D2b - 24. Linking biodiversity and ecosystem

Book of Abstracts
Session: D2b-24
Title of session: Linking biodiversity and ecosystem service provision
Session host / primary contact person:
Name
Organisation
Email
Nynke Schulp
VU University
[email protected]
Amsterdam,
Environmental
Geography group
Co-host(s)/ secondary contact person(s):
Name
Organisation
Email
Sandra Lavorel
CNRS – LECA, France
[email protected]
Short description of the session
Biodiversity conservation policy is increasingly justified based on the ecosystem services
provided by natural areas. Although there is growing consensus among ecologists that, in
general, biologically diverse ecosystems provide a greater flow of ecosystem services than
non-diverse systems, there is little empirical evidence that there exists a direct relationship
between biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services delivery. Consequently, there is
no sufficiently robust basis to make definite statements about whether securing the
provision of specific ecosystem services will also guarantee biodiversity conservation, and
vice versa.
The BiodivERsA project CONNECT studies the links between biodiversity, ecosystem
functioning and ecosystem service provisioning and governance. This included, among
others, empirical studies on the overlap between biodiversity and ecosystem services, and
mapping of ecosystem services based on biodiversity indicators. CONNECT focuses on case
studies and the European scale. In this session, we aim to present the main findings of
CONNECT that are related to biodiversity and ecosystem services. Additionally, we welcome
presentations where a link between biodiversity and ecosystem services is studied.
Format:
7 20-minute presentations
Speakers:
ID
Name
Organisation
Title of presentation
291
C.J.E. (Nynke) Schulp
VU University
Supply, demand and benefits of wild
Amsterdam
food in the European Union
508
Astrid van Teeffelen
VU University
No net loss of biodiversity and
Amsterdam,
ecosystem services: a quantitative
Institute for
assessment of policy scenarios
Environmental
towards an EU No Net Loss initiative.
Studies (IVM)
120
Emilie Crouzat
LECA
Spatial patterns and determinants of
(Laboratoire
ecosystem services and biodiversity
d'Ecologie
for environmental resources
Alpine) - CNRS
management across scales – Insights
from CONNECT French Alps case
study
314
Sharif A. Mukul
The University
Biodiversity and ecosystem
of Queensland,
functioning from degraded secondary
Australia
forests following shifting cultivation in
the Philippines
372
Katrien Van der Biest
University of
Does plant functional diversity
Antwerp
increase ecosystem service delivery? –
results from a case-study in the
Campine fen area, Belgium
378
Roy Remme
Wageningen
Spatial correlation between ecosystem
University
services and biodiversity in Limburg,
the Netherlands
40
Mohammad Abdul Baki
Jagannath
Inventory on Ichthyodiversity, Gear,
University
Craft and linking with livelihood Most Polluted River Turag,
Bangladesh.
Presentation abstracts:
ID: 40
Type: Voluntary contribution
24. Linking biodiversity and ecosystem service provision (BIODIVERSA project) (OPEN)
Inventory on Ichthyodiversity, Gear, Craft and linking with livelihood - Most
Polluted River Turag, Bangladesh.
Presenting author: Mohamma Abdul Baki
Other authors: Naser Ahmed Bhouiyan
Institution: Jagannath University
Contact: [email protected]
Turag river, a highly polluted river in Bangladesh, is known to be losing its aquatic resources
at an alarming rate. Rapid and unplanned urbanization especially land developers caused
reduction of flood plain area around the Turag river, poor agricultural practices, brick fields,
urban and industrial effluents directly discharge into river along with population pressure
resulting into serious environmental degradation of Turag river. In September 2009, four
rivers around the Dhaka city -the Buriganga, the Sitalakhaya, the Turag and the Balu, were
declared as Ecologically Critical Areas (ECAs) by the Department of Environment, Bangladesh.
During the monsoon season, the water quality improves moderately, but on the advent of
the dry season, pollution concentration increases abruptly because the water level of the
rivers reduces a lot at this time, but the rate of pollutants released into the rivers remains
identical. This inventory survey work of Turag river included the stretches of Turag river
starting from Amin Bazar bridge (23º47' N 90º20'E) to Kamarpara bridge (23º53' N90º23'E).
This river is particularly important for its residential dolphin population. This inventory
survey was sampled inside at fortnightly interval usually made between 7.00 am to 5.00 pm
by a team using a boat for a total of 12 months from December 2012 to November 2013.
