Mapping perceptions for Ecosystem Services provision

Understanding the diversity of perceptions regarding ecosystem services (i.e., benefits human get from nature) is important to identify conflicts between where services are provided and where the local public perceive them, with the final goal of incorporating their opinions into decision making. This project aims to analyze social perceptions regarding ecosystem services using face-to-face surveys in the Treasure and Portneuf Valleys conducted during the summer of 2016. We first have identified where respondents consider each of the twelve ecosystem services to be provided in each of our study sites. Next, these locations will be digitized using ESRI ArcMap 10, to spatially represent the participatory mapping. Preliminary results show that stakeholders perceive food from agriculture as the most important ecosystem service in both the Treasure and Portneuf Valleys. The second most important service is alternative energy in Treasure Valley and habitat for species for the Portneuf Valley. By understanding where stakeholders believe important ecosystem services are provided, we expect to identify synergies and mismatches between the reality of ecosystem service provision and the perception of this provision by the local public