Ecological Indicators 141 (2022) 109099

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Ecological Indicators
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolind

Perspective Article

Hexagonal cyclical network structure and operating mechanism of the

social-ecological system
Kaige Wang a, Zhaoyang Cai a, Yan Xu a, b, *, Fengrong Zhang a, b
a
College of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
b
Key Laboratory of Agricultural Land Quality and Monitoring of Nature Resource, Beijing 100193, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Research on the social-ecological system unifies society, the economy, resources and the environment and
Relationship between humans and nature provides an integrated and systematic research framework through which to study complex earth system
Social-ecological system problems, such as climate change, globalization, land use/cover change and population growth. This research
Element composition
aims to provide support for the excavation of the deep-seated coupling mechanism of the social-ecological system
Hexagonal cyclic network structure
by revealing the basic structure of this system to answer the following three questions. What are the elements of
Operating mechanism
the social-ecological system? What are the correlations between elements? How does the system work? The
results are as follows. (1) The social-ecological system consists of six basic elements—population, capital, facility,
management, resource, and environment—the first four of which constitute the social subsystem, and the last
two of which constitute the ecological subsystem. (2) The basic material circulation and social production chains
formed by the six basic elements through specific material and information flow are interrelated; they are fed to
each other to form a unit social-ecological system, and a hexagonal network structure is formed through the
networking of flow elements. (3) The essential feature of the operation of the hexagonal network structure is
circulation. The basic social production chain is nested in the basic material circulation chain; that is, the
ecological subsystem provides raw materials and services for social production, then starts the next cycle after
absorbing the waste generated by the social subsystem during the production and consumption process. This
research reveals that the social-ecological system structure is not only a static geometric network with stability
and elasticity formed layer by layer due to multiple factors but also a dynamic circular network based on the
circular movement of factors, which can distinguish flow and stock.

1. Introduction
The natural ecosystem and human social system are intertwined and
together form the social-ecological system (SES) (Collins et al., 2011). At
present, Earth is in the Anthropocene epoch (Lu, 2002). On the one
hand, a series of disaster events caused by global climate change marks
the rapid rise in the risk of instability and imbalance of Earth’s
ecosystem (Steffen et al., 2004; Liu et al., 2015). On the other hand,
global society is experiencing the parallel processes of globalization and
anti-globalization (Martín-López et al., 2017). Immigration, economic
supply chain pressures (Cash et al., 2006; Hummel et al., 2013) and
economic downfall pressures have all caused coronavirus disease 2019
(COVID-19) to be considered an important instability factor and
imbalanced risk source of the social system. The relationship between
nature and humans is driven by natural and social risk factors
(Andersson et al., 2021; Gibson et al., 2000). The 2030 Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) released during the 2015 United Nations
Summit on sustainable development noted the urgent need to explore
the sustainable development model and path of the SES; the goals call
for completely solving development problems in three dimen­
sions—society, the economy and the environment—in a comprehensive
way and constitute scientific challenges for future geographical research
(Reyers and Selig, 2020; Schmidt et al., 2022).
The SES is a complex dynamic system composed of social and
ecological subsystems and their interactions (Liu, 2017; Ma and Wang,
1984). Moreover, the SES has structures, functions and complex char­
acteristics that are different from those of the social and ecological
subsystems (Wang and Ouyang, 2012). At present, the social-ecological
coupling problem faced by sustainable development is so complex that it
cannot be solved by one field or one subsystem alone (Wu, 1991; Liu

* Corresponding author at: College of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
E-mail address: xyan@cau.edu.cn (Y. Xu).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.109099
Received 24 March 2022; Received in revised form 14 June 2022; Accepted 22 June 2022
Available online 27 June 2022
1470-160X/© 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-
nc-nd/4.0/).
