Assessing bundles of ecosystem services from regional to landscape scale: Insights from the French Alps

Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Applied Ecology © 2015 British Ecological SocietyAssessments of ecosystem services (ES) and biodiversity (hereafter ecological parameters) provide a comprehensive view of the links between landscapes, ecosystem functioning and human well-being. The investigation of consistent associations between ecological parameters, called bundles, and of their links to landscape composition and structure is essential to inform management and policy, yet it is still in its infancy. We mapped over the French Alps an unprecedented array of 18 ecological parameters (16 ES and two biodiversity parameters) and explored their co-occurrence patterns underpinning the supply of multiple ecosystem services in landscapes. We followed a three-step analytical framework to i) detect the ES and biodiversity associations relevant at regional scale, ii) identify the clusters supplying consistent bundles of ES at subregional scale and iii) explore the links between landscape heterogeneity and ecological parameter associations at landscape scale. We used successive correlation coefficients, overlap values and self-organizing maps to characterize ecological bundles specific to given land cover types and geographical areas of varying biophysical characteristics and human uses at nested scales from regional to local. The joint analysis of land cover richness and ES gamma diversity demonstrated that local landscape heterogeneity alone did not imply compatibility across multiple ecosystem services, as some homogeneous landscape could supply multiple ecosystem services. Synthesis and applications. Bundles of ecosystem services and biodiversity parameters are shaped by the joint effects of biophysical characteristics and of human history. Due to spatial congruence and to underlying functional interdependencies, ecological parameters should be managed as bundles even when management targets specific objectives. Moreover, depending on the abiotic context, the supply of multiple ecosystem services can arise either from deliberate management in homogeneous landscapes or from spatial heterogeneity.ERAnet BiodivERsA project CONNECTFrench Agence Nationale pour la RechercheEU project VOLANT

Unpacking ecosystem service bundles: towards predictive mapping of synergies and trade-offs between ecosystem services

Multiple ecosystem services (ES) can respond similarly to social and ecological factors to form bundles. Identifying key social-ecological variables and understanding how they co-vary to produce these consistent sets of ES may ultimately allow the prediction and modelling of ES bundles, and thus, help us understand critical synergies and trade-offs across landscapes. Such an understanding is essential for informing better management of multi-functional landscapes and minimising costly trade-offs. However, the relative importance of different social and biophysical drivers of ES bundles in different types of social-ecological systems remains unclear. As such, a bottom-up understanding of the determinants of ES bundles is a critical research gap in ES and sustainability science. Here, we evaluate the current methods used in ES bundle science and synthesize these into four steps that capture the plurality of methods used to examine predictors of ES bundles. We then apply these four steps to a cross-study comparison (North and South French Alps) of relationships between social-ecological variables and ES bundles, as it is widely advocated that cross-study comparisons are necessary for achieving a general understanding of predictors of ES associations. We use the results of this case study to assess the strengths and limitations of current approaches for understanding distributions of ES bundles. We conclude that inconsistency of spatial scale remains the primary barrier for understanding and predicting ES bundles. We suggest a hypothesis-driven approach is required to predict relationships between ES, and we outline the research required for such an understanding to emerge

Cohort profile: the Ontario HIV treatment network cohort study (OCS)

The Ontario HIV Treatment Network Cohort Study (OCS) is an observational, open dynamic cohort of people who are receiving medical care for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in Ontario, Canada. Established in the mid-1990s, the OCS has its roots in AIDS activists' demands for research that would improve the quality of life of people living with HIV while respecting their privacy. It is a collaborative and community-driven study, including a Governance Committee made up of people with HIV and other stakeholders that evaluates analysis project proposals for community relevance and ethics. From 1995 to 2010, a total of 5644 participants were enrolled and 27 720 person-years of observation were accumulated; follow-up will continue until at least 2015. In the initial years of study, the focus was on clinical data from medical chart reviews. It has since evolved into a comprehensive study that collects extensive de-identified information on clinical, laboratory and psychosocial and behavioural measures based on medical chart abstractions, interviews using a standardized questionnaire and linkage with external administrative health databases in Ontario. Interested collaborators are encouraged to submit analysis project proposals as instructed on the study website (www.ohtncohortstudy. ca)

Forest resource projection tools at the European level

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