Socio-ecological Production Landscapes Research Articles

Exploring Landscape Values and Willingness to Pay for Perceived Ecosystem Services: The Case of Malampaya Sound, a Socio-Ecological Production Landscape and Seascape

Since the 1990s, the Philippines has established numerous protected areas aimed at preserving regions with distinct biological and ecological characteristics. However, transitioning towards a more comprehensive approach to managing these protected areas, one that effectively conserves biodiversity while also supporting the welfare of local communities, remains a formidable task. Understanding the sources of the goods and services upon which communities rely, whether directly or indirectly, and their perceptions of ecosystem services (ESs) is a crucial aspect that can inform decision-making for both protected area managers and policymakers. This research specifically examines the mapping of landscape values as perceived by local communities within Malampaya Sound Protected Landscape and Seascape (MSPLS) in the Philippines. Using survey questionnaires administered to 114 randomly selected participants, the study identifies the ESs within MSPLS and maps the associated landscape values. The respondents were tasked with assigning values to the ESs using a typology of 14 landscape values, and their willingness to pay (WTP) to enhance the ESs within MSPLS was also investigated. Analysis of socio-demographic data, the identified ESs, and the perceived landscape values was conducted to uncover significant relationships between the variables. Our findings reveal that the respondents prioritize provisioning services, particularly fisheries, agriculture, and agroforestry. Regarding landscape value preferences, economic value is most prominently perceived (37.4%), followed by subsistence value (30.8%) and life-sustaining value (6.8%). This study further unveils the socio-economic factors influencing the ranking of ESs and trends in WTP for ES improvements in Malampaya. Additionally, a potential payment for ecosystem services scheme in MSPLS is estimated at PHP 532,000, approximately USD 10,600.

The Many Meanings of ‘One’: The Concept and Practice of the One Health Approach in Socio-Ecological Production Landscapes and Seascapes

Abstract What does One Health mean for a complex socio-ecological system? How can this integrated approach be put into practice? Can it foster on-the-ground local management and national policy uptake? Our commentary explores these questions by looking at the concept of One Health in the context of socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS) and the use of resilience assessment in SEPLS as a tool for its operationalisation in Taiwan. We conclude that One Health has a high sustainability potential for holistic, dynamic and integrated solutions in complex systems at various scales. One Health impact statement From a ‘scapes’ perspective, the One Health approach offers an opportunity to take a fresh look at the familiar socio-ecological components of a landscape or seascape – community, biodiversity and abiotic environment. In fact, in addition to the holistic and dynamic qualities of it as a concept, its implementation in a real-world setting allows to explore its many meanings of ‘One’. One Health stands for ‘oneness’ – as many inter-connected elements within one system, for being ‘the only one’ – as the most valuable and cherished thing, and for ‘one for all’ – as what is to be co-created and shared by all living beings.

Correction to: Exploring bioproduction systems in socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes in Asia through solution scanning using the Nature Futures Framework

Correction to: Exploring bioproduction systems in socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes in Asia through solution scanning using the Nature Futures Framework

Exploring bioproduction systems in socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes in Asia through solution scanning using the Nature Futures Framework

AbstractSocial–ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS) are an essential source of livelihood for people worldwide; however, they are experiencing challenges due to climate and ecological systems’ change affecting their bioproduction mechanisms. These externally influenced drivers challenge their relevance, which calls for the revitalization of these systems focusing on sustainable use and management of resources with increased socio-ecological resilience and improved economic viability. In response, this study was conducted by reviewing the literature on 90 bioproduction systems in SEPLS across three countries in Asia, Japan, Philippines and Indonesia. Through a solution scanning exercise, the study aims to identify the driver of change, the involvement of stakeholders, and the prominent response types considered during their revival. The recorded 348 policy responses are filtered using the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment-based response typology to systematically categorize the scanned solutions, and the Nature Futures Framework (NFF) to capture the linked pluralistic values. In addition to the solutions, the study captured the drivers of change and other characteristics of the bioproduction system. Overall, the stakeholder engagement, the solution type, and pathways to achieve the NFF perspectives vary across the countries. In all study countries, the change in natural, physical, and biological systems and challenges posed by land use change are the key direct driver. Indirect drivers in Japan are mainly associated with demographic change, while in the Philippines and Indonesia, they are socio-political and technological challenges, respectively. The NFF filtering indicates a stronger lean toward a ‘Nature as Culture/One with Nature’ perspective, achieved through solutions targeting sociocultural and behavioral change and community-based management. The solutions and the filtering allowed an understanding of the differing approaches, which can guide other bioproduction systems in enhancing their socio-economic resilience and bringing transformative change to SEPLS.

