scholarly journals Applying ecosystem services as a framework to analyze the effects of alternative bio-economy scenarios in Nordic catchments

AMBIO ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (11) ◽  
pp. 1784-1796 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan E. Vermaat ◽  
Bart Immerzeel ◽  
Eija Pouta ◽  
Artti Juutinen

Abstract The inherently unknown future development of a Nordic bio-economy was studied with four scenarios applied in an ecosystem service assessment framework. This framework couples CORINE land use cover with estimates of 15 final ecosystem services from the CICES 5.1 classification in biophysical and monetary terms. Current land use in two catchments, Lillebæk (83% cropland, area 4.7 km2, Denmark) and Ovre Haldenvassdraget (67% forest, 1006 km2, Norway) was compared with four scenarios for 2050. One scenario focusing on sustainability and environmental awareness led to considerable changes in land use and ecosystem service delivery (more diverse provisioning and higher value of regulating services, but not a higher total economic value), whereas the other three did not deviate markedly from the current scenario. Projected land use scenarios were verified with experts and stakeholder representatives. We conclude that the framework has sufficient resolution to show differences in service delivery among scenarios.

Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ando Aulia ◽  
Harpinder Sandhu ◽  
Andrew Millington

Ecosystem services in oil palm plantations owned by smallholders in four villages in the Riau Province, Indonesia were identified and valued. Nine provisioning, three regulating and maintenance, one cultural ecosystem service, and a single ecosystem dis-service, were identified from interviews with 62 farming households. Direct and indirect market valuation methods were used to estimate the total economic value (TEV) of these services, which averaged USD 6520 ha−1 year−1 (range = USD 2970–7729 ha−1 year−1). The values of provisioning services were USD 4331 ha−1 year−1 (range = USD 2263–5489 ha−1 year−1), regulating and maintenance services were valued at USD 1880 ha−1 year−1 (range of USD 707–3110 ha−1 year−1), and cultural services were USD 309 ha−1 year−1. We conclude that identifying and valuing ecosystem services offers an opportunity to improve the environmental and economic sustainability of smallholders in oil palm landscapes in Indonesia.


EDIS ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (6) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Tatiana Borisova ◽  
Fei He ◽  
Xiang Bi ◽  
Kelly Grogan ◽  
Tara Wade ◽  
...  

This paper is a part of the EDIS series “Economic Value of Florida Water Resources”. As the other papers in the series discuss, water resources provide us with a variety of goods and services (often referred to as ecosystem services). This paper discusses another ecosystem service that Florida water resources provide: water supply for households needs. In this article, we present several examples of valuing water availability found in literature and focused on Florida and other regions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 11262
Author(s):  
Mohamed A. M. Abd Elbasit ◽  
Jasper Knight ◽  
Gang Liu ◽  
Majed M. Abu-Zreig ◽  
Rashid Hasaan

Although changes in ecosystems in response to climate and land-use change are known to have implications for the provision of different environmental and ecosystem services, quantifying the economic value of some of these services can be problematic and has not been widely attempted. Here, we used a simplified raster remote sensing model based on MODIS data across South Africa for five different time slices for the period 2001–2019. The aims of the study were to quantify the economic changes in ecosystem services due to land degradation and land-cover changes based on areal values (in USD ha−1 yr−1) for ecosystem services reported in the literature. Results show progressive and systematic changes in land-cover classes across different regions of South Africa for the time period of analysis, which are attributed to climate change. Total ecosystem service values for South Africa change somewhat over time as a result of land-use change, but for 2019 this calculated value is USD 437 billion, which is ~125% of GDP. This is the first estimation of ecosystem service value made for South Africa at the national scale. In detail, changes in land cover over time within each of the nine constituent provinces in South Africa mean that ecosystem service values also change regionally. There is a clear disparity between the provinces with the greatest ecosystem service values when compared to their populations and contribution to GDP. This highlights the potential for untapped ecosystem services to be exploited as a tool for regional sustainable development.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guitang Liao ◽  
Peng He ◽  
Xuesong Gao ◽  
Zhengyu Lin ◽  
Conggang Fang ◽  
...  

