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This research delves into the emerging paradigm of biocultural systems, focusing on the intricate social-ecological dynamics which created and maintained an ancient farming system, the European wood-pastures. Innovatively conceptualizing wood-pastures as biocultural systems, this study employs a network approach to unravel the complex interactions between human activities and the natural particularities within these environments. By using field surveys and interviews conducted in Transylvania, Romania, this research reconstructs the traditional social-ecological drivers behind the preservation of ancient wood-pastures and their Nature's Contributions to People (NCP). It identifies key variables and their centrality within the biocultural network, emphasizing that the rich natural values of wood-pastures are inextricably linked to management features. We employ RLQ and fourth corner analyses to investigate the interconnections among biophysical context, biocultural features (i.e. human made and natural features), and NCP, revealing significant correlations and gradients between the broad biophysical setting and the wood-pasture NCP. The findings underscore the importance of maintaining traditional management practices and stewardship to conserve the biodiversity and cultural heritage of wood-pastures. We contribute to a deeper comprehension of biocultural systems and offer insights for effective management and governance of traditional farming landscapes in Europe and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soils have the capacity to contribute to human wellbeing through a variety of pathways. Preserving these contributions in light of human and climate-induced changes requires consideration of the numerous benefits – both in research and policy-making. Previous research has demonstrated how the benefits can be recognized through valuation, but a comprehensive understanding of how different types of valuation of soil-mediated contributions to people (SmCPs) are incorporated across various contexts is missing. Under the framework of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the current study undertook a systematic review of the literature to identify knowledge gaps and future research agendas in understanding the value of SmCPs to people. We analyse the frequency of methods, data and actors included in the studies as well as the consideration of drivers and quality of life categories linked to the valuation of SmCPs. Although the majority of studies were solely concerned with either monetary or non-monetary valuation approaches, several studies acknowledged the limitations of pure economic valuation and attempted an integrated valuation of both non-monetary and monetary approaches. Despite these efforts, there is further potential for fully integrating both monetary and non-monetary valuation methods to encompass a more comprehensive valuation approach through interdisciplinary approaches. Key policy highlights: Soils provide important contributions to human wellbeing that have so far been given too little consideration in policymaking The value of soil mediated contributions to people is manifold and clearly calls for an interdisciplinary perspective to understand and to acknowledge the complexity of soil ecosystems The contributions can be valued with both monetary and nonmonetary methods, and integrative approaches that incorporate both types of methods and better take the diversity of values into account. Recognising the values of soils by taking an interdisciplinary and integrated perspective that capture the value of the full range of contributions and the associated tradeoffs with changes in soil management improves policy outcomes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective forest management requires an understanding of socially prioritized forest ecosystem services and their integration into forest management design. Approximately 70% of Japan, our study area, is covered by forests. Therefore, prioritization-based resource allocation play a fundamental role in forest management in Japan. However, there is a lack of clarity regarding which forest ecosystem services the public evaluate the most. Thus, this study evaluates the social priority of 13 forest ecosystem services based on public preferences by employing the best-worst scaling (BWS) technique. Our study also assesses the value of such services by integrating a contingent valuation method with BWS. The survey was conducted using an online questionnaire for Japanese citizens enrolled in a survey company as representatives of the Japanese public in January 2017; 720 responses were analyzed. The BWS results revealed that the freshwater stock was the most valued forest ecosystem service, followed by carbon storage. However, citizens considered cultural ecosystem services to be of lower importance. The mean willingness to pay (WTP) for freshwater stock was approximately USD 23.77, while the mean WTP for inspiration for culture and art was lower at USD 1.13. Our findings indicate that the values of cultural and provisioning services are lower than Japanese taxes for forest management and suggest that forest management should prioritize regulating ecosystem services. Key policy highlights: Forest management should prioritize regulating ecosystem services. Japanese citizens regard freshwater stock as the most important forest ecosystem service, followed by carbon storage, clean air and wastewater treatment, disaster prevention, and soil runoff prevention. Emphasize public services, particularly regulating services, over wood use to optimize the social benefits derived from forests. Message framing was used to garner public support for forest management and associated policies, as the mean WTP for the highest forest ecosystem services was approximately 20 times greater than the lowest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ecological impacts of landscape changes resulting in significant simplification of natural systems have been extensively studied worldwide. Yet, few studies have examined how such biophysical changes affect the value local communities place on nature and their relationships with it.In this study, we delve into the case of Guinea‐Bissau, where woodland cover has been increasingly replaced by commercial cashew plantations. Using a sociocultural valuation approach, our empirical research provides a comprehensive assessment of the woodlands' contributions to local communities as well as the potential disruptions caused by the ongoing biophysical changes on the woodlands. We focused on 20 villages of four different ethnic groups—Manjack, Balanta, Mandinka and Fulani—and used a combination of focus group discussions and walks‐in‐the‐woods.The study's participants identified 19 nature's contributions to people from the woodlands, which revealed a combination of instrumental, relational and intrinsic values in ways that reflect their subsistence needs and social–cultural contexts. We also found that these values are being impacted, mostly negatively, by the ongoing biophysical changes in the 'natural' landscapes tied to regional and global dynamics.Moreover, our study reveals that local communities are aware of ongoing biophysical changes in their woodlands and perceive them as having negative ecological and psychological consequences for them.Synthesis and applications: Our study highlights the significance of using a sociocultural perspective to investigate how changes in the landscape affect local peoples' values of nature and their relationships with it. This information can help shape policies and management decisions towards creating better futures that are meaningful for both humans and non‐humans. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The ecological impacts of landscape changes resulting in significant simplification of natural systems have been extensively studied worldwide. Yet, few studies have examined how such biophysical changes affect the value local communities place on nature and their relationships with it. In this study, we delve into the case of Guinea‐Bissau, where woodland cover has been increasingly replaced by commercial cashew plantations. Using a sociocultural valuation approach, our empirical research provides a comprehensive assessment of the woodlands' contributions to local communities as well as the potential disruptions caused by the ongoing biophysical changes on the woodlands. We focused on 20 villages of four different ethnic groups—Manjack, Balanta, Mandinka and Fulani—and used a combination of focus group discussions and walks‐in‐the‐woods. The study's participants identified 19 nature's contributions to people from the woodlands, which revealed a combination of instrumental, relational and intrinsic values in ways that reflect their subsistence needs and social–cultural contexts. We also found that these values are being impacted, mostly negatively, by the ongoing biophysical changes in the ‘natural’ landscapes tied to regional and global dynamics. Moreover, our study reveals that local communities are aware of ongoing biophysical changes in their woodlands and perceive them as having negative ecological and psychological consequences for them. Synthesis and applications: Our study highlights the significance of using a sociocultural perspective to investigate how changes in the landscape affect local peoples' values of nature and their relationships with it. This information can help shape policies and management decisions towards creating better futures that are meaningful for both humans and non‐humans. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Bolstering the supply of animal‐mediated ecosystem services is an emerging priority in human‐altered landscapes. Such services are driven not only by environmental factors that shape communities of species that provide the service but also by the ecological context that affects the behavior of these species. In this study, we used a field experiment to investigate an ecosystem service that depends on resource use behavior—the removal of littered food waste by birds and squirrels in urban green spaces. We first explore how landscape‐scale urbanization affects the composition of the litter‐removing species community. We then examine two facets of waste removal provisioning—the amount of food removed and the speed of removal—and how they vary across ecological contexts represented by green space type (picnic areas, urban parks, and forest preserves), bird and squirrel abundance, number of people, amount of existing litter, and weather conditions. We found that although landscape‐scale urbanization affected the composition of species within green spaces, service provisioning was context‐dependent. Littered food removal services were provided at higher rates in park and picnic sites than in forest preserves and the abundance of eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) was a main driver of littered food removal services. Where squirrels were abundant, more food was removed, and food removal began and was completed more quickly. When squirrel abundance is accounted for, removal from picnic areas is higher than park sites, indicating context dependence in this service is likely driven by squirrel behavioral responses to ambient food waste levels in these habitats. This study highlights the role of common urban species in providing a valuable ecosystem service and the importance of ecological context in its supply. Efforts to account for animal‐mediated ecosystem services in human‐altered landscapes should address the potential for services to be driven by a single species and context‐dependent factors that influence behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multifunctional