K. Wang et al.
et al., 2007; Kilinc-Ata, 2017). For example, research on global climate
change and the ecological footprint requires a clear understanding of the
mutual feedback relationship between the ecological subsystem and the
social subsystem (Osman and Sevinc, 2019; Cetin, 2020; Cetin et al,
2021). Landscape planning, tourism planning and urban planning
require systematic decision-making based on the ecological and social
coupling framework to solve complex practical problems (Cetin, 2013;
Cetin, 2016; Kilicoglu et al, 2021). An integrated scheme and framework
must be formed to jointly solve the complex social-ecological coupling
problem (Qian et al., 1990; Bodin et al., 2019; Carlson et al., 2018). The
SES research framework provides a more integrated and systematic
approach (Cumming et al., 2006; Wang et al., 2011; Cetin, 2015) for the
study of the coupling relationship between human and natural systems
(Aminpour et al., 2020; Li et al., 2018; Kilicoglu et al, 2020).
At present, the research on the SES structure at home and abroad
presents mainly the “balanced type”, “collaborative type”, “hierarchical
type”, “open space type”, “comprehensive interactive type” and “point-
axis network type” (Table 1). These six typical structures have different
emphases. It is clear from its different entry points that the SES is a
cyclical mutual feedback structure, but there are still defects in the
analysis of the cyclical mechanism and element structure of the SES (An
et al., 2014; Barnes et al., 2019). The identification of the kind of
structural system that can combine the cyclical mutual feedback of el­
ements within and between systems to complete the cyclical action
chain is a scientific problem that must be deeply discussed (De Ara­
nzabal et al., 2008; Morzillo et al., 2014). This study focuses on the
structure and characteristics of the SES and specifically answers the
following three questions:
(1) What are the elements of the SES?
(2) What are the correlations between elements?
(3) What is the final system structure and operating principle?
We hope that this study can provide a new framework for research on
the SES structure to expand and enrich knowledge and experience in the
field of sustainable development. Accordingly, this paper proposes the
hexagonal network structure of an SES based on a six-factor division
method. Based on the clarification of six basic elements, this study de­
fines two element cycle chains, expounds the operating principle of the
network structure, and provides new ideas for clarifying the basic
structure of the SES. The six-factor division method avoids the “black
box” caused by factor division that is too coarse and the redundancy
caused by factor division that is too fine. The constructed hexagonal
network structure is of the point-axis network type, which can clarify the
basic function and flow process of the factors between systems through
flow and stock factors and delineate the mutual feed mechanism be­
tween systems with the network structure and factor flow comprising
the starting point. The uniqueness of this study is that it creatively
proposes the factor sextuple method and correspondingly suggests that
the basic structure of the social-ecological system is the hexagonal
nested cycle network; this new conceptual model can be used to study
ecological footprints, ecosystem services, landscape ecological planning,
climate defense, land use and land cover changes, rural development
and construction and can provide a new theoretical framework for the
remote coupling analysis of international food trade and systems. It can
offer more measurable and accessible evaluation indicators for the sci­
entific evaluation of ecosystem services and natural resource
management.
2. Basic composition of the hexagonal cyclical network
structure of the SES
2.1. Element composition
The SES is a dynamic complex system (Janssen et al., 2006)
composed of social and ecological subsystems and their interactions.
Based on the principle of system science, it is clear that the system is
formed by the coupling of and relationships among elements, with
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Ecological Indicators 141 (2022) 109099
elements being the basic factors constituting complex systems. There­
fore, to carry out SES research, we must analyze the composition of basic
elements and their interactions from the system perspective. The
composition of SES elements is extremely complex, but at the level of
basic elements, those of the SES can be summarized into six types:
population, capital, facilities, management, resources and the environ­
ment. The first four basic elements come from the social subsystem, and
the resource and environmental elements come from the ecological
subsystem. Considering the basic characteristics of the SES, the six basic
elements become the most superior elements because they include many
sub-elements. The connotation and characteristics of these basic ele­
ments are different.