Detailed information on catch by species, fish length & weight, different types of gear & craft
were collected. A total of 71(65 indigenous and 6 exotic) fish species (under 25 families of 9
orders) have been identified. 17 different types of gears of two categories (active and passive
gear) and 8 different types of crafts were observed. Of the several dominant species which
are perhaps more typical of floodplain habitats, puti were the most important. The principal
freshwater fish species that support the fishery of the river are highly limited. Numbers rose
fairly sharply from July when floodwaters also rose during monsoon. Seasonal variation was
observed in diversity of fishes with two peaks in August and October. Lower fish species
recorded from December to June may be related with impact of adverse water quality. Our
result indicated clear seasonal patterns in the variation of total monthly fish species number
recorded in this river fluctuated extreme widely. The survey revealed that entering/rising
floodwater stimulated an increase in fishing activities in the study area. However, fisheries
resources contribution is very very limited for livelihood of the surrounding peoples.
Keywords: ECAs, fish species, gear, craft, seasonal variation, adverse.
ID: 120
Type: Voluntary contribution
24. Linking biodiversity and ecosystem service provision (BIODIVERSA project) (OPEN)
Spatial patterns and determinants of ecosystem services and biodiversity for
environmental resources management across scales – Insights from
CONNECT French Alps case study
Presenting author: Emilie Crouzat
Other authors: Coline Byczek, Maud Mouchet, Sandra Lavorel
Institution: LECA (Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine) - CNRS
Contact: [email protected]
Understanding the complex and non-linear relationships between ecosystem services and
biodiversity has emerged as a critical scientific challenge in the context of so-called ‘new
conservation’, which ‘appeals to human well-being, not just intrinsic values of nature’. Given
the objective of jointly securing the provision of valued ecosystem services and preserving
biodiversity, their synergies and trade-offs should be better anticipated to design relevant
management options.
As one of the case studies of the BiodivERsA project CONNECT, we addressed this challenge
through a spatially explicit biophysical assessment of ecosystem services and biodiversity at
regional scale for the French Alps (50 000 km²). We quantified and mapped 18 ecological
parameters: 16 regulating, provisioning and cultural ecosystem services and 2 biodiversity
parameters (vertebrate and plant diversity) to address three questions:
i)
What are the consistent associations between these 18 ecological parameters from
the region to the landscape?
ii) How do these associations relate to regional geographic patterns? What are their
combined implications for land use?
iii) How do landscape composition and heterogeneity relate to bundles of ecosystem
services and biodiversity parameters?
We assessed consistent associations between pairs of ecological parameters first through
Pearson correlations, which do not consider spatial relationships; and then through their
spatial overlap rates. This highlighted the congruence between habitats suitable for
biodiversity and habitats supplying valued ecosystem services (e.g. plant diversity and crop
production). Across regions within the Alps, self-organizing maps were successfully used to
present in an easy-to-capture way the bundles of ecosystem services associated to five
broad eco-regions i.e. clusters of similar ecological profiles. Lastly, the analysis of
associations within 3*3km moving windows enabled i) detecting associations between
dominant land covers and high levels of specific ecological variables (e.g. forests with
erosion mitigation, carbon storage and vertebrate diversity) and ii) infer landscape
multifunctionality from its composition and heterogeneity.
We suggest that our analytical framework is applicable to any other geographically diverse
region in order to progress in the understanding of ecosystem service bundles and tradeoffs, and their synergies with the distribution of biodiversity of conservation interest. We
contend that our findings, which highlight co-distributions of ecosystem services and
biodiversity, could be harnessed by those multiple stakeholders concerned by the
management and use of natural assets of the French Alps. Overall, applying this biophysical
assessment framework and systematically integrating insights from its results into land
planning and resource management would help optimizing both their conception and
communication at various scales.
ID: 291
Type: Invited speaker
24. Linking biodiversity and ecosystem service provision (BIODIVERSA project) (OPEN)
Supply, demand and benefits of wild food in the European Union
Presenting author: Nynke Schulp
Other authors: Wilfried Thuiller, Peter Verburg
Institution: VU University Amsterdam
Contact: [email protected]
Wild food is an iconic, sometimes debated but also often enjoyed ecosystem service. It is one
of the ecosystem services where biodiversity provides direct benefits to people. A greater
general biodiversity level generally accommodates a larger variety of edible species, which
can provide multiple benefits to society.