The purpose of this study was to establish a spatial multi-scale integrated assessment framework for critical areas of ecosystem service supply and demand, in order to provide theoretical support for regional ecological protection planning and refined management. Taking the typical hilly area of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in China as an example, based on the assessment matrix of land use and ecosystem services, we used the method of spatial heterogeneity assessment and self-organizing feature mapping (SOFM) to explore the identification and regionalization of critical areas of ecosystem services at regional and small scales. The results show that there was spatial heterogeneity and scale effects of ecosystem services under the two scales. The small-scale supply–demand pattern was greatly affected by microtopography and land use patterns, and the importance of ecosystem services was as follows: forest area in the upper part of the mountain > orchard and dry area in the middle and lower part of the mountain > valley farming area > flat town and farming area. The regional-scale supply–demand pattern was greatly affected by landscape structure, location conditions and social economy, and the importance of ecosystem services was as follows: south > west > north > central. The SOFM network quantitatively identified four types of ecological areas with clear dominant functions at regional and small scales. The balance between supply and demand in the studied ecosystem service areas was I < II < III < IV, in which IV was the critical area in terms of supply and I was the critical area in terms of demand. This assessment framework can improve the spatial accuracy and objectivity of the quantification and mapping of ecosystem services, and provide new ideas for multi-scale identification and expression of ecosystem services.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Workiyie Worie Assefa ◽  
Belachew Getnet Eneyew ◽  
Ayalew Wondie

Abstract Background Even though wetlands are essential in enhancing water quality and providing recreation and entertainment opportunities in urban areas, their values are overlooked by the decision-makers. Underestimation of the economic value of wetland ecosystem services contributes to their continuing deterioration and inevitable loss. Investigating the changes in ecosystem service values (ESV) can provide crucial information for decision-making. This study, therefore, analyzes the temporal and spatial land-use/land-cover (LULC) change patterns over 35 years (1984–2019) intending to evaluate its impact on wetland ecosystem service values in Bahir Dar City, Ethiopia. Estimation and change analyses of ESVs were conducted by employing ArcGIS using LULC inputs of the year 1984, 1994, 2004, 2014, and 2019 with their corresponding global value coefficients that were developed earlier and our own modified value coefficients for the studied landscape. Results The results showed that wetlands and water bodies of the city and its peripheries had decreased by 75.71% (−1618 ha) within 35 years, while built-up area increased by 216.24% (+2599 ha). Cultivated land had increased slightly from 1984 to 1994 and then gradually declined since 1994. Changes in LULC had resulted in a decline of the total ESV. The total ESV had decreased from USD 29.73 × 106 to USD 20.84 × 106 in 35 years. This indicates the loss of nearly USD 8.9 × 106 ESV from 1984 to 2019. A sensitivity analysis suggested the robustness of ESV estimation in the study area. All individual ecosystem services experienced a negative change. However, a greater reduction in ESV was observed for services such as water regulation, waste treatment, and habitats for maintaining biodiversity. The expansion of built-up area of Bahir Dar City was the major factor that contributed to the loss of ESV provided by wetlands. Conclusions The loss of ESV resulting in LULC changes has a negative implication on local climate, waste management, and the livelihoods of the poor community. Thus, interventions should be made for the restoration and sustainable management of wetlands in the urban and peri-urban areas of Bahir Dar City.


Author(s):  
Oksana Sakal

The article is devoted doctrinal issues of environmental and economic effectiveness of use land in conditions of infringement of institutional transformations. The modern approaches to the definition of content of ecological and economic effectiveness of land use are analyzed. It is established that the overwhelming majority of domestic researchers interpret this notion regarding the use of agricultural land or farm land. It is proved that such an approach is justified, taking into account the structure of the land fund of Ukraine. However, this reduces other goals of the land user and functions of the land. It is proposed to investigate the category of ecological and economic effectiveness of land use in accordance with the provisions of the ecological economics, social welfare theory, and concept of total economic value. Based on the classification of land functions, the criteria of selection material content and social form of ecological and economic effectiveness of land use are determined.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 501
Author(s):  
Xuege Wang ◽  
Fengqin Yan ◽  
Yinwei Zeng ◽  
Ming Chen ◽  
Bin He ◽  
...  

