Fig. 1: Metacoupled human and natural systems and schematic diagram of the metacoupling framework.

The solid yellow boxes (left blue panel) represent spatially distinct coupled human and natural systems (e.g., a country, city, or protected area), ranging from the focal system to adjacent and distant systems. Each system comprises human and nature components connected by various flows and generates intra-system human-nature interactions (intracoupling). These distinct systems are also interconnected by transboundary flows (e.g., trade, tourism, and migration) and form feedbacks, creating inter-system human-nature interactions including pericoupling (human-nature interactions between focal and adjacent systems) and telecoupling (human-nature interactions between focal and distant systems). Metacoupling consists of three distinct couplings: intracoupling, pericoupling, and telecoupling. Each system also includes three interrelated components: agents (decision-making entities that facilitate the flows), causes (reasons behind the flows), and effects (consequences of the flows). All these couplings within and between systems can also generate indirect effects globally to spillover systems (dashed box within the right purple panel). Metacoupling occurs across space and evolves over time among interconnected systems (e.g., there may be multiple adjacent, distant, and spillover systems), where any system can simultaneously interact with multiple systems or be influenced by other couplings across space (this diagram represents a simplified spatiotemporal snapshot). From local to global scales, metacoupling formed by these multi-scale human-nature interactions within and between systems, along with other factors, shapes sustainability both within individual systems and globally, represented by the SDGs.