Abstract
As the concept of ecosystem services is being operationalised and implemented in policies, a better guidance on the selection of suitable methods for ecosystem services mapping and assessment is needed to allow more sound, transparent and comparable processes. A vast range of assessments focusing on different sets of ecosystem services at various scales is existing and the applied methods cover different disciplines from ecology to economy and social sciences. This complicates the assessment of single or bundles of ecosystem services across spatio-temporal scales and requires a broad expertise. A tiered approach for ecosystem services assessment allows selecting the appropriate application of a certain method for tackling a specific question at a given scale. In this publication, we illustrate how the EU H2020 project ESMERALDA supported the development of such a tiered approach for assessing ecosystem services. The iterative exchanges between experienced researchers and practitioners in mapping and assessing ecosystem services in various contexts allowed the co-production of an approach to guide the choice of methods. Ultimately, the proposed tiered approach will not only support communication of the ecosystem services concept, but will also reduce the tendency for selecting an unsuitable approach for solving complex problems linked to ecosystem services-based resource management.
Highlights
The need for structuring ecosystem services mapping and assessmentHaltering the loss of life-supporting services provided by nature is one of the most important challenges currently facing humanity
Under the EU H2020 coordination and supporting action ESMERALDA*3 (Enhancing ecoSysteM sERvices mApping for poLicy and Decision mAking), a tiered approach was developed based on earlier suggestions (Grêt-Regamey et al 2015) and is presented in the open access book “Mapping Ecosystem Services”*4 (Grêt-Regamey et al 2017b in Burkhard and Maes 2017)
To understand the effect of a specific change in land use or land management for example, the analysis considers different management practices and related characteristics such as pesticide use or the time the crops are harvested together with the habitat type and quality for several pollinator species
Summary
The need for structuring ecosystem services mapping and assessmentHaltering the loss of life-supporting services provided by nature is one of the most important challenges currently facing humanity. Depending on the question and the purpose of the reporting and the available data sets, a specific tier level is selected.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
