Delivering multiple ecosystem service benefits in real landscapes
Lead Research Organisation:
University of York
Department Name: Environment
Abstract
Ecosystems and their biodiversity deliver products such as food, fibre and fuel, as well as a range of essential services such as climate regulation, water and soil regulation and cultural and recreational services, which are all important for human well-being nationally, internationally and globally. Globally, and for many individual sub-regions, the majority of the world's ecosystems have become severely degraded, and their continued ability to provide goods and services is under threat. The fundamental role that biodiversity plays in regulating the ecological processes (e.g. primary production, nutrient recycling) that underpin ecosystem services is acknowledged, but understanding of the relationships between biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and ecosystem services is poor. We need to improve our understanding of these links if we are sustain or enhance the benefits we are able to obtain from ecosystems in the face of future environmental, demographic and land use change.
The three goals of the BESS programme are: (1) to rigorously define how biodiversity within landscapes underpins the delivery of different ecosystem services at a range of scales and across gradients; (2) to establish whether there are critical levels of biodiversity required to deliver different kinds of services under different driver-pressure scenarios, as well as which enhance the resilience of ecosystems to those different drivers; and (3) to develop novel tools and indicators appropriate for tracking and measuring biodiversity and ecosystem services under those different scenarios (BESS Science Plan, 2011). BESS consortia will address these questions within four different landscape types: (1) lowland agricultural multifunctional; (2) coastal wetlands; (3) uplands; and (4) urban.
The Directorate's research activities (detailed in this proposal) will complement this by establishing frameworks and mechanisms through which these advances in knowledge and understanding can be translated into policy and practice. This will enhance the impact of the BESS programme at both decision-making and management-relevant scales in relation to maximising the services and benefits that we obtain from our natural capital resource.
In order for BESS to make a significant impact on policy and practice, it is essential that the relevance of the science to policy is made explicit, and in particular that the effects of different policy options at different scales on ecosystem service provision are clear. The focus of the individual projects within BESS will be on specific types of landscapes, but the delivery of ecosystem-level objectives frequently requires the simultaneous management of different landscape types within a much larger landscape. The research conducted by the Directorate will therefore specifically focus on such 'whole landscape' approaches, and how progress in scientific understanding of process and monitoring ecosystem services in specific landscapes can be integrated into 'whole landscape' initiatives in practice.
The overall aim of the research is to develop and apply a framework for translating the landscape-specific BESS research to a whole landscape system. The research will have three specific objectives:
1. To investigate the range of options for management interventions to enhance the delivery of single and multiple ecosystems services from different landscapes, and to develop appropriate tools for monitoring their effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and efficiency.
2. To build on an existing modelling framework to model and evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of different biodiversity-ecosystem service related interventions in real landscapes.
3. To work in collaboration with exemplar landscape initiatives to demonstrate how the work under objectives 1 and 2 can be used to inform the development, implementation and evaluation of landscape-scale ecosystem-based approaches to management.
The three goals of the BESS programme are: (1) to rigorously define how biodiversity within landscapes underpins the delivery of different ecosystem services at a range of scales and across gradients; (2) to establish whether there are critical levels of biodiversity required to deliver different kinds of services under different driver-pressure scenarios, as well as which enhance the resilience of ecosystems to those different drivers; and (3) to develop novel tools and indicators appropriate for tracking and measuring biodiversity and ecosystem services under those different scenarios (BESS Science Plan, 2011). BESS consortia will address these questions within four different landscape types: (1) lowland agricultural multifunctional; (2) coastal wetlands; (3) uplands; and (4) urban.
The Directorate's research activities (detailed in this proposal) will complement this by establishing frameworks and mechanisms through which these advances in knowledge and understanding can be translated into policy and practice. This will enhance the impact of the BESS programme at both decision-making and management-relevant scales in relation to maximising the services and benefits that we obtain from our natural capital resource.
In order for BESS to make a significant impact on policy and practice, it is essential that the relevance of the science to policy is made explicit, and in particular that the effects of different policy options at different scales on ecosystem service provision are clear. The focus of the individual projects within BESS will be on specific types of landscapes, but the delivery of ecosystem-level objectives frequently requires the simultaneous management of different landscape types within a much larger landscape. The research conducted by the Directorate will therefore specifically focus on such 'whole landscape' approaches, and how progress in scientific understanding of process and monitoring ecosystem services in specific landscapes can be integrated into 'whole landscape' initiatives in practice.
