TY - JOUR

T1 - Scientific and local ecological knowledge, shaping perceptions towards protected areas and related ecosystem services

AU - Cebrián-Piqueras, Miguel A.

AU - Filyushkina, Anna

AU - Johnson, Dana N.

AU - Lo, Veronica

AU - López-Rodríguez, María D.

AU - March, Hug

AU - Oteros-Rozas, E.

AU - Peppler-Lisbach, Cord

AU - Quintas-Soriano, Cristina

AU - Raymond, Cchristopher M.

AU - Ruiz-Mallén, Isabel

AU - van Riper, Carena J.

AU - Zinngrebe, Yves

AU - Plieninger, Tobias

N1 - Funding Information: This paper was supported by the ENVISION project, funded through the 2017–2018 Belmont Forum and BiodivERsA joint call for research proposals, under the BiodivScen ERA-Net COFUND programme, and with the support of national funders (German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Grant Number: 01LC18064, National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1854767). We want to thank the valuable support of the staff of the Spanish National Centre of Environmental Education (CENEAM) and the local collaborators who conducted interviews with local residents. IRM (Grant No. RYC-2015-17676). EOR (Grant No. IJCI-2017-34334). Publisher Copyright: © 2020, The Author(s).

PY - 2020/11/1

Y1 - 2020/11/1

N2 - Context: Most protected areas are managed based on objectives related to scientific ecological knowledge of species and ecosystems. However, a core principle of sustainability science is that understanding and including local ecological knowledge, perceptions of ecosystem service provision and landscape vulnerability will improve sustainability and resilience of social-ecological systems. Here, we take up these assumptions in the context of protected areas to provide insight on the effectiveness of nature protection goals, particularly in highly human-influenced landscapes. Objectives: We examined how residents’ ecological knowledge systems, comprised of both local and scientific, mediated the relationship between their characteristics and a set of variables that represented perceptions of ecosystem services, landscape change, human-nature relationships, and impacts. Methods: We administered a face-to-face survey to local residents in the Sierra de Guadarrama protected areas, Spain. We used bi- and multi-variate analysis, including partial least squares path modeling to test our hypotheses. Results: Ecological knowledge systems were highly correlated and were instrumental in predicting perceptions of water-related ecosystem services, landscape change, increasing outdoors activities, and human-nature relationships. Engagement with nature, socio-demographics, trip characteristics, and a rural–urban gradient explained a high degree of variation in ecological knowledge. Bundles of perceived ecosystem services and impacts, in relation to ecological knowledge, emerged as social representation on how residents relate to, understand, and perceive landscapes. Conclusions: Our findings provide insight into the interactions between ecological knowledge systems and their role in shaping perceptions of local communities about protected areas. These results are expected to inform protected area management and landscape sustainability.

AB - Context: Most protected areas are managed based on objectives related to scientific ecological knowledge of species and ecosystems. However, a core principle of sustainability science is that understanding and including local ecological knowledge, perceptions of ecosystem service provision and landscape vulnerability will improve sustainability and resilience of social-ecological systems. Here, we take up these assumptions in the context of protected areas to provide insight on the effectiveness of nature protection goals, particularly in highly human-influenced landscapes. Objectives: We examined how residents’ ecological knowledge systems, comprised of both local and scientific, mediated the relationship between their characteristics and a set of variables that represented perceptions of ecosystem services, landscape change, human-nature relationships, and impacts. Methods: We administered a face-to-face survey to local residents in the Sierra de Guadarrama protected areas, Spain. We used bi- and multi-variate analysis, including partial least squares path modeling to test our hypotheses. Results: Ecological knowledge systems were highly correlated and were instrumental in predicting perceptions of water-related ecosystem services, landscape change, increasing outdoors activities, and human-nature relationships. Engagement with nature, socio-demographics, trip characteristics, and a rural–urban gradient explained a high degree of variation in ecological knowledge. Bundles of perceived ecosystem services and impacts, in relation to ecological knowledge, emerged as social representation on how residents relate to, understand, and perceive landscapes. Conclusions: Our findings provide insight into the interactions between ecological knowledge systems and their role in shaping perceptions of local communities about protected areas. These results are expected to inform protected area management and landscape sustainability.

KW - Biodiversity

KW - Ecosystem services

KW - Ecosystem vulnerability

KW - Human-nature relationships

KW - Inclusive conservation

KW - Landscape sustainability

KW - Local community

KW - Protected areas

KW - Traditional ecological knowledge

KW - Ecosystems Research

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85090799668&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/s10980-020-01107-4

DO - 10.1007/s10980-020-01107-4

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:85090799668

VL - 35

SP - 2549

EP - 2567

JO - Landscape Ecology

JF - Landscape Ecology

SN - 0921-2973

IS - 11

ER -