scholarly journals Does the Ecosystem Service Concept Reach its Limits in Urban Environments?

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone A. Beichler ◽  
Olaf Bastian ◽  
Dagmar Haase ◽  
Stefan Heiland ◽  
Nadja Kabisch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Extreme Case ◽  
Spatial Relations ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Service Concept ◽  
Urban Structures ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Human Modification ◽  
High Degree

There is a rapidly growing body of literature on the theory about the ecosystem service concept and the practical assessment of ecosystem services in different contexts ranging from natural to urban environments. Yet, where does the concept reach its limits? This paper critically reflects the application of the ecosystem service concept in urban environments illustrating the handling of urban structures (incl. built-up areas) and the risk that the normative principle of the concept could be missed. It is shown that in theory urban structures refer to a variety of ecosystem concepts. As a starting point for ecosystem service assessments, these could be classified into natural, managed, constructed and overbuilt systems. Since ecosystem service concepts do not directly refer to a specific ecosystem definition, but to biophysical structures and processes, all of these classes could be included. However, the dependency on context and scale makes a differentiation in  practical ecosystem services assessment challenging. We conclude that the ecosystem service concept does not reach its limits in urban environments, but urban environments represent an extreme case characterized by multifunctionality and a high degree of modification that enables to uncover research challenges applying in any environment. There is a need for a more transparent reporting of theoretical and methodological assumptions to facilitate the comparability between ecosystem service assessments. Comprehensive approaches that consider multiple ecosystem services and include human input, human modification, the ecosystem status as well as their interactions are required to understand the spatial relations between ecosystem services delivered by different ecosystems.

scholarly journals Assessing urban recreation ecosystem services through the use of geocache visitation and preference data: a case-study from an urbanised island environment

One Ecosystem ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. e24490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario V Balzan ◽  
Iain Debono
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Spatial Data ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Cultural Landscapes ◽  
Stated Preference ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Cultural Ecosystem Service ◽  
Direct And Indirect Benefits

Recreation is an important cultural ecosystem service and is one way in which communities experience the direct and indirect benefits arising from the experiential use of their environment. The recent rise in popularity of Global Positioning System (GPS) game applications, which combine information technology with an activity that increases mobility and encourages outdoor enjoyment, provides ecosystem service practitioners with an opportunity to make use of this georeferenced data to assess recreational ecosystem services. Geocaching is one such worldwide outdoor game. It has fixed points of incursion where people can hide and look for caches. This study explores the possibility of using geocaching data as a proxy for recreational ecosystems services in the Maltese Islands. A quantitative analysis of the georeferenced caches was used together with their visit rates and number of favourite points. This was supplemented by two questionnaires that investigated the preferences and experiences of both geocache placers (n=39) and hunters (n=21). Results show that the highest number of caches were placed and searched for in urban areas and that geocaching is strongly associated with the presence and accessibility of urban green infrastructure. The number of geocachers who stated preference for experiences in nature did not translate into high visit rates to sites of high conservation value (protected areas) but landscape value was significantly associated with recreational ecosystem services flow. The results presented here provide evidence that geocaching spatial data can act as an indicator for assessing and mapping recreational ecosystem services in urban environments and in cultural landscapes.

scholarly journals Devising Urban Biodiversity Habitat Provision Goals: Ecosystem Services Analysis

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maibritt Pedersen Zari
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Urban Habitat ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Analysis Methodology ◽  
Negative Environmental Impact

This paper employs a unique ecosystem services analysis methodology to evaluate how cities could support or generate ecosystem services. Ecosystem services analysis can provide quantifiable goals for urban ecological regeneration that are determined by the site-specific ecology and climate of an urban area. In this research, the ecosystem service of habitat provision is the key focus. The role of urban green space and urban forests is crucial within this. Setting ambitious targets for urban ecological performance and ecosystem services provision is of great importance due to the large negative environmental impact that cities currently have on ecosystems and, therefore, ecosystem service provision, and because healthier ecosystems enable humans to better adapt to climate change through creating potentials for increased resilience. A comparative case study analysing the ecosystem service of habitat provision in two existing urban environments with similar climates (Cfb according to the Köppen Climate Classification System) but in different parts of the world, namely Wellington, New Zealand and Curitiba, Brazil, was conducted to examine how the ecosystem services analysis concept can used to devise urban habitat provision goals. The paper concludes that, although achieving habitat provision goals derived from ecosystem services analysis in urban areas is likely to be difficult, determining quantitative site- and climate-specific staged goals could enable urban design professionals to increase the effectiveness of conservation and regeneration efforts in terms of ecosystem service provision from urban green and blue spaces.

