An empirical evaluation of spatial value transfer methods for identifying cultural ecosystem services

A significant barrier to the assessment of ecosystem services is a lack of primary data, especially for cultural ecosystem services. Spatial value transfer, also known as benefits transfer, is a method to identify the probable locations of ecosystem services based on empirical spatial associations found in other geographic locations. To date, there has been no systematic evaluation of spatial value transfer methods for cultural ecosystem services identified through participatory mapping methods. This research paper addresses this knowledge gap by examining key variables that influence value transfer for cultural ecosystem services: (1) the geographic setting, (2) the type of ecosystem services, and (3) the land cover data selected for value-transfer. Spatial data from public participation GIS (PPGIS) processes in two regions in Norway were used to evaluate spatial value transfer where the actual mapped distribution of cultural ecosystem values were compared to maps generated using value transfer coefficients. Six cultural ecosystem values were evaluated using two different land cover classification systems GlobCover (300 m resolution) and CORINE (100 m resolution). Value transfer maps based on the distribution of mapped ecosystem values produced strongly correlated results to primary data in both regions. Value transfer for cultural ecosystems appear valid under conditions where the primary data and value transfer regions have similar physical landscapes, the social and cultural values of the human populations are similar, and the primary data sample sizes are large and unbiased. We suggest the use of non-economic value transfer coefficients derived from participatory mapping as the current best approach for estimating the importance and spatial distribution of cultural ecosystem services.     

Macro-evolutionary studies of cultural diversity: a review of empirical studies of cultural transmission and cultural adaptation

A growing body of theoretical and empirical research has examined cultural transmission and adaptive cultural behaviour at the individual, within-group level. However, relatively few studies have tried to examine proximate transmission or test ultimate adaptive hypotheses about behavioural or cultural diversity at a between-societies macro-level. In both the history of anthropology and in present-day work, a common approach to examining adaptive behaviour at the macro-level has been through correlating various cultural traits with features of ecology. We discuss some difficulties with simple ecological associations, and then review cultural phylogenetic studies that have attempted to go beyond correlations to understand the underlying cultural evolutionary processes. We conclude with an example of a phylogenetically controlled approach to understanding proximate transmission pathways in Austronesian cultural diversity.     

The ultrastructural indicators of aquatic ecosystem health

Analyses by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of the smallest organisms in surface waters can be used to assess ecosystem health; the evidence for this statement is reviewed and recommendations are made for optimal use of TEM technology in providing such assessments. Those groups of small organisms currently being considered as indicators of ecosystem health (viruses, bacteria, autotrophic picoplankton, and autotrophic nanoplankton) are reviewed briefly as subjects for monitoring by TEM. New information on direct counting by TEM of viral femtoplankton indicates that viruses can be present in numbers 10³ to 10⁷ times greater than previously estimated by the traditional counts of plaque-forming units using various host bacteria. Such concentrations indicate that virus infections may exert ecological control over planktonic microbes. Ultrastructural research on prokaryotic picoplankton suggests that TEM analyses of cells in ultra-thin sections can be used to speciate the picoplankton and to diagnose them for cytological modifications related to environmental stress. Considering their great importance, episodically, to primary productivity and to modulating the speciation of higher levels in the food web, such picoplankton ultrastructural analyses could be pursued with profit as a diagnostic tool. For decades, the ultrastructure of some eukaryotic nanoplankton has been known to vary in specific ways to specific stresses in laboratory experiments. An extension of these structure-function correlations is potentially a useful tool to provide indicators of ecosystem health. The barriers to progress in such research are now understood and can be overcome.     

