As our understanding of the interactions present in socio-ecological systems advance, emulation modeling can help reduce the complexity and required computational resources of the models used to represent these systems. While emulation is commonly used in model meta-analyses and parameterization, it has been less explored in the context of environmental management. In this research, I analyze the reflections of a group of watershed modelers on environmental model emulation. I find that decreased simulation run-times are an important motivation because emulators enable stakeholders to interact directly with the model. However, participants also reported that criteria for an emulator in an environmental management context should also assess its capability to act as a platform for learning and to manage stakeholder perceptions of the modeling process. Further, at the science-action interface, stakeholder perceptions play a significant role in the approach to model emulation through determining acceptable levels complexity in model processes and inputs.

随着我们对社会生态系统中存在的相互作用的理解的提高，仿真建模可以帮助降低用于表示这些系统的模型的复杂性和所需的计算资源。尽管仿真通常用于模型的荟萃分析和参数化，但在环境管理的背景下却很少进行研究。在这项研究中，我分析了一组分水岭建模者对环境模型仿真的思考。我发现减少仿真运行时间是一个重要的动机，因为仿真器使涉众可以直接与模型进行交互。但是，参与者还报告说，在环境管理环境中仿真器的标准还应该评估其充当学习平台和管理利益相关者对建模过程的看法的能力。