This paper applies the concept of cultural ecosystem services (CES) to reveal the diverse benefits the Baltic Sea provides to human well-being. The study identifies and defines relevant CES for marine and coastal environments and applies them in a survey with 4800 respondents from Germany, Finland and Latvia. The relative importance of various CES was determined by asking respondents to allocate 100 points between CES related to recreation, landscape, inspiration, learning and education, spiritual experiences and belonging, historically and culturally important places and the existence of habitats. The results reveal significant differences in the importance of various CES across countries, users and nonusers of the Baltic Sea, as well as respondents with different human–nature relationships. The results emphasize the importance of considering recreation, landscapes and habitats in conservation policies, while acknowledging that all CES are perceived as important by some population groups.

Potato production faces increasingly severe agronomic problems, including intensive production and pedoclimatic changes. Increasing pest/disease incidence is contributing to inadequate application of pesticides and external fertilizers. This study aims to identify critical agri-environmental challenges currently faced by potato growers in Europe, assessing the needs and priorities of end-users to determine the feasibility of integrating more sustainable farming practices into potato cultivation. Additionally, we identified sustainable strategies to reduce reliance on external inputs. A total of 203 potato stakeholders from six European pedoclimatic areas completed a survey in 2020 to identify agronomic and environmental problems, priorities for action, and best-suited sustainable farming practices. Statistical and multicriteria decision analysis was then performed. Subsequently, focus group meetings with stakeholders were organized to present and discuss results and validate and complement them. Stakeholders perceived that more sustainable potato production involved reducing tillage intensity, using organic nutrient sources, increasing soil organic matter and, especially, diversifying crop rotations. Barriers to adopting new sustainable practices included farmers’ lack of knowledge regarding novel farming practices and the need for expert technical advice. Some practices are complex, but also economic impediments. Therefore, thorough research, clear demonstrations, and tailored advice are crucial to farmers to lead agriculture toward profitable, sustainable systems.

Peatland conservation is an emerging issue considering the number of ecosystem services these ecosystems provide at the global as well as the local level. Here, we examine how people in Finland value peatlands and how these values are associated with their attitudes toward the ecosystem services that peatlands provide, conservation policy, and their behavioral intention to contribute to conservation. To this end, we use the cognitive hierarchy and employ a protection–use orientation approach. We conclude with four classes of orientation, i.e. conservationists, utilitarians, pluralists, and distanced. The mean values of attitudes and behavioral intentions to a large extent differ significantly across the value orientation classes. The cognitive hierarchy and the notion of value orientations provide a more profound angle of the underlying reasons for people’s views regarding conservation. The findings are context specific but have broader relevance considering the significant role of peatlands in regulating the global climate.

Forests and forest management are crucial in achieving environmental objectives, including mitigating climate change by sequestering carbon, preserving biodiversity, and preventing the eutrophication of surface waters. Achieving environmental objectives heavily depends on the willingness of private forest owners to adopt environmentally oriented forest management practices (EFMPs). This study investigates private forest owners' intentions to implement specific EFMPs, including increasing the proportion of deciduous trees, ash fertilization on peatlands, extending rotation periods, implementing continuous cover forestry, and adding deadwood and retention trees. Guided by the theory of planned behavior, we explore how Finnish forest owners' beliefs about EFMPs, attitudes towards environmental objectives, subjective norms (SN), and perceived behavioral control (PBC) influence their intentions to implement EFMPs. A postal survey was conducted among forest owners in the Lake Puruvesi region of eastern Finland (n = 102). The data were analyzed using structural equation models (SEM). The findings indicate that forest owners generally have evident intentions to implement EFMPs. ATT towards environmental objectives had the strongest positive impact, while SN and PBC had no significant influence on the intention to implement EFMPs. The findings suggest that in promoting EFMPs, policy efforts should focus on evidence-based information regarding water protection and biodiversity impacts. Forest owners’ attitudes and subjective norms concerning carbon sequestration are less prominent compared to their views on water protection and biodiversity.

Ecosystem-based agricultural practices that utilize ecosystem processes aim to either reduce the negative externalities of agricultural production or increase the production of ecosystem services other than food provision. We examined consumer interest in buying and paying for food produced using ecosystem-based agricultural practices. According to the results, the most preferred practices were the more efficient use of livestock manure, the use of nitrogen-fixing crops, biological pest control, and the addition of soil carbon. Having these practices as an attribute of a food product increased the interest in buying the product for 43% of consumers. Their median willingness to pay (WTP) was 20% higher than for conventional products. Using socioeconomic and attitudinal variables, a hurdle model revealed the characteristics of a consumer segment interested in ecosystem-based agricultural practices.

Agrobiodiversity products i.e., products from native breeds and plant species can make a valuable contribution to a local food market while also maintaining and preserving ecological and cultural values. There have been attempts to create markets for these products, but they continue to be marginal across the world. Previous research revealed how various stakeholders perceive the native breeds and their products. This study applied a transdisciplinary, multi-actor co-production of knowledge approach that is often used in the food system research. The approach aims at improving the understanding of the ecological, regional and social embeddedness of a Finnish native breed, the Finncattle, and at co-creating feasible supply chains for Finncattle products. The study confirmed that the market does not work and the embeddedness may also constitute some challenges for the development of feasible product chains. The study suggested some practical solutions to overcome these challenges. Furthermore, the results revealed some weaknesses of the co-production of knowledge approach used and discussed possible reasons that can be further explored in future research.