A comprehensive assessment of ecosystem services: Integrating supply, demand and interest in the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve

Integrated assessment of ecosystem services involves the recognition of value pluralism and the inclusion of the different components of ecosystem services, ranging from supply to social demand and interest. Supply refers to the capacity of ecosystems to provide services, while demand refers to the allocation of money or willingness to obtain a particular service and interest to the importance assigned to services. Yet, a comprehensive assessment of ecosystem services which integrates these three components is still unexplored. This paper proposes a methodological approach to examine (mis)matches, i.e. differences or similarities in quality or quantity, when analysing the supply, demand and interest components of ecosystem services. We assessed twelve ecosystem services in four different units socioeconomically and environmentally similar of the social-ecological system of the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve in Northern Spain. Results showed that the different ecosystem services components provide divergent but complementary information regarding their value. We also found that the information obtained is consistent across different spatial units with similar socio-economic characteristics, suggesting that the mismatch patterns among ecosystem services components are more related to the set of ecosystem services assessed than the socio-economic characteristics and land uses of the area of study. Our findings strengthen arguments of former calls for integration of the biophysical, monetary and socio-cultural values addressed by the supply, demand and interest components of ecosystem services.