RT Journal Article
T1 The seeds’ substrate: a concept to understand how transformations toward Good Anthropocenes can be enabled
A1 Gianelli, Ignacio
A1 Trimble, Micaela
A1 Juri, Silvana
A1 Pereira, Laura M.
A1 González Mon, Blanca
A1 Villasante Larramendi, Carlos Sebastián
K1 Coalescence
K1 Networks
K1 Seeds of Good Anthropocenes
K1 Small-scale fisheries
K1 Sustainability initiatives
K1 Transformations
AB The importance of connectedness in laying the ground for social-ecological transformations or in spreading new ideas and practices for transformation is increasingly recognized. However, the role of networks in supporting the emergence and growth of seeds (initiatives with the potential to positively shape the future) has not yet been comprehensively studied empirically. To this end, we introduce a novel concept, the seeds’ substrate, to characterize: (1) the relationships among a network of seeds, (2) the support needed for seeds to appropriately scale and coalesce, and (3) the actors that enable and provide support. The seeds’ substrate concept was theoretically informed and empirically derived by using a case study of an ongoing coalescing process. On this basis, we derived several categories and definitions for seeds interactions, types of support, and supporting actors that collectively constitute the seeds’ substrate. Specifically, we identified seven types of interactions between seeds, nine types of support, and 14 different categories of supporting actors. Furthermore, we presented a multi-level network approach to analyze the seeds’ substrate and test specific hypotheses within this modeling approach. By putting the seeds’ substrate concept into practice in an ongoing coalescence process involving 11 seeds around the small-scale fisheries food system in Uruguay, we identified the network of seeds and the constellations of actors and interactions that preceded efforts to deliberately foster a seed coalition. This allowed us to anticipate synergies and conflicts and to identify key supporting actors that structure the seed substrate. In addition, we derived a comprehensive baseline against which to quantitatively compare the unfolding of the coalescence process over time. This paper contributes to filling a gap in the Seeds of Good Anthropocenes literature and unpacks a key but largely unexplored subprocess of its theory of change: the transition from periods of experimentation to periods of coalescence. We expect the seeds’ substrate concept to be useful in a wide and diverse range of social-ecological contexts
PB Resilience Alliance
SN 1708-3087
YR 2025
FD 2025
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/44655
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/44655
LA eng
NO Gianelli, I., M. Trimble, S. Juri, L. M. Pereira, B. González-Mon, and S. Villasante. 2025. The seeds’ substrate: a concept to understand how transformations toward Good Anthropocenes can be enabled. Ecology and Society 30(1):38. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-15792-300138
NO This work formed part of IG’s Ph.D. at Campus Do Mar (Doctoral Program “Marine Science, Technology and Management”) at the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Spain. IG and SV acknowledge the support of the EQUALSEA (Transformative adaptation towards ocean equity) project, under the European Horizon 2020 Program, ERC Consolidator Grant Agreement no 101002784 funded by the European Research Council. BG received funding from the Marianne och Marcus Wallenbergs Stiftelse. LP received support from the FEFA programme at Wits University in partnership with Oppenheimer Generations Research and Conservation and from the Swedish Research Council FORMAS Project No 2020-00670.
DS Minerva
RD 20 may 2026