Ecosystem services and agriculture: tradeoffs and synergies

PubMed Central

Power, Alison G.

2010-01-01

Agricultural ecosystems provide humans with food, forage, bioenergy and pharmaceuticals and are essential to human wellbeing. These systems rely on ecosystem services provided by natural ecosystems, including pollination, biological pest control, maintenance of soil structure and fertility, nutrient cycling and hydrological services. Preliminary assessments indicate that the value of these ecosystem services to agriculture is enormous and often underappreciated. Agroecosystems also produce a variety of ecosystem services, such as regulation of soil and water quality, carbon sequestration, support for biodiversity and cultural services. Depending on management practices, agriculture can also be the source of numerous disservices, including loss of wildlife habitat, nutrient runoff, sedimentation of waterways, greenhouse gas emissions, and pesticide poisoning of humans and non-target species. The tradeoffs that may occur between provisioning services and other ecosystem services and disservices should be evaluated in terms of spatial scale, temporal scale and reversibility. As more effective methods for valuing ecosystem services become available, the potential for ‘win–win’ scenarios increases. Under all scenarios, appropriate agricultural management practices are critical to realizing the benefits of ecosystem services and reducing disservices from agricultural activities. PMID:20713396

Off-stage ecosystem service burdens: A blind spot for global sustainability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pascual, Unai; Palomo, Ignacio; Adams, William M.; Chan, Kai M. A.; Daw, Tim M.; Garmendia, Eneko; Gómez-Baggethun, Erik; de Groot, Rudolf S.; Mace, Georgina M.; Martín-López, Berta; Phelps, Jacob

2017-07-01

The connected nature of social-ecological systems has never been more apparent than in today’s globalized world. The ecosystem service framework and associated ecosystem assessments aim to better inform the science-policy response to sustainability challenges. Such assessments, however, often overlook distant, diffuse and delayed impacts that are critical for global sustainability. Ecosystem-services science must better recognise the off-stage impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services of place-based ecosystem management, which we term ‘ecosystem service burdens’. These are particularly important since they are often negative, and have a potentially significant effect on ecosystem management decisions. Ecosystem-services research can better recognise these off-stage burdens through integration with other analytical approaches, such as life cycle analysis and risk-based approaches that better account for the uncertainties involved. We argue that off-stage ecosystem service burdens should be incorporated in ecosystem assessments such as those led by the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Taking better account of these off-stage burdens is essential to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of cross-scale interactions, a pre-requisite for any sustainability transition.

Creating a Liveable City - Eco-services, Systems and Place

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamilton, R. J.; Dean, M.; Birtles, P. J.; Hore, J.; Dahlenburg, J.

2014-12-01

The use of an ecosystem service framework for natural resource management has gained increasing traction in the public sector. This is of especial interest in cities as residual ecosystems - typically located along creeks and estuaries, or remaining in scattered pockets throughout the urban area - offer some of the highest value social and economic returns per capita for the land area they occupy, yet are often impractical to manage from more traditional approaches to conservation. We posit that the well-being of humans and other species is the outcome of healthy, functioning ecosystems, and that, from a policy perspective, it is essential to consider services in this context. We arrange ecosystem services into three categories: life-enabling, life-sustaining and life-fulfilling, in a modification to the categories of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, and identify additional eco-services unique to urban areas. At local scale, these contribute to the well-being of city residents and positively affect quality of life, forming essential elements of urban liveability. However, dynamics of co-located built and natural environments challenge the capacity of ecosystems to function and provide their full suite of services. Using Sydney as an example, we outline a modular framework of socio-ecological systems and places to show how eco-services supporting liveability can be considered in conceptual and physical space. At a policy level, framing systems-based management objectives that protect, improve and re-discover desirable ecosystem services within the city (as opposed to further increasing the environmental footprint outside), will allow for unique, positive, socially-enabling outcomes for urban centres, in Australia, and globally.

Integrating ecosystem services in terrestrial conservation planning.

PubMed

Yuan, Mei-Hua; Lo, Shang-Lien; Yang, Chih-Kai

2017-05-01

The purpose of this study is to estimate the benefits of ecosystem services for prioritization of land use conservation and to highlight the importance of ecosystem services by comparison between ecosystem service value and green GDP accounting. Based on land use pattern and benefit transfer method, this research estimated value of ecosystem services in Taiwan. Scientific information of land use and land cover change is accessed through multi-year satellite imagery moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS), and geographic information system (GIS) technology. Combined with benefit transfer method, this research estimated the ecosystem service valuation of forest, grassland, cropland, wetland, water, and urban for the period of 2000 to 2015 in Taiwan. It is found that forest made the greatest contribution and the significant increasing area of wetland has huge potential benefit for environmental conservation in Taiwan. We recommend placing maintaining wetland ecosystem in Taiwan with higher priority. This research also compared ecosystem service value with natural capital consumption which would essentially facilitate policy makers to understand the relationship between benefits gained from natural capital and the loss from human-made capital.

Ecosystem services capacity across heterogeneous forest types: understanding the interactions and suggesting pathways for sustaining multiple ecosystem services.

PubMed

Alamgir, Mohammed; Turton, Stephen M; Macgregor, Colin J; Pert, Petina L

2016-10-01

As ecosystem services supply from tropical forests is declining due to deforestation and forest degradation, much effort is essential to sustain ecosystem services supply from tropical forested landscapes, because tropical forests provide the largest flow of multiple ecosystem services among the terrestrial ecosystems. In order to sustain multiple ecosystem services, understanding ecosystem services capacity across heterogeneous forest types and identifying certain ecosystem services that could be managed to leverage positive effects across the wider bundle of ecosystem services are required. We sampled three forest types, tropical rainforests, sclerophyll forests, and rehabilitated plantation forests, over an area of 32,000m(2) from Wet Tropics bioregion, Australia, aiming to compare supply and evaluate interactions and patterns of eight ecosystem services (global climate regulation, air quality regulation, erosion regulation, nutrient regulation, cyclone protection, habitat provision, energy provision, and timber provision). On average, multiple ecosystem services were highest in the rainforests, lowest in sclerophyll forests, and intermediate in rehabilitated plantation forests. However, a wide variation was apparent among the plots across the three forest types. Global climate regulation service had a synergistic impact on the supply of multiple ecosystem services, while nutrient regulation service was found to have a trade-off impact. Considering multiple ecosystem services, most of the rehabilitated plantation forest plots shared the same ordination space with rainforest plots in the ordination analysis, indicating that rehabilitated plantation forests may supply certain ecosystem services nearly equivalent to rainforests. Two synergy groups and one trade-off group were identified. Apart from conserving rainforests and sclerophyll forests, our findings suggest two additional integrated pathways to sustain the supply of multiple ecosystem services from a heterogeneous tropical forest landscape: (i) rehabilitation of degraded forests aiming to provide global climate regulation and habitat provision ecosystem services and (ii) management intervention to sustain global climate regulation and habitat provision ecosystem services. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Anthropogenic alterations of genetic diversity within tree populations: Implications for forest ecosystem resilience

Treesearch

Paul G. Schaberg; Donald H. DeHayes; Gary J. Hawley; Samuel E. Nijensohn

2008-01-01

Healthy forests provide many of the essential ecosystem services upon which all life depends. Genetic diversity is an essential component of long-term forest health because it provides a basis for adaptation and resilience to environmental stress and change. In addition to natural processes, numerous anthropogenic factors deplete forest genetic resources. Genetic...

Remote sensing the vulnerability of vegetation in natural terrestrial ecosystems

Treesearch

Alistair M. S. Smith; Crystal A. Kolden; Wade T. Tinkham; Alan F. Talhelm; John D. Marshall; Andrew T. Hudak; Luigi Boschetti; Michael J. Falkowski; Jonathan A. Greenberg; John W. Anderson; Andrew Kliskey; Lilian Alessa; Robert F. Keefe; James R. Gosz

2014-01-01

Climate change is altering the species composition, structure, and function of vegetation in natural terrestrial ecosystems. These changes can also impact the essential ecosystem goods and services derived from these ecosystems. Following disturbances, remote-sensing datasets have been used to monitor the disturbance and describe antecedent conditions as a means of...

Upgrading Marine Ecosystem Restoration Using Ecological-Social Concepts.

PubMed

Abelson, Avigdor; Halpern, Benjamin S; Reed, Daniel C; Orth, Robert J; Kendrick, Gary A; Beck, Michael W; Belmaker, Jonathan; Krause, Gesche; Edgar, Graham J; Airoldi, Laura; Brokovich, Eran; France, Robert; Shashar, Nadav; de Blaeij, Arianne; Stambler, Noga; Salameh, Pierre; Shechter, Mordechai; Nelson, Peter A

2016-02-01

Conservation and environmental management are principal countermeasures to the degradation of marine ecosystems and their services. However, in many cases, current practices are insufficient to reverse ecosystem declines. We suggest that restoration ecology , the science underlying the concepts and tools needed to restore ecosystems, must be recognized as an integral element for marine conservation and environmental management. Marine restoration ecology is a young scientific discipline, often with gaps between its application and the supporting science. Bridging these gaps is essential to using restoration as an effective management tool and reversing the decline of marine ecosystems and their services. Ecological restoration should address objectives that include improved ecosystem services, and it therefore should encompass social-ecological elements rather than focusing solely on ecological parameters. We recommend using existing management frameworks to identify clear restoration targets, to apply quantitative tools for assessment, and to make the re-establishment of ecosystem services a criterion for success.

Upgrading Marine Ecosystem Restoration Using Ecological‐Social Concepts

PubMed Central

Abelson, Avigdor; Halpern, Benjamin S.; Reed, Daniel C.; Orth, Robert J.; Kendrick, Gary A.; Beck, Michael W.; Belmaker, Jonathan; Krause, Gesche; Edgar, Graham J.; Airoldi, Laura; Brokovich, Eran; France, Robert; Shashar, Nadav; de Blaeij, Arianne; Stambler, Noga; Salameh, Pierre; Shechter, Mordechai; Nelson, Peter A.

2015-01-01

Conservation and environmental management are principal countermeasures to the degradation of marine ecosystems and their services. However, in many cases, current practices are insufficient to reverse ecosystem declines. We suggest that restoration ecology, the science underlying the concepts and tools needed to restore ecosystems, must be recognized as an integral element for marine conservation and environmental management. Marine restoration ecology is a young scientific discipline, often with gaps between its application and the supporting science. Bridging these gaps is essential to using restoration as an effective management tool and reversing the decline of marine ecosystems and their services. Ecological restoration should address objectives that include improved ecosystem services, and it therefore should encompass social–ecological elements rather than focusing solely on ecological parameters. We recommend using existing management frameworks to identify clear restoration targets, to apply quantitative tools for assessment, and to make the re-establishment of ecosystem services a criterion for success. PMID:26977115

Improving Future Ecosystem Benefits through Earth Observations: the H2020 Project ECOPOTENTIAL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Provenzale, Antonello; Beierkuhnlein, Carl; Ziv, Guy

2016-04-01

Terrestrial and marine ecosystems provide essential goods and services to human societies. In the last decades, however, anthropogenic pressures caused serious threats to ecosystem integrity, functions and processes, potentially leading to the loss of essential ecosystem services. ECOPOTENTIAL is a large European-funded H2020 project which focuses its activities on a targeted set of internationally recognised protected areas in Europe, European Territories and beyond, blending Earth Observations from remote sensing and field measurements, data analysis and modelling of current and future ecosystem conditions and services. The definition of future scenarios is based on climate and land-use change projections, addressing the issue of uncertainties and uncertainty propagation across the modelling chain. The ECOPOTENTIAL project addresses cross-scale geosphere-biosphere interactions and landscape-ecosystem dynamics at regional to continental scales, using geostatistical methods and the emerging approaches in Macrosystem Ecology and Earth Critical Zone studies, addressing long-term and large-scale environmental and ecological challenges. The project started its activities in 2015, by defining a set of storylines which allow to tackle some of the most crucial issues in the assessment of present conditions and the estimate of the future state of selected ecosystem services. In this contribution, we focus on some of the main storylines of the project and discuss the general approach, focusing on the interplay of data and models and on the estimate of projection uncertainties.

Freshwater Ecosystem Service Flow Model To Evaluate Regional Water Security: A Case Study In Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, D.; Li, S.

2016-12-01

Freshwater service, as the most important support ecosystem service, is essential to human survival and development. Many studies have evidenced the spatial differences in the supply and demand of ecosystem services and raised the concept of ecosystem service flow. However, rather few studies quantitatively characterize the freshwater service flow. This paper aims to quantify the effect of freshwater ecosystem service flow on downstream areas in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region, China over 2000, 2005 and 2010. We computed the freshwater ecosystem service provision with InVEST model. We calculated freshwater ecosystem service consumption with water quota method. We simulated the freshwater ecosystem service flow using our simplified flow model and assessed the regional water security with the improved freshwater security index. The freshwater provision service mainly depends on climatic factors that cannot be influenced by management, while the freshwater consumption service is constrained by human activities. Furthermore, the decrease of water quota for agricultural, domestic and industrial water counteracts the impact of increasing freshwater demand. The analysis of freshwater ecosystem service flow reveals that the majority area of the BTH (69.2%) is affected by upstream freshwater. If freshwater ecosystem service flow is considered, the water safety areas of the whole BTH account for 66.9%, 66.1%, 71.3%, which increase 6.4%, 6.8% and 5.7% in 2000, 2005 and 2010, respectively. These results highlight the need to understand the teleconnections between distant freshwater ecosystem service provision and local freshwater ecosystem service use. This approach therefore helps managers choose specific management and investment strategies for critical upstream freshwater provisions across different regions.

Projecting supply and demand of hydrologic ecosystem services under future climate conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiang, Li-Chi; Huang, Tao; Lee, Tsung-Yu

2014-05-01

Ecosystems provide essential goods and services, such as food, clean water, water purification, soil conservation and cultural services for human being. In a watershed, these water-related ecosystem goods and services can directly or indirectly benefit both local people and downstream beneficiaries through a reservoir. Water quality and quantity in a reservoir are of importance for agricultural, industrial and domestic uses. Under the impacts of climate and land use changes, both ecosystem service supply and demand will be affected by changes in precipitation patterns, temperature, urbanization and agricultural activities. However, the linkage between ecosystem service provisioning (ESP) and ecosystem service beneficiary (ESB), and scales of supply and demand of ecosystem services are not clear yet. Therefore, to investigate water-related ecosystem service supply under climate and land use change, we took the Xindian river watershed (303 km2) as a case study, where the Feitsui Reservoir provides hydro-power and daily domestic water use of 3,450,000 m3 for 3.46 million people in Taipei, Taiwan. We integrated a hydrological model (Soil and Water Assessment Tool, SWAT) and a land use change model (Conversion of Land Use and its Effects, CLUE-s) with future climate change scenarios derived from General Circulation Models (GCMs), to assess the changes in ecosystem service supply and demand at different hydrologic scales. The results will provide useful information for decision-making on future land use management and climate change adaptation strategies in the watersheds. Keywords: climate change, land use change, ecosystem service, watershed, scale

Key attributes of ecological production functions

EPA Science Inventory

Ecological production functions (EPFs) link ecosystems, stressors, and management actions to ecosystem service (ES) production. Though essential for improving environmental management, relatively little attention has been directed toward the characteristics of EPFs. EPFs may be d...

Chapter 4: Overview of the vegetation management treatment economic analysis module in the integrated landscape assessment project

Treesearch

Xiaoping Zhou; Miles A. Hemstrom

2014-01-01

Forest land provides various ecosystem services, including timber, biomass, and carbon sequestration. Estimating trends in these ecosystem services is essential for assessing potential outcomes of landscape management scenarios. However, the state-and transition models used in the Integrated Landscape Assessment Project for simulating landscape changes over time do not...

A comparative assessment of tools for ecosystem services quantification and valuation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bagstad, Kenneth J.; Semmens, Darius; Waage, Sissel; Winthrop, Robert

2013-01-01

To enter widespread use, ecosystem service assessments need to be quantifiable, replicable, credible, flexible, and affordable. With recent growth in the field of ecosystem services, a variety of decision-support tools has emerged to support more systematic ecosystem services assessment. Despite the growing complexity of the tool landscape, thorough reviews of tools for identifying, assessing, modeling and in some cases monetarily valuing ecosystem services have generally been lacking. In this study, we describe 17 ecosystem services tools and rate their performance against eight evaluative criteria that gauge their readiness for widespread application in public- and private-sector decision making. We describe each of the tools′ intended uses, services modeled, analytical approaches, data requirements, and outputs, as well time requirements to run seven tools in a first comparative concurrent application of multiple tools to a common location – the San Pedro River watershed in southeast Arizona, USA, and northern Sonora, Mexico. Based on this work, we offer conclusions about these tools′ current ‘readiness’ for widespread application within both public- and private-sector decision making processes. Finally, we describe potential pathways forward to reduce the resource requirements for running ecosystem services models, which are essential to facilitate their more widespread use in environmental decision making.

Can Integrated Water Resources Management sustain the provision of ecosystem goods and services?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jewitt, Graham

Society derives a wide array of important benefits from biodiversity and the ecosystems in which it exists. These ecosystem services are essential to human existence and operate on such an overarching scale, and in such intricate and little-explored ways, that most could not be replaced by technology. Accordingly, approaches to integrated water resources management (IWRM) do not regard the ecosystem as a ;user; of water in competition with other users, but as the base from which the resource is derived and upon which development is planned. A goal of IWRM should be to maintain, and whenever necessary, restore ecosystem health and biodiversity.

Nonlinear ecosystem services response to groundwater availability under climate extremes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiu, J.; Zipper, S. C.; Motew, M.; Booth, E.; Kucharik, C. J.; Steven, L. I.

2017-12-01

Depletion of groundwater has been accelerating at regional to global scales. Besides serving domestic, industrial and agricultural needs, in situ groundwater is also a key control on biological, physical and chemical processes across the critical zone, all of which underpin supply of ecosystem services essential for humanity. While there is a rich history of research on groundwater effects on subsurface and surface processes, understanding interactions, nonlinearity and feedbacks between groundwater and ecosystem services remain limited, and almost absent in the ecosystem service literature. Moreover, how climate extremes may alter groundwater effects on services is underexplored. In this research, we used a process-based ecosystem model (Agro-IBIS) to quantify groundwater effects on eight ecosystem services related to food, water and biogeochemical processes in an urbanizing agricultural watershed in the Midwest, USA. We asked: (1) Which ecosystem services are more susceptible to shallow groundwater influences? (2) Do effects of groundwater on ecosystem services vary under contrasting climate conditions (i.e., dry, wet and average)? (3) Where on the landscape are groundwater effects on ecosystem services most pronounced? (4) How do groundwater effects depend on water table depth? Overall, groundwater significantly impacted all services studied, with the largest effects on food production, water quality and quantity, and flood regulation services. Climate also mediated groundwater effects with the strongest effects occurring under dry climatic conditions. There was substantial spatial heterogeneity in groundwater effects across the landscape that is driven in part by spatial variations in water table depth. Most ecosystem services responded nonlinearly to groundwater availability, with most apparent groundwater effects occurring when the water table is shallower than a critical depth of 2.5-m. Our findings provide compelling evidence that groundwater plays a vital role in sustaining ecosystem services. Our research highlights the pressing need to consider groundwater during the assessment and management of ecosystem services, and suggests that protecting groundwater resources may enhance ecosystem service resilience to future climate extremes and increased climate variability.

Using plant traits to evaluate the resistance and resilience of ecosystem service provision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohler, Marina; Devaux, Caroline; Fontana, Veronika; Grigulis, Karl; Lavorel, Sandra; Leitinger, Georg; Schirpke, Uta; Tasser, Erich; Tappeiner, Ulrike

2015-04-01

Mountain grassland ecosystems are a hotspot of biodiversity and deliver a multiplicity of ecosystem services. Due to a long history of well adapted agricultural use and specific environmental conditions (e.g. slope, altitude, or climate), various types of grassland ecosystems have developed. Each of them shows specific attributes in forms of plant communities and abiotic characteristics, which lead to particular ranges of ecosystem service provision. However, ongoing climate and societal changes thread plant community composition and may lead to changes in plant traits, and therefore, the provision of ecosystem services. Currently it is not clear how vulnerable these ecosystems are to disturbances, or whether they have developed a high resilience over time. Thus, it is essential to know the ranges of resistance and resilience of an ecosystem service. We, therefore, developed a static approach based on community weighted mean plant traits and abiotic parameters to measure the boundaries of resistance and resilience of each ecosystem service separately. By calculating actual minimum and maximum amounts of ecosystem services, we define the range of resistance of an ecosystem service. We then calculate the potential amount of an ecosystem services (via simulated plant communities) by assuming that no species is lost or added to the system. By comparing actual and potential values, we can estimate whether an ecosystem service is in danger to lose its resilience. We selected different ecosystem services related to mountain grassland ecosystems, e.g. carbon storage, forage quality, forage quantity, and soil fertility. We analysed each ecosystem service for different grassland management types, covering meadows and pastures of very low land-use intensity through to grasslands of high land-use intensity. Results indicate that certain ecosystem services have a higher resilience than others (e.g. carbon storage) for all management types. The ecosystem may provide steady amounts of ecosystem services also in future when facing environmental or societal disturbances. In contrary, other services are very depending on actual conditions and are, therefore, less stable (e.g. forage quantity). When comparing ranges of resistance and resilience, the actual amount lies very close to the boundaries of the potential provision. This gives us a hint that the ecosystem service is in danger to lose its resilience and amount of ecosystem service provision when facing disturbances in future.

Networked governance and the management of ecosystem services: The case of urban environmental stewardship in New York City

Treesearch

James J.T. Connolly; Erika S. Svendsen; Dana R. Fisher; Lindsay K. Campbell

2014-01-01

Urban environmental stewardship groups have become an essential component of the governance structure that regulates ecosystem services in cities. New York City is one example where these groups have grown rapidly in number, size, and visibility since the 1970s. In this article, we combine quantitative survey data with qualitative interview data to examine the...

Special issue: Remote sensing applications for investigations of fire regime attributes

Treesearch

Andrew T. Hudak; Andrea E. Thode; Jan W. van Wagtendonk

2007-01-01

Fire is a primary change agent in many terrestrial ecosystems. Appreciation is growing for the essential role fire plays in fire-adapted ecosystems. Nevertheless, humans living in the wildland urban interface (WUI) understandably regard fires as a threat to their safety, their property, or the natural resources and ecosystem services upon which they depend. As land...

Agroecology: the key role of arbuscular mycorrhizas in ecosystem services.

PubMed

Gianinazzi, Silvio; Gollotte, Armelle; Binet, Marie-Noëlle; van Tuinen, Diederik; Redecker, Dirk; Wipf, Daniel

2010-11-01

The beneficial effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi on plant performance and soil health are essential for the sustainable management of agricultural ecosystems. Nevertheless, since the 'first green revolution', less attention has been given to beneficial soil microorganisms in general and to AM fungi in particular. Human society benefits from a multitude of resources and processes from natural and managed ecosystems, to which AM make a crucial contribution. These resources and processes, which are called ecosystem services, include products like food and processes like nutrient transfer. Many people have been under the illusion that these ecosystem services are free, invulnerable and infinitely available; taken for granted as public benefits, they lack a formal market and are traditionally absent from society's balance sheet. In 1997, a team of researchers from the USA, Argentina and the Netherlands put an average price tag of US $33 trillion a year on these fundamental ecosystem services. The present review highlights the key role that the AM symbiosis can play as an ecosystem service provider to guarantee plant productivity and quality in emerging systems of sustainable agriculture. The appropriate management of ecosystem services rendered by AM will impact on natural resource conservation and utilisation with an obvious net gain for human society.

Quantifying changes in multiple ecosystem services during 1992-2012 in the Sanjiang Plain of China.

PubMed

Wang, Zongming; Mao, Dehua; Li, Lin; Jia, Mingming; Dong, Zhangyu; Miao, Zhenghong; Ren, Chunying; Song, Changchun

2015-05-01

Rapid and periodic assessment of the impact of land cover changes on ecosystem services at regional levels is essential to understanding services and sustainability of ecosystems. This study focused on quantifying and assessing changes of multiple ecosystem services in the Sanjiang Plain of China as a result of land cover changes over the period of 1992-2012. This region is important for its large area of natural wetlands and intensive agriculture. The ecosystem services that were assessed for this region included its regulating services (water yield and ecosystem carbon stocks), supporting services (suitable waterbird habitats), and provisioning services (food production), and the approach to the assessment was composed of the surface energy balance algorithms for land (SEBAL), soil survey re-sampling method and an empirical waterbird habitat suitability model. This large scale and integrated investigation represents the first systematic evaluation on the status of ecosystem carbon stocks in the Sanjiang Plain in addition to the development of an effective model for analysis of waterbird habitat suitability with the use of both remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS). More importantly, the result from this study has confirmed trade-offs between ecosystem services and negative consequences to environment in this region. The trade-offs were typically manifested by increased water yield and significantly grown food production, which is in contrast with significant losses in ecosystem carbon stocks (-14%) and suitable waterbird habitats (-23%) mainly due to the conversion of land cover from wetland to farmland. This finding implies that land use planning and policy making for this economically important region should take ecosystem service losses into account in order to preserve its natural ecosystems in the best interest of society. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Adaptive management of ecosystem services across different land use regimes.

PubMed

Ruhl, J B

2016-12-01

Using adaptive management to manage desired flows of ecosystem services may seem on the surface to be a good fit, but many social, economic, environmental, legal, and political factors influence how good a fit. One strongly influential factor is the land use regime within which the profile of ecosystem services is being managed. Shaped largely by legal mandates, market forces, and social and cultural practices, different land use regimes present different opportunities for and constraints on goals for ecosystem services and pose different decision making environments. Even where all other conditions appear amenable to using adaptive management, therefore, it is essential to consider the constraining (or liberating) effects of different land use regimes when deciding whether to adopt adaptive management to achieve those goals and, if so, how to implement it. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spatially explicit assessment of ecosystem services in China's Loess Plateau: Patterns, interactions, drivers, and implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Chong; Zhang, Haiyan; Zhang, Zhidong

2018-02-01

Human demands for natural resources have significantly changed the natural landscape and induced ecological degradation and associated ecosystem services. An understanding of the patterns, interactions, and drivers of ecosystem services is essential for the ecosystem management and guiding targeted land use policy-making. The Losses Plateau (LP) provides ecosystem services including the carbon sequestration and soil retention, and exerts tremendous impacts on the midstream and downstream of the Yellow River. Three dominant ecosystem services between 2000 and 2012 within the LP were presented based on multiple source datasets and biophysical models. In addition, paired ecosystem services interactions were quantified using the correlation analysis and constraint line approach. The main conclusions are as follows. It was observed that the warming and wetting climate and ecological program jointly promoted the vegetation growth and carbon sequestration. The increasing precipitation throughout 2000-2012 was related to the soil retention and hydrological regulation fluctuations. The vegetation restoration played a positive role in the soil retention enhancement, thus substantially reduced water and sediment yields. The relationships between ecosystem services were not only correlations (tradeoffs or synergies), but rather constraint effects. The constraint effects between the three paired ecosystem services could be classified as the negative convex (carbon sequestration vs. hydrological regulation) and hump-shaped (soil retention vs. carbon sequestration and soil retention vs. hydrological regulation), and the coefficients of determination for the entire LP were 0.78, 0.84, and 0.65, respectively. In the LP, the rainfall (water availability) was the key constraint factor that affected the relationships between the paired ecosystem services. The spatially explicit mapping of ecosystem services and interaction analyses utilizing constraint line approach enriched the understanding of connections between ecosystem services and the potential drivers, which had important implications for the land use planning and landscapes services optimizing.

A Multi-Scalar Examination of Law for Sustainable Ecosystems

EPA Science Inventory

The loss of resilience in social-ecological systems has the capacity to decrease essential ecosystem services, posing threats to human survival. To achieve sustainability, we must not only understand the ecological dynamics of a system, such as coral reefs, but must also promulga...

Measuring resilience of coupled human-water systems using ecosystem services compatible indicators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hannah, D. M.; Mao, F.; Karpouzoglou, T.; Clark, J.; Buytaert, W.

2017-12-01

To explore the dynamics of socio-hydrological systems under change, the concepts of resilience and ecosystem services serve as useful tools. In this context, resilience refers to the capacity of a socio-hydrological system to retain its structural and functional state despite perturbations, while ecosystem services offer a good proxy of the state that reflects human-water intersections. Efforts are needed to maintain and improve socio-hydrological resilience for future contingencies to secure hydrological ecosystem services supply. This requires holistic indicators of resilience for coupled human-water systems that are essential for quantitative assessment, change tracking, inter-case comparison, as well as resilience management. However, such indicators are still lacking. Our research aims to propose widely applicable resilience indicators that are suitable for the coupled human-water context, and compatible with ecosystem services. The existing resilience indicators for both eco-hydrological and socio-economic sectors are scrutinised, screened and analysed to build these new indicators. Using the proposed indicators, we compare the resilience and its temporal change among a set of example regions, and discusses the linkages between socio-hydrological resilience and hydrological ecosystem services with empirical cases.

Assessing and managing freshwater ecosystems vulnerable to global change

USGS Publications Warehouse

Angeler, David G.; Allen, Craig R.; Birge, Hannah E.; Drakare, Stina; McKie, Brendan G.; Johnson, Richard K.

2014-01-01

Freshwater ecosystems are important for global biodiversity and provide essential ecosystem services. There is consensus in the scientific literature that freshwater ecosystems are vulnerable to the impacts of environmental change, which may trigger irreversible regime shifts upon which biodiversity and ecosystem services may be lost. There are profound uncertainties regarding the management and assessment of the vulnerability of freshwater ecosystems to environmental change. Quantitative approaches are needed to reduce this uncertainty. We describe available statistical and modeling approaches along with case studies that demonstrate how resilience theory can be applied to aid decision-making in natural resources management. We highlight especially how long-term monitoring efforts combined with ecological theory can provide a novel nexus between ecological impact assessment and management, and the quantification of systemic vulnerability and thus the resilience of ecosystems to environmental change.

Drought impacts on ecosystem functions of the U.S. National Forests and Grasslands: Part II assessment results and management implications

Treesearch

Shanlei Sun; Ge Sun; Peter Caldwell; Steve McNulty; Erika Cohen; Jingfeng Xiao; Yang Zhang

2015-01-01

The 781,000 km2 (193 million acre) United States National Forests and Grasslands system (NF) provides important ecosystem services such as clean water supply, timber production, wildlife habitat, and recreation opportunities to the American public. Quantifying the historical impacts of climate change and drought on ecosystem functions at the national scale is essential...

Natural capital and ecosystem services informing decisions: From promise to practice

PubMed Central

Guerry, Anne D.; Polasky, Stephen; Lubchenco, Jane; Chaplin-Kramer, Rebecca; Daily, Gretchen C.; Griffin, Robert; Ruckelshaus, Mary; Bateman, Ian J.; Duraiappah, Anantha; Elmqvist, Thomas; Feldman, Marcus W.; Folke, Carl; Hoekstra, Jon; Kareiva, Peter M.; Keeler, Bonnie L.; Li, Shuzhuo; McKenzie, Emily; Ouyang, Zhiyun; Reyers, Belinda; Ricketts, Taylor H.; Rockström, Johan; Tallis, Heather; Vira, Bhaskar

2015-01-01

The central challenge of the 21st century is to develop economic, social, and governance systems capable of ending poverty and achieving sustainable levels of population and consumption while securing the life-support systems underpinning current and future human well-being. Essential to meeting this challenge is the incorporation of natural capital and the ecosystem services it provides into decision-making. We explore progress and crucial gaps at this frontier, reflecting upon the 10 y since the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. We focus on three key dimensions of progress and ongoing challenges: raising awareness of the interdependence of ecosystems and human well-being, advancing the fundamental interdisciplinary science of ecosystem services, and implementing this science in decisions to restore natural capital and use it sustainably. Awareness of human dependence on nature is at an all-time high, the science of ecosystem services is rapidly advancing, and talk of natural capital is now common from governments to corporate boardrooms. However, successful implementation is still in early stages. We explore why ecosystem service information has yet to fundamentally change decision-making and suggest a path forward that emphasizes: (i) developing solid evidence linking decisions to impacts on natural capital and ecosystem services, and then to human well-being; (ii) working closely with leaders in government, business, and civil society to develop the knowledge, tools, and practices necessary to integrate natural capital and ecosystem services into everyday decision-making; and (iii) reforming institutions to change policy and practices to better align private short-term goals with societal long-term goals. PMID:26082539

Natural capital and ecosystem services informing decisions: From promise to practice.

PubMed

Guerry, Anne D; Polasky, Stephen; Lubchenco, Jane; Chaplin-Kramer, Rebecca; Daily, Gretchen C; Griffin, Robert; Ruckelshaus, Mary; Bateman, Ian J; Duraiappah, Anantha; Elmqvist, Thomas; Feldman, Marcus W; Folke, Carl; Hoekstra, Jon; Kareiva, Peter M; Keeler, Bonnie L; Li, Shuzhuo; McKenzie, Emily; Ouyang, Zhiyun; Reyers, Belinda; Ricketts, Taylor H; Rockström, Johan; Tallis, Heather; Vira, Bhaskar

2015-06-16

The central challenge of the 21st century is to develop economic, social, and governance systems capable of ending poverty and achieving sustainable levels of population and consumption while securing the life-support systems underpinning current and future human well-being. Essential to meeting this challenge is the incorporation of natural capital and the ecosystem services it provides into decision-making. We explore progress and crucial gaps at this frontier, reflecting upon the 10 y since the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. We focus on three key dimensions of progress and ongoing challenges: raising awareness of the interdependence of ecosystems and human well-being, advancing the fundamental interdisciplinary science of ecosystem services, and implementing this science in decisions to restore natural capital and use it sustainably. Awareness of human dependence on nature is at an all-time high, the science of ecosystem services is rapidly advancing, and talk of natural capital is now common from governments to corporate boardrooms. However, successful implementation is still in early stages. We explore why ecosystem service information has yet to fundamentally change decision-making and suggest a path forward that emphasizes: (i) developing solid evidence linking decisions to impacts on natural capital and ecosystem services, and then to human well-being; (ii) working closely with leaders in government, business, and civil society to develop the knowledge, tools, and practices necessary to integrate natural capital and ecosystem services into everyday decision-making; and (iii) reforming institutions to change policy and practices to better align private short-term goals with societal long-term goals.

Book review: Principals of soil conservation and management

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Conservation and sustainable management of soil are essential features of humankind’s reverence for Nature. As well they should be, given the essential ecosystem services that soil imparts to our world, such as producing food, moderating climate, storing and cycling water and nutrients, purifying w...

Global drivers and tradeoffs of three urban vegetation ecosystem services.

PubMed

Dobbs, Cynnamon; Nitschke, Craig R; Kendal, Dave

2014-01-01

Our world is increasingly urbanizing which is highlighting that sustainable cities are essential for maintaining human well-being. This research is one of the first attempts to globally synthesize the effects of urbanization on ecosystem services and how these relate to governance, social development and climate. Three urban vegetation ecosystem services (carbon storage, recreation potential and habitat potential) were quantified for a selection of a hundred cities. Estimates of ecosystem services were obtained from the analysis of satellite imagery and the use of well-known carbon and structural habitat models. We found relationships between ecosystem services, social development, climate and governance, however these varied according to the service studied. Recreation potential was positively related to democracy and negatively related to population. Carbon storage was weakly related to temperature and democracy, while habitat potential was negatively related to democracy. We found that cities under 1 million inhabitants tended to have higher levels of recreation potential than larger cities and that democratic countries have higher recreation potential, especially if located in a continental climate. Carbon storage was higher in full democracies, especially in a continental climate, while habitat potential tended to be higher in authoritarian and hybrid regimes. Similar to other regional or city studies we found that the combination of environment conditions, socioeconomics, demographics and politics determines the provision of ecosystem services. Results from this study showed the existence of environmental injustice in the developing world.

Global Drivers and Tradeoffs of Three Urban Vegetation Ecosystem Services

PubMed Central

Dobbs, Cynnamon; Nitschke, Craig R.; Kendal, Dave

2014-01-01

Our world is increasingly urbanizing which is highlighting that sustainable cities are essential for maintaining human well-being. This research is one of the first attempts to globally synthesize the effects of urbanization on ecosystem services and how these relate to governance, social development and climate. Three urban vegetation ecosystem services (carbon storage, recreation potential and habitat potential) were quantified for a selection of a hundred cities. Estimates of ecosystem services were obtained from the analysis of satellite imagery and the use of well-known carbon and structural habitat models. We found relationships between ecosystem services, social development, climate and governance, however these varied according to the service studied. Recreation potential was positively related to democracy and negatively related to population. Carbon storage was weakly related to temperature and democracy, while habitat potential was negatively related to democracy. We found that cities under 1 million inhabitants tended to have higher levels of recreation potential than larger cities and that democratic countries have higher recreation potential, especially if located in a continental climate. Carbon storage was higher in full democracies, especially in a continental climate, while habitat potential tended to be higher in authoritarian and hybrid regimes. Similar to other regional or city studies we found that the combination of environment conditions, socioeconomics, demographics and politics determines the provision of ecosystem services. Results from this study showed the existence of environmental injustice in the developing world. PMID:25402184

More green infrastructure is required to maintain ecosystem services under current trends in land-use change in Europe.

PubMed

Maes, Joachim; Barbosa, Ana; Baranzelli, Claudia; Zulian, Grazia; Batista E Silva, Filipe; Vandecasteele, Ine; Hiederer, Roland; Liquete, Camino; Paracchini, Maria Luisa; Mubareka, Sarah; Jacobs-Crisioni, Chris; Castillo, Carolina Perpiña; Lavalle, Carlo

Green infrastructure (GI), a network of nature, semi-natural areas and green space, delivers essential ecosystem services which underpin human well-being and quality of life. Maintaining ecosystem services through the development of GI is therefore increasingly recognized by policies as a strategy to cope with potentially changing conditions in the future. This paper assessed how current trends of land-use change have an impact on the aggregated provision of eight ecosystem services at the regional scale of the European Union, measured by the Total Ecosystem Services Index (TESI8). Moreover, the paper reports how further implementation of GI across Europe can help maintain ecosystem services at baseline levels. Current demographic, economic and agricultural trends, which affect land use, were derived from the so called Reference Scenario. This scenario is established by the European Commission to assess the impact of energy and climate policy up to 2050. Under the Reference Scenario, economic growth, coupled with the total population, stimulates increasing urban and industrial expansion. TESI8 is expected to decrease across Europe between 0 and 5 % by 2020 and between 10 and 15 % by 2050 relative to the base year 2010. Based on regression analysis, we estimated that every additional percent increase of the proportion of artificial land needs to be compensated with an increase of 2.2 % of land that qualifies as green infrastructure in order to maintain ecosystem services at 2010 levels.

Balancing ecosystem function, services and disservices resulting from expanding goose populations.

PubMed

Buij, Ralph; Melman, Theodorus C P; Loonen, Maarten J J E; Fox, Anthony D

2017-03-01

As goose populations increase in abundance, their influence on ecological processes is increasing. We review the evidence for key ecological functions of wild goose populations in Eurasia and North America, including aquatic invertebrate and plant propagule transport, nutrient deposition in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, the influence of goose populations on vegetation biomass, carbon storage and methane emission, species diversity and disease transmission. To estimate the implications of their growing abundance for humans, we explore how these functions contribute to the provision of ecosystem services and disservices. We assess the weight, extent and trends among such impacts, as well as the balance of their value to society. We examine key unresolved issues to enable a more balanced assessment of the economic costs or benefits of migratory geese along their flyways, including the spatial and temporal variation in services and their contrasting value to different user groups. Many ecological functions of geese are concluded to provide neither services nor disservices and, ecosystem disservices currently appear to outweigh services, although this varies between regions. We consider an improved quantification of ecosystem services and disservices, and how these vary along population flyways with respect to variation in valuing certain cultural services, and under different management scenarios aimed at reducing their disservices, essential for a more balanced management of goose populations.

Linking Ecosystem Condition to Goods and Services: Monitoring to Inform the Science and Vision of Gulf Coast Restoration

EPA Science Inventory

The natural resources of the Gulf’s coastal and marine habitats and the services they provide are essential to the regional economy and provide 17% of the Nation’s gross domestic product (GDP). Restoring these natural resources, goods and services will be important t...

Ecosystem services in European protected areas: Ambiguity in the views of scientists and managers?

PubMed

Hummel, Christiaan; Provenzale, Antonello; van der Meer, Jaap; Wijnhoven, Sander; Nolte, Arno; Poursanidis, Dimitris; Janss, Guyonne; Jurek, Matthias; Andresen, Magnus; Poulin, Brigitte; Kobler, Johannes; Beierkuhnlein, Carl; Honrado, João; Razinkovas, Arturas; Stritih, Ana; Bargmann, Tessa; Ziemba, Alex; Bonet-García, Francisco; Adamescu, Mihai Cristian; Janssen, Gerard; Hummel, Herman

2017-01-01

Protected Areas are a key component of nature conservation. They can play an important role in counterbalancing the impacts of ecosystem degradation. For an optimal protection of a Protected Area it is essential to account for the variables underlying the major Ecosystem Services an area delivers, and the threats upon them. Here we show that the perception of these important variables differs markedly between scientists and managers of Protected Areas in mountains and transitional waters. Scientists emphasise variables of abiotic and biotic nature, whereas managers highlight socio-economic, cultural and anthropogenic variables. This indicates fundamental differences in perception. To be able to better protect an area it would be advisable to bring the perception of scientists and managers closer together. Intensified and harmonised communication across disciplinary and professional boundaries will be needed to implement and improve Ecosystem Service oriented management strategies in current and future Protected Areas.

Ecosystem services in European protected areas: Ambiguity in the views of scientists and managers?

PubMed Central

Provenzale, Antonello; van der Meer, Jaap; Wijnhoven, Sander; Nolte, Arno; Poursanidis, Dimitris; Janss, Guyonne; Jurek, Matthias; Andresen, Magnus; Poulin, Brigitte; Kobler, Johannes; Beierkuhnlein, Carl; Honrado, João; Razinkovas, Arturas; Stritih, Ana; Bargmann, Tessa; Ziemba, Alex; Bonet-García, Francisco; Adamescu, Mihai Cristian; Janssen, Gerard; Hummel, Herman

2017-01-01

Protected Areas are a key component of nature conservation. They can play an important role in counterbalancing the impacts of ecosystem degradation. For an optimal protection of a Protected Area it is essential to account for the variables underlying the major Ecosystem Services an area delivers, and the threats upon them. Here we show that the perception of these important variables differs markedly between scientists and managers of Protected Areas in mountains and transitional waters. Scientists emphasise variables of abiotic and biotic nature, whereas managers highlight socio-economic, cultural and anthropogenic variables. This indicates fundamental differences in perception. To be able to better protect an area it would be advisable to bring the perception of scientists and managers closer together. Intensified and harmonised communication across disciplinary and professional boundaries will be needed to implement and improve Ecosystem Service oriented management strategies in current and future Protected Areas. PMID:29140983

Green Infrastructure, Ecosystem Services, and Human Health.

PubMed

Coutts, Christopher; Hahn, Micah

2015-08-18

Contemporary ecological models of health prominently feature the natural environment as fundamental to the ecosystem services that support human life, health, and well-being. The natural environment encompasses and permeates all other spheres of influence on health. Reviews of the natural environment and health literature have tended, at times intentionally, to focus on a limited subset of ecosystem services as well as health benefits stemming from the presence, and access and exposure to, green infrastructure. The sweeping influence of green infrastructure on the myriad ecosystem services essential to health has therefore often been underrepresented. This survey of the literature aims to provide a more comprehensive picture-in the form of a primer-of the many simultaneously acting health co-benefits of green infrastructure. It is hoped that a more accurately exhaustive list of benefits will not only instigate further research into the health co-benefits of green infrastructure but also promote consilience in the many fields, including public health, that must be involved in the landscape conservation necessary to protect and improve health and well-being.

Degradation of soil fertility can cancel pollination benefits in sunflower.

PubMed

Tamburini, Giovanni; Berti, Antonio; Morari, Francesco; Marini, Lorenzo

2016-02-01

Pollination and soil fertility are important ecosystem services to agriculture but their relative roles and potential interactions are poorly understood. We explored the combined effects of pollination and soil fertility in sunflower using soils from a trial characterized by different long-term input management in order to recreate plausible levels of soil fertility. Pollinator exclusion was used as a proxy for a highly eroded pollination service. Pollination benefits to yield depended on soil fertility, i.e., insect pollination enhanced seed set and yield only under higher soil fertility indicating that limited nutrient availability may constrain pollination benefits. Our study provides evidence for interactions between above- and belowground ecosystem services, highlighting the crucial role of soil fertility in supporting agricultural production not only directly, but also indirectly through pollination. Management strategies aimed at enhancing pollination services might fail in increasing yield in landscapes characterized by high soil service degradation. Comprehensive knowledge about service interactions is therefore essential for the correct management of ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes.

Agriculture: Soils

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Productive soils, a favorable climate, and clean and abundant water resources are essential for growing crops, raising livestock, and for ecosystems to continue to provide the critical provisioning services that humans need.

The Right Tree for the Job? Perceptions of Species Suitability for the Provision of Ecosystem Services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smaill, Simeon J.; Bayne, Karen M.; Coker, Graham W. R.; Paul, Thomas S. H.; Clinton, Peter W.

2014-04-01

Stakeholders in plantation forestry are increasingly aware of the importance of the ecosystem services and non-market values associated with forests. In New Zealand, there is significant interest in establishing species other than Pinus radiata D. Don (the dominant plantation species) in the belief that alternative species are better suited to deliver these services. Significant risk is associated with this position as there is little objective data to support these views. To identify which species were likely to be planted to deliver ecosystem services, a survey was distributed to examine stakeholder perceptions. Stakeholders were asked which of 15 tree attributes contributed to the provision of five ecosystem services (amenity value, bioenergy production, carbon capture, the diversity of native habitat, and erosion control/water quality) and to identify which of 22 candidate tree species possessed those attributes. These data were combined to identify the species perceived most suitable for the delivery of each ecosystem service. Sequoia sempervirens (D.Don) Endl. closely matched the stakeholder derived ideotypes associated with all five ecosystem services. Comparisons to data from growth, physiological and ecological studies demonstrated that many of the opinions held by stakeholders were inaccurate, leading to erroneous assumptions regarding the suitability of most candidate species. Stakeholder perceptions substantially influence tree species selection, and plantations established on the basis of inaccurate opinions are unlikely to deliver the desired outcomes. Attitudinal surveys associated with engagement campaigns are essential to improve stakeholder knowledge, advancing the development of fit-for-purpose forest management that provides the required ecosystem services.

The right tree for the job? perceptions of species suitability for the provision of ecosystem services.

PubMed

Smaill, Simeon J; Bayne, Karen M; Coker, Graham W R; Paul, Thomas S H; Clinton, Peter W

2014-04-01

Stakeholders in plantation forestry are increasingly aware of the importance of the ecosystem services and non-market values associated with forests. In New Zealand, there is significant interest in establishing species other than Pinus radiata D. Don (the dominant plantation species) in the belief that alternative species are better suited to deliver these services. Significant risk is associated with this position as there is little objective data to support these views. To identify which species were likely to be planted to deliver ecosystem services, a survey was distributed to examine stakeholder perceptions. Stakeholders were asked which of 15 tree attributes contributed to the provision of five ecosystem services (amenity value, bioenergy production, carbon capture, the diversity of native habitat, and erosion control/water quality) and to identify which of 22 candidate tree species possessed those attributes. These data were combined to identify the species perceived most suitable for the delivery of each ecosystem service. Sequoia sempervirens (D.Don) Endl. closely matched the stakeholder derived ideotypes associated with all five ecosystem services. Comparisons to data from growth, physiological and ecological studies demonstrated that many of the opinions held by stakeholders were inaccurate, leading to erroneous assumptions regarding the suitability of most candidate species. Stakeholder perceptions substantially influence tree species selection, and plantations established on the basis of inaccurate opinions are unlikely to deliver the desired outcomes. Attitudinal surveys associated with engagement campaigns are essential to improve stakeholder knowledge, advancing the development of fit-for-purpose forest management that provides the required ecosystem services.

Principal factors of soil spatial heterogeneity and ecosystem services at the Central Chernozemic Region of Russia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vasenev, Ivan; Valentini, Riccardo

2013-04-01

The essential spatial heterogeneity is mutual feature for most natural and man-changed soils at the Central Chernozemic Region of Russia which is not only one of the biggest «food baskets» in RF but very important regulator of ecosystem principal services at the European territory of Russia. The original spatial heterogeneity of dominated here forest-steppe and steppe Chernozems and the other soils has been further complicated by a specific land-use history and different-direction soil successions due to environmental changes and more than 1000-year history of human impacts. The carried out long-term researches of representative natural, rural and urban landscapes in Kursk, Orel, Tambov and Voronezh oblasts give us the regional multi-factorial matrix of elementary soil cover patterns (ESCP) with different land-use practices and history, soil-geomorphologic features, environmental and microclimate conditions. The validation and ranging of the limiting factors of ESCP regulation and development, ecosystem principal services, land functional qualities and agroecological state have been done for dominating and most dynamical components of ESCP regional-typological forms - with application of regional and local GIS, soil spatial patterns mapping, traditional regression kriging, correlation tree models. The outcomes of statistical modeling show the essential amplification of erosion, dehumification and CO2 emission, acidification and alkalization, disaggregation and overcompaction processes due to violation of agroecologically sound land-use systems and traditional balances of organic matter, nutrients, Ca and Na in agrolandscapes. Due to long-term intensive and out-of-balance land-use practices the famous Russian Chernozems begin to lose not only their unique natural features of (around 1 m of humus horizon, 4-6% of Corg and favorable agrophysical features), but traditional soil cover patterns, ecosystem services and agroecological functions. Key-site monitoring results and regional generalized data showed 1-1.5 % Corg lost during last 50 years period and active processes of CO2 emission and humus profile eluvial-illuvial redistribution too. Forest-steppe Chernozems are usually characterized by higher stability than steppe ones. The ratio between erosive and biological losses in humus supplies can be ten¬tatively estimated as fifty-fifty with strong spatial variability due to slope and land-use parameters. These processes have essentially different sets of environmental consequences and ecosystem services that we need to understand in frame of agroecological problems development prediction. A drop of Corg content below threshold "humus limiting content" values (3-4% of Corg) considerably reduces effectiveness of used fertilizers and possibility of sustainable agronomy here. This problem environmental and agroecological situation can be essentially improved by new federal law on environmentally friendly agriculture but it's draft is still in the process of deliberation. Quantitative analysis of principal ecosystem services, soil cover patterns and degradation processes in parameters of land qualities help us in developing different-scale projects for agricultural and urban land-use, taking into attention not only economical benefits but environmental functions too. The conceptions of ecosystem services and local land resource management are becoming more and more popular at the Central Chernozemic Region of Russia due to innovation application of basic agroecology, ecological monitoring and soil science achievements.

A Spatially-Explicit Technique for Evaluation of Alternative ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Ecosystems contribute to maintaining human well-being directly through provision of goods and indirectly through provision of services that support clean water, clean air, flood protection and atmospheric stability. Transparently accounting for biophysical attributes from which humans derive benefit is essential to support dialog among the public, resource managers, decision makers, and scientists. We analyzed the potential ecosystem goods and services production from alternative future land use scenarios in the US Tampa Bay region. Ecosystem goods and service metrics included carbon sequestration, nitrogen removal, air pollutant removal, and stormwater retention. Each scenario was compared to a 2006 baseline land use. Estimated production of denitrification services changed by 28% and carbon sequestration by 20% between 2006 and the “business as usual” scenario. An alternative scenario focused on “natural resource protection” resulted in an estimated 9% loss in air pollution removal. Stormwater retention was estimated to change 18% from 2006 to 2060 projections. Cost effective areas for conservation, almost 1588 ha, beyond current conservation lands, were identified by comparing ecosystem goods and services production to assessed land values. Our ecosystem goods and services approach provides a simple and quantitative way to examine a more complete set of potential outcomes from land use decisions. This study demonstrates an approach for spatially expli

Protected Natural Areas of Puerto Rico

Treesearch

William A. Gould; Maya Quinones; Mariano Solorzano; Waldemar Alcobas; Caryl Alarcon

2011-01-01

Protection of natural areas is essential to conserving biodiversity and maintaining ecosystem services. Benefits and services provided by natural areas are complex, interwoven, life-sustaining, and necessary for a healthy environment and a sustainable future (Daily et al. 1997). They include clean water and air, sustainable wildlife populations and habitats, stable...

Post-fire vegetation response at the woodland-shrubland interface is mediated by the pre-fire community

Treesearch

Alexandra Urza; Peter J. Weisberg; Jeanne C. Chambers; Jessica M. Dhaemers; David Board

2017-01-01

Understanding the drivers of ecosystem responses to disturbance is essential for management aimed at maintaining or restoring ecosystem processes and services, especially where invasive species respond strongly to disturbance. In this study, we used repeat vegetation surveys from a network of prescribed fire treatments at the woodland–shrubland interface in the...

Air pollution and watershed research in the central Sierra Nevada of California: nitrogen and ozone.

PubMed

Hunsaker, Carolyn; Bytnerowicz, Andrzej; Auman, Jessica; Cisneros, Ricardo

2007-03-21

Maintaining healthy forests is the major objective for the Forest Service scientists and managers working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Air pollution, specifically ozone (O3) and nitrogenous (N) air pollutants, may severely affect the health of forest ecosystems in the western U.S. Thus, the monitoring of air pollution concentration and deposition levels, as well as studies focused on understanding effects mechanisms, are essential for evaluation of risks associated with their presence. Such information is essential for development of proper management strategies for maintaining clean air, clean water, and healthy ecosystems on land managed by the Forest Service. We report on two years of research in the central Sierra Nevada of California, a semi-arid forest at elevations of 1100-2700 m. Information on O3 and N air pollutants is obtained from a network of 18 passive samplers. We relate the atmospheric N concentration to N concentrations in streams, shallow soil water, and bulk deposition collectors within the Kings River Experimental Watershed. This watershed also contains an intensive site that is part of a recent Forest Service effort to calculate critical loads for N, sulfur, and acidity to forest ecosystems. The passive sampler design allows for extensive spatial measurements while the watershed experiment provides intensive spatial data for future analysis of ecosystem processes.

Assessment of water supply as an ecosystem service in a rural-urban watershed in southwestern Mexico City.

PubMed

Jujnovsky, Julieta; González-Martínez, Teresa Margarita; Cantoral-Uriza, Enrique Arturo; Almeida-Leñero, Lucia

2012-03-01

Studies from the ecosystem services perspective can provide a useful framework because they allow us to fully examine the benefits that humans obtain from socio-ecological systems. Mexico City, the second largest city in the world, has faced severe problems related to water shortages, which have worsened due to increasing population. Demand for space has forced changes in land cover, including covering areas that are essential for groundwater recharge. The city has 880 km(2) of forest areas that are crucial for the water supply. The Magdalena River Watershed was chosen as a model because it is a well-preserved zone within Mexico City and it provides water for the population. The general aim of this study was to assess the ecosystem service of the water supply in the Magdalena River Watershed by determining its water balance (SWAT model) and the number of beneficiaries of the ecosystem services. The results showed that the watershed provides 18.4 hm(3) of water per year. Baseflow was dominant, with a contribution of 85%, while surface runoff only accounted for 15%. The zone provides drinking water to 78,476 inhabitants and could supply 153,203 potential beneficiaries. This work provides an example for understanding how ecosystem processes determine the provision of ecosystem services and benefits to the population in a rural-urban watershed in Mexico City.

Achieving Sustainability Goals for Urban Coasts in the US Northeast: Research Needs and Challenges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Close, Sarah L.; Montalto, Franco; Orton, Philip; Antoine, Adrienne; Peters, Danielle; Jones, Hunter; Parris, Adam; Blumberg, Alan

2016-01-01

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy and other recent extreme events, urban coastal communities in the northeast region of the United States are beginning or stepping up efforts to integrate climate adaptation and resilience into long-term coastal planning. Natural and nature-based shoreline strategies have emerged as essential components of coastal resilience and are frequently cited by practitioners, scientists, and the public for the wide range of ecosystem services they can provide. However, there is limited quantitative information associating particular urban shoreline design strategies with specific levels of ecosystem service provision, and research on this issue is not always aligned with decision context and decision-maker needs. Engagement between the research community, local government officials and sustainability practitioners, and the non-profit and private sectors can help bridge these gaps. A workshop to bring together these groups discussed research gaps and challenges in integrating ecosystem services into urban sustainability planning in the urban northeast corridor. Many themes surfaced repeatedly throughout workshop deliberations, including the challenges associated with ecosystem service valuation, the transferability of research and case studies within and outside the region, and the opportunity for urban coastal areas to be a focal point for education and outreach efforts related to ecosystem services.

Ecosystem service provision in a changing Europe: adapting to the impacts of combined climate and socio-economic change.

PubMed

Dunford, Robert W; Smith, Alison C; Harrison, Paula A; Hanganu, Diana

Future patterns of European ecosystem services provision are likely to vary significantly as a result of climatic and socio-economic change and the implementation of adaptation strategies. However, there is little research in mapping future ecosystem services and no integrated assessment approach to map the combined impacts of these drivers. Map changing patterns in ecosystem services for different European futures and (a) identify the role of driving forces; (b) explore the potential influence of different adaptation options. The CLIMSAVE integrated assessment platform is used to map spatial patterns in services (food, water and timber provision, atmospheric regulation, biodiversity existence/bequest, landscape experience and land use diversity) for a number of combined climatic and socio-economic scenarios. Eight adaptation strategies are explored within each scenario. Future service provision (particularly water provision) will be significantly impacted by climate change. Socio-economic changes shift patterns of service provision: more dystopian societies focus on food provision at the expense of other services. Adaptation options offer significant opportunities, but may necessitate trade-offs between services, particularly between agriculture- and forestry-related services. Unavoidable trade-offs between regions (particularly South-North) are also identified in some scenarios. Coordinating adaptation across regions and sectors will be essential to ensure that all needs are met: a factor that will become increasingly pressing under dystopian futures where inter-regional cooperation breaks down. Integrated assessment enables exploration of interactions and trade-offs between ecosystem services, highlighting the importance of taking account of complex cross-sectoral interactions under different future scenarios of planning adaptation responses.

The Human Appropriation of Ecosystem Service Values (HAESV) in the Sundarban Biosphere Region Using Biophysical Quantification Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sannigrahi, S.; Paul, S. K.; Sen, S.

2017-12-01

Human appropriation, especially unusual changes in land-use and land cover, significantly affects ecosystem services and functions. Driven by the growth of the population and the economy, human demands on earth's land surface have increased dramatically in the past 50 - 100 years. The area studied was divided into six major categories; cropland, mangrove forest, sparse vegetation, built-up urban area, water bodies and sandy coast, and the land coverage was calculated for the years 1973, 1988, 2002 and 2013. The spatial explicit value of the primary regulatory and supporting ecosystem services (climate regulation, raw material production, water regulation) were quantified through the indirect market valuation approach. A light use efficiency based ecosystem model, i.e. Carnegie- Ames-Stanford-Approach (CASA) was employed to estimate the carbon sequestration and oxygen production services of the ecosystem. The ArcGIS matrix transform approach calculated LULC dynamics among the classes. Investigation revealed that the built-up urban area increased from 42.9 km2 in 1973 to 308 km2 in 2013 with a 6.6 km2 yr-1 expansion rate. Similarly, water bodies (especially inland water bodies increased dramatically in the north central region) increased from 3392.1 sq.km in 1973 to 5420 sq.km in 2013 at the expense of semi-natural and natural land resulting in significant changes of ecological and ecosystem services. However, the area occupied by dense mangrove forest decreased substantially during the 40 years (1973 -2013); it was recorded to cover 2294 km2 in 1973 and 1820 km2 in 2013. The results showed that the estimated regulatory and supporting ecosystem services respond quite differently to human appropriation across the regions in both the economic and ecological dimensions. While evaluating the trade-of between human appropriation and ecosystem service changes, it has been estimated that the ecosystem service value of organic matter provision services decreased from 755 US ha-1 in 2000 to 608 US ha-1 in 2013. Therefore, the rigorous and centralised policy for sustainable and regionally balanced land-use planning has been essential in the recent era for economic viability, and ecosystem preservation, to prevent undesirable outcomes.

Green Infrastructure, Ecosystem Services, and Human Health

PubMed Central

Coutts, Christopher; Hahn, Micah

2015-01-01

Contemporary ecological models of health prominently feature the natural environment as fundamental to the ecosystem services that support human life, health, and well-being. The natural environment encompasses and permeates all other spheres of influence on health. Reviews of the natural environment and health literature have tended, at times intentionally, to focus on a limited subset of ecosystem services as well as health benefits stemming from the presence, and access and exposure to, green infrastructure. The sweeping influence of green infrastructure on the myriad ecosystem services essential to health has therefore often been underrepresented. This survey of the literature aims to provide a more comprehensive picture—in the form of a primer—of the many simultaneously acting health co-benefits of green infrastructure. It is hoped that a more accurately exhaustive list of benefits will not only instigate further research into the health co-benefits of green infrastructure but also promote consilience in the many fields, including public health, that must be involved in the landscape conservation necessary to protect and improve health and well-being. PMID:26295249

The essential value of long-term experimental data for hydrology and water management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tetzlaff, D.; Carey, S. K.; McNamara, J. P.; Laudon, H.; Soulsby, C.

2017-12-01

Observations and data from long-term experimental watersheds are the foundation of hydrology as a geoscience. They allow us to benchmark process understanding, observe trends and natural cycles, and are pre-requisites for testing predictive models. Long-term experimental watersheds also are places where new measurement technologies are developed. These studies offer a crucial evidence base for understanding and managing the provision of clean water supplies; predicting and mitigating the effects of floods, and protecting ecosystem services provided by rivers and wetlands. They also show how to manage land and water in an integrated, sustainable way that reduces environmental and economic costs. We present a number of compelling examples illustrating how hydrologic process understanding has been generated through comparing hypotheses to data, and how this understanding has been essential for managing water supplies, floods, and ecosystem services today.

A spatial analysis of cultural ecosystem service valuation by regional stakeholders in Florida: a coastal application of the social values for ecosystem services (SolVES) tool

USGS Publications Warehouse

Coffin, Alisa W.; Swett, Robert A.; Cole, Zachary D.

2012-01-01

Livelihoods and lifestyles of people throughout the world depend on essential goods and services provided by marine and coastal ecosystems. However, as societal demand increases and available ocean and coastal space diminish, better methods are needed to spatially and temporally allocate ocean and coastal activities such as shipping, energy production, tourism, and fishing. While economic valuation is an important mechanism for doing so, cultural ecosystem services often do not lend themselves to this method. Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey are working collaboratively with the Florida Sea Grant College Program to map nonmonetary values of cultural ecosystem services for a pilot area (Sarasota Bay) in the Gulf of Mexico. The research seeks to close knowledge gaps about the attitudes and perceptions, or nonmonetary values, held by coastal residents toward cultural ecosystem services, and to adapt related, terrestrial-based research methods to a coastal setting. A critical goal is to integrate research results with coastal and marine spatial planning applications, thus making them relevant to coastal planners and managers in their daily efforts to sustainably manage coastal resources. Using information about the attitudes and preferences of people toward places and uses in the landscape, collected from value and preference surveys, the USGS SolVES 2.0 tool will provide quantitative models to relate social values, or perceived nonmonetary values, assigned to locations by survey respondents with the underlying environmental characteristics of those same locations. Project results will increase scientific and geographic knowledge of how Sarasota Bay residents value their area’s cultural ecosystem services.

Contributions of watershed management research to ecosystem-based management in the Colorado River Basin

Treesearch

Malchus B. Baker; Peter F. Ffolliott

2000-01-01

The Rocky Mountains and Southwestern United States, essentially the Colorado River Basin, have been the focus of a wide range of research efforts to learn more about the effects of natural and human induced disturbances on the functioning, processes, and components of the regions’s ecosystems. Watershed research, spearheaded by the USDA Forest Service and its...

Simulating and mapping the spatial and seasonal effects of future climate and land -use changes on ecosystem services in the Yanhe watershed, China.

PubMed

Chen, Dengshuai; Li, Jing; Zhou, Zixiang; Liu, Yan; Li, Ting; Liu, Jingya

2018-01-01

Effective information about ecosystem services is essential to help optimize and prioritize activities that support conservation planning in the face of land use and climate changes. This study shows an approach that integrates several dissimilar models for assessing water-related ecosystem services to predict values in 2050 under three land use scenarios in the Yanhe watershed. The simulated output variables pertaining to water yield and sediment yield were used as indicators for two ecosystem-regulating services, i.e., water flow regulation and erosion regulation, which were quantified using the soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) model. The model results were translated into a relative ecosystem service valuation scale, which facilitated the analysis of spatial and seasonal changes and served as the basis for the applied mapping approach. The simulated results indicate that higher water-related regulation services were concentrated in the middle and lower reaches of rivers with high water yield and low sediment erosion. The highest water flow regulation services occurred in summer; nevertheless, this was when erosion regulation services were the lowest compared to other periods in 2050. A comparison of the three land use scenarios showed differences in the water-related regulation services. Scenario 1, with high forest coverage, had the highest erosion regulation services, but the water flow regulation services were the lowest. Scenario 3 showed the reverse pattern. Scenario 2 had intermediate water flow regulation and erosion regulation. Increasing vegetation cover in the watershed is conducive to controlling water and soil erosion but could lead to a decline in available water resources. Spatial mapping is a powerful tool for displaying the spatiotemporal differences in the water-related regulation services delivered by ecosystems and can help decision makers optimize land use in the future, with the goal of maximizing the benefits offered by ecological services in the Yanhe watershed.

Nature-based solutions for hydro-meteorological risk reduction and nutrient removal in the Nordic and Arctic regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bring, Arvid; Kalantari, Zahra

2017-04-01

Natural ecological functions provide essential and fundamental benefits to mankind, but can also be actively employed in nature-based solutions to specific challenges in society. For example, water-related ecosystem services have a role in such societal benefits as flood protection, erosion control, and excess nutrient removal. Ecosystem services may be produced and consumed in different locations, and research has recently attempted to formalize this discrepancy in identifying service providing areas (SPAs), service benefitting areas (SBAs), and service connecting areas (SCAs). However, in terms of water-related services, there is a lack of formal evaluation of how SPAs, SBAs, and SCAs are related to hydrological measures such as discharge, flood recurrence, excess nutrient removal, etc. We seek to map SPAs, SBAs and SCAs for a number of key ecosystem services in the Nordic and Arctic region though established ecological definitions (typically, based on land use) and evaluate the findings alongside metrics of hydrological connectivity (river networks), provisioning areas (runoff generating areas), and benefitting areas (river stretches where water flow is moderated). We make use of extensive GIS analysis using both high-resolution land cover data and river network maps. In the end, the results are expected to contribute to identifying how water-related ecosystem services can be employed as nature-based solutions for hydro-meteorological risk reduction and nutrient removal in a changing climate in the Nordic and Arctic regions.

Economic valuation of ecosystem services from coral reefs in the South Pacific: taking stock of recent experience.

PubMed

Laurans, Yann; Pascal, Nicolas; Binet, Thomas; Brander, Luke; Clua, Eric; David, Gilbert; Rojat, Dominique; Seidl, Andrew

2013-02-15

The economic valuation of coral reefs ecosystem services is currently seen as a promising approach to demonstrate the benefits of sustainable management of coral ecosystems to policymakers and to provide useful information for improved decisions. Most coral reefs economic studies have been conducted in the United States, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean, and only a few have covered the South Pacific region. In this region, coral reefs are essential assets for small island developing states as well as for developed countries. Accordingly, a series of ecosystem services valuations has been carried out recently in the South Pacific, to try and supply decision-makers with new information. Applying ecosystem services valuation to the specific ecological, social, economic and cultural contexts of the South Pacific is however not straightforward. This paper analyses how extant valuations address the various management challenges of coral reef regions in general and more specifically for the South Pacific. Bearing in mind that economic valuation has to match policy-making contexts, we emphasize a series of specific considerations when conducting and applying ecosystem services valuation in South Pacific ecological and social contexts. Finally, the paper examines the decision-making situations in which extant valuations took place. We conclude that, although ecosystem valuations have been effectively used as a means to raise awareness with respect to coral reef conservation, methodologies will have to be further developed, with multidisciplinary inputs, if they are to provide valuable inputs in local and technical decision-making. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Environmental technologies of woody crop production systems

Treesearch

Ronald S. Zalesny Jr.; John A. Stanturf; Emile S. Gardiner; Gary S. Ba??uelos; Richard A. Hallett; Amir Hass; Craig M. Stange; James H. Perdue; Timothy M. Young; David R. Coyle; William L. Headlee

2016-01-01

Soil erosion, loss of productivity potential, biodiversity loss, water shortage, and soil and water pollution are ongoing processes that decrease or degrade provisioning (e.g., biomass, freshwater) and regulating (e.g., carbon sequestration, soil quality) ecosystem services. Therefore, developing environmental technologies that maximize these services is essential for...

