Recognised nature’s contributions to people vary for native and introduced trees across land uses
Abstract
Land-use change affects biodiversity, which, in turn, underpins nature's contributions to people (NCP). However, there is much uncertainty about the relationships between NCP and distinct land uses, given that anthropogenic impacts and biodiversity (e.g. proportions of native and introduced species) vary across landscapes. To address this gap, we studied the types, distribution, and species origins of trees that are recognised as underpinning NCP, according to expert biocultural knowledge. Trees were sampled along 81 transects across urban, rural, and natural zones on the Afrotropical island of São Tomé. Both native and introduced trees were mainly recognised for material contributions (171 of 176 species and 6,522 of 6,530 individuals), notably for materials and assistance (e.g. building materials) and energy (fuel wood, charcoal). These biomass-intensive contributions were commonly associated with trees in the natural zone, where native and endemic species dominated. Few of these species were recognised for non-material and regulating contributions. In contrast, trees in the rural and urban zones were mostly introduced and commonly associated with non-material (e.g. aesthetic value) and regulating contributions (e.g. microclimate). These contributions may have been under-recognised as they were implicitly associated with trees, were not aligned with individual species, or were largely invisible from a biocultural knowledge perspective. Both native and introduced species were recognised for diverse NCP across zones, highlighting that conservation strategies might have to be extended into human-modified landscapes to improve social legitimacy. More work, building on the biocultural baseline of this study, is necessary to understand how NCP are realised.
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BibTeX
@article{strauß2026recognised,
title = {{Recognised nature’s contributions to people vary for native and introduced trees across land uses}},
author = {Lena Strauß and Ricardo F de Lima and Timothy R Baker and Laura Benitez-Bosco and Gilles Dauby and Maria Do Céu Madureira and Estevão Soares and Pascoal Sousa and Tariq Stévart and Martin Dallimer},
journal = {Ecosystems and People},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1080/26395916.2026.2691546},
url = {https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05781891v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Recognised nature’s contributions to people vary for native and introduced trees across land uses
AU - Lena Strauß
AU - Ricardo F de Lima
AU - Timothy R Baker
AU - Laura Benitez-Bosco
AU - Gilles Dauby
AU - Maria Do Céu Madureira
AU - Estevão Soares
AU - Pascoal Sousa
AU - Tariq Stévart
AU - Martin Dallimer
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/20
JO - Ecosystems and People
DO - 10.1080/26395916.2026.2691546
UR - https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05781891v1
AB - Land-use change affects biodiversity, which, in turn, underpins nature's contributions to people (NCP). However, there is much uncertainty about the relationships between NCP and distinct land uses, given that anthropogenic impacts and biodiversity (e.g. proportions of native and introduced species) vary across landscapes. To address this gap, we studied the types, distribution, and species origins of trees that are recognised as underpinning NCP, according to expert biocultural knowledge. Trees were sampled along 81 transects across urban, rural, and natural zones on the Afrotropical island of São Tomé. Both native and introduced trees were mainly recognised for material contributions (171 of 176 species and 6,522 of 6,530 individuals), notably for materials and assistance (e.g. building materials) and energy (fuel wood, charcoal). These biomass-intensive contributions were commonly associated with trees in the natural zone, where native and endemic species dominated. Few of these species were recognised for non-material and regulating contributions. In contrast, trees in the rural and urban zones were mostly introduced and commonly associated with non-material (e.g. aesthetic value) and regulating contributions (e.g. microclimate). These contributions may have been under-recognised as they were implicitly associated with trees, were not aligned with individual species, or were largely invisible from a biocultural knowledge perspective. Both native and introduced species were recognised for diverse NCP across zones, highlighting that conservation strategies might have to be extended into human-modified landscapes to improve social legitimacy. More work, building on the biocultural baseline of this study, is necessary to understand how NCP are realised.
SN - 2639-5916
ER -