Disentangling the practice of landscape approaches: a Q-method analysis on experiences in socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes

Landscape approaches are gaining momentum in both scientific and policy agendas. However, landscape approaches comprise a multitude of concepts, approaches and principles, which are in part similar, in some parts different or even contradictory. In this paper, we used a Q-method questionnaire to explore how landscape approaches are understood and employed in 45 case studies of socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes derived from the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI), as well as the motivations for employing them. Our analysis revealed that all landscape approaches pursued very similar goals, namely to ensure that local communities as landscape stewards have the capacity to preserve context-specific values in the face of socio-economic and environmental changes. The tools for reaching such goals are built upon people and nature feedback dynamics that crystalize in rich biodiversity and local ecological knowledge. However, our analysis also showed that the means to reach those goals differed depending on many contextual factors, such as the dominant ecosystems and socio-economic activities in the landscape, the constellation of actors or the most relevant drivers of change affecting the social–ecological system. In particular, we identified four distinct lenses in which landscapes approaches are applied in practice to landscape sustainability: (1) for the preservation of natural values, (2) for the preservation of socio-cultural values, (3) for the promotion of social justice and participatory governance, and (4) for securing food security and local livelihoods. Our results showed an association between the choice of a lens and the value types motivating the use of a landscape approach. Relational values were associated with a focus on landscape conservation and safeguard of social–ecological values. Our study highlights the relevant and beneficial role of landscape approaches as a boundary concept and emphasizes the need for transdisciplinary and participatory methods within landscape research and practice to navigate the context-specific options for implementation of landscape approaches.

Harnessing Insights from Indicators-Based Resilience Assessment for Enhancing Sustainability in the Gurage Socio-Ecological Production Landscape of Ethiopia.

Even though the mosaic of different land-use/land-cover types has long contributed to the resilience of socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes in Ethiopia, recent data indicate that their sustainability is under threat. This study aims to evaluate landscape resilience by adopting a set of indicators for enhancing sustainability in the Gurage socio-ecological production landscape in Ethiopia. The authors employed a toolkit of indicators in the production landscape through a community-based scoring approach (1-5 Likert scale). The information from household surveys, land-use/land-cover analysis, and satellite-based drought incidents assessment was integrated with the ranking analysis to support the evaluations. The results revealed that landscape diversity, ecosystem protection, local governance, and social equity indicators had the highest landscape resilience ranks. In contrast, lower ranks are associated with knowledge, innovation, livelihoods, and well-being indicators. The overall resilience of the Gurage socio-ecological production landscape was estimated to be below average. Thus, strategies that enhance the resilience and sustainability of this socio-ecological landscape are essential. The findings could help draw the attention of policymakers and natural resource managers to building and strengthening the resilience of the landscape. This study demonstrates that indicators could aid in evaluating landscape resilience status along with other ancillary information, particularly in data-sparse regions. Methods of assessing resilience must be creative in such regions, and this paper may inform such efforts. In addition, the study recommends that landscape resilience indicators be improved by reducing subjective matter and including spatial-explicit dimensions for evaluating resilience.

A refined literature review to promote sustainable development through integrated frameworks in the European landscape

Humans and human communities influence—and are influenced by—the landscapes or ecosystems of which they are a part. The contemporary landscape which much of the world’s population inhabits is a complex matrix of interrelated human and natural systems. The European Landscape Convention’s comprehensive definition recognizes the importance of landscape but is deficient in classification frameworks and cohesive approaches to planning, particularly sustainable development. This paper provides a critical literature review for the term ‘landscape’; it’s evolving and iterative procedure synthesizes interdisciplinary perspectives of literature’s varied theories, paradigms, frameworks and concepts. Results indicate the disciplines of Social Science and Environmental Science transcend the literature and current paradigms for the concept of ‘landscape’ still lack interrelated perspective and are generally poorly understood among disciplines. This literature review concludes that sustainable development within the European landscape requires an integrated spatial approach for applying the concept of ‘landscape’. The context of the human-nature relationship within a socio-ecological production landscape (SEPL) allows the interactions of its interdependent components to be viewed comprehensively. This critical analysis grounds perspectives of landscape and assist students, practitioners, and researchers to interpret concepts of the term ‘landscape’ within multiple frameworks. This paper fills interdisciplinary gaps and provides the structural, spatial, and contextual considerations for further integrated research, theory, and planning in thinking about sustainable development within Europe’s rapidly changing landscapes.

