Expert-Based Assessment and Mapping of Ecosystem Services Potential in the Nemunas Delta and Curonian Lagoon Region, Lithuania

Karolina Kaziukonytė,Zita Rasuolė Gasiūnaitė,Rasa Morkūnė,Artūras Razinkovas-Baziukas,Soukaina Elyaagoubi,Jūratė Lesutienė

doi:10.3390/w13192728

Karolina Kaziukonytė, Zita Rasuolė Gasiūnaitė + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/w13192728

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Journal: Water	Publication Date: Oct 2, 2021
Citations: 8	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Klaipėda University

Abstract

The Curonian Lagoon (SE Baltic Sea) and the coastal wetland system play a vital role in maintaining the overall cultural, economic and ecological health of the region. However, its value is still largely underestimated and there is a lack of integrated ecosystem management based on multiple ecosystem services assessment. In this study, 34 ecosystem services (ES) were identified, assessed and mapped following the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES). Using expert opinion, 35 land cover classes were scored for their ES potential, these being 15 CORINE land cover classes (CLC) and 20 Natura 2000 areas of conservation (habitat types, i.e., Sites of Community Importance). The total ES potential was calculated by averaging the opinions of experts, using self-confidence scoring as weights, and the ES relative importance index was derived from a questionnaire. As a result, three maps corresponding to each ES potential category (provisioning, regulation and maintenance and cultural) were calculated and further used for hot- and coldspot analyses. Regulation and maintenance and cultural ES were highly interrelated and had the highest potential in the studied area. Forested areas had the highest total ES potential and contributed significantly to the land cover of the ES hotspots.

Highlights

Over the course of the last century, strong anthropogenic pressures have resulted in widespread habitat degradation and a noticeable decline in environmental quality across many ecosystems, potentially leading to biodiversity loss and an increased risk of declining or even collapsing ecosystem functions [1]
From the list of 34 ecosystem services (ES) provided for expert scoring, 27 to 33 services were identified for each land cover class (Table 2)
Category, the highest scores were given for the potential characteristics of living systems that enable scientific investigation or the creation of traditional ecological knowledge, C3 (CICES 3.1.2.1)

Summary

Introduction

Over the course of the last century, strong anthropogenic pressures have resulted in widespread habitat degradation and a noticeable decline in environmental quality across many ecosystems, potentially leading to biodiversity loss and an increased risk of declining or even collapsing ecosystem functions [1]. Coastal ecosystems and surrounding terrestrial areas are vulnerable to climatic and anthropogenic impacts as they are crossed by watershed migration routes and are subject to more frequent extreme hydrometeorological events and floods [2,3,4,5]. Being one of the most productive ecosystems, coastal wetlands carry out critical functions within watersheds, such as regulating water quality, water levels, flood regimes, nutrient and sedimentation levels and carbon sequestration, as well as providing habitats for many species [6,7]. To ensure environmental quality and social well-being in coastal rural areas, authorities need systematic approaches for robust decision-making. To deal with the high degrees of uncertainty, the systematic approaches require tools to assess the state of the landscape, to indicate trends and to develop suitable management strategies [9]

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