Integration of local knowledge and data for spatially quantifying ecosystem services in the Hoeksche Waard, the Netherlands

Abstract

Enhancing consideration of the ecosystem services concept within decision-making calls for integration of local knowledge and data within assessments to capture context-specific spatial and thematic detail. This paper demonstrates how local knowledge and (biophysical, sociocultural, economic) data can be integrated within ecosystem service assessments by use of well-established spatial quantification methods. We hypothesise that ecosystem services can be spatially quantified at high spatial and thematic detail by integration of local knowledge and data within models, contributing to identification of key factors that influence their delivery. We demonstrate this by making use of local knowledge and data to assess ecosystem services in the Hoeksche Waard, a Dutch municipality characterised by historically-rich cultural landscapes and predominant agriculture. Ecosystem services assessed include crop production, air quality regulation, human health, pest control, soil biodiversity, sociocultural values, property value. Quantification methods were selected based on their suitability for modelling ecosystem services given particular resource endowments (i.e., time, data, knowledge). Methods implemented include look-up tables, causal relationships, expert elicitation, primary data extrapolation, and regression models. Maps displaying the distribution of ecosystem services at high spatial resolution (10 × 10 m) enabled identification of factors that influence their delivery, including the distribution and typology of natural elements, ecological pressures that require mitigation, and the distribution of inhabitants that act as ecosystem service beneficiaries. For instance, the distribution and typology of field margins plays a key role in the suppression of pests (aphids) by natural enemies (hoverflies, carabids, coccinellids). Air quality regulation (i.e. particulate matter retention) is highest in the northeast sector of the municipality given higher concentrations of particulate matter that require mitigation due to the area's proximity to the cities of Rotterdam and Dordrecht. Contributions by natural elements to human health and property value are prominent in villages, where most inhabitants and thus built-up property are concentrated.