productive systems based on native species management, a new paradigm that counters colonial worldviews, offer sustainable sources of food and materials while preserving biodiversity. Despite extensive discussions in herbaceous and agricultural systems, applying this concept to native forests in Northern Patagonia remains unclear. Multifunctional system implementation can be approached from a fractal perspective, with evaluations at the stand level being essential for understanding ecological processes across scales. Here, we exemplify research and management for multiple native species, integrating results from 10 years of field experiments on the impacts of biomass harvesting intensity (HI) on nine Nature's Contributions to People (NCPs), including habitat creation, pollination, soil formation, hazard regulation, prevention of invasions, and provision of energy, food, materials, and options. Our findings reveal that some regulating NCPs peak with null HI, while certain material and regulating NCPs maximize at the highest HI. Low to intermediate HI (30-50%) show a more balanced provision of all NCPs. Our results suggest that some biomass extraction is necessary to enhance most NCPs, emphasizing the importance of balancing material provisioning and biodiversity conservation in management schemes. We propose future directions for designing multifunctional forest systems, advocating for low-density plantation of native tree species with high wood quality within the natural forest matrix. This approach may yield higher NCPs levels over time compared to the current cattle breeding and wood extraction system, with implications beyond Patagonia, considering historical associations of such practices with colonial worldviews globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smallholder farms make up 84% of all farms worldwide and feed 2 billion people. These farms are heavily reliant on ecosystem services and vulnerable to environmental change, yet under‐represented in the ecological literature. The high diversity of crops in these systems makes it challenging to identify and manage the best providers of an ecosystem service, such as the best pollinators to meet the needs of multiple crops. It is also unclear whether ecosystem service requirements change as smallholders transition towards more specialised commercial farming—an increasing trend worldwide.Here, we present a new metric for predicting the species providing ecosystem services in diverse multi‐crop farming systems. Working in 10 smallholder villages in rural Nepal, we use this metric to test whether key pollinators, and the management actions that support them, differ based on a farmers' agricultural priority (producing nutritious food to feed the family vs. generating income from cash crops). We also test whether the resilience of pollination services changes as farmers specialise on cash crops.We show that a farmers' agricultural priority can determine the community of pollinators they rely upon. Wild insects including bumblebees, solitary bees and flies provided the majority of the pollination service underpinning nutrient production, while income generation was much more dependent on a single species—the domesticated honeybee Apis cerana. The significantly lower diversity of pollinators supporting income generation leaves cash crop farmers more vulnerable to pollinator declines.Regardless of a farmers' agricultural priority, the same collection of wild plant species (mostly herbaceous weeds and shrubs) were important for supporting crop pollinators with floral resources. Promoting these wild plants is likely to enhance pollination services for all farmers in the region.Synthesis and applications. We highlight the increased vulnerability of pollination services when smallholders transition to specialised cash crop farming and emphasise the role of crop, pollinator and wild plant diversity in mitigating this risk. The method we present could be readily applied to other smallholder settings across the world to help characterise and manage the ecosystem services underpinning the livelihoods and nutritional health of smallholder families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Tucumán, environmental scientists and authorities have long considered river pollution caused by the sugar industry to be a priority issue for research and management. However, little is known about how local communities perceive and relate to this issue and these environments. To obtain a more comprehensive understanding, we conducted 401 surveys in four localities to investigate the social perceptions of rivers affected by the sugar industry, utilizing the Drivers-Pressures-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework to structure this sociocultural assessment. There was a broad recognition of rivers’ importance by 87% of respondents, but 44% reported that they do not visit them, reflecting a disconnect with these environments. Additionally, the community conceives rivers in “good condition” (state) based mostly on aesthetic aspects of the water, rather than health or ecosystem considerations. Overall, rivers were perceived negatively; problems (drivers, pressures) were perceived more than contributions (impacts). Although most (56%) respondents identified sugar industry pollution as “very important,” it ranked third, after other environmental and social pressures. Contributions of rivers that impact people’s well-being were valued lower, and only construction materials, water for animals, recreational spaces, and food were considered “somewhat important.” The majority (> 65%) did not identify rivers as important for energy generation or drinking water. Finally, 42% of the community was unaware of existing environmental public policies aimed at addressing river degradation. These social perceptions of Tucumán’s rivers and their management reveal both similarities and differences between expert-driven, ecological knowledge and society’s relationships with these rivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human-carnivore relations in Europe have varied throughout history. Because of recent conservation efforts and passive rewilding, carnivore populations are recovering, which translates into more interactions with humans. Thus, unraveling these interactions as well as the multiple contributions carnivores provide to people is crucial to their conservation. We examined the literature conducted in Europe since 2000 and used the nature's contributions to people (NCP) framework to identify factors that have shaped human-carnivore relations. To do so, we examined the state of scientific knowledge and relationships among types of NCP from carnivores, countries, and carnivore species; and between NCP, actors, and management actions. Results indicated that research has been oriented toward large carnivore species and their detrimental contributions to people. Further, the effectiveness of carnivore management strategies has only been evaluated and monitored in a limited set of all the research. To balance any negative views on carnivores, we suggest that the recognition of the duality of carnivores, as providers of both beneficial and detrimental contributions, should be included in EU conservation policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freshwater megafauna, such as sturgeons, giant catfishes, river dolphins, hippopotami, crocodylians, large turtles, and giant salamanders, have experienced severe population declines and range contractions worldwide. Although there is an increasing number of studies investigating the causes of megafauna losses in fresh waters, little attention has been paid to synthesising the impacts of megafauna on the abiotic environment and other organisms in freshwater ecosystems, and hence the consequences of losing these species. This limited understanding may impede the development of policies and actions for their conservation and restoration. In this review, we synthesise how megafauna shape ecological processes in freshwater ecosystems and discuss their potential for enhancing ecosystem restoration. Through activities such as movement, burrowing, and dam and nest building, megafauna have a profound influence on the extent of water bodies, flow dynamics, and the physical structure of shorelines and substrata, increasing habitat heterogeneity. They enhance nutrient cycling within fresh waters, and cross‐ecosystem flows of material, through foraging and reproduction activities. Freshwater megafauna are highly connected to other freshwater organisms via direct consumption of species at different trophic levels, indirect trophic cascades, and through their influence on habitat structure. The literature documenting the ecological impacts of freshwater megafauna is not evenly distributed among species, regions, and types of ecological impacts, with a lack of quantitative evidence for large fish, crocodylians, and turtles in the Global South and their impacts on nutrient flows and food‐web structure. In addition, population decline, range contraction, and the loss of large individuals have reduced the extent and magnitude of megafaunal impacts in freshwater ecosystems, rendering a posteriori evaluation more difficult. We propose that reinstating freshwater megafauna populations holds the potential for restoring key ecological processes such as disturbances, trophic cascades, and species dispersal, which will, in turn, promote overall biodiversity and enhance nature's contributions to people. Challenges for restoration actions include the shifting baseline syndrome, potential human–megafauna competition for habitats and resources, damage to property, and risk to human life. The current lack of historical baselines for natural distributions and population sizes of freshwater megafauna, their life history, trophic interactions with other freshwater species, and interactions with humans necessitates further investigation. Addressing these knowledge gaps will improve our understanding of the ecological roles of freshwater megafauna and support their full potential for facilitating the development of effective conservation and restoration strategies to achieve the coexistence of humans and megafauna. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research delves into the emerging paradigm of biocultural systems, focusing on the intricate social-ecological dynamics which created and maintained an ancient farming system, the European wood-pastures. Innovatively conceptualizing wood-pastures as biocultural systems, this study employs a network approach to unravel the complex interactions between human activities and the natural particularities within these environments. By using field surveys and interviews conducted in Transylvania, Romania, this research reconstructs the traditional social-ecological drivers behind the preservation of ancient wood-pastures and their Nature’s Contributions to People (NCP). It identifies key variables and their centrality within the biocultural network, emphasizing that the rich natural values of wood-pastures are inextricably linked to management features. We employ RLQ and fourth corner analyses to investigate the interconnections among biophysical context, biocultural features (i.e. human made and natural features), and NCP, revealing significant correlations and gradients between the broad biophysical setting and the wood-pasture NCP. The findings underscore the importance of maintaining traditional management practices and stewardship to conserve the biodiversity and cultural heritage of wood-pastures. We contribute to a deeper comprehension of biocultural systems and offer insights for effective management and governance of traditional farming landscapes in Europe and beyond.