Safeguarding the provision of ecosystem services in catchment systems.

PubMed

Everard, Mark

2013-04-01

A narrow technocentric focus on a few favored ecosystem services (generally provisioning services) has led to ecosystem degradation globally, including catchment systems and their capacities to support human well-being. Increasing recognition of the multiple benefits provided by ecosystems is slowly being translated into policy and some areas of practice, although there remains a significant shortfall in the incorporation of a systemic perspective into operation management and decision-making tools. Nevertheless, a range of ecosystem-based solutions to issues as diverse as flooding and green space provision in the urban environment offers hope for improving habitat and optimization of beneficial services. The value of catchment ecosystem processes and their associated services is also being increasingly recognized and internalized by the water industry, improving water quality and quantity through catchment land management rather than at greater expense in the treatment costs of contaminated water abstracted lower in catchments. Parallel recognition of the value of working with natural processes, rather than "defending" built assets when catchment hydrology is adversely affected by unsympathetic upstream development, is being progressively incorporated into flood risk management policy. This focus on wider catchment processes also yields a range of cobenefits for fishery, wildlife, amenity, flood risk, and other interests, which may be optimized if multiple stakeholders and their diverse value systems are included in decision-making processes. Ecosystem services, particularly implemented as a central element of the ecosystem approach, provide an integrated framework for building in these different perspectives and values, many of them formerly excluded, into commercial and resource management decision-making processes, thereby making tractable the integrative aspirations of sustainable development. This can help redress deeply entrenched inherited assumptions, habits, and vested interests, replacing them in many management situations with wider recognition of the multiple values of ecosystems and their services. Global interest in taking an ecosystem approach is promoting novel scientific and policy thinking, yet there is a shortfall in its translation into practical management tools. Professional associations may have key roles to play in breaking down barriers to the "mainstreaming" of systemic perspectives into common practice, particularly through joining u different sectors of society essential to their implementation and ongoing adaptive management. Copyright © 2012 SETAC.

Modeling Hydrological Services in Shade Grown Coffee Systems: Case Study of the Pico Duarte Region of the Dominican Republic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erickson, J. D.; Gross, L.; Agosto Filion, N.; Bagstad, K.; Voigt, B. G.; Johnson, G.

2010-12-01

The modification of hydrologic systems in coffee-dominated landscapes varies widely according to the degree of shade trees incorporated in coffee farms. Compared to mono-cropping systems, shade coffee can produce both on- and off-farm benefits in the form of soil retention, moderation of sediment transport, and lower hydropower generating costs. The Pico Duarte Coffee Region and surrounding Madres de Las Aguas (Mother of Waters) Conservation Area in the Dominican Republic is emblematic of the challenges and opportunities of ecosystem service management in coffee landscapes. Shade coffee poly-cultures in the region play an essential role in ensuring ecosystem function to conserve water resources, as well as provide habitat for birds, sequester carbon, and provide consumptive resources to households. To model the provision, use, and flow of ecosystem services from coffee farms in the region, an application of the Artificial Intelligence for Ecosystem Services (ARIES) model was developed with particular focus on sediment regulation. ARIES incorporates an array of techniques from data mining, image analysis, neural networks, Bayesian statistics, information theory, and expert systems to model the production, delivery, and demand for ecosystem services. Geospatial data on slope, soils, and vegetation cover is combined with on-farm data collection of coffee production, tree diversity, and intercropping of household food. Given hydropower production and river recreation in the region, the management of sedimentation through on-farm practices has substantial, currently uncompensated value that has received recent attention as the foundation for a payment for ecosystem services system. Scenario analysis of the implications of agro-forestry management choices on farmer livelihoods and the multiple beneficiaries of farm-provided hydrological services provide a foundation for ongoing discussions in the region between local, national, and international interests.

Changes in ecosystem services associated with planting structures of cropland: A case study in Minle County in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yaqun; Song, Wei; Mu, Fengyun

2017-12-01

The cropland ecosystem provides essential direct and indirect products and services to mankind such as food, fiber, biodiversity and soil conservation. A change of crop planting structure can change the ecosystem services of cropland by affecting land use type. In recent years, under the influence of regional comparative advantage and consumer demand changes, the crop planting structure in China has changed rapidly. However, there is still a lack of deep understanding on the effect of such a change in planting structure on the ecosystem services of cropland. Therefore, this research selected Minle County in the Heihe River Basin, which has small scattered croplands and a complex planting structure, as a study area. Based on the key time phase and optimal threshold of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data of the Thematic Mapper and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (TM/ETM+) images, this study used the decision tree algorithm to classify and extract the crop planting structure in Minle County in 2007 and 2012 and to analyze the changes in its temporal and spatial patterns. Then, the market value method was adopted to estimate the effect of the change in crop planting structure on the ecosystem services of the cropland. From 2007 to 2012, the planting area of corn and rapeseed in Minle County increased by 5.86 × 103 ha and 5.10 × 103 ha, respectively. Conversely, the planting area of wheat and barley was reduced by 3.26 × 103 ha and 6.34 × 103 ha, respectively. These changes directly caused the increase of the ecosystem services value of corn and rapeseed by 1062.82 × 104 USD and 842.54 × 104 USD, respectively. The resulting reduction in the ecosystem services value of wheat and barley was 488.24 × 104 USD and 828.29 × 104 USD, respectively. Besides, the total ecosystem services value of cropland increased by 1564.98 × 104 USD. Further analysis found that the change in the crop planting structure caused an increase in the ecosystem services value of cropland of 359.44 × 104 USD, with a contribution rate of 22.97% to the total increase. The expansion of corn caused the increase of the ecosystem services value of cropland by 151.65 × 104 USD, with a contribution rate of 9.69% to the total increase. The change in crop planting structure in Minle County increased not only the economic benefits of crop planting, but also the ecosystem services of cropland.

Open IoT Ecosystem for Enhanced Interoperability in Smart Cities-Example of Métropole De Lyon.

PubMed

Robert, Jérémy; Kubler, Sylvain; Kolbe, Niklas; Cerioni, Alessandro; Gastaud, Emmanuel; Främling, Kary

2017-12-08

The Internet of Things (IoT) has promised a future where everything gets connected. Unfortunately, building a single global ecosystem of Things that communicate with each other seamlessly is virtually impossible today. The reason is that the IoT is essentially a collection of isolated "Intranets of Things", also referred to as "vertical silos", which cannot easily and efficiently interact with each other. Smart cities are perhaps the most striking examples of this problem since they comprise a wide range of stakeholders and service providers who must work together, including urban planners, financial organisations, public and private service providers, telecommunication providers, industries, citizens, and so forth. Within this context, the contribution of this paper is threefold: (i) discuss business and technological implications as well as challenges of creating successful open innovation ecosystems, (ii) present the technological building blocks underlying an IoT ecosystem developed in the framework of the EU Horizon 2020 programme, (iii) present a smart city pilot (Heat Wave Mitigation in Métropole de Lyon ) for which the proposed ecosystem significantly contributes to improving interoperability between a number of system components, and reducing regulatory barriers for joint service co-creation practices.

Open IoT Ecosystem for Enhanced Interoperability in Smart Cities—Example of Métropole De Lyon

PubMed Central

Robert, Jérémy; Kolbe, Niklas; Cerioni, Alessandro; Gastaud, Emmanuel

2017-01-01

The Internet of Things (IoT) has promised a future where everything gets connected. Unfortunately, building a single global ecosystem of Things that communicate with each other seamlessly is virtually impossible today. The reason is that the IoT is essentially a collection of isolated “Intranets of Things”, also referred to as “vertical silos”, which cannot easily and efficiently interact with each other. Smart cities are perhaps the most striking examples of this problem since they comprise a wide range of stakeholders and service providers who must work together, including urban planners, financial organisations, public and private service providers, telecommunication providers, industries, citizens, and so forth. Within this context, the contribution of this paper is threefold: (i) discuss business and technological implications as well as challenges of creating successful open innovation ecosystems, (ii) present the technological building blocks underlying an IoT ecosystem developed in the framework of the EU Horizon 2020 programme, (iii) present a smart city pilot (Heat Wave Mitigation in Métropole de Lyon) for which the proposed ecosystem significantly contributes to improving interoperability between a number of system components, and reducing regulatory barriers for joint service co-creation practices. PMID:29292719

Habitat management utilizing native wildflowers to foster pollinator abundance

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Pollinators provide essential ecosystem services to agricultural crops, however their population has come under threat globally as a result of intensive agricultural practices and landscape simplification. Designing diverse heterogeneous agricultural landscapes to provide optimal resources serves as...

Effects of inter-row management intensity on wild bee, plant and soil biota diversity in vineyards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kratschmer, Sophie; Pachinger, Bärbel; Winter, Silvia; Zaller, Johann G.; Buchholz, Jacob; Querner, Pascal; Strauß, Peter; Bauer, Thomas; Stiper, Katrin

2016-04-01

Vineyards may provide a range of essential ecosystem services, which interact with a diverse community of above- and belowground organisms. Intensive soil management like frequent tilling has resulted in the degradation of habitat quality with consequences on biodiversity and ecosystem services. This study is part of the European BiodivERsA project "VineDivers - Biodiversity-based ecosystem services in vineyards". We study the effects of different soil management intensities on above- and below-ground biodiversity (plants, insect pollinators, and soil biota), their interactions and the consequences for ecosystem services. We investigated 16 vineyards in Austria assessing the diversity of (1) wild bees using a semi-quantitative transect method, (2) earthworms by hand sorting, (3) Collembola (springtails) via pitfall trapping and soil coring, (4) plants by relevés and (5) litter decomposition (tea bag method). Management intensity differed in tillage frequency from intermediate intensity resulting in temporary vegetation cover to no tillage in permanent vegetation cover systems. First results show opposed relationships between the biodiversity of selected species groups and management intensity. We will discuss possible explanations and evaluate ecological interactions between wild bee, plant and soil biota diversity.

Response diversity determines the resilience of ecosystems to environmental change.

PubMed

Mori, Akira S; Furukawa, Takuya; Sasaki, Takehiro

2013-05-01

A growing body of evidence highlights the importance of biodiversity for ecosystem stability and the maintenance of optimal ecosystem functionality. Conservation measures are thus essential to safeguard the ecosystem services that biodiversity provides and human society needs. Current anthropogenic threats may lead to detrimental (and perhaps irreversible) ecosystem degradation, providing strong motivation to evaluate the response of ecological communities to various anthropogenic pressures. In particular, ecosystem functions that sustain key ecosystem services should be identified and prioritized for conservation action. Traditional diversity measures (e.g. 'species richness') may not adequately capture the aspects of biodiversity most relevant to ecosystem stability and functionality, but several new concepts may be more appropriate. These include 'response diversity', describing the variation of responses to environmental change among species of a particular community. Response diversity may also be a key determinant of ecosystem resilience in the face of anthropogenic pressures and environmental uncertainty. However, current understanding of response diversity is poor, and we see an urgent need to disentangle the conceptual strands that pervade studies of the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Our review clarifies the links between response diversity and the maintenance of ecosystem functionality by focusing on the insurance hypothesis of biodiversity and the concept of functional redundancy. We provide a conceptual model to describe how loss of response diversity may cause ecosystem degradation through decreased ecosystem resilience. We explicitly explain how response diversity contributes to functional compensation and to spatio-temporal complementarity among species, leading to long-term maintenance of ecosystem multifunctionality. Recent quantitative studies suggest that traditional diversity measures may often be uncoupled from measures (such as response diversity) that may be more effective proxies for ecosystem stability and resilience. Certain conclusions and recommendations of earlier studies using these traditional measures as indicators of ecosystem resilience thus may be suspect. We believe that functional ecology perspectives incorporating the effects and responses of diversity are essential for development of management strategies to safeguard (and restore) optimal ecosystem functionality (especially multifunctionality). Our review highlights these issues and we envision our work generating debate around the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functionality, and leading to improved conservation priorities and biodiversity management practices that maximize ecosystem resilience in the face of uncertain environmental change. © 2012 The Authors. Biological Reviews © 2012 Cambridge Philosophical Society.

Ecological structure and function differs between habitats dominated by seagrasses and green seaweeds.

PubMed

Tuya, Fernando; Png-Gonzalez, Lydia; Riera, Rodrigo; Haroun, Ricardo; Espino, Fernando

2014-07-01

Marine vegetated habitats, e.g. seagrass meadows, deliver essential functions and services to coastal ecosystems and human welfare. Impacts induced by humans, however, have facilitated the replacement of seagrasses by alternative vegetation, e.g. green rhizophytic seaweeds. The implications of habitat shifts for ecosystem attributes and processes and the services they deliver remain poorly known. In this study, we compared ecosystem structure and function between Cymodocea nodosa seagrass meadows and bottoms dominated by Caulerpa prolifera, a green, native, rhizophytic seaweed, through 5 ecological proxies: (i) primary production (via community metabolism), (ii) composition and abundance of epifauna (a proxy for provision of habitat for epifauna), composition and abundance of (iii) small-sized (juvenile) and (iv) large-sized (adult) fishes (proxies for provision of habitat for fishes), and (v) sediment retention (a proxy for sediment stabilization). Four of these proxies were greater in C. nodosa seagrass meadows than in C. prolifera beds: gross primary productivity (∼1.4 times), the total abundance, species density and biomass of small-sized fishes (∼2.1, 1.3 and 1.3 times, respectively), the total abundance and species density of large-sized fishes (∼3.6 and 1.5 times, respectively), and sediment stabilization (∼1.4 times). In contrast, the total abundance and species density of epifauna was larger (∼3.1 and 1.7 times, respectively) in C. prolifera than in C. nodosa seagrass beds. These results suggest that ecosystem structure and function may differ if seagrasses are replaced by green rhizophytic seaweeds. Importantly, ecosystem functions may not be appropriate surrogates for one another. As a result, assessments of ecosystem services associated with ecosystem functions cannot be based on exclusively one service that is expected to benefit other services. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Soil Science and Global Issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lal, Rattan

2015-04-01

Sustainable management of soil is integral to any rational approach to addressing global issues of the 21st century. A high quality soil is essential to: i) advancing food and nutritional security, ii) mitigating and adapting to climate change, iii) improving quality and renewability of water, iv) enriching biodiversity, v) producing biofuel feedstocks for reducing dependence on fossil fuel, and vi) providing cultural, aesthetical and recreational opportunities. Being the essence of all terrestrial life, soil functions and ecosystem services are essential to wellbeing of all species of plants and animals. Yet, soil resources are finite, unequally distributed geographically, and vulnerable to degradation by natural and anthropogenic perturbations. Nonetheless, soil has inherent resilience, and its ecosystem functions and services can be restored over time. However, soil resilience depends on several key soil properties including soil organic carbon (SOC) concentration and pool, plant-available water capacity (PWAC), nutrient reserves, effective rooting depth, texture and clay mineralogy, pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC) etc. There is a close inter-dependence among these properties. For example, SOC concentration strongly affects, PWAC, nutrient reserve, activity and species diversity of soil flora and fauna, CEC etc. Thus, judicious management of SOC concentration to maintain it above the threshold level (~1.5-2%) in the root zone is critical to sustaining essential functions and ecosystem services. Yet, soils of some agroecosystems (e.g., those managed by resources-poor farmers and small landholders in the tropics and sub-tropics) are severely depleted of their SOC reserves. Consequently. Agronomic productivity and wellbeing of people dependent on degraded soils is jeopardized. The ecosystem C pool of the terrestrial biosphere has been mined by extractive practices, the nature demands recarbonization of its biosphere for maintenance of its functions and resilience. Commemorating 2015 IYS is timely to create awareness among policy makers and general public that soil should never be taken for granted.

Safeguarding Ecosystem Services: A Methodological Framework to Buffer the Joint Effect of Habitat Configuration and Climate Change.

PubMed

Giannini, Tereza C; Tambosi, Leandro R; Acosta, André L; Jaffé, Rodolfo; Saraiva, Antonio M; Imperatriz-Fonseca, Vera L; Metzger, Jean Paul

2015-01-01

Ecosystem services provided by mobile agents are increasingly threatened by the loss and modification of natural habitats and by climate change, risking the maintenance of biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and human welfare. Research oriented towards a better understanding of the joint effects of land use and climate change over the provision of specific ecosystem services is therefore essential to safeguard such services. Here we propose a methodological framework, which integrates species distribution forecasts and graph theory to identify key conservation areas, which if protected or restored could improve habitat connectivity and safeguard ecosystem services. We applied the proposed framework to the provision of pollination services by a tropical stingless bee (Melipona quadrifasciata), a key pollinator of native flora from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and important agricultural crops. Based on the current distribution of this bee and that of the plant species used to feed and nest, we projected the joint distribution of bees and plants in the future, considering a moderate climate change scenario (following IPPC). We then used this information, the bee's flight range, and the current mapping of Atlantic Forest remnants to infer habitat suitability and quantify local and regional habitat connectivity for 2030, 2050 and 2080. Our results revealed north to south and coastal to inland shifts in the pollinator distribution during the next 70 years. Current and future connectivity maps unraveled the most important corridors, which if protected or restored, could facilitate the dispersal and establishment of bees during distribution shifts. Our results also suggest that coffee plantations from eastern São Paulo and southern Minas Gerais States could suffer a pollinator deficit in the future, whereas pollination services seem to be secured in southern Brazil. Landowners and governmental agencies could use this information to implement new land use schemes. Overall, our proposed methodological framework could help design novel conservational and agricultural practices that can be crucial to conserve ecosystem services by buffering the joint effect of habitat configuration and climate change.

Risks of large-scale use of systemic insecticides to ecosystem functioning and services.

PubMed

Chagnon, Madeleine; Kreutzweiser, David; Mitchell, Edward A D; Morrissey, Christy A; Noome, Dominique A; Van der Sluijs, Jeroen P

2015-01-01

Large-scale use of the persistent and potent neonicotinoid and fipronil insecticides has raised concerns about risks to ecosystem functions provided by a wide range of species and environments affected by these insecticides. The concept of ecosystem services is widely used in decision making in the context of valuing the service potentials, benefits, and use values that well-functioning ecosystems provide to humans and the biosphere and, as an endpoint (value to be protected), in ecological risk assessment of chemicals. Neonicotinoid insecticides are frequently detected in soil and water and are also found in air, as dust particles during sowing of crops and aerosols during spraying. These environmental media provide essential resources to support biodiversity, but are known to be threatened by long-term or repeated contamination by neonicotinoids and fipronil. We review the state of knowledge regarding the potential impacts of these insecticides on ecosystem functioning and services provided by terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems including soil and freshwater functions, fisheries, biological pest control, and pollination services. Empirical studies examining the specific impacts of neonicotinoids and fipronil to ecosystem services have focused largely on the negative impacts to beneficial insect species (honeybees) and the impact on pollination service of food crops. However, here we document broader evidence of the effects on ecosystem functions regulating soil and water quality, pest control, pollination, ecosystem resilience, and community diversity. In particular, microbes, invertebrates, and fish play critical roles as decomposers, pollinators, consumers, and predators, which collectively maintain healthy communities and ecosystem integrity. Several examples in this review demonstrate evidence of the negative impacts of systemic insecticides on decomposition, nutrient cycling, soil respiration, and invertebrate populations valued by humans. Invertebrates, particularly earthworms that are important for soil processes, wild and domestic insect pollinators which are important for plant and crop production, and several freshwater taxa which are involved in aquatic nutrient cycling, were all found to be highly susceptible to lethal and sublethal effects of neonicotinoids and/or fipronil at environmentally relevant concentrations. By contrast, most microbes and fish do not appear to be as sensitive under normal exposure scenarios, though the effects on fish may be important in certain realms such as combined fish-rice farming systems and through food chain effects. We highlight the economic and cultural concerns around agriculture and aquaculture production and the role these insecticides may have in threatening food security. Overall, we recommend improved sustainable agricultural practices that restrict systemic insecticide use to maintain and support several ecosystem services that humans fundamentally depend on.

Setting limits: Using air pollution thresholds to protect and restore US ecosystems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fenn, Mark E.; Lambert, Kathleen F.; Blett, Tamara F.; Burns, Douglas A.; Pardo, Linda H.; Lovett, Gary M.; Haeuber, Richard A.; Evers, David C.; Driscoll, Charles T.; Jeffries, Dean S.

2011-01-01

More than four decades of research provide unequivocal evidence that sulfur, nitrogen, and mercury pollution have altered, and will continue to alter, our nation's lands and waters. The emission and deposition of air pollutants harm native plants and animals, degrade water quality, affect forest productivity, and are damaging to human health. Many air quality policies limit emissions at the source but these control measures do not always consider ecosystem impacts. Air pollution thresholds at which ecological effects are observed, such as critical loads, are effective tools for assessing the impacts of air pollution on essential ecosystem services and for informing public policy. U.S. ecosystems can be more effectively protected and restored by using a combination of emissions-based approaches and science-based thresholds of ecosystem damage.

Examining effects of sea level rise and marsh crabs on Spartina patens using mesocosms

EPA Science Inventory

Coastal salt marshes provide essential ecosystem services but face increasing threats from habitat loss, eutrophication, changing precipitation patterns, and accelerating rates of sea level rise (SLR). Recent studies have suggested that herbivory and burrowing by native salt mars...

Spatially explicit rangeland erosion monitoring using high-resolution digital aerial imagery

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Nearly all of the ecosystem services supported by rangelands, including production of livestock forage, carbon sequestration, and provisioning of clean water, are negatively impacted by soil erosion. Accordingly, monitoring the severity, spatial extent, and rate of soil erosion is essential for long...

Accounting for ecosystem services in Life Cycle Assessment, Part II: toward an ecologically based LCA.

PubMed

Zhang, Yi; Baral, Anil; Bakshi, Bhavik R

2010-04-01

Despite the essential role of ecosystem goods and services in sustaining all human activities, they are often ignored in engineering decision making, even in methods that are meant to encourage sustainability. For example, conventional Life Cycle Assessment focuses on the impact of emissions and consumption of some resources. While aggregation and interpretation methods are quite advanced for emissions, similar methods for resources have been lagging, and most ignore the role of nature. Such oversight may even result in perverse decisions that encourage reliance on deteriorating ecosystem services. This article presents a step toward including the direct and indirect role of ecosystems in LCA, and a hierarchical scheme to interpret their contribution. The resulting Ecologically Based LCA (Eco-LCA) includes a large number of provisioning, regulating, and supporting ecosystem services as inputs to a life cycle model at the process or economy scale. These resources are represented in diverse physical units and may be compared via their mass, fuel value, industrial cumulative exergy consumption, or ecological cumulative exergy consumption or by normalization with total consumption of each resource or their availability. Such results at a fine scale provide insight about relative resource use and the risk and vulnerability to the loss of specific resources. Aggregate indicators are also defined to obtain indices such as renewability, efficiency, and return on investment. An Eco-LCA model of the 1997 economy is developed and made available via the web (www.resilience.osu.edu/ecolca). An illustrative example comparing paper and plastic cups provides insight into the features of the proposed approach. The need for further work in bridging the gap between knowledge about ecosystem services and their direct and indirect role in supporting human activities is discussed as an important area for future work.

Freshwater Ecosystem Services and Hydrologic Alteration in the Lower Mississippi River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yasarer, L.; Taylor, J.; Rigby, J.; Locke, M. A.

2017-12-01

Flowing freshwater ecosystems provide a variety of essential ecosystem services including: consumptive water for domestic, industrial, and agricultural use; transportation of goods; maintenance of aquatic biodiversity and water quality; and recreation. However, freshwater ecosystem services can oftentimes be at odds with each other. For example, the over-consumption of water for agricultural production or domestic use may alter hydrologic patterns and diminish the ability of flowing waters to sustain healthy aquatic ecosystems. In the Lower Mississippi River Basin there has been a substantial increase in groundwater-irrigated cropland acreage over the past several decades and subsequent declines in regional aquifer levels. Changes in aquifer levels potentially impact surface water hydrology throughout the region. This study tests the hypothesis that flowing water systems in lowland agricultural watersheds within the Lower Mississippi River Basin have greater hydrologic alteration compared to upland non-agricultural watersheds, particularly with declines in base flow and an increase in extreme low flows. Long-term streamflow records from USGS gauges located in predominantly agricultural and non-agricultural watersheds in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee were evaluated from 1969 -2016 using the Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration (IHA) software. Preliminary results from 8 non-agricultural and 5 agricultural watersheds demonstrate a substantial decline in base flow in the agricultural watersheds, which is not apparent in the non-agricultural watersheds. This exploratory study will analyze the trade-off between gains in agricultural productivity and changes in ecohydrological indicators over the last half century in diverse watersheds across the Lower Mississippi River Basin. By quantifying the changes in ecosystem services provided by flowing waters in the past, we can inform sustainable management pathways to better balance services in the future.

Modelling impacts of second generation bioenergy production on Ecosystem Services in Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henner, D. N.; Smith, P.; Davies, C.; McNamara, N. P.

2016-12-01

Bioenergy crops are an important source of renewable energy and likely to play a major role in transitioning to a lower CO2 energy system. There is, however, uncertainty about the impacts of the growth of bioenergy crops on broader sustainability encompassed by ecosystem services, further enhanced by ongoing climate change. The goal of this project is to develop a comprehensive model that covers ecosystem services at a continental scale including biodiversity and pollination, water and air security, erosion control and soil security, GHG emissions, soil C and cultural services like tourism value. The technical distribution potential and likely yield of second generation energy crops, such as Miscanthus, Short Rotation Coppice (SRC; willow and poplar) was modelled using ECOSSE, DayCent, SalixFor and MiscanFor models. In addition, methods like water footprint tools, tourism value maps and ecosystem valuation tools and models are utilised. We will present results for synergies and trade-offs between land use change and ecosystem services, impact on food security and land management. Further, we will show modelled yield maps for different cultivars of Miscanthus, willow and poplar in Europe and constraint/opportunity maps based on projected yield and other factors e.g. total economic value, technical potential, current land use, climate change and trade-offs and synergies. It will be essential to include multiple ecosystem services when assessing the potential for bioenergy production/expansion that does not impact other land uses or provisioning services. Considering that the soil GHG balance is dominated by change in soil organic carbon (SOC) and the difference among Miscanthus and SRC is largely determined by yield, an important target for management of perennial energy crops is to achieve the best possible yield using the most appropriate energy crop and cultivar for the local situation. This research could inform future policy decisions on bioenergy crops in Europe.

Hydrogeology and groundwater ecology: Does each inform the other?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Humphreys, W. F.

2009-02-01

The known, perceived and potential relationships between hydrogeology and groundwater ecology are explored, along with the spatial and temporal scale of these relations, the limit of knowledge and areas in need of research. Issues concerned with the subterranean part of the water cycle are considered from the perspective of the biology of those invertebrate animals that live, of necessity, in groundwater and the microbiological milieu essential for their survival. Groundwater ecosystems are placed in a hydrogeological context including the groundwater evolution along a flowpath, the significance of the biodiversity and of the ecosystem services potentially provided. This is considered against a background of three major components essential to the functioning of groundwater ecosystems, each of which can be affected by activities over which hydrogeologists often have control, and each, in turn, may have implications for groundwater management; these are, a place to live, oxygen and food (energy). New techniques and increasing awareness amongst hydrogeologists of the diversity and broad distribution of groundwater ecosystems offer new opportunities to develop cross disciplinary work between hydrogeologists and groundwater ecologists, already demonstrated to be a field for collaboration with broad benefits.

Microbial ecology of fermentative hydrogen producing bioprocesses: useful insights for driving the ecosystem function.

PubMed

Cabrol, Lea; Marone, Antonella; Tapia-Venegas, Estela; Steyer, Jean-Philippe; Ruiz-Filippi, Gonzalo; Trably, Eric

2017-03-01

One of the most important biotechnological challenges is to develop environment friendly technologies to produce new sources of energy. Microbial production of biohydrogen through dark fermentation, by conversion of residual biomass, is an attractive solution for short-term development of bioH2 producing processes. Efficient biohydrogen production relies on complex mixed communities working in tight interaction. Species composition and functional traits are of crucial importance to maintain the ecosystem service. The analysis of microbial community revealed a wide phylogenetic diversity that contributes in different-and still mostly unclear-ways to hydrogen production. Bridging this gap of knowledge between microbial ecology features and ecosystem functionality is essential to optimize the bioprocess and develop strategies toward a maximization of the efficiency and stability of substrate conversion. The aim of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview of the most up-to-date biodata available and discuss the main microbial community features of biohydrogen engineered ecosystems, with a special emphasis on the crucial role of interactions and the relationships between species composition and ecosystem service. The elucidation of intricate relationships between community structure and ecosystem function would make possible to drive ecosystems toward an improved functionality on the basis of microbial ecology principles. © FEMS 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Stewardship matters: Case studies in establishment success of urban trees

Treesearch

Lara A. Roman; Lindsey A. Walker; Catherine M. Martineau; David J. Muffly; Susan A. MacQueen; Winnie Harris

2015-01-01

Urban tree planting initiatives aim to provide ecosystem services that materialize decades after planting, therefore understanding tree survival and growth is essential to evaluating planting program performance. Tree mortality is relatively high during the establishment phase, the first few years after planting. Qualitative assessments of programs with particularly...

Chloride dynamics in a restored urban stream and the influence of road salts on water quality

EPA Science Inventory

Understanding the connection between road salts and water quality is essential to assess the implications for human health and ecosystem services from these widely used de-icers. Preliminary analysis identified a probable connection between road salt application and a stream wat...

Effect of feed source and pyrolysis conditions on properties and metal sorption by sugarcane biochar

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Population growth along with urbanization expansion and intensification of arable land management burdens natural systems ability to sustain ecosystem services such as clean waters. Development of low-cost sorbents for use in non-point-source runoff-water infiltration systems is essential for improv...

Crossing scales and disciplines to achieve forest sustainability

Treesearch

Michael J. Papaik; Brian Sturtevant; Christian Messier

2008-01-01

Forest land managers are faced with unprecedented global pressures to produce resources for human consumption (e.g., Liu and Diamond 2005), while still maintaining essential ecosystem services benefiting society at multiple spatial scales (Costanza et al. 1997). These global pressures alone present daunting challenges to sustainable forest management (SFM) worldwide (...

The influence of road salts on water quality in a restored urban stream (Columbus, OH)

EPA Science Inventory

Understanding the connection between road salts and water quality is essential to assess the implications for human health and ecosystem services. To assess the effects of the restoration on water quality, surface and ground water have been monitored at Minebank Run, MD since 20...

Linking national wood consumption with global biodiversity and ecosystem service losses.

PubMed

Chaudhary, Abhishek; Carrasco, L Roman; Kastner, Thomas

2017-05-15

Identifying the global hotspots of forestry driven species, ecosystem services losses and informing the consuming nations of their environmental footprint domestically and abroad is essential to design demand side interventions and induce sustainable production methods. Here we first use countryside species area relationship model to project species extinctions of four vertebrate taxa (mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles) due to forest land use in 174 countries. We combine the projected extinctions with a global database on the monetary value of ecosystem services provided by different biomes and with bilateral trade data of wood products to calculate species extinctions and ecosystem services losses inflicted by national wood consumption and international wood trade. Results show that globally a total of 485 species are projected to go extinct due to current forest land use. About 32% of this projected loss can be attributed to land use devoted for export production. However, under the counterfactual scenario with the same consumption levels but no international trade of wood products, an additional 334 species are projected to go extinct. Globally, we find that losses of ecosystem services worth $1.5trillion/year are embodied in the timber trade. Compared to high-income nations, tropical countries such as Philippines, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Gambia and Bolivia presented the highest net ecosystem services losses (>3000US$/ha/year) that could not be compensated through current land rents, indicating underpriced exports. Small tropical countries also gained much lower rents per species extinction suffered. These results can help internalize these costs into the global trade through financial compensation mechanisms such as REDD+ or through price premiums on wood sourced from these countries. Overall the results can provide valuable insights for devising national strategies to meet several of the global Aichi 2020 biodiversity targets and can also be useful for life cycle assessment and product labelling schemes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Can market-based policies accomplish the optimal floodplain management? A gap between static and dynamic models.

PubMed

Mori, Koichiro

2009-02-01

The purpose of this short article is to set static and dynamic models for optimal floodplain management and to compare policy implications from the models. River floodplains are important multiple resources in that they provide various ecosystem services. It is fundamentally significant to consider environmental externalities that accrue from ecosystem services of natural floodplains. There is an interesting gap between static and dynamic models about policy implications for floodplain management, although they are based on the same assumptions. Essentially, we can derive the same optimal conditions, which imply that the marginal benefits must equal the sum of the marginal costs and the social external costs related to ecosystem services. Thus, we have to internalise the external costs by market-based policies. In this respect, market-based policies seem to be effective in a static model. However, they are not sufficient in the context of a dynamic model because the optimal steady state turns out to be unstable. Based on a dynamic model, we need more coercive regulation policies.

Science-Based Strategies for Sustaining Coral Ecosystems

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2009-01-01

Coral ecosystems and their natural capital are at risk. Greenhouse gas emissions, overfishing, and harmful land-use practices are damaging our coral reefs. Overwhelming scientific evidence indicates that the threats are serious, and if they are left unchecked, the ecological and social consequences will be significant and widespread. Although the primary stressors to coral ecosystems are known, science-based strategies are needed to more accurately explain natural processes and forecast human-induced change. Collaborations among managers and scientists and enhanced mapping, monitoring, research, and modeling can lead to effective mitigation plans. U.S. Geological Survey scientists and their partners assess coral ecosystem history, ecology, vulnerability, and resiliency and provide study results to decisionmakers who may devise policies to sustain coral resources and the essential goods and services they provide.

Safeguarding Ecosystem Services: A Methodological Framework to Buffer the Joint Effect of Habitat Configuration and Climate Change

PubMed Central

Giannini, Tereza C.; Tambosi, Leandro R.; Acosta, André L.; Jaffé, Rodolfo; Saraiva, Antonio M.; Imperatriz-Fonseca, Vera L.; Metzger, Jean Paul

2015-01-01

Ecosystem services provided by mobile agents are increasingly threatened by the loss and modification of natural habitats and by climate change, risking the maintenance of biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and human welfare. Research oriented towards a better understanding of the joint effects of land use and climate change over the provision of specific ecosystem services is therefore essential to safeguard such services. Here we propose a methodological framework, which integrates species distribution forecasts and graph theory to identify key conservation areas, which if protected or restored could improve habitat connectivity and safeguard ecosystem services. We applied the proposed framework to the provision of pollination services by a tropical stingless bee (Melipona quadrifasciata), a key pollinator of native flora from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and important agricultural crops. Based on the current distribution of this bee and that of the plant species used to feed and nest, we projected the joint distribution of bees and plants in the future, considering a moderate climate change scenario (following IPPC). We then used this information, the bee’s flight range, and the current mapping of Atlantic Forest remnants to infer habitat suitability and quantify local and regional habitat connectivity for 2030, 2050 and 2080. Our results revealed north to south and coastal to inland shifts in the pollinator distribution during the next 70 years. Current and future connectivity maps unraveled the most important corridors, which if protected or restored, could facilitate the dispersal and establishment of bees during distribution shifts. Our results also suggest that coffee plantations from eastern São Paulo and southern Minas Gerais States could suffer a pollinator deficit in the future, whereas pollination services seem to be secured in southern Brazil. Landowners and governmental agencies could use this information to implement new land use schemes. Overall, our proposed methodological framework could help design novel conservational and agricultural practices that can be crucial to conserve ecosystem services by buffering the joint effect of habitat configuration and climate change. PMID:26091014

Science and Measurement Requirements for a Plant Physiology and Functional Types Mission: Measuring the Composition, Function and Health of Global Land and Coastal Ocean Ecosystems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Green, Robert O.; Rogez, Francois; Green, Rob; Ungar, Steve; Knox, Robert; Asner, Greg; Muller-Karger, Frank; Bissett, Paul; Chekalyuk, Alex; Dierssen, Heidi;

Defining, Measuring, and Incentivizing Sustainable Land Use to Meet Human Needs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nicholas, K. A.; Brady, M. V.; Olin, S.; Ekroos, J.; Hall, M.; Seaquist, J. W.; Lehsten, V.; Smith, H.

2016-12-01

Land is a natural capital that supports the flow of an enormous amount of ecosystem services critical to human welfare. Sustainable land use, which we define as land use that meets both current and future human needs for ecosystem services, is essential to meet global goals for climate mitigation and sustainable development, while maintaining natural capital. However, it is not clear what governance is needed to achieve sustainable land use under multiple goals (as defined by the values of relevant decision-makers and land managers), particularly under climate change. Here we develop a conceptual model for examining the interactions and tradeoffs among multiple goals, as well as their spatial interactions (teleconnections), in research developed using Design Thinking principles. We have selected five metrics for provisioning (food production, and fiber production for wood and energy), regulating and maintenance (climate mitigation and biodiversity conservation), and cultural (heritage) ecosystem services. Using the case of Sweden, we estimate indicators for these metrics using a combination of existing data synthesis and process-based simulation modeling. We also develop and analyze new indicators (e.g., combining data on land use, bird conservation status, and habitat specificity to make a predictive model of bird diversity changes on agricultural or forested land). Our results highlight both expected tradeoffs (e.g., between food production and biodiversity conservation) as well as unexpected opportunities for synergies under different land management scenarios and strategies. Our model also provides a practical way to make decision-maker values explicit by comparing both quantity and preferences for bundles of ecosystem services under various scenarios. We hope our model will help in considering competing interests and shaping economic incentives and governance structures to meet national targets in support of global goals for sustainable management of land-based ecosystem services.

Innovation and the growth of human population.

PubMed

Weinberger, V P; Quiñinao, C; Marquet, P A

2017-12-05

Biodiversity is sustained by and is essential to the services that ecosystems provide. Different species would use these services in different ways, or adaptive strategies, which are sustained in time by continuous innovations. Using this framework, we postulate a model for a biological species ( Homo sapiens ) in a finite world where innovations, aimed at increasing the flux of ecosystem services (a measure of habitat quality), increase with population size, and have positive effects on the generation of new innovations (positive feedback) as well as costs in terms of negatively affecting the provision of ecosystem services. We applied this model to human populations, where technological innovations are driven by cumulative cultural evolution. Our model shows that depending on the net impact of a technology on the provision of ecosystem services ( θ ), and the strength of technological feedback ( ξ ), different regimes can result. Among them, the human population can fill the entire planet while maximizing their well-being, but not exhaust ecosystem services. However, this outcome requires positive or green technologies that increase the provision of ecosystem services with few negative externalities or environmental costs, and that have a strong positive feedback in generating new technologies of the same kind. If the feedback is small, then the technological stock can collapse together with the human population. Scenarios where technological innovations generate net negative impacts may be associated with a limited technological stock as well as a limited human population at equilibrium and the potential for collapse. The only way to fill the planet with humans under this scenario of negative technologies is by reducing the technological stock to a minimum. Otherwise, the only feasible equilibrium is associated with population collapse. Our model points out that technological innovations per se may not help humans to grow and dominate the planet. Instead, different possibilities unfold for our future depending on their impact on the environment and on further innovation.This article is part of the themed issue 'Process and pattern in innovations from cells to societies'. © 2017 The Author(s).

Soil cover patterns and SOC dynamics impacts on the soil processes, land management and ecosystem services in Central Region of Russia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vasenev, Ivan; Chernikov, Vladimir; Yashin, Ivan; Geraskin, Mikhail; Morev, Dmitriy

2014-05-01

In the Central Region of Russia (CRR) the soil cover patterns usually play the very important role in the soil forming and degradation processes (SFP & SDP) potential and current rates, soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics and pools, greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions and soluble SOC fluxes that we need take into attention for better assessment of the natural and especially man-changed ecosystems' services and for best land-use practices development. Central Region of Russia is the biggest one in RF according to its population and role in the economy. CRR is characterized by high spatial variability of soil cover due to as original landscape heterogeneity as complicated history of land-use practices during last 700 years. Our long-term researches include the wide zonal-provincial set of representative ecosystems and soil cover patterns with different types and history of land-use (forest, meadow-steppe and agricultural ones) from middle-taiga to steppe zones with different level of continentality. The carried out more than 30-years region- and local-scale researches of representative natural and rural landscapes in Tver', Yaroslavl', Kaluga, Moscow, Vladimir, Saransk (Mordovia), Kursk, Orel, Tambov, Voronezh and Saratov oblasts give us the interregional multi-factorial matrix of elementary soil cover patterns (ESCP) with different soil forming and degradation processes rates and soil organic carbon dynamics due to regionally specific soil-geomorphologic features, environmental and dominated microclimate conditions, land-use current practices and history. The validation and ranging of the limiting factors of SFP and SDP develop¬ment, soil carbon dynamics and sequestration potential, ecosystem (agroecosystem) principal services, land functional qualities and agroecological state have been done for dominating and most dynamical components of ESCP regional-typological forms - with application of SOC structure analysis, regional and local GIS, soil spatial patterns detail mapping, traditional regression kriging, correlation tree models and DSS adapted to concrete region and agrolandscape conditions. The outcomes of statistical process modeling show the essential amplification of erosion, dehumification, CO2, CH4 and N2O emission, soluble SOC fluxes, acidification or alkalization, disaggregation and overcompaction processes due to violation of environmentally sound land-use systems and traditional balances of organic matter, nutrients, Ca and Na in agrolandscapes. Due to long-term intensive and out-of-balance land-use practices the most zonal soils and soil cover pattern essentially lost not only their unique natural features (humus horizons depth till 1 m and more in case of Chernozems, 2-6 % of SOC and favorable agrophysical features), but ecosystem services and ecological functions including terrestrial ecosystem carbon balance and the GHG fluxes control. Key-site monitoring results and regional generalized data showed 1-1.5% SOC lost during last 50 years period and active processes of CO2 emission and humus profile eluvial-illuvial redistribution too. A drop of Corg content below threshold "humus limiting content" values (for different soils they vary from 1 to 3-4% of SOC) considerably reduces effectiveness of used fertilizers and possibility of sustai¬nable agronomy here. Forest-steppe Chernozems are usually characterized by higher stability than steppe ones. The ratio between erosive and biological losses in humus supplies can be ten-tatively estimated as fifty-fifty with strong spatial variability due to slope and land-use parameters. These processes have essentially different sets of environmental consequences and ecosystem services that we need to understand in frame of environmental and agroecological problems development prediction.

Ecology and evolution of mammalian biodiversity

PubMed Central

Jones, Kate E.; Safi, Kamran

2011-01-01

Mammals have incredible biological diversity, showing extreme flexibility in eco-morphology, physiology, life history and behaviour across their evolutionary history. Undoubtedly, mammals play an important role in ecosystems by providing essential services such as regulating insect populations, seed dispersal and pollination and act as indicators of general ecosystem health. However, the macroecological and macroevolutionary processes underpinning past and present biodiversity patterns are only beginning to be explored on a global scale. It is also particularly important, in the face of the global extinction crisis, to understand these processes in order to be able to use this knowledge to prevent future biodiversity loss and loss of ecosystem services. Unfortunately, efforts to understand mammalian biodiversity have been hampered by a lack of data. New data compilations on current species' distributions, ecologies and evolutionary histories now allow an integrated approach to understand this biodiversity. We review and synthesize these new studies, exploring the past and present ecology and evolution of mammalian biodiversity, and use these findings to speculate about the mammals of our future. PMID:21807728

Ecology and evolution of mammalian biodiversity.

PubMed

Jones, Kate E; Safi, Kamran

2011-09-12

Mammals have incredible biological diversity, showing extreme flexibility in eco-morphology, physiology, life history and behaviour across their evolutionary history. Undoubtedly, mammals play an important role in ecosystems by providing essential services such as regulating insect populations, seed dispersal and pollination and act as indicators of general ecosystem health. However, the macroecological and macroevolutionary processes underpinning past and present biodiversity patterns are only beginning to be explored on a global scale. It is also particularly important, in the face of the global extinction crisis, to understand these processes in order to be able to use this knowledge to prevent future biodiversity loss and loss of ecosystem services. Unfortunately, efforts to understand mammalian biodiversity have been hampered by a lack of data. New data compilations on current species' distributions, ecologies and evolutionary histories now allow an integrated approach to understand this biodiversity. We review and synthesize these new studies, exploring the past and present ecology and evolution of mammalian biodiversity, and use these findings to speculate about the mammals of our future.

Climate, ecosystems, and planetary futures: The challenge to predict life in Earth system models.

PubMed

Bonan, Gordon B; Doney, Scott C

2018-02-02

Many global change stresses on terrestrial and marine ecosystems affect not only ecosystem services that are essential to humankind, but also the trajectory of future climate by altering energy and mass exchanges with the atmosphere. Earth system models, which simulate terrestrial and marine ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles, offer a common framework for ecological research related to climate processes; analyses of vulnerability, impacts, and adaptation; and climate change mitigation. They provide an opportunity to move beyond physical descriptors of atmospheric and oceanic states to societally relevant quantities such as wildfire risk, habitat loss, water availability, and crop, fishery, and timber yields. To achieve this, the science of climate prediction must be extended to a more multifaceted Earth system prediction that includes the biosphere and its resources. Copyright © 2018, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Ecosystem service bundles for analyzing tradeoffs in diverse landscapes

PubMed Central

Raudsepp-Hearne, C.; Peterson, G. D.; Bennett, E. M.

2010-01-01

A key challenge of ecosystem management is determining how to manage multiple ecosystem services across landscapes. Enhancing important provisioning ecosystem services, such as food and timber, often leads to tradeoffs between regulating and cultural ecosystem services, such as nutrient cycling, flood protection, and tourism. We developed a framework for analyzing the provision of multiple ecosystem services across landscapes and present an empirical demonstration of ecosystem service bundles, sets of services that appear together repeatedly. Ecosystem service bundles were identified by analyzing the spatial patterns of 12 ecosystem services in a mixed-use landscape consisting of 137 municipalities in Quebec, Canada. We identified six types of ecosystem service bundles and were able to link these bundles to areas on the landscape characterized by distinct social–ecological dynamics. Our results show landscape-scale tradeoffs between provisioning and almost all regulating and cultural ecosystem services, and they show that a greater diversity of ecosystem services is positively correlated with the provision of regulating ecosystem services. Ecosystem service-bundle analysis can identify areas on a landscape where ecosystem management has produced exceptionally desirable or undesirable sets of ecosystem services. PMID:20194739

Drought and increased CO2 alter floral visual and olfactory traits with context-dependent effects on pollinator visitation

Treesearch

William R. Glenny; Justin B. Runyon; Laura A. Burkle

2018-01-01

Climate change can alter species interactions essential for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem function, such as pollination. Understanding the interactive effects of multiple abiotic conditions on floral traits and pollinator visitation are important to anticipate the implications of climate change on pollinator services. Floral visual and olfactory traits were...

Effect of inventory method on niche models: random versus systematic error

Treesearch

Heather E. Lintz; Andrew N. Gray; Bruce McCune

2013-01-01

Data from large-scale biological inventories are essential for understanding and managing Earth's ecosystems. The Forest Inventory and Analysis Program (FIA) of the U.S. Forest Service is the largest biological inventory in North America; however, the FIA inventory recently changed from an amalgam of different approaches to a nationally-standardized approach in...

Long-Term Forest Hydrologic Monitoring in Coastal Carolinas

Treesearch

Devendra M. Amatya; Ge Sun; Carl C. Trettin; R. Wayne Skaggs

2003-01-01

Long-term hydrologic data are essential for understanding the hydrologic processes, as base line data for assessment of impacts and conservation of regional ecosystems, and for developing and testing eco-hydrological models. This study presents 6-year (1996-2001) of rainfall, water table and outflow data from a USDA Forest Service coastal experimental watershed on a...

Factors affecting long-term mortality of residential shade trees: evidence from Sacramento, California

Treesearch

Yekang Ko; Jun-Hak Lee; E. Gregory McPherson; Lara A. Roman

2015-01-01

Urban tree survival is essential to sustain the ecosystem services of urban forests and monitoring is needed to accurately assess benefits. While some urban forestry studies have reported street tree survival, little is known about the factors influencing residential yard tree survival, especially over the long-term. We assessed residential shade tree survival in...

"Bugs on Bugs": An Inquiry-Based, Collaborative Activity to Learn Arthropod & Microbial Biodiversity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lampert, Evan C.; Morgan, Jeanelle M.

2015-01-01

Diverse communities of arthropods and microbes provide humans with essential ecosystem goods and services. Arthropods are the most diverse and abundant macroscopic animals on the planet, and many remain to be discovered. Much less is known about microbial diversity, despite their importance as free-living species and as symbionts. We created…

Forest-related ecosystem services

Treesearch

Sandra Luque; Louis Iverson

2016-01-01

Forests are a crucial element not only of landscapes but also of human living conditions. Covering nearly a third of the earth's land surtace, they stabilize surface soil, prevent erosion and play an essential role in water resource management at the watershed and local levels. They regulate climate and improve air quality. At the same time they are an important...

Ecosystem service provision: an operational way for marine biodiversity conservation and management.

PubMed

Cognetti, Giuseppe; Maltagliati, Ferruccio

2010-11-01

Since no extensive conceptual framework has been developed on the issues of ecosystem service (ES) and service provider (SP) in the marine environment, we have made an attempt to apply these to the conservation and management of marine biodiversity. Within this context, an accurate individuation of SPs, namely the biological component of a given ecosystem that supports human activities is fundamental. SPs are the agents responsible for making the ES-based approach operational. The application of these concepts to the marine environment should be based on an model different to the terrestrial one. In the latter, the basic model envisages a matrix of a human-altered landscape with fragments of original biodiversity; conversely, in the marine environment the model provides fragments where human activities are carried out and the matrix is represented by the original biodiversity. We have identified three main classes of ES provision: in natural, disturbed and human-controlled environments. Economic valuation of marine ESs is an essential condition for making conservation strategies financially sustainable, as it may stimulate the perceived need for investing in protection and exploitation of marine resources. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

New ecological knowledge and practices for society and sustainability

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nichols, Erica; Baron, Jill S.; Dirzo, Rodolfo; Sarukhan, Jose; Persic, Ana; Arico, Salvatore

2007-01-01

As attributes of the Earth's ecosystems shift in the face of human impact and sustainability of ecosystem services becomes less certain, one important tool at the disposal of the scientific community and other groups is a blueprint for understanding, evaluating, and communicating the value of ecological services. The blueprint presented here is based on (1) an examination of the ecological and societal trade-offs accompanying any given action, (2) revised methods of communication, and (3) coordination of actions at many different scales. The Mexican National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO) is a good example of a demand-driven “bridging institution” between academia, government, and civil society, and it works to collect and convert scientific information into information for policy, management, and conservation. Intergovernmental organizations like the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) are well placed to facilitate such coordination at the international level, through their work with member states. Through collaboration with the constituencies of such organizations as the Ecological Society of America, the blueprint described below has the potential to become an important tool for assessing and managing threats to ecosystem services that are essential to life.

Land-use changes and carbon sequestration through the twentieth century in a Mediterranean mountain ecosystem: implications for land management.

PubMed

Padilla, Francisco M; Vidal, Beatriz; Sánchez, Joaquín; Pugnaire, Francisco I

2010-12-01

Ecosystems in the western Mediterranean basin have undergone intense changes in land use throughout the centuries, resulting in areas with severe alterations. Today, most these areas have become sensitive to human activity, prone to profound changes in land-use configuration and ecosystem services. A consensus exists amongst stakeholders that ecosystem services must be preserved but managerial strategies that help to preserve them while ensuring sustainability are often inadequate. To provide a basis for measuring implications of land-use change on carbon sequestration services, changes in land use and associated carbon sequestration potential throughout the 20th century in a rural area at the foothills of the Sierra Nevada range (SE Spain) were explored. We found that forest systems replaced dryland farming and pastures from the middle of the century onwards as a result of agricultural abandonment and afforestation programs. The area has always acted as a carbon sink with sequestration rates ranging from 28,961 t CO(2) year(-1) in 1921 to 60,635 t CO(2) year(-1) in 1995, mirroring changes in land use. Conversion from pastures to woodland, for example, accounted for an increase in carbon sequestration above 30,000 t CO(2) year(-1) by the end of the century. However, intensive deforestation would imply a decrease of approximately 66% of the bulk CO(2) fixed. In our study area, woodland conservation is essential to maintain the ecosystem services that underlie carbon sequestration. Our essay could inspire policymakers to better achieve goals of increasing carbon sequestration rates and sustainability within protected areas. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Global-change vulnerability of a key plant resource, the African palms.

PubMed

Blach-Overgaard, Anne; Balslev, Henrik; Dransfield, John; Normand, Signe; Svenning, Jens-Christian

2015-07-27

Palms are keystone species in tropical ecosystems and provide essential ecosystem services to rural people worldwide. However, many palm species are threatened by habitat loss and over-exploitation. Furthermore, palms are sensitive to climate and thus vulnerable to future climate changes. Here, we provide a first quantitative assessment of the future risks to the African palm flora, finding that African palm species on average may experience a decline in climatic suitability in >70% of their current ranges by 2080. This suitability loss may, however, be almost halved if migration to nearby climatically suitable sites succeeds. Worryingly, 42% of the areas with 80-100% of species losing climate suitability are also characterized by high human population density (HPD). By 2080, >90% of all African palm species' ranges will likely occur at HPDs leading to increased risks of habitat loss and overexploitation. Additionally, up to 87% of all species are predicted to lose climatic suitability within current protected areas (PAs) by 2080. In summary, a major plant component of tropical ecosystems and provider of ecosystem services to rural populations will face strongly increased pressures from climate change and human populations in the near future.

[Research progress of ecosystem service flow.

PubMed

Liu, Hui Min; Fan, Yu Long; Ding, Sheng Yan

2016-07-01

With the development of social economy, human disturbance has resulted in a variety of ecosystem service degradation or disappearance. Ecosystem services flow plays an important role in delivery, transformation and maintenance of ecosystem services, and becomes one of the new research directions. In this paper, based on the classification of ecosystem services flow, we analyzed ecosystem service delivery carrier, and investigated the mechanism of ecosystem service flow, including the information, property, scale features, quantification and cartography. Moreover, a tentative analysis on cost-effective of ecosystem services flow (such as transportation costs, conversion costs, usage costs and cost of relativity) was made to analyze the consumption cost in ecosystem services flow process. It aimed to analyze dissipation cost in ecosystem services flow process. To a certain extent, the study of ecosystem service flow solved the problem of "double counting" in ecosystem services valuation, which could make a contribution for the sake of recognizing hot supply and consumption spots of ecosystem services. In addition, it would be conducive to maximizing the ecosystem service benefits in the transmission process and putting forward scientific and reasonable ecological compensation.

Synergies and trade-offs between food security and biodiversity conservation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Molotoks, Amy

2016-04-01

Human land use activities have transformed a large proportion of the world's land surface and in particular, the expansion of agriculture has been a major driver in global land use change. The conversion of natural ecosystems to crop and pasture lands has contributed significantly to deforestation and associated biodiversity loss through habitat destruction. This loss has raised concerns about associated loss of ecological functions which directly support over one billion people worldwide. Furthermore, agriculture itself is heavily reliant on a number of ecosystem services which are essential for crop production. It is therefore essential that the global problems of food insecurity and biodiversity loss are not viewed independently as the methods used to address one will necessarily involve choices affecting the other. This poster will examine the relationship between food security provision and biodiversity hotspots by using global spatial datasets of land use and conservation value.

Diversity, Productivity, and Stability of an Industrial Microbial Ecosystem

PubMed Central

Tang, Pei-Zhong; Becker, Scott; Hoang, Tony; Bilgin, Damla; Lim, Yan Wei; Peterson, Todd C.; Mayfield, Stephen; Haerizadeh, Farzad; Shurin, Jonathan B.; Bafna, Vineet; McBride, Robert

2016-01-01

Managing ecosystems to maintain biodiversity may be one approach to ensuring their dynamic stability, productivity, and delivery of vital services. The applicability of this approach to industrial ecosystems that harness the metabolic activities of microbes has been proposed but has never been tested at relevant scales. We used a tag-sequencing approach with bacterial small subunit rRNA (16S) genes and eukaryotic internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) to measuring the taxonomic composition and diversity of bacteria and eukaryotes in an open pond managed for bioenergy production by microalgae over a year. Periods of high eukaryotic diversity were associated with high and more-stable biomass productivity. In addition, bacterial diversity and eukaryotic diversity were inversely correlated over time, possibly due to their opposite responses to temperature. The results indicate that maintaining diverse communities may be essential to engineering stable and productive bioenergy ecosystems using microorganisms. PMID:26896141

Diversity, Productivity, and Stability of an Industrial Microbial Ecosystem.

PubMed

Beyter, Doruk; Tang, Pei-Zhong; Becker, Scott; Hoang, Tony; Bilgin, Damla; Lim, Yan Wei; Peterson, Todd C; Mayfield, Stephen; Haerizadeh, Farzad; Shurin, Jonathan B; Bafna, Vineet; McBride, Robert

2016-04-01

Managing ecosystems to maintain biodiversity may be one approach to ensuring their dynamic stability, productivity, and delivery of vital services. The applicability of this approach to industrial ecosystems that harness the metabolic activities of microbes has been proposed but has never been tested at relevant scales. We used a tag-sequencing approach with bacterial small subunit rRNA (16S) genes and eukaryotic internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) to measuring the taxonomic composition and diversity of bacteria and eukaryotes in an open pond managed for bioenergy production by microalgae over a year. Periods of high eukaryotic diversity were associated with high and more-stable biomass productivity. In addition, bacterial diversity and eukaryotic diversity were inversely correlated over time, possibly due to their opposite responses to temperature. The results indicate that maintaining diverse communities may be essential to engineering stable and productive bioenergy ecosystems using microorganisms. Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

An analysis of local stakeholder values for tropical protected areas in Madagascar

Treesearch

Donald F. Dennis; Michel Masozera

2009-01-01

The continued delivery of ecosystem services produced in tropical areas is essential to economic prosperity and human welfare. The success of tropical land protection strategies may depend on the input and support of local people, who often have an intimate and dependent relationship with the land. This study uses conjoint analytic techniques to assess and analyze...

A ground-based method of assessing urban forest structure and ecosystem services

Treesearch

David J. Nowak; Daniel E. Crane; Jack C. Stevens; Robert E. Hoehn; Jeffrey T. Walton; Jerry Bond

2008-01-01

To properly manage urban forests, it is essential to have data on this important resource. An efficient means to obtain this information is to randomly sample urban areas. To help assess the urban forest structure (e.g., number of trees, species composition, tree sizes, health) and several functions (e.g., air pollution removal, carbon storage and sequestration), the...

Modeling the effects of climatic and land use changes on phytoplankton and water quality of the largest Turkish freshwater lake: Lake Beyşehir.

PubMed

Bucak, Tuba; Trolle, Dennis; Tavşanoğlu, Ü Nihan; Çakıroğlu, A İdil; Özen, Arda; Jeppesen, Erik; Beklioğlu, Meryem

2018-04-15

Climate change and intense land use practices are the main threats to ecosystem structure and services of Mediterranean lakes. Therefore, it is essential to predict the future changes and develop mitigation measures to combat such pressures. In this study, Lake Beyşehir, the largest freshwater lake in the Mediterranean basin, was selected to study the impacts of climate change and various land use scenarios on the ecosystem dynamics of Mediterranean freshwater ecosystems and the services that they provide. For this purpose, we linked catchment model outputs to the two different processed-based lake models: PCLake and GLM-AED, and tested the scenarios of five General Circulation Models, two Representation Concentration Pathways and three different land use scenarios, which enable us to consider the various sources of uncertainty. Climate change and land use scenarios generally predicted strong future decreases in hydraulic and nutrient loads from the catchment to the lake. These changes in loads translated into alterations in water level as well as minor changes in chlorophyll a (Chl-a) concentrations. We also observed an increased abundance of cyanobacteria in both lake models. Total phosphorus, temperature and hydraulic loading were found to be the most important variables determining cyanobacteria biomass. As the future scenarios revealed only minor changes in Chl-a due to the significant decrease in nutrient loads, our results highlight that reduced nutrient loading in a warming world may play a crucial role in offsetting the effects of temperature on phytoplankton growth. However, our results also showed increased abundance of cyanobacteria in the future may threaten ecosystem integrity and may limit drinking water ecosystem services. In addition, extended periods of decreased hydraulic loads from the catchment and increased evaporation may lead to water level reductions and may diminish the ecosystem services of the lake as a water supply for irrigation and drinking water. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Environmental Impacts of the Use of Ecosystem Services: Case Study of Birdwatching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kronenberg, Jakub

2014-09-01

The main reason for promoting the concept of ecosystem services lies in its potential to contribute to environmental conservation. Highlighting the benefits derived from ecosystems fosters an understanding of humans' dependence on nature, as users of ecosystem services. However, the act of using ecosystem services may not be environmentally neutral. As with the use of products and services generated within an economy, the use of ecosystem services may lead to unintended environmental consequences throughout the `ecosystem services supply chain.' This article puts forward a framework for analyzing environmental impacts related to the use of ecosystem services, indicating five categories of impact: (1) direct impacts (directly limiting the service's future availability); and four categories of indirect impacts, i.e., on broader ecosystem structures and processes, which can ultimately also affect the initial service: (2) impacts related to managing ecosystems to maximize the delivery of selected services (affecting ecosystems' capacity to provide other services); (3) impacts associated with accessing ecosystems to use their services (affecting other ecosystem components); (4) additional consumption of products, infrastructure or services required to use a selected ecosystem service, and their life-cycle environmental impacts; and (5) broader impacts on the society as a whole (environmental awareness of ecosystem service users and other stakeholders). To test the usefulness of this framework, the article uses the case study of birdwatching, which demonstrates all of the above categories of impacts. The article justifies the need for a broader consideration of environmental impacts related to the use of ecosystem services.

An eco-hydrological modeling framework for assessing trade-offs among ecosystem services in response to alternative land use scenarios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mckane, R.; Abdelnour, A. G.; Brookes, A.; Djang, K.; Stieglitz, M.; Pan, F.; Bolte, J.; Papenfus, M.; Burdick, C.

2012-12-01

Scientists, policymakers, community planners and others have discussed ecosystem services for decades, however, society is still in the early stages of developing methodologies to quantify and value the services that ecosystems provide. For example, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently established the Sustainable and Healthy Communities Research Program to develop such methodologies, so that natural capital can be better accounted for in decisions that affect the supply of the ecosystem goods and services upon which human well-being depends. Essential to this goal are highly integrated models that can be used to define policy and management strategies for entire ecosystems, not simply individual components of the ecosystem. We developed the VELMA (Visualizing Ecosystems for Land Management Assessments) eco-hydrologic modeling framework to help address this emerging risk assessment objective. Here we describe a proof-of-concept application of VELMA to the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, a forested 64 km2 basin and Long Term Ecological Research site in the western Cascade Range of Oregon, USA. VELMA is a spatially-distributed eco-hydrologic model that links a land surface hydrologic model with a terrestrial biogeochemistry model for simulating the integrated responses of vegetation, soil, and water resources to interacting stressors. We used the model to simulate the effects of three different land use scenarios (100% old-growth, 100% clearcut harvest, and present-day land cover consisting of 45% old-growth and 55% harvested) on trade-offs among five ecosystem services: timber production, carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas regulation, water quantity, and water quality. Compared to the old-growth simulation, over a 60-yr period the clearcut simulation reduced total ecosystem carbon stocks (-40%), and initially increased total stream discharge (+28%), stream nitrogen export (>300%), and total CO2 and N2O radiative forcing (>200%). The simulation for present-day land cover resulted in intermediate values, albeit substantially closer to old growth than to clearcut values. Ongoing work is focused on incorporating VELMA within a flexible decision support platform (Envision) that integrates a wide variety of models, decision tools, and datasets for evaluating economic, social and environmental trade-offs associated with alternative decision scenarios. This framework will be used to address questions about the sustainability of natural capital vital to local and regional economies, initially in the PNW and Great Plains. For example, can those factors that have the greatest potential to improve future trajectories of ecosystem services and human well-being be identified? What green and grey infrastructure improvements, carbon and nitrogen management practices, and growth and development policies can most effectively be managed to attain a sustainable and desirable future?

Sustainable wetland management and support of ecosystem services

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, Loren M.; Euliss, Ned H.; Wilcox, Douglas A.; Brinson, Mark M.

2009-01-01

This article is a follow-up on a previous piece in the National Wetlands Newsletter in which we outlined problems associated with a static, local approach to wetland management versus an alternative that proposes a temporal and geomorphic approach (Euliss et al. 2009). We extend that concept by drawing on companion papers recently published in the journal Wetlands (Euliss et al. 2008, Smith et al. 2008). Here we highlight reasons for the failure of many managed wetlands to provide a suite of ecosystem services (e.g., carbon storage, diodiversity, ground-water recharge, contaminant filtering, floodwater storage). Our principal theme is that wetland management is best approached by giving consideration to the hydrogeomorphic processes that maintain productive ecosystems and by removing physical and social impediments to those processes. Traditional management actions are often oriented toward maintaining static conditions in wetlands without considering the temporal cycles that wetlands need to undergo or achieve productivity for specific groups of wildlife, such as waterfowl. Possibly more often, a manager's ability to influence hydrogeomorphic processes is restricted by activities in surrounding watersheds. These could be dams, for example, which do not allow management of flood-pulse processes essential to productivity of riparian systems. In most cases, sediments and nutrients associated with land use in contributing watersheds complicate management of wetlands for a suite of services, including wildlife. Economic or policy forces far-removed from a wetland often interact to prevent occurrence of basic ecosystem processes. Our message is consistent with recommendation of supply-side sustainability of Allen et al. (2002) in which ecosystems are managed "for the system that produces outputs rather than the outputs themselves."

Shade Trading: An Emerging Riparian Forest-Based Payment for Ecosystem Services Market in Oregon, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guillozet, Kathleen

2015-10-01

This paper describes the regulatory and compliance context for Oregon's emerging ecosystem services (ES) market in riparian shade to meet water quality obligations. In Oregon's market as with many other ES programs, contracts and other regulatory documents not only delimit the obligations and liabilities of different parties, but also constitute a primary mechanism through which ES service delivery is measured. Through a review of compliance criteria I find that under Oregon's shade trades, permittees are held to a number of input-based criteria, which essentially affirm that parties comply with predetermined practices and procedures, and one `pseudo output based' criterion, in which ES delivery is estimated through a model. The case presented in the paper critically engages with the challenges of measuring ES and in assessing the outcomes of ES projects. It places these challenges as interrelated and proposes that market designers, policymakers, and other stakeholders should consider explicit efficacy, efficiency, and equity targets.

Shade Trading: An Emerging Riparian Forest-Based Payment for Ecosystem Services Market in Oregon, USA.

PubMed

Guillozet, Kathleen

2015-10-01

This paper describes the regulatory and compliance context for Oregon's emerging ecosystem services (ES) market in riparian shade to meet water quality obligations. In Oregon's market as with many other ES programs, contracts and other regulatory documents not only delimit the obligations and liabilities of different parties, but also constitute a primary mechanism through which ES service delivery is measured. Through a review of compliance criteria I find that under Oregon's shade trades, permittees are held to a number of input-based criteria, which essentially affirm that parties comply with predetermined practices and procedures, and one 'pseudo output based' criterion, in which ES delivery is estimated through a model. The case presented in the paper critically engages with the challenges of measuring ES and in assessing the outcomes of ES projects. It places these challenges as interrelated and proposes that market designers, policymakers, and other stakeholders should consider explicit efficacy, efficiency, and equity targets.