scholarly journals Can urban metabolism models advance green infrastructure planning? Insights from ecosystem services research

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 678-694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Perrotti ◽  
Sven Stremke
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Material Flow ◽  
Flow Analysis ◽  
Material Flow Analysis ◽  
Urban Metabolism ◽  
Infrastructure Planning ◽  
Service Concept ◽  
Planning And Design

Urban metabolism studies have gained momentum in recent years as a means to assess the environmental performance of cities and to point to more resource-efficient strategies for urban development. Recent literature reviews report a growing number of applications of the industrial ecology model for material flow analysis in the design of the built environment. However, applications of material flow analysis in green infrastructure development are scarce. In this article, we argue that: (i) the use of material flow analysis in green infrastructure practice can inform decision-making towards more resource-efficient urban planning; (ii) the ecosystem service concept is critical to operationalize material flow analysis for green infrastructure planning and design, and, through this, can enhance the impact of urban metabolism research on policy making and planning practice. The article draws from a systematic review of literature on urban ecosystem services and benefits provided by green infrastructure in urban regions. The review focuses on ecosystem services that can contribute to a more energy-efficient and less carbon-intensive urban metabolism. Using the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services as a baseline, we then discuss opportunities for integrating energy provision and climate regulation ecosystem services in material flow analysis. Our discussion demonstrates that the accounting of ecosystem services in material flow analysis enables expressing impacts of green infrastructure on the urban energy mix (renewable energy provision), the magnitude of energy use (mitigation of building energy demand) and the dynamics of biogeochemical processes in cities (carbon sequestration). We finally propose an expanded model for material flow analysis that illustrates a way forward to integrate the ecosystem service concept in urban metabolism models and to enable their application in green infrastructure planning and design.

scholarly journals Ecosystem service potentials, flows and demands-concepts for spatial localisation, indication and quantification

2014 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 1-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Burkhard ◽  
Marion Kandziora ◽  
Ying Hou ◽  
Felix Müller
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Spatial Relations ◽  
Spatial Concepts ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Current State ◽  
Provisioning Ecosystem Services ◽  
Spatial Localisation ◽  
Cultural Ecosystem Service

The high variety of ecosystem service categorisation systems, assessment frameworks, indicators, quantification methods and spatial localisation approaches allows scientists and decision makers to harness experience, data, methods and tools. On the other hand, this variety of concepts and disagreements among scientists hamper an integration of ecosystem services into contemporary environmental management and decision making. In this article, the current state of the art of ecosystem service science regarding spatial localisation, indication and quantification of multiple ecosystem service supply and demand is reviewed and discussed. Concepts and tables for regulating, provisioning and cultural ecosystem service definitions, distinguishing between ecosystem service potential supply (stocks), flows (real supply) and demands as well as related indicators for quantification are provided. Furthermore, spatial concepts of service providing units, benefitting areas, spatial relations, rivalry, spatial and temporal scales are elaborated. Finally, matrices linking CORINE land cover types to ecosystem service potentials, flows, demands and budget estimates are provided. The matrices show that ecosystem service potentials of landscapes differ from flows, especially for provisioning ecosystem services.

scholarly journals Exploring the Use of Ecosystem Services Conceptual Models to Account for the Benefits of Public Lands: An Example from National Forest Planning in the United States

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 267
Author(s):  
Lydia Olander ◽  
Katie Warnell ◽  
Travis Warziniack ◽  
Zoe Ghali ◽  
Chris Miller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Public Lands ◽  
The United States ◽  
Forest Planning ◽  
National Forest ◽  
Planning Team ◽  
National Forest Planning

