An often cited mismatch between the spatial scale of ecological phenomena and administrative boundaries for natural resource management is an ongoing issue for the governance of social-biophysical systems. The representation of ecologists' understandings about ecosystems are published in peer-reviewed journal articles that are often not easily accessible to NRM managers, or are not readily interpreted in a regional context. This presentation describes a study examining three decades of ecological research in the Goulburn-Broken Catchment in Victoria, mapping the reported locations of research field sites in the landscape [1]. A description of the method and new developments in the field [2] will be followed by a exploration of the various human activity systems to which the method could be applied, including its use as a boundary object in linking local-scale ecological research to decision-making.