Spatial patterns of cultural ecosystem services provision in Southern Patagonia

• Published in: Landscape Ecology
• Main Authors: Martinez Pastur, Guillermo José, Peri, Pablo Luis, Lencinas, María Vanessa, García Llorente, Marina
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Springer 2016
• Subjects: Servicios de los Ecosistemas; Distribución Espacial; Participación Social; Valor Estético; Valores Sociales; Recreación; Ecosystem Services; Spatial Distribution; Social Participation; Aesthetic Value; Social Values; Recreation; Región Patagónica; Santa Cruz; Local Identity; Social Perceptions; Southern Patagonia; Austral; Patagonia; Argentina; Martínez; Pablo; Llorente; Antártida; Tierra del Fuego
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/3159; https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10980-015-0254-9#citeas; https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-015-0254-9

Context Although there is a need to develop a spatially explicit methodological approach that addresses the social importance of cultural ecosystem services for regional planning, few studies have analysed the spatial distribution on the cultural ecosystem services based on social perceptions. Objective The main objective of this study was to identify cultural ecosystem service hot-spots, and factors that characterize such hot-spots and define the spatial associations between cultural ecosystem services in Southern Patagonia (Argentina). Methods The study was carried out in Southern Patagonia (243.9 thousand km2) located between 46° and 55° SL with the Andes mountains on the western fringe and the Atlantic Ocean on the eastern fringe of the study area. The study region has a range of different vegetation types (grasslands, shrub-lands, peat-lands and forests) though the cold arid steppe is the main vegetation type. We used geo-tagged digital images that local people and visitors posted in the Panoramio web platform to identify hot-spots of four cultural ecosystem services (aesthetic value, existence value, recreation and local identity) and relate these hot-spots with social and biophysical landscape features. Results Aesthetic value was the main cultural service tagged by people, followed by the existence value for biodiversity conservation, followed by local identity and then recreational activity. The spatial distribution of these cultural ecosystem services are associated with different social and biophysical characteristics, such as the presence of water bodies, vegetation types, marine and terrestrial fauna, protected areas, urbanization, accessibility and tourism offer. The most important factors are the presence of water in Santa Cruz and tourism offer in Tierra del Fuego. EEA Santa Cruz Fil: Martínez Pastur, Guillermo José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas. Laboratorio de Recursos Agroforestales; Argentina Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santa Cruz; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Lencinas, María Vanessa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas. Laboratorio de Recursos Agroforestales; Argentina Fil: García Llorente, Marina. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Facultad de Ciencias. Departamento de Ecología. Laboratorio de Socio-ecosistemas; España