A shared understanding of the benefits and tradeoffs to people from alternative land management strategies is critical to successful decision-making for managing public lands and fostering shared stewardship. This study describes an approach for identifying and monitoring the types of resource benefits and tradeoffs considered in National Forest planning in the United States under the 2012 Planning Rule and demonstrates the use of tools for conceptualizing the production of ecosystem services and benefits from alternative land management strategies. Efforts to apply these tools through workshops and engagement exercises provide opportunities to explore and highlight measures, indicators, and data sources for characterizing benefits and tradeoffs in collaborative environments involving interdisciplinary planning teams. Conceptual modeling tools are applied to a case study examining the social and economic benefits of recreation on the Ashley National Forest. The case study illustrates how these types of tools facilitate dialog for planning teams to discuss alternatives and key ecosystem service outcomes, create easy to interpret visuals that map details in plans, and provide a basis for selecting ecosystem service (socio-economic) metrics. These metrics can be used to enhance environmental impact analysis, and help satisfy the goals of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the 2012 Planning Rule, and shared stewardship initiatives. The systematic consideration of ecosystem services outcomes and metrics supported by this approach enhanced dialog between members of the Forest planning team, allowed for a more transparent process in identification of key linkages and outcomes, and identified impacts and outcomes that may not have been apparent to the sociologist who is lacking the resource specific expertise of these participants. As a result, the use of the Ecosystem Service Conceptual Model (ESCM) process may result in reduced time for internal reviews and greater comprehension of anticipated outcomes and impacts of proposed management in the plan revision Environmental Impact Statement amongst the planning team.

scholarly journals Analysis of the Internal Relationship between Ecological Value and Economic Value Based on the Forest Resources in China

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6795
Author(s):  
Jianxin Geng ◽  
Chengzhi Liang
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Market Value ◽  
Forest Resources ◽  
Atmospheric Environment ◽  
Shanxi Province ◽  
Ecosystem Service Value ◽  
Service Value ◽  
Asset Value

In this study, we applied gross ecosystem product (GEP) theory in a case study to analyze and explain the natural resource asset value and ecosystem service value of forest resources in Jiaokou County, Shanxi Province, Northern China, in 2018. GEP refers to the total value of various final material products and services provided by ecosystems. In this paper, six service functions of a forest system, including water conservation, soil conservation, carbon fixation and oxygen release, forest nutrients, purification of atmospheric environment, and biodiversity, are valued by three calculation methods: the alternative cost method, market value method, and control cost method. The study revealed the following: (1) There is a parallel relationship between the value of natural resource assets and the value of ecosystem services. GEP includes the market value of natural resource assets, but it is mostly the value of ecosystem services. (2) The measurement of the physical quantity of forest ecosystem services depends on parameter data, and the monetary calculation often has no mature pricing basis, which leads to the large scale and uncertainty surrounding the evaluation results of ecosystem services. (3) The ecosystem service value and natural resource asset value have different practical significance, as well as alternate theoretical bases. The value of natural resource assets can be used as the asset valuation basis of economic transactions, which plays a role in macroeconomic management. The value of ecosystem services can be used as the basis of ecological compensation, providing information for the preparation of the balance sheet of natural resources.

scholarly journals An Overview of Ecosystem Service Studies in a Tropical Biodiversity Hotspot, Sri Lanka: Key Perspectives for Future Research

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 540
Author(s):  
Chaya Sarathchandra ◽  
Yirga Alemu Abebe ◽  
Iresha Lakmali Wijerathne ◽  
Sasith Tharanga Aluthwattha ◽  
Sriyani Wickramasinghe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Species Introduction ◽  
Related Research ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Service Category ◽  
Tropical Biodiversity ◽  
Published Evidence

Tropical island countries are often highly populated and deliver immense ecosystem service benefits. As human wellbeing depends on these ecosystems, proper management is crucial in the resource-rich tropical lands where there is less related research. Though ecosystem service and biodiversity studies are a promising path to inform the ecosystem management for these mostly developing countries, published evidence of using ecosystem service studies in decision making is lacking. The purpose of this study is to provide an overview of ecosystem services and related research in Sri Lanka, examining trends and gaps in how these studies are conceptualized. Out of the considered 220 peer-reviewed articles, the majority of articles (48.2%) were terrestrial and forest related while coastal ecosystems were considered in 33.2% of studies. In most studies, the ecosystem service category studied was provisioning (31.5%) followed by regulatory service (28.7%). Studies investigating and quantifying ecosystem services, pressures on ecosystems, and their management were fewer compared to studies related to biodiversity or species introduction. Moreover, studies investigating the value of ecosystem services and biodiversity to the communities or involvement of stakeholders in the development of management actions regarding the ecosystem services were rare in Sri Lanka, and an intense focus from future studies in these aspects is timely and necessary.

scholarly journals Study on the Comprehensive Improvement of Ecosystem Services in a China’s Bay City for Spatial Optimization

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 2072
Author(s):  
Ying Fang ◽  
Tianlin Zhai ◽  
Xiaodong Zhao ◽  
Kun Chen ◽  
Baishu Guo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Spatial Optimization ◽  
Coastal Areas ◽  
Water Yield ◽  
Human Welfare ◽  
Yantai City ◽  
Synergistic Relationships