Effective forest management requires an understanding of socially prioritized forest ecosystem services and their integration into forest management design. Approximately 70% of Japan, our study area, is covered by forests. Therefore, prioritization-based resource allocation play a fundamental role in forest management in Japan. However, there is a lack of clarity regarding which forest ecosystem services the public evaluate the most. Thus, this study evaluates the social priority of 13 forest ecosystem services based on public preferences by employing the best-worst scaling (BWS) technique. Our study also assesses the value of such services by integrating a contingent valuation method with BWS. The survey was conducted using an online questionnaire for Japanese citizens enrolled in a survey company as representatives of the Japanese public in January 2017; 720 responses were analyzed. The BWS results revealed that the freshwater stock was the most valued forest ecosystem service, followed by carbon storage. However, citizens considered cultural ecosystem services to be of lower importance. The mean willingness to pay (WTP) for freshwater stock was approximately USD 23.77, while the mean WTP for inspiration for culture and art was lower at USD 1.13. Our findings indicate that the values of cultural and provisioning services are lower than Japanese taxes for forest management and suggest that forest management should prioritize regulating ecosystem services.

Soils have the capacity to contribute to human wellbeing through a variety of pathways. Preserving these contributions in light of human and climate-induced changes requires consideration of the numerous benefits – both in research and policy-making. Previous research has demonstrated how the benefits can be recognized through valuation, but a comprehensive understanding of how different types of valuation of soil-mediated contributions to people (SmCPs) are incorporated across various contexts is missing. Under the framework of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the current study undertook a systematic review of the literature to identify knowledge gaps and future research agendas in understanding the value of SmCPs to people. We analyse the frequency of methods, data and actors included in the studies as well as the consideration of drivers and quality of life categories linked to the valuation of SmCPs. Although the majority of studies were solely concerned with either monetary or non-monetary valuation approaches, several studies acknowledged the limitations of pure economic valuation and attempted an integrated valuation of both non-monetary and monetary approaches. Despite these efforts, there is further potential for fully integrating both monetary and non-monetary valuation methods to encompass a more comprehensive valuation approach through interdisciplinary approaches.

Abstract Bolstering the supply of animal‐mediated ecosystem services is an emerging priority in human‐altered landscapes. Such services are driven not only by environmental factors that shape communities of species that provide the service but also by the ecological context that affects the behavior of these species. In this study, we used a field experiment to investigate an ecosystem service that depends on resource use behavior—the removal of littered food waste by birds and squirrels in urban green spaces. We first explore how landscape‐scale urbanization affects the composition of the litter‐removing species community. We then examine two facets of waste removal provisioning—the amount of food removed and the speed of removal—and how they vary across ecological contexts represented by green space type (picnic areas, urban parks, and forest preserves), bird and squirrel abundance, number of people, amount of existing litter, and weather conditions. We found that although landscape‐scale urbanization affected the composition of species within green spaces, service provisioning was context‐dependent. Littered food removal services were provided at higher rates in park and picnic sites than in forest preserves and the abundance of eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) was a main driver of littered food removal services. Where squirrels were abundant, more food was removed, and food removal began and was completed more quickly. When squirrel abundance is accounted for, removal from picnic areas is higher than park sites, indicating context dependence in this service is likely driven by squirrel behavioral responses to ambient food waste levels in these habitats. This study highlights the role of common urban species in providing a valuable ecosystem service and the importance of ecological context in its supply. Efforts to account for animal‐mediated ecosystem services in human‐altered landscapes should address the potential for services to be driven by a single species and context‐dependent factors that influence behavior.

