Cultural ecosystem services in agroforests

Abstract

Cultural ecosystem services, such as aesthetic and spiritual appreciation, recreation, and education, are intangible and nonmaterial benefits people gain from ecosystems. The cultural services that agroforests provide, in turn, enhance provisioning, supporting, and regulating ecosystem services. However, cultural services are often ignored in ecosystem service assessments, largely because many are intangible and difficult to quantify. Because agroforests are socioecological systems, both environmental and sociocultural changes can influence agroforestry management. These changes can be adaptive, enhancing the sustainability and resilience of agroforests, or erosive, undermining the integrity and well-being of both ecological and human communities. We describe several case studies illustrating the range of cultural ecosystem services provided by agroforests, how socioeconomic shifts drive changes in agroforestry management, and frameworks for evaluating these cultural services.