Social Perception of the Ecosystem Services of Prunus serotina subsp. capuli in the Andes of Ecuador

Juan Carlos Carrasco Baquero, Luis Felipe Lema Palaquibay, Carlos Renato Chávez Velásquez (), Verónica Caballero-Serrano, Rachel Itle and Dario J. Chavez
Additional contact information
Juan Carlos Carrasco Baquero: Faculty of Natural Resources, Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo (ESPOCH), Riobamba 060155, Ecuador
Luis Felipe Lema Palaquibay: CAPULI—Investigation Project, Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo, Ecuador & Investigation Institute, Riobamba 060155, Ecuador
Carlos Renato Chávez Velásquez: Faculty of Natural Resources, Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo (ESPOCH), Riobamba 060155, Ecuador
Verónica Caballero-Serrano: Faculty of Natural Resources, Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo (ESPOCH), Riobamba 060155, Ecuador
Rachel Itle: Department of Horticulture, University of Georgia, Griffin, GA 30229, USA
Dario J. Chavez: Department of Horticulture, University of Georgia, Griffin, GA 30229, USA

Land, 2023, vol. 12, issue 5, 1-17

Abstract: Ecosystem services (ES) refer to the benefits that people obtain from the ecosystem. In this sense, Prunus serotina is associated with the provision of ES; however, these services have been scarcely studied. The objective of this research was to determine the knowledge and perceptions of individuals in rural areas regarding the importance of ES, as well as the factors that influence them. Surveys were applied in three study areas (Chimborazo, Tungurahua, and Cotopaxi) of the central Andes of Ecuador that detailed the sociodemographic and perception characteristics of ES based on the predefined ES of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA). In the assessment, the interview data were analyzed to obtain the relationships between the variables using Spearman’s correlation in the R-studio software. The results showed that individuals’ level of education, age, and gender play an important role in variations in peoples’ knowledge of ES. A total of 21 ES were identified; the most representative services, according to their ecosystem category, were support (shelter for birds and insects and soil formation), provisioning (food, insecticide, wood, and firewood), regulation (improvement in the quality of air and climate regulation), and culture (scenic beauty and the maintenance of traditions). This analysis of the social perception of ES works as a strategy for the maintenance of Prunus serotina in the orchards and plots of families in the central Andes of Ecuador. The identification of ES through the social perception of their existence facilitates an understanding of the importance of ES in rural localities, which lays the foundation for strategies to be developed in the future for their conservation.

Keywords: social perception; ecosystem services; Prunus serotina; sociodemographic; capuli; Andes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/5/1086/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/5/1086/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:5:p:1086-:d:1150117

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().