Linking functional diversity and social actor strategies in a framework for interdisciplinary analysis of nature's benefits to society

Abstract

The crucial role of biodiversity in the links between ecosystems and societies has been repeatedly highlighted both as source of wellbeing and as a target of human actions, but not all aspects of biodiversity are equally important to different ecosystem services. Similarly, different social actors have different perceptions of and access to ecosystem services, and therefore, they have different wants and capacities to select directly or indirectly for particular biodiversity and ecosystem characteristics. Their choices feed back onto the ecosystem services provided to all parties involved and in turn, affect future decisions. Despite this recognition, the research communities addressing biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human outcomes have yet to develop frameworks that adequately treat the multiple dimensions and interactions in the relationship. Here, we present an interdisciplinary framework for the analysis of relationships between functional diversity, ecosystem services, and human actions that is applicable to specific social environmental systems at local scales. We connect the mechanistic understanding of the ecological role of diversity with its social relevance: ecosystem services. The framework permits connections between functional diversity components and priorities of social actors using land use decisions and ecosystem services as the main links between these ecological and social components. We propose a matrix-based method that provides a transparent and flexible platform for quantifying and integrating social and ecological information and negotiating potentially conflicting land uses among multiple social actors. We illustrate the applicability of our framework by way of land use examples from temperate to subtropical South America, an area of rapid social and ecological change.

Effect of woody-plant encroachment on livestock production in North and South America

“…Our study demonstrates that LP is part of an integrated socialecological system where ecological and social-economic drivers interact along gradients of climate and economic development (22). In high-productivity regions, woody-plant cover negatively affects LP mainly through reductions in forage availability.…”

“…Ecological factors, including NPP and woody-plant cover, determine potential stocking rates but actual stocking rates are modulated by manager's decisions (22). In some cases, land managers overstock rangelands leading to degradation and desertification (23), whereas in other cases managers understock.…”

Linking the ecosystem services approach to social preferences and needs in integrated coastal land use management – A planning approach

“…Furthermore, stakeholder participation in planning activities is defined as a process in which stakeholders play an active role in determining the research objectives and their effectiveness throughout the entire research process (Bell et al, 2012;Reed, 2008;Schirmer, 2011). Chan et al (2012), Díaz et al (2011) and Nahlik et al (2012) highlight the need for stakeholder integration and the development of interdisciplinary methodological approaches in order to understand mutual connections between natural and social subsystems. The guideline presented in this paper was applied in a regional governance process and revealed that stakeholder engagement, participation, involvement and dialogue is needed at every process phase (Fig.…”

Functional traits in agriculture: agrobiodiversity and ecosystem services

“…Using traits to generate agroecosystem management strategies Previous efforts to integrate functional trait research into ecosystem service assessments have been proposed, but these have stopped short of creating tangible management targets that can be practically implemented by managers [20,39,65]. Farmers do not manage for traits directly, but rather manage agroecosystems by manipulating the abundances and location of species or through physical and chemical manipulation of the agroecosystem (e.g., tillage or fertilization).…”