A comprehensive approach for agroecosystem services and disservices valuation

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Agricultural Science
• Environmental Management

Background:

• Ecosystem services valuation is increasingly used in management.
• Agroecosystems are unique anthropized systems where services and disservices coexist.
• Existing valuation methods need adaptation for agroecosystem specificities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and validate a comprehensive approach for valuing agroecosystem services and disservices.
• To adapt existing ecosystem service paradigms for agroecosystem idiosyncrasies.
• To assess the relative importance of different services and disservices in a semi-arid Mediterranean agricultural area.

Main Methods:

• Developed a comprehensive valuation approach.
• Validated the approach using stakeholder assessment.
• Employed a choice experiment in a semi-arid western Mediterranean agricultural area.

Main Results:

• All service categories (provisioning, regulating, cultural) are crucial.
• Key services: biodiversity, recreation/tourism, climate regulation, food provision.
• Key disservices: water issues, waste treatment, water purification.
• Biodiversity (38%) and recreation/tourism (20%) are most valued services; water/waste treatment (15%) and water purification (15%) are significant disservices.

Conclusions:

• Agroecosystem valuation must integrate both services and disservices.
• The multifunctional character of agroecosystems needs consideration.
• The proposed approach provides a framework for holistic agroecosystem assessment.