The Use of Linking Indicators for Peatland Conservation
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Date
2021-09-02
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Abstract
This research focuses on identifying and quantifying peatland ecosystem services
to help inform valuation and conservation efforts. Peatlands worldwide provide food and
clean water while also storing large amounts of carbon and supporting biodiversity. They
are sites of education and recreation and serve as genetic reservoirs for organisms.
However, these services are inherently threatened, as peatland degradation becomes a
growing concern, particularly across the tropics. Increasing the resilience of these
systems and allowing them to keep serving nature and people require new knowledge
and improved local resource management systems.
This thesis uses an ecosystem service framework to identify the main ways in
which peatlands benefit nature and people by using examples from around the globe. I
then present a list of “linking indicators” connecting peatland stakeholder values with
peatland ecosystem services. Using Chilean peatlands as a case study, I use surveys,
interviews, and a focus group discussion to understand the unique ways in which
different stakeholders use and perceive peatlands and identify which biophysical
measurements can be used to help value peatland ecosystem services. The results
suggest that linking indicators are a key part of ecosystem service assessments that could
serve as an innovative approach to addressing some of our most pressing land
management issues in peatlands and beyond.
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Keywords
peatland, conservation