Integrated valuation of semiarid Mediterranean agroecosystem services and disservices

Agroecosystems are anthropised ecosystems where human activities, mainly agricultural practices, affect the innate functioning, leading to the provision of agroecosystem services (AES) and disservices (AEDS). This study presents a novel and integrated economic valuation of the AES and AEDS provided in a water-scarce Mediterranean area (south-eastern Spain), using a discrete choice experiment. The results reveal the social demand for AES and the disutility of AEDS, as well as the non-linearity in marginal utility for some of these AES and AEDS. Food provision, temperature regulation, leisure and recreation and biodiversity are socially perceived as AES. The water supply for irrigation switches between AES and AEDS depending on its provision level, while groundwater pollution is conceived as one of the AEDS. The integrated non-market value of AES and AEDS reaches 794 €/ha/year for the entire agroecosystem. This work provides guidelines for policy makers in the design of socially supported agricultural policies.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation [AGRISERVI: AGL2015-64411-R (MINECO/FEDER)] and the “Fundación Séneca – Region de Murcia” [20912/PI/18]. José A. Zabala acknowledges the financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Personal Training [FPU 16/03473]

Analysis of the social perception of ecosystem services on a peri-urban communal forest from northwestern Spain: a social-ecological approach

This PhD Thesis analyses the social perception of the ecosystem services provided by the peri-urban Xalo communal forests (NW Spain) by using a multidisciplinary socio-cultural approach with a gender perspective. It contains three original research works that develop an increasing gradient of stakeholder participationfrom observation, through consultation to engagement. The results obtained underline the critical importance of the non-material benefits that communal forests provide to society. This research demonstrates that the socio-cultural assessment of the actual demand for ecosystem services provides key information to local communities and political actors in the context of reinvention that many communal forest communities are heading nowadays

Multi-objective optimization as a tool to identify possibilities for future agricultural landscapes

Agricultural landscapes provide many functions simultaneously including food production, regulation of water and regulation of greenhouse gases. Thus, it is challenging to make land management decisions, particularly transformative changes, that improve on one function without unintended consequences on other functions. To make informed decisions the trade-offs between different landscape functions must be considered. Here, we use a multi-objective optimization algorithm with a model of crop production that also simulates environmental effects such as nitrous oxide emissions to identify trade-off frontiers and associated possibilities for agricultural management. Trade-offs are identified in three soil types, using wheat production in the UK as an example, then the trade-off for combined management of the three soils is considered. The optimisation algorithm identifies trade-offs between different objectives and allows them to be visualised. For example, we observed a highly non-linear trade-off between wheat yield and nitrous oxide emissions, illustrating where small changes might have a large impact. We used a cluster analysis to identify distinct management strategies with similar management actions and use these clusters to link the trade-off curves to possibilities for management. There were more possible strategies for achieving desirable environmental outcomes and remaining profitable when the management of different soil types was considered together. Interestingly, it was on the soil capable of the highest potential profit that lower profit strategies were identified as useful for combined management. Meanwhile, to maintain average profitability across the soils, it was necessary to maximise the profit from the soil with the lowest potential profit. These results are somewhat counterintuitive and so the range of strategies supplied by the model could be used to stimulate discussion amongst stakeholders. In particular, as some key objectives can be met in different ways, stakeholders could discuss the impact of these management strategies on other objectives not quantified by the model

Alien Planktonic Species in the Marine Realm: What Do They Mean for Ecosystem Services Provision?

Human well-being is significantly affected by the contributions provided by ecosystems, or ecosystem services. In this well-illustrated atlas, world-class experts identify and discuss key driving forces, trade-offs, and synergies of ecosystem services. Through interdisciplinary case studies varying across ecosystems and scales, this atlas narrows the knowledge gap between ecosystem services management and related fields of study. This atlas begins with conceptual background and proceeds to present drivers and their risks for ecosystems, their functions and services, and biodiversity. Trade-offs and synergies among ecosystem services and societal responses to the drivers and trade-offs are discussed. Sustainable land management and governance concepts are demonstrated throughout the atlas. Environmental scientists, practitioners and policy makers worldwide will appreciate the solutions and best practices identified throughout the chapters. Students of environmental sciences, socio-economics and landscape planning will find this atlas to be a valuable read, as well

Urban sprawl and its impact on sustainable urban development: a combination of remote sensing and social media data

Urbanization is one of the most impactful human activities across the world today affecting the quality of urban life and its sustainable development. Urbanization in Africa is occurring at an unprecedented rate and it threatens the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Urban sprawl has resulted in unsustainable urban development patterns from social, environmental, and economic perspectives. This study is among the first examples of research in Africa to combine remote sensing data with social media data to determine urban sprawl from 2011 to 2017 in Morogoro urban municipality, Tanzania. Random Forest (RF) method was applied to accomplish imagery classification and location-based social media (Twitter usage) data were obtained through a Twitter Application Programming Interface (API). Morogoro urban municipality was classified into built-up, vegetation, agriculture, and water land cover classes while the classification results were validated by the generation of 480 random points. Using the Kernel function, the study measured the location of Twitter users within a 1 km buffer from the center of the city. The results indicate that, expansion of the city (built-up land use), which is primarily driven by population expansion, has negative impacts on ecosystem services because pristine grasslands and forests which provide essential ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and support for biodiversity have been replaced by built-up land cover. In addition, social media usage data suggest that there is the concentration of Twitter usage within the city center while Twitter usage declines away from the city center with significant spatial and numerical increase in Twitter usage in the study area. The outcome of the study suggests that the combination of remote sensing, social sensing, and population data were useful as a proxy/inference for interpreting urban sprawl and status of access to urban services and infrastructure in Morogoro, and Africa city where data for urban planning is often unavailable, inaccurate, or stale

Ecosystem services and disservices in the Luanhe River Basin in China under past, current and future land uses: implications for the sustainable development goals

Understanding how ecosystem services (ES) and ecosystem disservices (EDS) are affected by human-induced landscape changes is important to minimise trade-offs and maximise synergies between Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets, and for equitable development across governance scales. However, limited research investigates how ES and EDS can change under past, current, and future land uses. This study, conducted in the Luanhe River Basin (LRB), demonstrates the interaction between humans and the environment under past, current, and future land uses at the river basin scale in China, using a stakeholders’ participatory capacity matrix to characterise both ES and EDS. Results indicate that forests and water bodies provided the highest overall ES capacity, while the lowest scores were reached in built-up and unused land areas. Built-up land and cropland provided the highest overall EDS, while the lowest EDS scores were for water bodies. By applying the ecosystem services potential index (ESPI) and ecosystem disservices potential index (EDSPI), we found that the ESPI of all the ES declined from 1980 to 2018 and would continue to decline until 2030 without sustainable and conservation development strategies in the LRB. The EDSPI under all future scenarios in 2030 was projected to increase compared to the baseline in 1980. This study recommends establishing and implementing sustainable environmental protection policies and cross-regional and trans-provincial eco-compensation schemes for minimising trade-offs in ES. The study proposes an integrated research framework that could be useful for understanding the effect of historical and future human–environment interactions on ES and EDS, and SDGs achievement

On how to define, assess and improve the governance of agro-ecosystem services

(Agro)ecosystem services is a „new“ term, which is rapidly and widely used in academic studies, and policies and business practices around the globe. Nevertheless, in many countries around the globe, studies associated with agroecosystem services and their „management“ are at the beginning stage. This article suggests a holistic framework for defining, evaluating and improving the system of governance of agro-ecosystem services. The interdisciplinary Theory of Ecosystem Services and the New Institutional Economy are adapted, and the governance of agroecosystem services defined, various related agents identified, principle forms and mechanisms of governance classified, an adequate criterion for assessing efficiency formulated, and stages for analysis and improvement of the system of governance characterized. The proposed new approach is based on the „building up“ of a hierarchy of agro-ecosystems and services related to its different levels, and an assessment of the efficiency and complementarities of the governance modes and mechanisms, corresponding to each level of „provision“ of agroecosystem services

Understanding and improving the governance of ecosystem services: The case of agriculture

Abstract. (Agro)ecosystem services is a “new” term, which is rapidly and widely used in academicstudies, and policies and business practices around the globe.Nevertheless, in many countries around the globe, studies associated with agroecosystem services and their “management” are at the beginning stage.This article suggests a holistic framework for defining, evaluating and improving the system of governance of agro-ecosystem services. The interdisciplinary Theory of Ecosystem Services and the New Institutional Economy are adapted, and the governance of agroecosystem services defined, various related agents identified, principle forms and mechanisms of governance classified, an adequate criterion for assessing efficiency formulated, and stages for analysis and improvement of the system of governance characterized. The proposed new approach is based on the “building up” of a hierarchy of agro-ecosystems and services related to its different levels, and an assessment of the efficiency and complementarities of the governance modes and mechanisms, corresponding to each level of “provision” of agroecosystem services.Keywords. Agro-ecosystems, Services, Governance, Market, Private, Public modes, Efficiency.JEL. Q12, Q13, Q15, Q18

Ecosystem Services and U.S. Stormwater Planning: An Approach for Improving Urban Stormwater Decisions

Green stormwater infrastructure (GI) is gaining traction as a viable complement to traditional “gray” infrastructure in cities across the United States. As cities struggle with decisions to replace deteriorating stormwater infrastructure in the face of looming issues such as population growth and climate change, GI may offer a costeffective, efficient, and sustainable approach. However, decision makers confront challenges when integrating GI within city plans, including uncertainties around GI capacity and maintenance, resistance to collaboration across city governance, increasingly inflexible financing, accounting practices that do not incorporate the multiple values of GI, and difficulties in incorporating ecological infrastructure into stormwater management. This paper presents an ecosystem services framework for assessing the context-specific needs of decision makers, while considering the strengths and limitations of GI use in urban stormwater management. We describe multiple dimensions of the planning system, identify points of intervention, and illustrate two applications of our framework – Durham, North Carolina and Portland, Oregon (USA). In these case studies, we apply our ecosystem services framework to explicitly consider tradeoffs to assist planning professionals who are considering implementation of GI. We conclude by offering a research agenda that explores opportunities for further evaluations of GI design, implementation, and maintenance in cities