Ecosystem Services Capacity Research Articles

Relationship between ecological condition and ecosystem services in European rivers, lakes and coastal waters

We quantify main ecosystem services (i.e. the contribution of ecosystems to human well-being) provided by rivers, lakes, coastal waters and connected ecosystems (riparian areas and floodplains) in Europe, including water provisioning, water purification, erosion prevention, flood protection, coastal protection, and recreation. We show European maps of ecosystem service capacity, flow (actual use), sustainability and efficiency. Then we explore the relationship between the services and the ecosystem condition at the European scale, considering the ecological status of aquatic ecosystems, reported under the EU Water Framework Directive, as a measure of the ecosystem integrity and biodiversity.Our results indicate that a higher delivery of the regulating and cultural ecosystem services analysed is mostly correlated with better conditions of aquatic ecosystems. Conversely, the use of provisioning services can result in pressures on the ecosystem. This suggests the importance of maintaining good ecological condition of aquatic ecosystems to ensure the delivery of ecosystem services in the future. These results at the continental scale, although limited to the ecosystem services under analysis, might be relevant to consider when investing in the protection and restoration of aquatic ecosystems called for by the current EU water policy and Biodiversity Strategy and by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Urban land use optimization in mining area from the perspective of maximizing ecosystem services

Land use change and its ecological and environmental consequence in mining cities have been one of the most profound transformations taking place across the developing countries. Managers and researchers are working for the optimization of land use in mining cities to minimize ecological losses and improve the living environment. In this paper, an approach of optimizing the land use pattern from the perspective of maximizing ecosystem services was proposed based on the multi-objective optimization theory and Genetic Algorithm. The Liaoyuan City of the Jilin province in China was chosen as the case area. The results showed that there were 10 optimal scenarios of land use in study area to sustain higher comprehensive capacity of ecosystem services (including carbon storage, food and material productions, as well as soil conservation). And the tenth land use scenario with the highest carbon storage services was suggested as the prior land use optimization planning option. If planned as the tenth scenario, the mining patches and meadows in study area would be reduced significantly; the area of irrigated croplands, groves, woods, shrubs, shoals/wetlands and scenic sites would be increased; the built-up lands and transportation lands would also be increased slightly. It is hoped that this land use optimization approach would be used in the future land use planning in mining cities to improve the environment by supplying multiple ecosystem services with the demand of the economic and social development.

Integrating supply and demand in cultural ecosystem services assessment: a case study of Cuihua Mountain (China).

As human demand for ecosystem services (ES) continues to increase, ES assessments have gradually become a popular research topic. Among ES, cultural ES (CES) are often overlooked and are difficult to measure during research because of their invisibility. However, the importance and usage of CES increase with supply and demand, which is key to linking the ecosystem with human well-being. This paper quantitatively evaluates various cultural services and generates corresponding Value Index (VI) maps; it then further explores the current dynamics of supply and demand. We selected Cuihua Mountain (CM) as the study area, and we applied the Social Values of Ecosystem Services (SolVES) model to evaluate CES and generated five specific VI maps to indicate the potential service stock (ES capacity). The actual supply (ES supply) is based on the attribute of the visibility of observation points on leisure routes, and the visitors (ES demand) to the service come from socio-economic data as a measure of the rates of access to entertainment venues. The supply and demand relationship (ES budget) solves the significant problems related to the oversupply and shortage of ES in space. The results showed that the CES supply power of CM is greater than the actual demand; thus, there is great potential for future development. This study also provided a reference and guidance for environmental decision-making and development in other regions.

