Doctoral Dissertation Research: Assessing and Mapping Ecosystem Service Uses and Values Among National Forest Stakeholders

这一博士论文研究改进项目的重点是开发方法，在更好地理解公共土地的价值和利用广泛的利益相关者团体关于公共土地的基础上，为美国公共土地管理提供公平的信息。美国林业局的任务是在国家森林规划和决策中纳入个人和社会从生态系统中获得的各种利益，通常被称为生态系统服务。虽然这一概念旨在将环境决策与人类福祉直接联系起来，但在基于生态系统服务的管理中，几乎没有关于如何收集和纳入与人类福祉和文化价值有关的数据的指导。要通过生态系统服务框架更多地关注福祉和文化价值，第一步是更好地了解不同利益相关者群体使用和评估国家林地的不同方式。这项研究将提供数据并展示可用于满足未来国家森林规划的法定要求的方法，同时允许利益相关者团体为公共土地管理提供投入。此外，将与林业局分享成果，并将其提交给利益攸关方团体，以增进对优先事项的理解，并突出各团体之间共有的价值观。作为博士论文研究改进奖，该项目将提供支持，使有前途的学生能够建立独立的研究生涯。虽然生态系统服务的概念在过去20年中作为决策框架日益突出，但分析往往集中在少数几个容易量化的服务上，而不是更难量化个人和社会可能最重视的文化利益。这项研究将通过开发确定、评估和绘制生态系统服务的参与性方法来解决这一知识差距，这些方法将把生态系统服务的概念与不同利益相关者群体的资源使用、文化价值和生计联系起来。首先，将通过半结构化访谈调查不同利益相关者群体识别、使用、优先考虑和最重视哪些生态系统服务。其次，参与者将参与一项参与性测绘工作，重点是了解他们在整个地貌中确定的用途和价值的空间模式，这些模式将被输入地理信息系统软件并进行分析。最后，这些基于地点的调查结果将与生态系统服务评估的非参与性方法进行比较，包括生态系统服务提供的空间模型，以及与森林管理者的半结构化访谈结果，以揭示机构生态系统服务的优先事项。虽然该项目专注于开发这些方法并为吉福德·平肖特国家森林建立数据，但所使用的方法将适用于全美的公共土地。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This doctoral dissertation research improvement project focuses on developing methods to equitably inform U.S. public land management based on improved understanding of the values and uses a wide range of stakeholder groups have regarding public lands. The U.S. Forest Service has been tasked with including the variety of benefits individuals and society obtain from ecosystems, often called ecosystem services, in National Forest planning and decision-making. While the concept aims to directly link environmental decision-making with human wellbeing, there is little guidance on how to collect and include data related to human wellbeing and cultural values in ecosystem service-based management. A first step in giving more attention to wellbeing and cultural values through an ecosystem services framework is to better understand the diverse ways National Forest lands are used and valued by different stakeholder groups. This research will provide data and demonstrate methods that can be used to fulfill statutory requirements for National Forest planning going forward, while allowing stakeholder groups to provide input into public lands management. Furthermore, results will be shared with the Forest Service and presented to stakeholder groups, improving understanding of priorities and highlighting values that are shared among groups. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this project will provide support to enable a promising student to establish an independent research career.While the concept of ecosystem services has risen in prominence as a decision-making framework over the last two decades, analysis has often focused on few, easily quantifiable services rather than the more difficult to quantify cultural benefits that individuals and society may value most. This research will address this knowledge gap through the development of participatory approaches for identifying, valuing, and mapping ecosystem services that will link the concept with the resource use, cultural values, and livelihoods of diverse stakeholder groups. First, investigation of which ecosystem services are identified, used, prioritized, and most valued by different stakeholder groups will be conducted through semi-structured interviews. Secondly, participants will engage in a participatory mapping exercise focused on understanding the spatial patterns of the uses and values they have identified across the landscape, which will be input into geographic information system software and analyzed. Finally, these place-based findings uncovered from participatory engagement with multiple groups will be compared with non-participatory methods for ecosystem service assessment, including spatial models of ecosystem service provision and results from semi-structured interviews with forest managers that uncover institutional ecosystem service priorities. While this project focuses on developing these methods and establishing data for Gifford Pinchot National Forest, the methods used will applicable to public lands across the United States.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.