The overall aim of the research is to develop and apply a framework for translating the landscape-specific BESS research to a whole landscape system. The research will have three specific objectives:
1. To investigate the range of options for management interventions to enhance the delivery of single and multiple ecosystems services from different landscapes, and to develop appropriate tools for monitoring their effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and efficiency.
2. To build on an existing modelling framework to model and evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of different biodiversity-ecosystem service related interventions in real landscapes.
3. To work in collaboration with exemplar landscape initiatives to demonstrate how the work under objectives 1 and 2 can be used to inform the development, implementation and evaluation of landscape-scale ecosystem-based approaches to management.
Planned Impact
Generation of impact from this research will form part of the overall BESS communications strategy and the implementation strategy related to that. Activities detailed the BESS communications strategy will help to deliver a series of outcomes for policy-makers and practitioners at both national and international level (BESS Communications Strategy draft, 2012). There are a number of desired outcomes from the BESS programme: (i) the wide application of BESS-related science and research beyond the programme itself, nationally and internationally; (ii) the influence of BESS research on international policy development (such as IPBES); (iii) the influence of BESS on strategic national and local-level environmental decision-making; (iv) the influence of BESS on discussions of environmental issues in popular culture influenced by BESS; and (v) the influence of BESS on landscape management. The research contained in this proposal will focus especially on the impact of BESS on policy and practice.
For BESS research to have an impact on policy and practice, it must be accessible to those who would seek to apply it. To enable this, we will work in collaboration with Professor Bill Sutherland at the University of Cambridge to develop an ecosystem services section for 'conservation evidence' website (www.conservationevidence.com). ConservationEvidence.com is now a well-established website, set up in 2004 with the specific aim of providing practitioners access to the latest and most relevant ecological knowledge to support their policy or management decisions. It publishes synopses of current research, contains a searchable database of summaries of previously published scientific papers, reports, reviews or systematic reviews that document the effects of interventions, and hosts the Conservation Evidence online journal, which allows practitioners to document the evidence for the effectiveness of interventions. Much of the work on evidence-based conservation has been on interventions for biodiversity, including pollinators and landscape studies, and there is now a strong desire to extend further into ecosystem services and landscape-scale research (Sutherland was a member of the Lawton Review 'Making Space for Nature' and has led research exercises to collate options for enhancing ecosystem services). The conservationevidence.com website will provide a freely accessible portal for practitioners to use the results of the evaluation of ecosystem-service interventions. This makes ConservationEvidence.com an ideal vehicle for ensuring the long-term impact of BESS research and its accessibility to the practitioner community.
Dissemination of the results of this research to policy and government, non-governmental organisations, business, education, public and the media, will also be achieved through the BESS communications strategy (BESS Communication, Engagement and Knowledge Exchange Strategy 2011-2016). In addition, we will seek to maximise the impact of the work through working with other NERC initiatives and programmes, especially with the Valuing Nature Network, the UK National Ecosystem Assessment, and with the LWEC/NERC Knowledge Exchange programme, including close liaison with other UKRC KE specialists.
For BESS research to have an impact on policy and practice, it must be accessible to those who would seek to apply it. To enable this, we will work in collaboration with Professor Bill Sutherland at the University of Cambridge to develop an ecosystem services section for 'conservation evidence' website (www.conservationevidence.com). ConservationEvidence.com is now a well-established website, set up in 2004 with the specific aim of providing practitioners access to the latest and most relevant ecological knowledge to support their policy or management decisions. It publishes synopses of current research, contains a searchable database of summaries of previously published scientific papers, reports, reviews or systematic reviews that document the effects of interventions, and hosts the Conservation Evidence online journal, which allows practitioners to document the evidence for the effectiveness of interventions. Much of the work on evidence-based conservation has been on interventions for biodiversity, including pollinators and landscape studies, and there is now a strong desire to extend further into ecosystem services and landscape-scale research (Sutherland was a member of the Lawton Review 'Making Space for Nature' and has led research exercises to collate options for enhancing ecosystem services). The conservationevidence.com website will provide a freely accessible portal for practitioners to use the results of the evaluation of ecosystem-service interventions. This makes ConservationEvidence.com an ideal vehicle for ensuring the long-term impact of BESS research and its accessibility to the practitioner community.
Dissemination of the results of this research to policy and government, non-governmental organisations, business, education, public and the media, will also be achieved through the BESS communications strategy (BESS Communication, Engagement and Knowledge Exchange Strategy 2011-2016). In addition, we will seek to maximise the impact of the work through working with other NERC initiatives and programmes, especially with the Valuing Nature Network, the UK National Ecosystem Assessment, and with the LWEC/NERC Knowledge Exchange programme, including close liaison with other UKRC KE specialists.
