Complex Creative Systems

Abstract

Organisms and landscapes are ever in the process of creating relationships in which all things incessantly arise, transform, and vanish. In such environments, organisms don’t survive by merely adapting to where they live. Instead, they actively participate in creating conditions to thrive. Creative engagement means nurturing ever-changing relationships as landscapes transform. By engaging in ways that cultivate and af rm creativity, we can in uence change, though our actions inevitably cause some outcomes no one anticipates. Our ability to create as systems ever transform is enhanced when scientists and managers rekindle our relationships with one another and with the landscapes we inhabit.

DOI: 10.2458/azu_rangelands_v35i5_provenza