Assessing the linkages between plant functional diversity and ecosystem services from the stakeholders’ points of view

QUETIER, FABIEN; DÍAZ, SANDRA; CÁCERES, DANIEL; PÉREZ HARGUINDEGUY, NATALIA; DE OLIVEIRA, ALEXANDRE A.; BRET-HARTE, M. SYNDONIA; CABIDO, MARCELO; CASANOVES, FERNANDO; FINEGAN, BRYAN; MURILLO, CARLOS; PEÑA-CLAROS, MARIELOS; POORTER, LOURENS; DIVERSUS RESEARCH CONSORTIUM

Morelia, Mexico

Congreso; Annual meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC), Morelia, Mexico; 2007

The recent Millennium Ecosystem Assessment has identified key links between generalized ecosystem services and different components of functional biodiversity: both the most abundant plant functional attributes, and the range of these attributes in local ecosystems. On these general bases, our study goes one step forward to identify ecosystem services which are more specifically linked to the needs, perceptions and interests of different stakeholders. Here, we propose and test robust conceptual links tracing them back all the way to the local abundance and range of plant functional attributes. The links between stakeholder-specific ecosystem services and functional biodiversity will be assessed through a comparison of the main land-use trajectories affecting contrasting biomes in the Americas. By considering the distinct and potentially conflicting interests of different social actors in a context of rapid land-use change, our approach should contribute to a better definition of the ecosystem-service value of the land, and to viable regional conservation strategies.