Review: Types of socioecological production landscapes of the Philippines based on dominant biodiversity: status, problems and future directions

Abstract. Buot IE Jr, Buhay AFV. 2022. Review: Types of socioecological production landscapes of the Philippines based on dominant biodiversity: status, problems and future directions. Biodiversitas 23: 3755-3770. The dominance of human activities in socioecological production landscapes (SEPLs) known as biocultural landscapes in some literature, results in the overutilization of natural resources and loss of critically important biodiversity, either cultivated or wild. The anthropocentric perspective prevailing at this time of the Anthropocene Epoch, disrupts the traditional harmonious human-nature relationship in biocultural landscapes, particularly, the socioecological production landscapes (SEPLs) known as satoyama landscapes in Japan. This adversely affects biodiversity and hence, ecosystem services in surrounding communities in the Philippines and beyond. In this paper, SEPLs, biocultural landscape and satoyama are used interchangeably to refer to landscapes where human culture has greatly influenced the resulting biodiversity of a landscape. This study provides an overview of the SEPLs in the Philippine context. It reviews and furthers the inquiry in a previous study which identified examples of satoyama landscapes or SEPLs in the Philippines based on the main crop or dominant biodiversity. The objectives of the current paper are to present an updated list of SEPLs in the Philippines based on the main crop or dominant biodiversity; determine its status and problems; analyze its role in sustainable development and map future directions to sustain a harmonious human-nature relationship that would result to an abundance of biodiversity and overflowing ecosystem services. The local and international scientific literature on the status and problems of the identified SEPLs in the Philippines were reviewed. Results indicated that in addition to the three types identified by Buot and Osumi in 2004, nine more were included in this paper. The 12 SEPLs types identified were classified according to their main crop, namely: rice in muddy walled or stone-walled terraces; rice mixed with other crops; corn; vegetables, sweet potato, gabi/taro; cassava; coconut; coffee; cacao; tobacco; and rice-fish. These SEPLs contribute to various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), either directly or indirectly. Incidentally, there are prevailing problems observed such as exploitation of natural resources due to the increasing population of migrants in the upland as a result of poverty. Simultaneously, the indigenous sustainable practices were weakened with the aging population while the youth showed a lack of interest in farming, leading to biodiversity loss and cultural erosion. Strategic actions including strengthening institutional partnerships, empowering indigenous communities, sustainable management of natural resources, and ensuring good governance and equitable sharing of resources are discussed. These steps will ensure biodiversity conservation and harmonious living in Philippine SEPLs.

The missing intangibles: nature\u2019s contributions to human wellbeing through place attachment and social capital

Communities in socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes are aging and depopulating. While longstanding interdependence of humans and nature in such areas holds crucial hints for sustainable development, they continue to be undervalued by existing economic frameworks. We suspect omission of non-material nature’s contributions to people (NCPs) as a possible reason for this undervaluation and focus on the intangible aspects of human–nature relationships: people’s direct and emotional attachment to their land and interrelationships between close-knit human communities and a thriving natural environment. Field observations on Sado Island, Japan, and literature reviews informed our hypothesis that perceived nature, conceptual human–nature relationships, place attachment, and social relationships contribute to subjective wellbeing. Structural equation modeling of island-wide questionnaire responses confirmed our hypothesis. Nature contributes to wellbeing by enhancing place attachment and social relationships; ecocentrism contributes to greater values of perceived nature. Free-response comments elucidated how local foods and close interpersonal relationships enhance residents’ happiness and good quality of life, as well as how aging and depopulation impact their sense of loneliness. These results lend empirical support to the understanding of human–nature interdependency in socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes. In assessing their value to local residents and society at large, greater consideration should be given to intangible aspects of human–nature relationships and quality of life.

Global identification and mapping of socio-ecological production landscapes with the Satoyama Index.