Fish assemblages as indicators of estuary ecosystem health

Understanding and managing increasing threat from diverse anthropogenic pressures on estuaries requires impact assessment and monitoring indices that provide accurate quantification of change and are readily communicable. Although indices based on nekton assemblage structure have obvious appeal to managers, the imperative to produce the most accurate measures possible has seen a move away from simple composite measures (such as diversity indices) towards complex multivariate approaches. However, complex methods often provide a poor basis for reporting because they can be difficult to report in terms that are meaningful to the end user. Effective indices should be simple to construct and communicate, relate directly to definable biological attributes, fall within predictable ranges for unimpacted systems and show demonstrable responses to known impacts. We use published nekton data for 30 natural and two artificial estuaries to develop a set of nekton assemblage-based summary measures that fit these criteria. We evaluated a suite of simple parallel measures based on both catch per unit effort (CPUE) and probability of encounter (PoE). Parallel measures provide complementary information thus a more robust assessments of change. Three measures fell within consistent bounds as long as comparisons were confined to the same time of year to remove the influence of seasonal variability, and were efficient at differentiating degraded from unimpacted estuaries. Because the successful approaches rely on PoE rather than CPUE they have considerable tactical advantages in that they are less destructive, allow for the collection of many more samples per unit time, and treat schooling and non-schooling species equivalently.     

生态系统服务研究进展

工业革命以来对地球进行的大范围开发 ,导致人类与自然的尖锐对立 ,全球气候在变暖、土地的生产力在下降、水资源的短缺日益突出、生态系统在大范围改变 (水生生态系统衰退、草原荒漠化、森林生态系统退化 )、生物多样性在减少、环境质量在下降。伴随着这些全球性和区域性的生态环境危机的发生 ,人类本身的生存与发展受到威胁 ,表现在 :自然生产的食物越来越少、可用于医疗保健的天然药物越来越少、许多相伴人类的动植物正濒临灭绝、灾难性的水旱灾害日益频繁、清洁的空气和清澈的河溪正变成奢侈品、人类活动产生的废物正在充斥和破坏着环境…     

河流生态系统服务功能及水坝对其影响

河流生态系统服务功能是指河流生态系统与河流生态过程所形成及所维持的人类赖以生存的自然环境条件与效用,包括河流生态系统产品与河流生态系统服务两个方面。文中分析了河流生态系统的15项服务功能,其中包括供水、水产品生产、内陆航运、水力发电、休闲娱乐和文化美学等6项河流生态系统产品与调蓄洪水、河流输送、蓄积水分、土壤持留、净化环境、固定CO2、养分循环、提供生境和维持生物多样性等9项河流生态系统服务;同时又分析了修建水坝对这此服务功能的影响。研究表明,使河流生态系统服务功能得到正常发挥,是水坝建设决策中应考虑的必要因素。     

A proposed framework for developing indicators of ecosystem health

Considerations involved in developing a suite of indicators to monitor regional environmental health, similar in conception to management use of leading economic indicators, are described. Linkages between human activities and well being and the state of the environment are considered essential to the evaluation of general environmental health. Biogeochemical and socioeconomic indicators are mutually affected by environmental degradation and examples of both categories of indicators are described. Desirable properties in indicators of environmental health vary with their specific management use. Different indicators are called for when collecting data to assess the adequacy of the environment, monitor trends over time, provide early warning of environmental degradation, or diagnose the cause of an existing problem. Tradeoffs between desirable characteristics, costs, and quality of information are inevitable when choosing indicators for management use. Decisions about what information to collect for which purpose can be made more rationally when available indicators are characterized and matched to management goals.     

Uncovering ecosystem service bundles through social preferences

Ecosystem service assessments have increasingly been used to support environmental management policies, mainly based on biophysical and economic indicators. However, few studies have coped with the social-cultural dimension of ecosystem services, despite being considered a research priority. We examined how ecosystem service bundles and trade-offs emerge from diverging social preferences toward ecosystem services delivered by various types of ecosystems in Spain. We conducted 3,379 direct face-to-face questionnaires in eight different case study sites from 2007 to 2011. Overall, 90.5% of the sampled population recognized the ecosystem's capacity to deliver services. Formal studies, environmental behavior, and gender variables influenced the probability of people recognizing the ecosystem's capacity to provide services. The ecosystem services most frequently perceived by people were regulating services; of those, air purification held the greatest importance. However, statistical analysis showed that socio-cultural factors and the conservation management strategy of ecosystems (i.e., National Park, Natural Park, or a non-protected area) have an effect on social preferences toward ecosystem services. Ecosystem service trade-offs and bundles were identified by analyzing social preferences through multivariate analysis (redundancy analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis). We found a clear trade-off among provisioning services (and recreational hunting) versus regulating services and almost all cultural services. We identified three ecosystem service bundles associated with the conservation management strategy and the rural-urban gradient. We conclude that socio-cultural preferences toward ecosystem services can serve as a tool to identify relevant services for people, the factors underlying these social preferences, and emerging ecosystem service bundles and trade-offs.     

