One Ecosystem

https://oneecosystem.pensoft.net/

List of Papers (Total 108)

Changes in land cover and grassland area over the past 120 years in a rapidly urbanised area in Japan

In wet temperate regions, human activity has played an important role in shaping the size and distribution of grasslands. We examined change in land cover type and grassland area in a 9.2 × 22.3 km area of northern Chiba Prefecture, based on historical maps and documents for four time periods (1880s, 1950s, 1980s and 2000s). In the 1880s, conifer forests occupied the largest area...

Ecosystem service preferences across multilevel stakeholders in co-managed forests: Case of Aberdare protected forest ecosystem in Kenya

A better understanding of Ecosystem Services (ES) contributes to sustainable use while conserving the ecosystems mainly in resource-rich developing regions. This paper explores multilevel stakeholder perceptions on the most important ES provided by Aberdare Forest Ecosystem (AFE). The importance rank matrix model was employed to establish the ES preferences of 15 selected key...

Indicators for mapping and assessment of ecosystem condition and of the ecosystem service habitat maintenance in support of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020

A systematic approach to map and assess the “maintenance of nursery populations and habitats” ecosystem service (ES) (hereinafter called “habitat maintenance”) has not yet emerged. In this article, we present an ecosystem service framework implementation at landscape level, by proposing an approach for calculating and combining a series of indicators with spatial modelling...

Methodological interlinkages for mapping ecosystem services – from data to analysis and decision-support

A broad array of methods have been developed and applied to map ecosystem services and their values at various geographic scales. For example, the ESMERALDA project developed methods for ecosystem service mapping across Europe. This paper describes how different methodological interlinkages can be used in ecosystem service mapping and assessment and how the integration of...

Influence of cultural contexts on the appreciation of different cultural ecosystem services based on social network analysis

Since the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, ecosystem science domain has made tremendous progress in the study of ecosystem services, but debates on neglected cultural ecosystem services (CES) have persisted. A recent approach established by the Intergovernmental Panel for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) identifies and advocates incorporation of the CES through the...

The critical role of abiotic factors and human activities in the supply of ecosystem services in the ES matrix

In Western Europe, ecosystems have been shaped to maximise the supply of one specific biomass provisioning ecosystem service (ES), such as food or timber, with detrimental impacts on other ES. The ES approach has therefore been established to better understand the multiple interactions between human society and ecosystems. A variety of methods have been developed to assess ES and...

Which ecosystems provide which services? A meta-analysis of nine selected ecosystem services assessments

For ecosystem measurement frameworks to be accepted, operationalised and implemented by diverse international communities, clear and agreeable concepts and classifications are essential. This paper analyses and develops two foundational typology challenges within ecosystem measurement: the classification of ecosystems and the classification of their services. Our aim is to...

Uncertainty in ecosystem services maps: the case of carbon stocks in the Brazilian Amazon forest using regression analysis

Ecosystem Service (ES) mapping has become a key tool in scientific assessments of human-nature interactions and is being increasingly used in environmental planning and policy-making. However, the associated epistemic uncertainty underlying these maps often is not systematically considered. This paper proposes a basic procedure to present areas with lower statistical reliability...

Uncertainty in ecosystem services maps: the case of carbon stocks in the Brazilian Amazon forest using regression analysis

Ecosystem Service (ES) mapping has become a key tool in scientific assessments of human-nature interactions and is being increasingly used in environmental planning and policy-making. However, the associated epistemic uncertainty underlying these maps often is not systematically considered. This paper proposes a basic procedure to present areas with lower statistical reliability...

A Conceptual Framework for Integrated Ecosystem Assessment

This short communication presents an ecosystem assessment framework developed within ESMERALDA; a Horizon2020-funded EU project aimed at delivering a ‘flexible methodology’ to assist towards pan-European and regional Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystem Services (MAES). The framework we present is closely aligned with assessment frameworks developed within the MAES (2014) and...

A critical review of ecosystem accounting and services frameworks

Ecological economists currently face an important opportunity to influence national policies and global awareness regarding ecosystems. Ecosystem services (ES) frameworks, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the System of Environmental Economic Accounting Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EEA) will influence how national...