The population element is the only active factor in the SES. The
quantity, quality and structure of population factors directly affect the
development and evolution of the SES. At the same time, the population
element has the dual attributes of production and consumption; it not
only participates in production and export products and services as a
labor force but also produces enormous consumption demand, which
greatly increases the pressure on other elements of the social subsystem
and resources and on the environmental element in the ecological
subsystem.
The capital element is not only an important currency system in the
SES but also an important value flow system; it has the strongest
liquidity and symbolic characteristics and plays an important role in
media transmission and regulation. Capital factors result from the
intervention of population factors in material value flow; simulta­
neously, capital factors promote efficiency improvements in material
value flow. The capital element is an indispensable factor system for
socialized mass production and material distribution, exchange and
consumption.
The facility element is an important part of the social subsystem, as it
includes a series of materialized or knowledgeable human labor prod­
ucts, such as technology, infrastructure and public facilities. The facility
element is the basic element formed by human intervention in some
resource elements after the population element acts on the ecological
subsystem. With distinct social characteristics, the facility element is a
material element controlled by but independent of the population
element. Moreover, the facility element plays an important supporting
role in maintaining the production, distribution, exchange and con­
sumption of the social subsystem and promoting regional
interconnection.
The management element is a governance element in the social
subsystem and includes the system, policy, law, planning, etc. As a
governance toolbox, the management element can regulate the direction
and flow of social material and value flow in the social subsystem, affect
the behavior and function of the population element, and play an
important role in governance regulation and macro guidance.
In the network structure of the SES, the resource element is defined
as the natural resources that can be directly used by human beings,
including air, water, sunshine, land, forest, grassland, biology, and
mineral resources. The resource element is the basic factor supporting
the operations of the social subsystem, playing a basic supporting role in
maintaining the reproduction of the social subsystem and meeting the
needs of the population element. The renewal of the resource element is
much slower than that of the social subsystem because the former is
affected by the geographical pattern and climate, and the change cycle is
long.
The environmental element is defined as the natural resources that
cannot be directly used by human beings and the three-dimensional
solid space where all natural resources are located. Moreover, the
environmental element carries and absorbs the waste materials and
energy of the social subsystem and is the basic space and element system
that absorbs the externality of the social subsystem. The self-purification
and self-cycle restoration functions of the environmental element based
on the large geological cycle and small biological cycle (except human)
provide a support system and specifically a spatial support for the
K. Wang et al.
Table 1
Six typical social-ecological system structures and their main characteristics.
Structure type
Balanced type (Typical research:
Reynolds et al., 2011)
Collaborative type (Typical
research: Collins et al., 2011;
Quintas-Soriano et al, 2022;
Grosinger et al, 2021)
Hierarchical type (Typical
research: Veldkamp, 2009;
Albuquerque1 et al, 2020; Dı́az
et al, 2015; Song et al, 2019)
Open space type (Typical
research: Liu et al., 2019)
Comprehensive interactive type
(Typical research:
Ostrom,2009; Westley, et al,
2013; McGinnis et al, 2014; Li
et al, 2021)
Characteristic
The basic framework and main
relationship of SES system are clearly
expressed, and the idea of resource and
environmental carrying capacity is
integrated. The internal description of the
SES is rough, and the system is not
detailed at the element level
The highlight of synergy is that it
summarizes the mutual feed between
social and biomass modules and the
intermediate process in detail. The
division of system elements is too detailed
and suitable for description, but it is
difficult to quantify and model
It realizes the layer-by-layer stripping of
the SES at the spatial level and better
shows the connectivity and scale
heterogeneity between all levels.The
description of the cross-feed process
between levels is rough, no specific
elements are defined, and the analysis
within the level is rough
The openness and scale difference of the
system are integrated, and the “magic
cube” of SES coupling is studied from the
dimensions of time, space, organization
and representation.Difficult to quantify
and model
Combined with hierarchy and synergy, it
is easy to decompose indicators and
provide a framework for the construction
of an evaluation index system.
