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Social preferences for ecosystem services in a biodiversity hotspot in South America.

ABSTRACT: Identifying which ecosystem services are relevant to different stakeholders and understanding stakeholders' perceptions of such services is useful for making informed decisions, especially in regions of the world where the achievement of biodiversity conservation goals is threatened by economically productive activities. In this article, we assess social preferences for ecosystem services in a biodiversity hotspot in central Chile. We use a consultative case study to ask local stakeholders (n = 70) from the Campana Peñuelas Biosphere Reserve to identify the most important ecosystem services the area provides for them and inquire about the perceived vulnerability of the services to changes in the future. We also explore the association between the perceived importance of ecosystem services and the sociodemographic and cultural characteristics of the respondents, which allows us to identify contrasting stakeholder perceptions of different ecosystem services. The most important services for local actors were the drinking water, fresh air and climate change control, genetic pool of plant communities in central Chile, and educational value. From the perspective of local actors, the services that could be threatened by negative changes in the future in terms of their provision included the possibilities of developing conservation activities focused on iconic threatened animal and plant species, water regulation, food from agriculture, and drinking water. Contrasting perceptions about the importance of ecosystem services emerged among stakeholders. While small farmers and members of local organizations attributed higher importance values to provisioning services, scientists and rangers and administrators of protected areas as well as teachers, NGO members and local government employees attributed more importance to the regulating and cultural services associated with threatened species. Our results can serve as a source of information for the planning and decision-making processes related to the search for socially and ecologically sustainable solutions for land use management.

SUBMITTER: Bidegain I

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6476511 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Social preferences for ecosystem services in a biodiversity hotspot in South America.

Bidegain Iñigo I Cerda Claudia C Catalán Emilia E Tironi Antonio A López-Santiago César C

PloS one 20190422 4

Identifying which ecosystem services are relevant to different stakeholders and understanding stakeholders' perceptions of such services is useful for making informed decisions, especially in regions of the world where the achievement of biodiversity conservation goals is threatened by economically productive activities. In this article, we assess social preferences for ecosystem services in a biodiversity hotspot in central Chile. We use a consultative case study to ask local stakeholders (n = ...[more]

PMID: 31009505

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Project description:The investigation of soil and water-related ecosystem services (ES) and recognizing the spatiotemporal effects of land-use and land cover changes (LULC) are essential for the formulation of conservation strategies. The research employed the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) and the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) models for the assessment of ES. The study was carried out in the Kaffa Forest Biosphere Reserve in Ethiopia, which is part of the eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspots. The aim of this investigation was to examine and map the temporal and spatial fluctuations in sediment retention, soil erosion, and water yield resulting from LULC modifications between 1986 and 2019, and to provide forecasts for the next three decades. According to the RUSLE analysis, the landscapes exhibited estimated soil losses ranging from zero to 1.5 tons ha-1 yr-1 in 1986, 2009, and 2019, respectively. The mean annual sediment exports for the years 1986, 1999, and 2019 were estimated to be 12.6, 9.9-, and 28.7-tons ha-1, respectively. The water yield of the site experienced a notable increase from 9.8 × 109 m3 in 1986 to 19.6 × 10 9 m3 in 1999, and subsequently rose to 39.3 × 109 m3 in 2019, which is considered to be a disadvantageous to the site. The study found a significant positive correlation between water yield and the expansion of settlement area (r = 0.99, P = 0.015) as well as agricultural land (r = 0.99, P = 0.05). It was also found that significant positive correlation found between vegetation dense area such as forest (r < 0.999, P < 0.001) and shrub & bamboo (r = 0.998, P = 0.036) with sediment retention service. The investigation discovered that there existed tradeoffs between the ES of sediment retention and water yield as the slope increased. The results may be attributed to the presence of dense vegetation cover on the elevated slope regions, rendering them unsuitable for agricultural activities, and the concurrent expansion of arable lands in the lower slope areas, which are flat terrains more conducive to cultivation. The transition from land with more vegetation density to land with lower or no vegetation coverage resulted in an increase in soil loss and water yield, while simultaneously decreasing the sediment retention service. Therefore, the findings can be used as a document to guide decision-makers to design soil-water conservation technologies to enhance the ecological integrity of the biosphere reserve.

Dataset Information

Social preferences for ecosystem services in a biodiversity hotspot in South America.

Publications

Social preferences for ecosystem services in a biodiversity hotspot in South America.

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