People |
ORCID iD |
Piran White (Principal Investigator) | |
Dave Raffaelli (Co-Investigator) |
Publications
Austin Z
(2015)
Integrating quantitative and qualitative data in assessing the cost-effectiveness of biodiversity conservation programmes
in Biodiversity and Conservation
Austin Z
(2015)
Stakeholder perceptions of the effectiveness and efficiency of agri-environment schemes in enhancing pollinators on farmland
in Land Use Policy
Austin Z
(2016)
The co-benefits of biodiversity conservation programmes on wider ecosystem services
in Ecosystem Services
Bennett E
(2015)
Linking biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human well-being: three challenges for designing research for sustainability
in Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability
FAZEY I
(2012)
Knowledge exchange: a review and research agenda for environmental management
in Environmental Conservation
Iossa G
(2018)
The natural environment: a critical missing link in national action plans on antimicrobial resistance.
in Bulletin of the World Health Organization
Raffaelli D
(2013)
Global Change in Multispecies Systems: Part 3
Sutherland W
(2014)
Solution Scanning as a Key Policy Tool: Identifying Management Interventions to Help Maintain and Enhance Regulating Ecosystem Services
in Ecology and Society
Tomczyk A
(2017)
A new framework for prioritising decisions on recreational trail management
in Landscape and Urban Planning
Tomczyk AM
(2016)
Effects of extreme natural events on the provision of ecosystem services in a mountain environment: The importance of trail design in delivering system resilience and ecosystem service co-benefits.
in Journal of environmental management
Description | We have developed a spreadsheet-based toolkit to allow users to access the results of this review and to find out the effect of specific interventions on a range of ecosystem services and goods, and the evidence base for that interaction. The tool-kit is intended for anyone involved in making land-management decisions. We have also established an online gateway for ecosystem service mapping work throughout the UK. This will be kept up-to-date for the duration of BESS and serve as an information point for best practice in ecosystem service mapping. Finally, we have worked with partners at SRUC and Natural England to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of traditional species- and habitat-based conservation measures in delivering ecosystem services at a landscape level. We have developed a habitat-based model for understanding the interactions between different ecosystem services in neighbouring habitats at the landscape level, in response to management interventions. This work has been enhanced by funding from Defra, and we have developed prototype models for two areas - the Humberhead Levels Nature Improvement Area and the Tees Valley. |
Exploitation Route | The next stage of the project is to extend our ecosystem service modelling work to other systems and models, and we are working with new partners to develop approaches for planning and evaluating the delivery of ecosystem services at the landscape level. |
Sectors | Environment |
URL | http://www.nerc-bess.net/ne-ess/ |
Description | The ecosystem service mapping work has been used by Defra as part of the UK's submission to the EU MAES (mapping ecosystem services) initiative. The ecosystem mapping work has been used by regional and local authorities for guidance on mapping ecosystem services. The ecosystem interactions map has been used by stakeholders in the Humberhead Levels and Tees Valley areas. Natural England are using one of our decision support tools for management planning at a national level, and we are collaborating with them to develop this tool further, as well as on the development of related tools concerning monitoring natural capital. |
First Year Of Impact | 2013 |
Sector | Environment |
Impact Types | Societal Policy & public services |
Description | Ecosystems Task Force |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Description | NESAC |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Impact | NESAC provides advice to Natural England on the development and progress of conservation strategy |
Description | Defra commissioned project |
Amount | £15,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Department For Environment, Food And Rural Affairs (DEFRA) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2017 |
End | 03/2017 |
Description | Innovation in ecosystem mapping and the application of the Ecosystem Approach to managing designated conservation sites |
Amount | £104,671 (GBP) |
Funding ID | WC1065 |
Organisation | Department For Environment, Food And Rural Affairs (DEFRA) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2013 |
End | 12/2014 |
Description | Mapping ecosystem services: a review of activity in England |
Amount | £30,556 (GBP) |
Organisation | Natural England |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2012 |
End | 03/2013 |
Description | NERC Innovation Green Infrastructure programme |
Amount | £9,653 (GBP) |
Funding ID | NE/M021505/1 |
Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2016 |
End | 06/2017 |
Description | Scottish Government Evidence Programme |
Amount | £16,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Government of Scotland |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2012 |
End | 09/2013 |
Title | Ecosystem Service Mapping Gateway |
Description | The website provides a searchable database for ecosystem service mapping projects |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2012 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | The database provides a source of information and guidance on ecosystem service mapping, for use by other researchers, policy-makers and any organisations engaged in local or regional planning with respect to ecosystem services. |
