Mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services. Urban ecosystems

Action 5 of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 requires member states to Map and Assess the state of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES). This report provides guidance for mapping and assessment of urban ecosystems. The MAES urban pilot is a collaboration between the European Commission, the European Environment Agency, volunteering Member States and cities, and stakeholders. Its ultimate goal is to deliver a knowledge base for policy and management of urban ecosystems by analysing urban green infrastructure, condition of urban ecosystems and ecosystem services. This report presents guidance for mapping urban ecosystems and includes an indicator framework to assess the condition of urban ecosystems and urban ecosystem services. The scientific framework of mapping and assessment is designed to support in particular urban planning policy and policy on green infrastructure at urban, metropolitan and regional scales. The results are based on the following different sources of information: a literature survey of 54 scientific articles, an online-survey (on urban ecosystems, related policies and planning instruments and with participation of 42 cities), ten case studies (Portugal: Cascais, Oeiras, Lisbon; Italy: Padua, Trento, Rome; The Netherlands: Utrecht; Poland: Poznań; Spain: Barcelona; Norway: Oslo), and a two-day expert workshop. The case studies constituted the core of the MAES urban pilot. They provided real examples and applications of how mapping and assessment can be organized to support policy; on top, they provided the necessary expertise to select a set of final indicators for condition and ecosystem services. Urban ecosystems or cities are defined here as socio-ecological systems which are composed of green infrastructure and built infrastructure. Urban green infrastructure (GI) is understood in this report as the multi-functional network of urban green spaces situated within the boundary of the urban ecosystem. Urban green spaces are the structural components of urban GI. This study has shown that there is a large scope for urban ecosystem assessments. Firstly, urban policies increasingly use urban green infrastructure and nature-based solutions in their planning process. Secondly, an increasing amount of data at multiple spatial scales is becoming available to support these policies, to provide a baseline, and to compare or benchmark cities with respect to the extent and management of the urban ecosystem. Concrete examples are given on how to delineate urban ecosystems, how to choose an appropriate spatial scale, and how to map urban ecosystems based on a combination of national or European datasets (including Urban Atlas) and locally collected information (e.g., location of trees). Also examples of typologies for urban green spaces are presented. This report presents an indicator framework which is composed of indicators to assess for urban ecosystem condition and for urban ecosystem services. These are the result of a rigorous selection process and ensure consistent mapping and assessment across Europe. The MAES urban pilot will continue with work on the interface between research and policy. The framework presented in this report needs to be tested and validated across Europe, e.g. on its applicability at city scale, on how far the methodology for measuring ecosystem condition and ecosystem service delivery in urban areas can be used to assess urban green infrastructure and nature-based solutions

Taxonomic and functional turnover are decoupled in European peat bogs

In peatland ecosystems, plant communities mediate a globally significant carbon store. The effects of global environmental change on plant assemblages are expected to be a factor in determining how ecosystem functions such as carbon uptake will respond. Using vegetation data from 56 Sphagnum-dominated peat bogs across Europe, we show that in these ecosystems plant species aggregate into two major clusters that are each defined by shared response to environmental conditions. Across environmental gradients, we find significant taxonomic turnover in both clusters. However, functional identity and functional redundancy of the community as a whole remain unchanged. This strongly suggests that in peat bogs, species turnover across environmental gradients is restricted to functionally similar species. Our results demonstrate that plant taxonomic and functional turnover are decoupled, which may allow these peat bogs to maintain ecosystem functioning when subject to future environmental change

Spatial gradient in nitrogen deposition affects plant species frequency in acidic grasslands

Anthropogenic eutrophication impacts ecosystems worldwide. Here, we use a vegetation dataset from semi-natural grasslands on acidic soils sampled along a gradient in north-western Europe to examine the response of species frequency to nitrogen (N) deposition, controlling for the effects of other environmental variables. A second dataset of acidic grasslands from Germany and the Netherlands containing plots from different time periods was analysed to examine whether the results of the spatial gradient approach coincided with temporal changes in the abundance of species. Out of 44 studied species, 16 were affected by N deposition, 12 of them negatively. Soil pH and phosphorus (P) influenced 24 and 14 species, respectively, predominantly positively. Fewer species were related to the soil contents of NO3 − or NH4 +, with no significant differences between the number of positive and negative effects. Whereas the temporal change of species was unrelated to their responses to pH, species responding negatively to N deposition, soil P and NO3 − showed a significant decline over time in both countries. Species that were negatively affected by high N deposition and/or high soil P also showed a negative temporal trend and could be characterised by short stature and slow growth. The results confirm the negative role of N deposition for many plant species in semi-natural acidic grasslands. The negative temporal trends of species sensitive to high N deposition and soil P values clearly show a need for maintaining low soil nutrient status and for restoring the formerly infertile conditions in nutrient-enriched grasslands

Absence of distance decay in the similarity of plots at small extent in an urban brownfield

