
  A first analysis of its kind shows a common problem between haves and have-nots. Trading internationally was generally good for developed countries but resulted in environmental losses for developing countries.

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  Liu's work contributes to MSU's SDG global rank

  Published on April 21, 2021
  MSU earns global accolades for its progress working toward the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Jack Liu's contributions helped boost "Partnerships" SDG.