Production landscapes play an important role in conserving biodiversity outside protected areas. Socio-ecological production landscapes (SEPL) are places where people use for primary production that conserve biodiversity. Such places can be found around the world, but a lack of geographic information on SEPL has resulted in their potential for conservation being neglected in policies and programs. We tested the global applicability of the Satoyama Index for identifying SEPL in multi-use cultural landscapes using global land use/cover data and two datasets of known SEPL. We found that the Satoyama Index, which was developed with a focus on biodiversity and tested in Japan, could be used globally to identify landscapes resulting from complex interactions between people and nature with statistical significance. This makes SEPL more relevant in the global conservation discourse. As the Satoyama Index mapping revealed that approximately 80% of SEPL occur outside recognized conservation priorities, such as protected areas and key biodiversity areas, identifying SEPL under the scheme of other area-based conservation measures (OECM) may bring more conservation attention to SEPL. Based on the issues identified in the SEPL mapping, we discuss ways that could improve the Satoyama Index mapping at global scale with the longitudinal temporal dimension and at more local scale with spatial and thematic resolution.

Evaluation of socio-ecological production landscape of the riverside area by a spatio-temporal analysis

Evaluation of socio-ecological production landscape of the riverside area by a spatio-temporal analysis

Assessing Nature’s Contributions to People by Jefoure Roads for Sustainable Management in the Gurage Socio-Ecological Production Landscape in Ethiopia

“Jefoure” refers to a traditional grass-covered road with households settled on both sides in the Gurage socio-ecological production landscape in Ethiopia. We assess Nature’s Contributions to People (NCP) on Jefoure roads for sustainable management. Data were collected using survey tools and orthophoto images, and they were systematically analyzed using qualitative and quantitative methods. The Jefoure roads are beyond transport networks and enhance the people’s quality of life. We identified 12 contributions of Jefoure roads from the reporting categories of material, nonmaterial, and regulating NCP. Over time, the contributions of the roads at different localities decreased due to socio-economic, cultural, and religious changes. Recent trends in infrastructural provisions cause the degradation of Jefoure roads and lead to a decrease in their value. Therefore, sustainable landscape planning and management are essential to preserve and enhance the positive NCP. This study indicates that roads do not solely generate negative ecological impacts, and planners need to work on designing versatile roads, particularly in landscapes where traffic flows are low. Indigenous knowledge has a significant role in bridging the past and future and needs to be integrated into landscape planning and management.

Enhancing synergies in nature\u2019s contributions to people in socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes: lessons learnt from ten site-based projects in biodiversity hotspots

Trade-offs in nature’s contributions to people (NCP), particularly in material NCP versus regulating and non-material NCP, continue to rise. Socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS) represent harmonious human–nature interactions resulting in positive outcomes for both biodiversity and human well-being, thus implying synergies among multiple NCP are possible. In case studies of ten projects selected from biodiversity hotspots under the GEF-Satoyama Project, we investigated whether and how synergies in NCP exist within SEPLS and explored management interventions that enhanced these synergies. Using the responses to an online survey completed by project managers from each project and drawing on project reports, we identified a wide array of NCP deriving from various ecosystems within the project SEPLS. Habitat and food provisions, both attributed to multiple ecosystem types, were key components of the NCP bundles present in the project SEPLS. Among the management options that enhanced NCP in SEPLS were food-centred approaches entailing organic agriculture, eco-labelling, branding and improved agricultural practices. Habitat-centred approaches included participatory biodiversity monitoring, ecosystem restoration, co-management and conservation agreements with landowners. Synergies in NCP were generated by integrating these interventions with enabling governance structures and through community empowerment. If combined with mapping and modelling techniques, identifying NCP bundles in SEPLS from local people’s perspectives as we outlined in this study, would help to better contextualise the analysis of NCP bundles. Such contextualised NCP bundle analyses will help field practitioners understand how to enhance synergies between multiple NCP and the broader conservation community could access untapped NCP knowledge.

