Ecosystem service trade-offs from supply to social demand: A landscape-scale spatial analysis

Quantitative studies that assess and map the relationship between the supply and social demand of ecosystem services are scarce. Here we address both supply and social demand sides by spatially analyzing ecosystem service trade-offs from three value-dimensions – i.e., biophysical, socio-cultural and economic, and across different landscape units in southeast Spain. To accomplish this goal, within different landscape units, we quantify the supply side by mapping the biophysical values of five ecosystem services, and the social demand exploring their socio-cultural and economic values by analyzing social preferences and contingent valuation methods, respectively. Our results show that the assessments of ecosystem services using different value-dimensions are complementary and useful for (1) identifying ecosystem service trade-offs, both on the supply- and on the social demand-side, and (2) analyzing spatial mismatches among the three value-dimensions of ecosystem services. We also believe that our approach facilitates the exploration of ecosystem services trade-offs on a spatial landscape scale, and results can be used by managers to identify areas in which services are declining or priority areas for conservation based on maximizing ecosystem services, and will be useful in detecting potential conflicts associated with new management and planning practices.