Extensive urbanization around the world has caused a great loss of farmland, which significantly impacts the ecosystem services provided by farmland. This study investigated the farmland loss due to urbanization in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) of China from 1980 to 2018 based on multiperiod datasets from the Land Use and Land Cover of China databases. Then, we calculated ecosystem service values (ESVs) of farmland using valuation methods to estimate the ecosystem service variations caused by urbanization in the study area. The results showed that 3711.3 km2 of farmland disappeared because of urbanization, and paddy fields suffered much higher losses than dry farmland. Most of the farmland was converted to urban residential land from 1980 to 2018. In the past 38 years, the ESV of farmland decreased by 5036.7 million yuan due to urbanization, with the highest loss of 2177.5 million yuan from 2000–2010. The hydrological regulation, food production and gas regulation of farmland decreased the most due to urbanization. The top five cities that had the largest total ESV loss of farmland caused by urbanization were Guangzhou, Dongguan, Foshan, Shenzhen and Huizhou. This study revealed that urbanization has increasingly become the dominant reason for farmland loss in the GBA. Our study suggests that governments should increase the construction of ecological cities and attractive countryside to protect farmland and improve the regional ESV.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 173
Author(s):  
Changjun Gu ◽  
Yili Zhang ◽  
Linshan Liu ◽  
Lanhui Li ◽  
Shicheng Li ◽  
...  

Land use and land cover (LULC) changes are regarded as one of the key drivers of ecosystem services degradation, especially in mountain regions where they may provide various ecosystem services to local livelihoods and surrounding areas. Additionally, ecosystems and habitats extend across political boundaries, causing more difficulties for ecosystem conservation. LULC in the Kailash Sacred Landscape (KSL) has undergone obvious changes over the past four decades; however, the spatiotemporal changes of the LULC across the whole of the KSL are still unclear, as well as the effects of LULC changes on ecosystem service values (ESVs). Thus, in this study we analyzed LULC changes across the whole of the KSL between 2000 and 2015 using Google Earth Engine (GEE) and quantified their impacts on ESVs. The greatest loss in LULC was found in forest cover, which decreased from 5443.20 km2 in 2000 to 5003.37 km2 in 2015 and which mainly occurred in KSL-Nepal. Meanwhile, the largest growth was observed in grassland (increased by 548.46 km2), followed by cropland (increased by 346.90 km2), both of which mainly occurred in KSL-Nepal. Further analysis showed that the expansions of cropland were the major drivers of the forest cover change in the KSL. Furthermore, the conversion of cropland to shrub land indicated that farmland abandonment existed in the KSL during the study period. The observed forest degradation directly influenced the ESV changes in the KSL. The total ESVs in the KSL decreased from 36.53 × 108 USD y−1 in 2000 to 35.35 × 108 USD y−1 in 2015. Meanwhile, the ESVs of the forestry areas decreased by 1.34 × 108 USD y−1. This shows that the decrease of ESVs in forestry was the primary cause to the loss of total ESVs and also of the high elasticity. Our findings show that even small changes to the LULC, especially in forestry areas, are noteworthy as they could induce a strong ESV response.


2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 608 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bogdan POPA ◽  
Claudiu COMAN ◽  
Stelian A. BORZ ◽  
Dan M. NITA ◽  
Codrin CODREANU ◽  
...  

In the last two decades different methodologies for assessing the economic implications of protected areas have been developed within the framework of "Total Economic Value", taking into account not only goods and services that have a price and a market but also those not priced or marketed. The present paper, by using a number of recognized methodologies applied by environmental economists around the world, estimates the economic value of ecosystem services of Piatra Craiului National Park, in one of the first attempts to frame ecosystem services valuation in Romania. The approach and results include a benefit distribution analysis, for both the economic sectors and the groups of beneficiaries. Even if the data are not comprehensive and depend on several assumptions, the paper provides very important practical and policy-relevant information on the economic value of Piatra Craiului National Park, in an attempt to stimulate increasing of the budgetary allocation and economic policy priority for protected areas in Romania.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 485-503
Author(s):  
K.M. Nitanan ◽  
A. Shuib ◽  
R. Sridar ◽  
V. Kunjuraman ◽  
S. Zaiton ◽  
...  

Direct and indirect use of values and non-use values from forest ecosystem services perform an invaluable set of functions that cater to the needs of both living and non-living things. The values include market services obtained from timber and non-timber forest products, and non-market services (recreation, watershed protection and conservation value) were identified as components of the Total Economic Value (TEV). However, it is difficult to assign a monetary value to all goods and services provided by the forest. Failure to conserve the national park will result in the degradation of the forest and a reduction in the contribution of the forest ecosystem services to the community. Based on the result of this study, the TEV value of forest ecosystem services was estimated at RM 13 billion, and the estimation provides policy-relevant information for forest management and conservation purposes in Malaysia.


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