Mapping and characterizing the Jefoure roads that have cultural heritage values in the Gurage socio-ecological production landscape of Ethiopia

Information about cultural landscape settings and characteristics is essential for understanding and finding solutions for their sustainable management. In the Gurage socio-ecological production landscape of Ethiopia, “Jefoure” refers to a traditional grass-covered road with households on either side. This study aims to map and characterize Jefoure roads to help manage them sustainably. Data were compiled using survey tools and recent orthophoto images and then were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed. The results underscore Jefoure as a network of roads of variable lengths that can be as extensive as 87 m. Notably, the physical geography of the landscape has an impact on the length, shape, and directions of these roads. Jefoure roads are multifunctional roads that have been designed and managed by local people for centuries. The Gurage settlement pattern is centered on these roads, which influences their home garden functional spaces. Residents, local groups, land-use planners, and decision-makers need to manage the cultural roads sustainably. This study generates valuable empirical information regarding a Gurage landscape feature that is not common knowledge, and it can support decision-makers and other conservation initiatives aimed at the sustainable management. It may also inform and encourage other researchers in their studies on similar cultural roads. This road has a cultural value and needs to work on its heritagization, in conjunction with the community's various cultural assets.

Exploring the multiple contributions of enset (Ensete ventricosum) for sustainable management of home garden agroforestry system in Ethiopia

Although keystone species in the home garden agroforestry system provide multiple contributions to people, they have not been thoroughly researched, particularly in indigenous crops. Enset (Ensete ventricosum) is a domesticated home garden perennial crop in large parts of southern Ethiopia. This study explores the diverse contributions of enset in the Gurage socio-ecological production landscape in Ethiopia through geospatial, field surveys, and biophysical measurements. Nature's contribution to people (NCP) assessment framework has been considered to explore the societal benefits of the enset crop, and more than 25 contributions are identified in the landscape. Every part of the crop is essential for the local people. The range of contributions extends from food for humans and feeds for livestock to climate regulations and soil enrichment. Enset is a cultural asset of the community and contributes to enhancing the aesthetic quality of the landscape. However, their diverse uses have been decreasing due to socioeconomic changes and the lack of technological innovations. This decline can result in the loss of the home garden system, which eventually puts the community's food security at risk and the regulating and nonmaterial benefits being degraded. This study integrated the diverse tools to overcome the limited approaches of NCP assessment and scanned solutions for the sustainability of the enset farming system and to transform the food security in the region. Exploring such types of keystone species' diverse roles has indispensable for a better understanding of the agroecosystem's contributions and to drive transformative strategies for environmental sustainability.

Community-based project assessment using the indicators of resilience in SEPLS: Lessons from the GEF-Satoyama Project

As sustainable management of production landscapes and seascapes is increasingly becoming important for global conservation of biodiversity, understanding people dimensions holds key to successful conservation projects. The “Indicators of Resilience in Socio-Ecological Production Landscapes and Seascapes” (the Indicators) had been developed to capture the multifaceted nature of landscapes and human interactions with them.. Although the Indicators had been used in many projects around the world, they had not been used before and after project interventions to determine project impacts. The information from the assessment workshops conducted in Ecuador, India and Seychelles were analyzed to determine the effectivity of the Indicators in project evaluation and monitoring. We then explored how information derived from the use of the Indicators can help project proponents understand the impact of the projects. The results show that the Indicators can be effectively used to determine the strengths and weaknesses of projects being implemented by obtaining input and feedback from stakeholders involved and/or affected by project interventions. We conclude that the Indicators serve as an effective tool for community-based assessment for projects and the overall status of resilience of landscapes and seascapes. We emphasize that qualitative information in discussion among participants of assessments using the Indicators hold rich contents that can be used to better understand the project impact and community needs; thus the project proponents should use the Indicators to obtain and learn from such information, rather than the numerical results which the Indicators also give.

Goat Grazing for Restoring, Managing, and Conserving “Satoyama”, a Unique Socio-Ecological Production Landscape

Agricultural intensification and socioeconomic changes over several decades have generated many abandoned fields. These changes have led to reduce plant and animal biodiversity, as well as associated loss of ecosystem services, and represent deterioration of a unique socio-ecological production landscape known as “Satoyama” in Japan. Appropriate management measures should be implemented to restore these abandoned fields. The objectives of this study were to: 1) determine the effect of goat grazing on vegetation dynamics and animal performance in response to different stocking rates over a five-year period; and 2) evaluate the economic potential of weed management through goat grazing by comparing this method to mowing with a brush cutter. We found that goat grazing changed vegetational composition, increased the number of plant species, and improved plant diversity in the abandoned field, although stocking rate had little effect on plant diversity. Goat grazing changed vegetation quality, even though goats maintained their nutritional status and body weight over five years. Goat grazing showed economic advantages over mowing during a relatively short period (up to 8–12 days per 1,000 m2). Overall, we found that goats would be ecologically and economically useful in restoring, managing, and conserving agricultural fields. However, a more comprehensive approach is still necessary for conserving “Satoyama”. Combination of grazing, mowing with a machine and prescribed burning may be more effective, and animal and biofuel production in these field would be a solution for reducing field abandonment.

