Management of Ecosystem Service Trade-offs: Integrating Human Activities and Stakeholder Perspectives

Effective management of trade-offs among ecosystem services (ES) remains a persistent challenge in social-ecological research, particularly in data-scarce, semi-arid regions. This study integrates participatory social valuation with spatial analysis to identify key anthropogenic drivers influencing trade-offs among provisioning, regulating, and supporting ES. We assessed a range of services-including livestock capacity, fuelwood, pollination, water regulation, soil formation, and habitat provision-based on both ecological data and local community perceptions. Spatial mapping revealed uneven distributions of trade-offs across the landscape, highlighting spatial mismatches between ecological processes and social priorities. Path analysis showed that dirt roads, urbanization, and agricultural expansion differentially shape the nature and intensity of ES interactions (p < 0.001). By combining relative social values with ecological indicators, we quantified the weighted impact of human activities on ES dynamics. Our findings highlight the importance of place-based, community-coordinated management strategies to address trade-offs and promote equitable ecosystem governance in vulnerable dryland systems.