An online method database for mapping and assessing ecosystem services

Going beyond the previously mentioned challenges requires a flexible methodology for assessing and mapping ecosystem services. The Horizon 2020 project ESMERALDA (Enhancing ecoSysteM sERvices mApping for poLicy and Decision mAking) developed this methodology and implemented it into the "MAES explorer"*5 and the "MAES Methods Explorer*1 (MME)". The MME complements previous...

Distribution of bumblebees across Europe

Insect pollinators are a key component of biodiversity; they also play a major role in the reproduction of many species of wild plants and crops. It is widely acknowledged that insect pollinators are threatened by many environmental pressures, mostly of anthropogenic nature. Their decline is a global phenomenon. A better understanding of their distribution can help their...

Mapping and assessing ecosystem services in the EU - Lessons learned from the ESMERALDA approach of integration

The European Union (EU) Horizon 2020 Coordination and Support Action ESMERALDA aimed at developing guidance and a flexible methodology for Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES) to support the EU member states in the implementation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy’s Target 2 Action 5. ESMERALDA’s key tasks included network creation, stakeholder engagement...

Distribution of bumblebees across Europe

Insect pollinators are a key component of biodiversity; they also play a major role in the reproduction of many species of wild plants and crops. It is widely acknowledged that insect pollinators are threatened by many environmental pressures, mostly of anthropogenic nature. Their decline is a global phenomenon. A better understanding of their distribution can help their...

How to design a transdisciplinary regional ecosystem service assessment: a case study from Romania, Eastern Europe

There is a broad diversity of concepts and methods used in ecosystem service (ES) mapping and assessment projects with many open questions related to the implementation of the concepts and the use of the methods at various scales. In this paper, we present a regional ES mapping and assessment (MAES) study performed between 2015 and 2017 over an area of ~900 km2 in Central Romania...

Economic valuation and mapping of Ecosystem Services in the context of protected area management (Natural Park of Serra de São Mamede, Portugal)

Demonstrating economic benefits generated by protected areas is often pointed out as pivotal for supporting decision-making. We argue in this paper that the concept of ecosystem services (ES), defined as the benefits humans derive from ecosystems, provides a consistent framework to approach this issue as it links ecosystem functioning and benefits, including benefits with...

Data on and methodology for measurements of microclimate and matter dynamics in transition zones between forest and adjacent arable land

We conducted microclimatic measurements in two 105 m long transects perpendicular to the boundaries in transition zones of forests to arable land for more than one year. In addition, we measured aboveground biomass, litterfall, soil carbon and nitrogen content. In this paper, we explain the measurement design and methodology as well as make the data openly accessible.

Towards integrated mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services in Bulgaria: The Central Balkan case study

The aim of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 isto maintain and enhance ecosystem services (ES) in Europe and requires all Member States to map and assess the state of ecosystems and their services in the respective national territories. The EU-funded project ESMERALDA analyses ES mapping and assessment methods and approaches in their biophysical, social and economical...

Revision of the Common International Classification for Ecosystem Services (CICES V5.1): A Policy Brief

The Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES) is widely used for mapping, ecosystem assessment, and natural capital ecosystem accounting. On the basis of the experience gained in using it since the first version was published in 2013, it has been updated for version 5.1. This policy brief summarises what has been done and how the classification can be used.

Hotspots of biodiversity and ecosystem services: the Outermost Regions and Overseas Countries and Territories of the European Union

The obligations of the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2020 create a need for mapping and assessment of the state of biodiversity, ecosystems and their services in all European member states. Europe’s nine Outermost Regions (ORs) and 25 Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) are mainly islands, scattered around the globe. These territories contain unique flora and fauna and encompass...

Mapping Control of Erosion Rates: Comparing Model and Monitoring Data for Croplands in Northern Germany

Control of erosion rates (CER) is a key ecosystem service for soil protection. It is mandatory for sustaining the capacity, especially of agroecosystems, to provide ecosystem services. By applying an established framework to assess soil regulating services, this study compares two approaches to assess CER provision for 466 ha of cropland in Lower Saxony (Central Northern Germany...