Abstract
Quantification and valuation of ecosystem services are critically dependent on the quality of underpinning science. While key ecological processes may be understood, translating this understanding into quantitative relationships suitable for use in an ecosystem services context remains challenging. Using blanket bogs as a case study, we derived quantitative ‘pressure-response functions’ linking anthropogenic pressures (drainage, burning, sulphur and nitrogen deposition) with ecosystem functions underpinning key climate, water quality and flood regulating services. The analysis highlighted: i) the complex, sometimes conflicting or interactive effects of multiple anthropogenic pressures on different ecosystem functions; ii) the role of ‘biodiversity’ (primarily presence/absence of key plant functional types) as an intermediate factor determining how anthropogenic pressures translate into changes in flows of some ecosystem services; iii) challenges relating to the spatial scale and configuration of anthropogenic pressures and ecosystem service beneficiaries; and iv) uncertainties associated with the lags between anthropogenic pressures and ecosystem responses. The conceptual approach described may provide a basis for a more quantitative, multi-parameter approach to the valuation of ecosystem services and the evidence-based optimisation of policy and land-management for ecosystem services.
Highlights
Pressure-response functions were obtained from the literature, giving preference to relationships derived from meta-analyses of multiple studies, or syntheses of data from multiple sites, where possible
Following Lamers et al (2000), we considered that further stimulation of CO2 uptake was unlikely beyond this level of deposition, because their data showed that additional N led to increased N content of biomass rather than increased biomass growth, and CO2 sequestration was assumed to remain constant
It is worth noting that in reality it would be highly unusual for an entire blanket bog area to be burnt, unless due to wildfire, because grouse moor management involves the rotational burning of smaller patches, so in practice the proportion of recently burnt peat is unlikely to exceed around one third of the total area and effects on DOC are correspondingly smaller
Summary
Pressure-response functions were obtained from the literature, giving preference to relationships derived from meta-analyses of multiple studies, or syntheses of data from multiple sites, where possible. The collated data (Table S2) show a fairly consistent tendency towards higher DOC concentrations in drained peatlands, with a mean concentration increase of 60% (note that the single blanket bog study gave a value close to this mean).
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