Pub Date : 2025-06-17DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101747
E. Tasser , K. Kuhlmann , M.W. Mwanza , M. Schermer , U. Tappeiner , G. Tembo , B.M. Zoderer , U. Schirpke
Ecosystem services (ES) are crucial for livelihoods, the economy and good quality of life, making them essential for sustaining human well-being. However, perceptions of ES can vary according to economic and social factors. In this study, we compare people’s perceptions of ES across developing and developed countries by exploring local communities and visitors’ socio-cultural values attached to ES in the Eastern Province of Zambia (Eastern Africa) and Tyrol (Central Europe) using questionnaire surveys (N = 243). The results indicate that the respondents’ region of origin, education level, gender, age, and socio-economic status play a significant role in the perception of ES. Provisioning, regulation & maintenance ES are perceived as generally more important in Eastern Africa than in Central Europe, whereas respondents in Central Europe attribute higher importance to cultural ES. For some ES, gender type, age group, living place, and educational level also influence perception. These socio- economic differences are underlined by the ranking of ES in terms of personal importance. In Eastern Africa, the ES ‘food from agriculture’, ‘natural hazard protection’, ‘prevention of water scarcity’ and ‘climate regulation’ are particularly important. In Europe, the most frequently chosen ES are ‘opportunity for leisure activities’ and ‘peaceful places and tranquillity’. Our findings provide insights into the socio-cultural importance of benefits provided by nature across two socio-economic different contexts, suggesting that decision-making processes will need be responsive to context differences and different needs depending on economic and social background.
{"title":"A comparative analysis of ecosystem services perceptions across two regions in Eastern Africa and Central Europe","authors":"E. Tasser , K. Kuhlmann , M.W. Mwanza , M. Schermer , U. Tappeiner , G. Tembo , B.M. Zoderer , U. Schirpke","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101747","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101747","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ecosystem services (ES) are crucial for livelihoods, the economy and good quality of life, making them essential for sustaining human well-being. However, perceptions of ES can vary according to economic and social factors. In this study, we compare people’s perceptions of ES across developing and developed countries by exploring local communities and visitors’ socio-cultural values attached to ES in the Eastern Province of Zambia (Eastern Africa) and Tyrol (Central Europe) using questionnaire surveys (N = 243). The results indicate that the respondents’ region of origin, education level, gender, age, and socio-economic status play a significant role in the perception of ES. Provisioning, regulation & maintenance ES are perceived as generally more important in Eastern Africa than in Central Europe, whereas respondents in Central Europe attribute higher importance to cultural ES. For some ES, gender type, age group, living place, and educational level also influence perception. These socio- economic differences are underlined by the ranking of ES in terms of personal importance. In Eastern Africa, the ES ‘food from agriculture’, ‘natural hazard protection’, ‘prevention of water scarcity’ and ‘climate regulation’ are particularly important. In Europe, the most frequently chosen ES are ‘opportunity for leisure activities’ and ‘peaceful places and tranquillity’. Our findings provide insights into the socio-cultural importance of benefits provided by nature across two socio-economic different contexts, suggesting that decision-making processes will need be responsive to context differences and different needs depending on economic and social background.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51312,"journal":{"name":"Ecosystem Services","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101747"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144299001","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-09DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101745
Gabriela Scheufele , Michael Burton , Ram Pandit
Developing monetary ecosystem accounts requires the estimation of exchange values. While flows of non-use services (e.g., the value derived from the mere existence of a species) are currently not considered as ecosystem services by the United Nations System of Environmental Economic Accounting – Ecosystem Accounts (SEEA – EA) framework, they may be recorded as Ecosystem and Species Appreciation (ESA) services. Estimating exchange values for these services relies on non-market valuation methods. Arguably the most suitable method for this purpose is a Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE). Transforming marginal values obtained from a DCE into exchange values can be complex and presents a range of potential pitfalls. In this paper, we present an approach that allows translating marginal Willingness-To-Pay (WTP) estimates into exchange values for ESA services for representative sets of framings of the DCE valuation question. We show the applicability of this approach using case studies of Australian species and ecosystems, representing both constant and non-constant WTP estimates for choice attributes. It is a relatively flexible approach for estimating exchange values for ESA services.