The relationship between elements is too
Ecological Indicators 141 (2022) 109099
Typical schema Applications
Resource and Environmental
Carrying Capacity Assessment,
Supply and demand balance
analysis (Liu et al, 2007;Martín-
López et al, 2017)
Reynolds et al., 2011)
Land use/cover change, Ecological
Footprint Assessment, Climate
change (Osman and Sevinc, 2019;
Cetin, et al, 2021)
(Collins
et al., 2011)
Scale effect,Global Change,Global
change model building (Cumming
et al, 2006;Gibson et al, 2000)
(Veldkamp A., 2009)
Landscape planning, Landscape
engineering (Cetin, 2013;Cetin,
2016)
(Liu
et al., 2019)
Sustainable urban development,
System resilience(Janssen et al,
2006;Andersson, 2021)
(continued on next page)
3
K. Wang et al.
Table 1 (continued )
Structure type Characteristic
complex, not simplified, strong in
presentation and weak in reasoning
Point-axis network type (Typical It can clearly show the relationship
research: Bodin, 2017) between elements or different subjects,
and the network structure can easily
analyze the interaction between
elements, the mutual feed process and the
overall relationship structure. Attention
should be paid to introducing the scale
effect, highlighting the main correlations
and carrying out system modeling
operations of the whole SES. However, the development and evolution
cycle of this element is an extremely long process.
The above six elements—population, capital, facility, organization,
resource and environmental elements—are connected, interact with
each other and are unified in the overall network of the SES. The
development and evolution cycles of two of these elements—resource
and environmental elements—are the longest. Based on the principle of
synergetic dominance, the slow variable determines the change in the
order and order degree of the whole system as well as the final system
structure. Therefore, the resource and environmental elements are the
core variables that determine the order and final structure of the SES.
The division of labor among the six elements constitutes the basis of
the pattern Among the elements of the SES. Resource and environmental
elements are slow variables in the system and are subject to the system
evolution cycle law of large geological and small biological cycles. These
two elements are the foundation of the whole SES and constitute its
support foundation and consumption space. The facility and capital el­
ements are fast variables of the social subsystem and are important
nodes for gathering material and information flow. Society needs to
control the facility element under the action of capital flow and develop
the available resource element from the environmental element to
maintain the operations of superior elements and the stability of the
whole SES. Therefore, these two elements constitute the circulation
media and development means of the SES. The population and man­
agement element constitute the superstructure and consumption ter­
minal of the SES, have the function of commanding and coordinating the
whole SES, and can recognize the operating law of the ecological sub­
system. These two elements play the role of “brain centers” in SES.
Ecological Indicators 141 (2022) 109099
Typical schema Applications
Ostrom, 2009)
Natural resource management,
Collaborative environmental
governance (Ostrom, 2009;
Morzillo et al, 2014; Bodin, 2017)
(Bodin,
2017)
2.2. Correlations among SES elements
The above constituent elements of the SES have their own unique
functions and internal systems. The relationships and functions among
elements depend on material and information flow. As the basic con­
servative flow of the system, material flow means that the quantity of
material flowing in the system does not change throughout the whole
process. Information flow is an information channel connecting state
and rate variables, which is a nonconserved flow that is directly related
to system management and control and constitutes the basis of decision
making. The six elements are connected to each other, unified in the
overall operating process of the SES, and control the operating state and
functional characteristics of the overall system.
2.2.1. Basic material circulation chain
Based on different divisions of labor, the six elements are related and
fed to each other through specific material and information flows. The
environment element can absorb various waste material flows generated
by the SES and is also the supplier of the material flows required for the
operation of the whole SES. The population element is the consumption
terminal of the SES and plays the role of core consumers. The utilization
of the population factor for the environment element should be trans­
formed and reprocessed twice. The first link should involve the guiding
and control of the facility element through information flow, develop­
ment and transformation of the environmental element, and the
obtainment of available natural resources, that is, the resource element.