URL | http://www.nerc-bess.net/ne-ess/ |
Description | Cambridge Conservation Initiative |
Organisation | University of Cambridge |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We have contributed to a joint journal paper on interventions for ecosystem services |
Collaborator Contribution | Bill Sutherland (CCI) has led the paper to which we have contributed. |
Impact | One published paper. Sutherland, W. J., Gardner, T., Bogich, T. L., Bradbury, R.B., Clothier, B., Jonsson, M., Kapos, V., Lane, S. N., Möller, I., Schroeder, M., Spalding, M., Spencer, T., White, P. C. L. & Dicks, L. V. (2014) Solution scanning as a key policy tool: identifying management interventions to help maintain and enhance regulating ecosystem services. Ecology and Society 19 (2): 3. [online] http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol19/iss2/art3/ |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Environment Systems collaboration around ecosystem service opportunity mapping |
Organisation | Environment Systems |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | This collaboration builds on evidence tracking software that has been developed with SimOmics, via another partnership, as a component of the work for the project. |
Collaborator Contribution | Environment Systems have invited us to collaborate with them on a new project they are undertaking, applying our software in a new context. |
Impact | None to date. Proposal being developed. |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | Natural England ES evidence |
Organisation | Natural England |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | We have worked with Natural England to develop a database of management interventions and their impacts on ecosystem services, and we are working with them to develop a series .of evidence cards relating to ecosystem service interventions. |
Collaborator Contribution | Natural England staff have worked with us on the ecosystem service evidence work described above, under a Memorandum of Agreement. |
Impact | A spreadsheet database of ecosystem service interventions (currently internal to Natural England). |
Start Year | 2012 |
Description | SRUC cost-effectiveness |
Organisation | Scotland's Rural College |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We have collaborated with SRUC on a Scottish Government-funded project to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of conservation measures in Scotland |
Collaborator Contribution | SRUC led the Scottish Government-funded project to which we contributed. |
Impact | A project report was submitted to the Scottish Government. A paper was presented at the 88th Agricultural Economics conference. Several manuscripts have been published in journals. |
Start Year | 2012 |
Description | Simomics collaboration |
Organisation | Sim Omics |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | We are providing knowledge and understanding of ecosystem services. |
Collaborator Contribution | Simomics is providing expertise on goal structured notation and providing associated Artoo software. |
Impact | We are developing an evidence tracking tool for ecosystem service decision models, which will be available on the web once it is completed. |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | UEA SEER project |
Organisation | University of East Anglia |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We are working with the UEA ESRC-funded SEER project team to determine whether their existing models for landscape provision of ecosystem services can be enhanced by the inclusion of more detailed information on management interventions from our database built up during this project. |
Collaborator Contribution | They provide the basic SEER modelling framework. |
Impact | No outcomes as yet. |
Start Year | 2013 |
Title | Ecosystem Service Interactions - Spatial Interactive Tool |
Description | The tool allows users to evaluate the impacts on landscape-scale ecosystem services of different management interventions in specific geographical areas. |
Type Of Technology | Webtool/Application |
Year Produced | 2014 |
Impact | No impacts as yet. |
URL | http://esi-sit.com/ |
Title | Ecosystem Services Transfer Toolkit |
Description | The Ecosystem Services Transfer Toolkit is a spreadsheet-based tool that allows users to understand the effects of land management actions on the provision of ecosystem services, and to understand the underlying evidence base from the scientific literature. |
Type Of Technology | Software |
Year Produced | 2014 |
Impact | The toolkit is used by Natural England to assist their management of designated sites and wider landscapes. |
URL | http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/5890643062685696 |
Description | Defra workshop on ecosystem service indicators for Nature Improvement Areas |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | A workshop with 25 attendees was held to consider potential ecosystem service indicators that could be used to evaluate progress on ecosystem service monitoring, with a particular focus on Nature Improvement Areas. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Defra/Natural England ecosystem service mapping workshops |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Two workshops, each attended by 12-15 people, were held to focus on current activities in England and Wales around ecosystem service mapping, to generate some principles for best practice, and to inform the development of the Ecosystem Service Mapping Gateway on the web. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012,2013 |
URL | http://www.nerc-bess.net/ne-ess/ |