Biodiversity conservation in designated protected areas reshapes the ways in which people interact with their ecosystems and each other, providing changes in their opportunities to satisfy different aspects of their well-being. The pathways linking human well-being and protected areas could be understood as one or more causal mechanisms that can be structured through nature's contributions to people (NCPs), i.e., ecosystem services. We conducted semi-structured interviews with stakeholders in four Chilean protected areas to identify the multiple mechanisms through which protected areas contribute to human well-being. The stakeholders cited diverse NCPs from protected areas, including material, nonmaterial, and regulating ecosystem services. The stakeholders' narratives suggested that protected areas satisfy several dimensions of human well-being, which varied both in frequency of citation across the protected areas and according to the stakeholders' areas of interest. Protected areas were described as contributing to several dimensions of human well-being beyond economic benefits. The narratives indicated a set of multiple mechanisms linking ecosystem services provided by protected areas and satisfaction of dimensions of human well-being at the local level. We emphasize the need to design adaptive management plans for protected areas based on multiple mechanisms linking biodiversity protection and human well-being. Additionally, our results could facilitate the alignment of biodiversity conservation and community development agendas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Ecosystem services and biodiversity are frequently measured by field-scale indicators. Yet, many important agricultural and economic drivers as well as agri-environmental policies operate at larger sales, to which field-scale indicators first need to be upscaled. Therefore, this perspective is focussed on upscaling approaches from field to farm or to landscape scale. To understand how ecosystem services and biodiversity are affected by farm-scale drivers and to inform future decision- and policy-making while exploiting existing data sources, these need to be upscaled and analysed at farm scale. However, how this is done best for different types of indicators for ecosystems services and biodiversity received little attention so far.In this work, we propose and discuss different options for upscaling ecosystem service and biodiversity indicators from field to farm scale. We base our novel conceptual work on a large body of literature and demonstrate that before deciding on an upscaling approach, different aspects of the indicators and the purpose of the assessment need to be considered. Our propositions start at the point where field-scale data is available for aggregation at farm scale. Such an aggregation needs to consider the relationship between ecosystem service supply and the benefit provided, i.e., the supply-benefit relationship, which describes how a change in supply affects the resulting benefit for farmers and/or society. We argue that this relationship can also be conceptualized for biodiversity, with benefit being the value of a field or farm for biodiversity conservation.Because benefit does often not continuously increase with supply, but can exhibit breaking points defined by thresholds in supply, the shape of the supply-benefit relationship varies among different ecosystem services and biodiversity components. For example, for upscaling biodiversity indicators, a conservation value needs to consider that conservation benefit might non-linearly change with supply, i.e., habitat quality and quantity, and becomes marginal below certain thresholds. Only when such potential thresholds are considered, a suitable upscaling approach can be chosen from the approaches that we present in this work. While some indicators can be upscaled using a simple area-weighted total or average, for others, thresholds in supply are of great relevance for determining the best upscaling approach. We conclude that upscaling indicators to the farm scale holds untapped potential to inform agri-environmental assessments and future policies. By presenting and discussing suitable approaches for different types of indicators, we hope to facilitate upscaling as a tool to support agri-environmental decision-making in the future.

Monitoring of global climate regulation ecosystem services is needed to inform national accounts, meet emission targets, and evaluate nature-based climate solutions. As carbon monitoring is context-dependent, the most useful methodological approach will depend on the spatial extent and resolution, temporal frequency, baseline, available data, funding, and dominant drivers of change, all of which will impact results and interpretation. Here, focusing on above and belowground carbon storage and sequestration, we review four groups of methods for estimating trends in carbon over time: (1) field-based measurements, (2) land cover maps with reference carbon values by land cover type, (3) statistical and machine learning models linking field measurements to remotely sensed data, and (4) mass balance models representing key carbon pools and flows between them. We discuss strengths, limitations, and best practices for each method to assist researchers in implementing an approach or critically evaluating whether an existing carbon dataset can be used for a different project. The best methods often account for spatial variability of carbon, ecosystem interconnections, and temporal stability of carbon stocks against future environmental changes. Effective carbon monitoring can help determine optimal conservation, restoration, and/or land management interventions with win-win outcomes for both conservation and nature-based climate solutions.

Abstract Multiple crises, including climate change, ecosystem degradation, economic, political and social upheavals, severely impact people's well‐being. Ecosystem services (or nature's contributions to people) play a key role during crisis that needs to be further elucidated. Most research focusses on the material benefits that ecosystems provide in times of crisis, paying less attention to intertwined intangible, nonmaterial dimensions. Yet, these intangible ecosystem benefits are often crucial for people's resilience and well‐being in times of need. We examine the role that nature plays for resilience and well‐being in times of crisis through a case study of Greece's back‐to‐the‐land movement during the European economic crisis. We conducted semistructured interviews with 76 households that had gone back‐to‐the‐land to understand why people sought to reconnect to nature and what their experiences were. Our results show that reconnecting to nature provided material ecosystem benefits such as food and income often from previously undervalued ecosystems (e.g. abandoned orchards) as well as nonmaterial ecosystem benefits such as mental health, feelings of safety, calm and independence that helped people cope with the crisis and adapt and transform to new socio‐ecological contexts. Participants reported that reconnecting to nature also changed their relational values. People mentioned gaining new perspectives, meanings and relationships with others and the natural world. While the crisis significantly affected people's material well‐being, reconnecting with nature helped people cope with crisis but also prompted a profound reevaluation of what constitutes a good life, leading to changes in their subjective and relational well‐being. This enhanced their capacity to act and plan for the future (their agency). Overall, our research emphasizes how reconnecting to nature and its multidimensional ecosystem benefits during crises can have transformative effects on individuals' resilience, well‐being and their relationships with the environment. Our research shows that not only material benefits of ecosystem services need to be valued but also intangible, nonmaterial benefits that affect material, subjective and relational dimensions of well‐being and resilience. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Human-carnivore relations in Europe have varied throughout history. Because of recent conservation efforts and passive rewilding, carnivore populations are recovering, which translates into more interactions with humans. Thus, unraveling these interactions as well as the multiple contributions carnivores provide to people is crucial to their conservation. We examined the literature conducted in Europe since 2000 and used the nature’s contributions to people (NCP) framework to identify factors that have shaped human-carnivore relations. To do so, we examined the state of scientific knowledge and relationships among types of NCP from carnivores, countries, and carnivore species; and between NCP, actors, and management actions. Results indicated that research has been oriented toward large carnivore species and their detrimental contributions to people. Further, the effectiveness of carnivore management strategies has only been evaluated and monitored in a limited set of all the research. To balance any negative views on carnivores, we suggest that the recognition of the duality of carnivores, as providers of both beneficial and detrimental contributions, should be included in EU conservation policies.