Effects of drought on freshwater ecosystem services in poverty-stricken mountain areas

As a result of global temperature warming, the frequency and intensity of global extreme climate events have increased, which has a large impact on the structure, composition, and function of regional ecosystems, thereby weakening the supply capacity of ecosystem services and the sustainable development of the social economy. The Guizhou Province in China is characterized by frequent droughts, fragile mountain ecosystems and poverty. We used Guizhou Province as an example and analyzed the impacts of drought on freshwater ecosystem services. The results showed that the water yield and soil retention in Guizhou decreased due to the influence of annual and seasonal droughts. Annual droughts led to an increase in nutrient retention whereas seasonal droughts caused an increase or decrease in nutrient retention in the study area. The water yield and nutrient retention exhibited decreasing and increasing trends respectively with an increase in the degree of drought. However, changes in the soil retention in Guizhou had a week correlation with the degree of drought. There was a synergistic relationship between water yield and soil retention under the impacts of annual and seasonal droughts in Guizhou. Tradeoffs between water yield and nutrient retention, as well as between soil retention and nutrient retention, existed under the influence of annual drought. Nevertheless, tradeoffs or synergies between water yield and nutrient retention, as well as between soil retention and nutrient retention, were found under the influences of seasonal droughts. The results of this study provide science-based information for alleviating the adverse effects of drought on freshwater ecosystem services and contribute to the scientific management of freshwater ecosystem services.

Beyond the economic boundaries to account for ecosystem services

Ecosystem services (ES) accounts are essential to quantify and monitor the contribution of ecosystems to human well-being. The System of Environmental and Economic Accounting – Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EEA) is the first attempt to provide a set of standards to compile ecosystem accounts. We argue for the inclusion of an ecological perspective in the SEEA EEA that considers ecosystems to be more than input providers to the economy. Ecosystems can act as accounting units capable of producing, consuming and recording changes in regeneration and absorption rates. To account for that we propose (i) to identify ES typologies according to the way in which energy, biomass and information is released to generate services; (ii) to use these typologies to define the concepts of ES potential, ES potential flows, ES demand and ES actual flows; and (iii) to build the ES capacity accounts in monetary terms based on these concepts. These arguments are illustrated with case studies for water purification and crop pollination accounts in European countries. Extending the production boundary would allow the measurement of the sustainable use of ES and the establishment of causality between the use of ES and the value accrued by the economic actors and households.

Research on the Optimization of Regional Green Infrastructure Network

With the rapid rate of urbanization, green infrastructure land is increasingly being converted to urban construction land, and the fragmentation of regional green infrastructure (GI) networks is intensifying. The connectivity of a GI network is of paramount importance for maintaining both regional biodiversity and regional ecosystem service capacity, among others. In this paper, an innovative approach to planning a GI network is presented. The proposed approach is based on the Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis (MSPA) method, minimum path method, and circuit theory. Using the Zhengzhou–Kaifeng metropolitan area in China as a case study, we argue that the combination of the MSPA method and circuit theory can more fully and comprehensively identify the components of a GI network and its key areas. The methodology consists of three steps: (i) Identifying the cores and bridges of the GI by the MSPA method based on land use data, followed by determining the hubs of the GI network by assessing the connectivity of the core area; (ii) establishing potential connecting corridors between hubs by the minimum path method; (iii) identifying the “pinch point” area of the potential connecting corridors based on current density by applying circuit theory. This approach not only makes identification of the “hubs” and “links” in the green infrastructure network more scientific and comprehensive, but it also further identifies “pinch point” areas of the connecting corridors that require priority protection or recovery. The research results can be used as a practical reference for urban planners when planning urban land use.

Assessment of ecosystem services of an urbanized tropical estuary with a focus on habitats and scenarios

Tropical estuaries are one of the most valuable ecosystems on the planet because of the number of ecosystem services they provide. The increasing anthropogenic pressure to which these estuaries are subject has caused a reduction in their natural capital stock. Therefore, the application of a pragmatic and rational ecosystem-based management approach to sustainably manage the multiple ecosystem services provided by this ecosystem is necessary. The aim of our study is to present an approach that combines prospective scenarios with habitat-based perspective to assess the supply capacity of ecosystem services, plus determine the impact of protected areas in an urbanized tropical estuary. The current situation and two scenarios were generated to evaluate the capacity of habitats to supply ecosystem services. This type of assessment will allow the decision makers to visualize the effect of their choices or the occurrence of events which might produce significant changes in the estuary. Thus, over time, measures can be taken to sustain the supply of ecosystem services. We determined that the establishment of protected areas have a positive impact; however, the effect is not the same for all of them. Consequently, indicating that actions such as community participation, research, education, management planning and infrastructure development must accompany the development of a protected area.

