Methodological proposal for the participatory assessment of the perception of farming families of the ecosystem services generated in agroecosystems

Abstract

Ecosystem services have been valued in natural ecosystems and agroecosystems mainly with economic methodologies. The purpose of this article is to offer a novel methodological proposal for the participatory valuation of ecosystem services with farming families that considers the hierarchy of the guide of the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services, version 5.1, to evaluate the perceptions that are built by farming families at a general level and at each of their hierarchical levels. The approach is qualitative, with a non-experimental design and is a multiple case study in four agroecosystems. Symbolic interactionism (individual semi-structured interview, 2016-2019) and ethnographic (participant observation) were combined. The methodological proposal is very flexible, the results of which are the baseline for farming families to integrate management and management technologies and practices for the agroecological reconversion of their agroecosystems. The degree of commitment of farming families to promote the escalation of the agroecology paradigm influences the assessment of the perception of the importance of ecosystem services in their agroecosystems. The perception of farming families of the provision, regulation and maintenance, and cultural sections of ecosystem services is more balanced in the La Arboleda agroecological agroecosystem and in the agroecological transition agroecosystems Doña Lola and Huerta Orgánica. The perception of the provision section by producer families is better valued in agroecosystems in agroecological transition and in the conventional Don Enrique agroecosystem. The groups that belong to the provision ecosystem services section were better valued by the farming families of the two agroecosystems in transition and that of the conventional agroecosystem. The perception of the farming family of the La Arboleda agroecological agroecosystem regarding the groups of the regulation and maintenance sections, and cultural was qualitatively better.