Using Citygml to Deploy Smart-City Services for Urban Ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prandi, F.; De Amicis, R.; Piffer, S.; Soave, M.; Cadzow, S.; Gonzalez Boix, E.; D'Hont, E.

2013-05-01

The rapid technological evolution, which is characterizing all the disciplines involved within the wide concept of smart cities, becomes a key factor to trigger true user-driven innovation. In this context 3D city models will play an increasingly important role in our daily lives and become an essential part of the modern city information infrastructure (Spatial Data Infrastructure). The goal of this paper is to introduce the i-SCOPE (interoperable Smart City services through an Open Platform for urban Ecosystems) project methodology and implementations together with key technologies and open standards. Based on interoperable 3D CityGML UIMs, the aim of i-Scope is to deliver an open platform on top of which it possible to develop, within different domains, various "smart city" services. Moreover, in i-SCOPE different issues, transcending the mere technological domain, are being tackled, including aspects dealing with social and environmental issues. Indeed several tasks including citizen awareness, crowd source and voluntary based data collection as well as privacy issue concerning involved people should be considered.

Defining Ecosystem Assets for Natural Capital Accounting.

PubMed

Hein, Lars; Bagstad, Ken; Edens, Bram; Obst, Carl; de Jong, Rixt; Lesschen, Jan Peter

2016-01-01

In natural capital accounting, ecosystems are assets that provide ecosystem services to people. Assets can be measured using both physical and monetary units. In the international System of Environmental-Economic Accounting, ecosystem assets are generally valued on the basis of the net present value of the expected flow of ecosystem services. In this paper we argue that several additional conceptualisations of ecosystem assets are needed to understand ecosystems as assets, in support of ecosystem assessments, ecosystem accounting and ecosystem management. In particular, we define ecosystems' capacity and capability to supply ecosystem services, as well as the potential supply of ecosystem services. Capacity relates to sustainable use levels of multiple ecosystem services, capability involves prioritising the use of one ecosystem service over a basket of services, and potential supply considers the ability of ecosystems to generate services regardless of demand for these services. We ground our definitions in the ecosystem services and accounting literature, and illustrate and compare the concepts of flow, capacity, capability, and potential supply with a range of conceptual and real-world examples drawn from case studies in Europe and North America. Our paper contributes to the development of measurement frameworks for natural capital to support environmental accounting and other assessment frameworks.

The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES): Enhancing Collaboration to Support Science-Based Decision-Making

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duke, C. S.; Quach, K.; Jackson, S. T.

2015-12-01

The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) offers major opportunities to enhance scientific collaboration and advance global environmental sustainability. IPBES was established in 2012 as an independent intergovernmental body dedicated to assessing the state of the planet's biodiversity, its ecosystems, and the essential services they provide to society. IPBES has four functions: 1) identify and prioritize key scientific information needed for policymakers and catalyze efforts to generate new knowledge by engaging relevant scientific, policy and funding organizations; 2) perform regular and timely assessments of knowledge on biodiversity and ecosystem services and their interlinkages; 3) support policy formulation and implementation by identifying policy-relevant tools and methodologies; and 4) prioritize key capacity-building needs to improve the science-policy interface and catalyze related financing. To date, IPBES has brought together representatives of 124 countries at three annual plenary meetings and numerous panel meetings about specific assessments. This presentation will summarize IPBES' opportunities and achievements to date. These include a conceptual framework for IPBES processes and products, an assessment of the status of pollination and pollinators associated with food production, draft reports on scenario analyses and capacity building, and scoping for assessments of land degradation and restoration and of biodiversity in five regions of the world. IPBES provides natural and social scientists and other experts with important opportunities to support collaborative, science-based environmental decision-making at global to local scales. The presentation will conclude by describing opportunities to participate as expert panel members, contributors to assessments, and reviewers.

Identifying priority areas for ecosystem service management in South African grasslands.

PubMed

Egoh, Benis N; Reyers, Belinda; Rouget, Mathieu; Richardson, David M

2011-06-01

Grasslands provide many ecosystem services required to support human well-being and are home to a diverse fauna and flora. Degradation of grasslands due to agriculture and other forms of land use threaten biodiversity and ecosystem services. Various efforts are underway around the world to stem these declines. The Grassland Programme in South Africa is one such initiative and is aimed at safeguarding both biodiversity and ecosystem services. As part of this developing programme, we identified spatial priority areas for ecosystem services, tested the effect of different target levels of ecosystem services used to identify priority areas, and evaluated whether biodiversity priority areas can be aligned with those for ecosystem services. We mapped five ecosystem services (below ground carbon storage, surface water supply, water flow regulation, soil accumulation and soil retention) and identified priority areas for individual ecosystem services and for all five services at the scale of quaternary catchments. Planning for individual ecosystem services showed that, depending on the ecosystem service of interest, between 4% and 13% of the grassland biome was required to conserve at least 40% of the soil and water services. Thirty-four percent of the biome was needed to conserve 40% of the carbon service in the grassland. Priority areas identified for five ecosystem services under three target levels (20%, 40%, 60% of the total amount) showed that between 17% and 56% of the grassland biome was needed to conserve these ecosystem services. There was moderate to high overlap between priority areas selected for ecosystem services and already-identified terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity priority areas. This level of overlap coupled with low irreplaceability values obtained when planning for individual ecosystem services makes it possible to combine biodiversity and ecosystem services in one plan using systematic conservation planning. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Defining Ecosystem Assets for Natural Capital Accounting

PubMed Central

Hein, Lars; Bagstad, Ken; Edens, Bram; Obst, Carl; de Jong, Rixt; Lesschen, Jan Peter

2016-01-01

In natural capital accounting, ecosystems are assets that provide ecosystem services to people. Assets can be measured using both physical and monetary units. In the international System of Environmental-Economic Accounting, ecosystem assets are generally valued on the basis of the net present value of the expected flow of ecosystem services. In this paper we argue that several additional conceptualisations of ecosystem assets are needed to understand ecosystems as assets, in support of ecosystem assessments, ecosystem accounting and ecosystem management. In particular, we define ecosystems’ capacity and capability to supply ecosystem services, as well as the potential supply of ecosystem services. Capacity relates to sustainable use levels of multiple ecosystem services, capability involves prioritising the use of one ecosystem service over a basket of services, and potential supply considers the ability of ecosystems to generate services regardless of demand for these services. We ground our definitions in the ecosystem services and accounting literature, and illustrate and compare the concepts of flow, capacity, capability, and potential supply with a range of conceptual and real-world examples drawn from case studies in Europe and North America. Our paper contributes to the development of measurement frameworks for natural capital to support environmental accounting and other assessment frameworks. PMID:27828969

Defining ecosystem assets for natural capital accounting

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hein, Lars; Bagstad, Kenneth J.; Edens, Bram; Obst, Carl; de Jong, Rixt; Lesschen, Jan Peter

2016-01-01

In natural capital accounting, ecosystems are assets that provide ecosystem services to people. Assets can be measured using both physical and monetary units. In the international System of Environmental-Economic Accounting, ecosystem assets are generally valued on the basis of the net present value of the expected flow of ecosystem services. In this paper we argue that several additional conceptualisations of ecosystem assets are needed to understand ecosystems as assets, in support of ecosystem assessments, ecosystem accounting and ecosystem management. In particular, we define ecosystems’ capacity and capability to supply ecosystem services, as well as the potential supply of ecosystem services. Capacity relates to sustainable use levels of multiple ecosystem services, capability involves prioritising the use of one ecosystem service over a basket of services, and potential supply considers the ability of ecosystems to generate services regardless of demand for these services. We ground our definitions in the ecosystem services and accounting literature, and illustrate and compare the concepts of flow, capacity, capability, and potential supply with a range of conceptual and real-world examples drawn from case studies in Europe and North America. Our paper contributes to the development of measurement frameworks for natural capital to support environmental accounting and other assessment frameworks.

Uncovering ecosystem service bundles through social preferences.

PubMed

Martín-López, Berta; Iniesta-Arandia, Irene; García-Llorente, Marina; Palomo, Ignacio; Casado-Arzuaga, Izaskun; Amo, David García Del; Gómez-Baggethun, Erik; Oteros-Rozas, Elisa; Palacios-Agundez, Igone; Willaarts, Bárbara; González, José A; Santos-Martín, Fernando; Onaindia, Miren; López-Santiago, Cesar; Montes, Carlos

2012-01-01

Ecosystem service assessments have increasingly been used to support environmental management policies, mainly based on biophysical and economic indicators. However, few studies have coped with the social-cultural dimension of ecosystem services, despite being considered a research priority. We examined how ecosystem service bundles and trade-offs emerge from diverging social preferences toward ecosystem services delivered by various types of ecosystems in Spain. We conducted 3,379 direct face-to-face questionnaires in eight different case study sites from 2007 to 2011. Overall, 90.5% of the sampled population recognized the ecosystem's capacity to deliver services. Formal studies, environmental behavior, and gender variables influenced the probability of people recognizing the ecosystem's capacity to provide services. The ecosystem services most frequently perceived by people were regulating services; of those, air purification held the greatest importance. However, statistical analysis showed that socio-cultural factors and the conservation management strategy of ecosystems (i.e., National Park, Natural Park, or a non-protected area) have an effect on social preferences toward ecosystem services. Ecosystem service trade-offs and bundles were identified by analyzing social preferences through multivariate analysis (redundancy analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis). We found a clear trade-off among provisioning services (and recreational hunting) versus regulating services and almost all cultural services. We identified three ecosystem service bundles associated with the conservation management strategy and the rural-urban gradient. We conclude that socio-cultural preferences toward ecosystem services can serve as a tool to identify relevant services for people, the factors underlying these social preferences, and emerging ecosystem service bundles and trade-offs.

[Ecosystem services supply and consumption and their relationships with human well-being].

PubMed

Wang, Da-Shang; Zheng, Hua; Ouyang, Zhi-Yun

2013-06-01

Sustainable ecosystem services supply is the basis of regional sustainable development, and human beings can satisfy and improve their well-being through ecosystem services consumption. To understand the relationships between ecosystem services supply and consumption and human well-being is of vital importance for coordinating the relationships between the conservation of ecosystem services and the improvement of human well-being. This paper summarized the diversity, complexity, and regionality of ecosystem services supply, the diversity and indispensability of ecosystem services consumption, and the multi-dimension, regionality, and various evaluation indices of human well-being, analyzed the uncertainty and multi-scale correlations between ecosystem services supply and consumption, and elaborated the feedback and asynchronous relationships between ecosystem services and human well-being. Some further research directions for the relationships between ecosystem services supply and consumption and human well-being were recommended.

Adaptive management of large aquatic ecosystem recovery programs in the United States.

PubMed

Thom, Ronald; St Clair, Tom; Burns, Rebecca; Anderson, Michael

2016-12-01

Adaptive management (AM) is being employed in a number of programs in the United States to guide actions to restore aquatic ecosystems because these programs are both expensive and are faced with significant uncertainties. Many of these uncertainties are associated with prioritizing when, where, and what kind of actions are needed to meet the objectives of enhancing ecosystem services and recovering threatened and endangered species. We interviewed nine large-scale aquatic ecosystem restoration programs across the United States to document the lessons learned from implementing AM. In addition, we recorded information on ecological drivers (e.g., endangered fish species) for the program, and inferred how these drivers reflected more generic ecosystem services. Ecosystem services (e.g., genetic diversity, cultural heritage), albeit not explicit drivers, were either important to the recovery or enhancement of the drivers, or were additional benefits associated with actions to recover or enhance the program drivers. Implementing programs using AM lessons learned has apparently helped achieve better results regarding enhancing ecosystem services and restoring target species populations. The interviews yielded several recommendations. The science and AM program must be integrated into how the overall restoration program operates in order to gain understanding and support, and effectively inform management decision-making. Governance and decision-making varied based on its particular circumstances. Open communication within and among agency and stakeholder groups and extensive vetting lead up to decisions. It was important to have an internal agency staff member to implement the AM plan, and a clear designation of roles and responsibilities, and long-term commitment of other involved parties. The most important management questions and information needs must be identified up front. It was imperative to clearly identify, link and continually reinforce the essential components of an AM plan, including objectives, constraints, uncertainties, hypotheses, management actions, decision criteria and triggers, monitoring, and research. Some employed predictive models and the results of research on uncertainties to vet options for actions. Many relied on best available science and professional judgment to decide if adjustments to actions were needed. All programs emphasized the need to be nimble enough to be responsive to new information and make necessary adjustments to management action implementation. We recommend that ecosystem services be explicit drivers of restoration programs to facilitate needed funding and communicate to the general public and with the global efforts on restoring and conserving ecosystems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ecosystem Services Flows: Why Stakeholders' Power Relationships Matter.

PubMed

Felipe-Lucia, María R; Martín-López, Berta; Lavorel, Sandra; Berraquero-Díaz, Luis; Escalera-Reyes, Javier; Comín, Francisco A

2015-01-01

The ecosystem services framework has enabled the broader public to acknowledge the benefits nature provides to different stakeholders. However, not all stakeholders benefit equally from these services. Rather, power relationships are a key factor influencing the access of individuals or groups to ecosystem services. In this paper, we propose an adaptation of the "cascade" framework for ecosystem services to integrate the analysis of ecological interactions among ecosystem services and stakeholders' interactions, reflecting power relationships that mediate ecosystem services flows. We illustrate its application using the floodplain of the River Piedra (Spain) as a case study. First, we used structural equation modelling (SEM) to model the dependence relationships among ecosystem services. Second, we performed semi-structured interviews to identify formal power relationships among stakeholders. Third, we depicted ecosystem services according to stakeholders' ability to use, manage or impair ecosystem services in order to expose how power relationships mediate access to ecosystem services. Our results revealed that the strongest power was held by those stakeholders who managed (although did not use) those keystone ecosystem properties and services that determine the provision of other services (i.e., intermediate regulating and final services). In contrast, non-empowered stakeholders were only able to access the remaining non-excludable and non-rival ecosystem services (i.e., some of the cultural services, freshwater supply, water quality, and biological control). In addition, land stewardship, access rights, and governance appeared as critical factors determining the status of ecosystem services. Finally, we stress the need to analyse the role of stakeholders and their relationships to foster equal access to ecosystem services.

Ecosystem Services Flows: Why Stakeholders’ Power Relationships Matter

PubMed Central

Felipe-Lucia, María R.; Martín-López, Berta; Lavorel, Sandra; Berraquero-Díaz, Luis; Escalera-Reyes, Javier; Comín, Francisco A.

2015-01-01

The ecosystem services framework has enabled the broader public to acknowledge the benefits nature provides to different stakeholders. However, not all stakeholders benefit equally from these services. Rather, power relationships are a key factor influencing the access of individuals or groups to ecosystem services. In this paper, we propose an adaptation of the “cascade” framework for ecosystem services to integrate the analysis of ecological interactions among ecosystem services and stakeholders’ interactions, reflecting power relationships that mediate ecosystem services flows. We illustrate its application using the floodplain of the River Piedra (Spain) as a case study. First, we used structural equation modelling (SEM) to model the dependence relationships among ecosystem services. Second, we performed semi-structured interviews to identify formal power relationships among stakeholders. Third, we depicted ecosystem services according to stakeholders’ ability to use, manage or impair ecosystem services in order to expose how power relationships mediate access to ecosystem services. Our results revealed that the strongest power was held by those stakeholders who managed (although did not use) those keystone ecosystem properties and services that determine the provision of other services (i.e., intermediate regulating and final services). In contrast, non-empowered stakeholders were only able to access the remaining non-excludable and non-rival ecosystem services (i.e., some of the cultural services, freshwater supply, water quality, and biological control). In addition, land stewardship, access rights, and governance appeared as critical factors determining the status of ecosystem services. Finally, we stress the need to analyse the role of stakeholders and their relationships to foster equal access to ecosystem services. PMID:26201000

Remote sensing of ecosystem health: opportunities, challenges, and future perspectives.

PubMed

Li, Zhaoqin; Xu, Dandan; Guo, Xulin

2014-11-07

Maintaining a healthy ecosystem is essential for maximizing sustainable ecological services of the best quality to human beings. Ecological and conservation research has provided a strong scientific background on identifying ecological health indicators and correspondingly making effective conservation plans. At the same time, ecologists have asserted a strong need for spatially explicit and temporally effective ecosystem health assessments based on remote sensing data. Currently, remote sensing of ecosystem health is only based on one ecosystem attribute: vigor, organization, or resilience. However, an effective ecosystem health assessment should be a comprehensive and dynamic measurement of the three attributes. This paper reviews opportunities of remote sensing, including optical, radar, and LiDAR, for directly estimating indicators of the three ecosystem attributes, discusses the main challenges to develop a remote sensing-based spatially-explicit comprehensive ecosystem health system, and provides some future perspectives. The main challenges to develop a remote sensing-based spatially-explicit comprehensive ecosystem health system are: (1) scale issue; (2) transportability issue; (3) data availability; and (4) uncertainties in health indicators estimated from remote sensing data. However, the Radarsat-2 constellation, upcoming new optical sensors on Worldview-3 and Sentinel-2 satellites, and improved technologies for the acquisition and processing of hyperspectral, multi-angle optical, radar, and LiDAR data and multi-sensoral data fusion may partly address the current challenges.

The Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le Traon, Pierre-Yves

2017-04-01

The oceans provide essential services to society. They regulate climate, they provide food and energy, and many economic activities depend on our seas and oceans. But our oceans and marine ecosystems are under threat. They are impacted by the effects of climate change as well as from other human-induced pressures. More than ever, there is a need to continuously monitor the oceans. This is imperative to understanding and predicting the evolution of our weather and climate. This is also essential for a better and sustainable management of our oceans and seas. The Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS) has been set up to answer these challenges. CMEMS provides a unique monitoring of the global ocean and European seas based on satellite and in situ observations and models. CMEMS monitors past (over the last 30 years) and current marine conditions and provide short-term forecasts. Mercator Ocean was tasked by the EU to implement the service. The organisation is based on a strong European partnership with more than 60 marine operational and research centres in Europe that are involved in the service and its evolution. An overview of CMEMS, its drivers, organization and initial achievements will be given. The essential role of in-situ and satellite upstream observations will be discussed as well as CMEMS Service Evolution Strategy, associated R&D priorities and future scientific challenges.

Incorporating ecosystem services into environmental management of deep-seabed mining

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le, Jennifer T.; Levin, Lisa A.; Carson, Richard T.

2017-03-01

Accelerated exploration of minerals in the deep sea over the past decade has raised the likelihood that commercial mining of the deep seabed will commence in the near future. Environmental concerns create a growing urgency for development of environmental regulations under commercial exploitation. Here, we consider an ecosystem services approach to the environmental policy and management of deep-sea mineral resources. Ecosystem services link the environment and human well-being, and can help improve sustainability and stewardship of the deep sea by providing a quantitative basis for decision-making. This paper briefly reviews ecosystem services provided by habitats targeted for deep-seabed mining (hydrothermal vents, seamounts, nodule provinces, and phosphate-rich margins), and presents practical steps to incorporate ecosystem services into deep-seabed mining regulation. The linkages and translation between ecosystem structure, ecological function (including supporting services), and ecosystem services are highlighted as generating human benefits. We consider criteria for identifying which ecosystem services are vulnerable to potential mining impacts, the role of ecological functions in providing ecosystem services, development of ecosystem service indicators, valuation of ecosystem services, and implementation of ecosystem services concepts. The first three steps put ecosystem services into a deep-seabed mining context; the last two steps help to incorporate ecosystem services into a management and decision-making framework. Phases of environmental planning discussed in the context of ecosystem services include conducting strategic environmental assessments, collecting baseline data, monitoring, establishing marine protected areas, assessing cumulative impacts, identifying thresholds and triggers, and creating an environmental damage compensation regime. We also identify knowledge gaps that need to be addressed in order to operationalize ecosystem services concepts in deep-seabed mining regulation and propose potential tools to fill them.

Functional Classification of Natural Resources for Valuing Natural Resources in Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, H.; Lee, W.; Kwak, H.

2013-12-01

The ecosystem services concept emphasizes not only regulating services, but also supporting, provisioning, and cultural/social services according to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA). While the spatial and quantifying of ecosystem services is becoming increasingly recognized for natural resources conservation, however, due to methodological challenges, ecosystem services quantification is rarely considered in Republic of Korea (ROK). This study matches appropriate indicators, data and mapping for describing respective states, quantification and ecosystem valuation. The results were analyzed with statistical and GIS-based techniques. We classified the ecosystem services function based on reference to the literature, interviews and a modified approach compared to the MA, the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB). For quantifying values, we subdivided land cover types using ecological features and normalized numerical information of provisioning services, regulating services and cultural services. Resulting hotspots of ecosystem services are related to landscape features and land cover types in ROK. The mapping results show hotspots of ecosystem services where high level of ecosystem services is distributed - around Baekdudaegan protected area (Gangwon, Gyeongbuk Province, Chungbuk, Jeonam Province). n addition, the results of our study show that ecosystem services function - especially, fostering water resources, erosion control, air quality and pollution control in terrestrial ecosystems - can contribute to planning management policy for ecosystem based management at regional scale.

Valuing ecosystem services in terms of ecological risks and returns.

PubMed

Abson, David J; Termansen, Mette

2011-04-01

The economic valuation of ecosystem services is a key policy tool in stemming losses of biological diversity. It is proposed that the loss of ecosystem function and the biological resources within ecosystems is due in part to the failure of markets to recognize the benefits humans derive from ecosystems. Placing monetary values on ecosystem services is often suggested as a necessary step in correcting such market failures. We consider the effects of valuing different types of ecosystem services within an economic framework. We argue that provisioning and regulating ecosystem services are generally produced and consumed in ways that make them amenable to economic valuation. The values associated with cultural ecosystem services lie outside the domain of economic valuation, but their worth may be expressed through noneconomic, deliberative forms of valuation. We argue that supporting ecosystem services are not of direct value and that the losses of such services can be expressed in terms of the effects of their loss on the risk to the provision of the directly valued ecosystem services they support. We propose a heuristic framework that considers the relations between ecological risks and returns in the provision of ecosystem services. The proposed ecosystem-service valuation framework, which allows the expression of the value of all types of ecosystem services, calls for a shift from static, purely monetary valuation toward the consideration of trade-offs between the current flow of benefits from ecosystems and the ability of those ecosystems to provide future flows. ©2010 Society for Conservation Biology.

Ecosystem service valuations of mangrove ecosystems to inform decision making and future valuation exercises.

PubMed

Mukherjee, Nibedita; Sutherland, William J; Dicks, Lynn; Hugé, Jean; Koedam, Nico; Dahdouh-Guebas, Farid

2014-01-01

The valuation of ecosystem services is a complex process as it includes several dimensions (ecological, socio-cultural and economic) and not all of these can be quantified in monetary units. The aim of this paper is to conduct an ecosystem services valuation study for mangroves ecosystems, the results of which can be used to inform governance and management of mangroves. We used an expert-based participatory approach (the Delphi technique) to identify, categorize and rank the various ecosystem services provided by mangrove ecosystems at a global scale. Subsequently we looked for evidence in the existing ecosystem services literature for monetary valuations of these ecosystem service categories throughout the biogeographic distribution of mangroves. We then compared the relative ranking of ecosystem service categories between the monetary valuations and the expert based analysis. The experts identified 16 ecosystem service categories, six of which are not adequately represented in the literature. There was no significant correlation between the expert based valuation (the Delphi technique) and the economic valuation, indicating that the scope of valuation of ecosystem services needs to be broadened. Acknowledging this diversity in different valuation approaches, and developing methodological frameworks that foster the pluralism of values in ecosystem services research, are crucial for maintaining the credibility of ecosystem services valuation. To conclude, we use the findings of our dual approach to valuation to make recommendations on how to assess and manage the ecosystem services provided by mangrove ecosystems.

Ecosystem Service Valuations of Mangrove Ecosystems to Inform Decision Making and Future Valuation Exercises

PubMed Central

Mukherjee, Nibedita; Sutherland, William J.; Dicks, Lynn; Hugé, Jean; Koedam, Nico; Dahdouh-Guebas, Farid

2014-01-01

The valuation of ecosystem services is a complex process as it includes several dimensions (ecological, socio-cultural and economic) and not all of these can be quantified in monetary units. The aim of this paper is to conduct an ecosystem services valuation study for mangroves ecosystems, the results of which can be used to inform governance and management of mangroves. We used an expert-based participatory approach (the Delphi technique) to identify, categorize and rank the various ecosystem services provided by mangrove ecosystems at a global scale. Subsequently we looked for evidence in the existing ecosystem services literature for monetary valuations of these ecosystem service categories throughout the biogeographic distribution of mangroves. We then compared the relative ranking of ecosystem service categories between the monetary valuations and the expert based analysis. The experts identified 16 ecosystem service categories, six of which are not adequately represented in the literature. There was no significant correlation between the expert based valuation (the Delphi technique) and the economic valuation, indicating that the scope of valuation of ecosystem services needs to be broadened. Acknowledging this diversity in different valuation approaches, and developing methodological frameworks that foster the pluralism of values in ecosystem services research, are crucial for maintaining the credibility of ecosystem services valuation. To conclude, we use the findings of our dual approach to valuation to make recommendations on how to assess and manage the ecosystem services provided by mangrove ecosystems. PMID:25243852

Uncovering Ecosystem Service Bundles through Social Preferences

PubMed Central

Martín-López, Berta; Iniesta-Arandia, Irene; García-Llorente, Marina; Palomo, Ignacio; Casado-Arzuaga, Izaskun; Amo, David García Del; Gómez-Baggethun, Erik; Oteros-Rozas, Elisa; Palacios-Agundez, Igone; Willaarts, Bárbara; González, José A.; Santos-Martín, Fernando; Onaindia, Miren; López-Santiago, Cesar; Montes, Carlos

2012-01-01

Ecosystem service assessments have increasingly been used to support environmental management policies, mainly based on biophysical and economic indicators. However, few studies have coped with the social-cultural dimension of ecosystem services, despite being considered a research priority. We examined how ecosystem service bundles and trade-offs emerge from diverging social preferences toward ecosystem services delivered by various types of ecosystems in Spain. We conducted 3,379 direct face-to-face questionnaires in eight different case study sites from 2007 to 2011. Overall, 90.5% of the sampled population recognized the ecosystem’s capacity to deliver services. Formal studies, environmental behavior, and gender variables influenced the probability of people recognizing the ecosystem’s capacity to provide services. The ecosystem services most frequently perceived by people were regulating services; of those, air purification held the greatest importance. However, statistical analysis showed that socio-cultural factors and the conservation management strategy of ecosystems (i.e., National Park, Natural Park, or a non-protected area) have an effect on social preferences toward ecosystem services. Ecosystem service trade-offs and bundles were identified by analyzing social preferences through multivariate analysis (redundancy analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis). We found a clear trade-off among provisioning services (and recreational hunting) versus regulating services and almost all cultural services. We identified three ecosystem service bundles associated with the conservation management strategy and the rural-urban gradient. We conclude that socio-cultural preferences toward ecosystem services can serve as a tool to identify relevant services for people, the factors underlying these social preferences, and emerging ecosystem service bundles and trade-offs. PMID:22720006

From theoretical to actual ecosystem services: mapping beneficiaries and spatial flows in ecosystem service assessments

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bagstad, Kenneth J.; Villa, Ferdinando; Batker, David; Harrison-Cox, Jennifer; Voigt, Brian; Johnson, Gary W.

2014-01-01

Ecosystem services mapping and modeling has focused more on supply than demand, until recently. Whereas the potential provision of economic benefits from ecosystems to people is often quantified through ecological production functions, the use of and demand for ecosystem services has received less attention, as have the spatial flows of services from ecosystems to people. However, new modeling approaches that map and quantify service-specific sources (ecosystem capacity to provide a service), sinks (biophysical or anthropogenic features that deplete or alter service flows), users (user locations and level of demand), and spatial flows can provide a more complete understanding of ecosystem services. Through a case study in Puget Sound, Washington State, USA, we quantify and differentiate between the theoretical or in situ provision of services, i.e., ecosystems’ capacity to supply services, and their actual provision when accounting for the location of beneficiaries and the spatial connections that mediate service flows between people and ecosystems. Our analysis includes five ecosystem services: carbon sequestration and storage, riverine flood regulation, sediment regulation for reservoirs, open space proximity, and scenic viewsheds. Each ecosystem service is characterized by different beneficiary groups and means of service flow. Using the ARtificial Intelligence for Ecosystem Services (ARIES) methodology we map service supply, demand, and flow, extending on simpler approaches used by past studies to map service provision and use. With the exception of the carbon sequestration service, regions that actually provided services to people, i.e., connected to beneficiaries via flow paths, amounted to 16-66% of those theoretically capable of supplying services, i.e., all ecosystems across the landscape. These results offer a more complete understanding of the spatial dynamics of ecosystem services and their effects, and may provide a sounder basis for economic valuation and policy applications than studies that consider only theoretical service provision and/or use.

Spatial interactions among ecosystem services in an urbanizing agricultural watershed

PubMed Central

Qiu, Jiangxiao; Turner, Monica G.

2013-01-01

Understanding spatial distributions, synergies, and tradeoffs of multiple ecosystem services (benefits people derive from ecosystems) remains challenging. We analyzed the supply of 10 ecosystem services for 2006 across a large urbanizing agricultural watershed in the Upper Midwest of the United States, and asked the following: (i) Where are areas of high and low supply of individual ecosystem services, and are these areas spatially concordant across services? (ii) Where on the landscape are the strongest tradeoffs and synergies among ecosystem services located? (iii) For ecosystem service pairs that experience tradeoffs, what distinguishes locations that are “win–win” exceptions from other locations? Spatial patterns of high supply for multiple ecosystem services often were not coincident; locations where six or more services were produced at high levels (upper 20th percentile) occupied only 3.3% of the landscape. Most relationships among ecosystem services were synergies, but tradeoffs occurred between crop production and water quality. Ecosystem services related to water quality and quantity separated into three different groups, indicating that management to sustain freshwater services along with other ecosystem services will not be simple. Despite overall tradeoffs between crop production and water quality, some locations were positive for both, suggesting that tradeoffs are not inevitable everywhere and might be ameliorated in some locations. Overall, we found that different areas of the landscape supplied different suites of ecosystem services, and their lack of spatial concordance suggests the importance of managing over large areas to sustain multiple ecosystem services. PMID:23818612

Spatial interactions among ecosystem services in an urbanizing agricultural watershed.

PubMed

Qiu, Jiangxiao; Turner, Monica G

2013-07-16

Understanding spatial distributions, synergies, and tradeoffs of multiple ecosystem services (benefits people derive from ecosystems) remains challenging. We analyzed the supply of 10 ecosystem services for 2006 across a large urbanizing agricultural watershed in the Upper Midwest of the United States, and asked the following: (i) Where are areas of high and low supply of individual ecosystem services, and are these areas spatially concordant across services? (ii) Where on the landscape are the strongest tradeoffs and synergies among ecosystem services located? (iii) For ecosystem service pairs that experience tradeoffs, what distinguishes locations that are "win-win" exceptions from other locations? Spatial patterns of high supply for multiple ecosystem services often were not coincident; locations where six or more services were produced at high levels (upper 20th percentile) occupied only 3.3% of the landscape. Most relationships among ecosystem services were synergies, but tradeoffs occurred between crop production and water quality. Ecosystem services related to water quality and quantity separated into three different groups, indicating that management to sustain freshwater services along with other ecosystem services will not be simple. Despite overall tradeoffs between crop production and water quality, some locations were positive for both, suggesting that tradeoffs are not inevitable everywhere and might be ameliorated in some locations. Overall, we found that different areas of the landscape supplied different suites of ecosystem services, and their lack of spatial concordance suggests the importance of managing over large areas to sustain multiple ecosystem services.

The role of hydrological and water quality models in the application of the ecosystem services framework for the EU Water Framework Directive

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hallouin, Thibault; Bruen, Michael; Feeley, Hugh B.; Christie, Michael; Bullock, Craig; Kelly, Fiona; Kelly-Quinn, Mary

2017-04-01

The hydrological cycle is intimately linked with environmental processes that are essential for human welfare in many regards including, among others, the provision of safe water from surface and subsurface waterbodies, rain-fed agricultural production, or the provision of aquatic-sourced food. As well as being a receiver of these natural benefits, the human population is also a manager of the water and other natural resources and, as such, can affect their future sustainable provision. With global population growth and climate change, both the dependence of the human population on water resources and the threat they pose to these resources are likely to intensify so that the sustainability of the coupled natural and human system is threatened. In the European Union, the Water Framework Directive is driving policy and encouraging member states to manage their water resources wisely in order to maintain or restore ecological quality. To this end, the ecosystem services framework can be a useful tool to link the requirements in terms of ecological status into more tangible descriptors, that is the ecosystem services. In the ESManage Project, existing environmental system models such as hydrological models and water quality models are used as the basis to quantify the provision of many hydrological and aquatic ecosystem services by constructing indicators for the ecosystem services from the modelled environmental variables. By allowing different management options and policies to be compared, these models can be a valuable source of information for policy makers when they are used for climate and land use scenario analyses. Not all hydrological models developed for flood forecasting are suitable for this application and inappropriate models can lead to questionable conclusions. This paper demonstrates the readily available capabilities of a specially developed catchment hydrological model coupled with a water quality model to quantify a wide range of biophysically quantifiable water-related ecosystem services such as water provision (river flows, groundwater recharge and vegetation transpiration), flood regulation or nutrient and sediment retention. This combination of models will be used to carry out scenario analyses on IPCC climate change scenarios as well as various land use scenarios. Results will be presented for a test catchment in the Republic of Ireland.

Green spaces are not all the same for the provision of air purification and climate regulation services: The case of urban parks.

PubMed

Vieira, Joana; Matos, Paula; Mexia, Teresa; Silva, Patrícia; Lopes, Nuno; Freitas, Catarina; Correia, Otília; Santos-Reis, Margarida; Branquinho, Cristina; Pinho, Pedro

2018-01-01

The growing human population concentrated in urban areas lead to the increase of road traffic and artificial areas, consequently enhancing air pollution and urban heat island effects, among others. These environmental changes affect citizen's health, causing a high number of premature deaths, with considerable social and economic costs. Nature-based solutions are essential to ameliorate those impacts in urban areas. While the mere presence of urban green spaces is pointed as an overarching solution, the relative importance of specific vegetation structure, composition and management to improve the ecosystem services of air purification and climate regulation are overlooked. This avoids the establishment of optimized planning and management procedures for urban green spaces with high spatial resolution and detail. Our aim was to understand the relative contribution of vegetation structure, composition and management for the provision of ecosystem services of air purification and climate regulation in urban green spaces, in particular the case of urban parks. This work was done in a large urban park with different types of vegetation surrounded by urban areas. As indicators of microclimatic effects and of air pollution levels we selected different metrics: lichen diversity and pollutants accumulation in lichens. Among lichen diversity, functional traits related to nutrient and water requirements were used as surrogates of the capacity of vegetation to filter air pollution and to regulate climate, and provide air purification and climate regulation ecosystem services, respectively. This was also obtained with very high spatial resolution which allows detailed spatial planning for optimization of ecosystem services. We found that vegetation type characterized by a more complex structure (trees, shrubs and herbaceous layers) and by the absence of management (pruning, irrigation and fertilization) had a higher capacity to provide the ecosystems services of air purification and climate regulation. By contrast, lawns, which have a less complex structure and are highly managed, were associated to a lower capacity to provide these services. Tree plantations showed an intermediate effect between the other two types of vegetation. Thus, vegetation structure, composition and management are important to optimize green spaces capacity to purify air and regulate climate. Taking this into account green spaces can be managed at high spatial resolutions to optimize these ecosystem services in urban areas and contribute to improve human well-being. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Perception, acquisition and use of ecosystem services: human behavior, and ecosystem management and policy implications

Treesearch

Stanley T. Asah; Anne D. Guerry; Dale J. Blahna; Joshua J. Lawler

2014-01-01

Ecosystem services, fundamental to livelihoods and well-being, are reshaping environmental management and policy. However, the behavioral dimensions of ecosystem services and the responses of ordinary people to the management of those services, is less well understood. The ecosystem services framework lends itself to understanding the relationship between ecosystems...

Evaluating Ecosystem Services for Reducing Groundwater Nitrate Contamination: Nitrate Attenuation in the Unsaturated and Saturated Zones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, J.

2013-12-01

Nitrates are the most common type of groundwater contamination in agricultural regions. Environmental policies targeting nitrates have focused on input control (e.g., restricted fertilizer application), intermediate loads control (e.g., reduce nitrate leached from crop fields), and final loads control (e.g., reduce catchment nitrate loads). Nitrate loads can be affected by hydrological processes in both unsaturated and saturated zones. Although many of these processes have been extensively investigated in literature, they are commonly modeled as exogenous to farm management. A couple of recent studies by scientists from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory show that in some situations nitrate attenuation processes in the unsaturated/saturated zone, particularly denitrification, can be intensified by certain management practices to mitigate nitrate loads. Therefore, these nitrate attenuation processes can be regarded as a set of ecosystem services that farmers can take advantage of to reduce their cost of complying with environmental policies. In this paper, a representative California dairy farm is used as a case study to show how such ecosystem attenuation services can be framed within the farm owner's decision-making framework as an option for reducing groundwater nitrate contamination. I develop an integrated dynamic model, where the farmer maximizes discounted net farm profit over multiple periods subject to environmental regulations. The model consists of three submodels: animal-waste-crop, hydrologic, and economic model. In addition to common choice variables such as irrigation, fertilization, and waste disposal options, the farmer can also endogenously choose from three water sources: surface water, deep groundwater (old groundwater in the deep aquifer that is not affected by farm effluent in the short term), and shallow groundwater (drainage water that can be recycled via capture wells at the downstream end of the farm). The capture wells not only recycle wastewater, but can also increase the likelihood of denitrification. Thus the farmer essentially can choose whether, and to which extent, to install capture wells and take advantage of the ecosystem attenuation services. Decision rules from the dynamic optimization model demonstrate best management practices for the farm to improve its economic and environmental performance. I further use an economic valuation technique to value these services. Under the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment framework, nitrate attenuation in the unsaturated and saturated zone provides regulatory ecosystem services to humans, mainly nutrient regulation and waste treatment. With the integrated farm model, the production function approach is adopted to get the economic value of these regulatory services. The results highlight the significant role the environment can play in nitrate pollution control and potential benefits from designing policies that acknowledge this role. The most desirable policies are those that create incentive for farmers to use potential ecosystem services, which significantly reduce environmental compliance costs and increase social welfare.

Ecosystem services science, practice, and policy: Perspectives from ACES, A Community on Ecosystem Services

USGS Publications Warehouse

Shapiro, Carl D.; Arthaud, Greg; Casey, Frank; Hogan, Dianna M.

2015-01-01

Ecosystem services are at a crossroad. The natural capital needed to produce them is diminishing (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005). At the same time, the science relating to their identification, production, and valuation is advancing. Examples of ecosystem services applications are abundant in the literature. In addition, the concept of ecosystem services and its applications are attracting attention and are becoming more visible. The concept of ecosystem services, however, is still not routinely applied to many natural resource management decisions.

Ecosystem services

Treesearch

Trista Patterson

2014-01-01

Since its inception, the ecosystem service approach has stimulated interest from numerous planning, management, and partnership perspectives. To date, however, research that quantifies ecosystem services in the study area (in the form of explicit ecosystem service studies) has been limited. This chapter reviews and synthesizes the concept of ecosystem services,...

Capacity, pressure, demand, and flow: A conceptual framework for analyzing ecosystem service provision and delivery

USGS Publications Warehouse

Villamagna, Amy M.; Angermeier, Paul L.; Bennett, Elena M.

2013-01-01

Ecosystem services provide an instinctive way to understand the trade-offs associated with natural resource management. However, despite their apparent usefulness, several hurdles have prevented ecosystem services from becoming deeply embedded in environmental decision-making. Ecosystem service studies vary widely in focal services, geographic extent, and in methods for defining and measuring services. Dissent among scientists on basic terminology and approaches to evaluating ecosystem services create difficulties for those trying to incorporate ecosystem services into decision-making. To facilitate clearer comparison among recent studies, we provide a synthesis of common terminology and explain a rationale and framework for distinguishing among the components of ecosystem service delivery, including: an ecosystem's capacity to produce services; ecological pressures that interfere with an ecosystem's ability to provide the service; societal demand for the service; and flow of the service to people. We discuss how interpretation and measurement of these four components can differ among provisioning, regulating, and cultural services. Our flexible framework treats service capacity, ecological pressure, demand, and flow as separate but interactive entities to improve our ability to evaluate the sustainability of service provision and to help guide management decisions. We consider ecosystem service provision to be sustainable when demand is met without decreasing capacity for future provision of that service or causing undesirable declines in other services. When ecosystem service demand exceeds ecosystem capacity to provide services, society can choose to enhance natural capacity, decrease demand and/or ecological pressure, or invest in a technological substitute. Because regulating services are frequently overlooked in environmental assessments, we provide a more detailed examination of regulating services and propose a novel method for quantifying the flow of regulating services based on estimates of ecological work. We anticipate that our synthesis and framework will reduce inconsistency and facilitate coherence across analyses of ecosystem services, thereby increasing their utility in environmental decision-making.

Dynamics of Ecosystem Services during Forest Transitions in Reventazón, Costa Rica.

PubMed

Vallet, Améline; Locatelli, Bruno; Levrel, Harold; Brenes Pérez, Christian; Imbach, Pablo; Estrada Carmona, Natalia; Manlay, Raphaël; Oszwald, Johan

2016-01-01

The forest transition framework describes the temporal changes of forest areas with economic development. A first phase of forest contraction is followed by a second phase of expansion once a turning point is reached. This framework does not differentiate forest types or ecosystem services, and describes forests regardless of their contribution to human well-being. For several decades, deforestation in many tropical regions has degraded ecosystem services, such as watershed regulation, while increasing provisioning services from agriculture, for example, food. Forest transitions and expansion have been observed in some countries, but their consequences for ecosystem services are often unclear. We analyzed the implications of forest cover change on ecosystem services in Costa Rica, where a forest transition has been suggested. A review of literature and secondary data on forest and ecosystem services in Costa Rica indicated that forest transition might have led to an ecosystem services transition. We modeled and mapped the changes of selected ecosystem services in the upper part of the Reventazón watershed and analyzed how supply changed over time in order to identify possible transitions in ecosystem services. The modeled changes of ecosystem services is similar to the second phase of a forest transition but no turning point was identified, probably because of the limited temporal scope of the analysis. Trends of provisioning and regulating services and their tradeoffs were opposite in different spatial subunits of our study area, which highlights the importance of scale in the analysis of ecosystem services and forest transitions. The ecosystem services transition framework proposed in this study is useful for analyzing the temporal changes of ecosystem services and linking socio-economic drivers to ecosystem services demand at different scales.

Dynamics of Ecosystem Services during Forest Transitions in Reventazón, Costa Rica

PubMed Central

Vallet, Améline; Locatelli, Bruno; Levrel, Harold; Brenes Pérez, Christian; Imbach, Pablo; Estrada Carmona, Natalia; Manlay, Raphaël; Oszwald, Johan

2016-01-01

The forest transition framework describes the temporal changes of forest areas with economic development. A first phase of forest contraction is followed by a second phase of expansion once a turning point is reached. This framework does not differentiate forest types or ecosystem services, and describes forests regardless of their contribution to human well-being. For several decades, deforestation in many tropical regions has degraded ecosystem services, such as watershed regulation, while increasing provisioning services from agriculture, for example, food. Forest transitions and expansion have been observed in some countries, but their consequences for ecosystem services are often unclear. We analyzed the implications of forest cover change on ecosystem services in Costa Rica, where a forest transition has been suggested. A review of literature and secondary data on forest and ecosystem services in Costa Rica indicated that forest transition might have led to an ecosystem services transition. We modeled and mapped the changes of selected ecosystem services in the upper part of the Reventazón watershed and analyzed how supply changed over time in order to identify possible transitions in ecosystem services. The modeled changes of ecosystem services is similar to the second phase of a forest transition but no turning point was identified, probably because of the limited temporal scope of the analysis. Trends of provisioning and regulating services and their tradeoffs were opposite in different spatial subunits of our study area, which highlights the importance of scale in the analysis of ecosystem services and forest transitions. The ecosystem services transition framework proposed in this study is useful for analyzing the temporal changes of ecosystem services and linking socio-economic drivers to ecosystem services demand at different scales. PMID:27390869

Southwest Ecosystem Services Project (SwESP): Identifying Ecosystems Services Based on Tribal Values

EPA Science Inventory

USEPA Office of Research Development (ORD) new strategic focus is the measurement of benefits and services of ecosystem. The primary objective of the Ecosystem Services Research Program (ESRP) is to identify, measure, monitor, model and map ecosystem services and to enable their ...

The National Atlas of Ecosystem Services: Spatially Explicit Characterization of Ecosystem Services

EPA Science Inventory

The US EPA’s Ecosystem Services Research Program (ESRP) is conducting transdisciplinary research to develop tools to enable decision-makers at all levels of governance to proactively conserve ecosystem services. One of these tools is a National Atlas of Ecosystem Services which ...

Quantifying the "So what?" of Restoration: A Framework for Evaluating the Ecological and Socio-economic Outcomes of Restoration Activities in the Gulf of Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henkel, J. R.; Dausman, A.; Cowan, J.; Sutter, B.

2017-12-01

Healthy and sustainable ecosystems are essential for thriving and resilient coastal communities. As a result of settlements following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (Council) and other funding entities, will receive billions of dollars over the next 15 years for restoration projects and programs. These and future restoration efforts present an opportunity to improve the function of coastal wetlands in the Gulf of Mexico, and potentially address long-standing barriers to ecosystem health and resilience in the region. In its Comprehensive Plans, the Council has committed to science-based decision-making, collaboration among its eleven state and federal members, and close coordination with other Gulf restoration and conservation funding efforts including NRDA, NFWF and other federal programs to leverage resources and integrate complementary restoration efforts. To help fulfill these commitments the Council is exploring methods and tools to collect and assess data to evaluate and report on both ecological and socio-economic outcomes of restoration projects. Application of these tools in coordination with restoration partners, will demonstrate the cascading benefits of ecosystem restoration in a quantifiable way, and can help decision-makers increase investments in ecosystem restoration that will support the long-term sustainability of coastal systems. An understanding of ecosystem function and services can also provide a transparent lens for communicating the results of successful ecosystem restoration projects to the public (helping answer the "So what?" of ecosystem restoration). As the Council moves forward making decisions based on the best available science, improving ecosystem functioning and services will play a role in project and program selection and will result in more resilient ecosystems. This will enable the Council to help communities enhance their ability to recover from natural and manmade disasters and thrive in the face of changing environmental conditions.

BiodivERsA project VineDivers: Analysing interlinkages between soil biota and biodiversity-based ecosystem services in vineyards across Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaller, Johann G.; Winter, Silvia; Strauss, Peter; Querner, Pascal; Kriechbaum, Monika; Pachinger, Bärbel; Gómez, José A.; Campos, Mercedes; Landa, Blanca; Popescu, Daniela; Comsa, Maria; Iliescu, Maria; Tomoiaga, Liliana; Bunea, Claudiu-Ioan; Hoble, Adela; Marghitas, Liviu; Rusu, Teodor; Lora, Ángel; Guzmán, Gema; Bergmann, Holger

2015-04-01

Essential ecosystem services provided by viticultural landscapes result from diverse communities of above- and belowground organisms and their interactions. For centuries traditional viticulture was part of a multifunctional agricultural system including low-input grasslands and fruit trees resulting in a high functional biodiversity. However, in the last decades intensification and mechanisation of vineyard management caused a separation of production and conservation areas. As a result of management intensification including frequent tilling and/or use of pesticides several ecosystem services are affected leading to high rates of soil erosion, degradation of soil structure and fertility, contamination of groundwater and high levels of agricultural inputs. In this transdisciplinary BiodivERsA project we will examine to what extent differently intensive managed vineyards affect the activity and diversity of soil biota (e.g. earthworms, collembola, soil microorganisms) and how this feed back on aboveground biodiversity (e.g. weeds, pollinators). We will also investigate ecosystem services associated with soil faunal activity and biodiversity such as soil structure, the formation of stable soil aggregates, water infiltration, soil erosion as well as grape quality. These effects will become increasingly important as more extreme precipitation events are predicted with climate change. The socio-economic part of the project will investigate the role of diversely structured, species-rich viticultural landscapes as a cultural heritage providing aesthetic values for human well-being and recreation. The project objectives will be analysed at plot, field (vineyard) and landscape scales in vineyards located in Spain, France, Romania and Austria. A detailed engagement and dissemination plan for stakeholder at the different governance levels will accompany scientific research and will contribute to the implementation of best-practice recommendations for policy and farmers.

The use of a new ecosystem services assessment tool, EPA H2O, for identifying, quantifying, and valuing ecosystem services production.

EPA Science Inventory

The task of estimating ecosystem service production and delivery deserves special attention. Assessment tools that incorporate both supply and delivery of ecosystem services are needed to better understand how ecosystem services production becomes realized benefits. Here, we de...

Regulation of the immune system by biodiversity from the natural environment: An ecosystem service essential to health

PubMed Central

Rook, Graham A.

2013-01-01

Epidemiological studies suggest that living close to the natural environment is associated with long-term health benefits including reduced death rates, reduced cardiovascular disease, and reduced psychiatric problems. This is often attributed to psychological mechanisms, boosted by exercise, social interactions, and sunlight. Compared with urban environments, exposure to green spaces does indeed trigger rapid psychological, physiological, and endocrinological effects. However, there is little evidence that these rapid transient effects cause long-term health benefits or even that they are a specific property of natural environments. Meanwhile, the illnesses that are increasing in high-income countries are associated with failing immunoregulation and poorly regulated inflammatory responses, manifested as chronically raised C-reactive protein and proinflammatory cytokines. This failure of immunoregulation is partly attributable to a lack of exposure to organisms (“Old Friends”) from mankind’s evolutionary past that needed to be tolerated and therefore evolved roles in driving immunoregulatory mechanisms. Some Old Friends (such as helminths and infections picked up at birth that established carrier states) are almost eliminated from the urban environment. This increases our dependence on Old Friends derived from our mothers, other people, animals, and the environment. It is suggested that the requirement for microbial input from the environment to drive immunoregulation is a major component of the beneficial effect of green space, and a neglected ecosystem service that is essential for our well-being. This insight will allow green spaces to be designed to optimize health benefits and will provide impetus from health systems for the preservation of ecosystem biodiversity. PMID:24154724

Regulation of the immune system by biodiversity from the natural environment: an ecosystem service essential to health.

PubMed

Rook, Graham A

2013-11-12

Epidemiological studies suggest that living close to the natural environment is associated with long-term health benefits including reduced death rates, reduced cardiovascular disease, and reduced psychiatric problems. This is often attributed to psychological mechanisms, boosted by exercise, social interactions, and sunlight. Compared with urban environments, exposure to green spaces does indeed trigger rapid psychological, physiological, and endocrinological effects. However, there is little evidence that these rapid transient effects cause long-term health benefits or even that they are a specific property of natural environments. Meanwhile, the illnesses that are increasing in high-income countries are associated with failing immunoregulation and poorly regulated inflammatory responses, manifested as chronically raised C-reactive protein and proinflammatory cytokines. This failure of immunoregulation is partly attributable to a lack of exposure to organisms ("Old Friends") from mankind's evolutionary past that needed to be tolerated and therefore evolved roles in driving immunoregulatory mechanisms. Some Old Friends (such as helminths and infections picked up at birth that established carrier states) are almost eliminated from the urban environment. This increases our dependence on Old Friends derived from our mothers, other people, animals, and the environment. It is suggested that the requirement for microbial input from the environment to drive immunoregulation is a major component of the beneficial effect of green space, and a neglected ecosystem service that is essential for our well-being. This insight will allow green spaces to be designed to optimize health benefits and will provide impetus from health systems for the preservation of ecosystem biodiversity.

An Operational Structure for Clarity in Ecosystem Service Values

EPA Science Inventory

Analyses used to value ecosystem services often confuse final ecosystem services with ecological functions that provide only indirect benefit. Extant categorizations of ecosystem services, such as that developed by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, do not ameliorate these cha...

Hawkmoths evaluate scenting flowers with the tip of their proboscis

PubMed Central

Haverkamp, Alexander; Yon, Felipe; Keesey, Ian W; Mißbach, Christine; Koenig, Christopher; Hansson, Bill S; Baldwin, Ian T

2016-01-01

Pollination by insects is essential to many ecosystems. Previously, we have shown that floral scent is important to mediate pollen transfer between plants (Kessler et al., 2015). Yet, the mechanisms by which pollinators evaluate volatiles of single flowers remained unclear. Here, Nicotiana attenuata plants, in which floral volatiles have been genetically silenced and its hawkmoth pollinator, Manduca sexta, were used in semi-natural tent and wind-tunnel assays to explore the function of floral scent. We found that floral scent functions to increase the fitness of individual flowers not only by increasing detectability but also by enhancing the pollinator's foraging efforts. Combining proboscis choice tests with neurophysiological, anatomical and molecular analyses we show that this effect is governed by newly discovered olfactory neurons on the tip of the moth's proboscis. With the tip of their tongue, pollinators assess the advertisement of individual flowers, an ability essential for maintaining this important ecosystem service. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.15039.001 PMID:27146894

Strategic Science for Coral Ecosystems 2007-2011

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2010-01-01

Shallow and deep coral ecosystems are being imperiled by a combination of stressors. Climate change, unsustainable fishing practices, and disease are transforming coral communities at regional to global scales. At local levels, excessive amounts of sediments, nutrients, and contaminants are also impacting the many benefits that healthy coral ecosystems provide. This Plan, Strategic Science for Coral Ecosystems, describes the information needs of resource managers and summarizes current research being conducted by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists and partners. It outlines important research actions that need to be undertaken over the next five years to achieve more accurate forecasting of future conditions and develop more effective decision-support tools to adaptively manage coral ecosystems. The overarching outcome of this Plan, if fully implemented, would be in transferring relevant knowledge to decision-makers, enabling them to better protect and sustain coral ecosystem services. These services include sources of food, essential habitat for fisheries and protected species, protection of coastlines from wave damage and erosion, recreation, and cultural values for indigenous communities. The USGS has a long history of research and monitoring experience in studying ancient and living coral communities and serving many stakeholders. The research actions in this Plan build on the USGS legacy of conducting integrated multidisciplinary science to address complex environmental issues. This Plan is responsive to Federal legislation and authorities and a variety of external and internal drivers that include the President's Ocean Action Plan, the recommendations of the Coral Reef Task Force, the information needs of Bureaus in the Department of Interior, the USGS Bureau Science Strategy (USGS 2007) and the formal plans of several USGS Programs. To achieve this Plan's desired outcomes will require increased funding and more effective coordination and collaboration among USGS managers and scientists within a national and international framework of partnerships in coral ecosystem science.

EPA's Southwest Ecosystem Services Research Program

EPA Science Inventory

EPA's Ecosystem Services Research Program (ESRP) in the Office of Research and Development (ORD) is studying ecosystem services and the benefits to human well-being provided by ecological services. As part of this research effort, the Southwest Ecosystem Services Research Progra...

Spatial Assessment of Forest Ecosystem Functions and Services using Human Relating Factors for SDG

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, C.; Lee, W. K.; Jeon, S. W.; Kim, T.; Lim, C. H.

2015-12-01

Application of ecosystem service concept in environmental related decision making could be numerical and objective standard for policy maker between preserving and developing perspective of environment. However, pursuing maximum benefit from natural capital through ecosystem services caused failure by losing ecosystem functions through its trade-offs. Therefore, difference between ecosystem functions and services were demonstrated and would apply human relating perspectives. Assessment results of ecosystem functions and services can be divided 3 parts. Tree growth per year set as the ecosystem function factor and indicated through so called pure function map. After that, relating functions can be driven such as water conservation, air pollutant purification, climate change regulation, and timber production. Overall process and amount are numerically quantified. These functional results can be transferred to ecosystem services by multiplying economic unit value, so function reflecting service maps can be generated. On the other hand, above services, to implement more reliable human demand, human reflecting service maps are also be developed. As the validation, quantified ecosystem functions are compared with former results through pixel based analysis. Three maps are compared, and through comparing difference between ecosystem function and services and inversed trends in function based and human based service are analysed. In this study, we could find differences in PF, FRS, and HRS in relation to based ecosystem conditions. This study suggests that the differences in PF, FRS, and HRS should be understood in the decision making process for sustainable management of ecosystem services. Although the analysis is based on in sort existing process separation, it is important to consider the possibility of different usage of ecosystem function assessment results and ecosystem service assessment results in SDG policy making. Furthermore, process based functional approach can suggest environmental information which is reflected the other kinds of perspective.

The provision of ecosystem services in response to global change: Evidences and applications.

PubMed

Lafortezza, Raffaele; Chen, Jiquan

2016-05-01

As a consequence of the global increase in economic and societal prosperity, ecosystems and natural resources have been substantially exploited, degraded, or even destroyed in the last century. To prevent further deprivation of the quality of ecosystems, the ecosystem services concept has become a central issue in environmental studies. A growing number of environmental agencies and organizations worldwide are now embracing integrated approaches to plan and manage ecosystems, sharing a goal to maintain the long-term provision of ecosystem services for sustainability. A daunting challenge in this process is to move from general pronouncements about the tremendous benefits that ecosystems provide to society to defensible assessments of their services. In other words, we must move beyond the scientific evidences of the ecosystem services concept to its practical applications. In this work, we discuss the theoretical foundations and applications of ecosystem services with a focus on the assessment of ecosystem service trade-offs and synergies at various spatial and temporal scales. Here, we offer examples of the main factors related to land use management that may affect the provision of ecosystem services and provide direction for future research on ecosystem services and related nature-based solutions. We also provide a briefing on the major topics covered in this Special Issue, which focuses on the provision of ecosystem services in the context of global change. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Essential biodiversity variables

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pereira, H.M.; Ferrier, S.; Walters, M.; Geller, G.N.; Jongman, R.H.G.; Scholes, Robert J.; Bruford, M.W.; Brummitt, N.; Butchart, S.H.M.; Cardoso, A.C.; Coops, N.C.; Dulloo, E.; Faith, D.P.; Freyhof, J.; Gregory, R.D.; Heip, C.; Höft, R.; Hurtt, G.; Jetz, W.; Karp, D.S.; McGeoch, M.A.; Obura, D.; Onada, Y.; Pettorelli, N.; Reyers, B.; Sayre, R.; Scharlemann, J.P.W.; Stuart, S.N.; Turak, E.; Walpole, M.; Wegmann, M.

2013-01-01

Reducing the rate of biodiversity loss and averting dangerous biodiversity change are international goals, reasserted by the Aichi Targets for 2020 by Parties to the United Nations (UN) Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) after failure to meet the 2010 target (1, 2). However, there is no global, harmonized observation system for delivering regular, timely data on biodiversity change (3). With the first plenary meeting of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) soon under way, partners from the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON) (4) are developing—and seeking consensus around—Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) that could form the basis of monitoring programs worldwide.

Remote Sensing of Ecosystem Health: Opportunities, Challenges, and Future Perspectives

PubMed Central

Li, Zhaoqin; Xu, Dandan; Guo, Xulin

2014-01-01

Maintaining a healthy ecosystem is essential for maximizing sustainable ecological services of the best quality to human beings. Ecological and conservation research has provided a strong scientific background on identifying ecological health indicators and correspondingly making effective conservation plans. At the same time, ecologists have asserted a strong need for spatially explicit and temporally effective ecosystem health assessments based on remote sensing data. Currently, remote sensing of ecosystem health is only based on one ecosystem attribute: vigor, organization, or resilience. However, an effective ecosystem health assessment should be a comprehensive and dynamic measurement of the three attributes. This paper reviews opportunities of remote sensing, including optical, radar, and LiDAR, for directly estimating indicators of the three ecosystem attributes, discusses the main challenges to develop a remote sensing-based spatially-explicit comprehensive ecosystem health system, and provides some future perspectives. The main challenges to develop a remote sensing-based spatially-explicit comprehensive ecosystem health system are: (1) scale issue; (2) transportability issue; (3) data availability; and (4) uncertainties in health indicators estimated from remote sensing data. However, the Radarsat-2 constellation, upcoming new optical sensors on Worldview-3 and Sentinel-2 satellites, and improved technologies for the acquisition and processing of hyperspectral, multi-angle optical, radar, and LiDAR data and multi-sensoral data fusion may partly address the current challenges. PMID:25386759

Valuing trade-offs of river ecosystem services in large hydropower development in Tibet, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, B.; Xu, L.

2015-12-01

Hydropower development can be considered as a kind of trade-offs of ecosystem services generated by human activity for their economic and energy demand, because it can increase some river ecosystem services but decrease others. In this context, an ecosystem service trade-off framework in hydropower development was proposed in this paper. It aims to identify the ecological cost of river ecosystem and serve for the ecological compensation during hydropower development, for the hydropower services cannot completely replace the regulating services of river ecosystem. The valuing trade-offs framework was integrated by the influenced ecosystem services identification and ecosystem services valuation, through ecological monitoring and ecological economic methods, respectively. With a case study of Pondo hydropower project in Tibet, China, the valuing trade-offs of river ecosystem services in large hydropower development was illustrated. The typical ecological factors including water, sediment and soil were analyzed in this study to identify the altered river ecosystem services by Pondo hydropower project. Through the field monitoring and valuation, the results showed that the Lhasa River ecosystem services value could be changed annually by Pondo hydropower project with the increment of 5.7E+8CNY, and decrement of 5.1E+7CNY. The ecological compensation for river ecosystem should be focus on water and soil conservation, reservoir dredging and tributaries habitat protection.

Evaluating ecosystem services provided by non-native species: an experimental test in California grasslands.

PubMed

Stein, Claudia; Hallett, Lauren M; Harpole, W Stanley; Suding, Katharine N

2014-01-01

The concept of ecosystem services--the benefits that nature provides to human's society--has gained increasing attention over the past decade. Increasing global abiotic and biotic change, including species invasions, is threatening the secure delivery of these ecosystem services. Efficient evaluation methods of ecosystem services are urgently needed to improve our ability to determine management strategies and restoration goals in face of these new emerging ecosystems. Considering a range of multiple ecosystem functions may be a useful way to determine such strategies. We tested this framework experimentally in California grasslands, where large shifts in species composition have occurred since the late 1700's. We compared a suite of ecosystem functions within one historic native and two non-native species assemblages under different grazing intensities to address how different species assemblages vary in provisioning, regulatory and supporting ecosystem services. Forage production was reduced in one non-native assemblage (medusahead). Cultural ecosystem services, such as native species diversity, were inherently lower in both non-native assemblages, whereas most other services were maintained across grazing intensities. All systems provided similar ecosystem services under the highest grazing intensity treatment, which simulated unsustainable grazing intensity. We suggest that applying a more comprehensive ecosystem framework that considers multiple ecosystem services to evaluate new emerging ecosystems is a valuable tool to determine management goals and how to intervene in a changing ecosystem.

Combined effects of climate and land-use change on the provision of ecosystem services in rice agro-ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Langerwisch, Fanny; Václavík, Tomáš; von Bloh, Werner; Vetter, Tobias; Thonicke, Kirsten

2018-01-01

Irrigated rice croplands are among the world’s most important agro-ecosystems. They provide food for more than 3.5 billion people and a range of other ecosystem services (ESS). However, the sustainability of rice agro-ecosystems is threatened by continuing climate and land-use changes. To estimate their combined effects on a bundle of ESS, we applied the vegetation and hydrology model LPJmL to seven study areas in the Philippines and Vietnam. We quantified future changes in the provision of four essential ESS (carbon storage, carbon sequestration, provision of irrigation water and rice production) under two climate scenarios (until 2100) and three site-specific land-use scenarios (until 2030), and examined the synergies and trade-offs in ESS responses to these drivers. Our results show that not all services can be provided in the same amounts in the future. In the Philippines and Vietnam the projections estimated a decrease in rice yields (by approximately 30%) and in carbon storage (by 15%) and sequestration (by 12%) towards the end of the century under the current land-use pattern. In contrast, the amount of available irrigation water was projected to increase in all scenarios by 10%-20%. However, the results also indicate that land-use change may partially offset the negative climate impacts in regions where cropland expansion is possible, although only at the expense of natural vegetation. When analysing the interactions between ESS, we found consistent synergies between rice production and carbon storage and trade-offs between carbon storage and provision of irrigation water under most scenarios. Our results show that not only the effects of climate and land-use change alone but also the interaction between ESS have to be considered to allow sustainable management of rice agro-ecosystems under global change.

Prescribed fire and its impacts on ecosystem services in the UK.

PubMed

Harper, Ashleigh R; Doerr, Stefan H; Santin, Cristina; Froyd, Cynthia A; Sinnadurai, Paul

2018-05-15

The impacts of vegetation fires on ecosystems are complex and varied affecting a range of important ecosystem services. Fire has the potential to affect the physicochemical and ecological status of water systems, alter several aspects of the carbon cycle (e.g. above- and below-ground carbon storage) and trigger changes in vegetation type and structure. Globally, fire is an essential part of land management in fire-prone regions in, e.g. Australia, the USA and some Mediterranean countries to mitigate the likelihood of catastrophic wildfires and sustain healthy ecosystems. In the less-fire prone UK, fire has a long history of usage in management for enhancing the productivity of heather, red grouse and sheep. This distinctly different socioeconomic tradition of burning underlies some of the controversy in recent decades in the UK around the use of fire. Negative public opinion and opposition from popular media have highlighted concerns around the detrimental impacts burning can have on the health and diversity of upland habitats. It is evident there are many gaps in the current knowledge around the environmental impacts of prescribed burning in less fire-prone regions (e.g. UK). Land owners and managers require a greater level of certainty on the advantages and disadvantages of prescribed burning in comparison to other techniques to better inform management practices. This paper addresses this gap by providing a critical review of published work and future research directions related to the impacts of prescribed fire on three key aspects of ecosystem services: (i) water quality, (ii) carbon dynamics and (iii) habitat composition and structure (biodiversity). Its overall aims are to provide guidance based on the current state-of-the-art for researchers, land owners, managers and policy makers on the potential effects of the use of burning and to inform the wider debate about the place of fire in modern conservation and land management in humid temperate ecosystems. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Public participation GIS: a method for identifying ecosystems services

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brown, Greg; Montag, Jessica; Lyon, Katie

2012-01-01

This study evaluated the use of an Internet-based public participation geographic information system (PPGIS) to identify ecosystem services in Grand County, Colorado. Specific research objectives were to examine the distribution of ecosystem services, identify the characteristics of participants in the study, explore potential relationships between ecosystem services and land use and land cover (LULC) classifications, and assess the methodological strengths and weakness of the PPGIS approach for identifying ecosystem services. Key findings include: (1) Cultural ecosystem service opportunities were easiest to identify while supporting and regulatory services most challenging, (2) participants were highly educated, knowledgeable about nature and science, and have a strong connection to the outdoors, (3) some LULC classifications were logically and spatially associated with ecosystem services, and (4) despite limitations, the PPGIS method demonstrates potential for identifying ecosystem services to augment expert judgment and to inform public or environmental policy decisions regarding land use trade-offs.

Natural and human impacts on ecosystem services in Guanzhong - Tianshui economic region of China.

PubMed

Li, Jing; Zhou, Z X

2016-04-01

Due to the accelerated growth of society, the gaps between the capacity of ecosystems to provide services and human needs are steadily widening. Natural, semi-natural, or managed ecosystems had been able to provide ecosystem services to meet the needs of social development. Four agricultural ecosystem services (net primary production (NPP), carbon sequestration and oxygen production (CSOP), water interception, soil conservation and agriculture production) were quantified in Guanzhong-Tianshui economic region. Estimates of ecosystem services were obtained from the analysis of satellite imagery and the use of well-known models. Based on the ecological services in Guanzhong-Tianshui economic region, this study mainly analysed the driving mechanism of the changes from the two aspects of natural drivers and human drivers. Natural drivers (climate, soil, elevation, land cover) had incentive to the ecological services. Human activity was quantified by an integrated human activity index (HAI) based on population density, farmland ratio, and the influence of road networks and residential areas. We found relationships between ecosystem services, human activities and many natural factors, however these varied according to the service studied. Human activities were mostly negatively related to each ecosystem services, while population and residential land ware positively related to agricultural production. Land use change had made a contribution to ecosystem services. Based on the selected ecosystem services and HAI, we provided sustainable ecosystem management suggestions.

