scholarly journals From Haymaking to Wood Production: Past Use of Mires in Northern Sweden Affect Current Ecosystem Services and Function

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gudrun Norstedt ◽  
Eliza Maher Hasselquist ◽  
Hjalmar Laudon
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Northern Sweden ◽  
Wood Production ◽  
And Function

scholarly journals A Participatory and Spatial Multicriteria Decision Approach to Prioritize the Allocation of Ecosystem Services to Management Units

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 747
Author(s):  
Marlene Marques ◽  
Keith M. Reynolds ◽  
Susete Marques ◽  
Marco Marto ◽  
Steve Paplanus ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Support ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Forest Management ◽  
Collaborative Management ◽  
Management Decision ◽  
Wood Production ◽  
Forest Owners ◽  
Management Units ◽  
Multicriteria Decision

Forest management planning can be challenging when allocating multiple ecosystem services (ESs) to management units (MUs), given the potentially conflicting management priorities of actors. We developed a methodology to spatially allocate ESs to MUs, according to the objectives of four interest groups—civil society, forest owners, market agents, and public administration. We applied a Group Multicriteria Spatial Decision Support System approach, combining (a) Multicriteria Decision Analysis to weight the decision models; (b) a focus group and a multicriteria Pareto frontier method to negotiate a consensual solution for seven ESs; and (c) the Ecosystem Management Decision Support (EMDS) system to prioritize the allocation of ESs to MUs. We report findings from an application to a joint collaborative management area (ZIF of Vale do Sousa) in northwestern Portugal. The forest owners selected wood production as the first ES allocation priority, with lower priorities for other ESs. In opposition, the civil society assigned the highest allocation priorities to biodiversity, cork, and carbon stock, with the lowest priority being assigned to wood production. The civil society had the highest mean rank of allocation priority scores. We found significant differences in priority scores between the civil society and the other three groups, highlighting the civil society and market agents as the most discordant groups. We spatially evaluated potential for conflicts among group ESs allocation priorities. The findings suggest that this approach can be helpful to decision makers, increasing the effectiveness of forest management plan implementation.

Fire in the environment: effects on soil functions and ecosystem services in a changing world

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam Muñoz-Rojas ◽  
Paulo Pereira
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
The United States ◽  
Natural Ecosystem ◽  
Regular Component ◽  
Soil Functions ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
The World ◽  
And Function

<p>Fire is an essential element of the environment and a vital force for shaping landscapes all around the world. It has a critical role as driver of natural ecosystem processes and many plant communities are fire dependent aros the globe. However, although fire is a natural and regular component of some biomes in the Earth’s systems, it can become a destructive force when natural ecosystems are disturbed, fire is introduced at a rate not previously experienced, and recovery to a pre-fire state is not possible. Thus, assesing the potentially harmful environmental impacts of fire and building the underlying knowledge required to successfully manage fire makes are crucial in order to understand the role of fire in all its different dimensions. Over the past year, fires in California in the United States and in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil have grabbed the world’s attention. The increased rates of fire events in some of these areas, mostly attributed to land degradation processes, have led to international concern. More recently, several bushfires all around Australia have had dramatic impacts in the environment with 10 million hectares burned so far, including large portions of the natural environment. These unprecedented fires are predicted to affect to a large extent the soil characteristics, processes and function in several ecosystems. In this presentation, we highlight some of the most recent research published during the last year on the effects of fire on soil functions and the provision of soil ecosystem services. We also showcase some of the possible approaches to protect and conserve soil ecosystems affected by extreme fires and propose available strategies for post-fire management.</p>

scholarly journals The Influence of Land Use Change on Ecosystem Service Value in Shangzhou District

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. 1321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyue Yuan ◽  
Fei Li ◽  
Haijuan Yang ◽  
Yiming Wang
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Ecosystem Service Value ◽  
Land Use Patterns ◽  
Service Value ◽  
Ecological Service ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Impact

