Farmers consideration of soil ecosystem services in agricultural management - A case study from Saxony, Germany

The ecosystem services (ES) concept has been increasingly considered in science and policy making. However, its consideration in agricultural management by farmers has not yet been fully investigated. This paper presents a theoretical framework based on available literature on how the concept of ES is likely established in agricultural practices and policies. We refine this framework based on a case study from Saxony, Germany. First, semi-qualitative interviews with farmers were conducted and a qualitative content analysis with a combination of a deductive and inductive category system executed. The results show that knowledge about the concept of ES is inherent in agriculture and that farmers implement various ES in agricultural management decisions even though their terminology may differ from ES definitions in research. Second, the paper evaluates existing agricultural policy instruments within the case study region related to their potential to enhance the provision of ES by asking which governance instruments are familiar with and would be accepted by the farmers for incorporating ES more prominently as a criterion in their management decisions. The paper concludes with an enriched conceptual framework about ES in farmers' decision making and on policy recommendations.