Recognised nature’s contributions to people vary for native and introduced trees across land uses

Land-use change affects biodiversity, which, in turn, underpins nature’s contributions to people (NCP). However, there is much uncertainty about the relationships between NCP and distinct land uses, given that anthropogenic impacts and biodiversity (e.g. proportions of native and introduced species) vary across landscapes. To address this gap, we studied the types, distribution, and species origins of trees that are recognised as underpinning NCP, according to expert biocultural knowledge. Trees were sampled along 81 transects across urban, rural, and natural zones on the Afrotropical island of São Tomé. Both native and introduced trees were mainly recognised for material contributions (171 of 176 species and 6,522 of 6,530 individuals), notably for materials and assistance (e.g. building materials) and energy (fuel wood, charcoal). These biomass-intensive contributions were commonly associated with trees in the natural zone, where native and endemic species dominated. Few of these species were recognised for non-material and regulating contributions. In contrast, trees in the rural and urban zones were mostly introduced and commonly associated with non-material (e.g. aesthetic value) and regulating contributions (e.g. microclimate). These contributions may have been under-recognised as they were implicitly associated with trees, were not aligned with individual species, or were largely invisible from a biocultural knowledge perspective. Both native and introduced species were recognised for diverse NCP across zones, highlighting that conservation strategies might have to be extended into human-modified landscapes to improve social legitimacy. More work, building on the biocultural baseline of this study, is necessary to understand how NCP are realised.