For the 701 mammals that occur in Brazil (ca. 13% of extant mammals worldwide), we attributed ES to each deliverer one based on their functional traits, known trophic interactions, expert knowledge, and by overlaying IUCN's distribution maps of the species. The ES term encompasses both ecosystem processes and services, offering a broader perspective that enables us to investigate the potential benefits of mammals to people. We assumed that species that are currently listed as threatened in the IUCN most likely lost their ES role. We found that 82% of Brazilian mammals (575 spp.) deliver at least one of the 11 ES identified. Cultural services were associated with the greatest number of deliverer species, while carrion control, ecosystem engineering, and rodent control were delivered by fewer species. Although only 24% of the species analyzed here are endemic to Brazil, 75% of them deliver at least one ES. The ES they delivered are also disproportionately at risk, as 57% of the species considered to have lost their ES role are endemic. Ecosystem service provision does not merely mirror the spatial patterns of mammal richness in general, as we identified hotspots for each service across Brazil, including its seascapes. Our comprehensive assessment provides a clear overview of the myriad of services delivered by Brazilian mammals, including taxonomic and spatial explicit information for each service. Identifying and mapping species and their services can contribute to more effective management and conservation programs focused on optimizing the supply of ES and conserving biodiversity.

Abstract Nature's contributions to people (NCP) rarely originate from nature alone. Often, only by joining natural capital with forms of anthropogenic capital, NCP emerge benefitting people. Understanding how NCP are co‐produced by natural and anthropogenic capitals is needed to inform decision‐making on sustainable land‐use practices. Through a systematic review of the literature, we compile existing empirical evidence on NCP co‐production and how this evidence was arrived at. We identified 237 observations from 25 publications on anthropogenic capital indicators co‐producing NCP. The reviewed studies were conducted mainly in cropland and forest ecosystems and at the landscape level. Our results show that most evidence for co‐production exists for material NCP, with physical capital and/or human capital as main input. Interestingly, non‐material NCP relied mostly on human or social capital only, while material and regulating NCP involved multiple types of anthropogenic capital. Our findings provide guidance for future research on how to explicitly incorporate NCP co‐production to analytically assess the relationships between anthropogenic capitals and NCP provision. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

