User interface design principles for peer-to-peer distributed databases for ecological citizen science projects Julien Jean Malard-Adam, Wietske Medema, Nallusamy Anandaraja, Joel Harms, Johanna Dipple, et al. Web Ecology, 2025 Citizen science, where participants from outside of academia contribute to data collection or analysis, is an important approach in ecological studies that can significantly improve both modelling outcomes and community participation. However, all ecological citizen science platforms developed to date rely on centralised server architecture for data storage and communication with citizen scientists, which can lead to unsustainable server maintenance costs for project managers as well as data sovereignty issues for the concerned communities, thereby endangering project resilience and sustainability after the end of a funded project. Distributed databases, which rely on peer-to-peer technology to store and share data, can address these concerns, but they are complex and conceptually different from centralised systems. As such, their use involves a very steep learning curve that hinders their adoption by citizen science practitioners in ecology, where neither project leaders nor end users are experts in peer-to-peer technologies. In this article, the authors use formal and open-ended feedback from workshops with academics to discuss how well-planned user interface design can be used to facilitate the adoption of peer-to-peer distributed databases in citizen science and provide generalisable key recommendations for the implementation of user interfaces in citizen science applications. In particular, we discuss several key conceptual differences between centralised and distributed applications, such as key-pair authentication and eventual consistency, that must be efficiently and visually communicated to end users. While there is extremely limited literature available on user interface design for distributed systems (and none so far in the ecological field), we find that lessons learned from other fields transfer well to the field of ecological citizen science, that well-designed user interfaces are key to the adoption of new technologies, and that simplicity and efficiency in interface design are more important than showing average users the details of how the underlying technology works. We propose these recommendations as a blueprint for future research and development of citizen science applications based on peer-to-peer distributed database technologies.
Assessment of permaculture integration into gray and mainstream scientific literature in four languages. A review Roberto Carlos Forte Taylor, Osborne Grant Clark, Julien Jean Malard-Adam Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 2025 Permaculture, often described as a grassroots movement, philosophy, or set of progressive agricultural practices, is considered to have significant potential to revitalize degraded land, improve the robustness of ecosystems, reduce energy consumption, and lower operating costs while effectively sequestering carbon. Despite its growing international popularity and practical benefits, the term permaculture remains notably isolated from mainstream scientific discourse, limiting its broader integration and impact. Literature reviews on this versatile set of agricultural practices are uncommon, and this isolation from established scientific literature significantly hampers the potential of permaculture to influence and transform contemporary agricultural systems toward enhanced sustainability. Addressing this gap, this study compiles the most comprehensive collection of white and gray literature related to permaculture to date, analyzing 975 publications across four languages—English, Portuguese, Spanish, and French—through bibliometric analysis, qualitative content analysis, H-index, and citation counts. The findings reveal that permaculture retains a dynamic presence within academic discussions, being increasingly associated with critical concepts such as design, agriculture, and ecology. Notably, the use of permaculture in peer-reviewed technical publications has surged, particularly in recent study periods, marking a significant shift towards recognizing its value in mainstream scientific literature. This review aims to: Gather white and gray literature related to the term permaculture across four languages. Identify terms most commonly associated with permaculture using computational tools. Describe the evolution of the term permaculture over time. Examine whether the term permaculture is predominantly associated with philosophical or scientific perspectives in peer-reviewed literature. Assess the increasing recognition of permaculture as a topic of interest in English peer-reviewed literature.
Dynamically coupling system dynamics and SWAT+ models using Tinamït: Application of modular tools for coupled human-water system models Joel Z. Harms, Julien J. Malard-Adam, Jan F. Adamowski, Ashutosh Sharma, Albert Nkwasa Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 2023 Participatory water resource management requires modeling techniques that are accurate and flexible yet stakeholder-friendly. While different modeling frameworks offer advantages and disadvantages, system dynamics (SDs) models have seen sustained use as a stakeholder-friendly approach for participatory water resource modeling. Physically based models (e.g., SWAT+) have seen sustained use to model the hydrological components of water systems. Proposed as a way to combine the relative strengths of both modeling paradigms, model coupling allows researchers to, for example, build participatory SD models with stakeholders, while delegating the hydrological components of the overall model to an external hydrological model. Recently developed to facilitate model coupling, the Tinamït Python package presents an extensible, outward-facing application programming interface (API). It allows for the development of extensions (wrappers) that expand compatibility with different physically based models. However, no watershed hydrological model has yet been connected to this API. In the present study, a socket and JavaScript Object Notation (JSON)-based communication protocol was developed with the goal of facilitating the coupling of models written in languages such as Fortran. This novel protocol served to develop a Tinamït-compatible wrapper for the hydrological model SWAT+, allowing it to be coupled to human–water SD models. The novel coupling protocol was then applied to a case study of Tanzania's Usa river catchment. This approach provides the modeler with the benefits of both physically based and SD models, thereby allowing the detection of potentially far-reaching effects of policy-makers' decisions.
