CUGIC: the Consolidated Urban Green Infrastructure Classification for assessing ecosystem services and biodiversity

Environmental Biolog

A geospatial model of nature-based recreation for urban planning: case study of Paris, France

Environmental Biolog

Bewonersparticipatie in het openbaar groenbeheer : 'State of the art' na vijf jaar zelfbeheer in de wijk EVA-Lanxmeer (Culemborg)

De wijk EVA-Lanxmeer (1997) is een duurzame woon- en werkwijk in Culemborg, op een grondwaterwingebied van Vitens. Het is een voorbeeldproject op het gebied van duurzame stedenbouw en participatief beleid. Het wordt door gemeenten en groepen burgers in binnen- en buitenland gebruikt om inspiratie, kennis en ervaring op te doen en uit te wisselen op het gebied van innovatief denken binnen de eigen gemeentelijke organisatie. Bewoners onderhouden zelf een belangrijk deel van het wijkgroen op een ecologische wijze. Zij doen dat in samenwerking en overleg met de gemeente Culemborg en Waterwinbedrijf Vitens. De meeste bewoners hebben sterk het gevoel dat het zelfbeheer de kwaliteit en diversiteit van het groen in de wijk verhoogt. De gezamenlijke werkzaamheden maken ongedwongen ontmoetingen met andere bewoners in de wijk mogelijk

Community-based governance: implications for ecosystem service supply in Berg en Dal, the Netherlands

Governance is an essential element in land-use decision-making and ecosystem management choices and thus for ecosystem service provisioning. Although a community-based approach, i.e. governance involving actors from all spheres of society (the state, market and civil society), is considered most appropriate for natural resource management, there is a lack of knowledge about its actual effects on environmental outcomes and ecosystem service supply in particular. To obtain insight in the effect of governance on ecosystem service provision in our study region (Berg en Dal, the Netherlands), we constructed ecosystem service maps for the period 1995 to 2012 using land-use maps. Also an inventory of the implemented governance models was created, based on interviews with stakeholders, supplemented with literature research. Our results show that 1) governance in Berg en Dal changed from top-down to more community-based models during the studied period; and 2) that the potential and actual supply of the majority of the investigated regulating, cultural and habitat ecosystem services increased during the studied period, at the expense of agricultural production. The interviewed local stakeholders also indicated that they have the perception that the landscape has improved during the last two decades. Although there is a clear connection between governance and improved ecosystem service supply, more research is needed to further develop causal relationships explaining the indirect effects and non-linear behavior within ecosystem service governance systems.FWN – Publicaties zonder aanstelling Universiteit Leide

Evaluating urban greening scenarios for urban heat mitigation: a spatially explicit approach

Environmental Biolog

Track E Implementation Science, Health Systems and Economics

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138412/1/jia218443.pd

Accounting for ecosystem services and biodiversity in Limburg province, the Netherlands

Ecosystem services and biodiversity are important for human well-being. Ecosystem services are the contributions of ecosystems to benefits used in economic and other human activity. This thesis aims to empirically assess how spatial models for ecosystem service flows and biodiversity can be applied in the context of ecosystem accounting, management and conservation for Limburg province, the Netherlands. Ecosystem accounting is a systematic approach to measure and monitor ecosystems, ecosystem services and their contribution to human and economic activity. Biophysical models are developed to analyze seven ecosystem services for ecosystem accounting. Based on the biophysical models, the ecosystem services are valued in monetary terms, using methods that are consistent with national economic accounting. In addition, this thesis examines how ecosystem contributions (i.e. the ecosystem services) and human contributions to human benefits can be distinguished. In addition, different biodiversity indicators are spatially modelled and analyzed for Limburg, to assess their applicability in biodiversity accounting. Scenario analysis is applied to measure the effects budget limitations on the further development of Limburg’s biodiversity conservation network, and the effects of including ecosystem services into the network. This thesis contributes substantially to operationalizing ecosystem accounting by empirically testing applicable indicators, spatial modelling methods and monetary valuation methods, delineating caveats and assessing uncertainties. The research stresses the importance of accounting for ecosystem services in both biophysical and monetary terms, and including additional information on biodiversity. Ecosystem accounting, management and conservation are all necessary to ensure the safeguarding of natural and managed ecosystems and for sustaining human well-being

Developing spatial biophysical accounting for multiple ecosystem services

Ecosystem accounting is receiving increasing interest as a way to systematically monitor the conditions of ecosystems and the ecosystem services they provide. A critical element of ecosystem accounting is understanding spatially explicit flows of ecosystem services. We developed spatial biophysical models of seven ecosystem services in a cultural landscape (Limburg province, the Netherlands) in a way that is consistent with ecosystem accounting. We included hunting, drinking water extraction, crop production, fodder production, air quality regulation, carbon sequestration and recreational cycling. In addition, we examined how human inputs can be distinguished from ecosystem services, a critical element in ecosystem accounting. Model outcomes were used to develop an ecosystem accounting table in line with the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting - Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EEA) guidelines, in which contributions of land cover types to ecosystem service flows were recorded. Furthermore we developed spatial accounts for single statistical units. This study shows that for the case of Limburg spatial modelling for ecosystem accounting in line with SEEA EEA is feasible. The paper also analyses and discusses key challenges that need to be addressed to develop a well-functioning system for ecosystem accounting

Accounting for ecosystem assets using remote sensing in the Colombian Orinoco River Basin lowlands

Worldwide, ecosystem change compromises the supply of ecosystem services (ES). Better managing ecosystems requires detailed information on these changes and their implications for ES supply. Ecosystem accounting has been developed as an environmental-economic accounting system using concepts aligned with the System of National Accounts. Ecosystem accounting requires spatial information from a local to national scale. The objective of this paper is to explore how remote sensing can be used to analyze ecosystems using an accounting approach in the Orinoco River Basin. We assessed ecosystem assets in terms of extent, condition, and capacity to supply ES. We focus on four specific ES: grasslands grazed by cattle, timber harvesting, oil palm fresh fruit bunches harvesting, and carbon sequestration. We link ES with six ecosystem assets: savannahs, woody grasslands, mixed agroecosystems, very dense forests, dense forest, and oil palm plantations. We used remote sensing vegetation and productivity indexes to measure ecosystem assets. We found that remote sensing is a powerful tool to estimate ecosystem extent. The enhanced vegetation index can be used to assess ecosystems condition, and net primary productivity can be used for the assessment of ecosystem assets capacity to supply ES. Integrating remote sensing and ecological information facilitates efficient monitoring of ecosystem assets. (C) 2017 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)FWN – Publicaties zonder aanstelling Universiteit Leide