Land use change has an impact on the ecosystem service value because it changes the structure and function of ecosystems. This paper analyzed the changes in land use during the period from 2000 to 2015 in Shangzhou district, and used the equivalent value of ecological services per unit area of land ecosystem combining the natural and economic conditions of Shangzhou district. Based on this method, the ecological service value of Shangzhou district was estimated, and the impact of land use change on the ecological service value was analyzed. The results showed that: (1) the main types of land use in Shangzhou district were grassland, woodland and farmland, among which the contribution rate of woodland to the value of local ecosystem services was the highest; (2) the overall trend in the ecosystem service value in Shangzhou district increased between 2000 and 2015, from 10.74 × 108 yuan in 2000 to 20.32 × 108 yuan in 2015, which is the result of the combined effects of regional economic development and changes in the natural environment and land use patterns; and (3) the main reason for the value increase of ecosystem services in Shangzhou district between 2000 and 2015 was that the grain-for-green policy transformed a considerable amount of farmland into woodland, while the main reasons for a decline in value was the expansion of built-up land that occupied other types of land.

scholarly journals Weak Democracies, Failed Policies, and the Demise of Ecosystems in Poor and Developing Nations

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 194008291983990
Author(s):  
Fernando Mayer Pelicice
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Political Behavior ◽  
Socioeconomic Development ◽  
Natural Capital ◽  
Social Progress ◽  
Political Commitment ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Basic Services ◽  
And Function ◽  
Socioeconomic Problems

The expansion of modern societies disrupted the structure and function of most ecosystems. This trend is alarming because the persistence of human activities (e.g., economy) depends on biodiversity and ecosystem services. A central question is whether modern nations will respond appropriately to protect, restore, and maintain ecosystems. In particular, it is uncertain if underdeveloped and developing (UD-D) countries have sufficient political direction to make good decisions, since they are weak or consolidating democracies, where bad political behavior is common. These countries face persistent socioeconomic problems (e.g., poverty, opportunity, basic services), and environmental issues have no priority. However, many of these nations are located in tropical latitudes, so they are hyperdiverse and provide ecosystem services with global relevance. In this opinion article, I present a brief analysis of the context (political, social, and environmental) shared by UD-D countries, to investigate how these nations have responded to the need of socioeconomic development and the ongoing loss of natural capital. I put some emphasis on my country, Brazil, to exemplify a context dominated by weak governance, socioeconomic problems, high biodiversity, and the loss of ecosystems. I argue that authorities and political systems in UD-D nations are vulnerable to weak governance and wrong decisions; bad political behavior leads to failed policies, and the persistence of social problems leads to the destruction of ecosystems. Social progress and sustainability will require political commitment, financial resources, long-term planning, and correct policies—something that UD-D countries may not achieve on their own.

scholarly journals Changes in the Spatial Structure of the Landscape of Isolated Forest Complexes in the 19th and 20th Centuries and Their Potential Effects on Supporting Ecosystem Services Related to the Protection of Biodiversity Using the Example of the Niemodlin Forests (SW Poland)

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 4237
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Badora ◽  
Radosław Wróbel
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Spatial Structure ◽  
Landscape Metrics ◽  
Support Services ◽  
Landscape Composition ◽  
Functional Changes ◽  
Spatial Composition ◽  
Freshwater Habitats ◽  
Sw Poland ◽  
And Function

This study assesses the changes in the spatial structure of the landscape between 1825 and 2019 in the isolated, protected forest complex of the Niemodlin Forests. Based on the analysis of changes in this structure, a change the supporting ecosystem services related to the protection of biodiversity was proposed. The landscape metrics were used separately for the analysis of the structure of the whole landscape, and individual types of ecosystems were used in the research. There were no major changes in the share of individual types of ecosystems during the period under review. At the same time, a very large increase in built-up areas and tree stands was found in 1825. Landscape metrics point to internal changes in the landscape composition, which is important for the functioning of the landscape and is related to the fragmentation and increasing isolation of ecosystems. Changes in the share of the surface of individual types of ecosystems in the landscape do not provide enough information about the actual structural and functional changes and ongoing ecosystem support services. There has been ecosystem degradation that is associated with freshwater habitats—surface waters, marshlands, meadows and pastures, as well as ecosystem support services related to these habitats. Changes in the spatial structure of the landscape cannot be solely deduced on the basis of changes in landscape metrics that are calculated for the whole landscape. Changes in the spatial composition of individual groups of ecosystems should be analyzed. Landscape metrics are very helpful in studying changes in the structure and function of ecosystem services.

