Visits from the ghost of disturbance past: Information about past disturbance influences lay judgments of ecosystems

Abstract

While effective techniques are being developed to restore ecosystem function to landscapes following anthropogenic disturbance, there has been a paucity of research on lay judgments of the quality of restored ecosystems. This represents an important research gap because judgments about the health of ecosystems following restoration are likely to influence people's satisfaction with restoration outcomes and processes. Likewise, judgments about ecosystem health following restoration are likely to influence people's perceptions about the acceptability of the activities that led to the disturbance and—ultimately—the need for restoration. Documenting how restored landscapes are perceived in terms of certain qualities—such as scenic beauty and ecosystem health—will ultimately improve our understanding of how the public will interact with them. An experiment was developed to test the effect of information on past natural and anthropogenic disturbances on lay judgments about ecosystem quality. Identical photographs of forest scenes were framed as the aftermath of natural or anthropogenic disturbances. Restored forests following natural disturbances were judged significantly more positively across a broad range of ecosystem qualities than the identical scenes following an anthropogenic disturbance. Disturbances that were natural in origin were, retrospectively and prospectively, more acceptable than anthropogenic disturbances; these results were most strongly observed for individuals endorsing biospheric values. This study offers a new context for research on lay judgments about, and perceptions of, ecosystem health. Results from this research also suggest that intuitive judgments about ecosystem quality will be important metrics by which people evaluate disturbed and restored habitats.