Impact of land cover change on ecosystem service supply in mountain systems: a case study in the Cantabrian Mountains (NW of Spain)

Land abandonment and the loss of traditional farming practices are thought to control land cover dynamics, and hence the ecosystem service supply in traditionally managed mountain landscapes. We evaluate the impact of land cover changes in Cantabrian Mountains (NW Spain), over 1990–2012, on the potential supply capacity of ecosystem services (regulating, provisioning, and cultural) at both regional and local scales. We also analyze trends in the use of ecosystem services at the local scale. Land cover changes were estimated from CORINE Land Cover database. Patterns of potential ecosystem service supply were assessed by applying an ecosystem service supply capacity matrix and trends in their actual use by using field data. Main trajectories of land cover change encompassed woody vegetation spread in semi-natural open systems and agricultural expansion in the most suitable areas. The capacity of landscape to provide ecosystem services improved during 1990–2012 at both scales. We detected trade-offs between the potential supply of ecosystem services associated to natural systems and those linked to traditional land uses, at both regional and local scales. Changes in the potential supply of ecosystem services matched trends in ecosystem service use. This study could help develop future scenarios to address upcoming challenges in ecosystem service supply.

A Differentiated Spatial Assessment of Urban Ecosystem Services Based on Land Use Data in Halle, Germany

Urban ecosystem services (ES) contribute to the compensation of negative effects caused by cities by means of, for example, reducing air pollution and providing cooling effects during the summer time. In this study, an approach is described that combines the regional biotope and land use data set, hemeroby and the accessibility of open space in order to assess the provision of urban ES. Hemeroby expresses the degree of naturalness of land use types and, therefore, provides a differentiated assessment of urban ES. Assessment of the local capacity to provide urban ES was conducted with a spatially explicit modeling approach in the city of Halle (Saale) in Germany. The following urban ES were assessed: (a) global climate regulation, (b) local climate regulation, (c) air pollution control, (d) water cycle regulation, (e) food production, (f) nature experience and (g) leisure activities. We identified areas with high and low capacity of ES in the urban context. For instance, the central parts of Halle had very low or no capacity to provide ES due to highly compact building styles and soil sealing. In contrast, peri-urban areas had particularly high capacities. The potential provision of regulating services was spatially limited due to the location of land use types that provide these services.

Weighted Voronoi Diagram-Based Simulation and Comparative Analysis of Ecosystem Service Coverage: Case Study of the Zhongyuan Urban Agglomeration

The future of ecology lies on the promotion of eco-economy, a resource saving and environment-friendly society, and the research of ecosystem services. This article applied weighted Voronoi diagram to simulate the ecosystem service capacity in Zhongyuan Urban Agglomeration, China, using remote sensing and geographic information systems. The results show that (1) compared with the traditional Voronoi diagram, the weighted Voronoi diagram expresses more accurate on the ecosystem service range, (2) the total value of the ecosystem service in the study area was 575.7 billion yuan in 2015.The maximum value was about 253.8 billion yuan greater than the minimum value. The unit forest ecosystem has been improved after the coefficient was modified, and the value of ecosystem services reached 32,638.87 yuan/hm2, (3) the service value of construction ecosystem has a great effect on the total value of ecosystem services; the overall pulldown effect of Kaifeng City is most considerable, and (4) the region with strong ecosystem service capacity has strong effect in annexing the nearby areas with weak ecosystem service capacity. And the distance of the annexing is inversely proportional. The closer the distance is, the stronger the annex will be.