scholarly journals Effects of land management on large trees and carbon stocks

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 855-862 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. E. Kauppi ◽  
R. A. Birdsey ◽  
Y. Pan ◽  
A. Ihalainen ◽  
P. Nöjd ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
The United States ◽  
Growing Stock ◽  
Long Term Storage ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Large Trees ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Function ◽  
Stock Volume

Abstract. Large trees are important and unique organisms in forests, providing ecosystem services including carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere and long-term storage. Some reports have raised concerns about the global decline of large trees. Based on observations from two regions in Finland and three regions in the United States we report that trends of large trees during recent decades have been surprisingly variable among regions. In southern Finland, the growing stock volume of trees larger than 30 cm at breast height increased nearly five-fold during the second half of the 20th century, yet more recently ceased to expand. In the United States, large hardwood trees have become increasingly common in the Northeast since the 1950s, while large softwood trees declined until the mid 1990s as a consequence of harvests in the Pacific region, and then rebounded when harvesting there was reduced. We conclude that in the regions studied, the history of land use and forest management governs changes of the diameter-class distributions of tree populations. Large trees have significant benefits; for example, they can constitute a large proportion of the carbon stock and affect greatly the carbon density of forests. Large trees usually have deeper roots and long lifetimes. They affect forest structure and function and provide habitats for other species. An accumulating stock of large trees in existing forests may have negligible direct biophysical effects on climate through transpiration or forest albedo. Understanding changes in the demography of tree populations makes a contribution to estimating the past impact and future potential of forests in the global carbon budget and to assessing other ecosystem services of forests.

scholarly journals Functional plasticity in oyster gut microbiomes along a eutrophication gradient in an urbanized estuary

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca J. Stevick ◽  
Anton F. Post ◽  
Marta Gómez-Chiarri
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Community Structure ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Microbial Community ◽  
Bacterial Community ◽  
Microbial Community Structure ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Eastern Oyster ◽  
Coastal Pollution ◽  
And Function

Abstract Background Oysters in coastal environments are subject to fluctuating environmental conditions that may impact the ecosystem services they provide. Oyster-associated microbiomes are responsible for some of these services, particularly nutrient cycling in benthic habitats. The effects of climate change on host-associated microbiome composition are well-known, but functional changes and how they may impact host physiology and ecosystem functioning are poorly characterized. We investigated how environmental parameters affect oyster-associated microbial community structure and function along a trophic gradient in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, USA. Adult eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, gut and seawater samples were collected at 5 sites along this estuarine nutrient gradient in August 2017. Samples were analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing to characterize bacterial community structures and metatranscriptomes were sequenced to determine oyster gut microbiome responses to local environments. Results There were significant differences in bacterial community structure between the eastern oyster gut and water samples, suggesting selection of certain taxa by the oyster host. Increasing salinity, pH, and dissolved oxygen, and decreasing nitrate, nitrite and phosphate concentrations were observed along the North to South gradient. Transcriptionally active bacterial taxa were similar for the different sites, but expression of oyster-associated microbial genes involved in nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) cycling varied throughout the Bay, reflecting the local nutrient regimes and prevailing environmental conditions. Conclusions The observed shifts in microbial community composition and function inform how estuarine conditions affect host-associated microbiomes and their ecosystem services. As the effects of estuarine acidification are expected to increase due to the combined effects of eutrophication, coastal pollution, and climate change, it is important to determine relationships between host health, microbial community structure, and environmental conditions in benthic communities.

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