Seeking common ground: A pluralistic valuation of rangeland ecosystem services

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

The concepts of ecosystem services and nature's contributions to people highlight linkages between people and nature, directly addressing relationships and the flow of values. Understanding stakeholder values in specific collaborative contexts may aid in solution-focused approaches, minimizing tradeoffs, improved group cohesion, and partnership success, as rangeland managers attempt to match strategies to needs of landscapes and people. Using a mixed-methods approach, we explored pluralistic, sociocultural values and perspectives of diverse stakeholders regarding rangeland ecosystem services. We noted patterns in how stakeholder groups prioritized certain ecosystem services over others and how this prioritization is a reflection of unique yet overlapping values systems. Sustainable rangeland management is about the ecological underpinnings of a place and also about supporting the people and communities who have direct relationships with those landscapes.