The paper focuses on the study of social-ecological conflicts, more specifically on ecological distribution conflicts. First, it analyzes how these conflicts can be assessed from the conceptual framework of Nature’s Contributions to People. It then formulates some conceptualizations based on the conflicts addressed in the paper. And finally, it discusses how these conflicts highlight the contradictions of the dominant models of nature’s appropriation, in current capitalist societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the failure to fully achieve any of the 20 Aichi biodiversity targets, the future of biodiversity rests in the balance. The Convention on Biological Diversity's Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) presents the opportunity to preserve nature's contributions to people (NCPs) for current and future generations by conserving biodiversity and averting extinctions. There is a need to safeguard the tree of life—the unique and shared evolutionary history of life on Earth—to maintain the benefits it bestows into the future. Two indicators have been adopted within the GBF to monitor progress toward safeguarding the tree of life: the phylogenetic diversity (PD) indicator and the evolutionarily distinct and globally endangered (EDGE) index. We applied both to the world's mammals, birds, and cycads to show their utility at the global and national scale. The PD indicator can be used to monitor the overall conservation status of large parts of the evolutionary tree of life, a measure of biodiversity's capacity to maintain NCPs for future generations. The EDGE index is used to monitor the performance of efforts to conserve the most distinctive species. The risk to PD of birds, cycads, and mammals increased, and mammals exhibited the greatest relative increase in threatened PD over time. These trends appeared robust to the choice of extinction risk weighting. EDGE species had predominantly worsening extinction risk. A greater proportion of EDGE mammals (12%) had increased extinction risk compared with threatened mammals in general (7%). By strengthening commitments to safeguarding the tree of life, biodiversity loss can be reduced and thus nature's capacity to provide benefits to humanity now and in the future can be preserved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intensification of agricultural land use in traditional Andean production landscapes has led to changes in the provision of nature's contributions to people (NCP) that can threaten people's wellbeing. Understanding local stakeholders' valuation of these NCP is crucial for improving land use decisions. We implemented a spatially explicit and participatory NCP valuation method, using semi-structured interviews and participatory mapping, followed by a spatial multi-criteria decision analysis, to identify priority areas for NCP provision in a highly intensified production landscape in the Colombian Andes. We considered multiple value types, ecological, economical and sociocultural, and the points of view of different actors, orienting this towards decision-making on land use. Our results show that local actors can identify and value a wide range of NCP. However, there are also significant differences between actors. Environmentalists attached special importance to regulating NCP, while agricultural laborers focused more on agriculture-related material NCP. As we expected, tourism entrepreneurs especially valued non-material NCP related to their business experiences. Small-scale farmers tended to put more importance on regulating and non-material NCP than big farmers did. Although there was a consensus between actors as to the importance of natural ecosystems for NCP provision, agricultural actors tended to attach more importance to material NCP in areas deemed important for regulating and non-material NCP by other actors. Our main results confirm the importance of involving different stakeholders in spatial NCP valuation exercises, recognizing their different points of view to help identify possible trade-offs and synergies related to land use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nature provides numerous functions and services that can contribute to societal climate change adaptation. These 'adaptation services' can be sustained, latent, or novel, depend on persistence or transformation of ecosystems, and require varying co-production by people. Adaptation services also include climate mitigation. We present an approach to explore an extensive set of land use and climate scenarios that outline possible futures for a landscape, and quantify the contributions of adaptation services. We quantified adaptation success across six criteria relevant to the region, characterised the contributions of different types of adaptation services, and mapped spatial variation in contributions across the landscape. We built an integrated model of the Mackenzie District (an upland landscape of Aotearoa New Zealand), and analysed 1200 hypothetical scenarios for the period 2060–2070. We found many adaptation options, with 46% of scenarios meeting the criteria for successful adaptation. Four sustained, two latent and five novel services co-produced through financial input made diverse contributions to economic profit, profit resilience, climate change mitigation, climate risk adaptation, landscape cultural heritage and biodiversity. Successful adaptation scenarios were multifunctional, relying on alternative combinations of services allowed by spatial heterogeneity. By accounting for the numerous relationships between people and natural components within complex landscape systems, our advanced simulation approach can inform participatory pathway development by quantifying the potential for nature to contribute to future climate change adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The supply of ecosystem services (ES) is commonly assumed to be linked to human wellbeing within socio-ecological systems. However, these linkages are seldom assessed using quantitative approaches at large scales and low spatial resolution. Here, we investigated the complex bidirectional linkages between ES supply and material wellbeing (income) using data from 382,199 rural properties in 178 municipalities from Chilean Patagonia. We assessed two model groups using structural equation modeling (SEM), wherein the first group assumed an impact of ES supply on wellbeing and the second postulated the opposite impact, with wellbeing affecting ES supply. For each group we run a separate SEM per ES category (i.e. provisioning, regulating, and cultural), making a total of six SEM analyzed. We found that neither model group was significantly stronger than the other, as the linkage between ES supply and material wellbeing was not significant in any model. Each model differed notably in their significant path coefficients, with models for cultural and regulating ES showing a better fit than for provisioning ES. We therefore assert that previously assumed links between ES and material wellbeing do not necessarily hold at larger spatial scales and in contexts where rural economies are more diverse and less dependent on natural capital. Understanding ES supply-wellbeing dynamics and how they vary across spatial and temporal scales is important for fostering sustainable socio-ecological systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The expansion of homogeneous landscapes has been a major driver of biodiversity loss, climate change and land degradation. There is an urgent need for a transition to multifunctional landscapes that provide abundant and nutritious food while also delivering several other contributions essential for a good quality of life. However, implementing this process, especially in large‐scale agriculture without economic subsidies, remains unclear.We discuss guidelines for a transition to multifunctional landscapes based on science and our experience as practitioners. In this transition, practitioners manage crop fields, natural habitats and field edges.We propose an iterative process for designing multifunctional landscapes. Initially, at a fine‐scale resolution, we identify and classify areas with low opportunity costs (e.g. low crop productivity) or a high appreciation for nature (e.g. near housing areas). These areas are categorized into either 'wide' patches or 'narrow' corridors (i.e. edges <100 m wide). Subsequently, wide patches (including those with remnants of native species regardless of size) are allocated for natural habitat restoration (covering at least 20% of the farmland), while narrow zones are designated as biological corridors (making up at least 10% of the farmland and designed to be 50–100 m wide). Also, field size and configuration are redesigned to enhance the efficiency of agricultural practices and edge density. This entails creating smaller fields with strip cropping that follows environmental heterogeneity, instead of relying on large, squared monocultures. Ultimately, this design is continually refined through engagement with stakeholders, incorporating cost–benefit analyses, as well as a process of ongoing monitoring, evaluation and mutual learning.Synthesis and applications. We describe an iterative process by which large‐scale agriculture can support biodiversity and leverage nature's contributions to people while providing more nutritious food and stabilizing crop yields and profits. Multifunctional landscapes will be critical in achieving the targets of the Kunming‐Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework by 2030 and moving the world towards net‐zero emissions by 2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Species, through their traits, influence how ecosystems simultaneously sustain multiple functions. However, it is unclear how trait diversity sustains the multiple contributions biodiversity makes to people. Freshwater fisheries nourish hundreds of millions of people globally, but overharvesting and river fragmentation are increasingly affecting catches. We analyse how loss of nutritional trait diversity in consumed fish portfolios affects the simultaneous provisioning of six essential dietary nutrients using household data from the Amazon and Tonlé Sap, two of Earth's most productive and diverse freshwater fisheries. We find that fish portfolios with high trait diversity meet higher thresholds of required daily intakes for a greater variety of nutrients with less fish biomass. This beneficial biodiversity effect is driven by low redundancy in species nutrient content profiles. Our findings imply that sustaining the dietary contributions fish make to people given declining biodiversity could require more biomass and ultimately exacerbate fishing pressure in already‐stressed ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This theme issue provides an assessment of the contribution of soils to Nature's Contributions to People (NCP). The papers in this issue show that soils can contribute positively to the delivery of all NCP. These contributions can be maximized through careful soil management to provide healthy soils, but poorly managed, degraded or polluted soils may contribute negatively to the delivery of NCP. Soils are also shown to contribute positively to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Papers in the theme issue emphasize the need for careful soil management. Priorities for soil management must include: (i) for healthy soils in natural ecosystems, protect them from conversion and degradation, (ii) for managed soils, manage in a way to protect and enhance soil biodiversity, health, productivity and sustainability and to prevent degradation, and (iii) for degraded soils, restore to full soil health. Our knowledge of what constitutes sustainable soil management is mature enough to implement best management practices, in order to maintain and improve soil health. The papers in this issue show the vast potential of soils to contribute to NCP. This is not only desirable, but essential to sustain a healthy planet and if we are to deliver sustainable development in the decades to come. This article is part of the theme issue 'The role of soils in delivering Nature's Contributions to People'.

This special issue provides an assessment of the contribution of soils to Nature's Contributions to People (NCP). Here, we combine this assessment and previously published relationships between NCP and delivery on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to infer contributions of soils to the SDGs. We show that in addition to contributing positively to the delivery of all NCP, soils also have a role in underpinning all SDGs. While highlighting the great potential of soils to contribute to sustainable development, it is recognized that poorly managed, degraded or polluted soils may contribute negatively to both NCP and SDGs. The positive contribution, however, cannot be taken for granted, and soils must be managed carefully to keep them healthy and capable of playing this vital role. A priority for soil management must include: (i) for healthy soils in natural ecosystems, protect them from conversion and degradation; (ii) for managed soils, manage in a way to protect and enhance soil biodiversity, health and sustainability and to prevent degradation; and (iii) for degraded soils, restore to full soil health. We have enough knowledge now to move forward with the implementation of best management practices to maintain and improve soil health. This analysis shows that this is not just desirable, it is essential if we are to meet the SDG targets by 2030 and achieve sustainable development more broadly in the decades to come. This article is part of the theme issue 'The role of soils in delivering Nature's Contributions to People'.