Assessment of the Resilience of a Tartary Buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum) Cultivation System in Meigu, Southwest China

Recent socioeconomic development, increased transport and new agricultural technology are endangering the survival of traditional agriculture and the Yi people’s traditional knowledge of cultivating Tartary buckwheat. The cultural heritage of Tartary buckwheat cultivation among the Yi communities needs to be investigated and protected before its loss. The main objectives of this study are to document the Tartary buckwheat cultivation system, to analyze the agroecosystem networks that support the current system, and to measure the resilience of the ecological, agricultural and social systems using relevant indicators. The Tartary buckwheat cultivation system in Meigu County uses a rotation system, in which various crops are planted alternatively (e.g., Tartary buckwheat, green manure and potato/corn), utilizing bunch planting and furrow drilling technology. Tartary buckwheat has an important position in the major festival activities among the Yi people’s communities. Network analysis on the current agricultural system, ecosystem and social system indicated that the system was stable. The mean score of ecological, agricultural and social stability were 2.50, 2.85 and 2.53, respectively, indicating moderately stability. In contrast, socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS) resilience indicators in Meigu performed only moderately, with a score of 2.63. The assessment of the resilience of the Tartary buckwheat cultivation system can provide some guidance for policy makers to strengthen biodiversity conservation, sustainable agricultural production and livelihood development (e.g., land use, responding to extreme environmental stresses and improving education levels).

Assessment of the Resilience in SEPLS (Socio-Ecological Production Landscapes and Seascapes) in Yanuo Village, Xishuangbanna, Southwest China

Participatory ‘assessment workshops’ were held in 2018 in Yanuo Village, Xishuangbanna, Southwest China. The ‘Indicators of Resilience in Socio-Ecological Production Landscapes and Seascapes (SEPLS)’ tool was used to provide the community with a framework for discussion and analysis of socio-ecological processes essential for resilience. Workshops were planned and implemented by local people together with researchers from outside the community. Discussion, including a scoring process, was undertaken using a subset of twenty indicators designed to capture the communities’ perceptions of factors affecting the resilience of their landscapes. The indicators were also used to provide the local community with a framework to discuss both current conditions of resilience and potential areas for improvement. A key result was that the existing community management approach did not include loss of traditional knowledge as a factor that would impact on the livelihoods and well-being of the community. A mechanism to encourage young people to inherit and actively use traditional knowledge was agreed to be necessary and included in economic activities. In addition, the socio-economic infrastructure in the community needs further improvement. This community management assessment framework in Yanuo Village can be scaled out to other communities in tropical montane regions with similar socio-economic environments by supporting stakeholders (policymakers, NGOs and development agencies, etc.).

A Place-Based Approach to Agricultural Nonmaterial Intangible Cultural Ecosystem Service Values

Though agricultural landscape biodiversity and ecosystem service (ES) conservation is crucial to sustainability, agricultural land is often underrepresented in ES studies, while cultural ES associated with agricultural land is often limited to aesthetic and tourism recreation value only. This study mapped 7 nonmaterial-intangible cultural ES (NICE) valuations of 34 rural farmers in western Taiwan using the Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES) methodology, to show the effect of farming practices on NICE valuations. However, rather than a direct causal relationship between the environmental characteristics that underpin ES, and respondents’ ES valuations, we found that environmental data is not explanatory enough for causality within a socio-ecological production landscape where one type of land cover type (a micro mosaic of agricultural land cover) predominates. To compensate, we used a place-based approach with Google Maps data to create context-specific data to inform our assessment of NICE valuations. Based on 338 mapped points of 7 NICE valuations distributed among 6 areas within the landscape, we compared 2 groups of farmers and found that farmers’ valuations about their landscape were better understood when accounting for both the landscape’s cultural places and environmental characteristics, rather than environmental characteristics alone. Further, farmers’ experience and knowledge influenced their NICE valuations such that farm areas were found to be sources of multiple NICE benefits demonstrating that farming practices may influence ES valuation in general.