Similarity in species composition among different areas plays an essential task in biodiversity management and conservation since it allows the identification of those environmental gradients that functionally operate in determining variation in species composition across spatial scale. The decay of compositional similarity with increasing spatial or environmental distance derives from: 1) the presence of spatial constraints which create a physical separation among habitats, or 2) the decrease in environmental similarity with increasing distance. Even if the distance decay of compositional similarity represents a well known pattern characterising all types of biological communities, few attempts were made to examine this pattern at small spatial scales with respect to both grain and extent. Aim of this work was to test whether the distance decay of similarity 1) can be observed at a local scale in situations where environmental conditions are relatively homogeneous and ecological barriers are absent, and 2) is dependent on the grain size at which plant community data are recorded. We selected two urban brownfields located at Bremen university campus, Germany, of 40 m x 20 m each, systematically divided in nested plots with an increasing spatial scale of 0.25 m(2), 1 m(2), 4 m(2) and 16 m(2). Both plant species composition and soil variables were recorded in each cell. Linear and logarithmic least squares regression models were applied in order to examine the decay of similarity due to spatial distance (calculated as the Euclidean distance among pairs of plots) and environmental distance (calculated as the Euclidean distance among PCA-transformed soil variables). A general lack of distance decay was observed, irrespective of the type of distance (spatial or environmental) or the grain size. We argue that this is probably due to a random variation both of the important environmental parameters and of the local distribution patterns of individual species, the latter mainly caused by the high dispersal abilities of the majority of species occurring in the brownfield

Absence of distance decay in the similarity of plots at small extent in an urban brownfield

Similarity in species composition among different areas plays an essential task in biodiversity management and conservation since it allows the identification of those environmental gradients that functionally operate in determining variation in species composition across spatial scale. The decay of compositional similarity with increasing spatial or environmental distance derives from: 1) the presence of spatial constraints which create a physical separation among habitats, or 2) the decrease in environmental similarity with increasing distance. Even if the distance decay of compositional similarity represents a well known pattern characterising all types of biological communities, few attempts were made to examine this pattern at small spatial scales with respect to both grain and extent. Aim of this work was to test whether the distance decay of similarity 1) can be observed at a local scale in situations where environmental conditions are relatively homogeneous and ecological barriers are absent, and 2) is dependent on the grain size at which plant community data are recorded. We selected two urban brownfields located at Bremen university campus, Germany, of 40 m × 20 m each, systematically divided in nested plots with an increasing spatial scale of 0.25 m2, 1 m2, 4 m2 and 16 m2. Both plant species composition and soil variables were recorded in each cell. Linear and logarithmic least squares regression models were applied in order to examine the decay of similarity due to spatial distance (calculated as the Euclidean distance among pairs of plots) and environmental distance (calculated as the Euclidean distance among PCA-transformed soil variables). A general lack of distance decay was observed, irrespective of the type of distance (spatial or environmental) or the grain size. We argue that this is probably due to a random variation both of the important environmental parameters and of the local distribution patterns of individual species, the latter mainly caused by the high dispersal abilities of the majority of species occurring in the brownfields

La strategia nazionale per la biodiversità in Italia

La conservazione della biodiversità e l’uso sostenibile delle risorse garantiscono il corretto funzionamento degli ecosistemi così come la fornitura dei loro servizi, che sono le basi essenziali della vita e dell’economia umane. La società moderna e l’economia sono, infatti, legate in modo sistemico all'uso delle risorse naturali e dei sistemi produttivi. In particolare, questa stretta dipendenza si manifesta con le attività agricole e forestali, oltre che con le attività collegate ai trasporti, al turismo e alla crescita urbana.I benefici diretti e indiretti della biodiversità si riflettono in servizi riguardanti i prodotti (cibo, principi farmaceutici, materie prime, acqua), la regolazione (controllo climatico, protezione dagli eventi estremi), il supporto (produzione di ossigeno, formazione del suolo) e gli interessi culturali (aumento delle conoscenze, valore estetico, relazioni sociali). Realizzare un bilancio ottimale tra tutela della biodiversità, valorizzazione delle risorse naturali e sviluppo economico significa perseguire l’obiettivo dello sviluppo sostenibile. Inoltre, la perdita di biodiversità e la riduzione dell’efficienza dei servizi ecosistemici hanno costi economici e sociali rilevanti non solo in relazione alla sostenibilità ambientale, ma anche ai tentativi in atto per ridurre la povertà, la fame e la malattia nel mondo. Grazie alle sue caratteristiche ambientali e storiche, l’Italia è un paese che contiene, a tutti i livelli di organizzazione biologica e territoriale, un elevato valore di biodiversità. In questo contesto, studi e attività di ricerca rappresentano il presupposto irrinunciabile per la sostenibilità ambientale di scelte e azioni future

Strategia Nazionale per la Biodiversità in Italia.

La proposta di Strategia Nazionale per la Biodiversità è stata elaborata a partire dal dibattito mondiale ed europeo sulla conservazione della biodiversità post-2010 e dagli impegni assunti con la Carta di Siracusa, facendo tesoro dell’esperienza maturata da questo Dicastero, attraverso i momenti di confronto e collaborazione con le amministrazioni centrali, con le amministrazioni regionali e locali, con gli enti di ricerca e le società scientifiche, con le organizzazioni non governative, con le associazioni di categoria e tutti i portatori di interesse. Il processo di condivisione intrapreso è essenziale affinché l’integrazione della biodiversità nelle politiche di settore trasformi in opportunità quelle che oggi sono viste come limitazioni: la coniugazione delle esigenze della conservazione con quelle dello sviluppo è la chiave per un nuovo approccio alla sostenibilità in cui diversità biologica, economica e culturale giocano un ruolo fondamentale e sinergico per lo sviluppo equilibrato del Paese