Land use efficiency through analysis of agrological capacity and ecosystem services in an industrialized region (Biscay, Spain)

New solutions are necessary for the reconciliation of food production and environmental conservation. This study focuses on determining the synergies and trade-offs between agrological capacity and ecosystem services (ES) in an industrialized region in northern Iberian Peninsula in order to improve an efficient use of soils. The methodology provided here allows the mapping of the best areas for equilibrating both agrological capacity and provision of ES. We specifically determine the most suitable areas to develop new agricultural activities with the greatest efficacy. Results highlight the synergies between agrological capacity, habitat maintenance, pollination, and aesthetic values. Moreover, the creation of new grasslands and croplands in productive soils occupied by forest plantations would enhance agriculture, some ES, and landscape multi-functionality. However, decreasing the area of forest plantations in favour of agricultural lands would create trade-offs with carbon storage. These trade-offs could be relativized if actual environmental and economical situations are taken into account. Based on the results obtained applying the proposed methodology, policy-makers have the opportunity to manage a transition towards more sustainable land use through specific actions while increasing local food security.

May the matrix be with you! Guidelines for the application of expert-based matrix approach for ecosystem services assessment and mapping

Matrices or look-up tables are increasingly popular flexible tools for ecosystem services mapping and assessment. The matrix approach links ecosystem types or land cover types to ecosystem services by providing a score for ecosystem service (ES) capacity, supply, use, demand or other concepts. Using expert elicitation enables quick and integrative ES scoring that can meet general demand for validated ES mapping and assessment at different scales. Nevertheless, guidance is needed on how to collect and integrate expert knowledge to address some of the biases and limits of the expert elicitation method. This paper aims to propose a set of guidelines to produce ES matrices based on expert knowledge. It builds on existing literature and experience acquired through the production of several ES matrices in several ES assessments carried out in France. We propose a 7-steps methodology for the expert-based matrix approach that aims to promote cogency in the method and coherency in the matrices produced. The aim here is to use collective knowledge to produce semi-quantitative estimates of ES quantities and not to analyse individual or societal preferences or importance of ES. The definition of the objectives and the preparation phase is particularly important in order to define the components of capacity to demand ES chain to be addressed. The objectives and the ES components addressed will influence the composition of the expert panel. We recommend an individual filling of an empty matrix in order to strengthen the statistical analysis of the scores' variability and the analysis of congruency between experts. Expert scoring should follow a process of discussion, information-sharing and collective appropriation of a list of ecosystem types and ES to be assessed. We suggest that the ES matrix should not only focus on ES central scores but also address the variabilities and uncertainties as part of the ES assessment. The analysis of these sources of variability allows the documentation of variations in the ES quantity but also an exploration into the lack of consensus or knowledge gaps that needs to be addressed.

Spatial analysis of the benefits and burdens of ecological focus areas for water-related ecosystem services vulnerable to climate change in Europe

There are many concerns regarding the effects of climate change including threats to ecosystem services. Rural land use can influence these services and there is scope for associated policies to steer decisions towards maximising benefits and minimising burdens. In Europe, for example, ecological focus areas (EFAs), introduced in the last reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, can have impacts on ecosystem services which vary with location, including potential trade-offs between benefits and burdens in some regions. This study combines the outputs from two continental-scale projects to provide a new perspective on the potential impact of EFAs for water-related ecosystem services under threat from climate change. An ecosystem service impact indicator framework was applied in conjunction with a climate change vulnerability assessment. This resulted in vulnerability and area weighted performance scores for dilution, filtration, water provision, and flood regulation services for 10 EFAs in 1256 regions. Best, average and worst case scenario maps were created that highlight the relative benefits and burdens of EFAs. Six EFAs have been identified which have not been activated in nine European Member States but which have potential to provide benefits. Eleven Member States have been identified which have regions where 3 EFAs should be avoided due to potential burdens. This analysis facilitates broad spatial targeting on a continental-scale of specific EFAs which may help maintain (and ideally increase) ecosystem service capacity and resilience in vulnerable regions.

