With a rising world population and pressure on ecosystems due to development, researchers need sophisticated and integrated approaches for conducting sustainability research. We outline a mixed methods practical sustainability research framework, defined as an equal-priority social–ecological methodology, whereby both community engagement and integrated biodiversity assessments are constructed to identify sustainability trade-offs. We illustrate the framework’s use for investigating the social–ecological trade-offs between preserving and removing temperate mangroves in New Zealand. We used a multistage mixed methods design with three stages to generate knowledge and identify social–ecological trade-offs. Our case study illustrates an operational approach for local mangrove management and regional coastal sustainability. Working with communities affected by ecosystem change through participatory research proved key to knowledge exchange and colearning.

随着世界人口的增长以及由于发展而给生态系统带来的压力，研究人员需要复杂而综合的方法来进行可持续性研究。我们概述了一种混合方法实用的可持续性研究框架，该框架被定义为优先考虑的社会生态学方法，借以构建社区参与度和综合性生物多样性评估来确定可持续性的权衡。我们举例说明了该框架在调查新西兰保护与迁出温带红树林之间的社会生态权衡方面的用途。我们使用具有三个阶段的多阶段混合方法设计来生成知识并确定社会生态权衡。我们的案例研究说明了一种用于当地红树林管理和区域沿海可持续性的操作方法。