Ecosystem Services are Social–ecological Services in a Traditional Pastoral System: the Case of California’s Mediterranean Rangelands

Abstract

ABSTRACT. When attempting to value ecosystem services and support their production, two critical aspects may be neglected. The term "ecosystem services" implies that they are a function of natural processes; yet, human interaction with the environment may be key to the production of many. This can contribute to a misconception that ecosystem service production depends on, or is enhanced by, the coercion or removal of human industry. Second, in programs designed to encourage ecosystem service production and maintenance, too often the inter-relationship of such services with social and ecological processes and drivers at multiple scales is ignored. Thinking of such services as "social-ecological services" can reinforce the importance of human culture, perspectives, and economies to the production of ecosystem services. Using a social-ecological systems perspective, we explore the integral role of human activity and decisions at pasture, ranch, and landscape scales. Just as it does for understanding ecosystems, a hierarchical, multiscaled framework facilitates exploring the complexity of social-ecological systems as producers of ecosystem services, to develop approaches for the conservation of such services. Using California's Mediterranean rangelands as a study area, we suggest that using a multiscaled approach that considers the importance of the differing drivers and processes at each scale and the interactions among scales, and that incorporates social-ecological systems concepts, may help avoid mistakes caused by narrow assumptions about "natural" systems, and a lack of understanding of the need for integrated, multiscaled conservation programs.

Ecosystem Services as a Boundary Concept: Arguments from Social Ecology

“…This basic idea can be challenged by at least two considerations: first, the very nature of ecosystems in most parts of the world, which are mostly culturally transformed landscapes, and which depend in their delivery of services very much on the modification through human activities [24,25]; and, second, the very nature of benefits, which in most cases need interventions in the form of labour and technology [22]. At first glance, the first argument does not seem to be decisive, as the same modification of ES delivery is also addressed by the feed-back loop of the Cascade Model.…”

“…For example, research on ES assumes, usually implicitly, that ES are provided by ecosystems as natural processes independent from human influences. This assumption, however, ignores the role of human interventions (labour, technology, and capital) in improving the supply of ES (in particular, agricultural goods, but also forest products and cultural or regulating services) by transforming 'natural ecosystems' into human-modified cultural landscapes [21][22][23][24][25]. While one study shows that humans indeed often contribute to the maintenance and enhancement of ecosystems [26], another emphasises "that increased use of manufactured and financial capital might deliver higher quantities of ecosystem services in the short-term but is often associated to several trade-offs in space and time" [27] (p. 271).…”

Navigating complexity through knowledge coproduction: Mainstreaming ecosystem services into disaster risk reduction

“…Ecosystem services are produced by social-ecological systems. They are the emergent result of multiple ecosystem features (35), social factors such as tenure, access, and preferences (36,37), and interactions between social and ecological components (38,39). In addition, these interactions and benefit flows span multiple temporal and spatial scales (40)(41)(42), presenting a mismatch with the usual time and spatial frames of decision making (43,44).…”

Europe: the paradox of landscape change : A case-study based contribution to the understanding of landscape transitions

“…Landscape Services are confined to services that depend upon landscape patterns and functions. Many Ecosystem Services are produced at the landscape scale (Huntsinger and Oviedo 2014). Landscape services are concrete, they can be spatially identified, some can be quantified, and they are value-based, i.e.…”

“…Landscape services are founded in the Ecosystem Services (ES) concept, which is based on the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, and these include provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services (MA 2005). Many Ecosystem Services are produced at the landscape scale (Huntsinger and Oviedo 2014). Landscape services are concrete, they can be spatially identified, some can be quantified, and they are value-based, i.e.…”