Abstract
ContextLandscape connectivity is assumed to influence ecosystem service (ES) trade-offs and synergies. However, empirical studies of the effect of landscape connectivity on ES trade-offs and synergies are limited, especially in urban areas where the interactions between patterns and processes are complex.ObjectivesThe objectives of this study were to use a Bayesian Belief Network approach to (1) assess whether functional connectivity drives ES trade-offs and synergies in urban areas and (2) assess the influence of connectivity on the supply of ESs.MethodsWe used circuit theory to model urban bird flow of P. major and C. caeruleus at a 2 m spatial resolution in Bedford, Luton and Milton Keynes, UK, and Bayesian Belief Networks (BBNs) to assess the sensitivity of ES trade-offs and synergies model outputs to landscape and patch structural characteristics (patch area, connectivity and bird species abundance).ResultsWe found that functional connectivity was the most influential variable in determining two of three ES trade-offs and synergies. Patch area and connectivity exerted a strong influence on ES trade-offs and synergies. Low patch area and low to moderately low connectivity were associated with high levels of ES trade-offs and synergies.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that landscape connectivity is an influential determinant of ES trade-offs and synergies and supports the conviction that larger and better-connected habitat patches increase ES provision. A BBN approach is proposed as a feasible method of ES trade-off and synergy prediction in complex landscapes. Our findings can prove to be informative for urban ES management.
Highlights
Ecosystem services are the benefits that humans directly or indirectly receive from the ecosystem (Costanza et al 1997)
For Bedford, the cumulative current was affected by the distribution of core habitat areas with the southwestern region exhibiting a decrease in modelled flow values due to the presence of only one major habitat patch in that region
We demonstrated that by applying a Bayesian Belief Networks (BBNs) modelling approach the influence of landscape and habitat structural features on ecosystem service (ES) trade-offs and synergies can be tested
Summary
Ecosystem services are the benefits that humans directly or indirectly receive from the ecosystem (Costanza et al 1997). Ecosystem service trade-offs arise when the provision of one service is reduced as a consequence of increased use of another service (Rodrıguez et al 2006), and ecosystem service synergies arise when multiple ecosystem services are enhanced simultaneously. Human activities such as intensified land use and fragmentation are modifying land cover and land use patterns, altering landscape structure and ecosystems, and affecting connectivity.
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