The second link should involve the facility element allocating resource
elements through information flow, carrying out corresponding
4
K. Wang et al.
production and processing, and finally transferring products and ser­
vices to population elements for consumption. The population element
returns the metabolic waste and externalities produced by consumption
to the environmental element, which are then absorbed by the envi­
ronmental element for the next cycle. Here, the one-way material flow
cycle connecting the supplier (environmental element) and consumer
(population element) is defined as the basic material cycle chain of the
SES, the starting and end points of which are the environmental element
(Fig. 1).
2.2.2. Basic social production chain
Based on the basic material circulation chain of the SES, to ensure the
stable operation and continuous development of the system, the social
subsystem has gradually evolved to produce the capital and manage­
ment elements that participate in the basic material circulation chain of
the SES and provide support and assistance to improve the circulation of
the elements in the social subsystem. Thus, the basic social production
chain of the SES is generated (Fig. 2). This chain starts and ends at the
population element, which is guided and constrained by the manage­
ment element and combines with the facility element for production.
The resulting capital flow (value) flows into the capital element, which
then distributes the capital flow under the control of the management
element. Part of the capital flow returns to the facility element for the
expansion of social reproduction, and the other part flows into the
population element for the representation and equivalent conversion of
the products and services provided by the facility element to the pop­
ulation element.
Coupling the basic material circulation chain of the SES with its basic
social production chain reveals the interaction processes among various
elements of the SES and the basic operating process of the whole system.
Therefore, the circulation chain generated by coupling is called the
comprehensive circulation chain of the SES.
3. Network structure and operating principle of the SES
3.1. SES network structure
The comprehensive cycle chain of the SES connects the six elements
in a single SES to form a unit SES (meta system) (Fig. 3). The unit SES
does not exist independently but rather in a more macro external system
environment. At the same time, the unit SES has its own internal envi­
ronment. The organizational structure of the internal environment, that
Fig. 1. Basic material circulation chain of the social-ecological system.
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Ecological Indicators 141 (2022) 109099
is, the comprehensive cyclical chain of the SES, forms a hexagonal
structure. Moreover, the material and information flows between the
internal and external environments interact. Here, the elements in the
meta system are called stock elements, and the corresponding liquidity
elements between meta systems are called flow elements. The stock el­
ements flow and circulate along the comprehensive cyclical chain of the
SES within the meta system, support the survival and development of the
meta system, and constitute its internal environment (Fig. 4). The flow
elements flow freely among meta systems, act as transmission links
connecting and communicating with each meta system, and constitute
the external environment of the meta system.
The meta system can adapt to the study of multiscale effects, as it can
be defined by different research units, administrative regions or coun­
tries at all levels or by watersheds, zones or regions. When the meta
system is defined by a region, the flow and allocation of its internal stock
elements are studied to analyze the coupling relationships among
regional resources, environmental allocation and socioeconomic devel­
opment, and the flow and allocation of flow elements among meta
systems are studied to carry out remote coupling analysis, focusing on
the analysis of interregional element correlations and synergies.
The flow and stock elements can be transformed into one another.
Flow elements of the same type correspond to stock elements one by one,
and the connection between the two is called a port (Fig. 4). Material
and information flows can traverse various subsystems through ports.
Flow elements form a hexagonal network structure based on the corre­
sponding relationship with various types of stock elements; they form a
flow element network. All types of elements complete the transmission
and flow along the network structure, and the material flow flows into
the target element system through the port of the corresponding element
guided by the specific information flow. Stock elements converge and
circulate within the meta system to form typical regional characteristics,
which also constitute the basis of cultural diversity. On the one hand, the
connection between meta systems depends on the network of traffic
elements promoting communication and development between meta
systems. China’s “One Belt, One Road” strategy aims to build a complete
flow element network among regional civilizations. Policy communi­
cation, facility interconnection, trade flow, financing and rural values
are the basic principles to consider when constructing the flow network
of the elements among the meta systems. The macro policy communi­
cation and exchange mechanism established between governments re­
alizes the exchange of the management element. The proposed
infrastructure interconnection is that of facility elements among meta
K. Wang et al.
Fig. 2. Basic social production chain of the social-ecological system.