Spatial dynamics of ecosystem service flows: a comprehensive approach to quantifying actual services

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bagstad, Kenneth J.; Johnson, Gary W.; Voigt, Brian; Villa, Ferdinando

2013-01-01

Recent ecosystem services research has highlighted the importance of spatial connectivity between ecosystems and their beneficiaries. Despite this need, a systematic approach to ecosystem service flow quantification has not yet emerged. In this article, we present such an approach, which we formalize as a class of agent-based models termed “Service Path Attribution Networks” (SPANs). These models, developed as part of the Artificial Intelligence for Ecosystem Services (ARIES) project, expand on ecosystem services classification terminology introduced by other authors. Conceptual elements needed to support flow modeling include a service's rivalness, its flow routing type (e.g., through hydrologic or transportation networks, lines of sight, or other approaches), and whether the benefit is supplied by an ecosystem's provision of a beneficial flow to people or by absorption of a detrimental flow before it reaches them. We describe our implementation of the SPAN framework for five ecosystem services and discuss how to generalize the approach to additional services. SPAN model outputs include maps of ecosystem service provision, use, depletion, and flows under theoretical, possible, actual, inaccessible, and blocked conditions. We highlight how these different ecosystem service flow maps could be used to support various types of decision making for conservation and resource management planning.

Balancing trade-offs between ecosystem services in Germany’s forests under climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gutsch, Martin; Lasch-Born, Petra; Kollas, Chris; Suckow, Felicitas; Reyer, Christopher P. O.

2018-04-01

Germany’s forests provide a variety of ecosystem services. Sustainable forest management aims to optimize the provision of these services at regional level. However, climate change will impact forest ecosystems and subsequently ecosystem services. The objective of this study is to quantify the effects of two alternative management scenarios and climate impacts on forest variables indicative of ecosystem services related to timber, habitat, water, and carbon. The ecosystem services are represented through nine model output variables (timber harvest, above and belowground biomass, net ecosystem production, soil carbon, percolation, nitrogen leaching, deadwood, tree dimension, broadleaf tree proportion) from the process-based forest model 4C. We simulated forest growth, carbon and water cycling until 2045 with 4C set-up for the whole German forest area based on National Forest Inventory data and driven by three management strategies (nature protection, biomass production and a baseline management) and an ensemble of regional climate scenarios (RCP2.6, RCP 4.5, RCP 8.5). We provide results as relative changes compared to the baseline management and observed climate. Forest management measures have the strongest effects on ecosystem services inducing positive or negative changes of up to 40% depending on the ecosystem service in question, whereas climate change only slightly alters ecosystem services averaged over the whole forest area. The ecosystem services ‘carbon’ and ‘timber’ benefit from climate change, while ‘water’ and ‘habitat’ lose. We detect clear trade-offs between ‘timber’ and all other ecosystem services, as well as synergies between ‘habitat’ and ‘carbon’. When evaluating all ecosystem services simultaneously, our results reveal certain interrelations between climate and management scenarios. North-eastern and western forest regions are more suitable to provide timber (while minimizing the negative impacts on remaining ecosystem services) whereas southern and central forest regions are more suitable to fulfil ‘habitat’ and ‘carbon’ services. The results provide the base for future forest management optimizations at the regional scale in order to maximize ecosystem services and forest ecosystem sustainability at the national scale.

Going Beyond the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment: An Index System of Human Dependence on Ecosystem Services

PubMed Central

Yang, Wu; Dietz, Thomas; Liu, Wei; Luo, Junyan; Liu, Jianguo

2013-01-01

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) estimated that two thirds of ecosystem services on the earth have degraded or are in decline due to the unprecedented scale of human activities during recent decades. These changes will have tremendous consequences for human well-being, and offer both risks and opportunities for a wide range of stakeholders. Yet these risks and opportunities have not been well managed due in part to the lack of quantitative understanding of human dependence on ecosystem services. Here, we propose an index of dependence on ecosystem services (IDES) system to quantify human dependence on ecosystem services. We demonstrate the construction of the IDES system using household survey data. We show that the overall index and sub-indices can reflect the general pattern of households' dependences on ecosystem services, and their variations across time, space, and different forms of capital (i.e., natural, human, financial, manufactured, and social capitals). We support the proposition that the poor are more dependent on ecosystem services and further generalize this proposition by arguing that those disadvantaged groups who possess low levels of any form of capital except for natural capital are more dependent on ecosystem services than those with greater control of capital. The higher value of the overall IDES or sub-index represents the higher dependence on the corresponding ecosystem services, and thus the higher vulnerability to the degradation or decline of corresponding ecosystem services. The IDES system improves our understanding of human dependence on ecosystem services. It also provides insights into strategies for alleviating poverty, for targeting priority groups of conservation programs, and for managing risks and opportunities due to changes of ecosystem services at multiple scales. PMID:23717634

Going beyond the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment: an index system of human dependence on ecosystem services.

PubMed

Yang, Wu; Dietz, Thomas; Liu, Wei; Luo, Junyan; Liu, Jianguo

2013-01-01

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) estimated that two thirds of ecosystem services on the earth have degraded or are in decline due to the unprecedented scale of human activities during recent decades. These changes will have tremendous consequences for human well-being, and offer both risks and opportunities for a wide range of stakeholders. Yet these risks and opportunities have not been well managed due in part to the lack of quantitative understanding of human dependence on ecosystem services. Here, we propose an index of dependence on ecosystem services (IDES) system to quantify human dependence on ecosystem services. We demonstrate the construction of the IDES system using household survey data. We show that the overall index and sub-indices can reflect the general pattern of households' dependences on ecosystem services, and their variations across time, space, and different forms of capital (i.e., natural, human, financial, manufactured, and social capitals). We support the proposition that the poor are more dependent on ecosystem services and further generalize this proposition by arguing that those disadvantaged groups who possess low levels of any form of capital except for natural capital are more dependent on ecosystem services than those with greater control of capital. The higher value of the overall IDES or sub-index represents the higher dependence on the corresponding ecosystem services, and thus the higher vulnerability to the degradation or decline of corresponding ecosystem services. The IDES system improves our understanding of human dependence on ecosystem services. It also provides insights into strategies for alleviating poverty, for targeting priority groups of conservation programs, and for managing risks and opportunities due to changes of ecosystem services at multiple scales.

Fishing for ecosystem services.

PubMed

Pope, Kevin L; Pegg, Mark A; Cole, Nicholas W; Siddons, Stephen F; Fedele, Alexis D; Harmon, Brian S; Ruskamp, Ryan L; Turner, Dylan R; Uerling, Caleb C

2016-12-01

Ecosystems are commonly exploited and manipulated to maximize certain human benefits. Such changes can degrade systems, leading to cascading negative effects that may be initially undetected, yet ultimately result in a reduction, or complete loss, of certain valuable ecosystem services. Ecosystem-based management is intended to maintain ecosystem quality and minimize the risk of irreversible change to natural assemblages of species and to ecosystem processes while obtaining and maintaining long-term socioeconomic benefits. We discuss policy decisions in fishery management related to commonly manipulated environments with a focus on influences to ecosystem services. By focusing on broader scales, managing for ecosystem services, and taking a more proactive approach, we expect sustainable, quality fisheries that are resilient to future disturbances. To that end, we contend that: (1) management always involves tradeoffs; (2) explicit management of fisheries for ecosystem services could facilitate a transition from reactive to proactive management; and (3) adaptive co-management is a process that could enhance management for ecosystem services. We propose adaptive co-management with an ecosystem service framework where actions are implemented within ecosystem boundaries, rather than political boundaries, through strong interjurisdictional relationships. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Fishing for ecosystem services

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pope, Kevin L.; Pegg, Mark A.; Cole, Nicholas W.; Siddons, Stephen F.; Fedele, Alexis D.; Harmon, Brian S.; Ruskamp, Ryan L.; Turner, Dylan R.; Uerling, Caleb C.

2016-01-01

Ecosystems are commonly exploited and manipulated to maximize certain human benefits. Such changes can degrade systems, leading to cascading negative effects that may be initially undetected, yet ultimately result in a reduction, or complete loss, of certain valuable ecosystem services. Ecosystem-based management is intended to maintain ecosystem quality and minimize the risk of irreversible change to natural assemblages of species and to ecosystem processes while obtaining and maintaining long-term socioeconomic benefits. We discuss policy decisions in fishery management related to commonly manipulated environments with a focus on influences to ecosystem services. By focusing on broader scales, managing for ecosystem services, and taking a more proactive approach, we expect sustainable, quality fisheries that are resilient to future disturbances. To that end, we contend that: (1) management always involves tradeoffs; (2) explicit management of fisheries for ecosystem services could facilitate a transition from reactive to proactive management; and (3) adaptive co-management is a process that could enhance management for ecosystem services. We propose adaptive co-management with an ecosystem service framework where actions are implemented within ecosystem boundaries, rather than political boundaries, through strong interjurisdictional relationships.

Global mapping of ecosystem services and conservation priorities

PubMed Central

Naidoo, R.; Balmford, A.; Costanza, R.; Fisher, B.; Green, R. E.; Lehner, B.; Malcolm, T. R.; Ricketts, T. H.

2008-01-01

Global efforts to conserve biodiversity have the potential to deliver economic benefits to people (i.e., “ecosystem services”). However, regions for which conservation benefits both biodiversity and ecosystem services cannot be identified unless ecosystem services can be quantified and valued and their areas of production mapped. Here we review the theory, data, and analyses needed to produce such maps and find that data availability allows us to quantify imperfect global proxies for only four ecosystem services. Using this incomplete set as an illustration, we compare ecosystem service maps with the global distributions of conventional targets for biodiversity conservation. Our preliminary results show that regions selected to maximize biodiversity provide no more ecosystem services than regions chosen randomly. Furthermore, spatial concordance among different services, and between ecosystem services and established conservation priorities, varies widely. Despite this lack of general concordance, “win–win” areas—regions important for both ecosystem services and biodiversity—can be usefully identified, both among ecoregions and at finer scales within them. An ambitious interdisciplinary research effort is needed to move beyond these preliminary and illustrative analyses to fully assess synergies and trade-offs in conserving biodiversity and ecosystem services. PMID:18621701

Towards a Threat Assessment Framework for Ecosystem Services.

PubMed

Maron, Martine; Mitchell, Matthew G E; Runting, Rebecca K; Rhodes, Jonathan R; Mace, Georgina M; Keith, David A; Watson, James E M

2017-04-01

How can we tell if the ecosystem services upon which we rely are at risk of being lost, potentially permanently? Ecosystem services underpin human well-being, but we lack a consistent approach for categorizing the extent to which they are threatened. We present an assessment framework for assessing the degree to which the adequate and sustainable provision of a given ecosystem service is threatened. Our framework combines information on the states and trends of both ecosystem service supply and demand, with reference to two critical thresholds: demand exceeding supply and ecosystem service 'extinction'. This framework can provide a basis for global, national, and regional assessments of threat to ecosystem services, and accompany existing assessments of threat to species and ecosystems. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reframing landscape fragmentation's effects on ecosystem services.

PubMed

Mitchell, Matthew G E; Suarez-Castro, Andrés F; Martinez-Harms, Maria; Maron, Martine; McAlpine, Clive; Gaston, Kevin J; Johansen, Kasper; Rhodes, Jonathan R

2015-04-01

Landscape structure and fragmentation have important effects on ecosystem services, with a common assumption being that fragmentation reduces service provision. This is based on fragmentation's expected effects on ecosystem service supply, but ignores how fragmentation influences the flow of services to people. Here we develop a new conceptual framework that explicitly considers the links between landscape fragmentation, the supply of services, and the flow of services to people. We argue that fragmentation's effects on ecosystem service flow can be positive or negative, and use our framework to construct testable hypotheses about the effects of fragmentation on final ecosystem service provision. Empirical efforts to apply and test this framework are critical to improving landscape management for multiple ecosystem services. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Managing for delicious ecosystem service under climate change: can United States sugar maple (Acer saccharum) syrup production be maintained in a warming climate?

Treesearch

Stephen N. Matthews; Louis R. Iverson

2017-01-01

Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) is a highly valued tree in United States (US) and Canada, and its sap when collected from taps and concentrated, makes a delicious syrup. Understanding how this resource may be impacted by climate change and other threats is essential to continue management for maple syrup into the future. Here, we evaluate the current...

The biodiversity-dependent ecosystem service debt.

PubMed

Isbell, Forest; Tilman, David; Polasky, Stephen; Loreau, Michel

2015-02-01

Habitat destruction is driving biodiversity loss in remaining ecosystems, and ecosystem functioning and services often directly depend on biodiversity. Thus, biodiversity loss is likely creating an ecosystem service debt: a gradual loss of biodiversity-dependent benefits that people obtain from remaining fragments of natural ecosystems. Here, we develop an approach for quantifying ecosystem service debts, and illustrate its use to estimate how one anthropogenic driver, habitat destruction, could indirectly diminish one ecosystem service, carbon storage, by creating an extinction debt. We estimate that c. 2-21 Pg C could be gradually emitted globally in remaining ecosystem fragments because of plant species loss caused by nearby habitat destruction. The wide range for this estimate reflects substantial uncertainties in how many plant species will be lost, how much species loss will impact ecosystem functioning and whether plant species loss will decrease soil carbon. Our exploratory analysis suggests that biodiversity-dependent ecosystem service debts can be globally substantial, even when locally small, if they occur diffusely across vast areas of remaining ecosystems. There is substantial value in conserving not only the quantity (area), but also the quality (biodiversity) of natural ecosystems for the sustainable provision of ecosystem services. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

Trends in ecosystem service research: early steps and current drivers.

PubMed

Vihervaara, Petteri; Rönkä, Mia; Walls, Mari

2010-06-01

Over the past 50 years, human beings have influenced ecosystems more rapidly than at any similar time in human history, drastically altering ecosystem functioning. Along with ecosystem transformation and degradation, a number of studies have addressed the functioning, assessment and management of ecosystems. The concept of ecosystem services has been developed in the scientific literature since the end of the 1970s. However, ecosystem service research has focused on certain service categories, ecosystem types, and geographical areas, while substantial knowledge gaps remain concerning several aspects. We assess the development and current status of ecosystem service research on the basis of publications collected from the Web of Science. The material consists of (1) articles (n = 353) from all the years included in the Web of Science down to the completion of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and (2) more recent articles (n = 687) published between 2006 and 2008. We also assess the importance of international processes, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Kyoto Protocol and the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, as drivers of ecosystem service research. Finally, we identify future prospects and research needs concerning the assessment and management of ecosystem services.

Implementing the optimal provision of ecosystem services

PubMed Central

Polasky, Stephen; Lewis, David J.; Plantinga, Andrew J.; Nelson, Erik

2014-01-01

Many ecosystem services are public goods whose provision depends on the spatial pattern of land use. The pattern of land use is often determined by the decisions of multiple private landowners. Increasing the provision of ecosystem services, though beneficial for society as a whole, may be costly to private landowners. A regulator interested in providing incentives to landowners for increased provision of ecosystem services often lacks complete information on landowners’ costs. The combination of spatially dependent benefits and asymmetric cost information means that the optimal provision of ecosystem services cannot be achieved using standard regulatory or payment for ecosystem services approaches. Here we show that an auction that sets payments between landowners and the regulator for the increased value of ecosystem services with conservation provides incentives for landowners to truthfully reveal cost information, and allows the regulator to implement the optimal provision of ecosystem services, even in the case with spatially dependent benefits and asymmetric information. PMID:24722635

Development of a concept for non-monetary assessment of urban ecosystem services at the site level.

PubMed

Wurster, Daniel; Artmann, Martina

2014-05-01

Determining the performance of ecosystem services at the city or regional level cannot accurately take into account the fine differences between green or gray structures. The supply of regulating ecosystem services in, for instance, parks can differ as parks vary in their land cover composition. A comprehensive ecosystem service assessment approach also needs to reflect land use to consider the demands placed on ecosystem services, which are mostly neglected by current research yet important for urban planning. For instance, if a sealed surface is no longer used, it could be unsealed to improve ecosystem service supply. Because of these scientific shortcomings, this article argues for a conceptual framework for the non-monetary assessment of urban ecosystem services at the site scale. This paper introduces a standardized method for selecting representative sites and evaluating their supply of and demand on ecosystem services. The conceptual design is supplemented by examples of Salzburg, Austria.

Implementing the optimal provision of ecosystem services.

PubMed

Polasky, Stephen; Lewis, David J; Plantinga, Andrew J; Nelson, Erik

2014-04-29

Many ecosystem services are public goods whose provision depends on the spatial pattern of land use. The pattern of land use is often determined by the decisions of multiple private landowners. Increasing the provision of ecosystem services, though beneficial for society as a whole, may be costly to private landowners. A regulator interested in providing incentives to landowners for increased provision of ecosystem services often lacks complete information on landowners' costs. The combination of spatially dependent benefits and asymmetric cost information means that the optimal provision of ecosystem services cannot be achieved using standard regulatory or payment for ecosystem services approaches. Here we show that an auction that sets payments between landowners and the regulator for the increased value of ecosystem services with conservation provides incentives for landowners to truthfully reveal cost information, and allows the regulator to implement the optimal provision of ecosystem services, even in the case with spatially dependent benefits and asymmetric information.

[Evaluation of ecosystem service and emergy of Wanshan Waters in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China].

PubMed

Qin, Chuan-xin; Chen, Pi-mao; Zhang, An-kai; Yuan, Hua; Li, Guo-ying; Shu, Li-ming; Zhou, Yan-bo; Li, Xiao-guo

2015-06-01

The method for monetary value and emergy value analysis of ecosystem service was used in this paper to analyze the change in value of marine ecosystem service of Wanshan District, Zhuhai from 2007 to 2012. The result showed that the monetary value and emergy value of marine ecosystem service of Wanshan District, Zhuhai rose to 11512840000 yuan and 1.97 x 10(22) sej from 7721630000 yuan and 1.04 x 10(22) sej, respectively. Both monetary value and emergy value could forecast the change in the value of marine ecosystem service, but they reflected different value structures and ecological energy, which could be used to more objectively evaluate the ecosystem service. Ecological civilization development, as an inherent driving force to impel the development of marine ecosystem service structure, was important for rational exploitation of marine resources and optimization of marine ecosystem service.

A Global Meta-Analysis of the Value of Ecosystem Services Provided by Lakes.

PubMed

Reynaud, Arnaud; Lanzanova, Denis

2017-07-01

This study presents the first meta-analysis on the economic value of ecosystem services delivered by lakes. A worldwide data set of 699 observations drawn from 133 studies combines information reported in primary studies with geospatial data. The meta-analysis explores antagonisms and synergies between ecosystem services. This is the first meta-analysis to incorporate simultaneously external geospatial data and ecosystem service interactions. We first show that it is possible to reliably predict the value of ecosystem services provided by lakes based on their physical and geographic characteristics. Second, we demonstrate that interactions between ecosystem services appear to be significant for explaining lake ecosystem service values. Third, we provide an estimation of the average value of ecosystem services provided by lakes: between 106 and 140 USD$2010 per respondent per year for non-hedonic price studies and between 169 and 403 USD$2010 per property per year for hedonic price studies.

Linking biophysical models and public preferences for ecosystem service assessments: a case study for the Southern Rocky Mountains

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bagstad, Kenneth J.; Reed, James; Semmens, Darius J.; Sherrouse, Ben C.; Troy, Austin

2016-01-01

Through extensive research, ecosystem services have been mapped using both survey-based and biophysical approaches, but comparative mapping of public values and those quantified using models has been lacking. In this paper, we mapped hot and cold spots for perceived and modeled ecosystem services by synthesizing results from a social-values mapping study of residents living near the Pike–San Isabel National Forest (PSI), located in the Southern Rocky Mountains, with corresponding biophysically modeled ecosystem services. Social-value maps for the PSI were developed using the Social Values for Ecosystem Services tool, providing statistically modeled continuous value surfaces for 12 value types, including aesthetic, biodiversity, and life-sustaining values. Biophysically modeled maps of carbon sequestration and storage, scenic viewsheds, sediment regulation, and water yield were generated using the Artificial Intelligence for Ecosystem Services tool. Hotspots for both perceived and modeled services were disproportionately located within the PSI’s wilderness areas. Additionally, we used regression analysis to evaluate spatial relationships between perceived biodiversity and cultural ecosystem services and corresponding biophysical model outputs. Our goal was to determine whether publicly valued locations for aesthetic, biodiversity, and life-sustaining values relate meaningfully to results from corresponding biophysical ecosystem service models. We found weak relationships between perceived and biophysically modeled services, indicating that public perception of ecosystem service provisioning regions is limited. We believe that biophysical and social approaches to ecosystem service mapping can serve as methodological complements that can advance ecosystem services-based resource management, benefitting resource managers by showing potential locations of synergy or conflict between areas supplying ecosystem services and those valued by the public.

Aquatic biodiversity in forests: A weak link in ecosystem services resilience

USGS Publications Warehouse

Penaluna, Brooke E.; Olson, Deanna H.; Flitcroft, Rebecca L; Weber, Matthew A.; Bellmore, J. Ryan; Wondzell, Steven M.; Dunham, Jason B.; Johnson, Sherri L.; Reeves, Gordon H.

2017-01-01

The diversity of aquatic ecosystems is being quickly reduced on many continents, warranting a closer examination of the consequences for ecological integrity and ecosystem services. Here we describe intermediate and final ecosystem services derived from aquatic biodiversity in forests. We include a summary of the factors framing the assembly of aquatic biodiversity in forests in natural systems and how they change with a variety of natural disturbances and human-derived stressors. We consider forested aquatic ecosystems as a multi-state portfolio, with diverse assemblages and life-history strategies occurring at local scales as a consequence of a mosaic of habitat conditions and past disturbances and stressors. Maintaining this multi-state portfolio of assemblages requires a broad perspective of ecosystem structure, various functions, services, and management implications relative to contemporary stressors. Because aquatic biodiversity provides multiple ecosystem services to forests, activities that compromise aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity could be an issue for maintaining forest ecosystem integrity. We illustrate these concepts with examples of aquatic biodiversity and ecosystem services in forests of northwestern North America, also known as Northeast Pacific Rim. Encouraging management planning at broad as well as local spatial scales to recognize multi-state ecosystem management goals has promise for maintaining valuable ecosystem services. Ultimately, integration of information from socio-ecological ecosystems will be needed to maintain ecosystem services derived directly and indirectly from forest aquatic biota.

Tales from the Jungle: The Evolving Climate Services Ecosystem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Redmond, K. T.

2015-12-01

In 2001 the NRC Report "A Climate Services Vision: First Steps Toward the Future" examined the state and trends of climate services. That report included a definition of this term that has lost no relevance: "The timely production and delivery of useful climate data, information, and knowledge to decision makers." The original entities delivering such services, at the state level, are represented by the American Association of State Climatologists (AASC). In 1986 the NOAA Regional Climate Center program was initiated, followed in 1994 by the NOAA Regional Climate Sciences and Assessments. Since 2010 we have seen the establishment of the USDI Climate Science Centers and the Landscape Conservation Cooperatives, the NOAA Regional Climate Service Directors, and the USDA Regional Climate Hubs. The recent expansion of formal programs has essentially filled out the agency "niche space." Other non-governmental and private entities are also expanding into this space. The present profusion runs a risk of creating a perception of excessive duplication in some quarters, including those funding these enterprises. Collectively these activities form what can be thought of as an ecosystem of climate services. A certain amount of replication is desirable, healthy, and necessary, but beyond some point can be excessive unless the total capacity remains insufficient. Each component has come into existence for a different set of reasons. Since these components were invented by human beings, their subsequent evolution can in theory be guided by humans. The history and purpose of each component needs to be borne in mind, with capsule descriptions suitable for rapid delivery to the decision-makers who approve the support for the various components. Good communication among the components is therefore essential for a healthy and functional overall system. This in turn calls for the ability to adequately represent the role of each of those components, a purpose best informed through actual participation in multiple components, to obtain the necessary familiarity.

Stormwater management and ecosystem services: a review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prudencio, Liana; Null, Sarah E.

2018-03-01

Researchers and water managers have turned to green stormwater infrastructure, such as bioswales, retention basins, wetlands, rain gardens, and urban green spaces to reduce flooding, augment surface water supplies, recharge groundwater, and improve water quality. It is increasingly clear that green stormwater infrastructure not only controls stormwater volume and timing, but also promotes ecosystem services, which are the benefits that ecosystems provide to humans. Yet there has been little synthesis focused on understanding how green stormwater management affects ecosystem services. The objectives of this paper are to review and synthesize published literature on ecosystem services and green stormwater infrastructure and identify gaps in research and understanding, establishing a foundation for research at the intersection of ecosystems services and green stormwater management. We reviewed 170 publications on stormwater management and ecosystem services, and summarized the state-of-the-science categorized by the four types of ecosystem services. Major findings show that: (1) most research was conducted at the parcel-scale and should expand to larger scales to more closely understand green stormwater infrastructure impacts, (2) nearly a third of papers developed frameworks for implementing green stormwater infrastructure and highlighted barriers, (3) papers discussed ecosystem services, but less than 40% quantified ecosystem services, (4) no geographic trends emerged, indicating interest in applying green stormwater infrastructure across different contexts, (5) studies increasingly integrate engineering, physical science, and social science approaches for holistic understanding, and (6) standardizing green stormwater infrastructure terminology would provide a more cohesive field of study than the diverse and often redundant terminology currently in use. We recommend that future research provide metrics and quantify ecosystem services, integrate disciplines to measure ecosystem services from green stormwater infrastructure, and better incorporate stormwater management into environmental policy. Our conclusions outline promising future research directions at the intersection of stormwater management and ecosystem services.

Ecosystem services as a common language for coastal ecosystem-based management.

PubMed

Granek, Elise F; Polasky, Stephen; Kappel, Carrie V; Reed, Denise J; Stoms, David M; Koch, Evamaria W; Kennedy, Chris J; Cramer, Lori A; Hacker, Sally D; Barbier, Edward B; Aswani, Shankar; Ruckelshaus, Mary; Perillo, Gerardo M E; Silliman, Brian R; Muthiga, Nyawira; Bael, David; Wolanski, Eric

2010-02-01

Ecosystem-based management is logistically and politically challenging because ecosystems are inherently complex and management decisions affect a multitude of groups. Coastal ecosystems, which lie at the interface between marine and terrestrial ecosystems and provide an array of ecosystem services to different groups, aptly illustrate these challenges. Successful ecosystem-based management of coastal ecosystems requires incorporating scientific information and the knowledge and views of interested parties into the decision-making process. Estimating the provision of ecosystem services under alternative management schemes offers a systematic way to incorporate biogeophysical and socioeconomic information and the views of individuals and groups in the policy and management process. Employing ecosystem services as a common language to improve the process of ecosystem-based management presents both benefits and difficulties. Benefits include a transparent method for assessing trade-offs associated with management alternatives, a common set of facts and common currency on which to base negotiations, and improved communication among groups with competing interests or differing worldviews. Yet challenges to this approach remain, including predicting how human interventions will affect ecosystems, how such changes will affect the provision of ecosystem services, and how changes in service provision will affect the welfare of different groups in society. In a case study from Puget Sound, Washington, we illustrate the potential of applying ecosystem services as a common language for ecosystem-based management.

Ecosystem Services Assessment of the Nemunas River Delta

EPA Science Inventory

The concept of ecosystem services recognizes the services, and benefits, provided to people by ecosystems. The Nemunas River Delta, in Lithuania, provides many ecosystem services to the people of the area, including food, fuel, transportation, climate regulation, water purificati...

The role of palaeoecological records in assessing ecosystem services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeffers, Elizabeth S.; Nogué, Sandra; Willis, Katherine J.

2015-03-01

Biological conservation and environmental management are increasingly focussing on the preservation and restoration of ecosystem services (i.e. the benefits that humans receive from the natural functioning of healthy ecosystems). Over the past decade there has been a rapid increase in the number of palaeoecological studies that have contributed to conservation of biodiversity and management of ecosystem processes; however, there are relatively few instances in which attempts have been made to estimate the continuity of ecosystem goods and services over time. How resistant is an ecosystem service to environmental perturbations? And, if damaged, how long it does it take an ecosystem service to recover? Both questions are highly relevant to conservation and management of landscapes that are important for ecosystem service provision and require an in-depth understanding of the way ecosystems function in space and time. An understanding of time is particularly relevant for those ecosystem services - be they supporting, provisioning, regulating or cultural services that involve processes that vary over a decadal (or longer) timeframe. Most trees, for example, have generation times >50 years. Understanding the response of forested ecosystems to environmental perturbations and therefore the continuity of the ecosystem services they provide for human well-being - be it for example, carbon draw-down (regulating service) or timber (provisioning service) - requires datasets that reflect the typical replacement rates in these systems and the lifecycle of processes that alter their trajectories of change. Therefore, data are required that span decadal to millennial time-scales. Very rarely, however, is this information available from neo-ecological datasets and in many ecosystem service assessments, this lack of a temporal record is acknowledged as a significant information gap. This review aims to address this knowledge gap by examining the type and nature of palaeoecological datasets that might be critical to assessing the persistence of ecosystem services across a variety of time scales. Specifically we examine the types of palaeoecological records that can inform on the dynamics of ecosystem processes and services over time - and their response to complex environmental changes. We focus on three key areas: a) exploring the suitability of palaeoecological records for examining variability in space and time of ecosystem processes; b) using palaeoecological data to determine the resilience and persistence of ecosystem services and goods over time in response to drivers of change; and c) how best to translate raw palaeoecological data into the relevant currencies required for ecosystem service assessments.

FEGS at the inflection point: How linking Ecosystem Services to Human Benefit improves management of coastal ecosystems.

EPA Science Inventory

Final ecosystem goods and services (FEGS) are the connection between the ecosystem resources and human stakeholders that benefit from natural capital. The FEGS concept is an extension of the ecosystem services (ES) concept (e.g., Millennium Ecosystem Assessment) and results from...

Tracing the Fate of Atmospheric Nitrate in a Subalpine Watershed Using Δ17O.

PubMed

Bourgeois, Ilann; Savarino, Joël; Caillon, Nicolas; Angot, Hélène; Barbero, Albane; Delbart, Franck; Voisin, Didier; Clément, Jean-Christophe

2018-05-15

Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for life on Earth, but in excess, it can lead to environmental issues (e.g., N saturation, loss of biodiversity, acidification of lakes, etc.). Understanding the nitrogen budget (i.e., inputs and outputs) is essential to evaluate the prospective decay of the ecosystem services (e.g., freshwater quality, erosion control, loss of high patrimonial-value plant species, etc.) that subalpine headwater catchments provide, especially as these ecosystems experience high atmospheric nitrogen deposition. Here, we use a multi-isotopic tracer (Δ 17 O, δ 15 N and δ 18 O) of nitrate in aerosols, snow, and streams to assess the fate of atmospherically deposited nitrate in the subalpine watershed of the Lautaret Pass (French Alps). We show that atmospheric N deposition contributes significantly to stream nitrate pool year-round, either by direct inputs (up to 35%) or by in situ nitrification of atmospheric ammonium (up to 35%). Snowmelt in particular leads to high exports of atmospheric nitrate, most likely fast enough to impede assimilation by surrounding ecosystems. Yet, in a context of climate change, with shorter snow seasons, and increasing nitrogen emissions, our results hint at possibly stronger ecological consequences of nitrogen atmospheric deposition in the close future.

The challenges of incorporating cultural ecosystem services into environmental assessment.

PubMed

Satz, Debra; Gould, Rachelle K; Chan, Kai M A; Guerry, Anne; Norton, Bryan; Satterfield, Terre; Halpern, Benjamin S; Levine, Jordan; Woodside, Ulalia; Hannahs, Neil; Basurto, Xavier; Klain, Sarah

2013-10-01

The ecosystem services concept is used to make explicit the diverse benefits ecosystems provide to people, with the goal of improving assessment and, ultimately, decision-making. Alongside material benefits such as natural resources (e.g., clean water, timber), this concept includes-through the 'cultural' category of ecosystem services-diverse non-material benefits that people obtain through interactions with ecosystems (e.g., spiritual inspiration, cultural identity, recreation). Despite the longstanding focus of ecosystem services research on measurement, most cultural ecosystem services have defined measurement and inclusion alongside other more 'material' services. This gap in measurement of cultural ecosystem services is a product of several perceived problems, some of which are not real problems and some of which can be mitigated or even solved without undue difficulty. Because of the fractured nature of the literature, these problems continue to plague the discussion of cultural services. In this paper we discuss several such problems, which although they have been addressed singly, have not been brought together in a single discussion. There is a need for a single, accessible treatment of the importance and feasibility of integrating cultural ecosystem services alongside others.

Value Assessment of Ecosystem Services in Nature Reserves in Ningxia, China: A Response to Ecological Restoration

PubMed Central

Wang, Yan; Gao, Jixi; Wang, Jinsheng; Qiu, Jie

2014-01-01

Changes in land use can cause significant changes in the ecosystem structure and process variation of ecosystem services. This study presents a detailed spatial, quantitative assessment of the variation in the value of ecosystem services based on land use change in national nature reserves of the Ningxia autonomous region in China. We used areas of land use types calculated from the remote sensing data and the adjusted value coefficients to assess the value of ecosystem services for the years 2000, 2005, and 2010, analyzing the fluctuations in the valuation of ecosystem services in response to land use change. With increases in the areas of forest land and water bodies, the value of ecosystem services increased from 182.3×107 to 223.8×107 US$ during 2000–2010. Grassland and forest land accounted for 90% of this increase. The values of all ecosystem services increased during this period, especially the value of ecosystem services for biodiversity protection and soil formation and protection. Ecological restoration in the reserves had a positive effect on the value of ecosystem services during 2000–2010. PMID:24586571

Changing ecosystem service values following technological change.

PubMed

Honey-Rosés, Jordi; Schneider, Daniel W; Brozović, Nicholas

2014-06-01

Research on ecosystem services has focused mostly on natural areas or remote places, with less attention given to urban ecosystem services and their relationship with technological change. However, recent work by urban ecologists and urban designers has more closely examined and appreciated the opportunities associated with integrating natural and built infrastructures. Nevertheless, a perception remains in the literature on ecosystem services that technology may easily and irreversibly substitute for services previously obtained from ecosystems, especially when the superiority of the engineered system motivated replacement in the first place. We emphasize that the expected tradeoff between natural and manufactured capital is false. Rather, as argued in other contexts, the adoption of new technologies is complementary to ecosystem management. The complementarity of ecosystem services and technology is illustrated with a case study in Barcelona, Spain where the installation of sophisticated water treatment technology increased the value of the ecosystem services found there. Interestingly, the complementarity between natural and built infrastructures may remain even for the very ecosystems that are affected by the technological change. This finding suggests that we can expect the value of ecosystem services to co-evolve with new technologies. Technological innovation can generate new opportunities to harness value from ecosystems, and the engineered structures found in cities may generate more reliance on ecosystem processes, not less.

Practical Strategies for Integrating Final Ecosystem Goods and ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The concept of Final Ecosystem Goods and Services (FEGS) explicitly connects ecosystem services to the people that benefit from them. This report presents a number of practical strategies for incorporating FEGS, and more broadly ecosystem services, into the decision-making process. Whether a decision process is in early or late stages, or whether a process includes informal or formal decision analysis, there are multiple points where ecosystem services concepts can be integrated. This report uses Structured Decision Making (SDM) as an organizing framework to illustrate the role ecosystem services can play in a values-focused decision-process, including: • Clarifying the decision context: Ecosystem services can help clarify the potential impacts of an issue on natural resources together with their spatial and temporal extent based on supply and delivery of those services, and help identify beneficiaries for inclusion as stakeholders in the deliberative process. • Defining objectives and performance measures: Ecosystem services may directly represent stakeholder objectives, or may be means toward achieving other objectives. • Creating alternatives: Ecosystem services can bring to light creative alternatives for achieving other social, economic, health, or general well-being objectives. • Estimating consequences: Ecosystem services assessments can implement ecological production functions (EPFs) and ecological benefits functions (EBFs) to link decision alt

Artificial regeneration: An essential component of longleaf pine ecosystem restoration

Treesearch

James P. Barnett

2000-01-01

Regenerating longleaf pine by artificial means is an essential component of restoring the ecosystem across most of its range because there are limited acres of longleaf stands remaining. Establishing longleaf pine is an early step in the ecosystem restoration process. An overview discussion of artificial regeneration techniques and related issues are presented this...

Invertebrates, ecosystem services and climate change.

PubMed

Prather, Chelse M; Pelini, Shannon L; Laws, Angela; Rivest, Emily; Woltz, Megan; Bloch, Christopher P; Del Toro, Israel; Ho, Chuan-Kai; Kominoski, John; Newbold, T A Scott; Parsons, Sheena; Joern, A

2013-05-01

The sustainability of ecosystem services depends on a firm understanding of both how organisms provide these services to humans and how these organisms will be altered with a changing climate. Unquestionably a dominant feature of most ecosystems, invertebrates affect many ecosystem services and are also highly responsive to climate change. However, there is still a basic lack of understanding of the direct and indirect paths by which invertebrates influence ecosystem services, as well as how climate change will affect those ecosystem services by altering invertebrate populations. This indicates a lack of communication and collaboration among scientists researching ecosystem services and climate change effects on invertebrates, and land managers and researchers from other disciplines, which becomes obvious when systematically reviewing the literature relevant to invertebrates, ecosystem services, and climate change. To address this issue, we review how invertebrates respond to climate change. We then review how invertebrates both positively and negatively influence ecosystem services. Lastly, we provide some critical future directions for research needs, and suggest ways in which managers, scientists and other researchers may collaborate to tackle the complex issue of sustaining invertebrate-mediated services under a changing climate. © 2012 The Authors. Biological Reviews © 2012 Cambridge Philosophical Society.

Exploring the Capacity of Water Framework Directive Indices to Assess Ecosystem Services in Fluvial and Riparian Systems: Towards a Second Implementation Phase.

PubMed

Vidal-Abarca, M R; Santos-Martín, F; Martín-López, B; Sánchez-Montoya, M M; Suárez Alonso, M L

2016-06-01

We explored the capacity of the biological and hydromorphological indices used in the Water Framework Directive (WFD) to assess ecosystem services by evaluating the ecological status of Spanish River Basins. This analysis relies on an exhaustive bibliography review which showed scientific evidence of the interlinkages between some ecosystem services and different hydromorphological and biological elements which have been used as indices in the WFD. Our findings indicate that, of a total of 38 ecosystem services analyzed, biological and hydromorphological indices can fully evaluate four ecosystem services. In addition, 18 ecosystem services can be partly evaluated by some of the analyzed indices, while 11 are not related with the indices. While Riparian Forest Quality was the index that was able to assess the largest number of ecosystem services (N = 12), the two indices of macrophytes offered very poor guarantees. Finally, biological indices related to diatoms and aquatic invertebrates and the Fluvial Habitat Index can be related with 7, 6, and 6 ecosystem services, respectively. Because the WFD indices currently used in Spain are not able to assess most of the ecosystem services analyzed, we suggest that there is potential to develop the second phase of the WFD implementation taking this approach into consideration. The incorporation of the ecosystem services approach into the WFD could provide the framework for assess the impacts of human activities on the quality of fluvial ecosystems and could give insights for water and watershed management in order to guarantee the delivery of multiple ecosystem services.

Impact of perceived importance of ecosystem services and stated financial constraints on willingness to pay for riparian meadow restoration in Flanders (Belgium).

PubMed

Chen, Wendy Y; Aertsens, Joris; Liekens, Inge; Broekx, Steven; De Nocker, Leo

2014-08-01

The strategic importance of ecosystem service valuation as an operational basis for policy decisions on natural restoration has been increasingly recognized in order to align the provision of ecosystem services with the expectation of human society. The contingent valuation method (CVM) is widely used to quantify various ecosystem services. However, two areas of concern arise: (1) whether people value specific functional ecosystem services and overlook some intrinsic aspects of natural restoration, and (2) whether people understand the temporal dimension of ecosystem services and payment schedules given in the contingent scenarios. Using a peri-urban riparian meadow restoration project in Flanders, Belgium as a case, we explored the impacts of residents' perceived importance of various ecosystem services and stated financial constraints on their willingness-to-pay for the proposed restoration project employing the CVM. The results indicated that people tended to value all the benefits of riparian ecosystem restoration concurrently, although they accorded different importances to each individual category of ecosystem services. A longer payment scheme can help the respondents to think more about the flow of ecosystem services into future generations. A weak temporal embedding effect can be detected, which might be attributed to respondents' concern about current financial constraints, rather than financial bindings associated with their income and perceived future financial constraints. This demonstrates the multidimensionality of respondents' financial concerns in CV. This study sheds light on refining future CV studies, especially with regard to public expectation of ecosystem services and the temporal dimension of ecosystem services and payment schedules.

Impact of Perceived Importance of Ecosystem Services and Stated Financial Constraints on Willingness to Pay for Riparian Meadow Restoration in Flanders (Belgium)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Wendy Y.; Aertsens, Joris; Liekens, Inge; Broekx, Steven; De Nocker, Leo

2014-08-01

The strategic importance of ecosystem service valuation as an operational basis for policy decisions on natural restoration has been increasingly recognized in order to align the provision of ecosystem services with the expectation of human society. The contingent valuation method (CVM) is widely used to quantify various ecosystem services. However, two areas of concern arise: (1) whether people value specific functional ecosystem services and overlook some intrinsic aspects of natural restoration, and (2) whether people understand the temporal dimension of ecosystem services and payment schedules given in the contingent scenarios. Using a peri-urban riparian meadow restoration project in Flanders, Belgium as a case, we explored the impacts of residents' perceived importance of various ecosystem services and stated financial constraints on their willingness-to-pay for the proposed restoration project employing the CVM. The results indicated that people tended to value all the benefits of riparian ecosystem restoration concurrently, although they accorded different importances to each individual category of ecosystem services. A longer payment scheme can help the respondents to think more about the flow of ecosystem services into future generations. A weak temporal embedding effect can be detected, which might be attributed to respondents' concern about current financial constraints, rather than financial bindings associated with their income and perceived future financial constraints. This demonstrates the multidimensionality of respondents' financial concerns in CV. This study sheds light on refining future CV studies, especially with regard to public expectation of ecosystem services and the temporal dimension of ecosystem services and payment schedules.

Priorities to Advance Monitoring of Ecosystem Services Using Earth Observation.

PubMed

Cord, Anna F; Brauman, Kate A; Chaplin-Kramer, Rebecca; Huth, Andreas; Ziv, Guy; Seppelt, Ralf

2017-06-01

Managing ecosystem services in the context of global sustainability policies requires reliable monitoring mechanisms. While satellite Earth observation offers great promise to support this need, significant challenges remain in quantifying connections between ecosystem functions, ecosystem services, and human well-being benefits. Here, we provide a framework showing how Earth observation together with socioeconomic information and model-based analysis can support assessments of ecosystem service supply, demand, and benefit, and illustrate this for three services. We argue that the full potential of Earth observation is not yet realized in ecosystem service studies. To provide guidance for priority setting and to spur research in this area, we propose five priorities to advance the capabilities of Earth observation-based monitoring of ecosystem services. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Second-Tier Database for Ecosystem Focus, 2003-2004 Annual Report.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

University of Washington, Columbia Basin Research, DART Project Staff,

2004-12-01

The Second-Tier Database for Ecosystem Focus (Contract 00004124) provides direct and timely public access to Columbia Basin environmental, operational, fishery and riverine data resources for federal, state, public and private entities essential to sound operational and resource management. The database also assists with juvenile and adult mainstem passage modeling supporting federal decisions affecting the operation of the FCRPS. The Second-Tier Database known as Data Access in Real Time (DART) integrates public data for effective access, consideration and application. DART also provides analysis tools and performance measures for evaluating the condition of Columbia Basin salmonid stocks. These services are critical tomore » BPA's implementation of its fish and wildlife responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).« less

The Survey on Near Field Communication.

PubMed

Coskun, Vedat; Ozdenizci, Busra; Ok, Kerem

2015-06-05

Near Field Communication (NFC) is an emerging short-range wireless communication technology that offers great and varied promise in services such as payment, ticketing, gaming, crowd sourcing, voting, navigation, and many others. NFC technology enables the integration of services from a wide range of applications into one single smartphone. NFC technology has emerged recently, and consequently not much academic data are available yet, although the number of academic research studies carried out in the past two years has already surpassed the total number of the prior works combined. This paper presents the concept of NFC technology in a holistic approach from different perspectives, including hardware improvement and optimization, communication essentials and standards, applications, secure elements, privacy and security, usability analysis, and ecosystem and business issues. Further research opportunities in terms of the academic and business points of view are also explored and discussed at the end of each section. This comprehensive survey will be a valuable guide for researchers and academicians, as well as for business in the NFC technology and ecosystem.

The Survey on Near Field Communication

PubMed Central

Coskun, Vedat; Ozdenizci, Busra; Ok, Kerem

2015-01-01

Near Field Communication (NFC) is an emerging short-range wireless communication technology that offers great and varied promise in services such as payment, ticketing, gaming, crowd sourcing, voting, navigation, and many others. NFC technology enables the integration of services from a wide range of applications into one single smartphone. NFC technology has emerged recently, and consequently not much academic data are available yet, although the number of academic research studies carried out in the past two years has already surpassed the total number of the prior works combined. This paper presents the concept of NFC technology in a holistic approach from different perspectives, including hardware improvement and optimization, communication essentials and standards, applications, secure elements, privacy and security, usability analysis, and ecosystem and business issues. Further research opportunities in terms of the academic and business points of view are also explored and discussed at the end of each section. This comprehensive survey will be a valuable guide for researchers and academicians, as well as for business in the NFC technology and ecosystem. PMID:26057043

The Earth System (ES-DOC) Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greenslade, Mark; Murphy, Sylvia; Treshansky, Allyn; DeLuca, Cecilia; Guilyardi, Eric; Denvil, Sebastien

2014-05-01

ESSI1.3 New Paradigms, Modelling, and International Collaboration Strategies for Earth System Sciences Earth System Documentation (ES-DOC) is an international project supplying tools & services in support of earth system documentation creation, analysis and dissemination. It is nurturing a sustainable standards based documentation eco-system that aims to become an integral part of the next generation of exa-scale dataset archives. ES-DOC leverages open source software and places end-user narratives at the heart of all it does. ES-DOC has initially focused upon nurturing the Earth System Model (ESM) documentation eco-system. Within this context ES-DOC leverages emerging documentation standards and supports the following projects: Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5); Dynamical Core Model Inter-comparison Project (DCMIP); National Climate Predictions and Projections Platforms Quantitative Evaluation of Downscaling Workshop. This presentation will introduce the project to a wider audience and demonstrate the range of tools and services currently available for use. It will also demonstrate how international collaborative efforts are essential to the success of ES-DOC.

Ecosystem Services

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Ecosystem goods and services are the many life-sustaining benefits we receive from nature and contribute to environmental and human health and well-being. Ecosystem-focused research will develop methods to measure ecosystem goods and services.

Evosystem Services: Rapid Evolution and the Provision of Ecosystem Services.

PubMed

Rudman, Seth M; Kreitzman, Maayan; Chan, Kai M A; Schluter, Dolph

2017-06-01

Evolution is recognized as the source of all organisms, and hence many ecosystem services. However, the role that contemporary evolution might play in maintaining and enhancing specific ecosystem services has largely been overlooked. Recent advances at the interface of ecology and evolution have demonstrated how contemporary evolution can shape ecological communities and ecosystem functions. We propose a definition and quantitative criteria to study how rapid evolution affects ecosystem services (here termed contemporary evosystem services) and present plausible scenarios where such services might exist. We advocate for the direct measurement of contemporary evosystem services to improve understanding of how changing environments will alter resource availability and human well-being, and highlight the potential utility of managing rapid evolution for future ecosystem services. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Implications of agricultural transitions and urbanization for ecosystem services.

PubMed

Cumming, Graeme S; Buerkert, Andreas; Hoffmann, Ellen M; Schlecht, Eva; von Cramon-Taubadel, Stephan; Tscharntke, Teja

2014-11-06

Historically, farmers and hunter-gatherers relied directly on ecosystem services, which they both exploited and enjoyed. Urban populations still rely on ecosystems, but prioritize non-ecosystem services (socioeconomic). Population growth and densification increase the scale and change the nature of both ecosystem- and non-ecosystem-service supply and demand, weakening direct feedbacks between ecosystems and societies and potentially pushing social-ecological systems into traps that can lead to collapse. The interacting and mutually reinforcing processes of technological change, population growth and urbanization contribute to over-exploitation of ecosystems through complex feedbacks that have important implications for sustainable resource use.

Uncertainties in ecosystem service maps: a comparison on the European scale.

PubMed

Schulp, Catharina J E; Burkhard, Benjamin; Maes, Joachim; Van Vliet, Jasper; Verburg, Peter H

2014-01-01

Safeguarding the benefits that ecosystems provide to society is increasingly included as a target in international policies. To support such policies, ecosystem service maps are made. However, there is little attention for the accuracy of these maps. We made a systematic review and quantitative comparison of ecosystem service maps on the European scale to generate insights in the uncertainty of ecosystem service maps and discuss the possibilities for quantitative validation. Maps of climate regulation and recreation were reasonably similar while large uncertainties among maps of erosion protection and flood regulation were observed. Pollination maps had a moderate similarity. Differences among the maps were caused by differences in indicator definition, level of process understanding, mapping aim, data sources and methodology. Absence of suitable observed data on ecosystem services provisioning hampers independent validation of the maps. Consequently, there are, so far, no accurate measures for ecosystem service map quality. Policy makers and other users need to be cautious when applying ecosystem service maps for decision-making. The results illustrate the need for better process understanding and data acquisition to advance ecosystem service mapping, modelling and validation.

Community Based Demonstration Projects: Willamette Ecosystem Services Project (WESP)

EPA Science Inventory

EPA’s Ecosystem Services Research Program in the Office of Research and Development is focused on the study of ecosystem services and the benefits to human well-being provided by ecological systems. As part of this research effort, the Willamette Ecosystems Services Project (WE...

Prioritization of Ecosystem Services Research: Tampa Bay Demonstration Project.

EPA Science Inventory

The Tampa Bay Ecosystem Services Demonstration Project (TBESDP) is a component of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Ecosystem Services Research Program. The principal objectives of TBESDP are (1) to quantify the ecosystem services of the Tampa Bay watershed, (2) to deter...

Mapping ecosystem services in the St. Louis River estuary (presentation)

EPA Science Inventory

Management of ecosystems for sustainable provision of services beneficial to human communities requires reliable data about from where in the ecosystem services flow. Our objective is to map ecosystem services in the St. Louis River with the overarching EPA goal of community sust...

Linking Ecosystem Services Benefit Transfer Databases and Ecosystem Services Production Function Libraries

EPA Science Inventory

The quantification or estimation of the economic and non-economic values of ecosystem services can be done from a number of distinct approaches. For example, practitioners may use ecosystem services production function models (ESPFMs) for a particular location, or alternatively, ...

A Binary Approach to Define and Classify Final Ecosystem Goods and Services

EPA Science Inventory

The ecosystem services literature decries the lack of consistency and standards in the application of ecosystem services as well as the inability of current approaches to explicitly link ecosystem services to human well-being. Recently, SEEA and CICES have conceptually identifie...

Operationalizing Ecosystem Services Indicators for Policy and Decision-Making

EPA Science Inventory

The ecosystem services concept has gained popularity as a means of linking ecosystem goods and services to human well-being. Despite its popularity as a concept, there is much progress needed in operationalizing ecosystem services indicators before they are useful for policy and...

Identifying spatial priorities for protecting ecosystem services

PubMed Central

Luck, Gary W

2012-01-01

Priorities for protecting ecosystem services must be identified to ensure future human well-being. Approaches to broad-scale spatial prioritization of ecosystem services are becoming increasingly popular and are a vital precursor to identifying locations where further detailed analyses of the management of ecosystem services is required (e.g., examining trade-offs among management actions). Prioritization approaches often examine the spatial congruence between priorities for protecting ecosystem services and priorities for protecting biodiversity; therefore, the spatial prioritization method used is crucial because it will influence the alignment of service protection and conservation goals. While spatial prioritization of ecosystem services and prioritization for conservation share similarities, such as the need to document threats and costs, the former differs substantially from the latter owing to the requirement to measure the following components: supply of services; availability of human-derived alternatives to service provision; capacity to meet beneficiary demand; and site dependency in and scale of service delivery. We review studies that identify broad-scale spatial priorities for managing ecosystem services and demonstrate that researchers have used different approaches and included various measures for identifying priorities, and most studies do not consider all of the components listed above. We describe a conceptual framework for integrating each of these components into spatial prioritization of ecosystem services and illustrate our approach using a worked example for water provision. A fuller characterization of the biophysical and social context for ecosystem services that we call for should improve future prioritization and the identification of locations where ecosystem-service management is especially important or cost effective. PMID:24555017

Preface: Ecosystem services, ecosystem health and human communities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plag, Hans-Peter

2018-04-01

This special issue contains a collection of manuscripts that were originally intended to be included in the special issue on "Physics and Economics of Ecosystem Services Flows" (Volume 101, guest editors H. Su, J. Dong and S. Nagarajan) and "Biogeochemical Processes in the Changing Wetland Environment" (Volume 103, guest editors J. Bai, L. Huang and H. Gao). All of them are addressing issues related to ecosystem services in different settings. Ecosystem services are of high value for both the ecosystems and human communities, and understanding the impacts of environmental processes and human activities on ecosystems is of fundamental importance for the preservation of these services.

Does competition among ecosystem engineering species result in tradeoffs in the production of ecosystem services?

EPA Science Inventory

Production of ecosystem services depends on the ecological community structure at a given location. Ecosystem engineering species (EES) can strongly determine community structure, but do they consequently determine the production of ecosystem services? We explore this question ...

Economic valuation of ecosystem services: discussion and application.

PubMed

Lazo, Jeffrey K

2002-11-01

Ecosystems provide a wide range of services that improve human welfare. Changes in ecosystems imply potential changes in the generation of these ecosystem services and thus changes in welfare. In the lingo of economists, these welfare changes are measured as changes in economic values--increases in welfare being benefits and decreases in welfare being costs. For instance, individuals may benefit from, and thus value, reductions in risks to endangered species. Yet values for many changes in ecosystem services are not captured in market transactions, and thus measuring these values requires nonmarket valuation methods. This paper discusses ecosystem services and values from the viewpoint of an economist, explains what is meant by the valuation of ecosystems, and provides an overview of methods for valuation of ecosystem services. An example is presented from a recent natural resource damage assessment--the Green Bay total value equivalency study. Resources in the Lower Fox River and Green Bay in Wisconsin have been injured by polychlorinated biphenyl contamination from numerous paper mills along the river over several decades. The Green Bay study examines individuals' preferences and values for reducing ecosystem risks and improving ecosystem services and how these values are related to individuals' awareness of and use of ecosystem services in the area. The study uses methods from nonmarket valuation to scale potential restoration projects.

Facing uncertainty in ecosystem services-based resource management.

PubMed

Grêt-Regamey, Adrienne; Brunner, Sibyl H; Altwegg, Jürg; Bebi, Peter

2013-09-01

The concept of ecosystem services is increasingly used as a support for natural resource management decisions. While the science for assessing ecosystem services is improving, appropriate methods to address uncertainties in a quantitative manner are missing. Ignoring parameter uncertainties, modeling uncertainties and uncertainties related to human-environment interactions can modify decisions and lead to overlooking important management possibilities. In this contribution, we present a new approach for mapping the uncertainties in the assessment of multiple ecosystem services. The spatially explicit risk approach links Bayesian networks to a Geographic Information System for forecasting the value of a bundle of ecosystem services and quantifies the uncertainties related to the outcomes in a spatially explicit manner. We demonstrate that mapping uncertainties in ecosystem services assessments provides key information for decision-makers seeking critical areas in the delivery of ecosystem services in a case study in the Swiss Alps. The results suggest that not only the total value of the bundle of ecosystem services is highly dependent on uncertainties, but the spatial pattern of the ecosystem services values changes substantially when considering uncertainties. This is particularly important for the long-term management of mountain forest ecosystems, which have long rotation stands and are highly sensitive to pressing climate and socio-economic changes. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Marine biodiversity–ecosystem functions under uncertain environmental futures

PubMed Central

Bulling, Mark T.; Hicks, Natalie; Murray, Leigh; Paterson, David M.; Raffaelli, Dave; White, Piran C. L.; Solan, Martin

2010-01-01

Anthropogenic activity is currently leading to dramatic transformations of ecosystems and losses of biodiversity. The recognition that these ecosystems provide services that are essential for human well-being has led to a major interest in the forms of the biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationship. However, there is a lack of studies examining the impact of climate change on these relationships and it remains unclear how multiple climatic drivers may affect levels of ecosystem functioning. Here, we examine the roles of two important climate change variables, temperature and concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide, on the relationship between invertebrate species richness and nutrient release in a model benthic estuarine system. We found a positive relationship between invertebrate species richness and the levels of release of NH4-N into the water column, but no effect of species richness on the release of PO4-P. Higher temperatures and greater concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide had a negative impact on nutrient release. Importantly, we found significant interactions between the climate variables, indicating that reliably predicting the effects of future climate change will not be straightforward as multiple drivers are unlikely to have purely additive effects, resulting in increased levels of uncertainty. PMID:20513718

Marine biodiversity-ecosystem functions under uncertain environmental futures.

PubMed

Bulling, Mark T; Hicks, Natalie; Murray, Leigh; Paterson, David M; Raffaelli, Dave; White, Piran C L; Solan, Martin

2010-07-12

Anthropogenic activity is currently leading to dramatic transformations of ecosystems and losses of biodiversity. The recognition that these ecosystems provide services that are essential for human well-being has led to a major interest in the forms of the biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationship. However, there is a lack of studies examining the impact of climate change on these relationships and it remains unclear how multiple climatic drivers may affect levels of ecosystem functioning. Here, we examine the roles of two important climate change variables, temperature and concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide, on the relationship between invertebrate species richness and nutrient release in a model benthic estuarine system. We found a positive relationship between invertebrate species richness and the levels of release of NH(4)-N into the water column, but no effect of species richness on the release of PO(4)-P. Higher temperatures and greater concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide had a negative impact on nutrient release. Importantly, we found significant interactions between the climate variables, indicating that reliably predicting the effects of future climate change will not be straightforward as multiple drivers are unlikely to have purely additive effects, resulting in increased levels of uncertainty.

Ecosystem services classification: A systems ecology perspective of the cascade framework.

PubMed

La Notte, Alessandra; D'Amato, Dalia; Mäkinen, Hanna; Paracchini, Maria Luisa; Liquete, Camino; Egoh, Benis; Geneletti, Davide; Crossman, Neville D

2017-03-01

Ecosystem services research faces several challenges stemming from the plurality of interpretations of classifications and terminologies. In this paper we identify two main challenges with current ecosystem services classification systems: i) the inconsistency across concepts, terminology and definitions, and; ii) the mix up of processes and end-state benefits, or flows and assets. Although different ecosystem service definitions and interpretations can be valuable for enriching the research landscape, it is necessary to address the existing ambiguity to improve comparability among ecosystem-service-based approaches. Using the cascade framework as a reference, and Systems Ecology as a theoretical underpinning, we aim to address the ambiguity across typologies. The cascade framework links ecological processes with elements of human well-being following a pattern similar to a production chain. Systems Ecology is a long-established discipline which provides insight into complex relationships between people and the environment. We present a refreshed conceptualization of ecosystem services which can support ecosystem service assessment techniques and measurement. We combine the notions of biomass, information and interaction from system ecology, with the ecosystem services conceptualization to improve definitions and clarify terminology. We argue that ecosystem services should be defined as the interactions (i.e. processes) of the ecosystem that produce a change in human well-being, while ecosystem components or goods, i.e. countable as biomass units, are only proxies in the assessment of such changes. Furthermore, Systems Ecology can support a re-interpretation of the ecosystem services conceptualization and related applied research, where more emphasis is needed on the underpinning complexity of the ecological system.

Practical Strategies for Integrating Final Ecosystem Goods and Services into Community Decision-Making.

EPA Science Inventory

The concept of Final Ecosystem Goods and Services (FEGS) explicitly connects ecosystem services to the people that benefit from them. This report presents a number of practical strategies for incorporating FEGS, and more broadly ecosystem services, into the decision-making proces...

Mapping ecosystem services in the St. Louis River Estuary

EPA Science Inventory

Sustainable management of ecosystems for the perpetual flow of services beneficial to human communities requires reliable data about from where in the ecosystem services flow. Our objective is to map ecosystem services in the St. Louis River with the overarching U.S. EPA goal of ...

Ecology. Three-Gorges Dam--experiment in habitat fragmentation?

PubMed

Wu, Jianguo; Huang, Jianhui; Han, Xingguo; Xie, Zongqiang; Gao, Xianming

2003-05-23

Habitat fragmentation is the primary cause of the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, but its underlying processes and mechanisms remain poorly understood. Studies of islands and insular terrestrial habitats are essential for improving our understanding of habitat fragmentation. We argue that the Three-Gorges Dam, the largest that humans have ever created, presents a unique grand-scale natural experiment that allows ecologists to address a range of critical questions concerning the theory and practice of biodiversity conservation.

Safeguarding biodiversity and ecosystem services in the Little Karoo, South Africa.

PubMed

Egoh, Benis N; Reyers, Belinda; Carwardine, Josie; Bode, Michael; O'Farrell, Patrick J; Wilson, Kerrie A; Possingham, Hugh P; Rouget, Mathieu; de Lange, Willem; Richardson, David M; Cowling, Richard M

2010-08-01

Global declines in biodiversity and the widespread degradation of ecosystem services have led to urgent calls to safeguard both. Responses to this urgency include calls to integrate the needs of ecosystem services and biodiversity into the design of conservation interventions. The benefits of such integration are purported to include improvements in the justification and resources available for these interventions. Nevertheless, additional costs and potential trade-offs remain poorly understood in the design of interventions that seek to conserve biodiversity and ecosystem services. We sought to investigate the synergies and trade-offs in safeguarding ecosystem services and biodiversity in South Africa's Little Karoo. We used data on three ecosystem services--carbon storage, water recharge, and fodder provision--and data on biodiversity to examine several conservation planning scenarios. First, we investigated the amount of each ecosystem service captured incidentally by a conservation plan to meet targets for biodiversity only while minimizing opportunity costs. We then examined the costs of adding targets for ecosystem services into this conservation plan. Finally, we explored trade-offs between biodiversity and ecosystem service targets at a fixed cost. At least 30% of each ecosystem service was captured incidentally when all of biodiversity targets were met. By including data on ecosystem services, we increased the amount of services captured by at least 20% for all three services without additional costs. When biodiversity targets were reduced by 8%, an extra 40% of fodder provision and water recharge were obtained and 58% of carbon could be captured for the same cost. The opportunity cost (in terms of forgone production) of safeguarding 100% of the biodiversity targets was about US$500 million. Our results showed that with a small decrease in biodiversity target achievement, substantial gains for the conservation of ecosystem services can be achieved within our biodiversity priority areas for no extra cost.

[Ecological regulation services of Hainan Island ecosystem and their valuation].

PubMed

Ouyang, Zhiyun; Zhao, Tongqian; Zhao, Jingzhu; Xiao, Han; Wang, Xiaoke

2004-08-01

Ecosystem services imply the natural environmental conditions on which human life relies for existence, and their effectiveness formed and sustained by ecosystem and its ecological processes. In newly research reports, they were divided into four groups, i. e., provisioning services, regulation services, cultural services, and supporting services. To assess and valuate ecosystem services is the foundation of regional environmental reserve and development. Taking Hainan Island as an example and based on the structure and processes of natural ecosystem, this paper discussed the proper methods for regulation services assessment. The ecosystems were classified into 13 types including valley rain forest, mountainous rain forest, tropical monsoon forest, mountainous coppice forest, mountainous evergreen forest, tropical coniferous forest, shrubs, plantation, timber forest, windbreak forest, mangrove, savanna, and cropland, and then, the regulation services and their economic values of Hainan Island ecosystem were assessed and evaluated by terms of water-holding, soil conservancy, nutrient cycle, C fixation, and windbreak function. The economic value of the regulation services of Hainan Island ecosystem was estimated as 2035.88 x 10(8)-2153.39 x 10(8) RMB yuan, 8 times higher to its provisioning services (wood and agricultural products) which were estimated as only 254.06 x 10(8) RMB yuan. The result implied that ecosystem regulation services played an even more important role in the sustainable development of society and economy in Hainan Island.

Exploring spatial change and gravity center movement for ecosystem services value using a spatially explicit ecosystem services value index and gravity model.

PubMed

He, Yingbin; Chen, Youqi; Tang, Huajun; Yao, Yanmin; Yang, Peng; Chen, Zhongxin

2011-04-01

Spatially explicit ecosystem services valuation and change is a newly developing area of research in the field of ecology. Using the Beijing region as a study area, the authors have developed a spatially explicit ecosystem services value index and implemented this to quantify and spatially differentiate ecosystem services value at 1-km grid resolution. A gravity model was developed to trace spatial change in the total ecosystem services value of the Beijing study area from a holistic point of view. Study results show that the total value of ecosystem services for the study area decreased by 19.75% during the period 1996-2006 (3,226.2739 US$×10(6) in 1996, 2,589.0321 US$×10(6) in 2006). However, 27.63% of the total area of the Beijing study area increased in ecosystem services value. Spatial differences in ecosystem services values for both 1996 and 2006 are very clear. The center of gravity of total ecosystem services value for the study area moved 32.28 km northwestward over the 10 years due to intensive human intervention taking place in southeast Beijing. The authors suggest that policy-makers should pay greater attention to ecological protection under conditions of rapid socio-economic development and increase the area of green belt in the southeastern part of Beijing.

Climate Change and Ecosystem Services Output Efficiency in Southern Loblolly Pine Forests.

PubMed

Susaeta, Andres; Adams, Damian C; Carter, Douglas R; Dwivedi, Puneet

2016-09-01

Forests provide myriad ecosystem services that are vital to humanity. With climate change, we expect to see significant changes to forests that will alter the supply of these critical services and affect human well-being. To better understand the impacts of climate change on forest-based ecosystem services, we applied a data envelopment analysis method to assess plot-level efficiency in the provision of ecosystem services in Florida natural loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) forests. Using field data for n = 16 loblolly pine forest plots, including inputs such as site index, tree density, age, precipitation, and temperatures for each forest plot, we assessed the relative plot-level production of three ecosystem services: timber, carbon sequestered, and species richness. The results suggested that loblolly pine forests in Florida were largely inefficient in the provision of these ecosystem services under current climatic conditions. Climate change had a small negative impact on the loblolly pine forests efficiency in the provision of ecosystem services. In this context, we discussed the reduction of tree density that may not improve ecosystem services production.

Climate Change and Ecosystem Services Output Efficiency in Southern Loblolly Pine Forests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Susaeta, Andres; Adams, Damian C.; Carter, Douglas R.; Dwivedi, Puneet

2016-09-01

Forests provide myriad ecosystem services that are vital to humanity. With climate change, we expect to see significant changes to forests that will alter the supply of these critical services and affect human well-being. To better understand the impacts of climate change on forest-based ecosystem services, we applied a data envelopment analysis method to assess plot-level efficiency in the provision of ecosystem services in Florida natural loblolly pine ( Pinus taeda L.) forests. Using field data for n = 16 loblolly pine forest plots, including inputs such as site index, tree density, age, precipitation, and temperatures for each forest plot, we assessed the relative plot-level production of three ecosystem services: timber, carbon sequestered, and species richness. The results suggested that loblolly pine forests in Florida were largely inefficient in the provision of these ecosystem services under current climatic conditions. Climate change had a small negative impact on the loblolly pine forests efficiency in the provision of ecosystem services. In this context, we discussed the reduction of tree density that may not improve ecosystem services production.