Management under ecological schemes and increasing habitat heterogeneity, are essential for enhancing biodiversity in vineyards. Birds provide several contributions to agriculture, for example pest control, recreation and enhancing human mental health, and have intrinsic value. Birds are also ideal model organisms because they are easy to survey, and species respond differently to agricultural land use at different scales. Vegetated borders of crops are key for many species of birds, and distance to the border have been found to be an important factor in vineyard-dominated agroecosystems. We evaluate if there are differences in the bird assemblage, between the interior compared to borders within vineyards, using a hierarchical community occupancy model. We hypothesized that occupancy of birds is greater in environments with greater heterogeneity, which in this study was considered to be contributed by the proximity to vegetated corridors. We expected that vineyard borders close to corridors will have higher bird occupancy than the center of the vineyard. The research was conducted in three vineyards with biodiversity-friendly management practices, in Gualtallary, Mendoza, Argentina. Bird surveys were conducted over three breeding seasons from 2018 to 2020. Occupancy and richness of the bird community was more closely associated with the borders adjacent to the corridors than with the interior of the vineyards, as we initially predicted, although the assemblage of birds did not differ much. More than 75% of the registered species consume exclusively or partially invertebrates. Biodiversity-friendly management and ecological schemes, together with vegetated corridors provide multiple benefits for biodiversity conservation. These approaches not only minimize the use of agrochemicals but also prioritize soil cover with spontaneous vegetation, which supports a diverse community of insectivorous bird species, potentially contributing to pest control.

ABSTRACTNature provides numerous functions and services that can contribute to societal climate change adaptation. These ‘adaptation services’ can be sustained, latent, or novel, depend on persistence or transformation of ecosystems, and require varying co-production by people. Adaptation services also include climate mitigation. We present an approach to explore an extensive set of land use and climate scenarios that outline possible futures for a landscape, and quantify the contributions of adaptation services. We quantified adaptation success across six criteria relevant to the region, characterised the contributions of different types of adaptation services, and mapped spatial variation in contributions across the landscape. We built an integrated model of the Mackenzie District (an upland landscape of Aotearoa New Zealand), and analysed 1200 hypothetical scenarios for the period 2060–2070. We found many adaptation options, with 46% of scenarios meeting the criteria for successful adaptation. Four sustained, two latent and five novel services co-produced through financial input made diverse contributions to economic profit, profit resilience, climate change mitigation, climate risk adaptation, landscape cultural heritage and biodiversity. Successful adaptation scenarios were multifunctional, relying on alternative combinations of services allowed by spatial heterogeneity. By accounting for the numerous relationships between people and natural components within complex landscape systems, our advanced simulation approach can inform participatory pathway development by quantifying the potential for nature to contribute to future climate change adaptation.

ABSTRACTIntensification of agricultural land use in traditional Andean production landscapes has led to changes in the provision of nature’s contributions to people (NCP) that can threaten people’s wellbeing. Understanding local stakeholders’ valuation of these NCP is crucial for improving land use decisions. We implemented a spatially explicit and participatory NCP valuation method, using semi-structured interviews and participatory mapping, followed by a spatial multi-criteria decision analysis, to identify priority areas for NCP provision in a highly intensified production landscape in the Colombian Andes. We considered multiple value types, ecological, economical and sociocultural, and the points of view of different actors, orienting this towards decision-making on land use. Our results show that local actors can identify and value a wide range of NCP. However, there are also significant differences between actors. Environmentalists attached special importance to regulating NCP, while agricultural laborers focused more on agriculture-related material NCP. As we expected, tourism entrepreneurs especially valued non-material NCP related to their business experiences. Small-scale farmers tended to put more importance on regulating and non-material NCP than big farmers did. Although there was a consensus between actors as to the importance of natural ecosystems for NCP provision, agricultural actors tended to attach more importance to material NCP in areas deemed important for regulating and non-material NCP by other actors. Our main results confirm the importance of involving different stakeholders in spatial NCP valuation exercises, recognizing their different points of view to help identify possible trade-offs and synergies related to land use.

ABSTRACTThe supply of ecosystem services (ES) is commonly assumed to be linked to human wellbeing within socio-ecological systems. However, these linkages are seldom assessed using quantitative approaches at large scales and low spatial resolution. Here, we investigated the complex bidirectional linkages between ES supply and material wellbeing (income) using data from 382,199 rural properties in 178 municipalities from Chilean Patagonia. We assessed two model groups using structural equation modeling (SEM), wherein the first group assumed an impact of ES supply on wellbeing and the second postulated the opposite impact, with wellbeing affecting ES supply. For each group we run a separate SEM per ES category (i.e. provisioning, regulating, and cultural), making a total of six SEM analyzed. We found that neither model group was significantly stronger than the other, as the linkage between ES supply and material wellbeing was not significant in any model. Each model differed notably in their significant path coefficients, with models for cultural and regulating ES showing a better fit than for provisioning ES. We therefore assert that previously assumed links between ES and material wellbeing do not necessarily hold at larger spatial scales and in contexts where rural economies are more diverse and less dependent on natural capital. Understanding ES supply-wellbeing dynamics and how they vary across spatial and temporal scales is important for fostering sustainable socio-ecological systems.