{"title":"On the importance of discrete choice experiment framings to derive accounting values for ecosystem and species appreciation services","authors":"Gabriela Scheufele , Michael Burton , Ram Pandit","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101745","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101745","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Developing monetary ecosystem accounts requires the estimation of exchange values. While flows of non-use services (e.g., the value derived from the mere existence of a species) are currently not considered as ecosystem services by the United Nations System of Environmental Economic Accounting – Ecosystem Accounts (SEEA – EA) framework, they may be recorded as Ecosystem and Species Appreciation (ESA) services. Estimating exchange values for these services relies on non-market valuation methods. Arguably the most suitable method for this purpose is a Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE). Transforming marginal values obtained from a DCE into exchange values can be complex and presents a range of potential pitfalls. In this paper, we present an approach that allows translating marginal Willingness-To-Pay (WTP) estimates into exchange values for ESA services for representative sets of framings of the DCE valuation question. We show the applicability of this approach using case studies of Australian species and ecosystems, representing both constant and non-constant WTP estimates for choice attributes. It is a relatively flexible approach for estimating exchange values for ESA services.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51312,"journal":{"name":"Ecosystem Services","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101745"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144243139","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-06DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101741
Greg S. Smith , Stephen B. Stewart , Gabriela Scheufele , David Evans , Ning Liu , Sean Pascoe , Stephen H. Roxburgh , Rebecca K. Schmidt , Michael Vardon
We implement natural capital accounts for ecosystem services (ES) using the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting – Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA) framework and a case study from the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia. Extended ES supply-use tables are presented that allow for the simultaneous reporting on multiple intermediate and final ES alongside data already available in traditional national economic accounts. We cover the ES of crop provisioning, grazed biomass provisioning, water supply, soil erosion control, recreational fishing, and carbon sequestration and storage. This study shows that extended ES supply-use tables using physical and monetary measures can provide feasible, although not necessarily complete, links between information recorded in the SEEA EA and traditional national economic accounts. It provides an integration of intermediate ES, final ES and produced goods and services in a single table and helps to distinguish benefits from the inputs that create these benefits. Going forward, more integrated recording of the economy and ecosystems’ contributions to wellbeing is needed to better understand the benefits derived from nature.
{"title":"Accounting for ecosystem services using extended supply and use tables: A case study of the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia","authors":"Greg S. Smith , Stephen B. Stewart , Gabriela Scheufele , David Evans , Ning Liu , Sean Pascoe , Stephen H. Roxburgh , Rebecca K. Schmidt , Michael Vardon","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101741","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101741","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We implement natural capital accounts for ecosystem services (ES) using the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting – Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA) framework and a case study from the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia. Extended ES supply-use tables are presented that allow for the simultaneous reporting on multiple intermediate and final ES alongside data already available in traditional national economic accounts. We cover the ES of crop provisioning, grazed biomass provisioning, water supply, soil erosion control, recreational fishing, and carbon sequestration and storage. This study shows that extended ES supply-use tables using physical and monetary measures can provide feasible, although not necessarily complete, links between information recorded in the SEEA EA and traditional national economic accounts. It provides an integration of intermediate ES, final ES and produced goods and services in a single table and helps to distinguish benefits from the inputs that create these benefits. Going forward, more integrated recording of the economy and ecosystems’ contributions to wellbeing is needed to better understand the benefits derived from nature.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51312,"journal":{"name":"Ecosystem Services","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101741"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144221531","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-05-30DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101734
