Bundling ecosystem services at a high resolution in the UK: trade-offs and synergies in urban landscapes

Abstract Context Ecosystem service bundles can be defined as the spatial co-occurrence of ecosystem services in a landscape. The understanding of the delivery of multiple ecosystem services as bundles in urban areas is limited. This study modelled ecosystem services in an urban area comprising the towns of Milton Keynes, Bedford and Luton. Objectives The objectives of this study were to assess (1) how ecosystem service bundles scale at a 2 m spatial resolution and (2) identify and analyse the composition of ecosystem service bundles. Methods Six ecosystem services were modelled with the InVEST framework at a 2 m resolution. The correlations between ecosystem services were calculated using the Spearman rank correlation coefficient method. Principal Component Analysis and K-means cluster analysis were used to analyse the distributions, spatial trade-offs and synergies of multiple ecosystem services. Results The results showed that regulating services had the tendency to form trade-offs and synergies. There was a significant tendency for trade-offs between supporting service Habitat quality and Pollinator abundance. Four bundle types were identified which showed specialised areas with prevalent soil erosion with high levels in water supply, areas with high values in nutrient retention, areas with high levels in carbon storage and urban areas with pollinator abundance. Conclusions This study demonstrates the existence of synergies and trade-offs between ecosystem services and the formation of ecosystem service bundles in urban areas. This study provides a better understanding of the interactions between services and improve the management choices in ecosystem service provision in urban and landscape planning.

Download Full-text

Assessing Urban Ecosystem Services

Handbook of Research on Methods and Tools for Assessing Cultural Landscape Adaptation - Practice, Progress, and Proficiency in Sustainability ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-4186-8.ch008 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 183-220 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Marise Barreiros Horta ◽

Maria Inês Cabral ◽

Iva Pires ◽

Laura Salles Bachi ◽

Ana Luz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Landscape Planning ◽

Urban Ecosystem ◽

Urban Landscapes ◽

Data Set ◽

Potential Benefits ◽

Political Dimensions ◽

Belo Horizonte ◽

Economic Perspectives

By integrating social, ecological, and economic perspectives, the assessment of ecosystem services (ES) provides valuable information for better targeting landscape planning and governance. This chapter summarizes different participatory approaches for assessing ES in urban areas of three countries. In Belo Horizonte (Brazil), a conceptual framework for the vacant lots ES assessment is presented as an attempt to integrate landscape, social, and political dimensions. In Leipzig (Germany), a combination of site surveys, interviews, and remote sensing provides a valuable data set that fostered a comparative study between two forms of urban gardening. In Lisbon (Portugal), the study is based on interviews that offer a social insight into the horticultural parks situation, which in turn demands a better dialogue with the municipality. In general, the studies demonstrate the potential benefits of utilizing the ES assessment approaches on urban landscapes, especially for better understanding the interactions between people and nature in urban sites.

Download Full-text

Understanding the importance of landscape configuration on ecosystem service bundles at a high resolution in urban landscapes in the UK

Landscape Ecology ◽

10.1007/s10980-021-01200-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

James D. Karimi ◽

Ron Corstanje ◽

Jim A. Harris

Keyword(s):

Principal Component Analysis ◽

Ecosystem Service ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Principal Component ◽

Bayesian Belief Network ◽

Landscape Configuration ◽

Service Trade ◽

Belief Network ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Landscape Configuration Metrics

Abstract Context Landscape structure is thought to affect the provision of ecosystem service bundles. However, studies of the influence of landscape configuration on ecosystem service trade-offs and synergies in urban areas are limited. This study used Bayesian Belief Networks to predict ecosystem service trade-offs and synergies in the urban area comprising the towns of Milton Keynes, Bedford and Luton, UK. Objectives The objectives of this study were to test (1) a Bayesian Belief Network approach for predicting ecosystem service trade-offs and synergies in urban areas and (2) assess whether landscape configuration characteristics affect ecosystem service trade-offs and synergies. Methods Bayesian Belief Network models were used to test the influence of landscape configuration on ecosystem service interactions. The outputs of a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) on six ecosystem services and landscape configuration metrics were used as response and explanatory variables, respectively. We employed Spearman’s rank correlation and principal component analysis to identify redundancies between landscape metrics. Results We found that landscape configuration affects ecosystem service trade-offs and synergies. A sensitivity analysis conducted on the principal components showed that landscape configuration metrics core area (CORE) and effective mesh size (MESH) are strong influential determinants of ecosystem service trade-offs and synergies. Conclusions This study demonstrates that landscape configuration characteristics affect ecosystem service trade-offs and synergies and that a core set of metrics could be used to assess ecosystem service (ES) trade-offs and synergies. The findings may be relevant to planning and urban design and improved ecosystem management.