Assessing the capacity and flow of ecosystem services in multifunctional landscapes: Evidence of a rural-urban gradient in a Mediterranean small island state

Distinguishing between the ecosystems’ capacity to generate ecosystem services (ES) and the actual use of these service (ES flow) in ES assessment and mapping is important to develop an understanding of the sustainability of ES use. This study assesses the spatial variation in ES capacity and flow in the Mediterranean small island state of Malta. The services included in this study were crop provisioning, beekeeping and honey production, fodder and livestock production, crop pollination, air quality regulation, and aesthetic ES. This assessment develops different spatial models, which make use of available datasets, causal relationships between datasets, including a generated land use land cover (LULC) map, and statistical models and indicators based on direct measurements. Individual ES indicators were mapped to visualise and compare their spatial patterns across the case study area. Subsequently, an analysis of ES associations and bundles was carried out using Pearson parametric correlation test, for both ES capacity and flow indicators generated from this study, and through Principal Component Analysis. Results demonstrate several significant synergistic interactions between ES capacity and flow in rural landscapes characterised with agricultural and semi-natural LULC categories, indicating high landscape multifunctionality. In contrast, predominantly urban areas tend to be characterised with a low ecosystem capacity and ES flow, suggesting that ES delivery in the landscapes of the study area is determined by land use intensity. These findings support the notion that multifunctional rural landscapes provide multiple ES, making an important contribution to human well-being, and that land use planning that develops green infrastructure in urban areas can significantly contribute to support biodiversity and ES delivery.

Looking into Pandora’s Box: Ecosystem disservices assessment and correlations with ecosystem services

The concept of ecosystem disservices (EDS) has received much less attention than the concept of ecosystem services (ES). Using an expert-based matrix approach, we assessed the capacity of ecosystem types of the Scarpe-Escaut Regional Natural Park (France) to both provide ES and generate EDS. The matrix is a look-up table that provide for each ecosystem types a score expressing its ES capacity. Our results point to a lower capacity of the considered ecosystems to provide EDS than ES. On average the EDS scores were 60% lower than the ES scores. Of EDS, those linked to human health are the most critical, with higher capacity scores and higher expert’ confidence scores than other EDS than those linked with economic or ecological impacts. We analysed correlations between ES and EDS, the presence of strong and significant positive correlations suggests that the same ecosystem characteristics, ecological functions or species groups may generate both ES and EDS. We emphasise that it is important to evaluate both EDS and ES to implement management of the ecosystems, while respecting the functioning of the ecosystems, to develop positive effects while limiting negative ones.

Ecosystem Service Supply and Capacity on U.S. Family Forestlands

Individuals and families collectively own more than 118 million ha of forestland in the USA. Using data from the USDA Forest Service’s National Woodland Owners Survey (NWOS), we characterize ecosystem services being produced on family forests as well as the beneficiaries who enjoy them. Approximately half of family forest owners provide one or more provisioning services. With the exception of logs, the provisioning services provided by the majority of owners are enjoyed directly by owners or their close associates (i.e., family, friends, and neighbors). Similarly, while more than half of family forest owners have provided recreational opportunities, a cultural service, to their close associates, fewer than 6% of owners have sold or provided recreational services to the general public. Regulating and supporting services are linked to the maintenance of long-term forest cover. Greater than 80% of family forest owners desire to maintain the forested condition of their land, whereas a much smaller percentage of these owners have entered into conservation easements or have collected money for conservation purposes. In addition, many owners have engaged in activities expected to increase the future capacity of their land to provide multiple ecosystem services, both excludable and non-excludable.