Tereza Cristina Giannini , Caroline Oliveira Andrino , Rafael Gomes Barbosa-Silva , José A. Bitencourt , Rafael C. Borges , Renata R. Brito , Rosane Cavalcante , Claudia P.W. Costa , Sidnei Dantas , Markus Gastauer , Vitor F. Gomes , Ulysses M. Maia , Felipe Martello , Leonardo Miranda , Sâmia Nunes , Guilherme Oliveira , Amanda Paracampo , Paulo R. Pontes , Silvio Ramos , José E. Santos Jr , Jacobus Biesmeijer
We propose an innovative approach that links nature and people to assess the natural capital of tropical forests in the Amazon. Our study location is a protected area inside Eastern Amazon forest, where we defined 14 sampling points and analyzed ten components, which encompass the maintenance of standing forests (nature to itself) and the provision of ecosystem services (nature to people). Five components were used to assess ecosystem functions and five components were used to assess ecosystem services. As for ecosystem functions, we registered 467 species of animals (122 bees, 53 butterflies, 292 birds) and 418 plant species, and a mean interaction diversity of 2.8 (from 480 bee-plant interactions). Based on functional traits, we found that at least 83 % of species must be preserved to guarantee resilience, and that functional diversity relies on 60 % of non-replaceable species. Eleven per cent of birds and 9 % of plants are endangered. As for ecosystem services, carbon storage in soil and vegetation is 41.6 and 173 MgC/ha (on average), respectively. One to four uses by Amazonian traditional communities were reported on 42 % of plants. In the vicinities of the protected area, we found that 66 % of crops (13 from 20 crop species) depend on pollinating bees, and the value of annual crop pollination service is US$4.5Mi. Regarding water protection and local climate regulation, data modelling has shown that the presence of protected forests leads to a 21 % increase in evapotranspiration and a decrease in temperature of 0.4 °C. Our framework showed a clear link between the megadiversity found in Amazonian tropical forest and the robust benefits provided to human welfare, highlighting forest conservation as a key element for sustainable development. Advances in understanding the value of forests stimulate significant new opportunities to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of forest conservation and management policies and decision-making.
{"title":"Measuring the natural capital of Amazonian forests: A case study of the National Forest of Carajás, Brazil","authors":"Tereza Cristina Giannini , Caroline Oliveira Andrino , Rafael Gomes Barbosa-Silva , José A. Bitencourt , Rafael C. Borges , Renata R. Brito , Rosane Cavalcante , Claudia P.W. Costa , Sidnei Dantas , Markus Gastauer , Vitor F. Gomes , Ulysses M. Maia , Felipe Martello , Leonardo Miranda , Sâmia Nunes , Guilherme Oliveira , Amanda Paracampo , Paulo R. Pontes , Silvio Ramos , José E. Santos Jr , Jacobus Biesmeijer","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101734","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101734","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We propose an innovative approach that links nature and people to assess the natural capital of tropical forests in the Amazon. Our study location is a protected area inside Eastern Amazon forest, where we defined 14 sampling points and analyzed ten components, which encompass the maintenance of standing forests (nature to itself) and the provision of ecosystem services (nature to people). Five components were used to assess ecosystem functions and five components were used to assess ecosystem services. As for ecosystem functions, we registered 467 species of animals (122 bees, 53 butterflies, 292 birds) and 418 plant species, and a mean interaction diversity of 2.8 (from 480 bee-plant interactions). Based on functional traits, we found that at least 83 % of species must be preserved to guarantee resilience, and that functional diversity relies on 60 % of non-replaceable species. Eleven per cent of birds and 9 % of plants are endangered. As for ecosystem services, carbon storage in soil and vegetation is 41.6 and 173 MgC/ha (on average), respectively. One to four uses by Amazonian traditional communities were reported on 42 % of plants. In the vicinities of the protected area, we found that 66 % of crops (13 from 20 crop species) depend on pollinating bees, and the value of annual crop pollination service is US$4.5Mi. Regarding water protection and local climate regulation, data modelling has shown that the presence of protected forests leads to a 21 % increase in evapotranspiration and a decrease in temperature of 0.4 °C. Our framework showed a clear link between the megadiversity found in Amazonian tropical forest and the robust benefits provided to human welfare, highlighting forest conservation as a key element for sustainable development. Advances in understanding the value of forests stimulate significant new opportunities to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of forest conservation and management policies and decision-making.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51312,"journal":{"name":"Ecosystem Services","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101734"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144687396","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-05-30DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101739
