Public preferences for ecosystem services on exurban landscapes: A case study from the Mid-Atlantic, USA

Autor: Joshua M. Duke, Jules Bruck, Susan Barton, Megan Murray, Shreeram Inamdar, Douglas W. Tallamy
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2016
Předmět:
Zdroj: Heliyon, Vol 2, Iss 7 (2016)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2405-8440
DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2016.e00127
Popis: This paper reports data from a residential landscape preference study conducted in Delaware, USA. The researchers constructed an ecologically designed exurban residential landscape, which delivered 20 new environmental and human-related impacts, including 7 that delivered ecosystem services. Ecosystem services included impacts such as improved flood control and enhanced plant diversity. Using pictures before and after the intervention, an intercept survey of 105 non-neighboring residents estimated whether the 20 impacts positively, negatively, or did not affect the respondents’ household wellbeing. The public found that most landscape-intervention impacts had a positive effect on their quality of life, especially those impacts involving ecosystem services. All but one ecosystem service were found to be strong amenities and the other (moving indoor activities outside) was an amenity. However, the landscape intervention delivered one clear disamenity: increased undesirable wildlife. Respondents also identified what impacts were the most important in affecting their welfare: undesirable wildlife (negative); flood control (positive); and water quality (positive). Ecosystem services accounted for 41.6% of the public’s importance rating, while undesirable wildlife was 12.9%. A planning process seeking more ecosystem services from residential landscapes should focus on all the most important drivers of preference, if it is to be accepted by residents.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals