Ecosystem Services Assessment. Concepts and Models. Biodiversity in the Field

Transcription

1 Ecosystem Services Assessment from: Concepts and Models to: Biodiversity in the Field

2 source

3 The Concept Ecosystem Services Ecosystem from Ecology Services from Economics

4 The Concept years ago. Ecosystems & Biodiversity Biophysical Structure or process (vegetation cover or Net Primary Productivity) Function* (slow water passage, biomass) Human Well-being Adapted from Haines-Young & Potschin, 2009

5 The Concept Ca years ago. Ecosystems & Biodiversity Biophysical Structure or process (vegetation cover or Net Primary Productivity) Function* (biomass) Human Well-being Adapted from Haines-Young & Potschin, 2009

6 The Concept The Present. Ecosystems & Biodiversity Ecosystem Services are the contributions of ecosystems to human wellbeing Human Well-being Biophysical Structure or process (vegetation cover or Net Primary Productivity) Function* (slow water passage, biomass) Service ( floodprotection, timber Benefits (contribution to health, safety) (econ) Value (appreciation, willingness to pay Adapted from Haines-Young & Potschin, 2009

7 The Model Land use, Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services ESS level Provisioning services (P): R Cr P (Max) Regulating services (R): Cultural recreation services (Cr): Cultural Information services (Ci): 0 natural lightuse extensive intensive degraded urban High Biodiversity Low Biodiversity

8 The Model Pristine forest Land use, Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services Original Savannah Extensive use Extensive use Plantation Subsistence agriculture Degraded land Intensive agriculture

9 The Model Alkemade et al., 2009

10 The Model Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005

11 The Model

12 OBSERVATIONS FROM THE FIELD

13 FIELD GUIDE (1) Look at the ECOSYSTEM and see the SERVICES (2) Remember: Biological Diversity in the Field reflects variety in space and time of the environment, evolutionary history of species and history of man-environment interactions (3) The ecoystem determines the potential service level. Humans determine actual service level

14 FIELD GUIDE (4) Species Richness is only 1 measure of Biodiversity (5) Other, more relevant (for most Ecosystem Services) measures to watch for: - functional groups, - biomass distribution in space and time, - vertical & horizontal patterns of bio-structure, - naturalness, uniqueness etc

15 A. Supporting services A1 Primary production The single largest body of EVIDENCE relating BIODIVERSITY to an ECOSYSTEM PROCESS concerns PRIMARY PRODUCTION theoretical, controlled-environment and small and largescale field studies (Naeem et al. 1995; Tilman et al. 1996, 1997; Lawton et al. 1998) Costanza et al. (2007) >50% of spatial variation in net productivity in North America could be explained by patterns of biodiversity: 1% change in biodiversity results in a 0.5% change in the value of ecosystem services

16 A. Supporting services A1 Primary production BIODIVERSITY is also associated with enhanced PRODUCTIVITY in marine systems (Worm et al. 2006): increased biodiversity of both primary producers and consumers enhance ecosystem processes the restoration of biodiversity in marine systems has been shown to increase productivity substantially.

17 A. Supporting services A2 Nutrient Cycling Because nutrient cycles include numerous transformations of elements many different species are typically implicated. Nitrogen cycling ~ diversity of plant communities and particularly on functional groups (Symstad & Tilman, 2001; Mabry et al., 2008) Decomposition rate is susceptible to variation in plant biodiversity (Chapman & Koch, 2007); Scherer- Lorenzen, 2008) ) Diverse systems appear to be more effective in retaining nutrients within the ecosystem (Engelhardt & Ritchie, 2001, 2002)

18 A. Supporting services A3 Water cycling Zhang et al. (2007) vegetation cover can affect quantity, quality and variability of water supply, all of which can affect agricultural productivity. forests generally appear to stabilise water flow (Armstrong et al. 1990) reduction in surface water runoff by invasive alien plants in South Africa may be equivalent to 7% of the national total (van Wilgen et al. 2008) invertebrates tend to decrease surface runoff by increasing surface roughness and structural porosity of soils (Flury et al. 1994; Lavelle et al. 2006).

