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Characterizing Social and Ecological Values Expressed in US Forest Service Public Comments Using a Computational Approach
Addressing social and ecological values is a central aim of democratic environmental management and policymaking, especially during deliberative and participatory processes. Agencies responsible for managing public lands would benefit from a deepened understanding of how various publics value those lands. Federal land management agencies receive millions of written comments from the public on proposed management actions annually, providing a unique source of insights into how the public assigns value to public lands. To date, little attention has been directed towards methods for analysing the public’s comments to understand their expressed values, in part because the volume of comments often makes manual analysis unworkable. This study introduces and applies a novel computational approach to inferring values in written text by using natural language processing and a method that combines a lexicon with semantic embedding models. We developed embedding models for four types of values that are expressed in public comments. We then fit models to 409,241 public comments on actions proposed by the United States Forest Service from 2011 to 2020 and regulated by the National Environmental Policy Act. The embedding model generally outperformed the lexicon word-count, particularly for value types with shorter lexicons, and, like human evaluators, the embedding models performed better for more evident values and were less reliable for more abstract or latent values. By applying the resulting model, we furthered our understanding of how the public values National Forest lands in the United States. We observed that aesthetic and moral values were expressed more often in comments for projects that received more public interest, as gauged by the number of comments a project received and in comments for projects addressing recreational management. Related Media Plain Language Summary: A computational approach for characterizing values for nature: A case study with US Forest Service public comments. (May 5, 2025)
Read morePsychological Ecosystem Services
The nonmaterial benefits of Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES) include categories that are related to personal and community identity, recreation, cultural diversity, heritage, support of knowledge systems, spiritual experiences, and well-being. In many ways, Psychological Ecosystem Services (Psych ES) are a type of CES, though the fields from which this research come differ somewhat with respect to epistemological foundations. Psych ES include the diverse ways in which nature contributes to the mental and emotional well-being of individuals and communities, and encompass the psychological benefits derived from interactions with natural environments. Some CES approaches and outcomes include nonmaterial benefits that are only indirectly related to Psych ES, while others are directly overlapping and use terms that are explicitly included within the scope of Psych ES. A distinction between them lies both in how the outcomes are typically measured and in what the measures and operationalizations of these outcomes are. We discuss these points in detail throughout this chapter.
Read morePromoting Health Through Nature-Based Climate Solutions
Nature-based climate solutions represent a set of strategies and tools that can help mitigate carbon emissions, remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, promote adaptation to climate change, and build resilience. They need to be implemented as part of an integrated set of climate actions. They aim to accomplish specific mitigation and adaptation goals effectively, economically, and safely. They deliver a wide range of co-benefits, including co-benefits for health and well-being. Nature-based climate solutions can cause unintended and even harmful consequences, and therefore need to be carefully planned, implemented, and managed. This chapter explores nature-based climate solutions in cities as well as in rural and wildland areas. It discusses tradeoffs, policy levers, economic levers, communications, and equity considerations that arise in implementing nature-based climate solutions. The chapter also includes a textbox on ecosystem services and nature’s services to people, and a textbox on the number of trees that the world can support.
Read moreNature and Mental Health: An Ecosystem Service Perspective
Figure 1. A conceptual model for mental health as an ecosystem service. A growing body of empirical evidence is revealing the value of nature experience for mental health. With rapid urbanization and declines in human contact with nature globally, crucial decisions must be made about how to preserve and enhance opportunities for nature experience. Here, we first provide points of consensus across the natural, social, and health sciences on the impacts of nature experience on cognitive functioning, emotional well-being, and other dimensions of mental health. We then show how ecosystem service assessments can be expanded to include mental health, and provide a heuristic, conceptual model for doing so.
Read moreSocial-Ecological and Technological Factors Moderate the Value of Urban Nature
Figure 1. Actions lead to changes in the value of urban ecosystem services, defined by a change in human well-being, which may be different for different groups of people, hence the importance of considering equity. The relationships between actions and value are moderated by social, ecological or technological factors. For each action that leads to a change in value, there may also be co-benefits (for example, positive impacts on other sustainability goals) and disservices (for example, unintended negative consequences). Finally, decision-makers require the ability to compare the net value of urban ecosystem services relative to substitutes or alternative interventions designed to meet the same goals. Urban nature has the potential to improve air and water quality, mitigate flooding, enhance physical and mental health, and promote social and cultural well-being. However, the value of urban ecosystem services remains highly uncertain, especially across the diverse social, ecological and technological contexts represented in cities around the world. We review and synthesize research on the contextual factors that moderate the value and equitable distribution of ten of the most commonly cited urban ecosystem services. Our work helps to identify strategies to more efficiently, effectively and equitably implement nature-based solutions.
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