scholarly journals Mapping Ecosystem Services for Marine Planning: A UK Case Study

Resources ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanouil Tyllianakis ◽  
Lenka Fronkova ◽  
Paulette Posen ◽  
Tiziana Luisetti ◽  
Stephen Mangi Chai
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Oxygen Depletion ◽  
Fishing Effort ◽  
Marine Management ◽  
Mapping Tool ◽  
Ecosystem Services Mapping ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Marine Planning

This study presents an ecosystem-services-mapping tool that calculates the monetary value of several ecosystem services (ES) provided from an area comprising both MPAs (Marine Protected Areas) and non-managed areas. Findings in the UK South West Marine Management Organisation (MMO) Plan Area show that different MPAs yield high value estimates and that activities are grouped in certain areas, with the Severn Estuary and surrounding Site(s) of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) attracting the most recreational anglers, despite having lower water quality. This can be explained by increased nutrient levels, which enhance biological activity and yet do not cause oxygen depletion. The yearly value of the ecosystem service of carbon sequestration and storage in the area is estimated between £16 and £62 thousand. Proximity to large urban areas and shallow waters appear to be the most appealing factors for anglers, while proximity with France can be associated with the high fishing effort in the southwest of the study area. We show that the use of a tool integrating a willingness-to-pay function with high spatial resolution layers and associated monetary values can be used for short-term marine spatial planning and management.

scholarly journals Evaluating Landscape Attractiveness with Geospatial Data, a Case Study in Flanders, Belgium

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 703
Author(s):  
Astrid Vannoppen ◽  
Jeroen Degerickx ◽  
Anne Gobin
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
Geospatial Data ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Landscape Indicators ◽  
Landscape Characteristics ◽  
Landscape Quality

Attractive landscapes are diverse and resilient landscapes that provide a multitude of essential ecosystem services. The development of landscape policy to protect and improve landscape attractiveness, thereby ensuring the provision of ecosystem services, is ideally adapted to region specific landscape characteristics. In addition, trends in landscape attractiveness may be linked to certain policies, or the absence of policies over time. A spatial and temporal evaluation of landscape attractiveness is thus desirable for landscape policy development. In this paper, landscape attractiveness was spatially evaluated for Flanders (Belgium) using landscape indicators derived from geospatial data as a case study. Large local differences in landscape quality in (i) rural versus urban areas and (ii) between the seven agricultural regions in Flanders were found. This observed spatial variability in landscape attractiveness demonstrated that a localized approach, considering the geophysical characteristics of each individual region, would be required in the development of landscape policy to improve landscape quality in Flanders. Some trends in landscape attractiveness were related to agriculture in Flanders, e.g., a slight decrease in total agricultural area, decrease in dominance of grassland, maize and cereals, a decrease in crop diversity, sharp increase in the adoption of agri-environmental agreements (AEA) and a decrease in bare soil conditions in winter. The observed trends and spatial variation in landscape attractiveness can be used as a tool to support policy analysis, assess the potential effects of future policy plans, identify policy gaps and evaluate past landscape policy.

Measuring public perception and preferences for ecosystem services: A case study of bee pollination in the UK

2018 ◽  
Vol 71 ◽  
pp. 355-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Mwebaze ◽  
Gay C. Marris ◽  
Mike Brown ◽  
Alan MacLeod ◽  
Glyn Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Bee Pollination ◽  
The Uk

scholarly journals Assessment of Urban Green Space Based on Bio-Energy Landscape Connectivity: A Case Study on Tongzhou District in Beijing, China

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
pp. 4943 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kunyuan Wanghe ◽  
Xinle Guo ◽  
Xiaofeng Luan ◽  
Kai Li
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Landscape Connectivity ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Beijing China

Green infrastructure is one of the key components that provides critical ecosystems services in urban areas, such as regulating services (temperature regulation, noise reduction, air purification), and cultural services (recreation, aesthetic benefits), but due to rapid urbanization, many environmental impacts associated with the decline of green space have emerged and are rarely been evaluated integrally and promptly. The Chinese government is building a new city as the sub-center of the capital in Tongzhou District, Beijing, China. A series of policies have been implemented to increase the size of green urban areas. To support this land-use decision-making process and achieve a sustainable development strategy, accurate assessments of green space are required. In the current study, using land-use data and environmental parameters, we assessed the urban green space in the case study area. The bio-energy and its fluxes, landscape connectivity, as well as related ecosystem services were estimated using a novel approach, the PANDORA model. These results show that (1) in the highly urbanized area, green space is decreasing in reaction to urbanization, and landscape fragmentation is ubiquitous; (2) the river ecology network is a critical part for ecosystem services and landscape connectivity; and (3) the alternative non-green patches to be changed to urban, urban patches which can improve landscape quality the most by being changed to green, and conservation priority patches for biodiversity purposes of urban green were explicitly identified. Conclusively, our results depict the spatial distribution, fluxes, and evolution of bio-energy, as well as the conservation prioritization of green space. Our methods can be applied by urban planners and ecologists, which can help decision-makers achieve a sustainable development strategy in these rapidly urbanizing areas worldwide.

scholarly journals Map-A-Mole: Greenspace Area Influences the Presence and Abundance of the European Mole Talpa europaea in Urban Habitats

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 1097
Author(s):  
Mark D.E. Fellowes ◽  
Kojo Acquaah-Harrison ◽  
Fabio Angeoletto ◽  
Jeater W.M.C. Santos ◽  
Deleon da Silva Leandro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Talpa Europaea ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
European Mole ◽  
Urban Greenspaces ◽  
Patch Boundary ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Playing Fields