19 B. Provisioning services B1 Food 6000 species of plants cultivated in history (Heywood, 1999) ca 30 crop species provide 95% of the world s food energy (Williams & Haq 2002) diversity of pasture species can reduce nutrient leaching, production variation, and insurance costs (Hooper & Chapin, 2005) In southern Mexico, diversity of maize races for different uses (Bellon 1996); in Turkey, different types of wheat in different agronomic conditions or for different uses (Brush & Meng 1998). farmers rely on the diversity of other farms for new seeds (Louette & Smale 2000).

20 B. Provisioning services B2. Medicine 25,000 species in use as herbal medicines in the world.

21 B. Provisioning services B4 Bio-chemicals Biodiversity is the fundamental resource for bio-prospecting Of the top 150 prescription drugs used in the USA, 118 originate from natural sources 74% from plants, 18% from fungi, 5% from bacteria, 3% from vertebrates (Ecological Society of America, A wide variety of species microbial, plant and animal have been a valuable source of bio-chemicals; more could be possible with more systematic screening.

22 B. Provisioning services B5 Genetic resources This is a service for which biodiversity is of central importance, because genetic diversity is inevitably lost when biodiversity declines. genetic diversity of crops decreases susceptibility to pests and climate variation (Ewel 1986; Altieri 1990; Zhu et al. 2000). locally adapted varieties often produce higher yield & are more resistant to pests than varieties bred for high performance under optimal conditions (Joshi et al. 2001).

23 C. Regulating services C1 Climate regulation

24 C. Regulating services C1 Climate regulation GLOBIO MODEL OUTPUT OVERLAY ON GOOGLE EARTH

25 C. Regulating services C1 Climate regulation The major greenhouse gas (CO2) is absorbed directly by water and indirectly (through photosynthesis) by vegetation, leading to storage in biomass and in soils as organic matter the ability of soils + soil biodiversity to store carbon is a major regulator of climate (Post & Kwon 2000) Other greenhouse gases, notably methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) are regulated by soil microbes.

26 C. Regulating services C4 Hazard protection the role of vegetation is structural, and species composition has indirect role, in controlling the stability and resilience of the system Soil biodiversity plays a role in flood and erosion control (Lavelle et al. 2006) Trees have been shown to reduce the levels of air pollutants (various ) In mountain forests tree diversity enhances protection against rockfall (Dorren et al. 2004) Coastal wetlands are known to play a major part in defence against tidal flooding Wind breaks are a traditional means of protecting crops and habitations against high winds

27 C. Regulating services C5 Pollination Pollination of flowers by insects is an essential part of sexual reproduction in 90% of all flowering plant species (Kearns et al. 1998) Over 75% of the world s most important crops and 35% of food production is dependent upon animal pollination (Klein et al. 2007) wild pollinators in habitats adjacent to agriculture improves both the level and stability of pollination, leading to increased yields and income (Klein et al. 2003)

28 D. Cultural services D1 spiritual, religious, aesthetic, inspirational and sense of place inspiration Iconic Species biodiversity plays an important role in fostering a SENSE OF PLACE in all European societies and has considerable intrinsic cultural value (Moore 2007)

29 D. Cultural services D1 spiritual, religious, aesthetic, inspirational and sense of place importance of these services to citizens ~ membership of conservation organisations: National Trust in the UK 3.4 million Germany:Naturschutzbund (NABU) 450,000 Natuurbeheer (the Netherlands) total > 1 million

30 D. Cultural services D2 recreation, ecotourism, cultural heritage and educational. ecosystem-related tourism is protective of biodiversity; to see particular species is reason for visit biodiversity may not be the typical identifier of the value placed on the ecosystem, but still underlies the character recognised by the visitor Phillips (1998) many conservation and environmental values associated with traditional landscapes.

31 Ecosystem Services Assessment Conclusions: (1) No Ecosystem Services without Biodiversity! (2) Much work to do in quantification and valuation! So: Measure and Map, Model and Monetize!!!!