Characterising the rural-urban gradient through the participatory mapping of ecosystem services: insights for landscape planning

Abstract

The application of the ecosystem services (ES) framework in landscape planning has become particularly relevant in rural-urban gradients since it allows for the integration of the complex interactions between ES supply and demand. This framework might be a powerful tool to inform landscape planning and decision-making intended to maintain the current and future flow of ES. In this study, we developed a process of participatory mapping of ES in a rural-urban gradient in southern Spain, which comprises the Sierra Nevada mountain range, the Granada valley and the city of Granada. First, we interviewed 21 key stakeholders from different professional sectors and gradient zones. These stakeholders prioritised nine ES in terms of their importance for local human well-being and their vulnerability to current drivers of change. Then, a workshop was organised in which 23 local actors shared their experience and knowledge regarding ES in the studied landscape. Sorted into five groups (composed of stakeholders with different profiles), the participants spatially mapped the most important supply and demand areas for the nine ES previously prioritised. The results show that the city of Granada has a very high demand for ES and a very low supply, while the Sierra Nevada mountain range and the valley of Granada appear to be very important ES supply areas. According to 95% of the stakeholders that attended the workshop, participatory mapping of ES is a very important (69%) or an important (26%) methodology to elicit the views and perceptions of the population, to identify the main conflicts and potential solutions for the territory and to visualise the high dependence of urban areas on the ES provided by adjacent rural areas. Our results also highlight the importance of incorporating the analysis of ES flows to inform landscape planning at the regional scale. Participatory mapping of ES can enhance decision-making regarding the maintenance of human well-being and the sustainability of social-ecological systems.

The role of agroforestry in restoring Brazil's Atlantic Forest: Opportunities and challenges for smallholder farmers

“…The questionnaire was designed to collect data relevant to the local socio-ecological and agricultural context, documenting household socio-economic indicators, farming activities and ecosystem services deemed to be important for the study region (FAO, 2017;Leakey et al, 2006;Palomo-Campesino et al, 2018;Table S2).…”

“…The questionnaire was designed to collect data relevant to the local socio‐ecological and agricultural context, documenting household socio‐economic indicators, farming activities and ecosystem services deemed to be important for the study region (FAO, 2017; Leakey et al., 2006; Palomo‐Campesino et al., 2018; Table S2). Building on a literature review and following discussions with relevant actors during a workshop with MST farmers and local conservation researchers and practitioners (see Supporting Information Section 5; Figure 1), questions were formulated to capture perceived social, economic or ecological benefits of agroforestry which may influence willingness to participate in similar projects in future (FAO, 2017; Harvey et al., 2018).…”

Linking Ecosystem Service Supply–Demand Risks and Regional Spatial Management in the Yihe River Basin, Central China

“…The establishment of ecosystem service supply and demand indicators should consider regional local characteristics and differences. The comprehensive assessment results of supply and demand of ecosystem services have been applied to many aspects, including the analysis of profit and loss of supply and demand of regional ecosystem services [1,3,13,[22][23][24][25][26], the analysis of ecosystem security patterns [27,28], the diagnosis of ecosystem health [29], the payment of ecosystem services [30,31], the identification of the ecological source or ecologically important land [28,32], and landscape planning [33][34][35][36]. However, the application of the current comprehensive assessment results of the supply and demand of ecosystem services is still limited mainly because many studies are too simplistic to assess the needs of ecosystem services, such as spatialization of demands based solely on socioeconomic [27,37] or night lighting data [38].…”