Integration matters: Combining socio-cultural and biophysical methods for mapping ecosystem service bundles

Ecosystem services (ESs) play an important role in sustainable landscape management. People value ESs in diverse ways encompassing social and ecological domains and we need to bring these different values together. We used social-cultural and biophysical methods to map a diverse set of ESs at two spatial scales in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Norway. The ESs bundled into three distinct social-ecological system archetypes which were similar in their distribution and relative ES values at both spatial scales. The bundles were also well matched to relative ESs values of the Biosphere Reserve zones (core, buffer, and transition) indicating that the bundles capture the social-ecological systems of the zones. We argue that it is important to consider the social-ecological context of the zones to provide sufficient knowledge to inform management. Our work has the capacity to contribute to sustainable land management that takes biocultural values into consideration.

Automated summary

Ecosystem services play a crucial role in sustainable landscape management, and it is important to integrate social and ecological values. In this study, we used social-cultural and biophysical methods to map a diverse set of ecosystem services at two spatial scales in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Norway. The results showed that these services can be classified into three distinct social-ecological system archetypes, which were consistent across spatial scales and matched with the relative values of the reserve zones. Considering the social-ecological context of the zones is crucial for informed management decisions. This work contributes to sustainable land management by incorporating biocultural values.