Paul E. Carnell , Kym Whiteoak , Mary Young , Kay Critchell , Steve Swearer , Peter I. Macreadie , Josh McIntyre , Eric A Treml
Kelp forests are globally significant ecosystems providing critical ecosystem services, including fish production, nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, and recreational uses. However, widespread degradation caused by anthropogenic pressures has led to significant declines in kelp forests, necessitating cost-effective restoration strategies. This study performs a spatially explicit benefit-cost analysis of kelp forest restoration in southern Australia to explore how variations in costs and benefits can inform prioritisation of restoration strategies. Costs of ecosystem restoration were calculated based on the time to cull overabundant sea urchins from each location and for active kelp restoration costs. We found that investing in kelp forest restoration at the broad-scale (3,291 ha) returns a positive benefit-cost ratio of 1.10 (where 1.0 is break-even). There was substantial site-specific variation in the benefit-cost ratio (0.33 to 3.4), driven by variation in predicted kelp biomass and thus nitrogen storage benefits ($0 − $105,000 /ha). For culling costs, this varied based on urchin density, the depth (dive time) and travel time to the site. Given this variation, we considered another scenario where only the reefs that returned a positive benefit-cost ration were restored (1,221 ha), which would deliver $92.1 million in benefits, from an investment of $43.9 million and would result in a benefit-cost ratio of 2.10. This research demonstrates how spatial prioritisation can guide investments in marine ecosystem restoration to maximise return on investment. However, while kelp restoration proves beneficial, realising its potential will require robust funding mechanisms (perhaps via market-based incentives), which are currently lacking.
{"title":"Prioritising investment in kelp forest restoration: A spatially explicit benefit-cost analysis in southern Australia","authors":"Paul E. Carnell , Kym Whiteoak , Mary Young , Kay Critchell , Steve Swearer , Peter I. Macreadie , Josh McIntyre , Eric A Treml","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101739","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101739","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Kelp forests are globally significant ecosystems providing critical ecosystem services, including fish production, nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, and recreational uses. However, widespread degradation caused by anthropogenic pressures has led to significant declines in kelp forests, necessitating cost-effective restoration strategies. This study performs a spatially explicit benefit-cost analysis of kelp forest restoration in southern Australia to explore how variations in costs and benefits can inform prioritisation of restoration strategies. Costs of ecosystem restoration were calculated based on the time to cull overabundant sea urchins from each location and for active kelp restoration costs. We found that investing in kelp forest restoration at the broad-scale (3,291 ha) returns a positive benefit-cost ratio of 1.10 (where 1.0 is break-even). There was substantial site-specific variation in the benefit-cost ratio (0.33 to 3.4), driven by variation in predicted kelp biomass and thus nitrogen storage benefits ($0 − $105,000 /ha). For culling costs, this varied based on urchin density, the depth (dive time) and travel time to the site. Given this variation, we considered another scenario where only the reefs that returned a positive benefit-cost ration were restored (1,221 ha), which would deliver $92.1 million in benefits, from an investment of $43.9 million and would result in a benefit-cost ratio of 2.10. This research demonstrates how spatial prioritisation can guide investments in marine ecosystem restoration to maximise return on investment. However, while kelp restoration proves beneficial, realising its potential will require robust funding mechanisms (perhaps via market-based incentives), which are currently lacking.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51312,"journal":{"name":"Ecosystem Services","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101739"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144177593","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-05-28DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101738
Sam Gaylard , Rachel Colella , Matt Nelson , Paul Lavery , Michelle Waycott
Major infrastructure development is required for economic development and to improve human well-being, however conflict exists between developers and the community. Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is used in over 100 countries to evaluate potential impacts of major developments across environment, economy, and social benchmarks. However, EIA has been criticized for a lack of transparency and accountability, lack of consultation or participation and inadequate science. An ecosystem service assessment (ESA) recognizes the links between the environment and the socio-economic environment, resulting in a more holistic evaluation of potential impacts and effective community consultation. Despite this, its inclusion within EIA’s is rare.