Fig. 3. Meta system of the social-ecological system.
systems. Opening up trade channels and building an Asian infrastructure
investment bank can help lay the foundation for the interconnection of
the capital element with other elements for the common development of
various civilizations. Moreover, extensive academic exchanges of talent
and voluntary services have led to the exchange of the population
element. On the other hand, the flow element network also transfers the
risks and imbalances within a certain meta system to other meta sys­
tems, resulting in a wider range of imbalances and crises. The best real-
world evidence of this is the spread of economic crises globally.
3.2. SES double chain nested cyclical system
The elements of the SES are connected through the basic material
circulation chain and the basic social production chain; the material and
information flow through the action chain between elements to main­
tain the basic function and normal operation of the system. There is a
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Ecological Indicators 141 (2022) 109099
nested relationship between the basic material circulation chain and the
basic social production chain. That is, the basic social production chain
is nested in the basic material circulation chain, and the interface be­
tween the two chains includes the population and facility elements.
The basic material circulation chain starts and ends at the environ­
mental element, and substances show different forces in the process of
circulation and flow among elements (Fig. 5). The environmental
element shows a certain resource and environmental carrying capacity
(SE) and provides a carrying space for the resource element. Therefore,
resource and environmental element carrying capacity (SE) are divided
into resource carrying capacity (SR) and environmental carrying ca­
pacity (SEE) in the resource element. Resource carrying capacity (SR) is
reflected in the process by which various facility elements obtain re­
sources from nature for social production, while environmental carrying
capacity (SEE) is reflected in the ability of environmental elements to
absorb all wastes and environmental effects discharged by the social
K. Wang et al.
Fig. 4. Hexagonal circular network structure of the social-ecological system.
Fig. 5. Double chain nested cycle system of the social-ecological system.
subsystem. The facility element carries out the scientific and techno­
logical transformation of the resource and environmental carrying ca­
pacity provided by the ecological subsystem. When the science and
technology conversion rate (T) continues to improve, the nature of the
total resource and environment carrying capacity also improves. After
the environmental element of the ecological subsystem absorbs all the
materials and affects output by the social subsystem, the cycle of the
basic material cycle chain is ended, and preparations are made for the
next cycle.
The basic social production chain is nested in the basic material
circulation chain. On the one hand, the starting and ending points are
the population element, which creates total social demand (DP). On the
other hand, the population element also participates in social produc­
tion as the labor force; it is the original supply of the labor force (SP).
However, the social subsystem has a specific form of social organization,
which must be affected by a series of systems, policies, laws and ethics in
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Ecological Indicators 141 (2022) 109099
the management element. Therefore, the management element produces
an organizational interference coefficient (b) to reshape total social
demand and the original supply of the labor force. The reshaped labor
supply (SP*b) is combined with the resource carrying capacity (SR*t)
input into the social subsystem through the facility element to realize
social mass production. Waste (W2) is generated in the production
process. Finally, the products are distributed through the capital
element and finally consumed and transformed by the population
element (DP’), resulting in production surplus (SP’) and consumption
process waste (W1). Consumption and production process waste (W1 +
W2) flows into the ecosystem for consumption and treatment, realizing
the cyclical operation of the basic social production chain and its
connection with the basic material circulation chain.
