Ecosystem Services

Journal: Ecosystem Services

Publisher

Elsevier

ISSN

2212-0416

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Publications 1 - 10 of 28

Assessing the impact of grassland management on landscape multifunctionality
Neyret, Margot; Fischer, Markus; Allan, Eric; et al. (2021)
Ecosystem Services
Land-use intensification has contrasting effects on different ecosystem services, often leading to land-use conflicts. While multiple studies have demonstrated how landscape-scale strategies can minimise the trade-off between agricultural production and biodiversity conservation, little is known about which land-use strategies maximise the landscape-level supply of multiple ecosystem services (landscape multifunctionality), a common goal of stakeholder communities. We combine comprehensive data collected from 150 German grassland sites with a simulation approach to identify landscape compositions, with differing proportions of low-, medium-, and high-intensity grasslands, that minimise trade-offs between the six main grassland ecosystem services prioritised by local stakeholders: biodiversity conservation, aesthetic value, productivity, carbon storage, foraging, and regional identity. Results are made accessible through an online tool that provides information on which compositions best meet any combination of user-defined priorities (https://neyret.shinyapps.io/landscape_composition_for_multifunctionality/). Results show that an optimal landscape composition can be identified for any pattern of ecosystem service priorities. However, multifunctionality was similar and low for all landscape compositions in cases where there are strong trade-offs between services (e.g. aesthetic value and fodder production), where many services were prioritised, and where drivers other than land use played an important role. We also found that if moderate service levels are deemed acceptable, then strategies in which both high and low intensity grasslands are present can deliver landscape multifunctionality. The tool presented can aid informed decision-making by predicting the impact of future changes in landscape composition, and by allowing for the relative roles of stakeholder priorities and biophysical trade-offs to be understood by scientists and practitioners alike.
A guide to assess and value ecosystem services of grasslands
Richter, Franziska Julia; Jan, Pierrick; Benni, Nadja El; et al. (2021)
Ecosystem Services
Comprehensive mapping of Ecosystem Services (ES) is necessary to understand the impact of global change on crucial ES and to find strategies to sustain human wellbeing. Economic valuation of ES further translates their biophysical values into monetary values, which are then comparable across different ES and easily understandable to decision makers. However, a comprehensive synthesis of methods to measure ES indicators in grasslands, a central element of many landscapes around the globe, is still lacking, hampering the implementation of grassland ES-multifunctionality surveys. To identify suitable and recommendable methods, we reviewed the literature and evaluated labor intensiveness, equipment costs and predictive power of all methods. To facilitate the translation of biophysical ES into monetary terms, we further provide an overview of available methods for the economic valuation of ES. This review resulted in a toolbox comprising 85 plot-scale methods for assessing 29 different ES indicators for 21 provisioning, regulating, supporting or cultural ES. The available methods to measure ES indicators vary widely in labor intensiveness, costs, and predictive power. Based on this synthesis, we recommend 1) to choose direct over indirect methods and ES indicators, 2) to use the most accurate methods to estimate ES indicators, 3) to take into account that one ES indicator can have implications for more than one final ES, and 4) to utilize the wealth of available methods and indicators to assess as many ES for ES-multifunctionality studies as possible, especially including cultural ES. Moreover, the overview of approaches that can be used for the economic valuation of different grassland ES shall facilitate economic ES-multifunctionality assessments. Thus, this methodological guidance will considerably support researchers and stakeholders in setting up ES comprehensive assessments and monitoring schemes in grasslands and shall ultimately help overcome incomplete or superficial surveys based on single or few ES only.
Spatial variation in the impact of dragonflies and debris on recreational ecosystem services in a floodplain wetland
Richards, Daniel R.; Warren, Philip H.; Moggridge, Helen L.; et al. (2015)
Ecosystem Services
Recreation is an important ecosystem service. The interaction between people and habitat components is rarely considered in the analyses of recreational experiences, making it difficult to predict what people will experience. In this study we develop a modelling framework that describes three stages of interaction between people and habitats. This framework considers: (1) the distribution of habitat components in the environment, (2) the proportion of the available components that visitors notice, and (3) the net impact of multiple components on the quality of the recreational experience. The model was applied to a case study river floodplain, and was used to estimate visitor exposure to a combination of positive habitat components (dragonflies) and negative components (debris). The model provided an index of net impacts on experience quality that showed spatial variation across the floodplain, and this analysis highlighted areas that would deliver more positive experiences to visitors. The results of a sensitivity analysis indicated that neglecting the noticeability (observation rate) of habitat components resulted in different predictions. It is therefore important that the noticeability of habitat components is considered during analyses of recreational experiences, and recreational ecosystem service valuations.
Economic valuation of cultural ecosystem service changes to a landscape in the Swiss Alps
Rewitzer, Susanne; Robert, Huber; Grêt-Regamey, Adrienne; et al. (2017)
Ecosystem Services
Stakeholder perceptions of agricultural landscape services, biodiversity, and drivers of change in four European case studies
Suškevičs, Monika; Karner, Katrin; Bethwell, Claudia; et al. (2023)
Ecosystem Services
