Ecosystem Services Mapping Uncertainty Assessment: A Case Study in the Fitzroy Basin Mining Region

Zhenyu Wang,Thomas Baumgartl,Alex Lechner

doi:10.3390/w10010088

Zhenyu Wang, Thomas Baumgartl + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/w10010088

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Abstract

Ecosystem services mapping is becoming increasingly popular through the use of various readily available mapping tools, however, uncertainties in assessment outputs are commonly ignored. Uncertainties from different sources have the potential to lower the accuracy of mapping outputs and reduce their reliability for decision-making. Using a case study in an Australian mining region, this paper assessed the impact of uncertainties on the modelling of the hydrological ecosystem service, water provision. Three types of uncertainty were modelled using multiple uncertainty scenarios: (1) spatial data sources; (2) modelling scales (temporal and spatial) and (3) parameterization and model selection. We found that the mapping scales can induce significant changes to the spatial pattern of outputs and annual totals of water provision. In addition, differences in parameterization using differing sources from the literature also led to obvious differences in base flow. However, the impact of each uncertainty associated with differences in spatial data sources were not so great. The results of this study demonstrate the importance of uncertainty assessment and highlight that any conclusions drawn from ecosystem services mapping, such as the impacts of mining, are likely to also be a property of the uncertainty in ecosystem services mapping methods.

Highlights

Ecosystem services (ES) are the benefits that ecosystems provide to human beings, bridging the connection between ecological and social systems [1,2,3,4]
Our study provides information on water provision conditions such as hotspot areas and annual volumes that could potentially improve hydrological ecosystem management for management of Great Barrier Reef catchments and for assessing impacts associated with economically valuable minerals production [59,108,109] as water provision could affect either the reef environment or the large water demands from the mining industry in the region [110,111]
This study demonstrated the diversity of uncertainties associated with ES mapping and the many ways in which uncertainty can affect mapping outputs from spatial patterns to total water provision

Summary

Introduction

Ecosystem services (ES) are the benefits that ecosystems provide to human beings, bridging the connection between ecological and social systems [1,2,3,4]. This concept is increasingly used in both theoretical and applied research [5,6] such as spatial planning [7,8], environmental economics [9]. In order to support the decision-making, accurate and reliable methods and outputs for ecosystem services assessments are increasingly demanded [15,16]. A range of mapping methods and integrated mapping tools have been developed, such as the widely used InVEST

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