Fostering synergies between ecosystem services and biodiversity in conservation planning: A review

Abstract

Our dependence on biodiversity and ecosystem services (ES) is increasing, due to population expansion and economic growth. Consequently, maintaining biodiversity and sustaining ES supply should consistently be incorporated into conservation project objectives. We reviewed 238 scientific articles to evaluate current knowledge, guided by three questions: (1) How do we identify important sites for ES conservation? (2) How can we maximize synergy between biodiversity and ES during conservation planning? (3) Does integrating the concept of ES provide new tools to facilitate biodiversity conservation? We found that the most effective approach to identifying ES priority areas for conservation is based on quantifiable biophysical indicators as well as their spatiotemporal flow scale. Moreover, we found that the general lack of spatial congruence between biodiversity and ES is attributable to: (i) the type of data used for ES mapping; (ii) the greater accuracy of functional diversity, compared to other biodiversity features, in predicting ES provision; (iii) the higher positive spatial correlation of regulating services with biodiversity, whereas provisioning services are negatively correlated. Systematic conservation planning procedures based on site complementarity would increase the efficiency of both biodiversity and ES conservation. Economic valuation of ES, such as through cost-benefit analysis, could help to justify conservation actions by showing that the financial benefits of nature conservation greatly exceed the cost. Moreover, payments for ecosystem services could create new incentives and funding sources for the conservation of biodiversity. We conclude by proposing areas for further research for the fostering of conservation synergies between biodiversity and ES.