生态系统的净化服务及其价值研究

生态系统对环境的净化服务是其向人类提供的重要服务功能之一,了解生态系统的净化机理及其价值,对自然资源的保护及其可持续利用有着十分重要的作用。本文讨论了生态系统的净化服务的机理,提出了生态系统净化类型,在此基础上,运用经济学和环境经济学原理,探讨了生态系统的净化价值评估方法,以我国森林生态系统为例,对生态系统的净化价值进行了估算。     

Methodological and empirical considerations when assessing freshwater ecosystem service provision in a developing city context: Making the best of what we have

This study contributes to both the methodological and empirical literature by developing an integrative approach to assessing temporal and spatial change in riparian ecosystem service delivery by drawing on available and diverse data sets. These data sets act as multiple lines of evidence in supporting comparisons between data sets to test the validity of developed methods and the application of such methods. In order to synthesise these data as well as to determine the fluctuations in riparian ecosystem service provision a scoring system was developed. Methodologically, the scoring system proved informative across the majority of ecosystem services categories, showing close to 80% similarity in outcomes when comparing the scoring method to trends in long-term water quality measurements. Other benefits of the scoring system included its design simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and applicability and replicability across various urban settings. Empirically, the data sets used support the findings of the ecosystem services scoring exercise and suggests that fluctuations in ecosystem service delivery through time and across the river reaches are linked to land-use change and other human activities. Findings suggest that as water leaves an urban protected area and travels across transformed and impacted landscapes, the results are poor water quality and diminished ability of rivers to yield ecosystem services the further the river flows into the urban setting. Urbanisation and changes in land-uses in developing city contexts is therefore shown to affect potential ecosystem services benefits, necessitating increasing management interventions.     

Zooplankters as indicators of ecosystem health: past findings and future directions

Both acute (ingestion, respiration) and chronic bioassays (reproduction, survival) have been used to identify sources of pollutants. A mass-balance analysis suggests that acute tests be paired, using important indicator species asDaphnia, Ceriodaphnia and potentially others, to estimate the impact of contaminants upon the zooplankton community. Eventually groups of community bioassays may be combined to approximate an ecosystem bioassay. Hormesis or the stimulation of a physiological process by a compound which is toxic at high concentrations is characteristic of several bioassays; in this paper the ecotoxicology community is challenged to keep detailed records of the species, toxic compound, and physiological response involving hormesis in order to understand it; and ultimately to use it to simplify interpretation of bioassays. Life history characteristics of the cladoceran zooplankton, including early reproduction, high net reproductive rates, and the potential for many parthenogenetic generations with constant genotypes and low mutation rates make good choices for environmental bioassays. In contrast, high mutation rates of rotifers make them questionable choices. Five innovations, one or more of which may improve our ability to detect and identify pollutants, are suggested for ecotoxicologists using zooplankton. These include (a) the use of strains of known genotype; (b) determination of the genetic adaptation of clones to common toxins; (c) the use of common behaviors, including responses to light in detection of non-lethal chemicals at ambient levels; (d) record keeping on occurrence of cladoceran tumors; and (e) the determination of precise toxins responsible for the inhibition of zooplankton function and behavior.     