The provision of wild food receives little attention in quantifying, valuating and mapping
studies. The lack of attention is mainly due to the perceived low importance or due to lack of
data. We synthesized available data on the importance of wild food as ecosystem service
from a systemactic literature review. Based on the review, we mapped the spatial distribution
of wild food supply and demand in the European Union and studied the spatial relations
between supply and demand. Additionally, we made an inventory of the benefits of wild food
collecting for the European Union. We included game, mushrooms, as well as vascular plants
in our synthesis.
We identified a wide variety of game, mushroom and vascular plant species that is collected
and consumed throughout the EU. The variety and abundance of wild food available is an
important explanatory factor for the quantities of wild food collected and for the importance
attributed to wild food. Additionally, the importance that is attributed to wild food collecting
and consumption is explained by multiple socio-economic factors.
While the economic and nutritional values of wild food comprise only a small percentage of
people’s income or total food consumption, many EU citizens collect and consume wild food.
Collecting wild food is an appreciated recreational activity; collecting and consuming wild
food provide important cultural ecosystem services, including recreation and sense of place.
Because of these benefits, wild food should be included in European Union ecosystem
service assessments. Better estimates could be made if better data on wild food abundance
and production are available and by systematic inventories of participation in wild food
collecting.
ID: 314
Type: Voluntary contribution
24. Linking biodiversity and ecosystem service provision (BIODIVERSA project) (OPEN)
Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning from degraded secondary forests
following shifting cultivation in the Philippines
Presenting author: Sharif A. Mukul
Other authors: John Herbohn, Jennifer Firn
Institution: The University of Queensland, Australia
Contact: [email protected]
Shifting cultivation, locally known as kaingin is one of the common forest uses in upland
Philippines. Despite efforts by the Philippines government to ban this practice, kaingin
systems play an important role in the food security of small-holder farmers. We conducted
an exploratory survey in Leyte province across fallow kaingin areas of four distinct categories
(i.e. less than 5 years; 6-10 years; 11-20 years; and 21-30 years) and in secondary forests
without any kaingin history. A transect method was followed, and 20 transects of 50mx5m
was established along each fallow category and in forests where we recorded tree diversity,
standing biomass, biomass in dead/dying/burnt woods, biomass of leaf litter/woody debris/
undergrowths and in fine roots. Study reveals that fallow areas of older age embrace
considerable amount of tree diversity and carbon comparable to secondary forests. The
contribution of small diameter trees and dead/dying/burnt woods were however prominent
in carbon budget of young kaingin areas where large diameter trees have largest share in old
fallow and in secondary forest. Greater understanding of the pattern and processes of
biodiversity and carbon pool in kaingin landscapes could be useful to restore the degraded
upland areas more efficiently, and could help develop possible mechanism to reward smallholder farmers to avoid this age-old practice.
Keywords: kaingin, deforestation, reforestation, small-holder forestry, Philippines
ID: 372
Type: Voluntary contribution
24. Linking biodiversity and ecosystem service provision (BIODIVERSA project) (OPEN)
Does plant functional diversity increase ecosystem service delivery? – results
from a case-study in the Campine fen area, Belgium
Presenting author: Katrien Van der Biest
Other authors: Jan Staes, Dirk Vrebos, Steven Jacobs, Jonathan Caramin, Olivier Beauchard,
Bob Douma, Patrick Meire
Institution: University of Antwerp
Contact: [email protected]
The link between plant functional diversity and ecosystem service delivery received
increasing attention in recent years. Scientific evidence underpinning the mechanisms that
are believed to drive the relationship however is lacking. This study aims to explore the link
between functional diversity and ecosystem service delivery using empirical data for both
plant functional traits and ecosystem services. Additionally, functional diversity as measured
in the field was related to model-based output of ecosystem service delivery. Following
regulating ecosystem services were considered: soil fertility and water quality regulation by
nutrient storage (1) and by denitrification (2), and climate regulation by carbon sequestration
(3). The study area is located in the dry sandy region of the Campine fen area in the north of
Belgium. Samples were taken in grassland and heather vegetation, covering a range of
nutrient availability, wetness and species diversity. Functional diversity indices were
evaluated against ecosystem service delivery, habitat type, restoration management and
species assemblages.
In this presentation, we present empirical evidence on the relationship between functional
diversity and ecosystem service delivery. The results provide insight into the driving
mechanisms behind the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem services and
provide additional arguments to feed the on-going debate whether or not biodiversity and
ecosystem functioning are positively correlated.