Multi-level storylines for participatory modeling - Involving marginalized communities in Tz'olöj Ya', Mayan Guatemala Jessica A. Bou Nassar, Julien J. Malard, Jan F. Adamowski, Marco Ramírez Ramírez, Wietske Medema, et al. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 2021 Unconventional sources of data that enhance our understanding of internal interactions between socio-economic and hydrological processes are central to modeling human–water systems. Participatory modeling (PM) departs from conventional modeling tools by informing and conceptualizing human–water systems through stakeholder engagement. However, the implementation of many PM processes remains biased, particularly in regions where marginalized communities are present. Many PM processes are not cognizant of differentiation and diversity within a society and tend to treat communities as homogeneous units with similar capabilities, needs, and interests. This undifferentiation leads to the exclusion of key actors, many of whom are associated with marginalized communities. In this study, a participatory model-building framework (PMBF), aiming to ensure the inclusiveness of marginalized stakeholders – who (1) have low literacy, (2) are comparatively powerless, and/or (3) are associated with a marginalized language – in participatory modeling, is proposed. The adopted approach employs interdisciplinary storylines to inform and conceptualize human–water systems. The suggested method is underpinned by the multi-level perspective (MLP) framework, which was developed by Geels et al. (2002) to conceptualize socio-technical transitions and modified in this study to accommodate the development of interdisciplinary storylines. A case study was conducted in Atitlán Basin, Guatemala, to understand the relationships that govern the lake's cultural eutrophication problem. This research integrated key stakeholders from the Indigenous Mayan community, associated with diverse literacy ranges, and emerging from three different marginalized linguistic backgrounds (Kaqchikel, Tz'utujil, and K'iche'), in the PM activity. The proposed approach facilitated the participation of marginalized stakeholders. Moreover, it (1) helped develop an understanding of mechanisms governing the eutrophication of the lake, (2) initiated a dialogue between Indigenous Peoples and non-Indigenous stakeholders, and (3) extracted potential solutions targeting the system's leverage points. The participatory model-building activity generated three submodules: (1) agriculture, (2) tourism, and (3) environmental awareness. Each submodule contained socioculturally specific mechanisms associated with nutrient discharge to Lake Atitlán. The delineation of such nuanced relationships helps develop well-targeted policies and best management practices (BMPs). Additionally, the suggested process helped decrease the impact of power imbalances in water resources management and empowered community-based decision-making.
Quantifying the transient shock response of dynamic agroecosystem variables for improved socio-environmental resilience Jordan M. Carper, Mohammad Reza Alizadeh, Jan F. Adamowski, Azhar Inam, Julien J. Malard Ecology and Society, 2021 In classic resilience thinking, there is an implicit focus on controlling functional variation to maintain system stability. Modern approaches to resilience thinking deal with complex, adaptive system dynamics and true uncertainty; these contemporary frameworks involve the process of learning to live with change and make use of the consequences of transformation and development. In a socio-environmental context, the identification of metrics by which resilience can be effectively and reliably measured is fundamental to understanding the unique vulnerabilities that characterize coupled human and natural systems. We developed an innovative procedure for stakeholder-friendly quantification of socio-environmental resilience metrics. These metrics were calculated and analyzed through the application of discrete disturbance simulations, which were produced using a dynamically coupled, biophysical-socioeconomic modeling framework. Following the development of a unique shock-response assessment regime, five metrics (time to baseline-level recovery, rate of return to baseline, degree of return to baseline, overall post-disturbance perturbation, and corrective impact of disturbance) describing distinct aspects of systemic resilience were quantified for three agroecosystem variables (farm income, watertable depth, and crop revenue) over a period of 30 years (1989–2019) in the Rechna Doab basin of northeastern Pakistan. Using this procedure, we determined that farm income is the least resilient variable of the three tested. Farm income was easily diverted from the “normal” functional paradigm for the Rechna Doab socio-environmental system, regardless of shock type, intensity, or duration combination. Crop revenue was the least stable variable (i.e., outputs fluctuated significantly between very high and very low values). Water-table depth was consistently the most robust and resistant to change, even under physical shock conditions. The procedure developed here should improve the ease with which stakeholders are able to conduct quantitative resilience analyses.
Soil fragmentation produced by soil cutting as influenced by various moisture contents near the soil’s sticky limit Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science, 2016
Participatory agroecological network modeling I: Qualitatively combining community and research knowledge American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Annual International Meeting 2015, 2015
Use of participatory system dynamics modelling to assess the sustainability of smallholder agriculture American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Annual International Meeting 2015, 2015