An ESA was trialled within the evaluation stage of an EIA for a large capital dredging project in Adelaide, South Australia, an area dominated by long-lived seagrass. The process highlighted significant value to society from seagrass meadows, delivering provisioning, regulating and cultural services and many of these were at risk from the dredging proposal causing conflict with the community. The ESA provided clarity in links between ecological and social economic systems, assisting genuine and transparent engagement with the stakeholders and community. Monetary valuation of services provided context to decision makers arguing for changes to proposed methodology to protect seagrass and ecosystem services. Changes to the proposal resulted in substantially less seagrass loss than originally proposed, helping protect ecosystem services. This case study demonstrated the benefit of including an ESA into major development planning, increasing transparency, reducing conflict with the community, and assisting in providing a social licence to operate.
{"title":"Incorporating ecosystem service assessments into development planning − impact from a dredging project in South Australia on seagrass","authors":"Sam Gaylard , Rachel Colella , Matt Nelson , Paul Lavery , Michelle Waycott","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101738","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101738","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Major infrastructure development is required for economic development and to improve human well-being, however conflict exists between developers and the community. Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is used in over 100 countries to evaluate potential impacts of major developments across environment, economy, and social benchmarks. However, EIA has been criticized for a lack of transparency and accountability, lack of consultation or participation and inadequate science. An ecosystem service assessment (ESA) recognizes the links between the environment and the socio-economic environment, resulting in a more holistic evaluation of potential impacts and effective community consultation. Despite this, its inclusion within EIA’s is rare.</div><div>An ESA was trialled within the evaluation stage of an EIA for a large capital dredging project in Adelaide, South Australia, an area dominated by long-lived seagrass. The process highlighted significant value to society from seagrass meadows, delivering provisioning, regulating and cultural services and many of these were at risk from the dredging proposal causing conflict with the community. The ESA provided clarity in links between ecological and social economic systems, assisting genuine and transparent engagement with the stakeholders and community. Monetary valuation of services provided context to decision makers arguing for changes to proposed methodology to protect seagrass and ecosystem services. Changes to the proposal resulted in substantially less seagrass loss than originally proposed, helping protect ecosystem services. This case study demonstrated the benefit of including an ESA into major development planning, increasing transparency, reducing conflict with the community, and assisting in providing a social licence to operate.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51312,"journal":{"name":"Ecosystem Services","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101738"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144146957","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-05-23DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101735
Viola Di Cori , Nicolas Robert , Alfredo José Mainar-Causapé , Cristiano Franceschinis , Davide Matteo Pettenella , Mara Thiene
Despite the increasing attention towards the socioeconomic role of wild forest products (WFPs) − also known as non-wood forest products (NWFPs) − their function as cultural service has yet to receive a comprehensive quantification. This, at least partially, is due to the attention given to WFPs as provisioning services, and their commercial values in the rural economy. In this study, we combined for the first time the economic evaluation of forest ecosystem services with a Social Accounting Matrix methodology to analyse the social component of WFPs in three European countries, namely Czechia, Italy, and Sweden. We estimated that WFPs have a direct effect on transport services, as well as food and accommodation services. At the same time, we estimated the value of household wellbeing via non-market valuation. Overall, our results highlight the value that cultural services linked to WFPs add to European bioeconomy. A better understanding of the complete range of available resources offered by forests can inform future policy decisions aimed at enhancing the socioeconomic benefits for societies while sustainably managing forest ecosystems.