Ecosystem services are characterized by region and scale, and contribute to human welfare. Taking Yantai city, a typical bay city in China, as the example, its three representative ecosystem services: food supply (FS), carbon sequestration (CS) and water yield (WY) were chosen as study targets. Based on analyzation of six different aspects of the supply and variation characteristic of demand, this study tried to propose advices for comprehensive improvement of ecosystem services for spatial optimization. The results showed that: (1) ecosystem services supply was strong in central and southern areas of Yantai, while the northern coastal areas were relatively weak; (2) synergistic relationships were found of FS-CS, FS-WY and CS-WY both in 2009 and 2015, with the strongest one for FS-WY. Additionally, in the synergistic relationships, each pair of ecosystem services was dominated by one ecosystem service; (3) most of the three pairs of synergistic relationships had the tendency to strengthen with larger scales; (4) four ecosystem demands changing areas were observed and comprehensive improvement suggestions for them were proposed. This work provides a new attempt to improve ecosystem services based on its supply-demand relationship, which will give a baseline reference for related studies in Yantai city, as well as other similar bay cities.

scholarly journals Practices of sustainability and the enactment of their natures/cultures: Ecosystem services, rights of nature, and geoengineering

2021 ◽  
pp. 053901842199894
Author(s):  
Frank Adloff ◽  
Iris Hilbrich
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Knowledge Cultures ◽  
Rights Of Nature ◽  
Value Of Nature ◽  
The One ◽  
And Control

Possible trajectories of sustainability are based on different concepts of nature. The article starts out from three trajectories of sustainability (modernization, transformation and control) and reconstructs one characteristic practice for each path with its specific conceptions of nature. The notion that nature provides human societies with relevant ecosystem services is typical of the path of modernization. Nature is reified and monetarized here, with regard to its utility for human societies. Practices of transformation, in contrast, emphasize the intrinsic ethical value of nature. This becomes particularly apparent in discourses on the rights of nature, whose starting point can be found in Latin American indigenous discourses, among others. Control practices such as geoengineering are based on earth-systemic conceptions of nature, in which no distinction is made between natural and social systems. The aim is to control the earth system as a whole in order for human societies to remain viable. Practices of sustainability thus show different ontological understandings of nature (dualistic or monistic) on the one hand and (implicit) ethics and sacralizations (anthropocentric or biocentric) on the other. The three reconstructed natures/cultures have different ontological and ethical affinities and conflict with each other. They are linked to very different knowledge cultures and life-worlds, which answer very differently to the question of what is of value in a society and in nature and how these values ought to be protected.

scholarly journals Towards sustainable management of the stock and ecosystem services of urban trees. From theory to model and application

Trees ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Pretzsch ◽  
A. Moser-Reischl ◽  
M. A. Rahman ◽  
S. Pauleit ◽  
T. Rötzer
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Leaf Area ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Sustainable Management ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Urban Trees ◽  
Urban Tree ◽  
Age Class ◽  
Sustainable Planning

Abstract Key message A model for sustainable planning of urban tree stocks is proposed, incorporating growth, mortality, replacement rates and ecosystem service provision, providing a basis for planning of urban tree stocks. Abstract Many recent studies have improved the knowledge about urban trees, their structures, functions, and ecosystem services. We introduce a concept and model for the sustainable management of urban trees, analogous to the concept of sustainable forestry developed by Carl von Carlowitz and others. The main drivers of the model are species-specific tree diameter growth functions and mortality rates. Based on the initial tree stock and options for the annual replanting, the shift of the distribution of the number of trees per age class can be predicted with progressing time. Structural characteristics such as biomass and leaf area are derived from tree dimensions that can be related to functions such as carbon sequestration or cooling. To demonstrate the potential of the dynamic model, we first show how different initial stocks of trees can be quantitatively assessed by sustainability indicators compared to a target stock. Second, we derive proxy variables for ecosystem services (e.g. biomass for carbon sequestration, leaf area for deposition and shading) from a given distribution of the number of trees per age class. Third, we show by scenario analyses how selected ecosystem services and functions may be improved by combining complementary tree species. We exercise one aspect (cooling) of one ecosystem service (temperature mitigation) as an example. The approach integrates mosaic pieces of knowledge about urban trees, their structures, functions, and resulting ecosystem services. The presented model makes this knowledge available for a sustainable management of urban tree stocks. We discuss the potential and relevance of the developed concept and model for ecologically and economically sustainable planning and management, in view of progressing urbanization and environmental changes.

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