ID: 378
Type: Voluntary contribution
24. Linking biodiversity and ecosystem service provision (BIODIVERSA project) (OPEN)
Spatial correlation between ecosystem services and biodiversity in Limburg,
the Netherlands
Presenting author: Roy Remme
Other authors: Matthias Schröter, Lars Hein
Institution: Wageningen University
Contact: [email protected]
Clear evidence is currently lacking about to what extent biodiversity conservation is
beneficial for ecosystem service provision. Likewise, evidence that conservation of ecosystem
services are beneficial for biodiversity conservation is weak. Among the manifold links
between biodiversity and ecosystem services that need to be studied more deeply are spatial
relations. Strong positive spatial correlations between biodiversity and ecosystem services
could, for instance provide incentives for conservation policies. The Netherlands has a long
history in spatial planning of biodiversity conservation. EU incentives (e.g. Natura 2000) and
national policies (e.g. the Dutch ecological network EHS) are being implemented to conserve
biodiversity within ecological networks. The EHS is planned to be fully established in 2018,
creating a network of interconnected ecosystems throughout the Netherlands. Besides
benefitting biodiversity conservation the EHS could potentially also benefit the provision of
multiple ecosystem services.
The objective of this research is to study the spatial correlation between biodiversity and
ecosystem services for Limburg province, the Netherlands. Multiple spatially explicit
biodiversity indicators are developed based on the European SEBI Targets (Streamlining
European Biodiversity Indicators) and included in the analysis. These indicators include
distribution and abundance of birds and butterflies, distribution and abundance of red list
species, percentage coverage of protected areas and habitat fragmentation. Besides
biodiversity indicators, eight spatial models of provisioning, regulating and cultural
ecosystem services are included. These services are drinking water extraction, hunting,
fodder production, crop production, air quality regulation, carbon sequestration, nature
tourism and cycling recreation.
The analysis will assess spatial correlation between the
various biodiversity indicators and ecosystem services throughout the province to identify
overall spatial correlation. We assess spatial relations of biodiversity and ecosystem services
both within and outside the ecological network EHS to assess whether certain ecosystem
service bundles, hotspots and trade-offs appear more often within these areas than outside.
ID: 508
Type: Invited speaker
24. Linking biodiversity and ecosystem service provision (BIODIVERSA project) (OPEN)
No net loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services: a quantitative assessment
of policy scenarios towards an EU No Net Loss initiative.
Presenting author: Astrid van Teeffelen
Other authors: CJE Schulp
Institution: VU University Amsterdam, Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM)
Contact: [email protected]
The European Union intends to develop a ‘no net loss’ (NNL) initiative as part of its
Biodiversity Strategy. This initiative will outline policy measures leading towards the target of
NNL of ecosystems and associated services by 2020. To support this objective, a study was
conducted that identified NNL policy gaps and implementation deficiencies and proposed a
series of policy options and scenarios that could contribute to achieving the NNL target. Part
of this study concerned the quantification of impacts from land use change on ecosystem
services and biodiversity (using 15 indicators) for the EU27 Member States. Four NNL policy
scenarios were assessed and compared against a baseline scenario for the period of 2000 –
2020 (2020 being the reference year for the Biodiversity Strategy), using the CLUEScanner
framework to simulate land use change at 1 km2 resolution. The scenarios encompass a
hierarchical sequence of avoiding, minimizing, mitigating and offsetting impacts. Policy
measures across a range of sectors were considered, including e.g. measures in agriculture,
forestry, water management and land use planning.
Results indicate that the policy scenarios are able to reduce impacts of land use change on
biodiversity and ecosystem services compared to the baseline scenario. However, the degree
to which NNL can be achieved depends on the scale of measurement and the indicator
considered. For example, for Annex 1 bird species, a net gain in species richness may be
achievable at the EU scale under the most stringent policy scenario. At the regional (country
or NUTS2) scale however, a net loss can still occur, indicating spatial trade-offs. Moreover,
while total richness increases, individual species will incur net losses, demonstrating tradeoffs among aspects of biodiversity. For most ecosystem services the NNL policy scenarios
resulted in significant positive effects. Also here, results highlight the importance of (i) the
scale of actions, for example flood regulation actions need to be targeted at specific
locations within catchments to be effective; and (ii) time lag effects, due to habitat
succession trajectories and services associated to that such as carbon sequestration.
This study is the first to assess the feasibility of a range of NNL policy scenarios and land
use change scenarios at large scale. The study highlights inevitable trade-offs between
different services, spatial trade-offs, and temporal trade-offs. The methodological
framework allows the assessment of the effectiveness of a range of policy measures, in
interaction or individually, to reduce these trade-offs.