Neighbourhood-scale urban forest ecosystem classification.

PubMed

Steenberg, James W N; Millward, Andrew A; Duinker, Peter N; Nowak, David J; Robinson, Pamela J

2015-11-01

Urban forests are now recognized as essential components of sustainable cities, but there remains uncertainty concerning how to stratify and classify urban landscapes into units of ecological significance at spatial scales appropriate for management. Ecosystem classification is an approach that entails quantifying the social and ecological processes that shape ecosystem conditions into logical and relatively homogeneous management units, making the potential for ecosystem-based decision support available to urban planners. The purpose of this study is to develop and propose a framework for urban forest ecosystem classification (UFEC). The multifactor framework integrates 12 ecosystem components that characterize the biophysical landscape, built environment, and human population. This framework is then applied at the neighbourhood scale in Toronto, Canada, using hierarchical cluster analysis. The analysis used 27 spatially-explicit variables to quantify the ecosystem components in Toronto. Twelve ecosystem classes were identified in this UFEC application. Across the ecosystem classes, tree canopy cover was positively related to economic wealth, especially income. However, education levels and homeownership were occasionally inconsistent with the expected positive relationship with canopy cover. Open green space and stocking had variable relationships with economic wealth and were more closely related to population density, building intensity, and land use. The UFEC can provide ecosystem-based information for greening initiatives, tree planting, and the maintenance of the existing canopy. Moreover, its use has the potential to inform the prioritization of limited municipal resources according to ecological conditions and to concerns of social equity in the access to nature and distribution of ecosystem service supply. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparing approaches to spatially explicit ecosystem service modeling: a case study from the San Pedro River, Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bagstad, Kenneth J.; Semmens, Darius J.; Winthrop, Robert

2013-01-01

Although the number of ecosystem service modeling tools has grown in recent years, quantitative comparative studies of these tools have been lacking. In this study, we applied two leading open-source, spatially explicit ecosystem services modeling tools – Artificial Intelligence for Ecosystem Services (ARIES) and Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) – to the San Pedro River watershed in southeast Arizona, USA, and northern Sonora, Mexico. We modeled locally important services that both modeling systems could address – carbon, water, and scenic viewsheds. We then applied managerially relevant scenarios for urban growth and mesquite management to quantify ecosystem service changes. InVEST and ARIES use different modeling approaches and ecosystem services metrics; for carbon, metrics were more similar and results were more easily comparable than for viewsheds or water. However, findings demonstrate similar gains and losses of ecosystem services and conclusions when comparing effects across our scenarios. Results were more closely aligned for landscape-scale urban-growth scenarios and more divergent for a site-scale mesquite-management scenario. Follow-up studies, including testing in different geographic contexts, can improve our understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of these and other ecosystem services modeling tools as they move closer to readiness for supporting day-to-day resource management.

Modeling Ecosystem Services in an Arid Landscape Using the InVEST Tool

EPA Science Inventory

In this paper we describe the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Southwest Ecosystem Services Program (SwESP) initial efforts to use the InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs) tool to quantify and map the values of multiple ecosystem services in the S...

Ecological Production Functions Linking Multiple Stressors to Ecosystem Services – A Case Study

EPA Science Inventory

The ecosystem services concept is being used to frame environmental protection goals that guide management of the risks of chemicals. Ecosystem services link changes in ecological systems to the benefits received by people. The use of ecosystem services in risk assessments and th...

Defining, valuing and providing ecosystem goods and services

Treesearch

Thomas C. Brown; John C. Bergstrom; John B. Loomis

2007-01-01

Ecosystem services are the specific results of ecosystem processes that either directly sustain or enhance human life (as does natural protection from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays) or maintain the qualify of ecosystem goods (as water purification maintains the quality of streamflow). "Ecosystem service" has come to represent several related topics...

Ecohydrological processes and ecosystem services in the Anthropocene: a review

Treesearch

Ge Sun; Dennis Hallema; Heidi Asbjornsen

2017-01-01

The framework for ecosystem services has been increasingly used in integrated watershed ecosystem management practices that involve scientists, engineers, managers, and policy makers. The objective of this review is to explore the intimate connections between ecohydrological processes and water-related ecosystem services in human-dominated ecosystems in the...

Applying principles from economics to improve the transfer of ecological production estimates in fisheries ecosystem services research

EPA Science Inventory

Ecosystem services (ES) represent a way to represent and quantify multiple uses, values as well as connectivity between ecosystem processes and human well-being. Ecosystem-based fisheries management approaches may seek to quantify expected trade-offs in ecosystem services due to ...

Ecosystem services of human-dominated watersheds and land use influences: a case study from the Dianchi Lake watershed in China.

PubMed

Hou, Ying; Li, Bo; Müller, Felix; Chen, Weiping

2016-11-01

Watersheds provide multiple ecosystem services. Ecosystem service assessment is a promising approach to investigate human-environment interaction at the watershed scale. The spatial characteristics of ecosystem services are closely related to land use statuses in human-dominated watersheds. This study aims to investigate the effects of land use on the spatial variations of ecosystem services at the Dianchi Lake watershed in Southwest China. We investigated the spatial variations of six ecosystem services-food supply, net primary productivity (NPP), habitat quality, evapotranspiration, water yield, and nitrogen retention. These services were selected based on their significance at the Dianchi Lake watershed and the availability of their data. The quantification of these services was based on modeling, value transference, and spatial analysis in combination with biophysical and socioeconomic data. Furthermore, we calculated the values of ecosystem services provided by different land use types and quantified the correlations between ecosystem service values and land use area proportions. The results show considerable spatial variations in the six ecosystem services associated with land use influences in the Dianchi Lake watershed. The cropland and forest land use types had predominantly positive influences on food productivity and NPP, respectively. The rural residential area and forest land use types reduced and enhanced habitat quality, respectively; these influences were identical to those of evapotranspiration. Urban area and rural residential area exerted significantly positive influences on water yield. In contrast, water yield was negatively correlated with forest area proportion. Finally, cropland and forest had significantly positive and negative influences, respectively, on nitrogen retention. Our study emphasizes the importance of consideration of the influences from land use composition and distribution on ecosystem services for managing the ecosystems of human-dominated watersheds.

Enhancement of biodiversity and ecosystem services by ecological restoration: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

Rey Benayas, José M; Newton, Adrian C; Diaz, Anita; Bullock, James M

2009-08-28

Ecological restoration is widely used to reverse the environmental degradation caused by human activities. However, the effectiveness of restoration actions in increasing provision of both biodiversity and ecosystem services has not been evaluated systematically. A meta-analysis of 89 restoration assessments in a wide range of ecosystem types across the globe indicates that ecological restoration increased provision of biodiversity and ecosystem services by 44 and 25%, respectively. However, values of both remained lower in restored versus intact reference ecosystems. Increases in biodiversity and ecosystem service measures after restoration were positively correlated. Results indicate that restoration actions focused on enhancing biodiversity should support increased provision of ecosystem services, particularly in tropical terrestrial biomes.

Biodiversity, ecosystem functions and services in environmental risk assessment: introduction to the special issue.

PubMed

Schäfer, Ralf B

2012-01-15

This Special Issue focuses on the questions if and how biodiversity, ecosystem functions and resulting services could be incorporated into the Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA). Therefore, three articles provide a framework for the integration of ecosystem services into ERA of soils, sediments and pesticides. Further articles demonstrate ways how stakeholders can be integrated into an ecosystem service-based ERA for soils and describe how the current monitoring could be adapted to new assessment endpoints that are directly linked to ecosystem services. Case studies show that the current ERA may not be protective for biodiversity, ecosystem functions and resulting services and that both pesticides and salinity currently adversely affect ecosystem functions in the field. Moreover, ecological models can be used for prediction of new protection goals and could finally support their implementation into the ERA. Overall, the Special Issue stresses the urgent need to enhance current procedures of ERA if biodiversity, ecosystem functions and resulting services are to be protected. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Typology and indicators of ecosystem services for marine spatial planning and management.

PubMed

Böhnke-Henrichs, Anne; Baulcomb, Corinne; Koss, Rebecca; Hussain, S Salman; de Groot, Rudolf S

2013-11-30

The ecosystem services concept provides both an analytical and communicative tool to identify and quantify the link between human welfare and the environment, and thus to evaluate the ramifications of management interventions. Marine spatial planning (MSP) and Ecosystem-based Management (EBM) are a form of management intervention that has become increasingly popular and important globally. The ecosystem service concept is rarely applied in marine planning and management to date which we argue is due to the lack of a well-structured, systematic classification and assessment of marine ecosystem services. In this paper we not only develop such a typology but also provide guidance to select appropriate indicators for all relevant ecosystem services. We apply this marine-specific ecosystem service typology to MSP and EBM. We thus provide not only a novel theoretical construct but also show how the ecosystem services concept can be used in marine planning and management. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exceeding peatland ecohydrological resilience through compound disturbance: the effect of wildfire and drainage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Waddington, J. M.; Kettridge, N.; Sherwood, J.; Thompson, D.; Morris, P. J.

2012-12-01

Peatlands are self-regulating ecosystems dominated by negative ecohydrological feedbacks that stabilize their net carbon sink function, producing a globally significant carbon store that is often resilient to disturbances such as drainage and wildfire. However, the effects of these disturbances on peatland ecohydrological function have only been considered previously in isolation. We capitalize on a unique long-term experiment to examine the response of a peatland in boreal western Canada to the compound disturbance of drying and wildfire. We show that the compound effect of such disturbances can reduce the ecohydrological resilience of these ecosystems leaving them vulnerable to irreversible shifts in their ecological, hydrological and biogeochemical function. Peatland ecosystems have a hydrology characterized generally by a long water residence times and a high water table position. Less-dense near-surface peat acts as a hydrological buffer, regulating water-table position and near-surface moisture content. This buffer is lost through combustion and compaction, increasing the flashiness of the peatland hydrology, increasing the vulnerability of the ecosystem to drought conditions. This greatly reduces the recolonization success of keystone Sphagnum moss species. As a result the peatland followed a previously unobserved development trajectory leading to the loss of globally important ecosystem services and the development of a novel 'peat forest' ecosystem. This ecosystem shift is self-reinforcing, as the establishment of invasive species reduces available light essential for Sphagnum establishment.

A Cloud-based Infrastructure and Architecture for Environmental System Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, D.; Wei, Y.; Shankar, M.; Quigley, J.; Wilson, B. E.

2016-12-01

The present availability of high-capacity networks, low-cost computers and storage devices, and the widespread adoption of hardware virtualization and service-oriented architecture provide a great opportunity to enable data and computing infrastructure sharing between closely related research activities. By taking advantage of these approaches, along with the world-class high computing and data infrastructure located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a cloud-based infrastructure and architecture has been developed to efficiently deliver essential data and informatics service and utilities to the environmental system research community, and will provide unique capabilities that allows terrestrial ecosystem research projects to share their software utilities (tools), data and even data submission workflow in a straightforward fashion. The infrastructure will minimize large disruptions from current project-based data submission workflows for better acceptances from existing projects, since many ecosystem research projects already have their own requirements or preferences for data submission and collection. The infrastructure will eliminate scalability problems with current project silos by provide unified data services and infrastructure. The Infrastructure consists of two key components (1) a collection of configurable virtual computing environments and user management systems that expedite data submission and collection from environmental system research community, and (2) scalable data management services and system, originated and development by ORNL data centers.

The role of the atmosphere in the provision of ecosystem services.

PubMed

Cooter, Ellen J; Rea, Anne; Bruins, Randy; Schwede, Donna; Dennis, Robin

2013-03-15

Solving the environmental problems that we are facing today requires holistic approaches to analysis and decision making that include social and economic aspects. The concept of ecosystem services, defined as the benefits people obtain from ecosystems, is one potential tool to perform such assessments. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the need for an integrated approach that explicitly includes the contribution of atmospheric processes and functions to the quantification of air-ecosystem services. First, final and intermediate air-ecosystem services are defined. Next, an ecological production function for clean and clear air is described, and its numerical counterpart (the Community Multiscale Air Quality model) is introduced. An illustrative numerical example is developed that simulates potential changes in air-ecosystem services associated with the conversion of evergreen forest land in Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia to commercial crop land. This one-atmosphere approach captures a broad range of service increases and decreases. Results for the forest to cropland conversion scenario suggest that although such change could lead to increased biomass (food) production services, there could also be coincident, seasonally variable decreases in clean and clear air-ecosystem services (i.e., increased levels of ozone and particulate matter) associated with increased fertilizer application. Metrics that support the quantification of these regional air-ecosystem changes require regional ecosystem production functions that fully integrate biotic as well as abiotic components of terrestrial ecosystems, and do so on finer temporal scales than are used for the assessment of most ecosystem services. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Compositional diversity of rehabilitated tropical lands supports multiple ecosystem services and buffers uncertainties

PubMed Central

Knoke, Thomas; Paul, Carola; Hildebrandt, Patrick; Calvas, Baltazar; Castro, Luz Maria; Härtl, Fabian; Döllerer, Martin; Hamer, Ute; Windhorst, David; Wiersma, Yolanda F.; Curatola Fernández, Giulia F.; Obermeier, Wolfgang A.; Adams, Julia; Breuer, Lutz; Mosandl, Reinhard; Beck, Erwin; Weber, Michael; Stimm, Bernd; Haber, Wolfgang; Fürst, Christine; Bendix, Jörg

2016-01-01

High landscape diversity is assumed to increase the number and level of ecosystem services. However, the interactions between ecosystem service provision, disturbance and landscape composition are poorly understood. Here we present a novel approach to include uncertainty in the optimization of land allocation for improving the provision of multiple ecosystem services. We refer to the rehabilitation of abandoned agricultural lands in Ecuador including two types of both afforestation and pasture rehabilitation, together with a succession option. Our results show that high compositional landscape diversity supports multiple ecosystem services (multifunction effect). This implicitly provides a buffer against uncertainty. Our work shows that active integration of uncertainty is only important when optimizing single or highly correlated ecosystem services and that the multifunction effect on landscape diversity is stronger than the uncertainty effect. This is an important insight to support a land-use planning based on ecosystem services. PMID:27292766

Compositional diversity of rehabilitated tropical lands supports multiple ecosystem services and buffers uncertainties.

PubMed

Knoke, Thomas; Paul, Carola; Hildebrandt, Patrick; Calvas, Baltazar; Castro, Luz Maria; Härtl, Fabian; Döllerer, Martin; Hamer, Ute; Windhorst, David; Wiersma, Yolanda F; Curatola Fernández, Giulia F; Obermeier, Wolfgang A; Adams, Julia; Breuer, Lutz; Mosandl, Reinhard; Beck, Erwin; Weber, Michael; Stimm, Bernd; Haber, Wolfgang; Fürst, Christine; Bendix, Jörg

2016-06-13

High landscape diversity is assumed to increase the number and level of ecosystem services. However, the interactions between ecosystem service provision, disturbance and landscape composition are poorly understood. Here we present a novel approach to include uncertainty in the optimization of land allocation for improving the provision of multiple ecosystem services. We refer to the rehabilitation of abandoned agricultural lands in Ecuador including two types of both afforestation and pasture rehabilitation, together with a succession option. Our results show that high compositional landscape diversity supports multiple ecosystem services (multifunction effect). This implicitly provides a buffer against uncertainty. Our work shows that active integration of uncertainty is only important when optimizing single or highly correlated ecosystem services and that the multifunction effect on landscape diversity is stronger than the uncertainty effect. This is an important insight to support a land-use planning based on ecosystem services.

Stormwater Management Effects on Ecosystem Services: A Literature Review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prudencio, L.; Null, S. E.

2016-12-01

Managing stormwater provides benefits for enhancing water supplies while reducing urban runoff. Yet, there has been little research focused on understanding how stormwater management affects ecosystem services, the benefits that ecosystems provide to humans. Garnering more knowledge of the changes to ecosystem services from stormwater management will ultimately improve management and decision-making. The objective of this research is to review and synthesize published literature on 1) ecosystem services and stormwater management and 2) changes in ecosystem services from anthropogenic impacts and climate warming, to establish a foundation for research at the intersection of ecosystems services, stormwater management, and global environmental change. We outline four research areas for ecosystem services and stormwater management that should be further explored. These four areas, named after the four types of ecosystem services, highlight context-specific research questions and human and climate change effects. We conclude that effective and sustainable stormwater management requires incorporating engineering, social, and environmental criteria to quantify benefits of provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting ecosystem services. Lastly, improved current and potential stormwater management policy may better support sustainable stormwater methods at the institutional level. Stormwater quality and monitoring could be improved through the use of the Clean Water Act (e.g. Total Maximum Daily Loads), the Endangered Species Act, and public health measures. Additional policies regulating groundwater quantity and quality have been and may continue to be implemented by states, encouraging sustainable and cleaner stormwater practices.

Coastal Zone Ecosystem Services: from science to values and decision making; a case study.

PubMed

Luisetti, T; Turner, R K; Jickells, T; Andrews, J; Elliott, M; Schaafsma, M; Beaumont, N; Malcolm, S; Burdon, D; Adams, C; Watts, W

2014-09-15

This research is concerned with the following environmental research questions: socio-ecological system complexity, especially when valuing ecosystem services; ecosystems stock and services flow sustainability and valuation; the incorporation of scale issues when valuing ecosystem services; and the integration of knowledge from diverse disciplines for governance and decision making. In this case study, we focused on ecosystem services that can be jointly supplied but independently valued in economic terms: healthy climate (via carbon sequestration and storage), food (via fisheries production in nursery grounds), and nature recreation (nature watching and enjoyment). We also explored the issue of ecosystem stock and services flow, and we provide recommendations on how to value stock and flows of ecosystem services via accounting and economic values respectively. We considered broadly comparable estuarine systems located on the English North Sea coast: the Blackwater estuary and the Humber estuary. In the past, these two estuaries have undergone major land-claim. Managed realignment is a policy through which previously claimed intertidal habitats are recreated allowing the enhancement of the ecosystem services provided by saltmarshes. In this context, we investigated ecosystem service values, through biophysical estimates and welfare value estimates. Using an optimistic (extended conservation of coastal ecosystems) and a pessimistic (loss of coastal ecosystems because of, for example, European policy reversal) scenario, we find that context dependency, and hence value transfer possibilities, vary among ecosystem services and benefits. As a result, careful consideration in the use and application of value transfer, both in biophysical estimates and welfare value estimates, is advocated to supply reliable information for policy making. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Study on the techniques of valuation of ecosystem services based on remote sensing in Anxin County

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Hongyan; Li, Zengyuan; Gao, Zhihai; Wang, Bengyu; Bai, Lina; Wu, Junjun; Sun, Bin; Wang, Zhibo

2014-05-01

The farmland ecosystem is an important component of terrestrial ecosystems and has a fundamental role in the human life. The wetland is an unique and versatile ecological system. It is important for rational development and sustainable utilization of farmland and wetland resources to study on the measurement of valuation of farmland and wetland ecosystem services. It also has important significance for improving productivity. With the rapid development of remote sensing technology, it has become a powerful tool for evaluation of the value of ecosystem services. The land cover types in Anxin County mainly was farmland and wetland, the indicator system for ecosystem services valuation was brought up based on the remote sensing data of high spatial resolution ratio(Landsat-5 TM data and SPOT-5 data), the technology system for measurement of ecosystem services value was established. The study results show that the total ecosystem services value in 2009 in Anxin was 4.216 billion yuan, and the unit area value was between 8489 yuan/hm2 and 329535 yuan/hm2. The value of natural resources, water conservation value in farmland ecosystem and eco-tourism value in wetland ecosystem were higher than the other, total of the three values reached 2.858 billion yuan, and the percentage of the total ecosystem services values in Anxin was 67.79%. Through the statistics in the nine towns and three villages of Anxin County, the juantou town has the highest services value, reached 0.736 billion yuan. Scientific and comprehensive evaluation of the ecosystem services can conducive to promoting the understanding of the importance of the ecosystem. The research results had significance to ensure the sustainable use of wetland resources and the guidance of ecological construction in Anxin County.

A meta-analysis of coastal wetland ecosystem services in Liaoning Province, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Baodi; Cui, Lijuan; Li, Wei; Kang, Xiaoming; Pan, Xu; Lei, Yinru

2018-01-01

Wetlands are impacted by economic and political initiatives, and their ecosystem services are attracting increasing public attention. It is crucial that management decisions for wetland ecosystem services quantify the economic value of the ecosystem services. In this paper, we aimed to estimate a monetary value for coastal wetland ecosystem services in Liaoning Province, China. We selected 433 observations from 85 previous coastal wetland economic evaluations (mostly in China) including detailed spatial and economic characteristics in each wetland, then used a meta-analysis scale transfer method to calculate the total value of coastal wetland ecosystem services in Liaoning Province. Our results demonstrated that, on average, the ecosystem services provided by seven different coastal wetland types were worth US40,648 per ha per year, and the total value was 28,990,439,041 in 2013. Shallow marine waters accounted for the largest proportion (83.97%). Variables with a significant positive effect on the ecosystem service values included GDP per capita, population density, distance from the wetland to the city center and the year of evaluation, while wetland size and latitude had negative relationships.

Urban ecosystem services for resilience planning and management in New York City.

PubMed

McPhearson, Timon; Hamstead, Zoé A; Kremer, Peleg

2014-05-01

We review the current state of knowledge about urban ecosystem services in New York City (NYC) and how these services are regulated, planned for, and managed. Focusing on ecosystem services that have presented challenges in NYC-including stormwater quality enhancement and flood control, drinking water quality, food provisioning and recreation-we find that mismatches between the scale of production and scale of management occur where service provision is insufficient. Adequate production of locally produced services and services which are more accessible when produced locally is challenging in the context of dense urban development that is characteristic of NYC. Management approaches are needed to address scale mismatches in the production and consumption of ecosystem services. By coordinating along multiple scales of management and promoting best management practices, urban leaders have an opportunity to ensure that nature and ecosystem processes are protected in cities to support the delivery of fundamental urban ecosystem services.

[Environmental impact assessment of the land use change in china based on ecosystem service value].

PubMed

Ran, Sheng-hong; Lü, Chang-he; Jia, Ke-jing; Qi, Yong-hua

2006-10-01

The environmental impact of land use change is long-term and cumulative. The ecosystem service change results from land use change. Therefore, the ecosystem service function change is the key object in the environmental impact assessment of land use change. According to the specific situation of China, this paper adjusted the unit ecosystem service value of different land use types. Based on this, the ecosystem service value change of different provinces in China resulted from the land use change since the implementation of the last plan of land use (1997-2010) was analyzed. The results show that the ecosystem service value in China increased 0.91% from 1996 to 2004. Thereinto, Tianjin is the province that the ecosystem service value increased most quickly, which was 5.69% from 1996 to 2004, while Shanghai is the province that the value decreased most quickly, which was 9.79%. Furthermore, the change of 17 types of ecosystem services was analyzed. Among them, the climate regulation function enhanced 3.43% from 1996 to 2004 and the biology resource control was weakened by 2.26% in this period. The results also indicate that the increase of the area of water surface and forest is the main reason for why the ecosystem service value increased in China in that period.

Assessment of Coastal Ecosystem Services for Conservation Strategies in South Korea.

PubMed

Chung, Min Gon; Kang, Hojeong; Choi, Sung-Uk

2015-01-01

Despite the fact that scientific and political consideration for ecosystem services has dramatically increased over the past decade, few studies have focused on marine and coastal ecosystem services for conservation strategies. We used an ecosystem services approach to assess spatial distributions of habitat risks and four ecosystem services (coastal protection, carbon storage, recreation, and aesthetic quality), and explored the tradeoffs among them in coastal areas of South Korea. Additionally, we analyzed how the social and ecological characteristics in coastal areas interact with conservation and development policies by using this approach. We found strong negative associations between the habitat risks and ecosystem services (aquaculture, carbon storage, recreation, and aesthetic quality) across the coastal counties. Our results showed that the intensity of the habitat risks and the provision of ecosystem services were significantly different between reclamation-dominated and conservation-dominated counties, except for coastal vulnerability. A generalized linear model suggested that reclamation projects were dependent on economic efficiency, whereas demographic pressures and habitat conditions influenced the designation of protected areas at a county level. The ecosystem services approach provided guidelines to achieve both sustainable development and environment conservation. By using the approach, we can select the priority areas for developments while we can minimize the degradation of biodiversity and ecosystem services. As cultural ecosystem services are evenly distributed throughout coastal areas of South Korea, decision makers may employ them to improve the conditions of coastal wetlands outside of protected areas.

Assessment of Coastal Ecosystem Services for Conservation Strategies in South Korea

PubMed Central

Chung, Min Gon; Kang, Hojeong; Choi, Sung-Uk

2015-01-01

Despite the fact that scientific and political consideration for ecosystem services has dramatically increased over the past decade, few studies have focused on marine and coastal ecosystem services for conservation strategies. We used an ecosystem services approach to assess spatial distributions of habitat risks and four ecosystem services (coastal protection, carbon storage, recreation, and aesthetic quality), and explored the tradeoffs among them in coastal areas of South Korea. Additionally, we analyzed how the social and ecological characteristics in coastal areas interact with conservation and development policies by using this approach. We found strong negative associations between the habitat risks and ecosystem services (aquaculture, carbon storage, recreation, and aesthetic quality) across the coastal counties. Our results showed that the intensity of the habitat risks and the provision of ecosystem services were significantly different between reclamation-dominated and conservation-dominated counties, except for coastal vulnerability. A generalized linear model suggested that reclamation projects were dependent on economic efficiency, whereas demographic pressures and habitat conditions influenced the designation of protected areas at a county level. The ecosystem services approach provided guidelines to achieve both sustainable development and environment conservation. By using the approach, we can select the priority areas for developments while we can minimize the degradation of biodiversity and ecosystem services. As cultural ecosystem services are evenly distributed throughout coastal areas of South Korea, decision makers may employ them to improve the conditions of coastal wetlands outside of protected areas. PMID:26221950

Mapping tsunami impacts on land cover and related ecosystem service supply in Phang Nga, Thailand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaiser, G.; Burkhard, B.; Römer, H.; Sangkaew, S.; Graterol, R.; Haitook, T.; Sterr, H.; Sakuna-Schwartz, D.

2013-12-01

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami caused damages to coastal ecosystems and thus affected the livelihoods of the coastal communities who depend on services provided by these ecosystems. The paper presents a case study on evaluating and mapping the spatial and temporal impacts of the tsunami on land use and land cover (LULC) and related ecosystem service supply in the Phang Nga province, Thailand. The method includes local stakeholder interviews, field investigations, remote-sensing techniques, and GIS. Results provide an ecosystem services matrix with capacity scores for 18 LULC classes and 17 ecosystem functions and services as well as pre-/post-tsunami and recovery maps indicating changes in the ecosystem service supply capacities in the study area. Local stakeholder interviews revealed that mangroves, casuarina forest, mixed beach forest, coral reefs, tidal inlets, as well as wetlands (peat swamp forest) have the highest capacity to supply ecosystem services, while e.g. plantations have a lower capacity. The remote-sensing based damage and recovery analysis showed a loss of the ecosystem service supply capacities in almost all LULC classes for most of the services due to the tsunami. A fast recovery of LULC and related ecosystem service supply capacities within one year could be observed for e.g. beaches, while mangroves or casuarina forest needed several years to recover. Applying multi-temporal mapping the spatial variations of recovery could be visualised. While some patches of coastal forest were fully recovered after 3 yr, other patches were still affected and thus had a reduced capacity to supply ecosystem services. The ecosystem services maps can be used to quantify ecological values and their spatial distribution in the framework of a tsunami risk assessment. Beyond that they are considered to be a useful tool for spatial analysis in coastal risk management in Phang Nga.

Setting limits: Using air pollution thresholds to protect and restore U.S. ecosystems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fenn, M.E.; Lambert, K.F.; Blett, T.F.; Burns, Douglas A.; Pardo, L.H.; Lovett, Gary M.; Haeuber, R. A.; Evers, D.C.; Driscoll, C.T.; Jeffries, D.S.

2011-01-01

More than four decades of research provide unequivocal evidence that sulfur, nitrogen, and mercury pollution have altered, and will continue to alter, our nation's lands and waters. The emission and deposition of air pollutants harm native plants and animals, degrade water quality, affect forest productivity, and are damaging to human health. Many air quality policies limit emissions at the source but these control measures do not always consider ecosystem impacts. Air pollution thresholds at which ecological effects are observed, such as critical loads, are effective tools for assessing the impacts of air pollution on essential ecosystem services and for informing public policy. U.S. ecosystems can be more effectively protected and restored by using a combination of emissions-based approaches and science-based thresholds of ecosystem damage. Based on the results of a comprehensive review of air pollution thresholds, we conclude: ??? Ecosystem services such as air and water purification, decomposition and detoxification of waste materials, climate regulation, regeneration of soil fertility, production and biodiversity maintenance, as well as crop, timber and fish supplies are impacted by deposition of nitrogen, sulfur, mercury and other pollutants. The consequences of these changes may be difficult or impossible to reverse as impacts cascade throughout affected ecosystems. ??? The effects of too much nitrogen are common across the U.S. and include altered plant and lichen communities, enhanced growth of invasive species, eutrophication and acidification of lands and waters, and habitat deterioration for native species, including endangered species. ??? Lake, stream and soil acidification is widespread across the eastern United States. Up to 65% of lakes within sensitive areas receive acid deposition that exceeds critical loads. ??? Mercury contamination adversely affects fish in many inland and coastal waters. Fish consumption advisories for mercury exist in all 50 states and on many tribal lands. High concentrations of mercury in wildlife are also widespread and have multiple adverse effects. ??? Air quality programs, such as those stemming from the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, have helped decrease air pollution even as population and energy demand have increased. Yet, they do not adequately protect ecosystems from long-term damage. Moreover they do not address ammonia emissions. ??? A stronger ecosystem basis for air pollutant policies could be established through adoption of science-based thresholds. Existing monitoring programs track vital information needed to measure the response to policies, and could be expanded to include appropriate chemical and biological indicators for terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and establishment of a national ecosystem monitoring network for mercury. The development and use of air pollution thresholds for ecosystem protection and management is increasing in the United States, yet threshold approaches remain underutilized. Ecological thresholds for air pollution, such as critical loads for nitrogen and sulfur deposition, are not currently included in the formal regulatory process for emissions controls in the United States, although they are now considered in local management decisions by the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service. Ecological thresholds offer a scientifically sound approach to protecting and restoring U.S. ecosystems and an important tool for natural resource management and policy. ?? The Ecological Society of America.

Functional approach in estimation of cultural ecosystem services of recreational areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sautkin, I. S.; Rogova, T. V.

2018-01-01

The article is devoted to the identification and analysis of cultural ecosystem services of recreational areas from the different forest plant functional groups in the suburbs of Kazan. The study explored two cultural ecosystem services supplied by forest plants by linking these services to different plant functional traits. Information on the functional traits of 76 plants occurring in the forest ecosystems of the investigated area was collected from reference books on the biological characteristics of plant species. Analysis of these species and traits with the Ward clustering method yielded four functional groups with different potentials for delivering ecosystem services. The results show that the contribution of species diversity to services can be characterized through the functional traits of plants. This proves that there is a stable relationship between biodiversity and the quality and quantity of ecosystem services. The proposed method can be extended to other types of services (regulating and supporting). The analysis can be used in the socio-economic assessment of natural ecosystems for recreation and other uses.

Seagrass Ecosystem Services and Their Variability across Genera and Geographical Regions.

PubMed

Mtwana Nordlund, Lina; Koch, Evamaria W; Barbier, Edward B; Creed, Joel C

2016-01-01

Threats to and loss of seagrass ecosystems globally, impact not only natural resources but also the lives of people who directly or indirectly depend on these systems. Seagrass ecosystems play a multi-functional role in human well-being, e.g. food through fisheries, control of erosion and protection against floods. Quantifying these services reveals their contributions to human well-being and helps justify seagrass conservation. There has been no comprehensive assessment as to whether seagrass ecosystem services are perceived to vary over the globe or amongst genera. Our study compiles the most complete list of ecosystem services provided by seagrasses so far, including bioregional- and genus-specific information from expert opinion and published studies. Several seagrass ecosystem services vary considerably in their (known) provision across genera and over the globe. Seagrasses genera are clearly not all equal with regard to the ecosystem services they provide. As seagrass genera are not evenly distributed over all bioregions, the presence of an ecosystem service sometimes depends on the genera present. Larger sized seagrass genera (e.g. Posidonia, Enhalus) are perceived to provide more substantial and a wider variety of ecosystem services than smaller species (e.g. Halophila, Lepilaena). Nevertheless, smaller species provide important services. Our findings point out data gaps, provide new insight for more efficient management and recommend caution in economic valuation of seagrass services worldwide.

Seagrass Ecosystem Services and Their Variability across Genera and Geographical Regions

PubMed Central

Mtwana Nordlund, Lina; Barbier, Edward B.; Creed, Joel C.

2016-01-01

Threats to and loss of seagrass ecosystems globally, impact not only natural resources but also the lives of people who directly or indirectly depend on these systems. Seagrass ecosystems play a multi-functional role in human well-being, e.g. food through fisheries, control of erosion and protection against floods. Quantifying these services reveals their contributions to human well-being and helps justify seagrass conservation. There has been no comprehensive assessment as to whether seagrass ecosystem services are perceived to vary over the globe or amongst genera. Our study compiles the most complete list of ecosystem services provided by seagrasses so far, including bioregional- and genus-specific information from expert opinion and published studies. Several seagrass ecosystem services vary considerably in their (known) provision across genera and over the globe. Seagrasses genera are clearly not all equal with regard to the ecosystem services they provide. As seagrass genera are not evenly distributed over all bioregions, the presence of an ecosystem service sometimes depends on the genera present. Larger sized seagrass genera (e.g. Posidonia, Enhalus) are perceived to provide more substantial and a wider variety of ecosystem services than smaller species (e.g. Halophila, Lepilaena). Nevertheless, smaller species provide important services. Our findings point out data gaps, provide new insight for more efficient management and recommend caution in economic valuation of seagrass services worldwide. PMID:27732600

Ecosystem services in the Great Lakes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Steinman, Alan D.; Cardinale, Bradley J; Munns Jr, Wayne R; Ogdahl, Mary E.; Allan, David J; Angadi, Ted; Bartlett, Sarah; Brauman, Kate; Byappanahalli, Muruleedhara; Doss, Matt; Dupont, Diane; Johns, Annie; Kashian, Donna; Lupi, Frank; McIntyre, Peter B.; Miller, Todd; Moore, Michael P.; Muenich, Rebecca Logsdon; Poudel, Rajendra; Price, James; Provencher, Bill; Rea, Anne; Read, Jennifer; Renzetti, Steven; Sohngen, Brent; Washburn, Erica

2017-01-01

A comprehensive inventory of ecosystem services across the entire Great Lakes basin is currently lacking and is needed to make informed management decisions. A greater appreciation and understanding of ecosystem services, including both use and non-use services, may have avoided misguided resource management decisions in the past that resulted in negative legacies inherited by future generations. Given the interest in ecosystem services and lack of a coherent approach to addressing this topic in the Great Lakes, a summit was convened involving 28 experts working on various aspects of ecosystem services in the Great Lakes. The invited attendees spanned a variety of social and natural sciences. Given the unique status of the Great Lakes as the world's largest collective repository of surface freshwater, and the numerous stressors threatening this valuable resource, timing was propitious to examine ecosystem services. Several themes and recommendations emerged from the summit. There was general consensus that: 1) a comprehensive inventory of ecosystem services throughout the Great Lakes is a desirable goal but would require considerable resources; 2) more spatially and temporally intensive data are needed to overcome our data gaps, but the arrangement of data networks and observatories must be well-coordinated; 3) trade-offs must be considered as part of ecosystem services analyses; and 4) formation of a Great Lakes Institute for Ecosystem Services, to provide a hub for research, meetings, and training is desirable. Several challenges also emerged during the summit, which are discussed.

Are carrots, corn and cattle really provided by Nature- If not ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

People harbor different perspectives regarding the aspects of agroecosystems or cultivated lands that are or could be considered ecosystem services. The first issues that need to be addressed in this regard are to define agro-ecosystem services and to establish their potential purpose (or use) to human beneficiaries. This early decision provides the foundation for what ecosystem services are, who uses them, and if or how they can be quantified. An important point to consider is that agricultural activities, while performed in and on environments provided by nature, are characterized by human labor and capital originating in the human economy. There are inherent reasons to quantify (i.e., measure) ecosystem services in a relatively standard way across landscapes and even within political units, such as counties or nations. Standard approaches to defining and measuring can underpin a multitude of accounting activities such as assigning value to them using either monetary or non-monetary approaches. The ecosystem services community could benefit by applying an ecosystem services definition that embodies from where in the environment the “service” originates and, equally as important, the user or beneficiary of this service. If we focus on the subset of ecosystem services which are Final Ecosystem Goods and Services by adopting the definition of Final Ecosystem Goods and Services (or FEGS), “components of nature, directly enjoyed, consumed or used to yi

Value of ecosystem hydropower service and its impact on the payment for ecosystem services.

PubMed

Fu, B; Wang, Y K; Xu, P; Yan, K; Li, M

2014-02-15

Hydropower is an important service provided by ecosystems. We surveyed all the hydropower plants in the Zagunao River Basin, Southwest China. Then, we assessed the hydropower service by using the InVEST (The Integrated Value and Tradeoff of Ecosystem Service Tools) model. Finally, we discussed the impact on ecological compensation. The results showed that: 1) hydropower service value of ecosystems in the Zagunao River Basin is 216.29 Euro/hm(2) on the average, of which the high-value area with more than 475.65 Euro/hm(2) is about 750.37 km(2), accounting for 16.12% of the whole watershed, but it provides 53.47% of the whole watershed service value; 2) ecosystem is an ecological reservoir with a great regulation capacity. Dams cannot completely replace the reservoir water conservation function of ecosystems, and has high economic and environmental costs that must be paid as well. Compensation for water conservation services should become an important basis for ecological compensation of hydropower development. 3) In the current PES cases, the standard of compensation is generally low. Cascade development makes the value of upstream ecosystem services become more prominent, reflecting the differential rent value, and the value of ecosystem services should be based on the distribution of differentiated ecological compensation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Tampa Bay Ecosystem Services Demonstration Project Website: Phase II

EPA Science Inventory

The Tampa Bay Ecosystem Services Demonstration Project models the impact of human development and natural stressors on the economic, aesthetic and cultural value of local ecosystems. By linking ecological structures, functions, and condition to the ecosystem services valued by h...

Quantifying the Climate Impacts of Land Use Change (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson-Teixeira, K. J.; Snyder, P. K.; Twine, T. E.

2010-12-01

Climate change mitigation efforts that involve land use decisions call for comprehensive quantification of the climate services of terrestrial ecosystems. This is particularly imperative for analyses of the climate impact of bioenergy production, as land use change is often the single most important factor in determining bioenergy’s sustainability. However, current metrics of the climate services of terrestrial ecosystems used for policy applications—including biofuels life cycle analyses—account only for biogeochemical climate services (greenhouse gas regulation), ignoring biophysical climate regulation services (regulation of water and energy balances). Policies thereby run the risk of failing to advance the best climate solutions. Here, we present a quantitative metric that combines biogeochemical and biophysical climate services of terrestrial ecosystems, the ‘climate regulation value’ (CRV), which characterizes the climate benefit of maintaining an ecosystem over a multiple-year time frame. Using a combination of data synthesis and modeling, we calculate the CRV for a variety of natural and managed ecosystem types within the western hemisphere. Biogeochemical climate services are generally positive in unmanaged ecosystems (clearing the ecosystem has a warming effect), and may be positive or negative (clearing the ecosystem has a cooling effect) for managed ecosystems. Biophysical climate services may be either positive (e.g., tropical forests) or negative (e.g., high latitude forests). When averaged on a global scale, biogeochemical services usually outweigh biophysical services; however, biophysical climate services are not negligible. This implies that effective analysis of the climate impacts of bioenergy production must consider the integrated effects of biogeochemical and biophysical ecosystem climate services.

Status and prospects for renewable energy using wood pellets from the southeastern United States

DOE PAGES

Dale, Virginia H.; Kline, Keith L.; Parish, Esther S.; ...

2017-04-20

The ongoing debate about costs and benefits of wood-pellet based bioenergy production in the southeastern United States (SE USA) requires an understanding of the science and context influencing market decisions associated with its sustainability. Production of pellets has garnered much attention as US exports have grown from negligible amounts in the early 2000s to 4.6 million metric tonnes in 2015. Currently, 98% of these pellet exports are shipped to Europe to displace coal in power plants. We ask, 'How is the production of wood pellets in the SE USA affecting forest systems and the ecosystem services they provide?' To addressmore » this question, we review current forest conditions and the status of the wood products industry, how pellet production affects ecosystem services and biodiversity, and what methods are in place to monitor changes and protect vulnerable systems. Scientific studies provide evidence that wood pellets in the SE USA are a fraction of total forestry operations and can be produced while maintaining or improving forest ecosystem services. Ecosystem services are protected by the requirement to utilize loggers trained to apply scientifically based best management practices in planning and implementing harvest for the export market. Bioenergy markets supplement incomes to private rural landholders and provide an incentive for forest management practices that simultaneously benefit water quality and wildlife and reduce risk of fire and insect outbreaks. Bioenergy also increases the value of forest land to landowners, thereby decreasing likelihood of conversion to nonforest uses. Monitoring and evaluation are essential to verify that regulations and good practices are achieving goals and to enable timely responses if problems arise. Conducting rigorous research to understand how conditions change in response to management choices requires baseline data, monitoring, and appropriate reference scenarios. Furthermore, long-term monitoring data on forest conditions should be publicly accessible and utilized to inform adaptive management.« less

Managing aquatic ecosystems and water resources under multiple stress--an introduction to the MARS project.

PubMed

Hering, Daniel; Carvalho, Laurence; Argillier, Christine; Beklioglu, Meryem; Borja, Angel; Cardoso, Ana Cristina; Duel, Harm; Ferreira, Teresa; Globevnik, Lidija; Hanganu, Jenica; Hellsten, Seppo; Jeppesen, Erik; Kodeš, Vit; Solheim, Anne Lyche; Nõges, Tiina; Ormerod, Steve; Panagopoulos, Yiannis; Schmutz, Stefan; Venohr, Markus; Birk, Sebastian

2015-01-15

Water resources globally are affected by a complex mixture of stressors resulting from a range of drivers, including urban and agricultural land use, hydropower generation and climate change. Understanding how stressors interfere and impact upon ecological status and ecosystem services is essential for developing effective River Basin Management Plans and shaping future environmental policy. This paper details the nature of these problems for Europe's water resources and the need to find solutions at a range of spatial scales. In terms of the latter, we describe the aims and approaches of the EU-funded project MARS (Managing Aquatic ecosystems and water Resources under multiple Stress) and the conceptual and analytical framework that it is adopting to provide this knowledge, understanding and tools needed to address multiple stressors. MARS is operating at three scales: At the water body scale, the mechanistic understanding of stressor interactions and their impact upon water resources, ecological status and ecosystem services will be examined through multi-factorial experiments and the analysis of long time-series. At the river basin scale, modelling and empirical approaches will be adopted to characterise relationships between multiple stressors and ecological responses, functions, services and water resources. The effects of future land use and mitigation scenarios in 16 European river basins will be assessed. At the European scale, large-scale spatial analysis will be carried out to identify the relationships amongst stress intensity, ecological status and service provision, with a special focus on large transboundary rivers, lakes and fish. The project will support managers and policy makers in the practical implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), of related legislation and of the Blueprint to Safeguard Europe's Water Resources by advising the 3rd River Basin Management Planning cycle, the revision of the WFD and by developing new tools for diagnosing and predicting multiple stressors. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Status and prospects for renewable energy using wood pellets from the southeastern United States

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dale, Virginia H.; Kline, Keith L.; Parish, Esther S.

The ongoing debate about costs and benefits of wood-pellet based bioenergy production in the southeastern United States (SE USA) requires an understanding of the science and context influencing market decisions associated with its sustainability. Production of pellets has garnered much attention as US exports have grown from negligible amounts in the early 2000s to 4.6 million metric tonnes in 2015. Currently, 98% of these pellet exports are shipped to Europe to displace coal in power plants. We ask, 'How is the production of wood pellets in the SE USA affecting forest systems and the ecosystem services they provide?' To addressmore » this question, we review current forest conditions and the status of the wood products industry, how pellet production affects ecosystem services and biodiversity, and what methods are in place to monitor changes and protect vulnerable systems. Scientific studies provide evidence that wood pellets in the SE USA are a fraction of total forestry operations and can be produced while maintaining or improving forest ecosystem services. Ecosystem services are protected by the requirement to utilize loggers trained to apply scientifically based best management practices in planning and implementing harvest for the export market. Bioenergy markets supplement incomes to private rural landholders and provide an incentive for forest management practices that simultaneously benefit water quality and wildlife and reduce risk of fire and insect outbreaks. Bioenergy also increases the value of forest land to landowners, thereby decreasing likelihood of conversion to nonforest uses. Monitoring and evaluation are essential to verify that regulations and good practices are achieving goals and to enable timely responses if problems arise. Conducting rigorous research to understand how conditions change in response to management choices requires baseline data, monitoring, and appropriate reference scenarios. Furthermore, long-term monitoring data on forest conditions should be publicly accessible and utilized to inform adaptive management.« less

The EBM-DPSER Conceptual Model: Integrating Ecosystem Services into the DPSIR Framework

PubMed Central

Kelble, Christopher R.; Loomis, Dave K.; Lovelace, Susan; Nuttle, William K.; Ortner, Peter B.; Fletcher, Pamela; Cook, Geoffrey S.; Lorenz, Jerry J.; Boyer, Joseph N.

2013-01-01

There is a pressing need to integrate biophysical and human dimensions science to better inform holistic ecosystem management supporting the transition from single species or single-sector management to multi-sector ecosystem-based management. Ecosystem-based management should focus upon ecosystem services, since they reflect societal goals, values, desires, and benefits. The inclusion of ecosystem services into holistic management strategies improves management by better capturing the diversity of positive and negative human-natural interactions and making explicit the benefits to society. To facilitate this inclusion, we propose a conceptual model that merges the broadly applied Driver, Pressure, State, Impact, and Response (DPSIR) conceptual model with ecosystem services yielding a Driver, Pressure, State, Ecosystem service, and Response (EBM-DPSER) conceptual model. The impact module in traditional DPSIR models focuses attention upon negative anthropomorphic impacts on the ecosystem; by replacing impacts with ecosystem services the EBM-DPSER model incorporates not only negative, but also positive changes in the ecosystem. Responses occur as a result of changes in ecosystem services and include inter alia management actions directed at proactively altering human population or individual behavior and infrastructure to meet societal goals. The EBM-DPSER conceptual model was applied to the Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas marine ecosystem as a case study to illustrate how it can inform management decisions. This case study captures our system-level understanding and results in a more holistic representation of ecosystem and human society interactions, thus improving our ability to identify trade-offs. The EBM-DPSER model should be a useful operational tool for implementing EBM, in that it fully integrates our knowledge of all ecosystem components while focusing management attention upon those aspects of the ecosystem most important to human society and does so within a framework already familiar to resource managers. PMID:23951002

The EBM-DPSER conceptual model: integrating ecosystem services into the DPSIR framework.

PubMed

Kelble, Christopher R; Loomis, Dave K; Lovelace, Susan; Nuttle, William K; Ortner, Peter B; Fletcher, Pamela; Cook, Geoffrey S; Lorenz, Jerry J; Boyer, Joseph N

2013-01-01

There is a pressing need to integrate biophysical and human dimensions science to better inform holistic ecosystem management supporting the transition from single species or single-sector management to multi-sector ecosystem-based management. Ecosystem-based management should focus upon ecosystem services, since they reflect societal goals, values, desires, and benefits. The inclusion of ecosystem services into holistic management strategies improves management by better capturing the diversity of positive and negative human-natural interactions and making explicit the benefits to society. To facilitate this inclusion, we propose a conceptual model that merges the broadly applied Driver, Pressure, State, Impact, and Response (DPSIR) conceptual model with ecosystem services yielding a Driver, Pressure, State, Ecosystem service, and Response (EBM-DPSER) conceptual model. The impact module in traditional DPSIR models focuses attention upon negative anthropomorphic impacts on the ecosystem; by replacing impacts with ecosystem services the EBM-DPSER model incorporates not only negative, but also positive changes in the ecosystem. Responses occur as a result of changes in ecosystem services and include inter alia management actions directed at proactively altering human population or individual behavior and infrastructure to meet societal goals. The EBM-DPSER conceptual model was applied to the Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas marine ecosystem as a case study to illustrate how it can inform management decisions. This case study captures our system-level understanding and results in a more holistic representation of ecosystem and human society interactions, thus improving our ability to identify trade-offs. The EBM-DPSER model should be a useful operational tool for implementing EBM, in that it fully integrates our knowledge of all ecosystem components while focusing management attention upon those aspects of the ecosystem most important to human society and does so within a framework already familiar to resource managers.

Quantification of Boat Visitation Rates at Artificial and Natural Reefs in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Using Acoustic Recorders

PubMed Central

Simard, Peter; Wall, Kara R.; Mann, David A.; Wall, Carrie C.; Stallings, Christopher D.

2016-01-01

Artificial reefs are commonly used as a management tool, in part to provide ecosystem services, including opportunities for recreational fishing and diving. Quantifying the use of artificial reefs by recreational boaters is essential for determining their value as ecosystem services. In this study, four artificial–natural reef pairs in the eastern Gulf of Mexico (off western Florida) were investigated for boat visitation rates using autonomous acoustic recorders. Digital SpectroGram (DSG) recorders were used to collect sound files from April 2013 to March 2015. An automatic detection algorithm was used to identify boat noise in individual files using the harmonic peaks generated by boat engines, and by comparing the sound amplitude of each file with surrounding files. In all four pairs, visitation rates were significantly higher at the artificial reef than the natural reef. This increase in boat visitation was likely due to actual or perceived increased quality of fishing and diving at the artificial reefs, or to lack of knowledge of the presence or locations of the natural reefs. Inshore reefs (<15 m depth) had high variability in monthly visitation rates, which were generally highest in warmer months. However the seasonal signal was dampened on offshore reefs (>25 m depth). This study appears to be the first to use acoustic data to measure participant use of boating destinations, and highlights the utility of acoustic monitoring for the valuation of this important ecosystem service provided by artificial reefs. PMID:27500533

Quantification of Boat Visitation Rates at Artificial and Natural Reefs in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Using Acoustic Recorders.

PubMed

Simard, Peter; Wall, Kara R; Mann, David A; Wall, Carrie C; Stallings, Christopher D

2016-01-01

Artificial reefs are commonly used as a management tool, in part to provide ecosystem services, including opportunities for recreational fishing and diving. Quantifying the use of artificial reefs by recreational boaters is essential for determining their value as ecosystem services. In this study, four artificial-natural reef pairs in the eastern Gulf of Mexico (off western Florida) were investigated for boat visitation rates using autonomous acoustic recorders. Digital SpectroGram (DSG) recorders were used to collect sound files from April 2013 to March 2015. An automatic detection algorithm was used to identify boat noise in individual files using the harmonic peaks generated by boat engines, and by comparing the sound amplitude of each file with surrounding files. In all four pairs, visitation rates were significantly higher at the artificial reef than the natural reef. This increase in boat visitation was likely due to actual or perceived increased quality of fishing and diving at the artificial reefs, or to lack of knowledge of the presence or locations of the natural reefs. Inshore reefs (<15 m depth) had high variability in monthly visitation rates, which were generally highest in warmer months. However the seasonal signal was dampened on offshore reefs (>25 m depth). This study appears to be the first to use acoustic data to measure participant use of boating destinations, and highlights the utility of acoustic monitoring for the valuation of this important ecosystem service provided by artificial reefs.

Watershed characterization and analysis using the VELMA ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

We developed a broadly applicable watershed simulator – VELMA (Visualizing Ecosystem and Land Management Assessments) – to characterize hydrological and ecological processes essential to the healthy functioning of watersheds, and to identify best management practices (BMPs) for restoring ecosystem services such as provisioning of clean water, food and fiber, and habitat for fish and wildlife. VELMA has been applied to agricultural, forest, rangeland and arctic watersheds across North America. Urban applications are under development. This seminar will discuss how VELMA is being used to help inform (1) salmon recovery planning in Puget Sound, and (2) water quality protection in Chesapeake Bay agricultural landscapes. These examples highlight the importance of model validation; how VELMA is being linked with additional models to aid BMP identification; and how the model is being transferred to community groups, tribes, and state and federal agencies engaged in environmental decision making. This invited seminar for the Washington State Department of Ecology will provide an overview of EPA’s VELMA watershed simulator and its applications for identifying best management practices for protecting and restoring vital ecosystem services, such as provisioning of clean water, food and fiber, and habitat for fish and wildlife. After the seminar, the presenter will meet with Department of Ecology staff to discuss the feasibility of including VELMA in their Puget Sound

Dynamics of ecosystem services provided by subtropical ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The trends in the provision of ecosystem services during restoration and succession of subtropical forests and plantations were quantified, in terms of both receiver and donor values, based on a case study of a 3-step secondary succession series that included a 400-year-old subtropical forest and a 23-year history of growth on 3 subtropical forest plantations in Southeastern China. The ‘People's Republic of China Forestry Standard: Forest Ecosystem Service Valuation Norms’ was revised and applied to quantify the receiver values of ecosystem services, which were then compared with the emergy-based, donor values of the services. The results revealed that the efficiencies of subtropical forests and plantations in providing ecosystem services were 2 orders of magnitude higher than similar services provided by the current China economic system, and these efficiencieskept increasing over the course of succession. As a result, we conclude that afforestation is an efficient way to accelerate both the ability and efficiency of subtropical forests to provide ecosystem services. This paper is significant because it examines the dynamics of the provision of ecosystem services by forests over a succession series that spans 400 years. The paper also examines the rate of increase of services during forest restoration over a period of 23 years. The emergy used in ecosystem services provision is compared to the provision of similar services by economic means in the Chinese e

Ecosystem Services Decision Support: A Living Database of Existing Tools, Approaches and Techniques for Supporting Decisions Related to Ecosystem Services (Poster)

EPA Science Inventory

Planners and decision makers are challenged to consider not only direct market costs, but also ecological externalities. There is an increasing emphasis on ecosystem services in the context of human well-being, and therefore the valuation and accounting of ecosystem services is b...

Operationalizing Network Theory for Ecosystem Service Assessments.

PubMed

Dee, Laura E; Allesina, Stefano; Bonn, Aletta; Eklöf, Anna; Gaines, Steven D; Hines, Jes; Jacob, Ute; McDonald-Madden, Eve; Possingham, Hugh; Schröter, Matthias; Thompson, Ross M

2017-02-01

Managing ecosystems to provide ecosystem services in the face of global change is a pressing challenge for policy and science. Predicting how alternative management actions and changing future conditions will alter services is complicated by interactions among components in ecological and socioeconomic systems. Failure to understand those interactions can lead to detrimental outcomes from management decisions. Network theory that integrates ecological and socioeconomic systems may provide a path to meeting this challenge. While network theory offers promising approaches to examine ecosystem services, few studies have identified how to operationalize networks for managing and assessing diverse ecosystem services. We propose a framework for how to use networks to assess how drivers and management actions will directly and indirectly alter ecosystem services. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Thermodynamic accounting of ecosystem contribution to economic sectors with application to 1992 U.S. economy.

PubMed

Ukidwe, Nandan U; Bakshi, Bhavik R

2004-09-15

Incorporation of ecological considerations in decision-making is essential for sustainable development, but is hindered by inadequate appreciation of the role of ecosystems, and lack of scientifically rigorous techniques for including their contribution. This paper develops a novel thermodynamic accounting framework for including the contribution of natural capital via thermodynamic input-output analysis. This framework is applied to the 1992 US economy comprising 91 industry sectors, resulting in delineation of the myriad ways in which sectors of the US economy rely on ecosystem products and services. The contribution of ecosystems is represented via the concept of ecological cumulative exergy consumption (ECEC), which is related to emergy analysis but avoids any of its controversial assumptions and claims. The use of thermodynamics permits representation of all kinds of inputs and outputs in consistent units, facilitating the definition of aggregate metrics. Total ECEC requirement indicates the extent to which each economic sector relies directly and indirectly on ecological inputs. The ECEC/money ratio indicates the relative monetary versus ecological throughputs in each sector, and indicates the relationship between the thermodynamic work needed to produce a product or service and the corresponding economic activity. This ratio is found to decrease along economic supply chains, indicating industries that are higher up in the economic food chain price ecosystem contribution more than the basic infrastructure industries such as mining and manufacturing. The ratio of CEC with and without inclusion of ecosystems indicates the extent to which conventional thermoeconomic analysis underestimates the contribution of ecosystems. Such ratios, made available for the first time, provide unique insight into the importance of natural capital, and are especially useful in hybrid thermodynamic life cycle analysis of industrial systems. The approach, data compiled in this work, and the resulting insight provide a more ecologically conscious tool for environmental decision-making, and has potential applications at micro as well as macro scales.

Ecosystem Services in the Gulf of Maine

EPA Science Inventory

The primary goal of ecosystem-based management (EBM) is to sustain the long-term capacity of the natural world to provide ecosystem services. A technical workshop was held with the object of moving toward identifying, mapping, quantifying, and valuing ecosystem services in the G...

Priorities for research in soil ecology

PubMed Central

Eisenhauer, Nico; Antunes, Pedro M.; Bennett, Alison E.; Birkhofer, Klaus; Bissett, Andrew; Bowker, Matthew A.; Caruso, Tancredi; Chen, Baodong; Coleman, David C.; de Boer, Wietse; de Ruiter, Peter; DeLuca, Thomas H.; Frati, Francesco; Griffiths, Bryan S.; Hart, Miranda M.; Hättenschwiler, Stephan; Haimi, Jari; Heethoff, Michael; Kaneko, Nobuhiro; Kelly, Laura C.; Leinaas, Hans Petter; Lindo, Zoë; Macdonald, Catriona; Rillig, Matthias C.; Ruess, Liliane; Scheu, Stefan; Schmidt, Olaf; Seastedt, Timothy R.; van Straalen, Nico M.; Tiunov, Alexei V.; Zimmer, Martin; Powell, Jeff R.

2017-01-01

The ecological interactions that occur in and with soil are of consequence in many ecosystems on the planet. These interactions provide numerous essential ecosystem services, and the sustainable management of soils has attracted increasing scientific and public attention. Although soil ecology emerged as an independent field of research many decades ago, and we have gained important insights into the functioning of soils, there still are fundamental aspects that need to be better understood to ensure that the ecosystem services that soils provide are not lost and that soils can be used in a sustainable way. In this perspectives paper, we highlight some of the major knowledge gaps that should be prioritized in soil ecological research. These research priorities were compiled based on an online survey of 32 editors of Pedobiologia – Journal of Soil Ecology. These editors work at universities and research centers in Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia.The questions were categorized into four themes: (1) soil biodiversity and biogeography, (2) interactions and the functioning of ecosystems, (3) global change and soil management, and (4) new directions. The respondents identified priorities that may be achievable in the near future, as well as several that are currently achievable but remain open. While some of the identified barriers to progress were technological in nature, many respondents cited a need for substantial leadership and goodwill among members of the soil ecology research community, including the need for multi-institutional partnerships, and had substantial concerns regarding the loss of taxonomic expertise. PMID:29129942

Priorities for research in soil ecology.

PubMed

Eisenhauer, Nico; Antunes, Pedro M; Bennett, Alison E; Birkhofer, Klaus; Bissett, Andrew; Bowker, Matthew A; Caruso, Tancredi; Chen, Baodong; Coleman, David C; de Boer, Wietse; de Ruiter, Peter; DeLuca, Thomas H; Frati, Francesco; Griffiths, Bryan S; Hart, Miranda M; Hättenschwiler, Stephan; Haimi, Jari; Heethoff, Michael; Kaneko, Nobuhiro; Kelly, Laura C; Leinaas, Hans Petter; Lindo, Zoë; Macdonald, Catriona; Rillig, Matthias C; Ruess, Liliane; Scheu, Stefan; Schmidt, Olaf; Seastedt, Timothy R; van Straalen, Nico M; Tiunov, Alexei V; Zimmer, Martin; Powell, Jeff R

2017-07-01

The ecological interactions that occur in and with soil are of consequence in many ecosystems on the planet. These interactions provide numerous essential ecosystem services, and the sustainable management of soils has attracted increasing scientific and public attention. Although soil ecology emerged as an independent field of research many decades ago, and we have gained important insights into the functioning of soils, there still are fundamental aspects that need to be better understood to ensure that the ecosystem services that soils provide are not lost and that soils can be used in a sustainable way. In this perspectives paper, we highlight some of the major knowledge gaps that should be prioritized in soil ecological research. These research priorities were compiled based on an online survey of 32 editors of Pedobiologia - Journal of Soil Ecology. These editors work at universities and research centers in Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia.The questions were categorized into four themes: (1) soil biodiversity and biogeography, (2) interactions and the functioning of ecosystems, (3) global change and soil management, and (4) new directions. The respondents identified priorities that may be achievable in the near future, as well as several that are currently achievable but remain open. While some of the identified barriers to progress were technological in nature, many respondents cited a need for substantial leadership and goodwill among members of the soil ecology research community, including the need for multi-institutional partnerships, and had substantial concerns regarding the loss of taxonomic expertise.

Modelling impacts of second generation bioenergy production on Ecosystem Services in Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henner, Dagmar N.; Smith, Pete; Davies, Christian; McNamara, Niall P.

2015-04-01

Bioenergy crops are an important source of renewable energy and are a possible mechanism to mitigate global climate warming, by replacing fossil fuel energy with higher greenhouse gas emissions. There is, however, uncertainty about the impacts of the growth of bioenergy crops on ecosystem services. This uncertainty is further enhanced by the unpredictable climate change currently going on. The goal of this project is to develop a comprehensive model that covers as many ecosystem services as possible at a Continental level including biodiversity, water, GHG emissions, soil, and cultural services. The distribution and production of second generation energy crops, such as Miscanthus, Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) and Short Rotation Forestry (SRF), is currently being modelled, and ecosystem models will be used to examine the impacts of these crops on ecosystem services. The project builds on models of energy crop production, biodiversity, soil impacts, greenhouse gas emissions and other ecosystem services, and on work undertaken in the UK on the ETI-funded ELUM project (www.elum.ac.uk). In addition, methods like water footprint tools, tourism value maps and ecosystem valuation tools and models (e.g. InVest, TEEB database, GREET LCA Model, World Business Council for Sustainable Development corporate ecosystem valuation, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and the Ecosystem Services Framework) will be utilised. Research will focus on optimisation of land use change feedbacks on ecosystem services and biodiversity, and weighting of the importance of the individual ecosystem services. Energy crops will be modelled using low, medium and high climate change scenarios for the years between 2015 and 2050. We will present first results for GHG emissions and soil organic carbon change after different land use change scenarios (e.g. arable to Miscanthus, forest to SRF), and with different climate warming scenarios. All this will be complemented by the presentation of a matrix including all the factors and ecosystem services influenced by land use change to bioenergy crop production under different climate change scenarios.

Ecosystem Services Insights into Water Resources Management in China: A Case of Xi'an City.

PubMed

Liu, Jingya; Li, Jing; Gao, Ziyi; Yang, Min; Qin, Keyu; Yang, Xiaonan

2016-11-24

Global climate and environmental changes are endangering global water resources; and several approaches have been tested to manage and reduce the pressure on these decreasing resources. This study uses the case study of Xi'an City in China to test reasonable and effective methods to address water resource shortages. The study generated a framework combining ecosystem services and water resource management. Seven ecosystem indicators were classified as supply services, regulating services, or cultural services. Index values for each indicator were calculated, and based on questionnaire results, each index's weight was calculated. Using the Likert method, we calculated ecosystem service supplies in every region of the city. We found that the ecosystem's service capability is closely related to water resources, providing a method for managing water resources. Using Xi'an City as an example, we apply the ecosystem services concept to water resources management, providing a method for decision makers.

Integrating the provision of ecosystem services and trawl fisheries for the management of the marine environment.

PubMed

Muntadas, Alba; de Juan, Silvia; Demestre, Montserrat

2015-02-15

The species interaction and their biological traits (BT) determine the function of benthic communities and, hence, the delivery of ecosystem services. Therefore, disturbance of benthic communities by trawling may compromise ecosystem service delivery, including fisheries' catches. In this work, we explore 1) the impact of trawling activities on benthic functional components (after the BTA approach) and 2) how trawling impact may affect the ecosystem services delivered by benthic communities. To this aim, we assessed the provision of ecosystem services by adopting the concept of Ecosystem Service Providers (ESP), i.e. ecological units that perform ecosystem functions that will ultimately deliver ecosystem services. We studied thirteen sites subjected to different levels of fishing effort in the Mediterranean. From a range of environmental variables included in the study, we found ESPs to be mainly affected by fishing effort and grain size. Our results suggested that habitat type has significant effects on the distribution of ESPs and this natural variability influences ESP response to trawling at a specific site. In order to summarize the complex relationships between human uses, ecosystem components and the demand for ecosystem services in trawling grounds, we adapted a DPSIR (Drivers-Pressures-State Change-Impact-Response) framework to the study area, emphasizing the role of society as Drivers of change and actors demanding management Responses. This integrative framework aims to inform managers about the interactions between all the elements involved in the management of trawling grounds, highlighting the need for an integrated approach in order to ensure ecosystem service provision. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The need for simultaneous evaluation of ecosystem services and land use change

USGS Publications Warehouse

Euliss, Ned H.; Smith, Loren M.; Liu, Shu-Guang; Feng, Min; Mushet, David M.; Auch, Roger F.; Loveland, Thomas R.

2010-01-01

We are living in a period of massive global change. This rate of change may be almost without precedent in geologic history (1). Even the most remote areas of the planet are influenced by human activities. Modern landscapes have been highly modified to accommodate a growing human population that the United Nations has forecast to peak at 9.1 billion by 2050. Over this past century, reliance on services from ecosystems has increased significantly and, over past decades, sustainability of our modern, intensively managed ecosystems has been a topic of serious international concern (1). Numerous papers addressing a particular land-use change effect on specific ecosystem services have recently been published. For example, there is currently great interest in increasing biofuel production to achieve energy inde- pendence goals and recent papers have independently focused attention on impacts of land-use change on single ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration (2) and many others (e.g., water availability, biodiversity, pollination). However, land-use change clearly affects myriad ecosystem services simultaneously. Hence, a broader perspective and context is needed to evaluate and understand interrelated affects on multiple ecosystem services, especially as we strive for the goal of sustainably managing global ecosystems. Similarly, land uses affect ecosystem services synergistically; single land-use evaluations may be misleading because the overall impact on an ecosystem is not evaluated. A more holistic approach would provide a means and framework to characterize how land-use change affects provisioning of goods and services of complete ecosystems.

[Ecosystem services valuation of Qinghai Lake].

PubMed

Jiang, Bo; Zhang, Lu; Ouyang, Zhi-yun

2015-10-01

Qinghai Lake is the largest inland and salt water lake in China, and provides important ecosystem services to beneficiaries. Economic valuation of wetland ecosystem services from Qinghai Lake can reveal the direct contribution of lake ecosystems to beneficiaries using economic data, which can advance the incorporation of wetland protection of Qinghai Lake into economic tradeoffs and decision analyses. In this paper, we established a final ecosystem services valuation system based on the underlying ecological mechanisms and regional socio-economic conditions. We then evaluated the eco-economic value provided by the wetlands at Qinghai Lake to beneficiaries in 2012 using the market value method, replacement cost method, zonal travel cost method, and contingent valuation method. According to the valuation result, the total economic values of the final ecosystem services provided by the wetlands at Qinghai Lake were estimated to be 6749.08 x 10(8) yuan RMB in 2012, among which the value of water storage service and climate regulation service were 4797.57 x 10(8) and 1929.34 x 10(8) yuan RMB, accounting for 71.1% and 28.6% of the total value, respectively. The economic value of the 8 final ecosystem services was ranked from greatest to lowest as: water storage service > climate regulation service > recreation and tourism service > non-use value > oxygen release service > raw material production service > carbon sequestration service > food production service. The evaluation result of this paper reflects the substantial value that the wetlands of Qinghai Lake provide to beneficiaries using monetary values, which has the potential to help increase wetland protection awareness among the public and decision-makers, and inform managers about ways to create ecological compensation incentives. The final ecosystem service evaluation system presented in this paper will offer guidance on separating intermediate services and final services, and establishing monitoring programs for dynamic ecosystem services valuation with the aim of helping improve management outcomes.

