scholarly journals Forest Ecosystem Services: An Analysis of Worldwide Research

Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 453 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Aznar-Sánchez ◽  
Luis Belmonte-Ureña ◽  
María López-Serrano ◽  
Juan Velasco-Muñoz
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Forest Ecosystem ◽  
Environmental Science ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Forest Research ◽  
Relative Significance ◽  
Forest Ecosystem Services ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Notable Increase ◽  
High Level

The relevance of forests to sustain human well-being and the serious threats they face have led to a notable increase of research works on forest ecosystem services during the last few years. This paper analyses the worldwide research dynamics on forest ecosystem services in the period from 1998 to 2017. A bibliometric analysis of 4284 articles was conducted. The results showed that the number of published research articles has especially increased during the last five years. In total, 68.63% of the articles were published in this period. This research line experiences a growing trend superior to the general publishing trend on forest research. In spite of this increase, its relative significance within the forest research is still limited. The most productive subject areas corresponded to Environmental Science, Agricultural and Biological Sciences and Social Sciences Economic topics are understudied. The scientific production is published in a wide range of journals. The three first publishing countries are United States, China and the United Kingdom. The most productive authors are attached to diverse research centres and their contributions are relatively recent. A high level of international cooperation has been observed between countries, institutions and authors. The findings of this study are useful for researchers since they give them an overview of the worldwide research trends on forest ecosystem services.

scholarly journals Role Board Games as a Tool for Reconfiguration of Innovation Factors in Forest Ecosystem Services Governance

Proceedings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Špaček ◽  
Kluvánková ◽  
Gežík ◽  
Baštáková ◽  
Štecová ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Forest Ecosystem ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Main Question ◽  
Or Education ◽  
Repeated Interaction ◽  
Key Innovation ◽  
Forest Ecosystem Services ◽  
The Impact

Forest ecosystem services (FES) are considered as public or common goods facing diverging individual and societal interests affecting the quality of ecosystems and well-being of the communities. This may result in overuse, degradation or unsustainable behaviour, as well as it can create also barriers for cooperation, economic profit and innovative business initiatives. The paper introduces the methodological approach which is applied within six different innovation regions (conceptualised as social-ecological systems) within the InnoForESt H2020 project. Each region uses innovative approaches in governance of FES and payments schemes. They are situated in Austria, the Czechia and Slovakia, Finland, Germany, Italy and Finland. All are characterised by manifold, sometimes diverging, FES, such as timber, recreation, regulation services or education. In order to get a better understanding of the role and the impact of key innovation factors for the regions, we have designed a behavioural [lab] experiment in the form of a Role board game (RBG). The proposed experimental game builds on Cardenas et al. (2013) and Castillo et al. (2011) as an interactive agent-based model arranging for repeated interaction and learning in real-world situations. It contributes to testing the effectiveness of incentives provision for the sustainable production of FES and the acceptance of such an intervention by FES communities (Kluvankova et al., in press). The game enables the adaptation to the specifics of each innovation region but at the same time it keeps the same internal experimental mechanism which will enable the comparison across the regions. The main question to be addressed by the RBG is: How to create conditions to enable innovations in forest management/governance for sustainable use and well-being in innovation regions under the diverging interest of FES users? We plan to test combinations of key innovation factors as preferred future scenario for sustainable FES provisions in regions, including fundamental policy interventions (e.g. strict regulation vs. payments for ecosystem services scheme), business incentives and external risk factors. RBG will allow testing stakeholders’ specific behaviour for resource use, and innovation activities, to create economic incentive, knowledge and social value. We argue that this will help to set conditions for successful development of policy and business innovations in innovations regions and to foster collaboration on FES provision for sustainability among stakeholders in a long term.

scholarly journals Towards the Legal Recognition and Governance of Forest Ecosystem Services in Mozambique

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 121
Author(s):  
Simon Norfolk ◽  
Michaela Cosijn
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Forest Ecosystem ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
The State ◽  
Adaptive Governance ◽  
Legal Recognition ◽  
Governance Regime ◽  
Forest Ecosystem Services ◽  
Cooperative Governance

