Attitudes toward forest diversity and forest ecosystem services—a cross-cultural comparison between China and Switzerland

Lindemann‐Matthies, Petra; Keller, Dominique; Li, Xuefei; Schmid, Bernhard

doi:10.1093/jpe/rtt015

Cited by 55 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…We found that the frequency of nature that appeared in photographs varied widely across countries. This variation could be related to cultural and sociodemographic differences 34,35 . For example, it has been shown that Menominee Native Americans spend more time interacting with nature directly in their outdoor activities, as compared to European Americans 34 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social media, nature, and life satisfaction: global evidence of the biophilia hypothesis

Chang

Cheng

Nghiem

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Humans may have evolved a need to connect with nature, and nature provides substantial cultural and social values to humans. However, quantifying the connection between humans and nature at a global scale remains challenging. We lack answers to fundamental questions: how do humans experience nature in different contexts (daily routines, fun activities, weddings, honeymoons, other celebrations, and vacations) and how do nature experiences differ across countries? We answer these questions by coupling social media and artificial intelligence using 31,534 social media photographs across 185 countries. We find that nature was more likely to appear in photographs taken during a fun activity, honeymoon, or vacation compared to photographs of daily routines. More importantly, the proportion of photographs with nature taken during fun activities is associated with national life satisfaction scores. this study provides global evidence of the biophilia hypothesis by showing a connection between humans and nature that contributes to life satisfaction and highlights how nature serves as background to many of our positive memories.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social media, nature, and life satisfaction: global evidence of the biophilia hypothesis

Chang

Cheng

Nghiem

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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“…Our review shows that these social groups might differ not only in where they live but also in sociodemographic characteristics, including education level, age, and sex. Second, environmental education programs can be targeted to specific groups to highlight the importance of underrecognized ES to their well-being (Racevskis and Lupi 2006, Carvalho-Ribeiro and Lovett 2011, Lindemann-Matthies et al 2013, Mombo et al 2014. In fact, Casado-Arzuaga and colleagues (2013) have shown that the information communicated can transform ES preferences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The papers' authors either adopted an ecological (e.g., watershed, river basin, forest) or political boundary (e.g., municipality, region), or no boundary was specified. In the latter case, for example, one paper was focused on archetypal forests from China and Switzerland (Lindemann-Matthies et al 2013). Most papers used a combination of ecological and political boundaries, prioritizing one or the other.…”

Section: Portrait Of the Fieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing Ecosystem Service Preferences between Urban and Rural Dwellers

2019

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Urbanization can profoundly alter socioecological relationships, but its influence on how people perceive and value ecosystem services (ES) is poorly understood. We reviewed an emerging literature in which sociocultural valuation of ES is compared among urban and rural dwellers. This research suggests that, although regulating and cultural ES were highly valued by both rural and urban dwellers, urban dwellers tended to value provisioning ES less than rural dwellers did. Differences in ES valuation could result from different experiences, uses, and needs for ES of urban and rural dwellers. We also identified two key gaps in the literature that relate to understanding how diverse ES contribute differently to the wellbeing of rural and urban populations (and the relevance of these differences for environmental education and policy) and the changing roles of ES in developing countries and vulnerable ecosystems, such as small islands, that face pressing environmental, social, and economic challenges.

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“…Although exclosures have been established since 2006 in Gomit watershed, empirical data on the effectiveness of these protected areas in improving aboveground carbon, the economic returns of improved aboveground carbon, and the impacts of exclosures on livelihoods are lacking. Further, members of different cultures or cultural groups may value forest biodiversity and ecosystem services differently and, as a consequence, may or may not support conservation goals set by governance bodies (Deng et al 2006;Lindemann-Matthies et al 2014). There is a need to understand the perception of local communities on the effectiveness of exclosures in restoring degraded ecosystems and improving livelihoods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Restoring aboveground carbon and biodiversity: a case study from the Nile basin, Ethiopia

Mekuria

Langan

Johnston

et al. 2015

Forest Science and Technology

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In Ethiopia, exclosures in landscapes have become increasingly important to improving ecosystem services and reversing biodiversity losses. The present study was conducted in Gomit watershed, northern Ethiopia, to: (i) investigate the changes in vegetation composition, diversity and aboveground biomass and carbon following the establishment of exclosures; and (ii) analyse the economic returns of aboveground carbon sequestration and assess the perception of local communities on land degradation and exclosures. A space-for-time substitution approach was used to detect the changes in aboveground carbon, species composition, and diversity. Exclosures of 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 7-years-old and a communal grazing land were selected. Household surveys, key informant interviews, and a financial analysis were used to assess the perception of local communities and the value of exclosure impacts, respectively. Significant (P D 0.049) differences in species diversity and considerable increases in aboveground carbon (ranged from 0.6 to 4.2 t C ha ¡1 ), CO 2 storage (varied between 2.1 and 15.3 t CO 2 ha ¡1 ), woody species composition, and richness (ranged from five to 28) were observed following the establishment of exclosures. Exclosures generated temporary certified emission reductions (tCER) of 3.4, 2.1, 7.5, 12.6, 12.5, and 15.3 Mg CO 2 ha ¡1 after 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 years, respectively. The net present value (NPV) of the aboveground carbon sequestered in exclosures ranged from US$6.6 to US$37.0 per hectare and increased with exclosure duration. At a watershed level, 51.4 Mg C ha ¡1 can be sequestered, which represents 188.6 Mg CO 2 ha ¡1 , resulting in tCER of 139.4 Mg CO 2 ha ¡1 and NPV of US$478.3 per hectare. This result would suggest that exclosures can potentially improve local communities' livelihoods beyond rehabilitating degraded lands if carbon stored in exclosures is traded. Communities in the watershed demonstrated that exclosures are effective in restoring degraded lands and they are benefiting from increased fodder production and reduced impacts of soil erosion. However, the respondents are also concerned over the sustainability of exclosure land management, as further expansion of exclosures aggravates degradation of remaining communal grazing lands and causes fuel wood shortages. This suggests that the sustainability of exclosure land management can be attained only if these critical concerns are addressed by a joint effort among government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and communities.

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Attitudes toward forest diversity and forest ecosystem services—a cross-cultural comparison between China and Switzerland

Cited by 55 publications

References 33 publications

Social media, nature, and life satisfaction: global evidence of the biophilia hypothesis

Social media, nature, and life satisfaction: global evidence of the biophilia hypothesis

Comparing Ecosystem Service Preferences between Urban and Rural Dwellers

Restoring aboveground carbon and biodiversity: a case study from the Nile basin, Ethiopia

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