Journal: One Ecosystem

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Pensoft

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ISSN

2367-8194

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2018 - 201942020 - 20252
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Publications 1 - 6 of 6
  • Development of the "SELINA Super-Query" in a pan-European Horizon Europe project: A systematic literature search on Ecosystem Condition, Ecosystem Services and Ecosystem Accounting
    Item type: Journal Article
    Seguin, Joana; Lange, Sabine; Barton, David N; et al. (2025)
    One Ecosystem
    This data paper introduces the "SELINA Super-Query," a comprehensive systematic search query developed within the EU-Horizon project SELINA. This framework serves as a foundational tool for subsequent literature reviews and it is accompanied by an open-access database containing 108,064 potentially relevant literature items. The SELINA Super-Query is designed to efficiently identify English-language, peer-reviewed research articles published between 2018 and 2022 in the fields of ecosystem condition, ecosystem services and ecosystem accounting. By employing this unified systematic search strategy in the initial phase of a large research project, follow-up research tasks can effectively build on a consistent, well-defined knowledge base, thereby enhancing the project's overall research cohesion and productivity.
  • On the importance of a broad stakeholder network for developing a credible, salient and legitimate tiered approach for assessing ecosystem services
    Item type: Journal Article
    Weibel, Bettina; Rabe, Sven-Erik; Burkhard, Benjamin; et al. (2018)
    One Ecosystem
    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.
  • Mapping and assessing ecosystem services in the EU - Lessons learned from the ESMERALDA approach of integration
    Item type: Journal Article
    Burkhard, Benjamin; Maes, Joachim; Potschin-Young, Marion; et al. (2018)
    One Ecosystem
    The European Union (EU) Horizon 2020 Coordination and Support Action ESMERALDA aimed at developing guidance and a flexible methodology for Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES) to support the EU member states in the implementation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy’s Target 2 Action 5. ESMERALDA’s key tasks included network creation, stakeholder engagement, enhancing ecosystem services mapping and assessment methods across various spatial scales and value domains, work in case studies and support of EU member states in MAES implementation. Thus ESMERALDA aimed at integrating various project outcomes around four major strands: i) Networking, ii) Policy, iii) Research and iv) Application. The objective was to provide guidance for integrated ecosystem service mapping and assessment that can be used for sustainable decision-making in policy, business, society, practice and science at EU, national and regional levels. This article presents the overall ESMERALDA approach of integrating the above-mentioned project components and outcomes and provides an overview of how the enhanced methods were applied and how they can be used to support MAES implementation in the EU member states. Experiences with implementing such a large pan-European Coordination and Support Action in the context of EU policy are discussed and recommendations for future actions are given.
  • Increasing uptake of ecosystem service assessments: best practice check-lists for practitioners in Europe
    Item type: Review Article
    Barton, David N.; Immerzeel, Bart; Brander, Luke; et al. (2024)
    One Ecosystem
    Aiming at understanding the role of plural values in decision-making, the IPBES Values Assessment defined nature valuation broadly as including biophysical, economic and socio-cultural assessments, including ecosystem service assessment. IPBES reviews of scientific literature revealed a lack of documentation of uptake by stakeholders across method types. The EU project SELINA aims to contribute to increasing uptake of ES assessments at different governance levels. This paper reviews guidance in national and local applications by compiling study design recommendations for ES assessments from 111 guidance documents on ES assessments covering 12 European languages. Guidance documents are evaluated for seven diagnostic topics suggested to increase relevance and robustness of ES assessments: ecosystem condition variables; capacity-potential; supply demand; spatial scaling and resolution capability; social and health benefit compatibility; economic valuation compatibility; and uncertainty assessment. The paper develops the guidance recommendations across these topics into a set of checklists for practitioners and contractors of ES assessments. We find synergies between these study design features and gaps in guidance in relation to the policy cycle. Checklists are aimed at projects self assessing and improving their design and implementation to increase robustness of their ES assessment. From a knowledge supply perspective, this is expected to increase the likelihood of uptake of results by stakeholders. We end the paper with some cautions on limitations to uptake from different perspectives and the demand for and political uses of ES assessment knowledge.
  • Uncertainty in ecosystem services maps: the case of carbon stocks in the Brazilian Amazon forest using regression analysis
    Item type: Journal Article
    Le Clec'h, Solen; Dufour, Simon; Bucheli, Janic; et al. (2019)
    One Ecosystem
    Ecosystem Service (ES) mapping has become a key tool in scientific assessments of human-nature interactions and is being increasingly used in environmental planning and policy-making. However, the associated epistemic uncertainty underlying these maps often is not systematically considered. This paper proposes a basic procedure to present areas with lower statistical reliability in a map of an ES indicator, the vegetation carbon stock, when extrapolating field data to larger case study regions. To illustrate our approach, we use regression analyses to model the spatial distribution of vegetation carbon stock in the Brazilian Amazon forest in the State of Pará. In our analysis, we used field data measurements for the carbon stock in three study sites as the response variable and various land characteristics derived from remote sensing as explanatory variables for the ES indicator. We performed regression methods to map the carbon stocks and calculated three indicators of reliability: RMSE-Root-mean-square-error, R2-coefficient of determination - from an out-of-sample validation and prediction intervals. We obtained a map of carbon stocks and made explicit its associated uncertainty using a general indicator of reliability and a map presenting the areas where our prediction is the most uncertain. Finally, we highlighted the role of environmental factors on the range of uncertainty. The results have two implications. (1) Mapping prediction interval indicates areas where the map's reliability is the highest. This information increases the usefulness of ES maps in environmental planning and governance. (2) In the case of the studied indicator, the reliability of our prediction is very dependent on land cover type, on the site location and its biophysical, socioeconomic and political characteristics. A better understanding of the relationship between carbon stock and land-use classes would increase the reliability of the maps. Results of our analysis help to direct future research and fieldwork and to prevent decision-making based on unreliable maps.
  • Practical solutions for bottlenecks in ecosystem services mapping
    Item type: Journal Article
    Palomo, Ignacio; Willemen, Louise; Drakou, Evangelia; et al. (2018)
    One Ecosystem
    Backgroun Ecosystem services (ES) mapping is becoming mainstream in many sustainability assessments, but its impact on real world decision-making is still limited. Robustness, enduser relevance and transparency have been identified as key attributes needed for effective ES mapping. However, these requirements are not always met due to multiple challenges, referred to here as bottlenecks, that scientists, practitioners, policy makers and users from other public and private sectors encounter along the mapping process. A selection of commonly encountered ES mapping bottlenecks that relate to seven themes: i) map-maker map-user interaction ii) nomenclature and ontologies iii) skills and background iv) data and maps availability v) methods-selection vi) technical difficulties and vii) over-simplification of mapping process/output. The authors synthesise the variety of solutions already applied by map-makers and map-users to mitigate or cope with these bottlenecks and discuss the emerging trade-offs amongst different solutions. Tackling the bottlenecks described here is a crucial first step towards more effective ES mapping, which can in turn ensure the adequate impact of ES mapping in decision-making.
Publications 1 - 6 of 6