AUTHORS: Cristina Quintas-Soriano*, Idaho State University & Boise State University; Jodi Brandt, Boise State University; Antonio J. Castro, Idaho State University
ABSTRACT: Despite widespread recognition that stakeholders’ social values should guide environmental decision-making, it too often remains absent from ecosystem service (ES) assessments. Spatially explicit information that incorporates the perceptions of different stakeholders would provide a rich basis for the development of sustainable and equitable land management strategies. In this study, we engage the general public to identify and map a range of ES, and we spatially explore social perceptions towards those services. Based on over 1,000 face-to-face surveys, we analyze the spatial distribution of ES social values and determine the relationship between social values and stakeholder groups. Our study includes two watersheds in Idaho (US), which have similar biophysical characteristics but whose social-ecological dynamics have diverged over the past 100 years. To achieve our goal, we (1) explore social perceptions for ES, (2) identify spatial patterns in the perceptions of ES for stakeholder groups with different socio-demographic backgrounds, and (3) compare how stakeholders from two divergent social-ecological systems perceive ES. The results reveal overlapping hotspots for the ES valuation, as well as particular patterns in the perceptions of these ES depending of the social-ecological characteristics. Finally, we argue that exploring social values of ES can complement more traditional ES mapping approaches, and helps to incorporate public participatory process in decision-making.