The ecosystem service concept is recognized as a useful tool to support sustainability in decision-making. In this study, we collaborated with actors in the Helge å catchment, southern Sweden, in an iterative participatory ecosystem service assessment. Through workshops and interviews, we jointly decided which ecosystem services to assess and indicators to use in order to achieve a sense of ownership and a higher legitimacy of the assessment. Subsequently, we explored the landscape-level interactions between the 15 assessed services, and found that the area can be described using three distinct ecosystem service bundles. The iterative, participatory process strengthened our analysis and created a shared understanding and overview of the multifunctional landscape around Helge å among participants. Importantly, this allowed for the generated knowledge to impact local strategic sustainability planning. With this study, we illustrate how similar processes can support local decision-making for a more sustainable future.

生态系统服务概念被认为是支持决策可持续性的有用工具。在这项研究中，我们与瑞典南部Helgeå集水区的参与者进行了合作，参与式的参与式生态系统服务评估。通过研讨会和访谈，我们共同决定要评估哪些生态系统服务和使用指标，以实现主人翁意识和更高的评估合法性。随后，我们探索了15个评估服务之间的景观层次互动，并发现可以使用三个不同的生态系统服务捆绑来描述该区域。迭代的参与过程加强了我们的分析，并在参与者之间建立了对Helgeå周围多功能景观的共同理解和概述。重要的，这使得所产生的知识能够影响当地的战略可持续性规划。通过这项研究，我们说明了类似的流程如何能够支持地方决策，从而实现更可持续的未来。