{"title":"Revealing the hidden socioeconomic role of wild forest products for the European bioeconomy","authors":"Viola Di Cori , Nicolas Robert , Alfredo José Mainar-Causapé , Cristiano Franceschinis , Davide Matteo Pettenella , Mara Thiene","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101735","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101735","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Despite the increasing attention towards the socioeconomic role of wild forest products (WFPs) − also known as non-wood forest products (NWFPs) − their function as cultural service has yet to receive a comprehensive quantification. This, at least partially, is due to the attention given to WFPs as provisioning services, and their commercial values in the rural economy. In this study, we combined for the first time the economic evaluation of forest ecosystem services with a Social Accounting Matrix methodology to analyse the social component of WFPs in three European countries, namely Czechia, Italy, and Sweden. We estimated that WFPs have a direct effect on transport services, as well as food and accommodation services. At the same time, we estimated the value of household wellbeing via non-market valuation. Overall, our results highlight the value that cultural services linked to WFPs add to European bioeconomy. A better understanding of the complete range of available resources offered by forests can inform future policy decisions aimed at enhancing the socioeconomic benefits for societies while sustainably managing forest ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51312,"journal":{"name":"Ecosystem Services","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101735"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144124886","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-05-20DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101742
Miguel Cánibe Iglesias , Virgilio Hermoso , João C. Azevedo , João C. Campos , José Salgado-Rojas , Ângelo Sil , Adrián Regos
Global change demands dynamic landscape management that integrates different strategies (e.g. promoting rewilding or traditional farming practices) to address the impact of climate and land use change. Planning for management strategies individually can lead to severe trade-offs between objectives, high opportunity costs and challenging implementation. Integrated management plans are needed to optimise the combination of multiple management strategies. We used the multi-action planning tool ‘Prioriactions’ to prioritise the spatial allocation of four management strategies (Afforestation, Rewilding, Farmland Return and Agroforestry Return) in the Meseta Ibérica transboundary Biosphere Reserve. We aimed to achieve targets for conservation of species suitable area and ecosystem services supply while minimising fire hazard under different climate scenarios. We tested this approach under contrasting planning scenarios depicting different management priorities (Equally Weighted, Forest Maximising and Open Maximising). By integrating multiple management strategies, we could achieve management goals for biodiversity and ecosystem services under different planning scenarios, minimising trade-offs and deriving recommendations easier to uptake. The spatial allocation and extent of management strategies varied according to climate change and planning scenarios. Afforestation was needed when putting more priority on forest species and carbon sequestration, while more Farmland Return was allocated when preserving open habitat species and agriculture. Fire hazard was higher in Rewilding areas and lower in Farmland Return and Agroforestry Return areas. The novelty of our approach lies in its capacity to combine different management strategies and provide an optimised spatial arrangement based on management features, making it suitable for planning in dynamic and complex environments where multiple pressures and objectives must be considered.
{"title":"Integrating multiple landscape management strategies to optimise conservation under climate and planning scenarios: a case study in the Iberian Peninsula","authors":"Miguel Cánibe Iglesias , Virgilio Hermoso , João C. Azevedo , João C. Campos , José Salgado-Rojas , Ângelo Sil , Adrián Regos","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101742","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101742","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Global change demands dynamic landscape management that integrates different strategies (e.g. promoting rewilding or traditional farming practices) to address the impact of climate and land use change. Planning for management strategies individually can lead to severe trade-offs between objectives, high opportunity costs and challenging implementation. Integrated management plans are needed to optimise the combination of multiple management strategies. We used the multi-action planning tool ‘Prioriactions’ to prioritise the spatial allocation of four management strategies (Afforestation, Rewilding, Farmland Return and Agroforestry Return) in the Meseta Ibérica transboundary Biosphere Reserve. We aimed to achieve targets for conservation of species suitable area and ecosystem services supply while minimising fire hazard under different climate scenarios. We tested this approach under contrasting planning scenarios depicting different management priorities (<em>Equally Weighted, Forest Maximising</em> and <em>Open