Strong and nonlinear effects of fragmentation on ecosystem service provision at multiple scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitchell, Matthew G. E.; Bennett, Elena M.; Gonzalez, Andrew

2015-09-01

Human actions, such as converting natural land cover to agricultural or urban land, result in the loss and fragmentation of natural habitat, with important consequences for the provision of ecosystem services. Such habitat loss is especially important for services that are supplied by fragments of natural land cover and that depend on flows of organisms, matter, or people across the landscape to produce benefits, such as pollination, pest regulation, recreation and cultural services. However, our quantitative knowledge about precisely how different patterns of landscape fragmentation might affect the provision of these types of services is limited. We used a simple, spatially explicit model to evaluate the potential impact of natural land cover loss and fragmentation on the provision of hypothetical ecosystem services. Based on current literature, we assumed that fragments of natural land cover provide ecosystem services to the area surrounding them in a distance-dependent manner such that ecosystem service flow depended on proximity to fragments. We modeled seven different patterns of natural land cover loss across landscapes that varied in the overall level of landscape fragmentation. Our model predicts that natural land cover loss will have strong and unimodal effects on ecosystem service provision, with clear thresholds indicating rapid loss of service provision beyond critical levels of natural land cover loss. It also predicts the presence of a tradeoff between maximizing ecosystem service provision and conserving natural land cover, and a mismatch between ecosystem service provision at landscape versus finer spatial scales. Importantly, the pattern of landscape fragmentation mitigated or intensified these tradeoffs and mismatches. Our model suggests that managing patterns of natural land cover loss and fragmentation could help influence the provision of multiple ecosystem services and manage tradeoffs and synergies between services across different human-dominated landscapes.

A systematic approach for quantifying final ecosystems services at regional and national scales

EPA Science Inventory

Since the development of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005), there have been a myriad of proposals regarding how to apply ecosystem services concepts in routine, systematic ways to support standards, markets and assessments of ecosystems services. The key question being ...

Digging Deeper: A Case Study of Farmer Conceptualization of Ecosystem Services in the American South.

PubMed

Quinn, Courtney E; Quinn, John E; Halfacre, Angela C

2015-10-01

The interest in improved environmental sustainability of agriculture via biodiversity provides an opportunity for placed-based research on the conceptualization and articulation of ecosystem services. Yet, few studies have explored how farmers conceptualize the relationship between their farm and nature and by extension ecosystem services. Examining how farmers in the Southern Piedmont of South Carolina discuss and explain the role of nature on their farm, we create a detail-rich picture of how they perceive ecosystem services and their contributions to the agroeconomy. Using 34 semi-structured interviews, we developed a detail-rich qualitative portrait of these farmers' conceptualizations of ecosystem services. Farmers' conceptualization of four ecosystem services: provisioning, supporting, regulating, and cultural are discussed, as well as articulation of disservices. Results of interviews show that most interviewees expressed a basic understanding of the relationship between nature and agriculture and many articulated benefits provided by nature to their farm. Farmers referred indirectly to most services, though they did not attribute services to biodiversity or ecological function. While farmers have a general understanding and appreciation of nature, they lack knowledge on specific ways biodiversity benefits their farm. This lack of knowledge may ultimately limit farmer decision-making and land management to utilize ecosystem services for environmental and economic benefits. These results suggest that additional communication with farmers about ecosystem services is needed as our understanding of these benefits increases. This change may require collaboration between conservation biology professionals and extension and agriculture professionals to extended successful biomass provisioning services to other ecosystem services.

Conservation Planning for Ecosystem Services

PubMed Central

Chan, Kai M. A; Shaw, M. Rebecca; Cameron, David R; Underwood, Emma C; Daily, Gretchen C

2006-01-01

Despite increasing attention to the human dimension of conservation projects, a rigorous, systematic methodology for planning for ecosystem services has not been developed. This is in part because flows of ecosystem services remain poorly characterized at local-to-regional scales, and their protection has not generally been made a priority. We used a spatially explicit conservation planning framework to explore the trade-offs and opportunities for aligning conservation goals for biodiversity with six ecosystem services (carbon storage, flood control, forage production, outdoor recreation, crop pollination, and water provision) in the Central Coast ecoregion of California, United States. We found weak positive and some weak negative associations between the priority areas for biodiversity conservation and the flows of the six ecosystem services across the ecoregion. Excluding the two agriculture-focused services—crop pollination and forage production—eliminates all negative correlations. We compared the degree to which four contrasting conservation network designs protect biodiversity and the flow of the six services. We found that biodiversity conservation protects substantial collateral flows of services. Targeting ecosystem services directly can meet the multiple ecosystem services and biodiversity goals more efficiently but cannot substitute for targeted biodiversity protection (biodiversity losses of 44% relative to targeting biodiversity alone). Strategically targeting only biodiversity plus the four positively associated services offers much promise (relative biodiversity losses of 7%). Here we present an initial analytical framework for integrating biodiversity and ecosystem services in conservation planning and illustrate its application. We found that although there are important potential trade-offs between conservation for biodiversity and for ecosystem services, a systematic planning framework offers scope for identifying valuable synergies. PMID:17076586

Indicators of biodiversity and ecosystem services: A synthesis across ecosystems and spatial scales

USGS Publications Warehouse

Feld, C.K.; Da Silva, P.M.; Sousa, J.P.; De Bello, F.; Bugter, R.; Grandin, U.; Hering, D.; Lavorel, S.; Mountford, O.; Pardo, I.; Partel, M.; Rombke, J.; Sandin, Leonard; Jones, K. Bruce; Harrison, P.

2009-01-01

According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, common indicators are needed to monitor the loss of biodiversity and the implications for the sustainable provision of ecosystem services. However, a variety of indicators are already being used resulting in many, mostly incompatible, monitoring systems. In order to synthesise the different indicator approaches and to detect gaps in the development of common indicator systems, we examined 531 indicators that have been reported in 617 peer-reviewed journal articles between 1997 and 2007. Special emphasis was placed on comparing indicators of biodiversity and ecosystem services across ecosystems (forests, grass- and shrublands, wetlands, rivers, lakes, soils and agro-ecosystems) and spatial scales (from patch to global scale). The application of biological indicators was found most often focused on regional and finer spatial scales with few indicators applied across ecosystem types. Abiotic indicators, such as physico-chemical parameters and measures of area and fragmentation, are most frequently used at broader (regional to continental) scales. Despite its multiple dimensions, biodiversity is usually equated with species richness only. The functional, structural and genetic components of biodiversity are poorly addressed despite their potential value across habitats and scales. Ecosystem service indicators are mostly used to estimate regulating and supporting services but generally differ between ecosystem types as they reflect ecosystem-specific services. Despite great effort to develop indicator systems over the past decade, there is still a considerable gap in the widespread use of indicators for many of the multiple components of biodiversity and ecosystem services, and a need to develop common monitoring schemes within and across habitats. Filling these gaps is a prerequisite for linking biodiversity dynamics with ecosystem service delivery and to achieving the goals of global and sub-global initiatives to halt the loss of biodiversity. ?? 2009 Oikos.

Multiple ecosystem services in a working landscape.

PubMed

Eastburn, Danny J; O'Geen, Anthony T; Tate, Kenneth W; Roche, Leslie M

2017-01-01

Policy makers and practitioners are in need of useful tools and models for assessing ecosystem service outcomes and the potential risks and opportunities of ecosystem management options. We utilize a state-and-transition model framework integrating dynamic soil and vegetation properties to examine multiple ecosystem services-specifically agricultural production, biodiversity and habitat, and soil health-across human created vegetation states in a managed oak woodland landscape in a Mediterranean climate. We found clear tradeoffs and synergies in management outcomes. Grassland states maximized agricultural productivity at a loss of soil health, biodiversity, and other ecosystem services. Synergies existed among multiple ecosystem services in savanna and woodland states with significantly larger nutrient pools, more diversity and native plant richness, and less invasive species. This integrative approach can be adapted to a diversity of working landscapes to provide useful information for science-based ecosystem service valuations, conservation decision making, and management effectiveness assessments.

Plant diversity and root traits benefit physical properties key to soil function in grasslands.

PubMed

Gould, Iain J; Quinton, John N; Weigelt, Alexandra; De Deyn, Gerlinde B; Bardgett, Richard D

2016-09-01

Plant diversity loss impairs ecosystem functioning, including important effects on soil. Most studies that have explored plant diversity effects belowground, however, have largely focused on biological processes. As such, our understanding of how plant diversity impacts the soil physical environment remains limited, despite the fundamental role soil physical structure plays in ensuring soil function and ecosystem service provision. Here, in both a glasshouse and a long-term field study, we show that high plant diversity in grassland systems increases soil aggregate stability, a vital structural property of soil, and that root traits play a major role in determining diversity effects. We also reveal that the presence of particular plant species within mixed communities affects an even wider range of soil physical processes, including hydrology and soil strength regimes. Our results indicate that alongside well-documented effects on ecosystem functioning, plant diversity and root traits also benefit essential soil physical properties. © 2016 The Authors Ecology Letters published by CNRS and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Developing a biomonitoring tool for fine sediment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turley, Matt; Bilotta, Gary; Brazier, Richard; Extence, Chris

2014-05-01

Sediment is an essential component of freshwater ecosystems; however anthropogenic activities can lead to elevated sediment delivery which can impact on the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of these ecosystems. Ultimately, this can result in a loss of ecosystem services worth more than 1.7 trillion per annum. As such it is important that sediment, which is one of the most commonly attributed causes of water quality impairment globally, is managed in order to minimise these impacts. The current EU environmental quality standard for sediment (monitored in the form of suspended solids) is 25 mg L-1 for all environments. It is widely recognised that this standard is unsuitable and not ecologically relevant. Furthermore, it requires a substantial resource investment to monitor sediment in this form as part of national and international water resource legislation. In recognition of this the development of sediment-specific biomonitoring tools is receiving increasing attention. The Proportion of Sediment-Sensitive Invertebrates (PSI) index is one such tool that is designed to indicate levels of fine sediment (

Using benefit indicators to evaluate ecosystem services resulting from restoration

EPA Science Inventory

Ecological restoration can reestablish ecosystem services that provide valuable social and environmental benefits. Final ecosystem goods and services (FEGS) are the goods and services that directly benefit people. Explicitly identifying the people who benefit and characterizing w...

Ecosystem services in the Great Lakes

EPA Science Inventory

A comprehensive inventory of ecosystem services across the entire Great Lakes basin is currently lacking and is needed to make informed management decisions. A greater appreciation and understanding of ecosystem services, including both use and non-use services, may have avoided ...

Locating provisioning ecosystem services in urban forests: Forageable woody species in New York City, USA

Treesearch

Patrick T. Hurley; Marla R. Emery

2017-01-01

Scholarship on the ecosystem services provided by urban forests has focused on regulating and supporting services, with a growing body of research examining provisioning and cultural ecosystem services from farms and gardens in metropolitan areas. Using the case of New York, New York, USA, we propose a method to assess the supply of potential provisioning ecosystem...

Soil ecosystem services in loblolly pine plantations 15 years after harvest, compaction, and vegetation control

Treesearch

D. Andrew Scott; Robert J. Eaton; Julie A. Foote; Benjamin Vierra; Thomas W. Boutton; Gary B. Blank; Kurt Johnsen

2014-01-01

Site productivity has long been identified as the primary ecosystem service to be sustained in timberlands. However, soil C sequestration and ecosystem biodiversity have emerged as critical services provided by managed forest soils that must also be sustained. These ecosystem services were assessed in response to gradients of organic matter removal, soil compaction,...

Adaptive management for ecosystem services (j/a) | Science ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Management of natural resources for the production of ecosystem services, which are vital for human well-being, is necessary even when there is uncertainty regarding system response to management action. This uncertainty is the result of incomplete controllability, complex internal feedbacks, and non-linearity that often interferes with desired management outcomes, and insufficient understanding of nature and people. Adaptive management was developed to reduce such uncertainty. We present a framework for the application of adaptive management for ecosystem services that explicitly accounts for cross-scale tradeoffs in the production of ecosystem services. Our framework focuses on identifying key spatiotemporal scales (plot, patch, ecosystem, landscape, and region) that encompass dominant structures and processes in the system, and includes within- and cross-scale dynamics, ecosystem service tradeoffs, and management controllability within and across scales. Resilience theory recognizes that a limited set of ecological processes in a given system regulate ecosystem services, yet our understanding of these processes is poorly understood. If management actions erode or remove these processes, the system may shift into an alternative state unlikely to support the production of desired services. Adaptive management provides a process to assess the underlying within and cross-scale tradeoffs associated with production of ecosystem services while proceeding with manage

Seagrass ecosystem services - What's next?

PubMed

Nordlund, Lina Mtwana; Jackson, Emma L; Nakaoka, Masahiro; Samper-Villarreal, Jimena; Beca-Carretero, Pedro; Creed, Joel C

2017-09-20

Seagrasses, marine flowering plants, provide a wide range of ecosystem services, defined here as natural processes and components that directly or indirectly benefit human needs. Recent research has shown that there are still many gaps in our comprehension of seagrass ecosystem service provision. Furthermore, there seems to be little public knowledge of seagrasses in general and the benefits they provide. This begs the questions: how do we move forward with the information we have? What other information do we need and what actions do we need to take in order to improve the situation and appreciation for seagrass? Based on the outcomes from an international expert knowledge eliciting workshop, three key areas to advance seagrass ecosystem service research were identified: 1) Variability of ecosystem services within seagrass meadows and among different meadows; 2) Seagrass ecosystem services in relation to, and their connection with, other coastal habitats; and 3) Improvement in the communication of seagrass ecosystem services to the public. Here we present ways forward to advance seagrass ecosystem service research in order to raise the profile of seagrass globally, as a means to establish more effective conservation and restoration of these important coastal habitats around the world. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Are Urban Ecosystem Services Useful for a Sustainable City?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jenerette, D.

2014-12-01

In meeting the needs of rapidly expanding city residents, ecosystem functioning within the urban boundary may provide several key services ranging from life-sustaining services such as climate regulation and food production to services associated with recreation and aesthetics. In contrast, ecosystem disservices are associated with ecosystem characteristics that have a negative impact on residents and range from potentially injurious components such as increasing pollutant exposure or additional resource requirements such as irrigation water. Identifying trade-offs in both services and disservices is a priority for assessing how ecosystem functioning influences urban residents. Such assessments require a baseline understanding of their rates of production and acutely need expanded monitoring and modeling. Recent efforts at quantifying ecosystem services and disservices have relied on combinations of direct field surveys, in-situ environmental sensor networks, and remotely sensed vegetation. While much work has been conducted within single metropolitan regions, expanded efforts are underway to analyze networks of urban sites. Here I highlight recent findings associated with urban ecosystem services associated with variation in urban forests and urban gardens as two contrasting ecosystem types within a city. These research efforts are leading to improved understanding of the variation in the production of and specific desires for ecosystem services and disservices. Initial data across several studies suggests desires for services show sensitivity to both socioeconomic status as suggested by a hierarchy of needs hypothesis and local environmental conditions as suggested by an environmental determinism hypothesis. Consequently, the production of ecosystem services also varies dramatically across socioeconomic and climate gradients. Future projections of the rates of service production are highly uncertain with likely strong nonlinearities in responses to urban conditions. Designing for sustainable ecosystem services within cities such that benefits are maximized and costs are minimized as we prepare for a near future with 2.5 billion more urban residents.

Embedding ecosystem services into the Marine Strategy Framework Directive: Illustrated by eutrophication in the North Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Higgins, T. G.; Gilbert, A. J.

2014-03-01

The introduction of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) with its focus on an Ecosystem Approach places an emphasis on the human dimensions of environmental problems. Human activities may be the source of marine degradation, but may also be adversely affected should degradation compromise the provision of ecosystem services. The MSFD marks a shift away from management aiming to restore past, undegraded states toward management for Good Environmental Status (GEnS) based on delivery of marine goods and services. An example relating ecosystem services to criteria for Good Environmental Status is presented for eutrophication, a long recognised problem in many parts of Europe's seas and specifically targeted by descriptors for GEnS. Taking the North Sea as a case study the relationships between the eutrophication criteria of the MSFD and final and intermediate marine ecosystem services are examined. Ecosystem services are valued, where possible in monetary terms, in order to illustrate how eutrophication affects human welfare (economic externalities) through its multiple effects on ecosystem services.

Ecosystem services provided by bats.

PubMed

Kunz, Thomas H; Braun de Torrez, Elizabeth; Bauer, Dana; Lobova, Tatyana; Fleming, Theodore H

2011-03-01

Ecosystem services are the benefits obtained from the environment that increase human well-being. Economic valuation is conducted by measuring the human welfare gains or losses that result from changes in the provision of ecosystem services. Bats have long been postulated to play important roles in arthropod suppression, seed dispersal, and pollination; however, only recently have these ecosystem services begun to be thoroughly evaluated. Here, we review the available literature on the ecological and economic impact of ecosystem services provided by bats. We describe dietary preferences, foraging behaviors, adaptations, and phylogenetic histories of insectivorous, frugivorous, and nectarivorous bats worldwide in the context of their respective ecosystem services. For each trophic ensemble, we discuss the consequences of these ecological interactions on both natural and agricultural systems. Throughout this review, we highlight the research needed to fully determine the ecosystem services in question. Finally, we provide a comprehensive overview of economic valuation of ecosystem services. Unfortunately, few studies estimating the economic value of ecosystem services provided by bats have been conducted to date; however, we outline a framework that could be used in future studies to more fully address this question. Consumptive goods provided by bats, such as food and guano, are often exchanged in markets where the market price indicates an economic value. Nonmarket valuation methods can be used to estimate the economic value of nonconsumptive services, including inputs to agricultural production and recreational activities. Information on the ecological and economic value of ecosystem services provided by bats can be used to inform decisions regarding where and when to protect or restore bat populations and associated habitats, as well as to improve public perception of bats. © 2011 New York Academy of Sciences.

Comparative review of multifunctionality and ecosystem services in sustainable agriculture.

PubMed

Huang, Jiao; Tichit, Muriel; Poulot, Monique; Darly, Ségolène; Li, Shuangcheng; Petit, Caroline; Aubry, Christine

2015-02-01

Two scientific communities with broad interest in sustainable agriculture independently focus on multifunctional agriculture or ecosystem services. These communities have limited interaction and exchange, and each group faces research challenges according to independently operating paradigms. This paper presents a comparative review of published research in multifunctional agriculture and ecosystem services. The motivation for this work is to improve communication, integrate experimental approaches, and propose areas of consensus and dialog for the two communities. This extensive analysis of publication trends, ideologies, and approaches enables formulation of four main conclusions. First, the two communities are closely related through their use of the term "function." However, multifunctional agriculture considers functions as agricultural activity outputs and prefers farm-centred approaches, whereas ecosystem services considers ecosystem functions in the provision of services and prefers service-centred approaches. Second, research approaches to common questions in these two communities share some similarities, and there would be great value in integrating these approaches. Third, the two communities have potential for dialog regarding the bundle of ecosystem services and the spectrum of multifunctional agriculture, or regarding land sharing and land sparing. Fourth, we propose an integrated conceptual framework that distinguishes six groups of ecosystem services and disservices in the agricultural landscape, and combines the concepts of multifunctional agriculture and ecosystem services. This integrated framework improves applications of multifunctional agriculture and ecosystem services for operational use. Future research should examine if the framework can be readily adapted for modelling specific problems in agricultural management. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mitigation for one & all: An integrated framework for mitigation of development impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tallis, Heather, E-mail: htallis@tnc.org; Kennedy, Christina M., E-mail: ckennedy@tnc.org; Ruckelshaus, Mary

Emerging development policies and lending standards call for consideration of ecosystem services when mitigating impacts from development, yet little guidance exists to inform this process. Here we propose a comprehensive framework for advancing both biodiversity and ecosystem service mitigation. We have clarified a means for choosing representative ecosystem service targets alongside biodiversity targets, identified servicesheds as a useful spatial unit for assessing ecosystem service avoidance, impact, and offset options, and discuss methods for consistent calculation of biodiversity and ecosystem service mitigation ratios. We emphasize the need to move away from area- and habitat-based assessment methods for both biodiversity and ecosystemmore » services towards functional assessments at landscape or seascape scales. Such comprehensive assessments more accurately reflect cumulative impacts and variation in environmental quality, social needs and value preferences. The integrated framework builds on the experience of biodiversity mitigation while addressing the unique opportunities and challenges presented by ecosystem service mitigation. These advances contribute to growing potential for economic development planning and execution that will minimize impacts on nature and maximize human wellbeing. - Highlights: • This is the first framework for biodiversity and ecosystem service mitigation. • Functional, landscape scale assessments are ideal for avoidance and offsets. • Servicesheds define the appropriate spatial extent for ecosystem service mitigation. • Mitigation ratios should be calculated consistently and based on standard factors. • Our framework meets the needs of integrated mitigation assessment requirements.« less

Impacts of land use/cover change on ecosystem services for Xiamen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, L.; Cui, S.

2009-12-01

Based on remote sensing images of Xiamen in 1987, 1997 and 2007, the process of ecosystem service alteration resulting from land use/cover change was quantitatively analyzed through RS and GIS techniques. Consulting relative researches, an integrated assessment model was built to evaluating regional ecosystem services of Xiamen. The results showed that the total ecosystem service value of Xiamen was increased by 14.67%, from 3271.5 million to 3751.39 RMB. The relative change rate of supplying service, regulation service, cultural service and supporting service were 97.8%, -25.1%, 165.0% and -44.7% respectively, which indicated that land use/ cover change had positive effects on supplying and cultural service, whereas it had negatively affected both regulation service and supporting service. Land use/cover types of Xiamen in 1987, 1997 and 2007 Ecosystem values of Xiamen in 1987, 1997 and 2007 10 thousand RMB

Improvements in ecosystem services from investments in natural capital.

PubMed

Ouyang, Zhiyun; Zheng, Hua; Xiao, Yi; Polasky, Stephen; Liu, Jianguo; Xu, Weihua; Wang, Qiao; Zhang, Lu; Xiao, Yang; Rao, Enming; Jiang, Ling; Lu, Fei; Wang, Xiaoke; Yang, Guangbin; Gong, Shihan; Wu, Bingfang; Zeng, Yuan; Yang, Wu; Daily, Gretchen C

2016-06-17

In response to ecosystem degradation from rapid economic development, China began investing heavily in protecting and restoring natural capital starting in 2000. We report on China's first national ecosystem assessment (2000-2010), designed to quantify and help manage change in ecosystem services, including food production, carbon sequestration, soil retention, sandstorm prevention, water retention, flood mitigation, and provision of habitat for biodiversity. Overall, ecosystem services improved from 2000 to 2010, apart from habitat provision. China's national conservation policies contributed significantly to the increases in those ecosystem services. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Identifying hotspots and management of critical ecosystem services in rapidly urbanizing Yangtze River Delta Region, China.

PubMed

Cai, Wenbo; Gibbs, David; Zhang, Lang; Ferrier, Graham; Cai, Yongli

2017-04-15

Rapid urbanization has altered many ecosystems, causing a decline in many ecosystem services, generating serious ecological crisis. To cope with these challenges, we presented a comprehensive framework comprising five core steps for identifying and managing hotspots of critical ecosystem services in a rapid urbanizing region. This framework was applied in the case study of the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) Region. The study showed that there was large spatial heterogeneity in the hotspots of ecosystem services in the region, hotspots of supporting services and regulating services aggregately distributing in the southwest mountainous areas while hotspots of provisioning services mainly in the northeast plain, and hotspots of cultural services widespread in the waterbodies and southwest mountainous areas. The regionalization of the critical ecosystem services was made through the hotspot analysis. This study provided valuable information for environmental planning and management in a rapid urbanizing region and helped improve China's ecological redlines policy at regional scale. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Quantitative assessment of urban ecosystem services flow based on entropy theory: A case study of Beijing, China].

PubMed

Li, Jing Xin; Yang, Li; Yang, Lei; Zhang, Chao; Huo, Zhao Min; Chen, Min Hao; Luan, Xiao Feng

2018-03-01

Quantitative evaluation of ecosystem service is a primary premise for rational resources exploitation and sustainable development. Examining ecosystem services flow provides a scientific method to quantity ecosystem services. We built an assessment indicator system based on land cover/land use under the framework of four types of ecosystem services. The types of ecosystem services flow were reclassified. Using entropy theory, disorder degree and developing trend of indicators and urban ecosystem were quantitatively assessed. Beijing was chosen as the study area, and twenty-four indicators were selected for evaluation. The results showed that the entropy value of Beijing urban ecosystem during 2004 to 2015 was 0.794 and the entropy flow was -0.024, suggesting a large disordered degree and near verge of non-health. The system got maximum values for three times, while the mean annual variation of the system entropy value increased gradually in three periods, indicating that human activities had negative effects on urban ecosystem. Entropy flow reached minimum value in 2007, implying the environmental quality was the best in 2007. The determination coefficient for the fitting function of total permanent population in Beijing and urban ecosystem entropy flow was 0.921, indicating that urban ecosystem health was highly correlated with total permanent population.

Causes and consequences of ecosystem service regionalization in a coastal suburban watershed

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wollheim, Wilfred M.; Mark B. Green,; Pellerin, Brian A.; Morse, Nathaniel B.; Hopkinson, Charles S.

2015-01-01

The demand for ecosystem services and the ability of natural ecosystems to provide those services evolve over time as population, land use, and management practices change. Regionalization of ecosystem service activity, or the expansion of the area providing ecosystem services to a population, is a common response in densely populated coastal regions, with important consequences for watershed water and nitrogen (N) fluxes to the coastal zone. We link biophysical and historical information to explore the causes and consequences of change in ecosystem service activity—focusing on water provisioning and N regulation—from 1850 to 2010 in a coastal suburban watershed, the Ipswich River watershed in northeastern Massachusetts, USA. Net interbasin water transfers started in the late 1800s due to regionalization of water supply for use by larger populations living outside the Ipswich watershed boundaries, reaching a peak in the mid-1980s. Over much of the twentieth century, about 20 % of river runoff was diverted from reaching the estuary, with greater proportions during drought years. Ongoing regionalization of water supply has contributed to recent declines in diversions, influenced by socioecological feedbacks resulting from the river drying and fish kills. Similarly, the N budget has been greatly perturbed since the suburban era began in the 1950s due to food and lawn fertilizer imports and human waste release. However, natural ecosystems are able to remove most of this anthropogenic N, mitigating impacts on the coastal zone. We propose a conceptual model whereby the amount and type of ecosystem services provided by coastal watersheds in urban regions expand and contract over time as regional population expands and ecosystem services are regionalized. We hypothesize that suburban watersheds can be hotspots of ecosystem service sources because they retain sufficient ecosystem function to still produce services that meet increasing demand from the local population and nearby urban centers. Historical reconstruction of ecosystem service activity provides a perspective that may help to better understand coupled human–natural system processes and lead to more sustainable management of coastal ecosystems.

Analyzing the spatial patterns and drivers of ecosystem services in rapidly urbanizing Taihu Lake Basin of China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ai, Junyong; Sun, Xiang; Feng, Lan; Li, Yangfan; Zhu, Xiaodong

2015-09-01

Quantifying and mapping the distribution patterns of ecosystem services can help to ascertain which services should be protected and where investments should be directed to improve synergies and reduce tradeoffs. Moreover, the indicators of urbanization that affect the provision of ecosystem services must be identified to determine which approach to adopt in formulating policies related to these services. This paper presents a case study that maps the distribution of multiple ecosystem services and analyzes the ways in which they interact. The relationship between the supply of ecosystem services and the socio-economic development in the Taihu Lake Basin of eastern China is also revealed. Results show a significant negative relationship between crop production and tourism income ( p<0.005) and a positive relationship between crop production, nutrient retention, and carbon sequestration ( p<0.005). The negative effects of the urbanization process on providing and regulating services are also identified through a comparison of the ecosystem services in large and small cities. Regression analysis was used to compare and elucidate the relative significance of the selected urbanization factors to ecosystem services. The results indicate that urbanization level is the most substantial factor inversely correlated with crop production ( R 2 = 0.414) and nutrient retention services ( R 2 = 0.572). Population density is the most important factor that negatively affects carbon sequestration ( R 2 = 0.447). The findings of this study suggest the potential relevance of ecosystem service dynamics to urbanization management and decision making.

Global Mapping of Provisioning Ecosystem Services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bingham, Lisa; Straatsma, Menno; Karssenberg, Derek

2016-04-01

Attributing monetary value to ecosystem services for decision-making has become more relevant as a basis for decision-making. There are a number of problematic aspects of the calculations, including consistency of economy represented (e.g., purchasing price, production price) and determining which ecosystem subservices to include in a valuation. While several authors have proposed methods for calculating ecosystem services and calculations are presented for global and regional studies, the calculations are mostly broken down into biomes and regions without showing spatially explicit results. The key to decision-making for governments is to be able to make spatial-based decisions because a large spatial variation may exist within a biome or region. Our objective was to compute the spatial distribution of global ecosystem services based on 89 subservices. Initially, only the provisioning ecosystem service category is presented. The provisioning ecosystem service category was calculated using 6 ecosystem services (food, water, raw materials, genetic resources, medical resources, and ornaments) divided into 41 subservices. Global data sets were obtained from a variety of governmental and research agencies for the year 2005 because this is the most data complete and recent year available. All data originated either in tabular or grid formats and were disaggregated to 10 km cell length grids. A lookup table with production values by subservice by country were disaggregated over the economic zone (either marine, land, or combination) based on the spatial existence of the subservice (e.g. forest cover, crop land, non-arable land). Values express the production price in international dollars per hectare. The ecosystem services and the ecosystem service category(ies) maps may be used to show spatial variation of a service within and between countries as well as to specifically show the values within specific regions (e.g. countries, continents), biomes (e.g. coastal, forest), or hazardous regions (e.g. landslides, flood plains, war zones). A preliminary example of the provisioning ecosystem service category illustrates the valuation of deltaic regions and a second example illustrates the valuation of the subservice category of food production prices in flood zones. Future work of this research will spatially represent the calculations of the remaining three ecosystem service categories (regulating, habitat, cultural) and investigate the propagation of uncertainty of the input data to ecosystem service maps.

A decision framework for identifying models to estimate forest ecosystem services gains from restoration

USGS Publications Warehouse

Christin, Zachary; Bagstad, Kenneth J.; Verdone, Michael

2016-01-01

Restoring degraded forests and agricultural lands has become a global conservation priority. A growing number of tools can quantify ecosystem service tradeoffs associated with forest restoration. This evolving “tools landscape” presents a dilemma: more tools are available, but selecting appropriate tools has become more challenging. We present a Restoration Ecosystem Service Tool Selector (RESTS) framework that describes key characteristics of 13 ecosystem service assessment tools. Analysts enter information about their decision context, services to be analyzed, and desired outputs. Tools are filtered and presented based on five evaluative criteria: scalability, cost, time requirements, handling of uncertainty, and applicability to benefit-cost analysis. RESTS uses a spreadsheet interface but a web-based interface is planned. Given the rapid evolution of ecosystem services science, RESTS provides an adaptable framework to guide forest restoration decision makers toward tools that can help quantify ecosystem services in support of restoration.

Climate-dependence of ecosystem services in a nature reserve in northern China

PubMed Central

Fang, Jiaohui; Song, Huali; Zhang, Yiran; Li, Yanran

2018-01-01

Evaluation of ecosystem services has become a hotspot in terms of research focus, but uncertainties over appropriate methods remain. Evaluation can be based on the unit price of services (services value method) or the unit price of the area (area value method). The former takes meteorological factors into account, while the latter does not. This study uses Kunyu Mountain Nature Reserve as a study site at which to test the effects of climate on the ecosystem services. Measured data and remote sensing imagery processed in a geographic information system were combined to evaluate gas regulation and soil conservation, and the influence of meteorological factors on ecosystem services. Results were used to analyze the appropriateness of the area value method. Our results show that the value of ecosystem services is significantly affected by meteorological factors, especially precipitation. Use of the area value method (which ignores the impacts of meteorological factors) could considerably impede the accuracy of ecosystem services evaluation. Results were also compared with the valuation obtained using the modified equivalent value factor (MEVF) method, which is a modified area value method that considers changes in meteorological conditions. We found that MEVF still underestimates the value of ecosystem services, although it can reflect to some extent the annual variation in meteorological factors. Our findings contribute to increasing the accuracy of evaluation of ecosystem services. PMID:29438427

Climate-dependence of ecosystem services in a nature reserve in northern China.

PubMed

Fang, Jiaohui; Song, Huali; Zhang, Yiran; Li, Yanran; Liu, Jian

2018-01-01

Evaluation of ecosystem services has become a hotspot in terms of research focus, but uncertainties over appropriate methods remain. Evaluation can be based on the unit price of services (services value method) or the unit price of the area (area value method). The former takes meteorological factors into account, while the latter does not. This study uses Kunyu Mountain Nature Reserve as a study site at which to test the effects of climate on the ecosystem services. Measured data and remote sensing imagery processed in a geographic information system were combined to evaluate gas regulation and soil conservation, and the influence of meteorological factors on ecosystem services. Results were used to analyze the appropriateness of the area value method. Our results show that the value of ecosystem services is significantly affected by meteorological factors, especially precipitation. Use of the area value method (which ignores the impacts of meteorological factors) could considerably impede the accuracy of ecosystem services evaluation. Results were also compared with the valuation obtained using the modified equivalent value factor (MEVF) method, which is a modified area value method that considers changes in meteorological conditions. We found that MEVF still underestimates the value of ecosystem services, although it can reflect to some extent the annual variation in meteorological factors. Our findings contribute to increasing the accuracy of evaluation of ecosystem services.

Using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to model ecosystem services: A systematic review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Francesconi, Wendy; Srinivasan, Raghavan; Pérez-Miñana, Elena; Willcock, Simon P.; Quintero, Marcela

2016-04-01

SWAT, a watershed modeling tool has been proposed to help quantify ecosystem services. The concept of ecosystem services incorporates the collective benefits natural systems provide primarily to human beings. It is becoming increasingly important to track the impact that human activities have on the environment in order to determine its resilience and sustainability. The objectives of this paper are to provide an overview of efforts using SWAT to quantify ecosystem services, to determine the model's capability examining various types of services, and to describe the approach used by various researchers. A literature review was conducted to identify studies in which SWAT was explicitly used for quantifying ecosystem services in terms of provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural aspects. A total of 44 peer reviewed publications were identified. Most of these used SWAT to quantify provisioning services (34%), regulating services (27%), or a combination of both (25%). While studies using SWAT for evaluating ecosystem services are limited (approximately 1% of SWAT's peered review publications), and usage (vs. potential) of services by beneficiaries is a current model limitation, the available literature sets the stage for the continuous development and potential of SWAT as a methodological framework for quantifying ecosystem services to assist in decision-making.

The influence of hydrologic connectivity on ecosystem metabolism and nitrate uptake in an active beaver meadow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wegener, P.; Covino, T. P.; Wohl, E.; Kampf, S. K.; Lacy, S.

2015-12-01

Wetlands have been widely demonstrated to provide important watershed services, such as the sequestration of carbon (C) and removal of nitrate (NO3-) from through-flowing water. Hydrologic connectivity (degree of water and associated material exchange) between floodplain water bodies (e.g., side channels, ponds) and the main channel influence rates of C accumulation and NO3- uptake, and the degree to which wetlands contribute to enhanced water quality at the catchment scale. However, environmental engineers have largely ignored the role of hydrologic connectivity in providing essential ecosystem services, and constructed wetlands are commonly built using compacted clay and berms that result in less groundwater and surface water exchange than observed in natural wetlands. In a study of an active beaver meadow (multithreaded, riparian wetland) in Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, we show how shifts in hydrology (connectivity, residence times, flow paths) from late spring snowmelt (high connectivity) to autumn/winter baseflow (low connectivity) influence ecosystem metabolism metrics (e.g., gross primary production, ecosystem respiration, and net ecosystem productivity) and NO3- uptake rates. We use a combination of mixing analyses, tracer tests, and hydrometric methods to evaluate shifts in surface and subsurface hydrologic connections between floodplain water bodies from snowmelt to baseflow. In the main channel and three floodplain water bodies, we quantify metabolism metrics and NO3- uptake kinetics across shifting flow regimes. Results from our research indicate that NO3- uptake and metabolism dynamics respond to changing levels of hydrologic connectivity to the main channel, emphasizing the importance of incorporating connectivity in wetland mitigation practices that seek to enhance water quality at the catchment scale.

Ecosystem Services of Rivers: The Don River (Russian Federation) and the Roanoke River (USA)

EPA Science Inventory

The concept of ecosystem services recognizes the services, and benefits, provided to people by ecosystems. River systems provide many services to people, including freshwater provisioning, carbon storage, fisheries, recreation, transportation, and biodiversity. Here, we review th...

Impact of socioeconomic development on ecosystem services and its conservation strategies: a case study of Shandong Province, China.

PubMed

Wang, Shujun; Liu, Jian; Wang, Renqing; Ni, Zirong; Xu, Shipeng; Sun, Yueyao

2012-05-01

Ecosystems and their components provide a lot of benefits for the welfare of human beings. Coupled with increasing socioeconomic development, most of the rapidly developing and transitional countries and regions have been experiencing dramatic land use changes. This has resulted in a large amount of forestland, grassland, and wetland being occupied as residential and industrial land or reclaimed for arable land, which in turn results in a sharp deterioration of ecosystem services around the world. Shandong Province, an economically powerful province of China, was chosen as a case study in order to capture the impact of socioeconomic development on ecosystem services. By way of the study, land uses and their changes were categorized between 1980 and 2006, and the ecosystem services capital and changes of 111 counties of Shandong Province in different phases were evaluated, as well as the total ecosystem services capital, followed by the zoning of ecosystem services function region of Shandong Province. We found that the counties in mountainous areas and wetlands, where generally the prefectural-level cities are located with a rapid socioeconomic development, experienced a successive deterioration of ecosystem services especially during the 2000s. Finally, three conservation strategies for managing and improving ecosystem services were proposed and discussed with the aim of achieving coordinate and sustainable development of the socioeconomy, environment, and ecosystems not only in Shandong Province but also in other provinces of China, as well as in other developing and transitional countries and regions.

Balancing tradeoffs: Reconciling multiple environmental goals when ecosystem services vary regionally

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O’Connell, Christine S.; Carlson, Kimberly M.; Cuadra, Santiago; Feeley, Kenneth J.; Gerber, James; West, Paul C.; Polasky, Stephen

2018-06-01

As the planet’s dominant land use, agriculture often competes with the preservation of natural systems that provide globally and regionally important ecosystem services. How agriculture impacts ecosystem service delivery varies regionally, among services being considered, and across spatial scales. Here, we assess the tradeoffs between four ecosystem services—agricultural production, carbon storage, biophysical climate regulation, and biodiversity—using as a case study the Amazon, an active frontier of agricultural expansion. We find that the highest values for each of the ecosystem services are concentrated in different regions. Agricultural production potential and carbon storage are highest in the north and west, biodiversity greatest in the west, and climate regulation services most vulnerable to disruption in the south and east. Using a simple optimization model, we find that under scenarios of agricultural expansion that optimize total production across ecosystem services, small increases in priority for one ecosystem service can lead to reductions in other services by as much as 140%. Our results highlight the difficulty of managing landscapes for multiple environmental goals; the approach presented here can be adapted to guide value-laden conservation decisions and identify potential solutions that balance priorities.

Productive Urban Landscape In Developing Home Garden In Yogyakarta City

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Irwan, S. N. R.; Sarwadi, A.

2017-10-01

Home garden is one type of agroecosystem that supports ecosystem services even in the urban settlement. The studies involved literature references and field survey along with a framework of the productive urban landscape that support ecosystem services in home garden. Productive urban landscape provided environmentally, socially and economically benefits that contained in ecosystem services. Problems on limited space in the urban settlement have to be managed by modified home garden system in order to work for ecosystem service in developing productive landscape. This study aimed to assess home garden (Pekarangan) system in a cluster of high density settlement in Yogyakarta City. Structured interview and vegetation identification of home garden have been conducted on 80 samples in Rejowinangun Kotagede District, Yogyakarta City. People showed enthusiasm in ecosystem services provided by home garden “Pekarangan Produktif” through developing productive urban landscape. Some benefits on ecosystem services of home garden were revealed on this study consisted of food production for sale (4.7%), home industry (7.69%), aesthetics (22.65%), food (14.10%), biodiversity (10.68%), ecosystem (12.82%), education (2.56), social interaction (11.54%), recreation (4.70%), and others (8.55%). Nevertheless, vegetation and other elements of home gardens have been managed irregularly and in particularly, the planned home gardens were only 17.07%. Actually, home gardens provided a large set of ecosystem services including being cultural services those are the category most valued. The urban people almost hided the understanding of the cultural benefit of ecosystem services of home garden, even though Yogyakarta has known the cultural city. Thus, urban home garden, as way as “Pekarangan Produktif” in the limited space that managed and planned sustainably, provide many benefits of ecosystem services in a productive urban landscape.

Developing an Analytical Framework: Incorporating Ecosystem Services into Decision Making - Proceedings of a Workshop

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hogan, Dianna; Arthaud, Greg; Pattison, Malka; Sayre, Roger G.; Shapiro, Carl

2010-01-01

The analytical framework for understanding ecosystem services in conservation, resource management, and development decisions is multidisciplinary, encompassing a combination of the natural and social sciences. This report summarizes a workshop on 'Developing an Analytical Framework: Incorporating Ecosystem Services into Decision Making,' which focused on the analytical process and on identifying research priorities for assessing ecosystem services, their production and use, their spatial and temporal characteristics, their relationship with natural systems, and their interdependencies. Attendees discussed research directions and solutions to key challenges in developing the analytical framework. The discussion was divided into two sessions: (1) the measurement framework: quantities and values, and (2) the spatial framework: mapping and spatial relationships. This workshop was the second of three preconference workshops associated with ACES 2008 (A Conference on Ecosystem Services): Using Science for Decision Making in Dynamic Systems. These three workshops were designed to explore the ACES 2008 theme on decision making and how the concept of ecosystem services can be more effectively incorporated into conservation, restoration, resource management, and development decisions. Preconference workshop 1, 'Developing a Vision: Incorporating Ecosystem Services into Decision Making,' was held on April 15, 2008, in Cambridge, MA. In preconference workshop 1, participants addressed what would have to happen to make ecosystem services be used more routinely and effectively in conservation, restoration, resource management, and development decisions, and they identified some key challenges in developing the analytical framework. Preconference workshop 3, 'Developing an Institutional Framework: Incorporating Ecosystem Services into Decision Making,' was held on October 30, 2008, in Albuquerque, NM; participants examined the relationship between the institutional framework and the use of ecosystem services in decision making.

Ecosystem Functions Connecting Contributions from Ecosystem Services to Human Wellbeing in a Mangrove System in Northern Taiwan.

PubMed

Hsieh, Hwey-Lian; Lin, Hsing-Juh; Shih, Shang-Shu; Chen, Chang-Po

2015-06-09

The present study examined a mangrove ecosystem in northern Taiwan to determine how the various components of ecosystem function, ecosystem services and human wellbeing are connected. The overall contributions of mangrove services to specific components of human wellbeing were also assessed. A network was developed and evaluated by an expert panel consisting of hydrologists, ecologists, and experts in the field of culture, landscape or architecture. The results showed that supporting habitats was the most important function to human wellbeing, while water quality, habitable climate, air quality, recreational opportunities, and knowledge systems were services that were strongly linked to human welfare. Security of continuous supply of services appeared to be the key to a comfortable life. From a bottom-up and top-down perspective, knowledge systems (a service) were most supported by ecosystem functions, while the security of continuous supply of services (wellbeing) had affected the most services. In addition, the overall benefits of mangrove services to human prosperity concentrated on mental health, security of continuous supply of services, and physical health.

Ecosystem Functions Connecting Contributions from Ecosystem Services to Human Wellbeing in a Mangrove System in Northern Taiwan

PubMed Central

Hsieh, Hwey-Lian; Lin, Hsing-Juh; Shih, Shang-Shu; Chen, Chang-Po

2015-01-01

The present study examined a mangrove ecosystem in northern Taiwan to determine how the various components of ecosystem function, ecosystem services and human wellbeing are connected. The overall contributions of mangrove services to specific components of human wellbeing were also assessed. A network was developed and evaluated by an expert panel consisting of hydrologists, ecologists, and experts in the field of culture, landscape or architecture. The results showed that supporting habitats was the most important function to human wellbeing, while water quality, habitable climate, air quality, recreational opportunities, and knowledge systems were services that were strongly linked to human welfare. Security of continuous supply of services appeared to be the key to a comfortable life. From a bottom-up and top-down perspective, knowledge systems (a service) were most supported by ecosystem functions, while the security of continuous supply of services (wellbeing) had affected the most services. In addition, the overall benefits of mangrove services to human prosperity concentrated on mental health, security of continuous supply of services, and physical health. PMID:26067989

Navigating complexity through knowledge coproduction: Mainstreaming ecosystem services into disaster risk reduction.

PubMed

Reyers, Belinda; Nel, Jeanne L; O'Farrell, Patrick J; Sitas, Nadia; Nel, Deon C

2015-06-16

Achieving the policy and practice shifts needed to secure ecosystem services is hampered by the inherent complexities of ecosystem services and their management. Methods for the participatory production and exchange of knowledge offer an avenue to navigate this complexity together with the beneficiaries and managers of ecosystem services. We develop and apply a knowledge coproduction approach based on social-ecological systems research and assess its utility in generating shared knowledge and action for ecosystem services. The approach was piloted in South Africa across four case studies aimed at reducing the risk of disasters associated with floods, wildfires, storm waves, and droughts. Different configurations of stakeholders (knowledge brokers, assessment teams, implementers, and bridging agents) were involved in collaboratively designing each study, generating and exchanging knowledge, and planning for implementation. The approach proved useful in the development of shared knowledge on the sizable contribution of ecosystem services to disaster risk reduction. This knowledge was used by stakeholders to design and implement several actions to enhance ecosystem services, including new investments in ecosystem restoration, institutional changes in the private and public sector, and innovative partnerships of science, practice, and policy. By bringing together multiple disciplines, sectors, and stakeholders to jointly produce the knowledge needed to understand and manage a complex system, knowledge coproduction approaches offer an effective avenue for the improved integration of ecosystem services into decision making.

Navigating complexity through knowledge coproduction: Mainstreaming ecosystem services into disaster risk reduction

PubMed Central

Reyers, Belinda; Nel, Jeanne L.; O’Farrell, Patrick J.; Sitas, Nadia; Nel, Deon C.

2015-01-01

Achieving the policy and practice shifts needed to secure ecosystem services is hampered by the inherent complexities of ecosystem services and their management. Methods for the participatory production and exchange of knowledge offer an avenue to navigate this complexity together with the beneficiaries and managers of ecosystem services. We develop and apply a knowledge coproduction approach based on social–ecological systems research and assess its utility in generating shared knowledge and action for ecosystem services. The approach was piloted in South Africa across four case studies aimed at reducing the risk of disasters associated with floods, wildfires, storm waves, and droughts. Different configurations of stakeholders (knowledge brokers, assessment teams, implementers, and bridging agents) were involved in collaboratively designing each study, generating and exchanging knowledge, and planning for implementation. The approach proved useful in the development of shared knowledge on the sizable contribution of ecosystem services to disaster risk reduction. This knowledge was used by stakeholders to design and implement several actions to enhance ecosystem services, including new investments in ecosystem restoration, institutional changes in the private and public sector, and innovative partnerships of science, practice, and policy. By bringing together multiple disciplines, sectors, and stakeholders to jointly produce the knowledge needed to understand and manage a complex system, knowledge coproduction approaches offer an effective avenue for the improved integration of ecosystem services into decision making. PMID:26082541

Significant trade-off for the impact of Grain-for-Green Programme on ecosystem services in North-western Yunnan, China.

PubMed

Wang, Jitao; Peng, Jian; Zhao, Mingyue; Liu, Yanxu; Chen, Yunqian

2017-01-01

Ecological restoration can mitigate human disturbance to the natural environment and restore ecosystem functions. China's Grain-for-Green Programme (GFGP) has been widely adopted in the last 15years and exerted significant impact on land-use and ecosystem services. North-western Yunnan is one of the key areas of GFGP implementation in the upper Yangtze River. Promotion of ecosystem services in this region is of great importance to the ecological sustainability of Yangtze River watershed. In this study, remote sensing and modelling techniques are applied to analyse the impact of GFGP on ecosystem services. Results show that the transformation from non-irrigated farmland to forestland could potentially improve soil conservation by 24.89%. Soil conservation of restored forest was 78.17% of retained forest while net primary production (NPP) already reached 88.65%, which suggested different recovery rates of NPP and soil conservation. Increasing extent of GFGP implementation improved soil conservation but decreased NPP and water yield at sub-watershed scale, which revealed trade-offs between ecosystem services under ecological restoration. Future ecosystem management and GFGP policy-making should consider trade-offs of ecosystem services in order to achieve sustainable provision of ecosystem services. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Understanding the structure and functioning of polar pelagic ecosystems to predict the impacts of change

PubMed Central

Drinkwater, K. F.; Grant, S. M.; Heymans, J. J.; Hofmann, E. E.; Hunt, G. L.; Johnston, N. M.

2016-01-01

The determinants of the structure, functioning and resilience of pelagic ecosystems across most of the polar regions are not well known. Improved understanding is essential for assessing the value of biodiversity and predicting the effects of change (including in biodiversity) on these ecosystems and the services they maintain. Here we focus on the trophic interactions that underpin ecosystem structure, developing comparative analyses of how polar pelagic food webs vary in relation to the environment. We highlight that there is not a singular, generic Arctic or Antarctic pelagic food web, and, although there are characteristic pathways of energy flow dominated by a small number of species, alternative routes are important for maintaining energy transfer and resilience. These more complex routes cannot, however, provide the same rate of energy flow to highest trophic-level species. Food-web structure may be similar in different regions, but the individual species that dominate mid-trophic levels vary across polar regions. The characteristics (traits) of these species are also different and these differences influence a range of food-web processes. Low functional redundancy at key trophic levels makes these ecosystems particularly sensitive to change. To develop models for projecting responses of polar ecosystems to future environmental change, we propose a conceptual framework that links the life histories of pelagic species and the structure of polar food webs. PMID:27928038

Understanding the structure and functioning of polar pelagic ecosystems to predict the impacts of change.

PubMed

Murphy, E J; Cavanagh, R D; Drinkwater, K F; Grant, S M; Heymans, J J; Hofmann, E E; Hunt, G L; Johnston, N M

2016-12-14

The determinants of the structure, functioning and resilience of pelagic ecosystems across most of the polar regions are not well known. Improved understanding is essential for assessing the value of biodiversity and predicting the effects of change (including in biodiversity) on these ecosystems and the services they maintain. Here we focus on the trophic interactions that underpin ecosystem structure, developing comparative analyses of how polar pelagic food webs vary in relation to the environment. We highlight that there is not a singular, generic Arctic or Antarctic pelagic food web, and, although there are characteristic pathways of energy flow dominated by a small number of species, alternative routes are important for maintaining energy transfer and resilience. These more complex routes cannot, however, provide the same rate of energy flow to highest trophic-level species. Food-web structure may be similar in different regions, but the individual species that dominate mid-trophic levels vary across polar regions. The characteristics (traits) of these species are also different and these differences influence a range of food-web processes. Low functional redundancy at key trophic levels makes these ecosystems particularly sensitive to change. To develop models for projecting responses of polar ecosystems to future environmental change, we propose a conceptual framework that links the life histories of pelagic species and the structure of polar food webs. © 2016 The Authors.

Enhancing ecosystem restoration efficiency through spatial and temporal coordination.

PubMed

Neeson, Thomas M; Ferris, Michael C; Diebel, Matthew W; Doran, Patrick J; O'Hanley, Jesse R; McIntyre, Peter B

2015-05-12

In many large ecosystems, conservation projects are selected by a diverse set of actors operating independently at spatial scales ranging from local to international. Although small-scale decision making can leverage local expert knowledge, it also may be an inefficient means of achieving large-scale objectives if piecemeal efforts are poorly coordinated. Here, we assess the value of coordinating efforts in both space and time to maximize the restoration of aquatic ecosystem connectivity. Habitat fragmentation is a leading driver of declining biodiversity and ecosystem services in rivers worldwide, and we simultaneously evaluate optimal barrier removal strategies for 661 tributary rivers of the Laurentian Great Lakes, which are fragmented by at least 6,692 dams and 232,068 road crossings. We find that coordinating barrier removals across the entire basin is nine times more efficient at reconnecting fish to headwater breeding grounds than optimizing independently for each watershed. Similarly, a one-time pulse of restoration investment is up to 10 times more efficient than annual allocations totaling the same amount. Despite widespread emphasis on dams as key barriers in river networks, improving road culvert passability is also essential for efficiently restoring connectivity to the Great Lakes. Our results highlight the dramatic economic and ecological advantages of coordinating efforts in both space and time during restoration of large ecosystems.

Enhancing ecosystem restoration efficiency through spatial and temporal coordination

PubMed Central

Neeson, Thomas M.; Ferris, Michael C.; Diebel, Matthew W.; Doran, Patrick J.; O’Hanley, Jesse R.; McIntyre, Peter B.

2015-01-01

In many large ecosystems, conservation projects are selected by a diverse set of actors operating independently at spatial scales ranging from local to international. Although small-scale decision making can leverage local expert knowledge, it also may be an inefficient means of achieving large-scale objectives if piecemeal efforts are poorly coordinated. Here, we assess the value of coordinating efforts in both space and time to maximize the restoration of aquatic ecosystem connectivity. Habitat fragmentation is a leading driver of declining biodiversity and ecosystem services in rivers worldwide, and we simultaneously evaluate optimal barrier removal strategies for 661 tributary rivers of the Laurentian Great Lakes, which are fragmented by at least 6,692 dams and 232,068 road crossings. We find that coordinating barrier removals across the entire basin is nine times more efficient at reconnecting fish to headwater breeding grounds than optimizing independently for each watershed. Similarly, a one-time pulse of restoration investment is up to 10 times more efficient than annual allocations totaling the same amount. Despite widespread emphasis on dams as key barriers in river networks, improving road culvert passability is also essential for efficiently restoring connectivity to the Great Lakes. Our results highlight the dramatic economic and ecological advantages of coordinating efforts in both space and time during restoration of large ecosystems. PMID:25918378

Mapping carbon flux uncertainty and selecting optimal locations for future flux towers in the Great Plains

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gu, Yingxin; Howard, Daniel M.; Wylie, Bruce K.; Zhang, Li

2012-01-01

Flux tower networks (e. g., AmeriFlux, Agriflux) provide continuous observations of ecosystem exchanges of carbon (e. g., net ecosystem exchange), water vapor (e. g., evapotranspiration), and energy between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. The long-term time series of flux tower data are essential for studying and understanding terrestrial carbon cycles, ecosystem services, and climate changes. Currently, there are 13 flux towers located within the Great Plains (GP). The towers are sparsely distributed and do not adequately represent the varieties of vegetation cover types, climate conditions, and geophysical and biophysical conditions in the GP. This study assessed how well the available flux towers represent the environmental conditions or "ecological envelopes" across the GP and identified optimal locations for future flux towers in the GP. Regression-based remote sensing and weather-driven net ecosystem production (NEP) models derived from different extrapolation ranges (10 and 50%) were used to identify areas where ecological conditions were poorly represented by the flux tower sites and years previously used for mapping grassland fluxes. The optimal lands suitable for future flux towers within the GP were mapped. Results from this study provide information to optimize the usefulness of future flux towers in the GP and serve as a proxy for the uncertainty of the NEP map.

Comparing two tools for ecosystem service assessments regarding water resources decisions.

PubMed

Dennedy-Frank, P James; Muenich, Rebecca Logsdon; Chaubey, Indrajeet; Ziv, Guy

2016-07-15

We present a comparison of two ecohydrologic models commonly used for planning land management to assess the production of hydrologic ecosystem services: the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) annual water yield model. We compare these two models at two distinct sites in the US: the Wildcat Creek Watershed in Indiana and the Upper Upatoi Creek Watershed in Georgia. The InVEST and SWAT models provide similar estimates of the spatial distribution of water yield in Wildcat Creek, but very different estimates of the spatial distribution of water yield in Upper Upatoi Creek. The InVEST model may do a poor job estimating the spatial distribution of water yield in the Upper Upatoi Creek Watershed because baseflow provides a significant portion of the site's total water yield, which means that storage dynamics which are not modeled by InVEST may be important. We also compare the ability of these two models, as well as one newly developed set of ecosystem service indices, to deliver useful guidance for land management decisions focused on providing hydrologic ecosystem services in three particular decision contexts: environmental flow ecosystem services, ecosystem services for potable water supply, and ecosystem services for rainfed irrigation. We present a simple framework for selecting models or indices to evaluate hydrologic ecosystem services as a way to formalize where models deliver useful guidance. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Risk management for optimal land use planning integrating ecosystem services values: A case study in Changsha, Middle China.

PubMed

Liang, Jie; Zhong, Minzhou; Zeng, Guangming; Chen, Gaojie; Hua, Shanshan; Li, Xiaodong; Yuan, Yujie; Wu, Haipeng; Gao, Xiang

2017-02-01

Land-use change has direct impact on ecosystem services and alters ecosystem services values (ESVs). Ecosystem services analysis is beneficial for land management and decisions. However, the application of ESVs for decision-making in land use decisions is scarce. In this paper, a method, integrating ESVs to balance future ecosystem-service benefit and risk, is developed to optimize investment in land for ecological conservation in land use planning. Using ecological conservation in land use planning in Changsha as an example, ESVs is regarded as the expected ecosystem-service benefit. And uncertainty of land use change is regarded as risk. This method can optimize allocation of investment in land to improve ecological benefit. The result shows that investment should be partial to Liuyang City to get higher benefit. The investment should also be shifted from Liuyang City to other regions to reduce risk. In practice, lower limit and upper limit for weight distribution, which affects optimal outcome and selection of investment allocation, should be set in investment. This method can reveal the optimal spatial allocation of investment to maximize the expected ecosystem-service benefit at a given level of risk or minimize risk at a given level of expected ecosystem-service benefit. Our results of optimal analyses highlight tradeoffs between future ecosystem-service benefit and uncertainty of land use change in land use decisions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Effects of artificial reef construction to marine ecosystem services value: a case of Yang-Meikeng artificial reef region in Shenzhen].

PubMed

Qin, Chuan-xin; Chem, Pi-mao; Jia, Xiao-ping

2011-08-01

Based on the researches and statistic data of Yangmeikeng artificial reef region in Shenzhen in 2008 and by the method of ecosystem services value, this paper analyzed the effects of artificial reef construction in the region on the marine ecosystem services. After the artificial reef construction, the tourism service value in the region decreased from 87% to 42%, food supply service value increased from 7% to 27%, and the services value of raw material supply, climatic regulation, air quality regulation, water quality regulation, harmful organism and disease regulation, and knowledge expansion had a slight increase, as compared to the surrounding coastal areas. The total services value per unit area of Yangmeikeng artificial reef region in 2008 was 1714.7 x 10(4) yuan x km(-2), far higher than the mean services value of coastal marine ecosystem in the surrounding areas of Shenzhen and in the world. Artificial reef construction affected and altered the structure of regional marine ecosystem services value, and improved the regional ecosystem services value, being of significance for the rational exploitation and utilization of marine resources and the successful recovery of damaged marine eco-environment and fish resources. Utilizing the method of ecosystem services value to evaluate artificial reef construction region could better elucidate the benefits of artificial reef construction, effectively promote the development of our artificial reef construction, and improve the management of marine ecosystem.

A National Approach to Quantify and Map Biodiversity Conservation Metrics within an Ecosystem Services Framework

EPA Science Inventory

Ecosystem services, i.e., "services provided to humans from natural systems," have become a key issue of this century in resource management, conservation planning, human well-being, and environmental decision analysis. Mapping and quantifying ecosystem services have be...

Ecosystem Services in Lakes of the Northeastern United States: An Assessment of Lakes Ecosystem Services Beneficiaries

EPA Science Inventory

: Lakes and ponds provide numerous ecosystem services including fishing, swimming, drinking water, and aesthetic enjoyment. Much analysis to date has focused on understanding the interplay between ecological condition and availability of services. For instance, prior analyses s...

Linking Ecosystem Services and Human Health: The Eco-Health Relationship Browser

EPA Science Inventory

Ecosystems provide multiple services associated with the provision of nature-based goods and services. Many of these ecosystem services have been linked to a range of positive health outcomes through buffering of pollutants, mitigation of natural hazards, and promotion of healthy...

Ecosystem Services in the Great Lakes – Results of a Summit

EPA Science Inventory

A comprehensive inventory of ecosystem services across the entire Great Lakes basin is currently lacking and is needed to make informed management decisions. A greater appreciation and understanding of ecosystem services, including both use and non-use services, may have avoided ...

A Participatory Assessment of Ecosystem Services and Human Wellbeing in Rural Costa Rica Using Photo-Voice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berbés-Blázquez, Marta

2012-04-01

Human well-being is intricately connected to ecosystem services. A keystone contribution to the ecosystem service literature has been the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, MA, (Ecosystems and human well-being: a framework for assessment, Island Press, Washington, DC; 2003, 2005). Much of the work on ecosystem services to date has focused on the assessment and classification of environmental functions. The need for inclusion of community perspectives in ecosystem assessments has been widely recognized in order to better understand the distribution of impacts and benefits resulting from natural resource use. Communities can offer a direct route to understanding the complex relationships between ecosystems and human well-being and how environmental management affects their livelihoods. Photovoice has been made popular as a tool for participatory needs assessment but it has had limited use in ecosystem assessments to date. The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to present the results of a community-level assessment of environmental services in a watershed dominated by pineapple monoculture in Costa Rica; and (2) to evaluate the strengths and the limitations of photovoice as a tool for mapping the relationship between ecosystems and people. I argue that photovoice is an underutilized methodology that has the potential to complement biophysical ecosystem service assessments in the context of impoverished and resource-dependent communities, particularly, since assessing ecosystem services and acting upon that information requires integrating the knowledges of diverse stakeholders, recognizing power imbalances, and grappling with the complexity of social-ecological systems. Processes such as photovoice have the potential to catalyze community self-organization, which is a critical component for empowerment.

A participatory assessment of ecosystem services and human wellbeing in rural Costa Rica using photo-voice.

PubMed

Berbés-Blázquez, Marta

2012-04-01

Human well-being is intricately connected to ecosystem services. A keystone contribution to the ecosystem service literature has been the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, MA, (Ecosystems and human well-being: a framework for assessment, Island Press, Washington, DC; 2003, 2005). Much of the work on ecosystem services to date has focused on the assessment and classification of environmental functions. The need for inclusion of community perspectives in ecosystem assessments has been widely recognized in order to better understand the distribution of impacts and benefits resulting from natural resource use. Communities can offer a direct route to understanding the complex relationships between ecosystems and human well-being and how environmental management affects their livelihoods. Photovoice has been made popular as a tool for participatory needs assessment but it has had limited use in ecosystem assessments to date. The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to present the results of a community-level assessment of environmental services in a watershed dominated by pineapple monoculture in Costa Rica; and (2) to evaluate the strengths and the limitations of photovoice as a tool for mapping the relationship between ecosystems and people. I argue that photovoice is an underutilized methodology that has the potential to complement biophysical ecosystem service assessments in the context of impoverished and resource-dependent communities, particularly, since assessing ecosystem services and acting upon that information requires integrating the knowledges of diverse stakeholders, recognizing power imbalances, and grappling with the complexity of social-ecological systems. Processes such as photovoice have the potential to catalyze community self-organization, which is a critical component for empowerment.

Mapping Urban Tree Canopy Coverage and Structure using Data Fusion of High Resolution Satellite Imagery and Aerial Lidar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elmes, A.; Rogan, J.; Williams, C. A.; Martin, D. G.; Ratick, S.; Nowak, D.

2015-12-01

Urban tree canopy (UTC) coverage is a critical component of sustainable urban areas. Trees provide a number of important ecosystem services, including air pollution mitigation, water runoff control, and aesthetic and cultural values. Critically, urban trees also act to mitigate the urban heat island (UHI) effect by shading impervious surfaces and via evaporative cooling. The cooling effect of urban trees can be seen locally, with individual trees reducing home HVAC costs, and at a citywide scale, reducing the extent and magnitude of an urban areas UHI. In order to accurately model the ecosystem services of a given urban forest, it is essential to map in detail the condition and composition of these trees at a fine scale, capturing individual tree crowns and their vertical structure. This paper presents methods for delineating UTC and measuring canopy structure at fine spatial resolution (<1m). These metrics are essential for modeling the HVAC benefits from UTC for individual homes, and for assessing the ecosystem services for entire urban areas. Such maps have previously been made using a variety of methods, typically relying on high resolution aerial or satellite imagery. This paper seeks to contribute to this growing body of methods, relying on a data fusion method to combine the information contained in high resolution WorldView-3 satellite imagery and aerial lidar data using an object-based image classification approach. The study area, Worcester, MA, has recently undergone a large-scale tree removal and reforestation program, following a pest eradication effort. Therefore, the urban canopy in this location provides a wide mix of tree age class and functional type, ideal for illustrating the effectiveness of the proposed methods. Early results show that the object-based classifier is indeed capable of identifying individual tree crowns, while continued research will focus on extracting crown structural characteristics using lidar-derived metrics. Ultimately, the resulting fine resolution UTC map will be compared with previously created UTC maps of the same area but for earlier dates, producing a canopy change map corresponding to the Worcester area tree removal and replanting effort.

Ecosystem Decision Support: A Living Database of Existing Tools, Approaches and Techniques for Supporting Decisions Related to Ecosystem Services

EPA Science Inventory

Planners and decision makers are challenged to consider not only direct market costs, but also ecological externalities. There is an increasing emphasis on ecosystem services in the context of human well-being, and therefore the valuation and accounting of ecosystem services is b...

Effects of urban development on ant communities: implications for ecosystem services and management

Treesearch

M.P. Sanford; Patricia N. Manley; Dennis D. Murphy

2009-01-01

Research that connects the effects of urbanization on biodiversity and ecosystem services is lacking. Ants perform multifarious ecological functions that stabilize ecosystems and contribute to a number of ecosystem services. We studied responses of ant communities to urbanization in the Lake Tahoe basin by sampling sites along a gradient...

The Relationships Among Ecosystem Services and Human Well Being and the Construction of an Index of Well Being

EPA Science Inventory

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment produced a compelling synthesis of the global value of ecosystem services to human well-being. While the MEA was a critical, initial step to demonstrate the potential for assessing global trends in ecosystem services, it is important to note th...

Current status and future prospects for the assessment of marine and coastal ecosystem services: a systematic review.

PubMed

Liquete, Camino; Piroddi, Chiara; Drakou, Evangelia G; Gurney, Leigh; Katsanevakis, Stelios; Charef, Aymen; Egoh, Benis

2013-01-01

Research on ecosystem services has grown exponentially during the last decade. Most of the studies have focused on assessing and mapping terrestrial ecosystem services highlighting a knowledge gap on marine and coastal ecosystem services (MCES) and an urgent need to assess them. We reviewed and summarized existing scientific literature related to MCES with the aim of extracting and classifying indicators used to assess and map them. We found 145 papers that specifically assessed marine and coastal ecosystem services from which we extracted 476 indicators. Food provision, in particular fisheries, was the most extensively analyzed MCES while water purification and coastal protection were the most frequently studied regulating and maintenance services. Also recreation and tourism under the cultural services was relatively well assessed. We highlight knowledge gaps regarding the availability of indicators that measure the capacity, flow or benefit derived from each ecosystem service. The majority of the case studies was found in mangroves and coastal wetlands and was mainly concentrated in Europe and North America. Our systematic review highlighted the need of an improved ecosystem service classification for marine and coastal systems, which is herein proposed with definitions and links to previous classifications. This review summarizes the state of available information related to ecosystem services associated with marine and coastal ecosystems. The cataloging of MCES indicators and the integrated classification of MCES provided in this paper establish a background that can facilitate the planning and integration of future assessments. The final goal is to establish a consistent structure and populate it with information able to support the implementation of biodiversity conservation policies.

