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

本博士论文研究改进项目侧重于基于对公共土地的广泛利益相关者群体的价值和用途的更好理解，开发公平告知美国公共土地管理的方法。美国林务局的任务是将个人和社会从生态系统中获得的各种利益（通常称为生态系统服务）纳入国家森林规划和决策。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，关于如何收集和纳入与人类福祉和文化价值相关的数据的指导很少。通过生态系统服务框架更多关注福祉和文化价值的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森林土地的不同方式。这项研究将提供数据和示范方法，可用于满足未来国家森林规划的法定要求，同时允许利益相关者团体为公共土地管理提供意见。此外，结果将与林业局共享，并提交给利益攸关方团体，以增进对优先事项的理解，并突出各群体之间共有的价值观。作为博士论文研究进步奖，该项目将提供支持，使有前途的学生建立一个独立的研究生涯。虽然生态系统服务的概念在过去二十年中作为一个决策框架而日益突出，但分析往往侧重于少数易于量化的服务，而不是更难以量化的个人和社会可能最重视的文化利益。本研究将通过开发识别、评估和绘制生态系统服务的参与性方法来解决这一知识缺口，这些方法将这一概念与资源利用、文化价值和不同利益相关者群体的生计联系起来。首先，将通过半结构化访谈对不同利益相关者群体识别、使用、优先考虑和最重视的生态系统服务进行调查。其次，参与者将参与一项参与式制图活动，重点了解他们在景观中确定的用途和价值的空间格局，这些空间格局将被输入地理信息系统软件并进行分析。最后，将这些基于地点的研究结果与非参与式生态系统服务评估方法进行比较，包括生态系统服务提供的空间模型和与森林管理者进行的半结构化访谈的结果，这些访谈揭示了制度生态系统服务的优先事项。虽然该项目侧重于开发这些方法并为吉福德平肖国家森林建立数据，但所使用的方法将适用于美国各地的公共土地。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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.