Within the context of Mozambique, this paper examines the state of forest ecosystem services, the dependency of the population on these systems for their well-being, if an adaptive governance regime is being created which will ensure the resilience of the forest ecosystem services including the legal framework, the institutions operating within this framework, the tools available and their functioning, and how cooperative governance is operating.

scholarly journals Methodological principles of making public management decisions in the sphere of forest ecosystem services

2019 ◽  
pp. 106-112
Author(s):  
Nataliia V. Vasylieva ◽  
Victoria P. Zhuk
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Forest Ecosystem ◽  
Public Management ◽  
Public Involvement ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Practical Significance ◽  
Management Decisions ◽  
Forest Ecosystem Services ◽  
Local Levels

The purpose of study is the developing of methodological frameworks for public management decisions, in particular, for the feasibility of applying an ecosystem approach at the national, regional and local levels for solving problems and ensuring the development of forest ecosystem services, which will positively affect the welfare of the population. Methodology. The research methods (induction, deduction, objectivity, system, generalization) are used in article in order to present and justify the main results. Results. Today there is an urgent need to preserve biodiversity to reduce poverty and socio-economic development of individual regions and states, which requires strengthening environmental measures and balanced use of forest ecosystem services with the mandatory elimination of direct and indirect factors of change. Public management decisions should be made using an ecosystem approach and public involvement, which will allow timely identification and consideration of the preferences of different social groups. Practical meaning. The practical significance of the study lies in the applied nature of the proposed model for applying the ecosystem approach to public management decisions at the national, regional and local levels, which will solve the pressing problems of biodiversity conservation, ensure the development of forest ecosystems and have a positive effect on the well-being of the population, which will be devoted to our further research. Prospects for further research. There will be a search for effective ways to change the relation of a society to understand the importance of developing services of all four groups of forest ecosystem.

scholarly journals Stakeholders’ Opinions towards Water-Related Forests Ecosystem Services in Selected Southeast European Countries (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 12001
Author(s):  
Dijana Vuletić ◽  
Silvija Krajter Ostoić ◽  
Klára Báliková ◽  
Mersudin Avdibegović ◽  
Kristina Potočki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Bosnia And Herzegovina ◽  
Forest Ecosystem ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
Forest Ecosystem Services ◽  
Payment Schemes ◽  
High Level

Even though water-related forest ecosystem services are important for forestry and water management sectors, they have different definitions and are regulated differently in each sector, which makes them poorly recognized. How stakeholders from two main sectors (forestry and water management) perceive the importance of water-related forest ecosystem services, the trade-offs between ecosystem services and the effectiveness and implementation of payments schemes related to forest water ecosystem services were our areas of interest. We have conduct surveys with different groups of stakeholders from both sectors in four selected countries (the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia) with a lot of similarities and the potential to learn from each other. The results show that in spite of the spotted differences among analyzed countries, there is a high level of agreement among respondents on all investigated aspects. In addition, even though different payment schemes exist in three of four countries, stakeholders are rarely aware of their existence, or it is better to say that they do not recognize them as payment schemes for ecosystem services because of their names and definitions, which do not clearly define ecosystem services. Mostly, they use bundled services and non-voluntary payments and are designed and implemented by the states. Due to the strong role of states and the low transparency in the existing schemes, we looked at possible conditions reflected through stakeholders’ opinions for overcoming that obstacle for the development of new payment schemes. We found that there is a high level of acceptance of payments schemes as more effective than “command and control” schemes and of the involvement of other stakeholders in decision-making processes as those conditions that can positively influence development of new payment schemes in all four countries. These results give us hope that in spite of the strong role of the state in selected countries, the role of stakeholders will be more acknowledged and, by that, the future schemes will be more harmonized among the sectors and their goals and needs, contributing to its effectiveness as well.

scholarly journals Bhutan’s Forests through the Framework of Ecosystem Services: Rapid Assessment in Three Forest Types

Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 675 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Sears ◽  
Kinley Choden ◽  
Tshewang Dorji ◽  
Dorji Dukpa ◽  
Sonam Phuntsho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Forest Ecosystem ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Causal Pathways ◽  
Regulating Services ◽  
Forest Ecosystem Services ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
Mountain Landscapes ◽  
Forest Use ◽  
Provisioning Services