The European mole Talpa europaea is common across much of Britain. It has a unique fossorial lifestyle, and evidence of its presence is readily identified through the presence of characteristic molehills. Although molehills are often a common sight in urban greenspaces, moles are remarkably understudied, with very few studies to date exploring the urban ecology of moles. Here, we investigate if factors such as greenspace (largely urban parks and playing fields) area, intensity of management, distance to nearest patch, amount of time the patch had been isolated from other green patches, and the amount of urbanization (constructed surfaces) surrounding the patch, influence the distribution and abundance of urban moles. Mole signs (hills and surface runs) were counted in all discrete urban greenspaces (excluding domestic gardens and one private golf course) within an 89.5 km2 area in the UK town of Reading. We found that 17 out of 59 surveyed sites contained moles, with their presence being recorded in greenspaces with a minimum patch area of approximately 0.1 km2 (10 ha). Where present, the abundance of mole territories in the greenspaces was associated with both the area of greenspace and degree of urbanization within 150 m of the patch boundary. While the former was not surprising, the latter outcome may be a consequence of sites with an increased risk of flooding being home to fewer moles, and the surrounding area is also less likely to be built upon. This case study highlights how choices made in designing urban green infrastructure will determine which species survive in urban areas long into the future.

scholarly journals The contribution of small-scale food production in urban areas to the sustainable development goals: a review and case study

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 1585-1599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Nicholls ◽  
Adrian Ely ◽  
Linda Birkin ◽  
Parthiba Basu ◽  
Dave Goulson
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Agricultural System ◽  
United Nations General ◽  
Development Goals

Abstract Food production depends upon the adequate provision of underpinning ecosystem services, such as pollination. Paradoxically, conventional farming practices are undermining these services and resulting in degraded soils, polluted waters, greenhouse gas emissions and massive loss of biodiversity including declines in pollinators. In essence, farming is undermining the ecosystem services it relies upon. Finding alternative more sustainable ways to meet growing food demands which simultaneously support biodiversity is one of the biggest challenges facing humanity. Here, we review the potential of urban and peri-urban agriculture to contribute to sustainable food production, using the 17 sustainable development goals set by the United Nations General Assembly as a framework. We present new data from a case study of urban gardens and allotments in the city of Brighton and Hove, UK. Such urban and peri-urban landholdings tend to be small and labour-intensive, characterised by a high diversity of crops including perennials and annuals. Our data demonstrate that this type of agricultural system can be highly productive and that it has environmental and social advantages over industrial agriculture in that crops are usually produced using few synthetic inputs and are destined for local consumption. Overall, we conclude that food grown on small-scale areas in and near cities is making a significant contribution to feeding the world and that this type of agriculture is likely to be relatively favourable for some ecosystem services, such as supporting healthy soils. However, major knowledge gaps remain, for example with regard to productivity, economic and employment impacts, pesticide use and the implications for biodiversity.

scholarly journals Testing the applicability of ecosystem services mapping methods for peri-urban contexts: A case study for Paris

2017 ◽  
Vol 83 ◽  
pp. 504-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabien Roussel ◽  
Catharina J.E. Schulp ◽  
Peter H. Verburg ◽  
Astrid J.A. van Teeffelen
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Urban Contexts ◽  
Ecosystem Services Mapping

scholarly journals An online method database for mapping and assessing ecosystem services

One Ecosystem ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steffen Reichel ◽  
Hermann Klug
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Horizon 2020 ◽  
Single Method ◽  
Combination Of Methods ◽  
Ecosystem Services Mapping ◽  
The Right

Since the foundation of the ecosystem services concept in the ninetieth of the last century (Costanza et al. 1998, Costanza et al. 1997, de Groot 1992), many methods to map and assess ecosystem services have been developed and applied to policy and business questions worldwide. While many flexible methods exist at different spatial scales and ecosystem types, Jax et al. (2018) express the difficulty in choosing and applying the correct method to the right topic of interest. To enable a selection of appropriate methods, Harrison et al. (2018) developed a decision tree approach. However, Dunford et al. (2018) argue that often not a single method but a combination of methods are required for appropriate decision-making in real world situations. Thus, applying the concept of ecosystem services in practice is challenging, especially at institutional level (Saarikoski et al. 2018). This hampers comparability, applicability and transferability of ecosystem services assessments and related mapping applications across scales and European regions. It also impedes a solid overview of existing methods suitable for use at different scales in different biomes and types of ecosystems. These challenges require a consistent knowledge capitalisation infrastructure, where information is synthesised in a publicly accessible portal to enable a consistent description of different ecosystem conditions and the services they provide. 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 developments from the EU projects OpenNESS*2 and OPERAs*3. In contrast to the OPPLA*4 case-study-finder with case study areas and accompanied study area booklets and descriptions, MME focuses on methods for mapping and assessing ecosystem services and links those to selected literature and case studies. Additionally, MME provides a comprehensive and publicly searchable collection of peer-reviewed journal references and grey literature about mapping and assessing ecosystem services in Europe. This compilation is cross-related with the case study booklets produced by the ESMERALDA project and particularly methods, which are specifically used to assess and map particular ecosystem services within the case study area. Thus, searching for and filtering of particular case study areas, (related) literature references and/or methods is possible. Santos-Martin et al. (2018) provide the detailed description about the scientific procedure behind the MME tool described here.

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