K. Wang et al.
4. Discussion and conclusions
This study defines the element composition of the SES and creatively
proposes a six-factor division method to summarize these complex ele­
ments in the SES. Most of the existing studies use the element trisection
method or quartering method or directly study the coupling relationship
between the social and ecological subsystems, which is conducive to the
effective simplification of the system but leads to a lack of an action
point in the analysis of the coupling process; thus, it is difficult to clarify
the coupling principle. In the six-factor division method, the six ele­
ments are at the same connotation level but are relatively independent
of one another and can be further subdivided into multiple secondary
elements. This method not only fully shows the details of the coupling
effect but also avoids the poor modeling stability caused by the complex
division of elements. It must be noted that, to a certain extent, the
element sextuple method causes the expression of the system relation­
ship to be more complex. While improving the accuracy of element
relationship research, it also complicates the system network. This
problem can be solved by systematic quantification and parameteriza­
tion in the future.
This research shows that the essential feature of the basic structure of
the SES is nesting; that is, the hexagonal cyclical network structure is a
meta system formed by the nesting of the basic material cyclical chain
and basic social production chain and a nested network system formed
by the combination of the meta system flow network. This nesting has
two meanings. At the element level, the basic social production chain
connects the material and information flow channel between social
production and the material cycle of nature through the population and
facility elements to realize their systematic correlations; in other words,
the population and facility elements are the key variables related to the
balance of the whole SES. At the system level, social production is nested
in the large system of the material circulation of the whole natural
system, which means that social production is essentially the continu­
ation and expansion of ecosystem production. The development and
progress of social civilization are inseparable from the progress of social
production, which must always be based on the production capacity of
the ecological subsystem. Therefore, we should not obtain the short-
term rapid growth of the social subsystem at the expense of the pro­
duction capacity of the ecological subsystem; rather, we should use the
management wisdom and advanced experience of the social subsystem
constrained by the resource and environmental carrying capacity of the
ecological subsystem to improve the allocation efficiency of facilities
and capital, thereby maximizing comprehensive benefits, realizing
human well-being, and clarifying the essence of sustainable develop­
ment from the perspective of social ecological nesting. This model sys­
tem discusses the nested characteristics of the two basic action chains of
the social-ecological system and at the same time reveals the essence of
the sustainable development concept. On the one hand, the model can
further guide ecological planning and tourism planning to layout spatial
elements based on resource and environmental carrying capacity and
integrate the system view into the process of natural resource manage­
ment and land development and utilization. On the other hand, the
model can provide framework support and index selection for the
regional balanced development strategy and the consolidation and
improvement in the international trade system.
This research shows that the essential feature of the operating prin­
ciple of the SES is circulation. Six basic elements with different functions
form a unit system through two basic action chains, and the stock ele­
ments complete the circulation within the unit system. The meta system
forms a circular network structure through the networking of flow ele­
ments. The hexagonal circular network of the SES focuses on the orga­
nizational structure and circular operating characteristics of elements,
reveals the internal operating mechanism of the circular network unit
system and the coupling process between subsystems, and parameterizes
the circular process between elements. In the future, research on the
hexagonal cycle network of the SES should continuously promote the
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Ecological Indicators 141 (2022) 109099
quantification of the model; in particular, it is necessary to quantita­
tively characterize the relationships among the variables in the model,
gradually realize the transformation from a conceptual model to a
mathematical model and note how the model combines with the scale
effect and adapts to spatial differences. The modeling of the cycle pro­
cess of the social-ecological system can provide a life-cycle analysis
framework and indicator system for the management of ecological
footprints such as “carbon footprint” and “water footprint”.
This paper draws the following conclusions to answer the three
questions raised.
(1) What are the elements of the SES?
The basic elements of the SES can be summarized as six basic ele­
ments: population, capital, facilities, management, resources and the
environment. The population, capital, facility and management ele­
ments are coupled to form a social subsystem, and the resource and
environmental elements are coupled to form an ecological subsystem.
The six elements have different functions and are connected to each
other, constituting the circular network structure of the SES.
(2) What are the correlations between elements?