Assessment of the Ecosystem Services Capacity in Natural Protected Areas for Biodiversity Conservation

Recently, in Italy, a legislative proposal has been set to reform the role and the functions of natural protected areas promoting their aggregation (or the abolition) pursuing a better efficiency for their administration and economic saving. The system of natural protected areas is composed of different conservation levels: there are the Natural parks, established in the ‘80 by national or regional institution for the safeguard of natural elements, the Natura 2000 -Habitat 92/43/CEE promoted by European Union, with conservation measures for maintaining or restoring habitats and species of Communitarian interest, and the local parks of supra-municipal interest (namely PLIS) created by single municipalities or their aggregation aimed at limiting the soil sealing process. The hierarchical level of protection has determined differences in the management of the areas which leads to various approaches and strategies for biodiversity conservation and integrity.In order to assess strengths and weaknesses of the legislative initiative, the new management framework should be designed, considering the ecosystem characteristics of each natural protected area to define the future opportunities and critics, rather than, in the extreme case, remove the level of protection due to the absence of valuable ecosystem conditions. The paper provides an operative support to better apply the legislative proposal investigating the dynamics that affect all protected areas using the land take process as a major threat to biodiversity conservation in natural zones. The land take process is explored using the Land Use Change analysis (LUCa) as a possible way to determine the impact and the environmental effects of land transitions. LUCa is also useful to determine the loss of protected zones capacity to support Ecosystem Services. Finally, the assessment of the Ecosystem Services Capacity (ESC) index expresses the ability of each LULC to provide ES and, in particular, the Ecological Integrity, Regulating Services and Provisioning Services. The efficacy of the proposal is tested in the Lombardy Region (Northwest of Italy) where the natural protected areas are more than 500 with a territorial extension of 740 thousand hectares that correspond to 31% of the regional surface.

Ecosystem Service capacity is higher in areas of multiple designation types

Ecosystem Service capacity is higher in areas of multiple designation types

Multi-objective spatial tools to inform maritime spatial planning in the Adriatic Sea

This research presents a set of multi-objective spatial tools for sea planning and environmental management in the Adriatic Sea Basin. The tools address four objectives: 1) assessment of cumulative impacts from anthropogenic sea uses on environmental components of marine areas; 2) analysis of sea use conflicts; 3) 3-D hydrodynamic modelling of nutrient dispersion (nitrogen and phosphorus) from riverine sources in the Adriatic Sea Basin and 4) marine ecosystem services capacity assessment from seabed habitats based on an ES matrix approach. Geospatial modelling results were illustrated, analysed and compared on country level and for three biogeographic subdivisions, Northern-Central-Southern Adriatic Sea. The paper discusses model results for their spatial implications, relevance for sea planning, limitations and concludes with an outlook towards the need for more integrated, multi-functional tools development for sea planning.

Undervalued and under pressure: A plea for greater attention toward regulating ecosystem services

Regulating ecosystem services (ES) fundamentally underpin biosphere integrity, human safety, and the provision of most other ES. However, the pathways by which regulating ES generate benefits for people are complex and vary spatially and temporally. Emerging ES decision-making frameworks underemphasize regulating services because they focus on ES that have more obvious links to human wellbeing (e.g., in close proximity to beneficiaries with very short time lags). Lack of attention towards regulating ES can lead to unintended management trade-offs that create risk for human wellbeing and can cause immediate and delayed impacts on cultural and provisioning ES. Therefore, a remaining challenge for ES frameworks is to address the full ensemble of processes and feedbacks whereby ecosystems contribute to human wellbeing over time, including through regulating services. We address this challenge by (i) reviewing the complexities associated with regulating ES components—capacity, ecological pressures, and demand, (ii) exploring the spatial and temporal variability that influence regulating ES components, including the flow of service benefits, and (iii) illustrating the interdependency of regulating ES components through examples of ES that are linked hydrologically. We conclude that ES capacity, pressure, demand and the flow of benefits are distinct, but intricately linked components that influence how regulating ES provide benefits and improve human wellbeing. We pose that ES assessment frameworks could be improved by including indicators of regulating ES that differentiate between the capacity to provide a regulating ES, the demand for the same, and the actual service that is conveyed, the latter of which is influenced by underlying capacity and ecological pressure. These indicators should also be spatially and temporally explicit to fully incorporate the dynamic influence of temporal variability, spatial scale, and landscape configuration on regulating ES and the benefits they yield.