Data on public preferences for soil-based ecosystem services in Germany

Data Brief. 2022 Jun 10:43:108371. doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2022.108371. eCollection 2022 Aug.

Abstract

This article describes the data from a discrete choice experiment survey into public preferences for soil-based ecosystem services. The survey was conducted online in June and July 2021 on a representative sample of 1500 German citizens. Four soil-based ecosystem services were included as attributes in the discrete choice experiment: climate regulation, drought protection, flood protection and clean drinking water. The collected data includes the stated choices from the choice experiment, measurements of knowledge about and awareness of soils' contributions to human well-being, experience with droughts and floods, attitudes towards agriculture and environment and motivations for the stated choices as well as socio-demographic information. The dataset includes postcodes for all respondent, thus allowing for spatial analysis. The data can be used to investigate public preferences for soil-based ecosystem services and the underlying motivations.

Keywords: Discrete choice experiment; Ecosystem services; Motivations; Nonmarket valuation; Soil functions; Stated preferences; Willingness to pay.