Perception of ecosystem services by peri-urban farmers in São Paulo, SP, Brazil

Abstract

The managements adopted in agroecosystems may interfere positively or negatively in the different ecosystem services (ES). Understanding the perception of ES and its importance is very relevant for family farming public policies, in accordance with practices that can mitigate the effects of climate change and create resilience for agroecosystems, with environmental gains for the entire society. With increased understanding in this sense, it is possible to improve the management of the agroecosystem and increase the degree of positivity of interferences in the ES. The objective of this work is to analyze the perception of ES by farmers located in peri-urban areas. The study was carried out in the Comuna da Terra Irmã Alberta, a pre-settlement established in the capital of São Paulo State, with participative observation and application of semi-structured interviews with key informants. The most perceived ES were those related to ecosystem support functions and culture, the most mentioned being: “nursery”, “cultural identity”, “food”, “sound regulation”, “aesthetic appreciation” and “air quality”. Sociocultural aspects and the spatial context in which they are inserted influenced the perception of ecosystem services. The presence of agroforestry backyards was the most prominent factor influencing the perception of SE.