TY - JOUR
T1 - A deliberative research approach to valuing agro-ecosystem services in a worked landscape
AU - Shipley, Nathan J.
AU - Johnson, Dana N.
AU - van Riper, Carena J.
AU - Stewart, William P.
AU - Chu, Maria L.
AU - Suski, Cory D.
AU - Stein, Jeffrey A.
AU - Shew, Justin J.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by a University of Illinois , College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences , Future Interdisciplinary Research Explorations seed grant [number ILLU-741-380 ], a USDA-NIFA grant [number 2018-68002-27918], a USDA-NIFA Hatch project [accession number 1012211], and a National Great Rivers Research & Education Center internship for Dana Johnson [number NGRREC-IP2018-19]. We are particularly grateful to the members of the Kaskaskia Watershed Association for their partnership and support of this research.
PY - 2020/4
Y1 - 2020/4
N2 - Sustaining agricultural environments requires explicit recognition of the services provided by landscapes, particularly cultural ecosystem services that are contested and underrepresented in previous research. We assembled and engaged a panel of experts to identify and deliberate on the relationships among ecosystem services, threats and land management practices in an agricultural watershed using a Delphi method. We also drew from focus group results to gain an in-depth understanding of how participants valued the Kaskaskia River Watershed, Illinois. Results revealed that diverse benefits were derived from provisioning (e.g., crop production), regulating (e.g., flood prevention), supporting (e.g., soil formation), and cultural (e.g., farming lifestyle) services provided by the watershed. A disproportionately higher number of cultural services were identified and rated as highly important. Multiple threats, including erosion and nutrient loading, were associated with agricultural, forest and lake and river environments, highlighting the importance of connectivity across ecosystems. To mitigate and adapt to change, particularly around the provision of agro-ecosystem services, stakeholders benefit from collective discussions about land management practices such as reduced tillage and zoning policies. Engaging local stakeholders in deliberation provides a rich basis for understanding the multiple values of worked landscapes and establishing sustainable agricultural practices.
AB - Sustaining agricultural environments requires explicit recognition of the services provided by landscapes, particularly cultural ecosystem services that are contested and underrepresented in previous research. We assembled and engaged a panel of experts to identify and deliberate on the relationships among ecosystem services, threats and land management practices in an agricultural watershed using a Delphi method. We also drew from focus group results to gain an in-depth understanding of how participants valued the Kaskaskia River Watershed, Illinois. Results revealed that diverse benefits were derived from provisioning (e.g., crop production), regulating (e.g., flood prevention), supporting (e.g., soil formation), and cultural (e.g., farming lifestyle) services provided by the watershed. A disproportionately higher number of cultural services were identified and rated as highly important. Multiple threats, including erosion and nutrient loading, were associated with agricultural, forest and lake and river environments, highlighting the importance of connectivity across ecosystems. To mitigate and adapt to change, particularly around the provision of agro-ecosystem services, stakeholders benefit from collective discussions about land management practices such as reduced tillage and zoning policies. Engaging local stakeholders in deliberation provides a rich basis for understanding the multiple values of worked landscapes and establishing sustainable agricultural practices.
KW - Agriculture
KW - Cultural ecosystem services
KW - Deliberative valuation
KW - Delphi method
KW - Stakeholder engagement
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U2 - 10.1016/j.ecoser.2020.101083
DO - 10.1016/j.ecoser.2020.101083
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85080037928
SN - 2212-0416
VL - 42
JO - Ecosystem Services
JF - Ecosystem Services
M1 - 101083
ER -