TY - JOUR
T1 - Subjective evaluations of ecosystem services and disservices
T2 - an approach to creating and analyzing robust survey scales
AU - Larson, Kelli
AU - Corley, Elizabeth
AU - Andrade, Riley
AU - Hall, Sharon
AU - York, Abigail
AU - Meerow, Sara
AU - Coseo, Paul
AU - Childers, Daniel
AU - Hondula, David
N1 - Funding Information:
Thanks to Barbara Trapido-Lurie for assistance with graphics. Also, this material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the grants BCS-1026865, DEB-1637590, EF-1638725, and, SES-1462086. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendation expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 by the author(s).
PY - 2019/7
Y1 - 2019/7
N2 - Research on ecosystem services (ES) has largely focused on the ecological functions that produce services or the economic valuation of the benefits provided by ecosystems. Far less research has examined public perceptions of ES, and more so ecosystem disservices (EDS), despite evidence that ecosystem properties and functions can produce beneficial or detrimental outcomes for human well-being. To address this gap, we present a robust approach to measuring beliefs about ecosystem services and disservices. With various means to confirm the validity and reliability of ES and EDS measures, we demonstrate this approach with survey data that captures residents’ perceptions about whether their local neighborhood environment (as the ecosystem of focus) provides certain positive or negative impacts in metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona. The results highlight patterns in people’s views of: Desirable and undesirable biota; benefits and risks pertaining to heat and stormwater; recreational and aesthetic values; and societal nuisances and problems. Composite survey scales for overall perceptions of services and disservices are presented, in addition to more distinctive dimensions of ES and EDS. To better understand and manage ecosystems for diverse benefits, the specific survey measures and the general methodological approach can be adapted to various ecosystems and contexts.
AB - Research on ecosystem services (ES) has largely focused on the ecological functions that produce services or the economic valuation of the benefits provided by ecosystems. Far less research has examined public perceptions of ES, and more so ecosystem disservices (EDS), despite evidence that ecosystem properties and functions can produce beneficial or detrimental outcomes for human well-being. To address this gap, we present a robust approach to measuring beliefs about ecosystem services and disservices. With various means to confirm the validity and reliability of ES and EDS measures, we demonstrate this approach with survey data that captures residents’ perceptions about whether their local neighborhood environment (as the ecosystem of focus) provides certain positive or negative impacts in metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona. The results highlight patterns in people’s views of: Desirable and undesirable biota; benefits and risks pertaining to heat and stormwater; recreational and aesthetic values; and societal nuisances and problems. Composite survey scales for overall perceptions of services and disservices are presented, in addition to more distinctive dimensions of ES and EDS. To better understand and manage ecosystems for diverse benefits, the specific survey measures and the general methodological approach can be adapted to various ecosystems and contexts.
KW - Ecosystem services and disservices
KW - Environmental attitudes
KW - Risk perceptions
KW - Survey scales
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U2 - 10.5751/ES-10888-240207
DO - 10.5751/ES-10888-240207
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85070881509
VL - 24
JO - Conservation Ecology
JF - Conservation Ecology
SN - 1708-3087
IS - 2
M1 - 7
ER -