Participatory mapping reveals biocultural and nature values in the shared landscape of a Nordic UNESCO Biosphere Reserve

A social-ecological approach for identifying and mapping ecosystem service trade-offs and conservation priorities in peri-urban areas

Considering both ecological and social dimensions in the assessment of ecosystem services (ESs) can facilitate acceptable and inclusive management strategies, especially in peri-urban areas characterized by intricate human-ecosystem interactions. A limited body of research, however, has mapped the plural values of ESs and their different types of trade-offs in such areas. This research aimed to execute an interdisciplinary analysis of the biophysical and social values of ESs in peri-urban Shanghai, China, through a social-ecological approach that integrates spatial biophysical assessment with participatory mapping. Trade-off analysis in both ES types and ES valuations were then conducted, and multicriteria decision-making was applied for conservation. Our results reveal that trade-off intensities were lower within the social values compared to the biophysical values. Within both value dimensions, relatively stronger trade-offs were found between food production and other ESs. Areas with both high biophysical and social values were infrequently observed across ESs. Based on the characteristics of diverse values, our study identified priority conservation areas and provided management implications. We argue that adopting the integrated social-ecological perspective in sustainable environmental management contributes to the realization of harmonious coexistence between people and nature in peri-urban areas.

Integration matters: Combining socio-cultural and biophysical methods for mapping ecosystem service bundles

Ecosystem services (ESs) play an important role in sustainable landscape management. People value ESs in diverse ways encompassing social and ecological domains and we need to bring these different values together. We used social-cultural and biophysical methods to map a diverse set of ESs at two spatial scales in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Norway. The ESs bundled into three distinct social-ecological system archetypes which were similar in their distribution and relative ES values at both spatial scales. The bundles were also well matched to relative ESs values of the Biosphere Reserve zones (core, buffer, and transition) indicating that the bundles capture the social-ecological systems of the zones. We argue that it is important to consider the social-ecological context of the zones to provide sufficient knowledge to inform management. Our work has the capacity to contribute to sustainable land management that takes biocultural values into consideration.

Reviewing social-ecological resilience for agroforestry systems under climate change conditions

Global change is shaping social-ecological systems, threatening both natural and socio-economic ecosystems as a whole. Landscapes with combined nature-human interactions are particularly vulnerable to changing climatic conditions. Therefore, there is a need to find viable and practical solutions for the preservation and recovery of the affected systems. A relevant way to cope with disturbances is to promote social-ecological resilience through the use of strategies targeting the social-ecological system as a whole, in order to ensure an efficient self-reorganization of a landscape. This study presents a research innovation by clarifying the concept of social-ecological resilience while being focused on providing a useful tool for landscape managers. For doing so, the research first defines social-ecological resilience and aims to give a clear idea of its characteristics and application features. Second, it explains the importance of social-ecological resilience for landscapes, focusing on the relationship of humans with nature and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) for biodiversity conservation. Third, it proposes guidelines and measures for the promotion and enhancement of social-ecological resilience. The outcomes of the study show a broad perspective on the concept of social-ecological resilience to understand the necessary adaptation to global change. As findings, this research highlights the significance of nature-human interactions for agroforestry systems, citing also the potential contribution that digital innovation can play for the conservation of those interactions in a sustainable way. Moreover, it uncovers the key role of local communities in building social-ecological resilience through the application of a variety of described strategies that can have a relevant impact and be useful for landscape management practices to face upcoming challenges linked to climate change.