Minimizing impacts of land use change on ecosystem services using multi-criteria heuristic analysis.

PubMed

Keller, Arturo A; Fournier, Eric; Fox, Jessica

2015-06-01

Development of natural landscapes to support human activities impacts the capacity of the landscape to provide ecosystem services. Typically, several ecosystem services are impacted at a single development site and various footprint scenarios are possible, thus a multi-criteria analysis is needed. Restoration potential should also be considered for the area surrounding the permanent impact site. The primary objective of this research was to develop a heuristic approach to analyze multiple criteria (e.g. impacts to various ecosystem services) in a spatial configuration with many potential development sites. The approach was to: (1) quantify the magnitude of terrestrial ecosystem service (biodiversity, carbon sequestration, nutrient and sediment retention, and pollination) impacts associated with a suite of land use change scenarios using the InVEST model; (2) normalize results across categories of ecosystem services to allow cross-service comparison; (3) apply the multi-criteria heuristic algorithm to select sites with the least impact to ecosystem services, including a spatial criterion (separation between sites). As a case study, the multi-criteria impact minimization algorithm was applied to InVEST output to select 25 potential development sites out of 204 possible locations (selected by other criteria) within a 24,000 ha property. This study advanced a generally applicable spatial multi-criteria approach for 1) considering many land use footprint scenarios, 2) balancing impact decisions across a suite of ecosystem services, and 3) determining the restoration potential of ecosystem services after impacts. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Adaptive management for ecosystem services.

PubMed

Birgé, Hannah E; Allen, Craig R; Garmestani, Ahjond S; Pope, Kevin L

2016-12-01

Management of natural resources for the production of ecosystem services, which are vital for human well-being, is necessary even when there is uncertainty regarding system response to management action. This uncertainty is the result of incomplete controllability, complex internal feedbacks, and non-linearity that often interferes with desired management outcomes, and insufficient understanding of nature and people. Adaptive management was developed to reduce such uncertainty. We present a framework for the application of adaptive management for ecosystem services that explicitly accounts for cross-scale tradeoffs in the production of ecosystem services. Our framework focuses on identifying key spatiotemporal scales (plot, patch, ecosystem, landscape, and region) that encompass dominant structures and processes in the system, and includes within- and cross-scale dynamics, ecosystem service tradeoffs, and management controllability within and across scales. Resilience theory recognizes that a limited set of ecological processes in a given system regulate ecosystem services, yet our understanding of these processes is poorly understood. If management actions erode or remove these processes, the system may shift into an alternative state unlikely to support the production of desired services. Adaptive management provides a process to assess the underlying within and cross-scale tradeoffs associated with production of ecosystem services while proceeding with management designed to meet the demands of a growing human population. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Influence of Groundwater Depletion from Irrigated Agriculture on the Tradeoffs between Ecosystem Services and Economic Returns

PubMed Central

Kovacs, Kent; West, Grant

2016-01-01

An irrigated agricultural landscape experiencing groundwater overdraft generates economic returns and a suite of ecosystem services (in particular, groundwater supply, greenhouse gases reduction, and surface water quality). Alternative land cover choices indicate tradeoffs among the value of ecosystem services created and the economic returns. These tradeoffs are explored using efficiency frontiers that determine the least value in ecosystem services that must be given up to generate additional economic returns. Agricultural producers may switch to irrigation with surface water using on-farm reservoirs and tail water recovery systems in response to groundwater overdraft, and this has consequences for the bundle of ecosystem service values and economic returns achievable from the landscape. Planning that accounts for both ecosystem service value and economic returns can achieve more value for society, as does the adoption of reservoirs though lowering the costs of irrigation, increasing groundwater levels, and reducing fuel combustion and associated GHG emissions from groundwater pumping. Sensitivity analyses of per unit value of ecosystem services, crop prices, and the groundwater and water purification model parameters indicate tradeoff among ecosystems service values, such as the use of a high-end social cost of carbon ultimately lowers groundwater supply and water purification value by more than 15%. PMID:28033405

The Influence of Groundwater Depletion from Irrigated Agriculture on the Tradeoffs between Ecosystem Services and Economic Returns.

PubMed

Kovacs, Kent; West, Grant

2016-01-01

An irrigated agricultural landscape experiencing groundwater overdraft generates economic returns and a suite of ecosystem services (in particular, groundwater supply, greenhouse gases reduction, and surface water quality). Alternative land cover choices indicate tradeoffs among the value of ecosystem services created and the economic returns. These tradeoffs are explored using efficiency frontiers that determine the least value in ecosystem services that must be given up to generate additional economic returns. Agricultural producers may switch to irrigation with surface water using on-farm reservoirs and tail water recovery systems in response to groundwater overdraft, and this has consequences for the bundle of ecosystem service values and economic returns achievable from the landscape. Planning that accounts for both ecosystem service value and economic returns can achieve more value for society, as does the adoption of reservoirs though lowering the costs of irrigation, increasing groundwater levels, and reducing fuel combustion and associated GHG emissions from groundwater pumping. Sensitivity analyses of per unit value of ecosystem services, crop prices, and the groundwater and water purification model parameters indicate tradeoff among ecosystems service values, such as the use of a high-end social cost of carbon ultimately lowers groundwater supply and water purification value by more than 15%.

Response of ecosystem services to land use change in Xiamen Island

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, L.

2009-12-01

: Land use change was a major factor affecting ecosystem services. Taken Xiamen Island as an example, by integrating remote sensing data to examine land use patterns from 1950 to 2007, the regional ecosystem services of Xiamen Island were evaluated based on two revised methods aiming to identify the stress effects and mechanisms of land use change on ecosystem services. The results showed that during 1950~2007, in general, Xiamen Island’s land use intensity had been annually rising. The trends of Xiamen Island’s ecosystem services value acquired by two methods were both consistent with decreasing along with the growth of land use intensity. Before 1987, the ecosystem service value of Xiamen Island had increased by 1.07 million yuan, due to the expanding of 12.87 km2 water and wetland. After the establishment of Xiamen special economic zone in 1984, the rapid urbanization has resulted a sharp decline in ecosystem service value, the average annual loss reached by 619,773 yuan after 1987. As the utilization of land reaching saturation and the launching of ecological projects, such as the Xiamen Eastern Sea Comprehensive Improvement Project, it could be predicted that the decreasing trend of ecosystem services value was going to be slowed down in the near future. The first revised method referencing four eco-system services solved the problem of overestimated value caused by the second revised method based on provisioning service alone. By applying the ESV total correction method, the problem of over counting service value by correction made from a single aspect could be solved.Equivalent value per unit area of ecosystem services in China 2007 and revised value by second method Note: The modified coefficient of crop, orchard & forest, wetland and inland water provisioning ESV revised by the second method is 2.858, 2.405, 1.523, 1.843 respectively; for regulating, ultural and supporting ESV, the coefficient is 2.339, 15.339, 2.339 respectively.

Technological Ecosystems in Health Informatics: A Brief Review Article.

PubMed

Wu, Zhongmei; Zhang, Xiuxiu; Chen, Ying; Zhang, Yan

2016-09-01

The existing models of information technology in health sciences have full scope of betterment and extension. The high demand pressures, public expectations, advanced platforms all collectively contribute towards hospital environment, which has to be kept in kind while designing of advanced technological ecosystem for information technology. Moreover, for the smooth conduct and operation of information system advanced management avenues are also essential in hospitals. It is the top priority of every hospital to deal with the essential needs of care for patients within the available resources of human and financial outputs. In these situations of high demand, the technological ecosystems in health informatics come in to play and prove its importance and role. The present review article would enlighten all these aspects of these ecosystems in hospital management and health care informatics. We searched the electronic database of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PubMed for clinical controlled trials, pre-clinical studies reporting utilizaiono of ecosysyem advances in health information technology. The primary outcome of eligible studies included confirmation of importance and role of advances ecosystems in health informatics. It was observed that technological ecosystems are the backbone of health informatics. Advancements in technological ecosystems are essential for proper functioning of health information system in clinical setting.

Plant functional traits predict green roof ecosystem services.

PubMed

Lundholm, Jeremy; Tran, Stephanie; Gebert, Luke

2015-02-17

Plants make important contributions to the services provided by engineered ecosystems such as green roofs. Ecologists use plant species traits as generic predictors of geographical distribution, interactions with other species, and ecosystem functioning, but this approach has been little used to optimize engineered ecosystems. Four plant species traits (height, individual leaf area, specific leaf area, and leaf dry matter content) were evaluated as predictors of ecosystem properties and services in a modular green roof system planted with 21 species. Six indicators of ecosystem services, incorporating thermal, hydrological, water quality, and carbon sequestration functions, were predicted by the four plant traits directly or indirectly via their effects on aggregate ecosystem properties, including canopy density and albedo. Species average height and specific leaf area were the most useful traits, predicting several services via effects on canopy density or growth rate. This study demonstrates that easily measured plant traits can be used to select species to optimize green roof performance across multiple key services.

Ecosystem Services: Developing strategic focus for U.S. EPA’s Ecological Research Program

EPA Science Inventory

U.S. EPA’s Office of Research and Development has made ecosystem services the new strategic focus for its Ecological Services Research Program (ESRP). Understanding that the protection and enhancement of ecosystem services can help maintain and improve human health, economic vit...

Connecting Latinos with nature

Treesearch

Deborah J. Chavez

2008-01-01

Experts around the world have identified ecosystem services that benefit humans. Ecosystem services provided by natural areas include cultural (such as providing outdoor recreation locations) and regulating (such as protecting water quality) services. It is important to understand both public perceptions about the importance of particular ecosystem services and the...

Ecosystem Services Assessment of the Nemunas River Delta

EPA Science Inventory

The concept of ecosystem services recognizes the services, and benefits, provided to people by ecosystems. The Nemunas River Delta, in Lithuania, is a valued area that can provide a range of services. We conducted a meta-analysis of existing studies done on the region to identify...

An ORCID based synchronization framework for a national CRIS ecosystem.

PubMed

Mendes Moreira, João; Cunha, Alcino; Macedo, Nuno

2015-01-01

PTCRIS (Portuguese Current Research Information System) is a program aiming at the creation and sustained development of a national integrated information ecosystem, to support research management according to the best international standards and practices. This paper reports on the experience of designing and prototyping a synchronization framework for PTCRIS based on ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID). This framework embraces the "input once, re-use often" principle, and will enable a substantial reduction of the research output management burden by allowing automatic information exchange between the various national systems. The design of the framework followed best practices in rigorous software engineering, namely well-established principles in the research field of consistency management, and relied on formal analysis techniques and tools for its validation and verification. The notion of consistency between the services was formally specified and discussed with the stakeholders before the technical aspects on how to preserve said consistency were explored. Formal specification languages and automated verification tools were used to analyze the specifications and generate usage scenarios, useful for validation with the stakeholder and essential to certificate compliant services.

Ecosystem services in sustainable groundwater management.

PubMed

Tuinstra, Jaap; van Wensem, Joke

2014-07-01

The ecosystem services concept seems to get foothold in environmental policy and management in Europe and, for instance, The Netherlands. With respect to groundwater management there is a challenge to incorporate this concept in such a way that it contributes to the sustainability of decisions. Groundwater is of vital importance to societies, which is reflected in the presented overview of groundwater related ecosystem services. Classifications of these services vary depending on the purpose of the listing (valuation, protection, mapping et cetera). Though the scientific basis is developing, the knowledge-availability still can be a critical factor in decision making based upon ecosystem services. The examples in this article illustrate that awareness of the value of groundwater can result in balanced decisions with respect to the use of ecosystem services. The ecosystem services concept contributes to this awareness and enhances the visibility of the groundwater functions in the decision making process. The success of the ecosystem services concept and its contribution to sustainable groundwater management will, however, largely depend on other aspects than the concept itself. Local and actual circumstances, policy ambitions and knowledge availability will play an important role. Solutions can be considered more sustainable when more of the key elements for sustainable groundwater management, as defined in this article, are fully used and the presented guidelines for long term use of ecosystem services are respected. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ecosystem services sustainability in the Mediterranean Sea: assessment of status and trends using multiple modelling approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liquete, Camino; Piroddi, Chiara; Macías, Diego; Druon, Jean-Noël; Zulian, Grazia

2016-09-01

Mediterranean ecosystems support important processes and functions that bring direct benefits to human society. Yet, marine ecosystem services are usually overlooked due to the challenges in identifying and quantifying them. This paper proposes the application of several biophysical and ecosystem modelling approaches to assess spatially and temporally the sustainable use and supply of selected marine ecosystem services. Such services include food provision, water purification, coastal protection, lifecycle maintenance and recreation, focusing on the Mediterranean region. Overall, our study found a higher number of decreasing than increasing trends in the natural capacity of the ecosystems to provide marine and coastal services, while in contrast the opposite was observed to be true for the realised flow of services to humans. Such a study paves the way towards an effective support for Blue Growth and the European maritime policies, although little attention is paid to the quantification of marine ecosystem services in this context. We identify a key challenge of integrating biophysical and socio-economic models as a necessary step to further this research.

Land use changes and their effects on the value of ecosystem services in the small Sanjiang plain in China.

PubMed

Chen, Jing; Sun, Bo-Ming; Chen, Dan; Wu, Xin; Guo, Long-Zhu; Wang, Gang

2014-01-01

The small Sanjiang plain is one of the most important commodity grain production bases and the largest fresh water wetland in China. Due to the rapid expansion of agricultural activities in the past 30 years, the contradiction between economic development and the loss of ecosystem services has become an issue of increasing concern in the area. In this study, we analysed land use changes and the loss of ecosystem services value caused by these changes. We found that cropland sprawl was predominant and occurred in forest, wetland, and grassland areas in the small Sanjiang plain from 1980 to 2010. Using a model to evaluate ecosystem services value, we calculated that the decreased values of ecosystem services were 169.88 × 10(8) Yuan from 1980 to 2000 and 120.00 × 10(8) Yuan from 2000 to 2010. All of the ecosystem services were diminished from 1980 to 2010 except for food production. Therefore, the loss of ecosystem services value should be considered by the policymakers of land use and development.

Ecosystem services sustainability in the Mediterranean Sea: assessment of status and trends using multiple modelling approaches

PubMed Central

Liquete, Camino; Piroddi, Chiara; Macías, Diego; Druon, Jean-Noël; Zulian, Grazia

2016-01-01

Mediterranean ecosystems support important processes and functions that bring direct benefits to human society. Yet, marine ecosystem services are usually overlooked due to the challenges in identifying and quantifying them. This paper proposes the application of several biophysical and ecosystem modelling approaches to assess spatially and temporally the sustainable use and supply of selected marine ecosystem services. Such services include food provision, water purification, coastal protection, lifecycle maintenance and recreation, focusing on the Mediterranean region. Overall, our study found a higher number of decreasing than increasing trends in the natural capacity of the ecosystems to provide marine and coastal services, while in contrast the opposite was observed to be true for the realised flow of services to humans. Such a study paves the way towards an effective support for Blue Growth and the European maritime policies, although little attention is paid to the quantification of marine ecosystem services in this context. We identify a key challenge of integrating biophysical and socio-economic models as a necessary step to further this research. PMID:27686533

EnviroAtlas - Ecosystem Services Market-Based Programs Web Service, U.S., 2016, Forest Trends' Ecosystem Marketplace

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This EnviroAtlas web service contains layers depicting market-based programs and projects addressing ecosystem services protection in the United States. Layers include data collected via surveys and desk research conducted by Forest Trends' Ecosystem Marketplace from 2008 to 2016 on biodiversity (i.e., imperiled species/habitats; wetlands and streams), carbon, and water markets and enabling conditions that facilitate, directly or indirectly, market-based approaches to protecting and investing in those ecosystem services. This dataset was produced by Forest Trends' Ecosystem Marketplace for EnviroAtlas in order to support public access to and use of information related to environmental markets. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

Multiple ecosystem services in a working landscape

PubMed Central

Eastburn, Danny J.; O’Geen, Anthony T.; Tate, Kenneth W.; Roche, Leslie M.

2017-01-01

Policy makers and practitioners are in need of useful tools and models for assessing ecosystem service outcomes and the potential risks and opportunities of ecosystem management options. We utilize a state-and-transition model framework integrating dynamic soil and vegetation properties to examine multiple ecosystem services—specifically agricultural production, biodiversity and habitat, and soil health—across human created vegetation states in a managed oak woodland landscape in a Mediterranean climate. We found clear tradeoffs and synergies in management outcomes. Grassland states maximized agricultural productivity at a loss of soil health, biodiversity, and other ecosystem services. Synergies existed among multiple ecosystem services in savanna and woodland states with significantly larger nutrient pools, more diversity and native plant richness, and less invasive species. This integrative approach can be adapted to a diversity of working landscapes to provide useful information for science-based ecosystem service valuations, conservation decision making, and management effectiveness assessments. PMID:28301475

[Ecosystem services evaluation based on geographic information system and remote sensing technology: a review].

PubMed

Li, Wen-Jie; Zhang, Shi-Huang; Wang, Hui-Min

2011-12-01

Ecosystem services evaluation is a hot topic in current ecosystem management, and has a close link with human beings welfare. This paper summarized the research progress on the evaluation of ecosystem services based on geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) technology, which could be reduced to the following three characters, i. e., ecological economics theory is widely applied as a key method in quantifying ecosystem services, GIS and RS technology play a key role in multi-source data acquisition, spatiotemporal analysis, and integrated platform, and ecosystem mechanism model becomes a powerful tool for understanding the relationships between natural phenomena and human activities. Aiming at the present research status and its inadequacies, this paper put forward an "Assembly Line" framework, which was a distributed one with scalable characteristics, and discussed the future development trend of the integration research on ecosystem services evaluation based on GIS and RS technologies.

Mapping Ecological Processes and Ecosystem Services for Prioritizing Restoration Efforts in a Semi-arid Mediterranean River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trabucchi, Mattia; O'Farrell, Patrick J.; Notivol, Eduardo; Comín, Francisco A.

2014-06-01

Semi-arid Mediterranean regions are highly susceptible to desertification processes which can reduce the benefits that people obtain from healthy ecosystems and thus threaten human wellbeing. The European Union Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 recognizes the need to incorporate ecosystem services into land-use management, conservation, and restoration actions. The inclusion of ecosystem services into restoration actions and plans is an emerging area of research, and there are few documented approaches and guidelines on how to undertake such an exercise. This paper responds to this need, and we demonstrate an approach for identifying both key ecosystem services provisioning areas and the spatial relationship between ecological processes and services. A degraded semi-arid Mediterranean river basin in north east Spain was used as a case study area. We show that the quantification and mapping of services are the first step required for both optimizing and targeting of specific local areas for restoration. Additionally, we provide guidelines for restoration planning at a watershed scale; establishing priorities for improving the delivery of ecosystem services at this scale; and prioritizing the sub-watersheds for restoration based on their potential for delivering a combination of key ecosystem services for the entire basin.

Mapping ecological processes and ecosystem services for prioritizing restoration efforts in a semi-arid Mediterranean river basin.

PubMed

Trabucchi, Mattia; O'Farrell, Patrick J; Notivol, Eduardo; Comín, Francisco A

2014-06-01

Semi-arid Mediterranean regions are highly susceptible to desertification processes which can reduce the benefits that people obtain from healthy ecosystems and thus threaten human wellbeing. The European Union Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 recognizes the need to incorporate ecosystem services into land-use management, conservation, and restoration actions. The inclusion of ecosystem services into restoration actions and plans is an emerging area of research, and there are few documented approaches and guidelines on how to undertake such an exercise. This paper responds to this need, and we demonstrate an approach for identifying both key ecosystem services provisioning areas and the spatial relationship between ecological processes and services. A degraded semi-arid Mediterranean river basin in north east Spain was used as a case study area. We show that the quantification and mapping of services are the first step required for both optimizing and targeting of specific local areas for restoration. Additionally, we provide guidelines for restoration planning at a watershed scale; establishing priorities for improving the delivery of ecosystem services at this scale; and prioritizing the sub-watersheds for restoration based on their potential for delivering a combination of key ecosystem services for the entire basin.

Trade-Off and Synergy among Ecosystem Services in the Guanzhong-Tianshui Economic Region of China.

PubMed

Qin, Keyu; Li, Jing; Yang, Xiaonan

2015-11-03

Natural ecosystems provide society with important goods and services. With rapidly increasing populations and excessive utilization of natural resources, humans have been enhancing the production of some services at the expense of others. Although the need for certain trade-offs between conservation and development is urgent, having only a small number of efficient methods to assess such trade-offs has impeded progress. This study focuses on the evaluation of ecosystem services under different land use schemes. It reveals the spatial and temporal distributions of and changes in ecosystem services. Based on a correlation rate model and distribution mapping, the trade-offs and synergies of these ecosystem services can be found. Here, we also describe a new simple approach to quantify the relationships of every trade-off and synergy. The results show that all ecosystem services possess trade-offs and synergies in the study area. The trend of improving carbon sequestration and water interception indicate that these key ecosystem services have the strongest synergy. And the decrease in regional agricultural production and other services, except water yield, may be considered as trade-offs. The synergy between water yield and agricultural production was the most significant, while the trade-off between water interception and carbon sequestration was the most apparent, according to our interaction quantification model. The results of this study have implications for planning and monitoring the future management of natural capital and ecosystem services, and can be integrated into land use decision-making.

Trade-Off and Synergy among Ecosystem Services in the Guanzhong-Tianshui Economic Region of China

PubMed Central

Qin, Keyu; Li, Jing; Yang, Xiaonan

2015-01-01

Natural ecosystems provide society with important goods and services. With rapidly increasing populations and excessive utilization of natural resources, humans have been enhancing the production of some services at the expense of others. Although the need for certain trade-offs between conservation and development is urgent, having only a small number of efficient methods to assess such trade-offs has impeded progress. This study focuses on the evaluation of ecosystem services under different land use schemes. It reveals the spatial and temporal distributions of and changes in ecosystem services. Based on a correlation rate model and distribution mapping, the trade-offs and synergies of these ecosystem services can be found. Here, we also describe a new simple approach to quantify the relationships of every trade-off and synergy. The results show that all ecosystem services possess trade-offs and synergies in the study area. The trend of improving carbon sequestration and water interception indicate that these key ecosystem services have the strongest synergy. And the decrease in regional agricultural production and other services, except water yield, may be considered as trade-offs. The synergy between water yield and agricultural production was the most significant, while the trade-off between water interception and carbon sequestration was the most apparent, according to our interaction quantification model. The results of this study have implications for planning and monitoring the future management of natural capital and ecosystem services, and can be integrated into land use decision-making. PMID:26540068

An operational model for mainstreaming ecosystem services for implementation

PubMed Central

Cowling, Richard M.; Egoh, Benis; Knight, Andrew T.; O'Farrell, Patrick J.; Reyers, Belinda; Rouget, Mathieu; Roux, Dirk J.; Welz, Adam; Wilhelm-Rechman, Angelika

2008-01-01

Research on ecosystem services has grown markedly in recent years. However, few studies are embedded in a social process designed to ensure effective management of ecosystem services. Most research has focused only on biophysical and valuation assessments of putative services. As a mission-oriented discipline, ecosystem service research should be user-inspired and user-useful, which will require that researchers respond to stakeholder needs from the outset and collaborate with them in strategy development and implementation. Here we provide a pragmatic operational model for achieving the safeguarding of ecosystem services. The model comprises three phases: assessment, planning, and management. Outcomes of social, biophysical, and valuation assessments are used to identify opportunities and constraints for implementation. The latter then are transformed into user-friendly products to identify, with stakeholders, strategic objectives for implementation (the planning phase). The management phase undertakes and coordinates actions that achieve the protection of ecosystem services and ensure the flow of these services to beneficiaries. This outcome is achieved via mainstreaming, or incorporating the safeguarding of ecosystem services into the policies and practices of sectors that deal with land- and water-use planning. Management needs to be adaptive and should be institutionalized in a suite of learning organizations that are representative of the sectors that are concerned with decision-making and planning. By following the phases of our operational model, projects for safeguarding ecosystem services are likely to empower stakeholders to implement effective on-the-ground management that will achieve resilience of the corresponding social-ecological systems. PMID:18621695

A site-based approach to delivering rangeland ecosystem services

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Rangeland ecosystems are capable of providing an array of ecosystem services important to the wellbeing of society. Some of these services (e.g. meat, fibre) are transported to markets and their quantity, quality and value are established via a set of widely accepted standards. Other services (e.g. ...

Effects of climate-change induced vegetation die-off on soil biodiversity and functioning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Curiel Yuste, Jorge; Garcia Angulo, Daniel; Barba, Josep; Poyatos, Rafael

2017-04-01

Climate change-induced vegetation die-off is nowadays a widespread phenomenon responsible for limiting the capacity of terrestrial ecosystems to provide essential services worldwide. Less is known, however, about how vegetation die-off relates with changes in the biodiversity and ecology of the soil compartment, which accounts for many of the vital ecosystem functions such as providing essential nutrients for plant growth (nitrogen, N; or phosphorous, P), or long-term carbon (C) sequestration. The death of the vegetation alters soil abiotic (microclimate) conditions and limits the supply of the energy (carbohydrates specially) demanded by the soil biological communities. These abiotic and biotic changes triggers a cascade of causal-effect processes that may result in irreversible losses in soil biodiversity and in the stability of the trophic webs that sustain soil functions such as N fixation, mineralization of essential nutrients or C stabilization. However, to date, information on the potential impacts of climate-change induced vegetation die-off over soil biodiversity and functioning is fragmented (e.g. case-studies) and not very conclusive. We here want to summarize the state of the knowledge on all potential effects of climate-change induced vegetation die-off over soil biodiversity and soil functioning. Additionally, we also discuss the functional resilience of soils to climate-change vegetation die-off and how management practices could improve the resilience and the sustainability of the soil functioning.

Science for the sustainable use of ecosystem services

PubMed Central

Bennett, Elena M.; Chaplin-Kramer, Rebecca

2016-01-01

Sustainability is a key challenge for humanity in the 21st century. Ecosystem services—the benefits that people derive from nature and natural capital—is a concept often used to help explain human reliance on nature and frame the decisions we make in terms of the ongoing value of nature to human wellbeing. Yet ecosystem service science has not always lived up to the promise of its potential. Despite advances in the scientific literature, ecosystem service science has not yet answered some of the most critical questions posed by decision-makers in the realm of sustainability. Here, we explore the history of ecosystem service science, discuss advances in conceptualization and measurement, and point toward further work needed to improve the use of ecosystem service in decisions about sustainable development. PMID:27853527

Fishing for Novel Approaches to Ecosystem Service Forecasts

EPA Science Inventory

The ecosystem service concept provides a powerful framework for conserving species and the environments they depend upon. Describing current distributions of ecosystem services and forecasting their future distributions have therefore become central objectives in many conservati...

A GIS application for assessing, mapping, and quantifying the social values of ecosystem services

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sherrouse, Benson C.; Clement, Jessica M.; Semmens, Darius J.

2011-01-01

As human pressures on ecosystems continue to increase, research involving the effective incorporation of social values information into the context of comprehensive ecosystem services assessments is becoming more important. Including quantified, spatially explicit social value metrics in such assessments will improve the analysis of relative tradeoffs among ecosystem services. This paper describes a GIS application, Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES), developed to assess, map, and quantify the perceived social values of ecosystem services by deriving a non-monetary Value Index from responses to a public attitude and preference survey. SolVES calculates and maps the Value Index for social values held by various survey subgroups, as distinguished by their attitudes regarding ecosystem use. Index values can be compared within and among survey subgroups to explore the effect of social contexts on the valuation of ecosystem services. Index values can also be correlated and regressed against landscape metrics SolVES calculates from various environmental data layers. Coefficients derived through these analyses were applied to their corresponding data layers to generate a predicted social value map. This map compared favorably with other SolVES output and led to the addition of a predictive mapping function to SolVES for value transfer to areas where survey data are unavailable. A more robust application is being developed as a public domain tool for decision makers and researchers to map social values of ecosystem services and to facilitate discussions among diverse stakeholders involving relative tradeoffs among different ecosystem services in a variety of physical and social contexts.

From food to pest: Conversion factors determine switches between ecosystem services and disservices.

PubMed

Rasmussen, Laura Vang; Christensen, Andreas E; Danielsen, Finn; Dawson, Neil; Martin, Adrian; Mertz, Ole; Sikor, Thomas; Thongmanivong, Sithong; Xaydongvanh, Pheang

2017-03-01

Ecosystem research focuses on goods and services, thereby ascribing beneficial values to the ecosystems. Depending on the context, however, outputs from ecosystems can be both positive and negative. We examined how provisioning services of wild animals and plants can switch between being services and disservices. We studied agricultural communities in Laos to illustrate when and why these switches take place. Government restrictions on land use combined with economic and cultural changes have created perceptions of rodents and plants as problem species in some communities. In other communities that are maintaining shifting cultivation practices, the very same taxa were perceived as beneficial. We propose conversion factors that in a given context can determine where an individual taxon is located along a spectrum from ecosystem service to disservice, when, and for whom. We argue that the omission of disservices in ecosystem service accounts may lead governments to direct investments at inappropriate targets.

On inclusion of ecosystem services in the assessment of damage from land degradation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsvetnov, E. V.; Makarov, O. A.; Yakovlev, A. S.; Bondarenko, E. V.

2016-12-01

In the assessment of damage arising from land degradation at the Training and Experimental Soil-Ecological Center of Moscow State University, the cost of unfulfilled and underfulfilled ecosystem surfaces of soils should be taken into account. The following soil services were considered for the territory studied: direct provision with resources, protection, maintenance of ecosystem life and cultural services. A relationship between the concepts of ecosystem services and ecological functions of soils is shown. The concept of function is wider in some respect than the concept associated with it. In the definition of ecosystem service, only the manifestation of the soil function, which can have an economic interpretation, is selected. A simulation of ecosystem services proposed in the ecological and economic evaluation of damage arising from land degradation can be a real mechanism of nature conservation and development of systems of sustainable management at various levels of the administrative structure of the country.

Secondary School Students' Environmental Concerns and Attitudes toward Forest Ecosystem Services: Implications for Biodiversity Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Torkar, Gregor

2016-01-01

Alarming declines in biodiversity have encouraged scientists to begin promoting the idea of the services ecosystems offer to humans in order to gain support for conservation. The concept of ecosystem services is designed to communicate societal dependence on various natural ecosystems. Schools play an important role in educating students to be…

Aquatic biodiversity in forests: a weak link in ecosystem services resilience

Treesearch

Brooke E. Penaluna; Deanna H. Olson; Rebecca L. Flitcroft; Matthew A. Weber; J. Ryan Bellmore; Steven M. Wondzell; Jason B. Dunham; Sherri L. Johnson; Gordon H. Reeves

2017-01-01

The diversity of aquatic ecosystems is being quickly reduced on many continents, warranting a closer examination of the consequences for ecological integrity and ecosystem services. Here we describe intermediate and final ecosystem services derived from aquatic biodiversity in forests. We include a summary of the factors framing the assembly of aquatic biodiversity in...

A framework for developing urban forest ecosystem services and goods indicators

Treesearch

Cynnamon Dobbs; Francisco J. Escobedo; Wayne C. Zipperer

2011-01-01

The social and ecological processes impacting on urban forests have been studied at multiple temporal and spatial scales in order to help us quantify, monitor, and value the ecosystem services that benefit people. Few studies have comprehensively analyzed the full suite of ecosystem services, goods (ESG), and ecosystem disservices provided by an urban forest....

A framework for predicting impacts on ecosystem services from (sub)organismal responses to chemicals

Treesearch

Valery E. Forbes; Chris J. Salice; Bjorn Birnir; Randy J.F. Bruins; Peter Calow; Virginie Ducrot; Nika Galic; Kristina Garber; Bret C. Harvey; Henriette Jager; Andrew Kanarek; Robert Pastorok; Steve F. Railsback; Richard Rebarber; Pernille Thorbek

2017-01-01

Protection of ecosystem services is increasingly emphasized as a risk-assessment goal, but there are wide gaps between current ecological risk-assessment endpoints and potential effects on services provided by ecosystems. The authors present a framework that links common ecotoxicological endpoints to chemical impacts on populations and communities and the ecosystem...

Chapter 5 - Missing Feedback in Payments for Ecosystem Services

Treesearch

Trista M. Patterson; Dana L. Coelho

2008-01-01

A general systems analysis of current approaches to payments for ecosystem services reveals a weakness, a missing feedback that ought to be in place pushing the system toward its goal of balancing human needs with the adaptive capacity of ecosystems. In situations of rising demand for ecosystem services among limited means for producing them, the likelihood that...

Counting all that matters: recognizing the value of ecosystem services.

Treesearch

Sussane Maleki

2008-01-01

Broadly defined, ecosystem services are the benefits healthy ecosystems provide to humans. Clean air, clean water, and flood control are just a few examples. Although the term is relatively new, the ecosystem services concept has long been a focus of natural resource and environmental economists. As the U.S. population increases and the forests and grasslands that...

Regional scale prioritisation for key ecosystem services, renewable energy production and urban development.

PubMed

Casalegno, Stefano; Bennie, Jonathan J; Inger, Richard; Gaston, Kevin J

2014-01-01

Although the importance of addressing ecosystem service benefits in regional land use planning and decision-making is evident, substantial practical challenges remain. In particular, methods to identify priority areas for the provision of key ecosystem services and other environmental services (benefits from the environment not directly linked to the function of ecosystems) need to be developed. Priority areas are locations which provide disproportionally high benefits from one or more service. Here we map a set of ecosystem and environmental services and delineate priority areas according to different scenarios. Each scenario is produced by a set of weightings allocated to different services and corresponds to different landscape management strategies which decision makers could undertake. Using the county of Cornwall, U.K., as a case study, we processed gridded maps of key ecosystem services and environmental services, including renewable energy production and urban development. We explored their spatial distribution patterns and their spatial covariance and spatial stationarity within the region. Finally we applied a complementarity-based priority ranking algorithm (zonation) using different weighting schemes. Our conclusions are that (i) there are two main patterns of service distribution in this region, clustered services (including agriculture, carbon stocks, urban development and plant production) and dispersed services (including cultural services, energy production and floods mitigation); (ii) more than half of the services are spatially correlated and there is high non-stationarity in the spatial covariance between services; and (iii) it is important to consider both ecosystem services and other environmental services in identifying priority areas. Different weighting schemes provoke drastic changes in the delineation of priority areas and therefore decision making processes need to carefully consider the relative values attributed to different services.

Regional Scale Prioritisation for Key Ecosystem Services, Renewable Energy Production and Urban Development

PubMed Central

Casalegno, Stefano; Bennie, Jonathan J.; Inger, Richard; Gaston, Kevin J.

2014-01-01

Although the importance of addressing ecosystem service benefits in regional land use planning and decision-making is evident, substantial practical challenges remain. In particular, methods to identify priority areas for the provision of key ecosystem services and other environmental services (benefits from the environment not directly linked to the function of ecosystems) need to be developed. Priority areas are locations which provide disproportionally high benefits from one or more service. Here we map a set of ecosystem and environmental services and delineate priority areas according to different scenarios. Each scenario is produced by a set of weightings allocated to different services and corresponds to different landscape management strategies which decision makers could undertake. Using the county of Cornwall, U.K., as a case study, we processed gridded maps of key ecosystem services and environmental services, including renewable energy production and urban development. We explored their spatial distribution patterns and their spatial covariance and spatial stationarity within the region. Finally we applied a complementarity-based priority ranking algorithm (zonation) using different weighting schemes. Our conclusions are that (i) there are two main patterns of service distribution in this region, clustered services (including agriculture, carbon stocks, urban development and plant production) and dispersed services (including cultural services, energy production and floods mitigation); (ii) more than half of the services are spatially correlated and there is high non-stationarity in the spatial covariance between services; and (iii) it is important to consider both ecosystem services and other environmental services in identifying priority areas. Different weighting schemes provoke drastic changes in the delineation of priority areas and therefore decision making processes need to carefully consider the relative values attributed to different services. PMID:25250775

Estimation of biogeochemical climate regulation services in Chinese forest ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Y.; Li, S.

2016-12-01

As the global climate is changing, the climate regulation service of terrestrial ecosystem has been widely studied. Forests, as one of the most important terrestrial ecosystem types, is the biggest carbon pool or sink on land and can regulate climate through both biophysical and biogeochemical means. China is a country with vast forested areas and a variety of forest ecosystems types. Although current studies have related the climate regulation service of forest in China with biophysical or biogeochemical mechanism, there is still a lack of quantitative estimation of climate regulation services, especially for the biogeochemical climate regulation service. The GHGV (greenhouse gas value) is an indicator that can quantify the biochemical climate regulation service using ecosystems' stored organic matter, annual greenhouse gas flux, and potential greenhouse gas exchange rates during disturbances over a multiple year time frame. Therefore, we used GHGV to estimate the contribution of China's ten main forest types to biogeochemical climate regulation and generate the pattern of biochemical climate regulation service in Chinese forest ecosystems.

Adaptive management for soil ecosystem services

USGS Publications Warehouse

Birge, Hannah E.; Bevans, Rebecca A.; Allen, Craig R.; Angeler, David G.; Baer, Sara G.; Wall, Diana H.

2016-01-01

Ecosystem services provided by soil include regulation of the atmosphere and climate, primary (including agricultural) production, waste processing, decomposition, nutrient conservation, water purification, erosion control, medical resources, pest control, and disease mitigation. The simultaneous production of these multiple services arises from complex interactions among diverse aboveground and belowground communities across multiple scales. When a system is mismanaged, non-linear and persistent losses in ecosystem services can arise. Adaptive management is an approach to management designed to reduce uncertainty as management proceeds. By developing alternative hypotheses, testing these hypotheses and adjusting management in response to outcomes, managers can probe dynamic mechanistic relationships among aboveground and belowground soil system components. In doing so, soil ecosystem services can be preserved and critical ecological thresholds avoided. Here, we present an adaptive management framework designed to reduce uncertainty surrounding the soil system, even when soil ecosystem services production is not the explicit management objective, so that managers can reach their management goals without undermining soil multifunctionality or contributing to an irreversible loss of soil ecosystem services.

Monitoring Changes of Ecosystem Services Supply and Demand Pattern in Central and Southern Liaoning Urban Agglomerations, China Using Landsat Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, B.; Huang, F.; Chang, S.; Qi, H.; Zhai, H.

2018-04-01

Indentifying the spatio-temporal patterns of ecosystem services supply and demand and the driving forces is of great significance to the regional ecological security and sustainable socio-economic development. Due to long term and high-intensity development, the ecological environment in central and southern Liaoning urban agglomerations has been greatly destroyed thereafter has restricted sustainable development in this region. Based on Landsat ETM and OLI images, land use of this urban agglomeration in 2005, 2010 and 2015 was extracted. The integrative index of multiple-ecosystem services (IMES) was used to quantify the supply (IMESs), demand (IMESd) and balance (IMESb) of multiple-ecosystem services, The spatial patterns of ecosystem services and its dynamics for the period of 2005-2015 were revealed. The multiple regression and stepwise regression analysis were used to explore relationships between ecosystem services and socioeconomic factors. The results showed that the IMESs of the region increased by 2.93 %, whereas IMESd dropped 38 %. The undersupplied area was reduced to 2. The IMESs and IMESb were mainly negatively correlated with gross domestic product (GDP), population density, foreign investment and industrial output, while GDP per capita and the number of teachers had significant positive impacts on ecosystem services supply. The positive correlation between IMESd and GDP, population density and foreign investment were found. The ecosystem services models were established. Supply and balance of multiple-ecosystem services were positively correlated with population density, but the demand was the opposite. The results can provide some reference value for the coordinately economic and ecological development in the study area.

The Role of Herbivory in Structuring Tropical Seagrass Ecosystem Service Delivery

PubMed Central

Scott, Abigail L.; York, Paul H.; Duncan, Clare; Macreadie, Peter I.; Connolly, Rod M.; Ellis, Megan T.; Jarvis, Jessie C.; Jinks, Kristin I.; Marsh, Helene; Rasheed, Michael A.

2018-01-01

Seagrass meadows support key ecosystem services, via provision of food directly for herbivores, and indirectly to their predators. The importance of herbivores in seagrass meadows has been well-documented, but the links between food webs and ecosystem services in seagrass meadows have not previously been made explicit. Herbivores interact with ecosystem services – including carbon sequestration, cultural values, and coastal protection. Interactions can be positive or negative and depend on a range of factors including the herbivore identity and the grazing type and intensity. There can be unintended consequences from management actions based on a poor understanding of trade-offs that occur with complex seagrass-herbivore interactions. Tropical seagrass meadows support a diversity of grazers spanning the meso-, macro-, and megaherbivore scales. We present a conceptual model to describe how multiple ecosystem services are influenced by herbivore pressure in tropical seagrass meadows. Our model suggests that a balanced ecosystem, incorporating both seagrass and herbivore diversity, is likely to sustain the broadest range of ecosystem services. Our framework suggests the pathway to achieve desired ecosystem services outcomes requires knowledge on four key areas: (1) how size classes of herbivores interact to structure seagrass; (2) desired community and management values; (3) seagrass responses to top–down and bottom–up controls; (4) the pathway from intermediate to final ecosystem services and human benefits. We suggest research should be directed to these areas. Herbivory is a major structuring influence in tropical seagrass systems and needs to be considered for effective management of these critical habitats and their services. PMID:29487606

Linking the benefits of ecosystem services to sustainable spatial planning of ecological conservation strategies.

PubMed

Huang, Lin; Cao, Wei; Xu, Xinliang; Fan, Jiangwen; Wang, Junbang

2018-09-15

The maintenance and improvement of ecosystem services on the Tibet Plateau are critical for national ecological security in China and are core objectives of ecological conservation in this region. In this paper, ecosystem service benefits of the Tibet Ecological Conservation Project were comprehensively assessed by estimating and mapping the spatiotemporal variation patterns of critical ecosystem services on the Tibet Plateau from 2000 to 2015. Furthermore, we linked the benefit assessment to the sustainable spatial planning of future ecological conservation strategies. Comparing the 8 years before and after the project, the water retention and carbon sink services of the forest, grassland and wetland ecosystems were slightly increased after the project, and the ecosystem sand fixation service has been steadily enhanced. The increasing forage supply service of grassland significantly reduced the grassland carrying pressure and eased the conflict between grassland and livestock. However, enhanced rainfall erosivity occurred due to increased rainfall, and root-layer soils could not recover in a short period of time, both factors have led to a decline in soil conservation service. The warm and humid climate is beneficial for the restoration of ecosystems on the Tibet Plateau, and the implementation of the Tibet Ecological Conservation Project has had a positive effect on the local improvement of ecosystem services. A new spatial planning strategy for ecological conservation was introduced and aims to establish a comprehensive, nationwide system to protect important natural ecosystems and wildlife, and to promote the sustainable use of natural resources. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nitrogen Cycling from Increased Soil Organic Carbon Contributes Both Positively and Negatively to Ecosystem Services in Wheat Agro-Ecosystems

PubMed Central

Palmer, Jeda; Thorburn, Peter J.; Biggs, Jody S.; Dominati, Estelle J.; Probert, Merv E.; Meier, Elizabeth A.; Huth, Neil I.; Dodd, Mike; Snow, Val; Larsen, Joshua R.; Parton, William J.

2017-01-01

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is an important and manageable property of soils that impacts on multiple ecosystem services through its effect on soil processes such as nitrogen (N) cycling and soil physical properties. There is considerable interest in increasing SOC concentration in agro-ecosystems worldwide. In some agro-ecosystems, increased SOC has been found to enhance the provision of ecosystem services such as the provision of food. However, increased SOC may increase the environmental footprint of some agro-ecosystems, for example by increasing nitrous oxide emissions. Given this uncertainty, progress is needed in quantifying the impact of increased SOC concentration on agro-ecosystems. Increased SOC concentration affects both N cycling and soil physical properties (i.e., water holding capacity). Thus, the aim of this study was to quantify the contribution, both positive and negative, of increased SOC concentration on ecosystem services provided by wheat agro-ecosystems. We used the Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) to represent the effect of increased SOC concentration on N cycling and soil physical properties, and used model outputs as proxies for multiple ecosystem services from wheat production agro-ecosystems at seven locations around the world. Under increased SOC, we found that N cycling had a larger effect on a range of ecosystem services (food provision, filtering of N, and nitrous oxide regulation) than soil physical properties. We predicted that food provision in these agro-ecosystems could be significantly increased by increased SOC concentration when N supply is limiting. Conversely, we predicted no significant benefit to food production from increasing SOC when soil N supply (from fertiliser and soil N stocks) is not limiting. The effect of increasing SOC on N cycling also led to significantly higher nitrous oxide emissions, although the relative increase was small. We also found that N losses via deep drainage were minimally affected by increased SOC in the dryland agro-ecosystems studied, but increased in the irrigated agro-ecosystem. Therefore, we show that under increased SOC concentration, N cycling contributes both positively and negatively to ecosystem services depending on supply, while the effects on soil physical properties are negligible. PMID:28539929

Nitrogen Cycling from Increased Soil Organic Carbon Contributes Both Positively and Negatively to Ecosystem Services in Wheat Agro-Ecosystems.

PubMed

Palmer, Jeda; Thorburn, Peter J; Biggs, Jody S; Dominati, Estelle J; Probert, Merv E; Meier, Elizabeth A; Huth, Neil I; Dodd, Mike; Snow, Val; Larsen, Joshua R; Parton, William J

2017-01-01

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is an important and manageable property of soils that impacts on multiple ecosystem services through its effect on soil processes such as nitrogen (N) cycling and soil physical properties. There is considerable interest in increasing SOC concentration in agro-ecosystems worldwide. In some agro-ecosystems, increased SOC has been found to enhance the provision of ecosystem services such as the provision of food. However, increased SOC may increase the environmental footprint of some agro-ecosystems, for example by increasing nitrous oxide emissions. Given this uncertainty, progress is needed in quantifying the impact of increased SOC concentration on agro-ecosystems. Increased SOC concentration affects both N cycling and soil physical properties (i.e., water holding capacity). Thus, the aim of this study was to quantify the contribution, both positive and negative, of increased SOC concentration on ecosystem services provided by wheat agro-ecosystems. We used the Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) to represent the effect of increased SOC concentration on N cycling and soil physical properties, and used model outputs as proxies for multiple ecosystem services from wheat production agro-ecosystems at seven locations around the world. Under increased SOC, we found that N cycling had a larger effect on a range of ecosystem services (food provision, filtering of N, and nitrous oxide regulation) than soil physical properties. We predicted that food provision in these agro-ecosystems could be significantly increased by increased SOC concentration when N supply is limiting. Conversely, we predicted no significant benefit to food production from increasing SOC when soil N supply (from fertiliser and soil N stocks) is not limiting. The effect of increasing SOC on N cycling also led to significantly higher nitrous oxide emissions, although the relative increase was small. We also found that N losses via deep drainage were minimally affected by increased SOC in the dryland agro-ecosystems studied, but increased in the irrigated agro-ecosystem. Therefore, we show that under increased SOC concentration, N cycling contributes both positively and negatively to ecosystem services depending on supply, while the effects on soil physical properties are negligible.

Paying for Forest Ecosystem Services: Voluntary Versus Mandatory Payments.

PubMed

Roesch-McNally, Gabrielle E; Rabotyagov, Sergey S

2016-03-01

The emergence of new markets for forest ecosystem services can be a compelling opportunity for market diversification for private forest landowners, while increasing the provision of public goods from private lands. However, there is limited information available on the willingness-to-pay (WTP) for specific forest ecosystem services, particularly across different ecosystem market mechanisms. We utilize survey data from Oregon and Washington households to compare marginal WTP for forest ecosystem services and the total WTP for cost-effective bundles of forest ecosystem services obtained from a typical Pacific Northwest forest across two value elicitation formats representing two different ecosystem market mechanisms: an incentive-compatible choice experiment involving mandatory tax payments and a hypothetical private provision scenario modeled as eliciting contributions to the preferred forest management alternative via a provision point mechanism with a refund. A representative household's total WTP for the average forest management program was estimated at $217.59 per household/year under a mandatory tax mechanism and $160.44 per household/per year under a voluntary, crowdfunding-style, contribution mechanism; however, these estimates are not statistically different. Marginal WTP estimates were assessed for particular forest ecosystem service attributes including water quality, carbon storage, mature forest habitat, and public recreational access. This study finds that survey respondents place significant economic value on forest ecosystem services in both elicitation formats and that the distributions of the marginal WTP are not statistically significantly different.

Paying for Forest Ecosystem Services: Voluntary Versus Mandatory Payments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roesch-McNally, Gabrielle E.; Rabotyagov, Sergey S.

2016-03-01

The emergence of new markets for forest ecosystem services can be a compelling opportunity for market diversification for private forest landowners, while increasing the provision of public goods from private lands. However, there is limited information available on the willingness-to-pay (WTP) for specific forest ecosystem services, particularly across different ecosystem market mechanisms. We utilize survey data from Oregon and Washington households to compare marginal WTP for forest ecosystem services and the total WTP for cost-effective bundles of forest ecosystem services obtained from a typical Pacific Northwest forest across two value elicitation formats representing two different ecosystem market mechanisms: an incentive-compatible choice experiment involving mandatory tax payments and a hypothetical private provision scenario modeled as eliciting contributions to the preferred forest management alternative via a provision point mechanism with a refund. A representative household's total WTP for the average forest management program was estimated at 217.59 per household/year under a mandatory tax mechanism and 160.44 per household/per year under a voluntary, crowdfunding-style, contribution mechanism; however, these estimates are not statistically different. Marginal WTP estimates were assessed for particular forest ecosystem service attributes including water quality, carbon storage, mature forest habitat, and public recreational access. This study finds that survey respondents place significant economic value on forest ecosystem services in both elicitation formats and that the distributions of the marginal WTP are not statistically significantly different.

Biodiversity and Resilience of Ecosystem Functions.

PubMed

Oliver, Tom H; Heard, Matthew S; Isaac, Nick J B; Roy, David B; Procter, Deborah; Eigenbrod, Felix; Freckleton, Rob; Hector, Andy; Orme, C David L; Petchey, Owen L; Proença, Vânia; Raffaelli, David; Suttle, K Blake; Mace, Georgina M; Martín-López, Berta; Woodcock, Ben A; Bullock, James M

2015-11-01

Accelerating rates of environmental change and the continued loss of global biodiversity threaten functions and services delivered by ecosystems. Much ecosystem monitoring and management is focused on the provision of ecosystem functions and services under current environmental conditions, yet this could lead to inappropriate management guidance and undervaluation of the importance of biodiversity. The maintenance of ecosystem functions and services under substantial predicted future environmental change (i.e., their 'resilience') is crucial. Here we identify a range of mechanisms underpinning the resilience of ecosystem functions across three ecological scales. Although potentially less important in the short term, biodiversity, encompassing variation from within species to across landscapes, may be crucial for the longer-term resilience of ecosystem functions and the services that they underpin. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigating Ecosystems Services in the Arid Southwest

EPA Science Inventory

The Southwest Ecosystem Services Project (SwESP) is an integrated, multi-disciplinary, multi-agency project focused on how to identify, characterize, and quantify the ecosystem services in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The southwestern landscape is highly d...

Ecosystem Services in Risk Assessment and Management

EPA Science Inventory

The ecosystem services concept provides a comprehensive framework for considering ecosystems in decision making, for valuing the services they provide, and for ensuring that society can maintain a healthy and resilient natural environment now and for future generations. A global ...

Integrating ecosystem services trade-offs with paddy land-to-dry land decisions: A scenario approach in Erhai Lake Basin, southwest China.

PubMed

Hu, Yi'na; Peng, Jian; Liu, Yanxu; Tian, Lu

2018-06-01

Ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain from ecosystems, and ecosystem services trade-offs have been widely applied to the development of land-use policy. Although previous studies have focused on trade-offs of ecosystem services, a scenario approach has been seldom used. The scenario approach can reveal the changes of ecosystem services for different land-use patterns in the future, and is of great significance for land-use decisions and ecosystem management. Based on the actual situation of deteriorating water quality and dwindling water supply in the Erhai Lake Basin of southwest China, this study put forward to convert paddy land to dry land (PLDL) in the basin, and simulated its potential impact on ecosystem services. Taking environmental pollution, social impact, economic benefit and residential participation into consideration, four scenarios of PLDL were designed. Then, four ecosystem services (water purification, water yield, soil conservation and rice production) were calculated for each scenario. The optimal scenario of PLDL in the Erhai Lake Basin was identified by trade-offs of the four ecosystem services. The results showed that the total nitrogen export could be reduced by 42.07% and water yield can be increased by 5.61% after converting 100% of paddy lands to dry land, thereby greatly improving the water quality and increasing the water yield of Erhai Lake. However, PLDL involving 100% of paddy lands also increased the sediment export by 17.22%, and eliminated rice production in the region. By comparing the four PLDL scenarios for converting just 50% of paddy lands, the residential participation scenario was identified to be the best choice for PLDL implementation because it achieved the best level of water purification and had the smallest negative effect on other ecosystem services. The optimal scenario for each township showed spatial differentiation, and there were conflicts between the optimal scenarios at basin scale and township scale, suggesting that the object and the spatial-temporal scale should be taken into consideration in land-use decisions using ecosystem services trade-offs. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES): using GIS to include social values information in ecosystem services assessments

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sherrouse, B.C.; Semmens, D.J.

2010-01-01

Ecosystem services can be defined in various ways; simply put, they are the benefits provided by nature, which contribute to human well-being. These benefits can range from tangible products such as food and fresh water to cultural services such as recreation and esthetics. As the use of these benefits continues to increase, additional pressures are placed on the natural ecosystems providing them. This makes it all the more important when assessing possible tradeoffs among ecosystem services to consider the human attitudes and preferences that express underlying social values associated with their benefits. While some of these values can be accounted for through economic markets, other values can be more difficult to quantify, and attaching dollar amounts to them may not be very useful in all cases. Regardless of the processes or units used for quantifying such values, the ability to map them across the landscape and relate them to the ecosystem services to which they are attributed is necessary for effective assessments. To address some of the needs associated with quantifying and mapping social values for inclusion in ecosystem services assessments, scientists at the Rocky Mountain Geographic Science Center (RMGSC), in collaboration with Colorado State University, have developed a public domain tool, Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES). SolVES is a geographic information system (GIS) application designed to use data from public attitude and preference surveys to assess, map, and quantify social values for ecosystem services. SolVES calculates and maps a 10-point Value Index representing the relative perceived social values of ecosystem services such as recreation and biodiversity for various groups of ecosystem stakeholders. SolVES output can also be used to identify and model relationships between social values and physical characteristics of the underlying landscape. These relationships can then be used to generate predicted Value Index maps for areas where survey data are not available. RMGSC will continue to develop more robust versions of SolVES by pursuing opportunities to work with land and resource managers as well as other researchers to apply SolVES to specific ecosystem management problems.

Current Status and Future Prospects for the Assessment of Marine and Coastal Ecosystem Services: A Systematic Review

PubMed Central

Liquete, Camino; Piroddi, Chiara; Drakou, Evangelia G.; Gurney, Leigh; Katsanevakis, Stelios; Charef, Aymen; Egoh, Benis

2013-01-01

Background Research on ecosystem services has grown exponentially during the last decade. Most of the studies have focused on assessing and mapping terrestrial ecosystem services highlighting a knowledge gap on marine and coastal ecosystem services (MCES) and an urgent need to assess them. Methodology/Principal Findings We reviewed and summarized existing scientific literature related to MCES with the aim of extracting and classifying indicators used to assess and map them. We found 145 papers that specifically assessed marine and coastal ecosystem services from which we extracted 476 indicators. Food provision, in particular fisheries, was the most extensively analyzed MCES while water purification and coastal protection were the most frequently studied regulating and maintenance services. Also recreation and tourism under the cultural services was relatively well assessed. We highlight knowledge gaps regarding the availability of indicators that measure the capacity, flow or benefit derived from each ecosystem service. The majority of the case studies was found in mangroves and coastal wetlands and was mainly concentrated in Europe and North America. Our systematic review highlighted the need of an improved ecosystem service classification for marine and coastal systems, which is herein proposed with definitions and links to previous classifications. Conclusions/Significance This review summarizes the state of available information related to ecosystem services associated with marine and coastal ecosystems. The cataloging of MCES indicators and the integrated classification of MCES provided in this paper establish a background that can facilitate the planning and integration of future assessments. The final goal is to establish a consistent structure and populate it with information able to support the implementation of biodiversity conservation policies. PMID:23844080

Socioeconomic influences on biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being: a quantitative application of the DPSIR model in Jiangsu, China.

PubMed

Hou, Ying; Zhou, Shudong; Burkhard, Benjamin; Müller, Felix

2014-08-15

One focus of ecosystem service research is the connection between biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being as well as the socioeconomic influences on them. Despite existing investigations, exact impacts from the human system on the dynamics of biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being are still uncertain because of the insufficiency of the respective quantitative analyses. Our research aims are discerning the socioeconomic influences on biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being and demonstrating mutual impacts between these items. We propose a DPSIR framework coupling ecological integrity, ecosystem services as well as human well-being and suggest DPSIR indicators for the case study area Jiangsu, China. Based on available statistical and surveying data, we revealed the factors significantly impacting biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being in the research area through factor analysis and correlation analysis, using the 13 prefecture-level cities of Jiangsu as samples. The results show that urbanization and industrialization in the urban areas have predominant positive influences on regional biodiversity, agricultural productivity and tourism services as well as rural residents' living standards. Additionally, the knowledge, technology and finance inputs for agriculture also have generally positive impacts on these system components. Concerning regional carbon storage, non-cropland vegetation cover obviously plays a significant positive role. Contrarily, the expansion of farming land and the increase of total food production are two important negative influential factors of biodiversity, ecosystem's food provisioning service capacity, regional tourism income and the well-being of the rural population. Our study provides a promising approach based on the DPSIR model to quantitatively capture the socioeconomic influential factors of biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being for human-environmental systems at regional scales. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Identifying key areas of ecosystem services potential to improve ecological management in Chongqing City, southwest China.

PubMed

Xiao, Yang; Xiao, Qiang

2018-03-29

Because natural ecosystems and ecosystem services (ES) are both critical to the well-being of humankind, it is important to understand their relationships and congruence for conservation planning. Spatial conservation planning is required to set focused preservation priorities and to assess future ecological implications. This study uses the combined measures of ES models and ES potential to estimate and analyze all four groups of ecosystem services to generate opportunities to maximize ecosystem services. Subsequently, we identify the key areas of conservation priorities as future forestation and conservation hotspot zones to improve the ecological management in Chongqing City, located in the upper reaches of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, China. Results show that ecosystem services potential is extremely obvious. Compared to ecosystem services from 2000, we determined that soil conservation could be increased by 59.11%, carbon sequestration by 129.51%, water flow regulation by 83.42%, and water purification by 84.42%. According to our prioritization results, approximately 48% of area converted to forests exhibited high improvements in all ecosystem services (categorized as hotspot-1, hotspot-2, and hotspot-3). The hotspots identified in this study can be used as an excellent surrogate for evaluation ecological engineering benefits and can be effectively applied in improving ecological management planning.

[Forest ecosystem service and its evaluation in China].

PubMed

Fang, Jin; Lu, Shaowei; Yu, Xinxiao; Rao, Liangyi; Niu, Jianzhi; Xie, Yuanyuan; Zhag, Zhenming

2005-08-01

Facing the relative lag of forest ecosystem service and estimation in China, this paper proposed to quickly carry out the research on the evaluation of forest ecosystem service. On the basis of the classification of forest ecosystem types in China, the service of artificial and semi-artificial forest ecosystems was investigated, which was divided into eight types, i.e., timber and other products, recreation and eco-tourism, water storage, C fixation and O2 release, nutrient cycling, air quality purifying, erosion control, and habitat provision. According to the assessment index system for global ecosystem service proposed by Costanza et al., a series of assessment index system suitable for Chinese forest ecosystem service was set up, by which, the total value of forest ecosystem service in China was estimated to be 30 601.20 x 10(8) yuan x yr(-1), including direct and indirect economic value about 1 920.23 x 10(8) and 28 680.97 x 10(8) yuan x yr(-1), respectively. The indirect value was as 14.94 times as the direct one. The research aimed to bring natural resources and environment factors into the account system of national economy quickly, and to realize the green GDP at last, which would be helpful to realize sustainable development and environment protection.

Effective Management of Trans boundary Landscapes - Geospatial Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kotru, R.; Rawal, R. S.; Mathur, P. K.; Chettri, N.; Chaudhari, S. A.; Uddin, K.; Murthy, M. S. R.; Singh, S.

2014-11-01

The Convention on Biological Diversity advocates the use of landscape and ecosystem approaches for managing biodiversity, in recognition of the need for increased regional cooperation. In this context, ICIMOD and regional partners have evolved Transboundary Landscape concept to address the issues of conservation and sustainable use of natural resources and systems (e.g., biodiversity, rangelands, farming systems, forests, wetlands, and watersheds, etc.). This concept defines the landscapes by ecosystems rather than political/administrative boundaries. The Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region is extremely heterogeneous, with complex inter linkages of biomes and habitats as well as strong upstream-downstream linkages related to the provisioning of ecosystem services. Seven such transboundary landscapes, identified across west to east extent of HKH, have been considered for programmatic cooperation, include: Wakhan, Karakoram-Pamir, Kailash, Everest, Kangchenjunga, Brahmaputra-Salween, and Cherrapunjee- Chittagong. The approach is people centered and considers the cultural conservation as an essential first step towards resource conservation efforts in the region. Considering the multi-scale requirements of study, the geospatial technology has been effectively adopted towards: (i) understanding temporal changes in landscapes, (ii) long term ecological and social monitoring, (ii) identifying potential bio corridors, (iii) assessing landscape level vulnerability due to climatic and non-climatic drivers, and (iv) developing local plans on extractions of high value economic species supporting livelihoods, agroforestry system and ecotourism, etc. We present here our recent experiences across different landscapes on assessment of three decadal changes, vegetation type mapping, assessment of socio-ecological drivers, corridor assessment, ecosystem services assessment, models for optimal natural resource use systems and long term socio-ecological monitoring.

Characterizing drought in terms of changes in the precipitation-runoff relationship: a case study of the Loess Plateau, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yuan; Feng, Xiaoming; Wang, Xiaofeng; Fu, Bojie

2018-03-01

The frequency and intensity of drought are increasing dramatically with global warming. However, few studies have characterized drought in terms of its impacts on ecosystem services, the mechanisms through which ecosystems support life. As a result, little is known about the implications of increased drought for resource management. This case study characterizes drought by linking climate anomalies with changes in the precipitation-runoff relationship (PRR) on the Loess Plateau of China, a water-limited region where ongoing revegetation makes drought a major concern. We analyzed drought events with drought durations ≥ 5 years and mean annual precipitation anomaly (PA) values ≤ -5 % during drought periods. The results show that continuous precipitation shifts are able to change the water balance of watersheds in water-limited areas, and multi-year drought events cause the PRR to change with a significantly decreasing trend (p < 0.05) compared to other historical records. For the Loess Plateau as a whole, the average runoff ratio decreased from 10 to 6.8 % during 1991-1999. The joint probability and return period gradually increase with increasing of drought duration and severity. The ecosystem service of water yield is easily affected by drought events with durations equal to or greater than 6 years and drought severity values equal to or greater than 0.55 (precipitation ≤ 212 mm). At the same time, multi-year drought events also lead to significant changes in the leaf area index (LAI). Such studies are essential for ecosystem management in water-limited areas.

Linking ecosystem characteristics to final ecosystem services for public policy.

PubMed

Wong, Christina P; Jiang, Bo; Kinzig, Ann P; Lee, Kai N; Ouyang, Zhiyun

2015-01-01

Governments worldwide are recognising ecosystem services as an approach to address sustainability challenges. Decision-makers need credible and legitimate measurements of ecosystem services to evaluate decisions for trade-offs to make wise choices. Managers lack these measurements because of a data gap linking ecosystem characteristics to final ecosystem services. The dominant method to address the data gap is benefit transfer using ecological data from one location to estimate ecosystem services at other locations with similar land cover. However, benefit transfer is only valid once the data gap is adequately resolved. Disciplinary frames separating ecology from economics and policy have resulted in confusion on concepts and methods preventing progress on the data gap. In this study, we present a 10-step approach to unify concepts, methods and data from the disparate disciplines to offer guidance on overcoming the data gap. We suggest: (1) estimate ecosystem characteristics using biophysical models, (2) identify final ecosystem services using endpoints and (3) connect them using ecological production functions to quantify biophysical trade-offs. The guidance is strategic for public policy because analysts need to be: (1) realistic when setting priorities, (2) attentive to timelines to acquire relevant data, given resources and (3) responsive to the needs of decision-makers. © 2014 The Authors. Ecology Letters published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and CNRS.

Linking ecosystem characteristics to final ecosystem services for public policy

PubMed Central

Wong, Christina P; Jiang, Bo; Kinzig, Ann P; Lee, Kai N; Ouyang, Zhiyun

2015-01-01

Governments worldwide are recognising ecosystem services as an approach to address sustainability challenges. Decision-makers need credible and legitimate measurements of ecosystem services to evaluate decisions for trade-offs to make wise choices. Managers lack these measurements because of a data gap linking ecosystem characteristics to final ecosystem services. The dominant method to address the data gap is benefit transfer using ecological data from one location to estimate ecosystem services at other locations with similar land cover. However, benefit transfer is only valid once the data gap is adequately resolved. Disciplinary frames separating ecology from economics and policy have resulted in confusion on concepts and methods preventing progress on the data gap. In this study, we present a 10-step approach to unify concepts, methods and data from the disparate disciplines to offer guidance on overcoming the data gap. We suggest: (1) estimate ecosystem characteristics using biophysical models, (2) identify final ecosystem services using endpoints and (3) connect them using ecological production functions to quantify biophysical trade-offs. The guidance is strategic for public policy because analysts need to be: (1) realistic when setting priorities, (2) attentive to timelines to acquire relevant data, given resources and (3) responsive to the needs of decision-makers. PMID:25394857

The EnviroAtlas ‐ Developing a National Approach to Quantify and Map Metrics within an Ecosystem Services Framework. Subfocus: Multi‐scale Biodiversity Conservation Metrics

EPA Science Inventory

Ecosystem services, i.e., "services provided to humans from natural systems," have become a key issue of this century in resource management, conservation planning, human well-being, and environmental decision analysis. Mapping and quantifying ecosystem services have become stra...

Ecosystem services provided by waterbirds.

PubMed

Green, Andy J; Elmberg, Johan

2014-02-01

Ecosystem services are ecosystem processes that directly or indirectly benefit human well-being. There has been much recent literature identifying different services and the communities and species that provide them. This is a vital first step towards management and maintenance of these services. In this review, we specifically address the waterbirds, which play key functional roles in many aquatic ecosystems, including as predators, herbivores and vectors of seeds, invertebrates and nutrients, although these roles have often been overlooked. Waterbirds can maintain the diversity of other organisms, control pests, be effective bioindicators of ecological conditions, and act as sentinels of potential disease outbreaks. They also provide important provisioning (meat, feathers, eggs, etc.) and cultural services to both indigenous and westernized societies. We identify key gaps in the understanding of ecosystem services provided by waterbirds and areas for future research required to clarify their functional role in ecosystems and the services they provide. We consider how the economic value of these services could be calculated, giving some examples. Such valuation will provide powerful arguments for waterbird conservation. © 2013 The Authors. Biological Reviews © 2013 Cambridge Philosophical Society.

Habitat Fragmentation Intensifies Trade-Offs between Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in a Heathland Ecosystem in Southern England.

