Ecosystem services from (pre-)Alpine grasslands: Matches and mismatches between citizens’ perceived suitability and farmers’ management considerations

Abstract

The integration of socio-cultural assessments in ecosystem services research has increased steadily over the last years. However, the stakeholders’ perception of ecosystem services from grasslands, a major agricultural land cover in (pre-)Alpine landscapes, has received only limited attention. Furthermore, studying the heterogeneity of perceptions within stakeholder groups is a major scientific need. In this study, we examined the perceptions of farmers and citizens regarding grassland ecosystem services, specifically the matches and mismatches between perceived suitability of grasslands and importance assigned by farmers in their management considerations. We conducted surveys in a study area in southern Bavaria, Germany, in 2018. Overall, ecosystem services that citizens perceived as very suitable to be provided by grasslands aligned well with the ecosystem services that are highly important to farmers in their management considerations, but significant mismatches also existed among all categories of ecosystem services. Clustering and dimension reduction revealed two clusters of farmers and three clusters of citizens depending on farm characteristics and environmental attitudes, respectively. Redundancy analysis showed a strong influence of the stakeholder cluster on the perception of the services assessed. Furthermore, age and gender influenced the perceptions attached to grassland ecosystem services.