Investigating the Relationship between Demographic Factors and the Perception of Ecosystem Services

Abstract

The natural environment provides ecosystem goods and services, and humans benefit from these goods and ecosystem services by being and living around them. The existence of these ecosystem services guarantees a good and healthy life for humans. Understanding of these benefits by people is very important. Therefore, in this research, an attempt has been made to evaluate the relationship between demographic factors and the understanding of ecosystem services by local people in the southern parts of Mashhad city. In this research, the Kruskal-Wallis statistical test was used to investigate the significant difference between gender, age, education, income, and occupation groups and the understanding of ecosystem services. The results obtained from this statistical test showed that age has the greatest effect on eight ecosystem services, and gender has the least effect on the understanding of ecosystem services. The results of this research can help urban authorities pursue participatory urban planning and management processes that incorporate people’s interests and concerns..

Keywords

• local people
• demographic factors
• ecosystem services
• southern mashhad