Download Full-text

Assessing Urban Ecosystem Services

Developing Eco-Cities Through Policy, Planning, and Innovation ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-0441-3.ch012 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 312-359

Author(s):

Marise Barreiros Horta ◽

Maria Inês Cabral ◽

Iva Pires ◽

Laura Salles Bachi ◽

Ana Luz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Landscape Planning ◽

Urban Ecosystem ◽

Urban Landscapes ◽

Data Set ◽

Potential Benefits ◽

Political Dimensions ◽

Belo Horizonte ◽

Economic Perspectives

Download Full-text

Using Bayesian Belief Networks to assess the influence of landscape connectivity on ecosystem service trade-offs and synergies in urban landscapes in the UK

Landscape Ecology ◽

10.1007/s10980-021-01307-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

James D. Karimi ◽

Jim A. Harris ◽

Ron Corstanje

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Ecosystem Service ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Landscape Connectivity ◽

Structural Characteristics ◽

Bird Species ◽

Bayesian Belief Networks ◽

Belief Networks ◽

Patch Area ◽

Trade Offs

Abstract Context Landscape connectivity is assumed to influence ecosystem service (ES) trade-offs and synergies. However, empirical studies of the effect of landscape connectivity on ES trade-offs and synergies are limited, especially in urban areas where the interactions between patterns and processes are complex. Objectives The objectives of this study were to use a Bayesian Belief Network approach to (1) assess whether functional connectivity drives ES trade-offs and synergies in urban areas and (2) assess the influence of connectivity on the supply of ESs. Methods We used circuit theory to model urban bird flow of P. major and C. caeruleus at a 2 m spatial resolution in Bedford, Luton and Milton Keynes, UK, and Bayesian Belief Networks (BBNs) to assess the sensitivity of ES trade-offs and synergies model outputs to landscape and patch structural characteristics (patch area, connectivity and bird species abundance). Results We found that functional connectivity was the most influential variable in determining two of three ES trade-offs and synergies. Patch area and connectivity exerted a strong influence on ES trade-offs and synergies. Low patch area and low to moderately low connectivity were associated with high levels of ES trade-offs and synergies. Conclusions This study demonstrates that landscape connectivity is an influential determinant of ES trade-offs and synergies and supports the conviction that larger and better-connected habitat patches increase ES provision. A BBN approach is proposed as a feasible method of ES trade-off and synergy prediction in complex landscapes. Our findings can prove to be informative for urban ES management.

Download Full-text

Ecosystem services

Progress in Physical Geography Earth and Environment ◽

10.1177/0309133311423172 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 35 (5) ◽

pp. 575-594 ◽

Cited By ~ 241

Author(s):

Marion B. Potschin ◽

Roy H. Haines-Young

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Ecosystem Service ◽

Natural Capital ◽

Well Being ◽

Physical Geography ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Puzzle Solving ◽

Emerging Issues ◽

Stocks And Flows ◽

Change Impact

The ‘ecosystem service’ debate has taken on many features of a classic Kuhnian paradigm. It challenges conventional wisdoms about conservation and the value of nature, and is driven as much by political agendas as scientific ones. In this paper we review some current and emerging issues arising in relation to the analysis and assessment of ecosystem services, and in particular emphasize the need for physical geographers to find new ways of characterizing the structure and dynamics of service providing units. If robust and relevant valuations are to be made of the contribution that natural capital makes to human well-being, then we need a deeper understanding of the way in which the drivers of change impact on the marginal outputs of ecosystem services. A better understanding of the trade-offs that need to be considered when dealing with multifunctional ecosystems is also required. Future developments must include methods for describing and tracking the stocks and flows that characterize natural capital. This will support valuation of the benefits estimation of the level of reinvestment that society must make in this natural capital base if it is to be sustained. We argue that if the ecosystem service concept is to be used seriously as a framework for policy and management then the biophysical sciences generally, and physical geography in particular, must go beyond the uncritical ‘puzzle solving’ that characterizes recent work. A geographical perspective can provide important new, critical insights into the place-based approaches to ecosystem assessment that are now emerging.

Download Full-text

Unpacking ecosystem service bundles: Towards predictive mapping of synergies and trade-offs between ecosystem services

Global Environmental Change ◽

10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2017.08.004 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 47 ◽

pp. 37-50 ◽

Cited By ~ 79

Author(s):

Rebecca Spake ◽

Rémy Lasseur ◽

Emilie Crouzat ◽

James M. Bullock ◽

Sandra Lavorel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Ecosystem Service ◽

Predictive Mapping ◽

Trade Offs

Download Full-text

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

One Ecosystem ◽

10.3897/oneeco.3.e24490 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

pp. e24490 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

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.