Many studies have explored farmers’ perspectives on biodiversity and ecosystem services, but fewer qualitative and cross-country comparisons exist. We develop a socio-ecological system to analyse agricultural landscape services, biodiversity, and drivers that have affected these services in recent decades. Via a systematic stakeholder mapping and 49 semi-structured interviews, we identify stakeholder perceptions of this system. We compare the perceptions across four regional case studies (Austria, Estonia, Germany, Switzerland), and two stakeholder groups (land managers and administrators). The case studies share certain commonalities in perceptions (e.g., provisioning and regulating services discussed in all of them) but also show differences (e.g., changes in biodiversity and landscape services more often perceived in the Swiss and German cases, but less in the Austrian and Estonian case studies). Across all case studies, typical land use change can be attributed to multiple drivers of various strengths, with climate change being the most often perceived driver directly affecting landscape services, followed by policies and market-based drivers, which affect services and biodiversity indirectly via land use. Compared to the administrators (e.g., decision-makers, scientists), the managers (e.g., farmers, NGOs) discuss more often the drivers, like various biodiversity and landscape service categories, as well as climate change, markets, and technologies. However, the administrators focus more on cultural services, policies as drivers, and consider more often links between drivers and landscape services and/or biodiversity. Hence, both of the groups’ (administrators and managers) perceptions partly complement each other. Since policy making should be based on the best knowledge of different stakeholder groups, active knowledge exchange between managers and administrators should be supported and outcome considered in decision making. The resulting regional differences in stakeholder perceptions of the drivers and their respective impact on agricultural landscapes suggest that future agricultural policies need regional targeting and the consideration of landscape-specific characteristics.
Land use trade-offs for flood protection
Ryffel, Andrea N.; Rid, Wolfgang; Grêt-Regamey, Adrienne (2014)
Ecosystem Services
Ecosystem services visualization and communication: A demand analysis approach for designing information and conceptualizing decision support systems
Klein, Thomas M.; Celio, Enrico; Grêt-Regamey, Adrienne (2015)
Ecosystem Services
Use of structural equation modeling to explore influences on perceptions of ecosystem services and disservices attributed to birds in Singapore
Leong, Rachel A. T.; Fung, Tze Kwan; Sachidhanandam, Uma; et al. (2020)
Ecosystem Services
Birds are among the most visible and charismatic forms of urban biodiversity. Urban birds provide important ecosystem services but are also associated with some disservices. How urban residents perceive these services and disservices, and the factors shaping these perceptions, are not well understood. We studied how awareness of birds in the landscape, knowledge of bird species, and nature relatedness influence these perceptions. For this purpose, we conducted a questionnaire survey of 1000 Singapore residents. We used structural equation modeling to explore relationships between socio-demographics and past nature-related experiences on bird awareness, bird knowledge and nature relatedness, and to understand how these personal factors affect perceptions of ecosystem services and disservices. Despite their mainly low awareness and knowledge of birds, respondents were generally positive in their responses and expressed few concerns regarding disservices. Perceptions of regulation and maintenance services were positively related to bird knowledge. Perceptions of cultural services were positively influenced by bird awareness and nature relatedness, and stronger nature relatedness was important for decreasing associations with bird disservices. Successful implementation of ecosystem services management should firstly understand citizens’ perceptions, and include efforts to increase bird knowledge and awareness through activities such as public education and outreach campaigns. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.
Uncertainties in ecosystem services assessments and their implications for decision support – A semi-systematic literature review
Walther, Franziska Ellen; Barton, David N.; Schwaab, Jonas; et al. (2025)
Ecosystem Services
Ecosystem services (ES) assessments are rarely integrated into decision-making processes, with uncertainties often cited as a major barrier. While various uncertainties, such as modelling and data uncertainties, are inherent in ES assessments, their role in uptake of ES assessment results in decision-making remains unclear. We conducted a semi-systematic literature review of scientific papers assessing ES to reveal how uncertainties in ES assessments relate to ES uptake, i.e., the potential use of ES assessment results by decision makers. We performed logistic regressions to analyse the influence of three main sources of uncertainty on ES uptake, i.e., (i) modelling uncertainties, (ii) uncertainties related to qualitative and quantitative descriptions of scenarios, and (iii) uncertainties related to the transfer of ES assessment results into decision-making. Furthermore, we investigated if stakeholder involvement plays a role in ES uptake. First, and most importantly, the results indicate that clarifying the policy context can decrease decision uncertainty and thus improve ES uptake. Referring to a specific policy, following a decisive study purpose and documenting the intended policy entry point are factors that significantly enhance ES uptake. Second, the way how ES are modelled is related to ES uptake. Our results show that using multiple models to assess ES significantly promotes ES uptake. Third, involving stakeholders in ES assessments is significantly associated with increased documented uptake. We discuss that explicitly anchoring the assessment in a policy context increases the salience and timeliness of an ES study, assessing model uncertainties can lead to more credible results, and involving stakeholders can provide more legitimacy, which together increase the potential for ES assessments and their results to be used in decision-making. This study encourages future ES assessments to integrate uncertainties in order to support informed decision-making and promote the conservation and sustainable management of ecosystems and their services.
A tiered approach for mapping ecosystem services
Grêt-Regamey, Adrienne; Weibel, Bettina; Kienast, Felix; et al. (2015)
Ecosystem Services
Ecosystem services (ES) mapping make the benefits of nature spatially explicit. The different methods used for ES mapping limit the comparability of outcomes and call for a more consistent but flexible approach. We present a four step tiered approach for ES mapping supporting scholars to select the adequate combination of variables: First, the user, researcher or policy maker defines the goal of the ES assessment. Second, a meta-analysis of relevant ES mapping studies is conducted to identify key variables for mapping the selected ES. Third, the identified variables are attributed to the different levels of the multitier framework according to the level at which they best answer the policy or research question. Finally, appropriate methods for mapping the ES are selected based on the reviewed studies. We illustrate the approach for recreational services at three different tiers. Main advantages of the tiered approach are that (i) it can be adapted to other ES, (ii) it supports the efforts toward a standardized ES assessment, (iii) it provides information about relevant variables to be considered in long term monitoring at different scales, (iv) it supports sustainable resource management as it ensures the inclusion of information relevant to decision makers at different levels.

Publications 1 - 10 of 28

Journal: Ecosystem Services

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