The interaction between the social and ecological subsystems is
embodied in the action chain between the six basic elements. The action
chain is realized by specific material and information flows, which are
divided into the basic material circulation chain and basic social pro­
duction chain. The former connects the social subsystem to the ecolog­
ical subsystem; connects the environmental, resource, facility and
population elements to each other; forms a circular chain; and starts and
ends at the environmental element. The latter completes the cycle
within the social subsystem; connects the population, management, fa­
cility and capital elements to each other; and starts and ends at the
population element. The two basic action chains are coupled to form a
unit SES (meta system), which constitutes the basic unit of the circular
network structure of the SES.
(3) What is the final system structure and operating principle?
Under the connection of material and information flow, the unit SES
presents a hexagonal structure. The stock elements in the meta system
circulate along the basic chain of the SES, which maintains and supports
the meta system. The flow elements between meta systems are con­
nected with the same type of stock elements through ports, providing a
path for the mutual transformation of stock and flow elements. The flow
elements flow among the meta systems, and the unit SES is embedded in
a network to form remote coupling. Finally, together with stock ele­
ments, flow elements shape the hexagonal circular network structure of
the SES. The operating principle of the hexagonal cycle network struc­
ture lies in the nested cycle of the basic material cyclical chain and basic
social production chain. The social production process inside the social
subsystem is nested in the material circulation process of the whole SES.
The natural resources and services provided by the ecological subsystem
are combined with the population and facility elements in the social
subsystem to complete the social production process and maintain
population survival and development. Finally, the ecological subsystem
absorbs and processes the waste and externalities generated in the
production and consumption processes of the social subsystem and in­
puts the transformed materials into the next cycle.
In summary, the SES is a static geometric network with stability and
elasticity formed by embedding elements layer by layer from a static
point of view. The constituent elements of the SES constitute “points”,
and the “axes” composed of two basic action chains are connected in
series. The connection between points and axes forms a hexagon, which
is then embedded into a network, finally forming a hexagonal network
structure. From a dynamic point of view, the SES is a dynamic circular
network formed based on the circular movement of factors, which can
distinguish between flow and stock elements. The hexagonal circular
network of the SES is the dialectical unity of “dynamic” and “static”. The
circular movement of elements in the hexagonal nested network
K. Wang et al.
constitutes the essential characteristics of the operating mechanism of
the SES. This study creatively proposes a new structure for the SES. The
connections from point to line and from line to network provide a new
framework system for the research of sustainable development and the
establishment of harmonious relationships between humans and nature
and guidance for extending this new methodology.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Kaige Wang: Software, Writing – original draft, Writing – review &
editing. Zhaoyang Cai: Software, Investigation, Methodology, Visuali­
zation. Yan Xu: Project administration, Funding acquisition, Writing –
original draft, Writing – review & editing. Fengrong Zhang: Concep­
tualization, Investigation.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Data availability
No data was used for the research described in the article.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foun­
dation of China [grant number 41301614] and the Special Scientific
Research of the Ministry of Land and Resources of China- Key Tech­
nology and Demonstration based on Protective Development of Sandy
Land in Inner Mongolia [grant number 201411009]. We are also
grateful for the comments and criticisms of the journal’s anonymous
reviewers and our colleagues.
Ethical approval
The authors declare that the submitted manuscript is original and
unpublished elsewhere and that this manuscript complies with the
Ethical Rules applicable for this journal.
Consent to Participate
The authors give their permission to participate.
Consent to Publish
The authors consent to publish this article in your journal and to
transfer copyright to the publisher once the paper has been accepted.
Funding
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foun­
dation of China [grant number 41301614] and the Special Scientific
Research of the Ministry of Land and Resources of China- Key Tech­
nology and Demonstration based on Protective Development of Sandy
Land in Inner Mongolia [grant number 201411009].
Availability of data and materials
The datasets generated during the current study are available from
the corresponding author on reasonable request.
9
Ecological Indicators 141 (2022) 109099
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