Download Full-text

Using Bayesian Belief Networks to assess the influence of landscape connectivity on ecosystem service trade-offs and synergies in urban landscapes in the UK

10.21203/rs.3.rs-195175/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

James Karimi ◽

Jim A. Harris ◽

Ron Concorstanje

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Ecosystem Service ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Landscape Connectivity ◽

Structural Characteristics ◽

Bird Species ◽

Bayesian Belief Networks ◽

Belief Networks ◽

Patch Area ◽

Trade Offs

Abstract Context Landscape connectivity is assumed to influence ecosystem service (ES) trade-offs and synergies. However, empirical studies of the effect of landscape connectivity on ES trade-offs and synergies are limited, especially in urban areas where the interactions between patterns and processes are complex.Objectives The objectives of this study were to use a Bayesian Belief Network approach to (1) assess whether functional connectivity drives ES trade-offs and synergies in urban areas and (2) assess the influence of connectivity on the supply of ESs.Methods We used circuit theory to model urban bird flow of P. major and C. caeruleus at a 2 m spatial resolution in Bedford, Luton and Milton Keynes, UK, and Bayesian Belief Networks (BBNs) to assess the sensitivity of ES trade-offs and synergies model outputs to landscape and patch structural characteristics (patch area, connectivity and bird species abundance).Results We found that functional connectivity was the most influential variable in determining two of three ES trade-offs and synergies. Patch area and connectivity exerted a strong influence on ES trade-offs and synergies. Low patch area and low to moderately low connectivity were associated with high levels of ES trade-offs and synergies.Conclusions This study demonstrates that landscape connectivity is an influential determinant of ES trade-offs and synergies and supports the conviction that larger and better-connected habitat patches increase ES provision. A BBN approach is proposed as a feasible method of ES trade-off and synergy prediction in complex landscapes. Our findings can prove to be informative for urban ES management.

Download Full-text

Evaluation of the Cost of Ecosystem Services of Urban Landscapes (by the Example of Moscow)

Eurasian Soil Science ◽

10.1134/s1064229321120103 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 54 (12) ◽

pp. 1975-1986

Author(s):

O. V. Semenyuk ◽

G. V. Stoma ◽

K. S. Bodrov

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Chemical Elements ◽

Genetic Material ◽

Economic Assessment ◽

Cost Calculation ◽

Urban Landscapes ◽

Ecological State ◽

Wide Range ◽

The Cost

Abstract— The cost of park-recreational, residential, and residential-transport urban landscapes of Moscow has been estimated taking into account land use and the relationships between ecosystem services and ecological functions and properties of individual landscape components. On the basis of the methodology previously proposed by the authors, a wide range of ecosystem services of urban landscapes, mainly associated with soils and their ecological state, has been assessed. The cost of ecosystem services provided by the soil in urban landscapes is 20–30 times higher in comparison with that of green spaces, and some soil services can be considered invaluable because of the difficulty of renewing this natural resource. The cost of ecosystem services of undisturbed soils of park and recreational landscapes is 1.5–2 times higher than that of anthropogenically transformed soils of residential and residential-transport urban territories. The main contribution to the overall cost of ecosystem services of soils in urban landscapes is due to the following services: carbon sequestration, preservation of the genetic material of biota, and filtration and accumulation of chemical elements in the ecosystem. These services can be considered as promising in the monetization of ecosystem services in urban landscapes. The decline in the cost of ecosystem services from park and recreational landscapes to residential and residential-transport landscapes is largely determined by the deterioration of the ecological state of soils. The benefits provided by the natural block of landscapes are comparable to or greater than those of the cultural (human-created) block. In relation to the all-Russia assessment of ecosystem services, a specific feature of urban areas is a significant share (on average, 25%) of the cultural block in the total cost of ecosystem services and a decrease in the cost of regulatory services by about 30%. The results of the economic assessment of ecosystem services of urban landscapes indicate an underestimation of the value of natural components, a significant contribution of soil to the natural block, the need to search for simplified integral indicators of its state, and the presence of cost calculation problems. The methodological approaches and provisional results of this study can be used in urban planning with the aim to preserve the soil cover of urban landscapes and optimize their functioning.

Download Full-text

Devising Urban Biodiversity Habitat Provision Goals: Ecosystem Services Analysis

Forests ◽

10.3390/f10050391 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 391 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

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.

Download Full-text