PubMed

Cordingley, Justine E; Newton, Adrian C; Rose, Robert J; Clarke, Ralph T; Bullock, James M

2015-01-01

While habitat fragmentation represents a major threat to global biodiversity, its impacts on provision of ecosystem services are largely unknown. We analysed biodiversity value and provision of multiple ecosystem services in 110 fragments of lowland heathland ecosystems in southern England, in which vegetation dynamics have been monitored for over 30 years. Decreasing fragment size was found to be associated with a decrease in biodiversity and recreational values, but an increase in relative carbon storage, aesthetic value and timber value. The trade-off between either biodiversity or recreational values with the other ecosystem services therefore became more pronounced as heathland size decreased. This was attributed to a higher rate of woody succession in smaller heathland fragments over the past three decades, and contrasting values of different successional vegetation types for biodiversity and provision of ecosystem services. These results suggest that habitat fragmentation can reduce the potential for developing "win win" solutions that contribute to biodiversity conservation while also supporting socio-economic development. Approaches to multi-purpose management of fragmented landscapes should therefore consider the potential trade-offs in ecosystem services and biodiversity associated with fragmentation, in order to make an effective contribution to sustainable development.

Habitat Fragmentation Intensifies Trade-Offs between Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in a Heathland Ecosystem in Southern England

PubMed Central

Cordingley, Justine E.; Newton, Adrian C.; Rose, Robert J.; Clarke, Ralph T.; Bullock, James M.

2015-01-01

While habitat fragmentation represents a major threat to global biodiversity, its impacts on provision of ecosystem services are largely unknown. We analysed biodiversity value and provision of multiple ecosystem services in 110 fragments of lowland heathland ecosystems in southern England, in which vegetation dynamics have been monitored for over 30 years. Decreasing fragment size was found to be associated with a decrease in biodiversity and recreational values, but an increase in relative carbon storage, aesthetic value and timber value. The trade-off between either biodiversity or recreational values with the other ecosystem services therefore became more pronounced as heathland size decreased. This was attributed to a higher rate of woody succession in smaller heathland fragments over the past three decades, and contrasting values of different successional vegetation types for biodiversity and provision of ecosystem services. These results suggest that habitat fragmentation can reduce the potential for developing “win win” solutions that contribute to biodiversity conservation while also supporting socio-economic development. Approaches to multi-purpose management of fragmented landscapes should therefore consider the potential trade-offs in ecosystem services and biodiversity associated with fragmentation, in order to make an effective contribution to sustainable development. PMID:26114753

[Ecological effect of different types land consolidation in Hubei Province of China].

PubMed

Gu, Xiao-Kun

2012-08-01

A model for estimating the ecosystem services value under effects of land consolidation was built to quantitatively evaluate the ecological effects of three different types of land consolidation projects in Jianghan Plain, middle hilly region, and western mountainous area of Hubei Province. With the implementation of the projects, the total value of ecosystem services in Jianghan Plain was decreased by 0.3%, among which, the values of food production service and other three services increased but those of water conservation and other four services decreased. In hilly region, the total value of ecosystem services was decreased by 14.6%, with the value of food production service increased by 55.2% and those of other eight services all decreased. In mountainous area, the total value of ecosystem services was decreased by 19.9%, with the value of food production service increased by 24.9% while the values of other eight services all decreased. In the land consolidation in the middle hilly region and western mountainous area of Hubei Province, there was an obvious conversion process 'from ecology to production' in the ecosystem services value.

Identifying Ecosystem Services of Rivers and Streams Through Content Analysis

EPA Science Inventory

While much ecosystem services research focuses on analysis such as mapping and/or valuation, fewer research efforts are directed toward in-depth understanding of the specific ecological quantities people value. Ecosystem service monitoring and analysis efforts and communications ...

Quantifying and Mapping Habitat-Based Biodiversity Metrics Within an Ecosystem Services Framework

EPA Science Inventory

Ecosystem services have become a key issue of this century in resource management, conservation planning, human well-being, and environmental decision analysis. Mapping and quantifying ecosystem services have become strategic national interests for integrating ecology with econom...

Organic management systems to enhance ecosystem services

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Organic grain cropping systems can enhance a number of ecosystem services compared to conventional tilled systems. Recent results from a limited number of long-term agricultural research (LTAR) studies suggest that organic grain cropping systems can also increase several ecosystem services relative...

Integrating adaptive management and ecosystem services concepts to improve natural resource management: Challenges and opportunities

USGS Publications Warehouse

Epanchin-Niell, Rebecca S.; Boyd, James W.; Macauley, Molly K.; Scarlett, Lynn; Shapiro, Carl D.; Williams, Byron K.

2018-05-07

Executive Summary—OverviewNatural resource managers must make decisions that affect broad-scale ecosystem processes involving large spatial areas, complex biophysical interactions, numerous competing stakeholder interests, and highly uncertain outcomes. Natural and social science information and analyses are widely recognized as important for informing effective management. Chief among the systematic approaches for improving the integration of science into natural resource management are two emergent science concepts, adaptive management and ecosystem services. Adaptive management (also referred to as “adaptive decision making”) is a deliberate process of learning by doing that focuses on reducing uncertainties about management outcomes and system responses to improve management over time. Ecosystem services is a conceptual framework that refers to the attributes and outputs of ecosystems (and their components and functions) that have value for humans.This report explores how ecosystem services can be moved from concept into practice through connection to a decision framework—adaptive management—that accounts for inherent uncertainties. Simultaneously, the report examines the value of incorporating ecosystem services framing and concepts into adaptive management efforts.Adaptive management and ecosystem services analyses have not typically been used jointly in decision making. However, as frameworks, they have a natural—but to date underexplored—affinity. Both are policy and decision oriented in that they attempt to represent the consequences of resource management choices on outcomes of interest to stakeholders. Both adaptive management and ecosystem services analysis take an empirical approach to the analysis of ecological systems. This systems orientation is a byproduct of the fact that natural resource actions affect ecosystems—and corresponding societal outcomes—often across large geographic scales. Moreover, because both frameworks focus on resource systems, both must confront the analytical challenges of systems modeling—in terms of complexity, dynamics, and uncertainty.Given this affinity, the integration of ecosystem services analysis and adaptive management poses few conceptual hurdles. In this report, we synthesize discussions from two workshops that considered ways in which adaptive management approaches and ecosystem service concepts may be complementary, such that integrating them into a common framework may lead to improved natural resource management outcomes. Although the literature on adaptive management and ecosystem services is vast and growing, the report focuses specifically on the integration of these two concepts rather than aiming to provide new definitions or an indepth review or primer of the concepts individually.Key issues considered include the bidirectional links between adaptive decision making and ecosystem services, as well as the potential benefits and inevitable challenges arising in the development and use of an integrated framework. Specifically, the workshops addressed the following questions:How can application of ecosystem service analysis within an adaptive decision process improve the outcomes of management and advance understanding of ecosystem service identification, production, and valuation?How can these concepts be integrated in concept and practice?What are the constraints and challenges to integrating adaptive management and ecosystem services?And, should the integration of these concepts be moved forward to wider application—and if so, how?

Ecosystem services: Urban parks under a magnifying glass.

PubMed

Mexia, Teresa; Vieira, Joana; Príncipe, Adriana; Anjos, Andreia; Silva, Patrícia; Lopes, Nuno; Freitas, Catarina; Santos-Reis, Margarida; Correia, Otília; Branquinho, Cristina; Pinho, Pedro

2018-01-01

Urban areas' population has grown during the last century and it is expected that over 60% of the world population will live in cities by 2050. Urban parks provide several ecosystem services that are valuable to the well-being of city-dwellers and they are also considered a nature-based solution to tackle multiple environmental problems in cities. However, the type and amount of ecosystem services provided will vary with each park vegetation type, even within same the park. Our main goal was to quantify the trade-offs in ecosystem services associated to different vegetation types, using a spatially detailed approach. Rather than relying solely on general vegetation typologies, we took a more ecologically oriented approach, by explicitly considering different units of vegetation structure and composition. This was demonstrated in a large park (44ha) located in the city of Almada (Lisbon metropolitan area, Portugal), where six vegetation units were mapped in detail and six ecosystem services were evaluated: carbon sequestration, seed dispersal, erosion prevention, water purification, air purification and habitat quality. The results showed that, when looking at the park in detail, some ecosystem services varied greatly with vegetation type. Carbon sequestration was positively influenced by tree density, independently of species composition. Seed dispersal potential was higher in lawns, and mixed forest provided the highest amount of habitat quality. Air purification service was slightly higher in mixed forest, but was high in all vegetation types, probably due to low background pollution, and both water purification and erosion prevention were high in all vegetation types. Knowing the type, location, and amount of ecosystem services provided by each vegetation type can help to improve management options based on ecosystem services trade-offs and looking for win-win situations. The trade-offs are, for example, very clear for carbon: tree planting will boost carbon sequestration regardless of species, but may not be enough to increase habitat quality. Moreover, it may also negatively influence seed dispersal service. Informed practitioners can use this ecological knowledge to promote the role of urban parks as a nature-based solution to provide multiple ecosystem services, and ultimately improve the design and management of the green infrastructure. This will also improve the science of Ecosystem Services, acknowledging that the type of vegetation matters for the provision of ecosystem services and trade-offs analysis. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Identification of linkages between potential Environmental and Social Impacts of Surface Mining and Ecosystem Services in Thar Coal field, Pakistan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hina, A.

2017-12-01

Although Thar coal is recognized to be one of the most abundant fossil fuel that could meet the need to combat energy crisis of Pakistan, but there still remains a challenge to tackle the associated environmental and socio-ecological changes and its linkage to the provision of ecosystem services of the region. The study highlights the importance of considering Ecosystem service assessment to be undertaken in all strategic Environmental and Social Assessments of Thar coal field projects. The three-step approach has been formulated to link the project impacts to the provision of important ecosystem services; 1) Identification of impact indicators and parameters by analyzing the environmental and social impacts of surface mining in Thar Coal field through field investigation, literature review and stakeholder consultations; 2) Ranking of parameters and criteria alternatives using Multi-criteria Decision Analysis(MCDA) tool: (AHP method); 3) Using ranked parameters as a proxy to prioritize important ecosystem services of the region; The ecosystem services that were prioritized because of both high significance of project impact and high project dependence are highlighted as: Water is a key ecosystem service to be addressed and valued due to its high dependency in the area for livestock, human wellbeing, agriculture and other purposes. Crop production related to agricultural services, in association with supply services such as soil quality, fertility, and nutrient recycling and water retention need to be valued. Cultural services affected in terms of land use change and resettlement and rehabilitation factors are recommended to be addressed. The results of the analysis outline a framework of identifying these linkages as key constraints to foster the emergence of green growth and development in Pakistan. The practicality of implementing these assessments requires policy instruments and strategies to support human well-being and social inclusion while minimizing environmental degradation and loss of ecosystem services. Keywords Ecosystem service assessment; Environmental and Social Impact Assessment; coal mining; Thar Coal Field; Sustainable development

Mechanisms and risk of cumulative impacts to coastal ecosystem services: An expert elicitation approach.

PubMed

Singh, Gerald G; Sinner, Jim; Ellis, Joanne; Kandlikar, Milind; Halpern, Benjamin S; Satterfield, Terre; Chan, Kai M A

2017-09-01

Coastal environments are some of the most populated on Earth, with greater pressures projected in the future. Managing coastal systems requires the consideration of multiple uses, which both benefit from and threaten multiple ecosystem services. Thus understanding the cumulative impacts of human activities on coastal ecosystem services would seem fundamental to management, yet there is no widely accepted approach for assessing these. This study trials an approach for understanding the cumulative impacts of anthropogenic change, focusing on Tasman and Golden Bays, New Zealand. Using an expert elicitation procedure, we collected information on three aspects of cumulative impacts: the importance and magnitude of impacts by various activities and stressors on ecosystem services, and the causal processes of impact on ecosystem services. We assessed impacts to four ecosystem service benefits - fisheries, shellfish aquaculture, marine recreation and existence value of biodiversity-addressing three main research questions: (1) how severe are cumulative impacts on ecosystem services (correspondingly, what potential is there for restoration)?; (2) are threats evenly distributed across activities and stressors, or do a few threats dominate?; (3) do prominent activities mainly operate through direct stressors, or do they often exacerbate other impacts? We found (1) that despite high uncertainty in the threat posed by individual stressors and impacts, total cumulative impact is consistently severe for all four ecosystem services. (2) A subset of drivers and stressors pose important threats across the ecosystem services explored, including climate change, commercial fishing, sedimentation and pollution. (3) Climate change and commercial fishing contribute to prominent indirect impacts across ecosystem services by exacerbating regional impacts, namely sedimentation and pollution. The prevalence and magnitude of these indirect, networked impacts highlights the need for approaches like this to understand mechanisms of impact, in order to develop strategies to manage them. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Identifying the principal driving factors of water ecosystem dependence and the corresponding indicator species in a pilot City, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, C. S.; Shao, N. F.; Yang, S. T.; Xiang, H.; Lou, H. Z.; Sun, Y.; Yang, Z. Y.; Zhang, Y.; Yu, X. Y.; Zhang, C. B.; Yu, Q.

2018-01-01

The world's aquatic ecosystems yield numerous vital services, which are essential to human existence but have deteriorated seriously in recent years. By studying the mechanisms of interaction between ecosystems and habitat processes, the constraining factors can be identified, and this knowledge can be used to improve the success rate of ecological restoration initiatives. At present, there is insufficient data on the link between hydrological, water quality factors and the changes in the structure of aquatic communities to allow any meaningful study of driving factors of aquatic ecosystems. In this study, the typical monitoring stations were selected by fuzzy clustering analysis based on the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of water ecology in Jinan City, the first pilot city for the construction of civilized aquatic ecosystems in China. The dominant species identification model was used to identify the dominant species of the aquatic community. The driving effect of hydrological and water quality factors on dominant species was analyzed by Canonical Correspondence Analysis. Then, the principal factors of aquatic ecosystem dependence were selected. The results showed that there were 10 typical monitoring stations out of 59 monitoring sites, which were representative of aquatic ecosystems, 9 dominant fish species, and 20 dominant invertebrate species. The selection of factors for aquatic ecosystem dependence in Jinan were highly influenced by its regional conditions. Chemical environmental parameters influence the temporal and spatial variation of invertebrate much more than that of fish in Jinan City. However, the methodologies coupling typical monitoring stations selection, dominant species determination and driving factors identification were certified to be a cost-effective way, which can provide in-deep theoretical and technical directions for the restoration of aquatic ecosystems elsewhere.

Ecosystem services provided by a complex coastal region: challenges of classification and mapping.

PubMed

Sousa, Lisa P; Sousa, Ana I; Alves, Fátima L; Lillebø, Ana I

2016-03-11

A variety of ecosystem services classification systems and mapping approaches are available in the scientific and technical literature, which needs to be selected and adapted when applied to complex territories (e.g. in the interface between water and land, estuary and sea). This paper provides a framework for addressing ecosystem services in complex coastal regions. The roadmap comprises the definition of the exact geographic boundaries of the study area; the use of CICES (Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services) for ecosystem services identification and classification; and the definition of qualitative indicators that will serve as basis to map the ecosystem services. Due to its complexity, the Ria de Aveiro coastal region was selected as case study, presenting an opportunity to explore the application of such approaches at a regional scale. The main challenges of implementing the proposed roadmap, together with its advantages are discussed in this research. The results highlight the importance of considering both the connectivity of natural systems and the complexity of the governance framework; the flexibility and robustness, but also the challenges when applying CICES at regional scale; and the challenges regarding ecosystem services mapping.

Ecosystem services provided by a complex coastal region: challenges of classification and mapping

PubMed Central

Sousa, Lisa P.; Sousa, Ana I.; Alves, Fátima L.; Lillebø, Ana I.

2016-01-01

A variety of ecosystem services classification systems and mapping approaches are available in the scientific and technical literature, which needs to be selected and adapted when applied to complex territories (e.g. in the interface between water and land, estuary and sea). This paper provides a framework for addressing ecosystem services in complex coastal regions. The roadmap comprises the definition of the exact geographic boundaries of the study area; the use of CICES (Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services) for ecosystem services identification and classification; and the definition of qualitative indicators that will serve as basis to map the ecosystem services. Due to its complexity, the Ria de Aveiro coastal region was selected as case study, presenting an opportunity to explore the application of such approaches at a regional scale. The main challenges of implementing the proposed roadmap, together with its advantages are discussed in this research. The results highlight the importance of considering both the connectivity of natural systems and the complexity of the governance framework; the flexibility and robustness, but also the challenges when applying CICES at regional scale; and the challenges regarding ecosystem services mapping. PMID:26964892

Biofuels on the landscape: Is "land sharing" preferable to "land sparing"?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DeLucia, E. H.; Anderson-Teixeira, K. J.; Duval, B. D.; Long, S. P.

2012-12-01

Widespread land use changes—and ensuing effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services—are expected as a result of expanding bioenergy production. Although almost all US production of ethanol today is from corn, it is envisaged that future ethanol production will also draw from cellulosic sources such as perennial grasses. In selecting optimal bioenergy crops, there is debate as to whether it is preferable from an environmental standpoint to cultivate bioenergy crops with high ecosystem services (a "land sharing" strategy) or to grow crops with lower ecosystem services but higher yield, thereby requiring less land to meet bioenergy demand (a "land sparing" strategy). Here, we develop a simple model to address this question. Assuming that bioenergy crops are competing with uncultivated land, our model calculates land requirements to meet a given bioenergy demand intensity based upon the yields of bioenergy crops and combines fractional land cover of each ecosystem type with its associated ecosystem services to determine whether land sharing or land sparing strategies maximize ecosystem services at the landscape level. We apply this model to a case in which climate protection through GHG regulation—an ecosystem's greenhouse gas value (GHGV)—is the ecosystem service of interest. We consider five bioenergy crops competing for land area with five unfarmed ecosystem types in the central and eastern US. Our results show that the relative advantages of land sparing and land sharing depend upon the type of ecosystem with which the bioenergy crop is competing for land; as the GHGV value of the unfarmed land increases, the preferable strategy shifts from land sharing to land sparing. This implies that, while it may be preferable to replace ecologically degraded land with high-GHGV, lower yielding bioenergy crops, average landscape GHGV will most often be maximized through high yielding bioenergy crops that leave more land for uncultivated, high-GHGV ecosystems. While our case study focuses on GHGV, the same principles will be generally applicable to any ecosystem service whose value does not depend upon the spatial configuration of the landscape. Whenever bioenergy crops have substantially lower ecosystem services than the ecosystems with which they are competing for land, the most effective strategy for meeting bioenergy demand while maximizing ecosystem services on a landscape level is one of land sparing—that is, focusing simultaneously on maximizing the yield of bioenergy crops while preserving or restoring natural ecosystems.

Spatial planning for a green economy: National-level hydrologic ecosystem services priority areas for Gabon

PubMed Central

Tallis, Heather; Cole, Aaron; Schill, Steven; Martin, Erik; Heiner, Michael; Paiz, Marie-Claire; Aldous, Allison; Apse, Colin; Nickel, Barry

2017-01-01

Rapidly developing countries contain both the bulk of intact natural areas and biodiversity, and the greatest untapped natural resource stocks, placing them at the forefront of “green” economic development opportunities. However, most lack scientific tools to create development plans that account for biodiversity and ecosystem services, diminishing the real potential to be sustainable. Existing methods focus on biodiversity and carbon priority areas across large geographies (e.g., countries, states/provinces), leaving out essential services associated with water supplies, among others. These hydrologic ecosystem services (HES) are especially absent from methods applied at large geographies and in data-limited contexts. Here, we present a novel, spatially explicit, and relatively simple methodology to identify countrywide HES priority areas. We applied our methodology to the Gabonese Republic, a country undergoing a major economic transformation under a governmental commitment to balance conservation and development goals. We present the first national-scale maps of HES priority areas across Gabon for erosion control, nutrient retention, and groundwater recharge. Priority sub-watersheds covered 44% of the country’s extent. Only 3% of the country was identified as a priority area for all HES simultaneously, highlighting the need to conserve different areas for each different hydrologic service. While spatial tradeoffs occur amongst HES, we identified synergies with two other conservation values, given that 66% of HES priority areas intersect regions of above average area-weighted (by sub-watersheds) total forest carbon stocks and 38% intersect with terrestrial national parks. Considering implications for development, we identified HES priority areas overlapping current or proposed major roads, forestry concessions, and active mining concessions, highlighting the need for proactive planning for avoidance areas and compensatory offsets to mitigate potential conflicts. Collectively, our results provide insight into strategies to protect HES as part of Gabon’s development strategy, while providing a replicable methodology for application to new scales, geographies, and policy contexts. PMID:28594870

Trade-offs between carbon, water, soil and food in Guanzhong-Tianshui economic region from remotely sensed data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Z. X.; Li, Jing; Guo, Z. Z.; Li, Ting

2017-06-01

It is important to ensure the efficient supply of land ecosystem services when the competition for land is increasing. In this paper we simulated the ecosystem services function under two scenarios, including carbon sequestration, agricultural production, water and soil conservation, and analyzed the tradeoffs among these ecosystem services in Guanzhong-Tianshui region from 2000 to 2050. Then the productive efficiency of ecosystem services was assessed under two scenarios and compared their production possibility frontiers (PPFs). Through the simulation analysis of their optimum allocation, we also provide the scientific evidence to the development of ecosystem. The natural rules were revealed that if these trade-offs emphasize the potential to sequester carbon in the landscape, along with very little loss of agricultural production, much more water is used. It could be identified to adhere to combine the exploitation and utilization, remediation and protection for land to promote the effective circulation of land eco-system, and meet the society's preferences for land ecosystem service function by adjusting the use of multiple eco-services.

Identification, definition and quantification of goods and services provided by marine biodiversity: implications for the ecosystem approach.

PubMed

Beaumont, N J; Austen, M C; Atkins, J P; Burdon, D; Degraer, S; Dentinho, T P; Derous, S; Holm, P; Horton, T; van Ierland, E; Marboe, A H; Starkey, D J; Townsend, M; Zarzycki, T

2007-03-01

This paper identifies and defines ecosystem goods and services provided by marine biodiversity. Case studies have been used to provide an insight into the practical issues associated with the assessment of marine ecosystem goods and services at specific locations. The aim of this research was to validate the definitions of goods and services, and to identify knowledge gaps and likely difficulties of quantifying the goods and services. A validated theoretical framework for the assessment of goods and services is detailed, and examples of the goods and services at a variety of case study areas are documented. These results will enable future assessments of marine ecosystem goods and services. It is concluded that the utilisation of this goods and services approach has the capacity to play a fundamental role in the Ecosystem Approach, by enabling the pressures and demands of society, the economy and the environment to be integrated into environmental management.

Linking water quality and well-being for improved assessment and valuation of ecosystem services

PubMed Central

Keeler, Bonnie L.; Polasky, Stephen; Brauman, Kate A.; Johnson, Kris A.; Finlay, Jacques C.; O’Neill, Ann; Kovacs, Kent; Dalzell, Brent

2012-01-01

Despite broad recognition of the value of the goods and services provided by nature, existing tools for assessing and valuing ecosystem services often fall short of the needs and expectations of decision makers. Here we address one of the most important missing components in the current ecosystem services toolbox: a comprehensive and generalizable framework for describing and valuing water quality-related services. Water quality is often misrepresented as a final ecosystem service. We argue that it is actually an important contributor to many different services, from recreation to human health. We present a valuation approach for water quality-related services that is sensitive to different actions that affect water quality, identifies aquatic endpoints where the consequences of changing water quality on human well-being are realized, and recognizes the unique groups of beneficiaries affected by those changes. We describe the multiple biophysical and economic pathways that link actions to changes in water quality-related ecosystem goods and services and provide guidance to researchers interested in valuing these changes. Finally, we present a valuation template that integrates biophysical and economic models, links actions to changes in service provision and value estimates, and considers multiple sources of water quality-related ecosystem service values without double counting. PMID:23091018

Linking water quality and well-being for improved assessment and valuation of ecosystem services.

PubMed

Keeler, Bonnie L; Polasky, Stephen; Brauman, Kate A; Johnson, Kris A; Finlay, Jacques C; O'Neill, Ann; Kovacs, Kent; Dalzell, Brent

2012-11-06

Despite broad recognition of the value of the goods and services provided by nature, existing tools for assessing and valuing ecosystem services often fall short of the needs and expectations of decision makers. Here we address one of the most important missing components in the current ecosystem services toolbox: a comprehensive and generalizable framework for describing and valuing water quality-related services. Water quality is often misrepresented as a final ecosystem service. We argue that it is actually an important contributor to many different services, from recreation to human health. We present a valuation approach for water quality-related services that is sensitive to different actions that affect water quality, identifies aquatic endpoints where the consequences of changing water quality on human well-being are realized, and recognizes the unique groups of beneficiaries affected by those changes. We describe the multiple biophysical and economic pathways that link actions to changes in water quality-related ecosystem goods and services and provide guidance to researchers interested in valuing these changes. Finally, we present a valuation template that integrates biophysical and economic models, links actions to changes in service provision and value estimates, and considers multiple sources of water quality-related ecosystem service values without double counting.

Climate change impacts on ecosystems and ecosystem services in the United States: Process and prospects for sustained assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Grimm, Nancy B.; Groffman, Peter M; Staudinger, Michelle D.; Tallis, Heather

2016-01-01

The third United States National Climate Assessment emphasized an evaluation of not just the impacts of climate change on species and ecosystems, but also the impacts of climate change on the benefits that people derive from nature, known as ecosystem services. The ecosystems, biodiversity, and ecosystem services component of the assessment largely drew upon the findings of a transdisciplinary workshop aimed at developing technical input for the assessment, involving participants from diverse sectors. A small author team distilled and synthesized this and hundreds of other technical input to develop the key findings of the assessment. The process of developing and ranking key findings hinged on identifying impacts that had particular, demonstrable effects on the U.S. public via changes in national ecosystem services. Findings showed that ecosystem services are threatened by the impacts of climate change on water supplies, species distributions and phenology, as well as multiple assaults on ecosystem integrity that, when compounded by climate change, reduce the capacity of ecosystems to buffer against extreme events. As ecosystems change, such benefits as water sustainability and protection from storms that are afforded by intact ecosystems are projected to decline across the continent due to climate change. An ongoing, sustained assessment that focuses on the co-production of actionable climate science will allow scientists from a range of disciplines to ascertain the capability of their forecasting models to project environmental and ecological change and link it to ecosystem services; additionally, an iterative process of evaluation, development of management strategies, monitoring, and reevaluation will increase the applicability and usability of the science by the U.S. public.

Ecosystem services - from assessements of estimations to quantitative, validated, high-resolution, continental-scale mapping via airborne LIDAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zlinszky, András; Pfeifer, Norbert

2016-04-01

"Ecosystem services" defined vaguely as "nature's benefits to people" are a trending concept in ecology and conservation. Quantifying and mapping these services is a longtime demand of both ecosystems science and environmental policy. The current state of the art is to use existing maps of land cover, and assign certain average ecosystem service values to their unit areas. This approach has some major weaknesses: the concept of "ecosystem services", the input land cover maps and the value indicators. Such assessments often aim at valueing services in terms of human currency as a basis for decision-making, although this approach remains contested. Land cover maps used for ecosystem service assessments (typically the CORINE land cover product) are generated from continental-scale satellite imagery, with resolution in the range of hundreds of meters. In some rare cases, airborne sensors are used, with higher resolution but less covered area. Typically, general land cover classes are used instead of categories defined specifically for the purpose of ecosystem service assessment. The value indicators are developed for and tested on small study sites, but widely applied and adapted to other sites far away (a process called benefit transfer) where local information may not be available. Upscaling is always problematic since such measurements investigate areas much smaller than the output map unit. Nevertheless, remote sensing is still expected to play a major role in conceptualization and assessment of ecosystem services. We propose that an improvement of several orders of magnitude in resolution and accuracy is possible through the application of airborne LIDAR, a measurement technique now routinely used for collection of countrywide three-dimensional datasets with typically sub-meter resolution. However, this requires a clear definition of the concept of ecosystem services and the variables in focus: remote sensing can measure variables closely related to "ecosystem service potential" which is the ability of the local ecosystem to deliver various functions (water retention, carbon storage etc.), but can't quantify how much of these are actually used by humans or what the estimated monetary value is. Due to its ability to measure both terrain relief and vegetation structure in high resolution, airborne LIDAR supports direct quantification of the properties of an ecosystem that lead to it delivering a given service (such as biomass, water retention, micro-climate regulation or habitat diversity). In addition, its high resolution allows direct calibration with field measurements: routine harvesting-based ecological measurements, local biodiversity indicator surveys or microclimate recordings all take place at the human scale and can be directly linked to the local value of LIDAR-based indicators at meter resolution. Therefore, if some field measurements with standard ecological methods are performed on site, the accuracy of LIDAR-based ecosystem service indicators can be rigorously validated. With this conceptual and technical approach high resolution ecosystem service assessments can be made with well established credibility. These would consolidate the concept of ecosystem services and support both scientific research and evidence-based environmental policy at local and - as data coverage is continually increasing - continental scale.

Ecological mechanisms underpinning climate adaptation services.

PubMed

Lavorel, Sandra; Colloff, Matthew J; McIntyre, Sue; Doherty, Michael D; Murphy, Helen T; Metcalfe, Daniel J; Dunlop, Michael; Williams, Richard J; Wise, Russell M; Williams, Kristen J

2015-01-01

Ecosystem services are typically valued for their immediate material or cultural benefits to human wellbeing, supported by regulating and supporting services. Under climate change, with more frequent stresses and novel shocks, 'climate adaptation services', are defined as the benefits to people from increased social ability to respond to change, provided by the capability of ecosystems to moderate and adapt to climate change and variability. They broaden the ecosystem services framework to assist decision makers in planning for an uncertain future with new choices and options. We present a generic framework for operationalising the adaptation services concept. Four steps guide the identification of intrinsic ecological mechanisms that facilitate the maintenance and emergence of ecosystem services during periods of change, and so materialise as adaptation services. We applied this framework for four contrasted Australian ecosystems. Comparative analyses enabled by the operational framework suggest that adaptation services that emerge during trajectories of ecological change are supported by common mechanisms: vegetation structural diversity, the role of keystone species or functional groups, response diversity and landscape connectivity, which underpin the persistence of function and the reassembly of ecological communities under severe climate change and variability. Such understanding should guide ecosystem management towards adaptation planning. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Neighborhood scale quantification of ecosystem goods and services

EPA Science Inventory

Ecosystem goods and services are those ecological structures and functions that humans can directly relate to their state of well-being. Ecosystem goods and services include, but are not limited to, a sufficient fresh water supply, fertile lands to produce agricultural products, ...

NEP-ORD Collaborations on Quantifying the Ecosystem Goods and Services of Estuaries

EPA Science Inventory

Nature’s goods and services provided by estuarine ecosystems are integral to the economies and well-being of coastal communities. However, many valuable ecosystem goods and services (EGS), including their benefits to surrounding communities, are not explicitly considered i...

Content analysis to document publicly valued ecosystem services of rivers and streams

EPA Science Inventory

While much ecosystem services research focuses on analysis such as mapping and/or valuation, fewer research efforts are directed toward in-depth understanding of the specific ecological quantities people value. Ecosystem service monitoring and analysis efforts and communications ...

Linking Ecosystem Services and Human Health: The Eco-Health Relationship Browser#

EPA Science Inventory

Ecosystems and the services they provide have been linked in the literature to multiple human health outcomes. Demonstrated and proposed mechanisms focus on hazard buffering and health-promotional aspects of ecosystems. Services such as air and water filtration, heat mitigation...

Status of the US EPA’s National Atlas of Ecosystem Services

EPA Science Inventory

The US Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) Ecosystem Services Research Program (ESRP) is focused on transdisciplinary research to develop tools to enable decision-makers at all levels of governance to proactively conserve ecosystems services. A major product from the ESRP ...

Habitat scale mapping of fisheries ecosystem services values in estuaries

EPA Science Inventory

Little is known about the variability of ecosystem service values at spatial scales most relevant to local decision makers. Competing definitions of ecosystem services, the paucity of ecological and economic information and the lack of standardization in methodology are major ob...

Determining the Ecosystem Services Important for Urban Landscapes-Slides

EPA Science Inventory

This presentation consists of introductory slides on ecosystem services in urban landscapes and then a discussion of two case studies concerning the provision of water quality in urban landscapes. The introductory slides will explore the range of ecosystem services provided by u...

Functional traits in agriculture: agrobiodiversity and ecosystem services.

PubMed

Wood, Stephen A; Karp, Daniel S; DeClerck, Fabrice; Kremen, Claire; Naeem, Shahid; Palm, Cheryl A

2015-09-01

Functional trait research has led to greater understanding of the impacts of biodiversity in ecosystems. Yet, functional trait approaches have not been widely applied to agroecosystems and understanding of the importance of agrobiodiversity remains limited to a few ecosystem processes and services. To improve this understanding, we argue here for a functional trait approach to agroecology that adopts recent advances in trait research for multitrophic and spatially heterogeneous ecosystems. We suggest that trait values should be measured across environmental conditions and agricultural management regimes to predict how ecosystem services vary with farm practices and environment. This knowledge should be used to develop management strategies that can be easily implemented by farmers to manage agriculture to provide multiple ecosystem services. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A methodology for quantifying and mapping ecosystem services provided by watersheds

USGS Publications Warehouse

Villamagna, Amy M.; Angermeier, Paul L.

2015-01-01

Watershed processes – physical, chemical, and biological – are the foundation for many benefits that ecosystems provide for human societies. A crucial step toward accurately representing those benefits, so they can ultimately inform decisions about land and water management, is the development of a coherent methodology that can translate available data into the ecosystem services (ES) produced by watersheds. Ecosystem services (ES) provide an instinctive way to understand the tradeoffs associated with natural resource management. We provide a synthesis of common terminology and explain a rationale and framework for distinguishing among the components of ecosystem service delivery, including: an ecosystem’s capacity to produce a service; societal demand for the service; ecological pressures on this service; and flow of the service to people. We discuss how interpretation and measurement of these components can differ among provisioning, regulating, and cultural services and describe selected methods for quantifying ES components as well as constraints on data availability. We also present several case studies to illustrate our methods, including mapping capacity of several water purification services and demand for two forms of wildlife-based recreation, and discuss future directions for ecosystem service assessments. Our flexible framework treats service capacity, demand, ecological pressure, and flow as separate but interactive entities to better evaluate the sustainability of service provision across space and time and to help guide management decisions.

Demonstration of SST value as EBVs descriptor in the Mediterranean Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valentini, E.; Filipponi, F.; Nguyen Xuan, A.; Taramelli, A.

2017-12-01

Sea Surface Temperature is an Essential Climate and Ocean Variable (ECV - EOV) able to capture critical scales in the seascape warming patterns and to highlight the exceeding of thresholds. This presentation addresses the changes of the SST in the last three decades over the Mediterranean Sea, a "Large Marine Ecosystem (LME)", in order to speculate the value of such powerful variable, as proxy for the assessment of ecosystem state in terms of ecosystem structures, functions and composition key descriptor. Time series of daily SST for the period 1982-2016, estimated from multi-sensor satellite data and provided by Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS-EU) are used to perform different statistical analysis on common fish species. Results highlight the critical conditions, the general trends as well as the spatial and temporal patterns, in terms of thermal growth, vitality and stress influence on selected fish species. Results confirm a constant increasing trend in SST with an average rise of 1.4° C in the past thirty years. The variance associated to the average trend is not constant across the entire Mediterranean Sea opening the way to multiple scenarios for fish growth and vitality in the diverse sub-basins. A major effort is oriented in addressing the cross-scale ecological interactions to assess the feasibility of using SST as descriptor for Essential Biodiversity Variables, able to prioritize areas and to feed operational tools for planning and management in the Mediterranean LME.

Weaving Ecosystem Service Assessment into Environmental Impact Assessments of Thar Coal Field: Impact of Coal Mining on Socio-Ecological Systems of Rural Communities.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hina, A.

2016-12-01

The Research takes into account Block II Mining and Power Plant Project of Thar Coal field in Pakistan by carrying out ecosystem service assessment of the region to identify the impact on important ecosystem service losses and the contribution of mining companies to mitigate the socio-economic problems as a part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The study area includes 7 rural settlements, around 921 households and 7000 individuals, dependent on agriculture and livestock for their livelihoods. Currently, the project has adopted the methods of strip mining (also called open-cut mining, open-cast mining, and stripping), undergoing removing the overburden in strips to enable excavation of the coal seams. Since the consequences of mine development can easily spill across community and ecological boundaries, the rising scarcity of some ecosystem services makes the case to examine both project impact and dependence on ecosystem services. A preliminary Ecosystem Service review of Thar Coal Field identifies key ecosystems services owing to both high significance of project impact and high project dependence are highlighted as: the hydrogeological study results indicate the presence of at least three aquifer zones: one above the coal zone (the top aquifer), one within the coal and the third below the coal zone. Hence, Water is identified as a key ecosystem service to be addressed and valued due to its high dependency in the area for livestock, human wellbeing, agriculture and other purposes. Crop production related to agricultural services, in association with supply services such as soil quality, fertility, and nutrient recycling and water retention need to be valued. Cultural services affected in terms of land use change and resettlement and rehabilitation factors are recommended to be addressed.

Abundance of common species, not species richness, drives delivery of a real-world ecosystem service.

PubMed

Winfree, Rachael; Fox, Jeremy W; Williams, Neal M; Reilly, James R; Cariveau, Daniel P

2015-07-01

Biodiversity-ecosystem functioning experiments have established that species richness and composition are both important determinants of ecosystem function in an experimental context. Determining whether this result holds for real-world ecosystem services has remained elusive, however, largely due to the lack of analytical methods appropriate for large-scale, associational data. Here, we use a novel analytical approach, the Price equation, to partition the contribution to ecosystem services made by species richness, composition and abundance in four large-scale data sets on crop pollination by native bees. We found that abundance fluctuations of dominant species drove ecosystem service delivery, whereas richness changes were relatively unimportant because they primarily involved rare species that contributed little to function. Thus, the mechanism behind our results was the skewed species-abundance distribution. Our finding that a few common species, not species richness, drive ecosystem service delivery could have broad generality given the ubiquity of skewed species-abundance distributions in nature. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

A review of impacts by invasive exotic plants on forest ecosystem services

Treesearch

Kevin Devine; Songlin Fei

2011-01-01

Many of our forest ecosystems are at risk due to the invasion of exotic invasive plant species. Invasive plant species pose numerous threats to ecosystems by decreasing biodiversity, deteriorating ecosystem processes, and degrading ecosystem services. Literature on Kentucky's most invasive exotic plant species was examined to understand their potential impacts on...

Ecosystem goods and services at the neighborhood scale

EPA Science Inventory

Mapping ecosystem functions and articulating the ecosystem goods and services (EGS) they provide to human beneficiaries are important aspects that: link human actions to human costs and benefits from ecosystem, and ultimately provide this information to the general public, public...

Assessment and valuation of forest ecosystem services: State of the science review

Treesearch

Seth Binder; Robert G. Haight; Stephen Polasky; Travis Warziniack; Miranda H. Mockrin; Robert L. Deal; Greg Arthaud

2017-01-01

This review focuses on the assessment and economic valuation of ecosystem services from forest ecosystems—that is, our ability to predict changes in the quantity and value of ecosystem services as a result of specific forest management decisions. It is aimed at forest economists and managers and intended to provide a useful reference to those interested in developing...

Ecosystem services in managing residential landscapes: priorities, value dimensions, and cross-regional patterns

Treesearch

K.L. Larson; K.C. Nelson; S.R. Samples; S.J. Hall; N. Bettez; J. Cavender-Bares; P.M. Groffman; M. Grove; J.B. Heffernan; S.E. Hobbie; J. Learned; J.L. Morse; C. Neill; L.A. Ogden; Jarlath O' Neil-Dunne; D.E. Pataki; C. Polsky; R. Roy Chowdhury; M. Steele; T.L.E. Trammell

2016-01-01

Although ecosystem services have been intensively examined in certain domains (e.g., forests and wetlands), little research has assessed ecosystem services for the most dominant landscape type in urban ecosystems—namely, residential yards. In this paper, we report findings of a cross-site survey of homeowners in six U.S. cities to 1) examine how residents subjectively...

Advancing Sustainability through Urban Green Space: Cultural Ecosystem Services, Equity, and Social Determinants of Health

PubMed Central

Jennings, Viniece; Larson, Lincoln; Yun, Jessica

2016-01-01

Urban green spaces provide an array of benefits, or ecosystem services, that support our physical, psychological, and social health. In many cases, however, these benefits are not equitably distributed across diverse urban populations. In this paper, we explore relationships between cultural ecosystem services provided by urban green space and the social determinants of health outlined in the United States Healthy People 2020 initiative. Specifically, we: (1) explore connections between cultural ecosystem services and social determinants of health; (2) examine cultural ecosystem services as nature-based health amenities to promote social equity; and (3) recommend areas for future research examining links between urban green space and public health within the context of environmental justice. PMID:26861365

Biodiversity and ecosystem services science for a sustainable planet: the DIVERSITAS vision for 2012-20.

PubMed

Larigauderie, Anne; Prieur-Richard, Anne-Hélène; Mace, Georgina M; Lonsdale, Mark; Mooney, Harold A; Brussaard, Lijbert; Cooper, David; Cramer, Wolfgang; Daszak, Peter; Díaz, Sandra; Duraiappah, Anantha; Elmqvist, Thomas; Faith, Daniel P; Jackson, Louise E; Krug, Cornelia; Leadley, Paul W; Le Prestre, Philippe; Matsuda, Hiroyuki; Palmer, Margaret; Perrings, Charles; Pulleman, Mirjam; Reyers, Belinda; Rosa, Eugene A; Scholes, Robert J; Spehn, Eva; Turner, Bl; Yahara, Tetsukazu

2012-02-01

DIVERSITAS, the international programme on biodiversity science, is releasing a strategic vision presenting scientific challenges for the next decade of research on biodiversity and ecosystem services: "Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Science for a Sustainable Planet". This new vision is a response of the biodiversity and ecosystem services scientific community to the accelerating loss of the components of biodiversity, as well as to changes in the biodiversity science-policy landscape (establishment of a Biodiversity Observing Network - GEO BON, of an Intergovernmental science-policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services - IPBES, of the new Future Earth initiative; and release of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020). This article presents the vision and its core scientific challenges.

Advancing Sustainability through Urban Green Space: Cultural Ecosystem Services, Equity, and Social Determinants of Health.

PubMed

Jennings, Viniece; Larson, Lincoln; Yun, Jessica

2016-02-05

Urban green spaces provide an array of benefits, or ecosystem services, that support our physical, psychological, and social health. In many cases, however, these benefits are not equitably distributed across diverse urban populations. In this paper, we explore relationships between cultural ecosystem services provided by urban green space and the social determinants of health outlined in the United States Healthy People 2020 initiative. Specifically, we: (1) explore connections between cultural ecosystem services and social determinants of health; (2) examine cultural ecosystem services as nature-based health amenities to promote social equity; and (3) recommend areas for future research examining links between urban green space and public health within the context of environmental justice.

Bringing ecosystem services into integrated water resources management.

PubMed

Liu, Shuang; Crossman, Neville D; Nolan, Martin; Ghirmay, Hiyoba

2013-11-15

In this paper we propose an ecosystem service framework to support integrated water resource management and apply it to the Murray-Darling Basin in Australia. Water resources in the Murray-Darling Basin have been over-allocated for irrigation use with the consequent degradation of freshwater ecosystems. In line with integrated water resource management principles, Australian Government reforms are reducing the amount of water diverted for irrigation to improve ecosystem health. However, limited understanding of the broader benefits and trade-offs associated with reducing irrigation diversions has hampered the planning process supporting this reform. Ecosystem services offer an integrative framework to identify the broader benefits associated with integrated water resource management in the Murray-Darling Basin, thereby providing support for the Government to reform decision-making. We conducted a multi-criteria decision analysis for ranking regional potentials to provide ecosystem services at river basin scale. We surveyed the wider public about their understanding of, and priorities for, managing ecosystem services and then integrated the results with spatially explicit indicators of ecosystem service provision. The preliminary results of this work identified the sub-catchments with the greatest potential synergies and trade-offs of ecosystem service provision under the integrated water resources management reform process. With future development, our framework could be used as a decision support tool by those grappling with the challenge of the sustainable allocation of water between irrigation and the environment. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sustaining healthy freshwater ecosystems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Baron, Jill S.; Poff, N.L.

2004-01-01

Functionally intact and biologically complex freshwater ecosystems provide many economically valuable commodities and services to society. The services supplied by freshwater ecosystems include flood control, transportation, recreation, purification of human and industrial wastes, habitat for plants and animals, and production of fish and other foods and marketable goods. These human benefits are called ecological services, defined as “the conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems, and the species that make them up, sustain and fulfill human life” (Daily 1997). Over the long term, healthy freshwater ecosystems are likely to retain the adaptive capacity to sustain production of these ecological services in the face of future environmental disruptions such as climate change.

Remote sensing and modeling to fill the “gap” in missing natural capital

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bagstad, Kenneth J.; Willcock, Simon; Lange, Glenn-Marie

2018-01-01

This chapter reviews recent advances in remote sensing and environmental modeling that address the first step in ecosystem accounting: biophysical quantification of ecosystem services. The chapter focuses on those ecosystem services in which the most rapid advances are likely, including crop pollination, sediment regulation, carbon sequestration and storage, and coastal flood regulation. The discussion highlights data sources and modeling approaches that can support wealth accounting, next steps for mapping and biophysical modeling of ecosystem services, and considerations for integrating biophysical modeling and monetary valuation. These approaches could make the inclusion of some ecosystem services increasingly feasible in future versions of wealth accounts.

WHERE IS THE CONSENSUS? A PROPOSED FOUNDATION FOR MOVING ECOSYSTEM SERVICE CONCEPTS INTO PRACTICE

EPA Science Inventory

Inconsistency with terms, definitions, and classifications hinders the advancement of the study and application of ecosystem services. A unified approach among the many disciplines that are involved in researching and implementing ecosystem services is imperative to moving conce...

ESRP approach to using final ecosystem services

EPA Science Inventory

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has developed the ecosystem Services Research Program (ESRP) as one of its major research efforts. The goal of this program is to create “A comprehensive theory and practice for quantifying ecosystem services so that their value and their...

Valuing ecosystem services of an impacted waterway in the Southwestern US

EPA Science Inventory

While many studies of ecosystem services focus on unaltered areas such as wilderness, management insight is also needed for those more impacted. This case study values ecosystem services of the Santa Cruz River, an effluent-dominated waterway in southern Arizona. Wastewater treat...

Designing a systematic landscape monitoring approach for quantifying ecosystem services

EPA Science Inventory

A key problem encountered early on by governments striving to incorporate the ecosystem services concept into decision making is quantifying ecosystem services across large landscapes. Basically, they are faced with determining what to measure, how to measure it and how to aggre...

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AS A NEW STRATEGIC FOCUS FOR USEPA'S ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH PROGRAM

EPA Science Inventory

The USEPA's Office of Research and Development has made ecosystem services the new strategic focus for its ecological research program (ERP). Recognizing that the protection and enhancement of ecosystem services can help maintain and improve human health, economic vitality and ov...

Ecosystem Goods & Services and their Direct Linkages to Human Health & Well-Being

EPA Science Inventory

This presentation provides an overview of the SHC 2.61 Community-Based Final Ecosystem Goods and Services Project and other ecosystem services activities in the Office of Research and Development. Specifically, this presentation addressed a series of topics: Provide an overview ...

Common ground for biodiversity and ecosystem services: the “partial protection” challenge

PubMed Central

Faith, Daniel P

2012-01-01

New global initiatives require clarity about similarities and differences between biodiversity and ecosystem services. One argument is that ecosystem services capture utilitarian values, while biodiversity captures intrinsic values. However, the concept of biodiversity equally emerges from anthropogenic use values. Measures of biodiversity indicate broad option values, and so provide different information about future uses and benefits. Such differences nevertheless can be the basis for “common ground” for biodiversity and ecosystem services. Systematic conservation planning and related frameworks acknowledge such differences through effective trade-offs and synergies among different values of society. The early work on regional biodiversity trade-offs includes a little-explored aspect that could enhance this common ground. Regional planning here takes into account the “partial protection” of biodiversity provided by some land uses. Common-ground will be promoted by better integrating the ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation offered by ecosystems at the “natural end of the spectrum” with the partial protection and other benefits/services provided by more intensively-transformed places. PMID:24358821

Setting the bar: Standards for ecosystem services

PubMed Central

Polasky, Stephen; Tallis, Heather; Reyers, Belinda

2015-01-01

Progress in ecosystem service science has been rapid, and there is now a healthy appetite among key public and private sector decision makers for this science. However, changing policy and management is a long-term project, one that raises a number of specific practical challenges. One impediment to broad adoption of ecosystem service information is the lack of standards that define terminology, acceptable data and methods, and reporting requirements. Ecosystem service standards should be tailored to specific use contexts, such as national income and wealth accounts, corporate sustainability reporting, land-use planning, and environmental impact assessments. Many standard-setting organizations already exist, and the research community will make the most headway toward rapid uptake of ecosystem service science by working directly with these organizations. Progress has been made in aligning with existing organizations in areas such as product certification and sustainability reporting, but a major challenge remains in mainstreaming ecosystem service information into core public and private use contexts, such as agricultural and energy subsidy design, national income accounts, and corporate accounts. PMID:26082540

Setting the bar: Standards for ecosystem services.

PubMed

Polasky, Stephen; Tallis, Heather; Reyers, Belinda

2015-06-16

Progress in ecosystem service science has been rapid, and there is now a healthy appetite among key public and private sector decision makers for this science. However, changing policy and management is a long-term project, one that raises a number of specific practical challenges. One impediment to broad adoption of ecosystem service information is the lack of standards that define terminology, acceptable data and methods, and reporting requirements. Ecosystem service standards should be tailored to specific use contexts, such as national income and wealth accounts, corporate sustainability reporting, land-use planning, and environmental impact assessments. Many standard-setting organizations already exist, and the research community will make the most headway toward rapid uptake of ecosystem service science by working directly with these organizations. Progress has been made in aligning with existing organizations in areas such as product certification and sustainability reporting, but a major challenge remains in mainstreaming ecosystem service information into core public and private use contexts, such as agricultural and energy subsidy design, national income accounts, and corporate accounts.

Obscuring ecosystem function with application of the ecosystem services concept.

PubMed

Peterson, Markus J; Hall, Damon M; Feldpausch-Parker, Andrea M; Peterson, Tarla Rai

2010-02-01

Conservationists commonly have framed ecological concerns in economic terms to garner political support for conservation and to increase public interest in preserving global biodiversity. Beginning in the early 1980s, conservation biologists adapted neoliberal economics to reframe ecosystem functions and related biodiversity as ecosystem services to humanity. Despite the economic success of programs such as the Catskill/Delaware watershed management plan in the United States and the creation of global carbon exchanges, today's marketplace often fails to adequately protect biodiversity. We used a Marxist critique to explain one reason for this failure and to suggest a possible, if partial, response. Reframing ecosystem functions as economic services does not address the political problem of commodification. Just as it obscures the labor of human workers, commodification obscures the importance of the biota (ecosystem workers) and related abiotic factors that contribute to ecosystem functions. This erasure of work done by ecosystems impedes public understanding of biodiversity. Odum and Odum's radical suggestion to use the language of ecosystems (i.e., emergy or energy memory) to describe economies, rather than using the language of economics (i.e., services) to describe ecosystems, reverses this erasure of the ecosystem worker. Considering the current dominance of economic forces, however, implementing such solutions would require social changes similar in magnitude to those that occurred during the 1960s. Niklas Luhmann argues that such substantive, yet rapid, social change requires synergy among multiple societal function systems (i.e., economy, education, law, politics, religion, science), rather than reliance on a single social sphere, such as the economy. Explicitly presenting ecosystem services as discreet and incomplete aspects of ecosystem functions not only allows potential economic and environmental benefits associated with ecosystem services, but also enables the social and political changes required to ensure valuation of ecosystem functions and related biodiversity in ways beyond their measurement on an economic scale.

Ecosystem-Service Tradeoffs Associated with Switching from Annual to Perennial Energy Crops in Riparian Zones of the US Midwest

PubMed Central

Meehan, Timothy D.; Gratton, Claudio; Diehl, Erica; Hunt, Natalie D.; Mooney, Daniel F.; Ventura, Stephen J.; Barham, Bradford L.; Jackson, Randall D.

2013-01-01

Integration of energy crops into agricultural landscapes could promote sustainability if they are placed in ways that foster multiple ecosystem services and mitigate ecosystem disservices from existing crops. We conducted a modeling study to investigate how replacing annual energy crops with perennial energy crops along Wisconsin waterways could affect a variety of provisioning and regulating ecosystem services. We found that a switch from continuous corn production to perennial-grass production decreased annual income provisioning by 75%, although it increased annual energy provisioning by 33%, decreased annual phosphorous loading to surface water by 29%, increased below-ground carbon sequestration by 30%, decreased annual nitrous oxide emissions by 84%, increased an index of pollinator abundance by an average of 11%, and increased an index of biocontrol potential by an average of 6%. We expressed the tradeoffs between income provisioning and other ecosystem services as benefit-cost ratios. Benefit-cost ratios averaged 12.06 GJ of additional net energy, 0.84 kg of avoided phosphorus pollution, 18.97 Mg of sequestered carbon, and 1.99 kg of avoided nitrous oxide emissions for every $1,000 reduction in income. These ratios varied spatially, from 2- to 70-fold depending on the ecosystem service. Benefit-cost ratios for different ecosystem services were generally correlated within watersheds, suggesting the presence of hotspots – watersheds where increases in multiple ecosystem services would come at lower-than-average opportunity costs. When assessing the monetary value of ecosystem services relative to existing conservation programs and environmental markets, the overall value of enhanced services associated with adoption of perennial energy crops was far lower than the opportunity cost. However, when we monitized services using estimates for the social costs of pollution, the value of enhanced services far exceeded the opportunity cost. This disparity between recoverable costs and social value represents a fundamental challenge to expansion of perennial energy crops and sustainable agricultural landscapes. PMID:24223215

Ecosystem-service tradeoffs associated with switching from annual to perennial energy crops in riparian zones of the US Midwest.

PubMed

Meehan, Timothy D; Gratton, Claudio; Diehl, Erica; Hunt, Natalie D; Mooney, Daniel F; Ventura, Stephen J; Barham, Bradford L; Jackson, Randall D

2013-01-01

Integration of energy crops into agricultural landscapes could promote sustainability if they are placed in ways that foster multiple ecosystem services and mitigate ecosystem disservices from existing crops. We conducted a modeling study to investigate how replacing annual energy crops with perennial energy crops along Wisconsin waterways could affect a variety of provisioning and regulating ecosystem services. We found that a switch from continuous corn production to perennial-grass production decreased annual income provisioning by 75%, although it increased annual energy provisioning by 33%, decreased annual phosphorous loading to surface water by 29%, increased below-ground carbon sequestration by 30%, decreased annual nitrous oxide emissions by 84%, increased an index of pollinator abundance by an average of 11%, and increased an index of biocontrol potential by an average of 6%. We expressed the tradeoffs between income provisioning and other ecosystem services as benefit-cost ratios. Benefit-cost ratios averaged 12.06 GJ of additional net energy, 0.84 kg of avoided phosphorus pollution, 18.97 Mg of sequestered carbon, and 1.99 kg of avoided nitrous oxide emissions for every $1,000 reduction in income. These ratios varied spatially, from 2- to 70-fold depending on the ecosystem service. Benefit-cost ratios for different ecosystem services were generally correlated within watersheds, suggesting the presence of hotspots--watersheds where increases in multiple ecosystem services would come at lower-than-average opportunity costs. When assessing the monetary value of ecosystem services relative to existing conservation programs and environmental markets, the overall value of enhanced services associated with adoption of perennial energy crops was far lower than the opportunity cost. However, when we monitized services using estimates for the social costs of pollution, the value of enhanced services far exceeded the opportunity cost. This disparity between recoverable costs and social value represents a fundamental challenge to expansion of perennial energy crops and sustainable agricultural landscapes.

Climate change's impact on key ecosystem services and the human well-being they support in the US

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nelson, Erik J.; Kareiva, Peter; Ruckelshaus, Mary; Arkema, Katie; Geller, Gary; Girvetz, Evan; Goodrich, Dave; Matzek, Virginia; Pinsky, Malin; Reid, Walt; Saunders, Martin; Semmens, Darius J.; Tallis, Heather

2013-01-01

Climate change alters the functions of ecological systems. As a result, the provision of ecosystem services and the well-being of people that rely on these services are being modified. Climate models portend continued warming and more frequent extreme weather events across the US. Such weather-related disturbances will place a premium on the ecosystem services that people rely on. We discuss some of the observed and anticipated impacts of climate change on ecosystem service provision and livelihoods in the US. We also highlight promising adaptive measures. The challenge will be choosing which adaptive strategies to implement, given limited resources and time. We suggest using dynamic balance sheets or accounts of natural capital and natural assets to prioritize and evaluate national and regional adaptation strategies that involve ecosystem services.

Interregional flows of ecosystem services: Concepts, typology and four cases

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schröter, Matthias; Koellner, Thomas; Alkemade, Rob; Arnhold, Sebastian; Bagstad, Kenneth J.; Frank, Karin; Erb, Karl-Heinz; Kastner, Thomas; Kissinger, Meidad; Liu, Jianguo; López-Hoffman, Laura; Maes, Joachim; Marques, Alexandra; Martín-López, Berta; Meyer, Carsten; Schulp, Catharina J. E.; Thober, Jule; Wolff, Sarah; Bonn, Aletta

2018-01-01

Conserving and managing global natural capital requires an understanding of the complexity of flows of ecosystem services across geographic boundaries. Failing to understand and to incorporate these flows into national and international ecosystem assessments leads to incomplete and potentially skewed conclusions, impairing society’s ability to identify sustainable management and policy choices. In this paper, we synthesise existing knowledge and develop a conceptual framework for analysing interregional ecosystem service flows. We synthesise the types of such flows, the characteristics of sending and receiving socio-ecological systems, and the impacts of ecosystem service flows on interregional sustainability. Using four cases (trade of certified coffee, migration of northern pintails, flood protection in the Danube watershed, and information on giant pandas), we test the conceptual framework and show how an enhanced understanding of interregional telecouplings in socio-ecological systems can inform ecosystem service-based decision making and governance with respect to sustainability goals.

Urban forests and pollution mitigation: analyzing ecosystem services and disservices.

PubMed

Escobedo, Francisco J; Kroeger, Timm; Wagner, John E

2011-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to integrate the concepts of ecosystem services and disservices when assessing the efficacy of using urban forests for mitigating pollution. A brief review of the literature identifies some pollution mitigation ecosystem services provided by urban forests. Existing ecosystem services definitions and typologies from the economics and ecological literature are adapted and applied to urban forest management and the concepts of ecosystem disservices from natural and semi-natural systems are discussed. Examples of the urban forest ecosystem services of air quality and carbon dioxide sequestration are used to illustrate issues associated with assessing their efficacy in mitigating urban pollution. Development of urban forest management alternatives that mitigate pollution should consider scale, contexts, heterogeneity, management intensities and other social and economic co-benefits, tradeoffs, and costs affecting stakeholders and urban sustainability goals. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reconnecting cities to the biosphere: stewardship of green infrastructure and urban ecosystem services.

PubMed

Andersson, Erik; Barthel, Stephan; Borgström, Sara; Colding, Johan; Elmqvist, Thomas; Folke, Carl; Gren, Åsa

2014-05-01

Within-city green infrastructure can offer opportunities and new contexts for people to become stewards of ecosystem services. We analyze cities as social-ecological systems, synthesize the literature, and provide examples from more than 15 years of research in the Stockholm urban region, Sweden. The social-ecological approach spans from investigating ecosystem properties to the social frameworks and personal values that drive and shape human interactions with nature. Key findings demonstrate that urban ecosystem services are generated by social-ecological systems and that local stewards are critically important. However, land-use planning and management seldom account for their role in the generation of urban ecosystem services. While the small scale patchwork of land uses in cities stimulates intense interactions across borders much focus is still on individual patches. The results highlight the importance and complexity of stewardship of urban biodiversity and ecosystem services and of the planning and governance of urban green infrastructure.

Ecosystem services to enhance sustainable forest management in the US: moving from forest service national programmes to local projects in the Pacific Northwest

Treesearch

Robert L. Deal; Nikola Smith; Joe Gates

2017-01-01

Ecosystem services are increasingly recognized as a way of framing and describing the broad suite of benefits that people receive from forests. The USDA Forest Service has been exploring use of an ecosystem services framework to describe forest values provided by federal lands and to attract and build partnerships with stakeholders to implement projects. Recently, the...

Adaptive management for soil ecosystem services.

PubMed

Birgé, Hannah E; Bevans, Rebecca A; Allen, Craig R; Angeler, David G; Baer, Sara G; Wall, Diana H

2016-12-01

Ecosystem services provided by soil include regulation of the atmosphere and climate, primary (including agricultural) production, waste processing, decomposition, nutrient conservation, water purification, erosion control, medical resources, pest control, and disease mitigation. The simultaneous production of these multiple services arises from complex interactions among diverse aboveground and belowground communities across multiple scales. When a system is mismanaged, non-linear and persistent losses in ecosystem services can arise. Adaptive management is an approach to management designed to reduce uncertainty as management proceeds. By developing alternative hypotheses, testing these hypotheses and adjusting management in response to outcomes, managers can probe dynamic mechanistic relationships among aboveground and belowground soil system components. In doing so, soil ecosystem services can be preserved and critical ecological thresholds avoided. Here, we present an adaptive management framework designed to reduce uncertainty surrounding the soil system, even when soil ecosystem services production is not the explicit management objective, so that managers can reach their management goals without undermining soil multifunctionality or contributing to an irreversible loss of soil ecosystem services. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Ecosystem Services from Edible Insects in Agricultural Systems: A Review

PubMed Central

Payne, Charlotte L. R.; Van Itterbeeck, Joost

2017-01-01

Many of the most nutritionally and economically important edible insects are those that are harvested from existing agricultural systems. Current strategies of agricultural intensification focus predominantly on increasing crop yields, with no or little consideration of the repercussions this may have for the additional harvest and ecology of accompanying food insects. Yet such insects provide many valuable ecosystem services, and their sustainable management could be crucial to ensuring future food security. This review considers the multiple ecosystem services provided by edible insects in existing agricultural systems worldwide. Directly and indirectly, edible insects contribute to all four categories of ecosystem services as outlined by the Millennium Ecosystem Services definition: provisioning, regulating, maintaining, and cultural services. They are also responsible for ecosystem disservices, most notably significant crop damage. We argue that it is crucial for decision-makers to evaluate the costs and benefits of the presence of food insects in agricultural systems. We recommend that a key priority for further research is the quantification of the economic and environmental contribution of services and disservices from edible insects in agricultural systems. PMID:28218635

Ecosystem Services from Edible Insects in Agricultural Systems: A Review.

PubMed

Payne, Charlotte L R; Van Itterbeeck, Joost

2017-02-17

Many of the most nutritionally and economically important edible insects are those that are harvested from existing agricultural systems. Current strategies of agricultural intensification focus predominantly on increasing crop yields, with no or little consideration of the repercussions this may have for the additional harvest and ecology of accompanying food insects. Yet such insects provide many valuable ecosystem services, and their sustainable management could be crucial to ensuring future food security. This review considers the multiple ecosystem services provided by edible insects in existing agricultural systems worldwide. Directly and indirectly, edible insects contribute to all four categories of ecosystem services as outlined by the Millennium Ecosystem Services definition: provisioning, regulating, maintaining, and cultural services. They are also responsible for ecosystem disservices, most notably significant crop damage. We argue that it is crucial for decision-makers to evaluate the costs and benefits of the presence of food insects in agricultural systems. We recommend that a key priority for further research is the quantification of the economic and environmental contribution of services and disservices from edible insects in agricultural systems.

Effect of degradation intensity on grassland ecosystem services in the alpine region of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China.

PubMed

Wen, Lu; Dong, Shikui; Li, Yuanyuan; Li, Xiaoyan; Shi, Jianjun; Wang, Yanlong; Liu, Demei; Ma, Yushou

2013-01-01

The deterioration of alpine grassland has great impact on ecosystem services in the alpine region of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. However, the effect of grassland degradation on ecosystem services and the consequence of grassland deterioration on economic loss still remains a mystery. So, in this study, we assessed four types of ecosystem services following the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment classification, along a degradation gradient. Five sites of alpine grassland at different levels of degradation were investigated in Guoluo Prefecture of Qinghai Province, China. The species composition, aboveground biomass, soil total organic carbon (TOC), and soil total nitrogen (TN) were tested to evaluate major ecological services of the alpine grassland. We estimated the value of primary production, carbon storage, nitrogen recycling, and plant diversity. The results show the ecosystem services of alpine grassland varied along the degradation gradient. The ecosystem services of degraded grassland (moderate, heavy and severe) were all significantly lower than non-degraded grassland. Interestingly, the lightly degraded grassland provided more economic benefit from carbon maintenance and nutrient sequestration compared to non-degraded. Due to the destruction of the alpine grassland, the economic loss associated with decrease of biomass in 2008 was $198/ha. Until 2008, the economic loss caused by carbon emissions and nitrogen loss on severely degraded grassland was up to $8 033/ha and $13 315/ha, respectively. Urgent actions are required to maintain or promote the ecosystem services of alpine grassland in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

Nature as capital: Advancing and incorporating ecosystem services in United States federal policies and programs.

PubMed

Schaefer, Mark; Goldman, Erica; Bartuska, Ann M; Sutton-Grier, Ariana; Lubchenco, Jane

2015-06-16

The concept of nature as capital is gaining visibility in policies and practices in both the public and private sectors. This change is due to an improved ability to assess and value ecosystem services, as well as to a growing recognition of the potential of an ecosystem services approach to make tradeoffs in decision making more transparent, inform efficient use of resources, enhance resilience and sustainability, and avoid unintended negative consequences of policy actions. Globally, governments, financial institutions, and corporations have begun to incorporate natural capital accounting in their policies and practices. In the United States, universities, nongovernmental organizations, and federal agencies are actively collaborating to develop and apply ecosystem services concepts to further national environmental and economic objectives. Numerous federal agencies have begun incorporating these concepts into land use planning, water resources management, and preparations for, and responses to, climate change. Going forward, well-defined policy direction will be necessary to institutionalize ecosystem services approaches in federal agencies, as well as to guide intersector and interdisciplinary collaborative research and development efforts. In addition, a new generation of decision support tools are needed to further the practical application of ecosystem services principles in policymaking and commercial activities. Improved performance metrics are needed, as are mechanisms to monitor the status of ecosystem services and assess the environmental and economic impacts of policies and programs. A greater national and international financial commitment to advancing ecosystem services and natural capital accounting would likely have broad, long-term economic and environmental benefits.

Effect of Degradation Intensity on Grassland Ecosystem Services in the Alpine Region of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China

PubMed Central

Wen, Lu; Dong, Shikui; Li, Yuanyuan; Li, Xiaoyan; Shi, Jianjun; Wang, Yanlong; Liu, Demei; Ma, Yushou

2013-01-01

The deterioration of alpine grassland has great impact on ecosystem services in the alpine region of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. However, the effect of grassland degradation on ecosystem services and the consequence of grassland deterioration on economic loss still remains a mystery. So, in this study, we assessed four types of ecosystem services following the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment classification, along a degradation gradient. Five sites of alpine grassland at different levels of degradation were investigated in Guoluo Prefecture of Qinghai Province, China. The species composition, aboveground biomass, soil total organic carbon (TOC), and soil total nitrogen (TN) were tested to evaluate major ecological services of the alpine grassland. We estimated the value of primary production, carbon storage, nitrogen recycling, and plant diversity. The results show the ecosystem services of alpine grassland varied along the degradation gradient. The ecosystem services of degraded grassland (moderate, heavy and severe) were all significantly lower than non-degraded grassland. Interestingly, the lightly degraded grassland provided more economic benefit from carbon maintenance and nutrient sequestration compared to non-degraded. Due to the destruction of the alpine grassland, the economic loss associated with decrease of biomass in 2008 was $198/ha. Until 2008, the economic loss caused by carbon emissions and nitrogen loss on severely degraded grassland was up to $8 033/ha and $13 315/ha, respectively. Urgent actions are required to maintain or promote the ecosystem services of alpine grassland in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. PMID:23469278