Maximising</em>). By integrating multiple management strategies, we could achieve management goals for biodiversity and ecosystem services under different planning scenarios, minimising trade-offs and deriving recommendations easier to uptake. The spatial allocation and extent of management strategies varied according to climate change and planning scenarios. Afforestation was needed when putting more priority on forest species and carbon sequestration, while more Farmland Return was allocated when preserving open habitat species and agriculture. Fire hazard was higher in Rewilding areas and lower in Farmland Return and Agroforestry Return areas. The novelty of our approach lies in its capacity to combine different management strategies and provide an optimised spatial arrangement based on management features, making it suitable for planning in dynamic and complex environments where multiple pressures and objectives must be considered.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51312,"journal":{"name":"Ecosystem Services","volume":"74 ","pages":"Article 101742"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144099664","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-05-19DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101736
David W. Shanafelt
Ecosystem services (ES) are at the forefront of the scientific literature, finding themselves in the research profiles of the National Science Foundation and European Research Council, as well as many other national research agencies. Yet despite many publications on the topic, issues of data availability, quality and quantity, and uncertainty still remain limitations to the field. In a recent analysis, Shanafelt et al. (2023) found a general trend in the interactions between ES when sampling a landscape: sampling ten percent of the landscape was sufficient to recover the mean correlation between ES measured at the landscape scale. In this paper, we delve deeper into this finding. Specifically, we apply Chebyshev’s inequality and the law of large numbers to show that as the sample size increases, the sample correlation between any two ES approaches the “true” value measured from the underlying statistical distributions of those services across the landscape. Furthermore, there exists a sample size in which the difference between the sample correlation and the true value is tolerably null – the “ten’s rule” from Shanafelt et al. (2023). We hypothesize that this sample size depends on the underlying correlation strength between those ES and the similarity between their spatial distributions, and test this hypothesis using regression analysis in theoretically-generated landscapes. Finally, we test our ability to predict this sample size in the actual Shanafelt et al. (2023) data. Our findings have applications for sample and experimental design, as well as for devising and implementing policy.
生态系统服务（ES）处于科学文献的前沿，在美国国家科学基金会和欧洲研究委员会以及许多其他国家研究机构的研究概况中都能找到自己的位置。然而，尽管有许多关于该主题的出版物，但数据的可用性，质量和数量以及不确定性问题仍然是该领域的限制。在最近的一项分析中，Shanafelt等人（2023）在对景观进行采样时发现了生态系统之间相互作用的总体趋势：采样10%的景观足以恢复景观尺度上测量的生态系统之间的平均相关性。在本文中，我们将深入研究这一发现。具体来说，我们应用Chebyshev不等式和大数定律来表明，随着样本量的增加，任何两个ES之间的样本相关性接近从这些服务在整个景观中的潜在统计分布中测量的“真实”值。此外，存在一个样本大小，其中样本相关性与真实值之间的差异可以容忍为零-来自Shanafelt et al.（2023）的“十分规则”。我们假设这一样本量取决于这些ES之间的潜在相关强度及其空间分布之间的相似性，并在理论生成的景观中使用回归分析来验证这一假设。最后，我们在实际的Shanafelt等人（2023）数据中测试了我们预测样本大小的能力。我们的研究结果可以应用于样本和实验设计，以及制定和实施政策。
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Pub Date : 2025-05-16DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101740
Haojie Cao , Nataly G. Miguez , Brittany M. Mason , Corey T. Callaghan , Jiangxiao Qiu
Urban greenspaces (UGS) deliver substantial benefits to human wellbeing by providing valuable ecosystem services. Prior research on UGS has been primarily focused on provisioning and regulating services, with comparatively fewer studies explicitly addressing cultural ecosystem services (CES), presumably due to conceptual and methodological challenges in their characterization and quantification. Social media data have emerged as novel datasets that could provide new insights into the quantification of these intangible, highly context-specific, but critically important CES. In this study, we merged multiple platforms, including TripAdvisor and Google Maps that are among the most comprehensive user-generated datasets, to map and quantify the spatial distribution of 11 CES. Employing named-entity recognition models, this study extracted 60,156 textual entities related to CES from scraped reviews, allowing us to categorize 30,599 reviews into different CES types across 426 urban greenspaces. Our research demonstrated substantial spatial heterogeneity in the presence and diversity of CES and identified six key CES bundles, revealing more occurrences of CES synergies than tradeoffs across UGS. Geographical random forest models were applied to determine the relative importance of natural landscape elements, biodiversity proxies, and human utility metrics in explaining the spatial heterogeneity of CES. We found that factors such as greenspace size, tree cover percentage, biodiversity, and water features emerged as strong predictors of CES provision. Our study provides a roadmap and research framework for understanding and quantifying CES in urban settings and has implications for the sustainable planning and management of UGS to improve social wellbeing through the contribution of diverse CES.
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