Forests in mountain ecosystems provide a diversity of services and goods in mountain landscapes, and the immediate utility of the forest to upstream residents must be balanced with the insurance forests provide for downstream residents in the form of, especially, the services of water regulation and soil stabilization. Little empirical data exist for Bhutan that confirm a causal link between upstream forest use and downstream security. To help to fill this gap, we summarize the results of two literature reviews related to forest ecosystem services and human well-being, using the framework of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness (GNH). We report preliminary findings of three field-based assessments of forest ecosystem services on hillsides. We conducted an assessment of the perceptions of local residents about the forest ecosystem services in three distinct forest areas of Bhutan. The studies were carried out in high-altitude oak forests, forest management units (FMUs) in government reserve forests, and community plantations. We engaged villagers in focus group discussions and conducted key informant interviews. The strongest evidence in the literature for linkages between forests and GNH was found for the role forests play in socio-economic development and good governance, particularly through the community forestry program. Regulating services of forests were cited as crucial to several aspects of human well-being, but little empirical evidence was provided. To local residents in the three study locations, the provisioning services of forests were highly ranked, as were water regulating services. At the plantation sites, residents felt that the new forests did improve soil stability and water provisioning services. Cultural services were identified but not highly prioritized. Awareness of forest ecosystem services was high among participants in the study, but understanding of the causal links between forest use and human well-being was mixed. Lack of direct evidence about causal pathways between upstream forest condition and downstream security leaves gaps in our knowledge and even perpetuates myths and misconceptions about the role that forests play. We encourage further research at multiple scales and using mixed methods to test hypotheses on the linkages between forests and human well-being in mountain landscapes.

Mapping the Supply of Local Forest Ecosystem Services: Based on Delphi and Land Use Scoring Method

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 295-312
Author(s):  
Jang-Hwan Jo ◽  
Moon-Ki Choi ◽  
Oh Seok Kim ◽  
Kyeong-hak Lee ◽  
Chang-Bae Lee
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Forest Ecosystem ◽  
Scoring Method ◽  
Forest Ecosystem Services

Wald und Klimawandel in der inneralpinen Trockenregion Visp

2012 ◽  
Vol 163 (12) ◽  
pp. 481-492
Author(s):  
Andreas Rigling ◽  
Ché Elkin ◽  
Matthias Dobbertin ◽  
Britta Eilmann ◽  
Arnaud Giuggiola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Forest Management ◽  
Forest Ecosystem ◽  
Bark Beetles ◽  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Forest Monitoring ◽  
Management Interventions ◽  
Forest Ecosystem Services

Forest and climate change in the inner-Alpine dry region of Visp Over the past decades, observed increases in temperature have been particularly pronounced in mountain regions. If this trend should continue in the 21st Century, frequency and intensity of droughts will increase, and will pose major challenges for forest management. Under current conditions drought-related tree mortality is already an important factor of forest ecosystems in dry inner-Alpine valleys. Here we assess the sensitivity of forest ecosystems to climate change and evaluate alternative forest management strategies in the Visp region. We integrate data from forest monitoring plots, field experiments and dynamic forests models to evaluate how the forest ecosystem services timber production, protection against natural hazards, carbon storage and biodiver-sity will be impacted. Our results suggest that at dry low elevation sites the drought tolerance of native tree species will be exceeded so that in the longer term a transition to more drought-adapted species should be considered. At medium elevations, drought and insect disturbances as by bark beetles are projected to be important for forest development, while at high elevations forests are projected to expand and grow better. All of the ecosystem services that we considered are projected to be impacted by changing forest conditions, with the specific impacts often being elevation-dependent. In the medium term, forest management that aims to increase the resilience of forests to drought can help maintain forest ecosystem services temporarily. However, our results suggest that relatively rigid management interventions are required to achieve significant effects. By using a combination of environmental monitoring, field experiments and modeling, we are able to gain insight into how forest ecosystem, and the services they provide, will respond to future changes.

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