On the basis of knowledge and values from different social actors, we investigated what biophysical properties of the wood are linked to good-quality firewood in the semiarid Chaco forest of central-western Argentina. We applied social actor-tailored semi-structured interviews to incorporate the perspectives of: a) two kinds of local social actors who carry out their productive activities in the forest (subsistence farmers and cattle ranchers), and b) ecologists. We identified plant attributes associated with the desirable or undesirable qualities after lighting firewood, and tested them through an innovative experimental game. We then calculated the fuel value index of each native woody species of the study area mentioned by local actors as a firewood source, on the basis of quantitative measurements, and compared it with their stated preference, finding partial coincidence. This is because, while the fuel value index includes some traits considered relevant, when assessing firewood quality people also consider other factors that do not intervene in this index (e.g., abundance, accessibility, effort, market preferences). The inputs from different kinds of knowledge and the implementation of qualitative and quantitative strategies gave a broader view of the valuation of plants for firewood, representing a much richer picture than that offered by each knowledge system and approach separately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nature's contributions to people (NCP) rarely originate from nature alone. Often, only by joining natural capital with forms of anthropogenic capital, NCP emerge benefitting people. Understanding how NCP are co‐produced by natural and anthropogenic capitals is needed to inform decision‐making on sustainable land‐use practices.Through a systematic review of the literature, we compile existing empirical evidence on NCP co‐production and how this evidence was arrived at. We identified 237 observations from 25 publications on anthropogenic capital indicators co‐producing NCP. The reviewed studies were conducted mainly in cropland and forest ecosystems and at the landscape level.Our results show that most evidence for co‐production exists for material NCP, with physical capital and/or human capital as main input. Interestingly, non‐material NCP relied mostly on human or social capital only, while material and regulating NCP involved multiple types of anthropogenic capital.Our findings provide guidance for future research on how to explicitly incorporate NCP co‐production to analytically assess the relationships between anthropogenic capitals and NCP provision. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Aquatic food systems are important contributors to global food security to satisfy an intensifying demand for protein‐based diets, but global economic growth threatens marine systems. Cephalopod (octopus, squid and cuttlefish) fisheries can contribute to food security; however, their sustainable exploitation requires understanding connections between nature's contributions to people (NCP), food system policies and human wellbeing. Our global literature review methodology examined what is known about cephalopod food systems, value chains and supply chains, and associated market drivers. For analysis, we followed the IPBES conceptual framework to build a map of the links between cephalopod market drivers, NCP and good quality of life (GQL). Then we mapped cephalopod food system dynamics onto IPBES (in)direct drivers of change relating to catch, trade and consumption. This research contributes knowledge about key factors relating to cephalopods that can support transitions towards increased food security: the value of new aquatic food species; food safety and authenticity systems; place‐based innovations and empowerment of communities; and consumer behaviour, lifestyle and motivations for better health and environmental sustainability along the food value chain. We outline requirements for a sustainable, equitable cephalopod food system policy landscape that values nature's contributions to people, considers UN Sustainable Development Goals and emphasises the role of seven overlapping IPBES (in)direct drivers of change: Economic, Governance, Sociocultural and Socio‐psychological, Technological, Direct Exploitation, Natural Processes and Pollution. We present a novel market‐based adaptation of the IPBES conceptual framework—our ‘cephalopod food system framework’, to represent how the cephalopod food system functions and how it can inform processes to improve sustainability and equity of the cephalopod food system. This synthesised knowledge provides the basis for diagnosing opportunities (e.g. high demand for products) and constraints (e.g. lack of data about how supply chain drivers link to cephalopod NCP) to be considered regarding the role of cephalopods in transformations towards a resilient and more diversified seafood production system. This social–ecological systems approach could apply to other wild harvest commodities with implications for diverse marine species and ecosystems and can inform those working to deliver marine and terrestrial food security while preserving biodiversity. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Abstract There are strong links between heritage and the environment yet, heritage is not fully included in existing ecosystem‐based frameworks. Different understandings of heritage values exist, and heritage values are not yet related to key value categories in environmental values research. To address this gap and facilitate a common values‐based approach, we develop a novel framework that links heritage and environmental values. First, we expand the understanding of heritage values by linking heritage to key environmental value categories. We then use the Life Framework of Values to show how heritage features in the different ways in which people relate to the world. The resulting heritage values framework is operationalised by applying it to six case examples drawn from participatory research on the governance of European coastal and maritime heritage. We found that the environment was not only considered to be a setting for heritage but was itself valued as heritage in different ways; that heritage is not extrinsic to the environment but is also a way in which people see meaning in the environment; and that multiple value frames and types were involved in shaping this perspective. The results highlight important discrepancies between stakeholders' perspectives and existing management approaches. Applying the framework shows the ways in which heritage and nature are entwined by providing a structure for elucidating what can be valued as heritage, what values can inform heritage values and how heritage values feature in human–nature relations. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Developing successful policies for sustainable land use requires understanding the perspectives of different actors. This study explored how residents – an often under-represented and un-organized group – vary in their valuation of ecosystem services (ES) and perception of multifunctionality in a peri-urban setting. We conducted 127 interviews in the Kromme Rijn region of the Netherlands guided by an interactive, visual canvas tool (STREAMLINE). We addressed four research questions: (1) Is there variation among residents regarding preferences for ES? (2) Which competing interests do residents see in this landscape? (3) Where are hotspots of perceived multifunctionality? and (4) Can the level of perceived multifunctionality be explained by its location on the rural–urban gradient? Our findings demonstrate that while the majority of ES are important to residents of a peri-urban landscape, there is variation in relative preference towards a subset of ES (mainly provisioning services). A typology of preferences distinguishes three groups: (A)‘I want it all’ – all ES (very) important; (B)‘I want most of it’ – majority of ES important; and (C)‘I want some’ – several ES not important at all. The majority of competing interests identified by respondents were between biodiversity and either a provisioning or cultural service. Universal hotspots of perceived multi-functionality overlapped with the area around residential areas, whereas natural (grassland) areas and water were considered multifunctional by only a small share of respondents. These perceptions and preferences do not necessarily align with current policy and management efforts, it is advised that residents’ perceptions and values are better accounted for in landscape governance.

Ecosystems are experiencing significant pressure from human activities, with 1 million species at risk of extinction. This is threatening to undermine the resilience of ecosystems, which provide multiple benefits to support human existence and are essential for the support of life on Earth. A number of conceptual frameworks have been developed as a guide for the assessment of ecosystem services (ESs) and nature's contributions to people (NCPs), including Millennium Ecosystems Assessment, The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity report, France's National Ecosystems Assessment, the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services, and the Global Assessment of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. In this paper, we compare the existing conceptual frameworks for the assessment of ESs and NCPs and derive a unified structural framework. Several indicators for characterizing the ESs/NCPs provided are selected and integrated through normalization. On this basis, and enriched by a number of culture-specific indicators, we conduct a mapping exercise illustrating the ES/NCP provision for the whole of France in a spatially explicit form based on a 1 × 1 km scale. Finally, we generate integrated maps depicting distribution patterns of different services and contributions across the landscapes of France focusing on economic, social and ecological dimensions. The results indicate that a non-monetary assessment of the complexity and diversity of NCPs is feasible and presents tangible advantages as compared to monetary frameworks. The paper concludes that provisioning, regulating and cultural services and contributions are geographically unevenly distributed and further analysis is required to assess the degree of complementarity, feedback loops and tipping points among different services. Our pilot research clearly illustrated the feasibility of conducting a highly disaggregated multidimensional assessment of ESs/NCPs at the national scale to inform decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By definition, a smart city must improve its readiness for extreme events in order to confront the growing unpredictability of natural disasters. Doing this implies planning for resilience. That is, to enhance our capacity to cope, mitigate, adapt, and rebuild human settlements after a catastrophic event. Although scholars have argued that biodiversity can enhance resilience, there is a dearth of empirical research that specifically addresses this crucial issue. This research analyzes Nature's Contributions to People related to tsunami resilience. Then, the relationship between biodiversity and community resilience indexes is examined for 50 coastal Chilean cities that are prone to tsunamis, using biodiversity data from an open access database. The resilience index "population living in the first kilometer from the shoreline" was found to be correlated with species richness (p = 0.48) and the evenness biodiversity index, Pielou (p = −0.47). These results suggest that biodiversity data availability is crucial for understanding nature's contribution to human settlement resilience. Although this study was hindered by limited data availability, the potential use in other contexts remains valuable for the development of smart cities. The study highlights the need for increased biodiversity data collection on a national scale and emphasizes the use of ecoinformatics to create smart cities that can effectively respond to climate uncertainty in coastal urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]