Spatial covariance between biodiversity and other ecosystem service priorities

1.  Ecosystems support biodiversity and also provide goods and services that are beneficial to humans. The extent to which the locations that are most valuable for ecosystem services coincide with those that support the most biodiversity is of critical importance when designing conservation and land management strategies. There are, however, few studies on which to base any kind of conclusion about possible spatial patterns of association between ecosystem services and biodiversity. Moreover, little is known about the sensitivity of the conclusions to the quality of the data available, or to the choice and size of the region used for analysis.
2.  Here, we first present national-scale estimates of the spatial covariance in areas important for ecosystem services and biodiversity (richness of species of conservation concern), using Britain as a case study. We then explore how these associations are sensitive to the spatial resolution of the available data, the spatial extent of our study region and to regional variation across the study area.
3.  Our analyses reveal a mixture of negative and positive associations. In particular, the regionalization analysis shows that one can arrive at diametrically opposing conclusions about relationships between ecosystem services and biodiversity by studying the same question within different areas, even within a moderately small island.
4.   Synthesis and applications. In a policy context, the location-specific nature of relationships between ecosystem services and biodiversity underscores the importance of multi-scale environmental decision-making, so as to reflect both local conditions and broader-scale priorities. The results also suggest that efforts to establish general patterns of congruence in ecosystem services and biodiversity may offer a less constructive way forward than do more regional approaches.     

湖泊的水生态模型

由于城市化进程的不断加快,大量的污染物排放到湖泊中,打破了湖泊的生态平衡.湖泊的水生态模型不仅能够研究湖泊的富营养化现象,而且还可以模拟工业毒物等污染物对湖泊生态系统的影响,是湖泊管理的有力工具.本文从分析湖泊的污染现状以及污染趋势出发,介绍了湖泊水生态模型的研究现状,并根据模型的模拟对象和空间模拟能力对湖泊水生态模型进行了分类.在此基础上介绍了AQUATOX、PAMOLARE、CAEDYM、WASP、OOMAS等比较成熟的模拟湖泊生态系统的模型软件,阐述了它们的产生、发展、主要特点以及应用,总结了当今湖泊水生态模型在模拟过程中遇到的问题,并对水生态模型的发展趋势进行了展望.本文为湖泊水生态模型的选择提供了建议.     

A review of indicators of estuarine tidal wetland condition

This review critically evaluates indicators of tidal wetland condition based on 36 indicator development studies and indicators developed as part of U.S. state tidal wetland monitoring programs. Individual metrics were evaluated based on relative scores on two sets of evaluation factors. A rigor score evaluated metric development based on conceptual relevance, indicator development method, degree of independent validation, and temporal and spatial extent tested. An applicability score evaluated metrics based on cost of data collection, probable spatial extent of applicability, technical complexity, and indicator responsiveness. The majority of indicators could be classified as biotic condition indicators (81%), with vegetation (37%) and macroinvertebrate (28%) metrics composing the largest proportion. Most metrics provided a conceptual model or scientific justification (97%), were developed by correlation to environmental gradients (46%), were tested over multiple seasons or years (49%) and at multiple sites (88%). Few were independently validated (18%). Average rigor score was 10 (on a scale of 0–25) and ranged between 1 and 21. Highest rigor scores were for trematode community metrics (community similarity index, species richness) and metrics of grass shrimp (Palaemonetes pugio) individuals (gene expression, relative fecundity, embryo hatching success, larval survival). Most metrics had a high cost of data collection (63%), required field and laboratory processing (84%), would be applicable across the U.S. (72%), and were responsive to the variable of interest (44%). Mean applicability score was 4.9 (range: 2–8). Highest scores were found for metrics that only required field collection of data using simple or no instrumentation. Lowest scoring metrics required expensive equipment, specialized taxonomic knowledge, complex laboratory analysis, and/or culturing of organisms. Scores for individual metrics were grouped by indicator, then averaged and rescaled between 0 and 100 to provide a composite evaluation of the indicator they measured. Among major indicator types, biotic indicators had the highest rigor scores (mean = 44, range 20–79), followed by indicators of chemical/physical characteristics (mean = 36, range 16–56), landscape condition (mean = 31, range 24–37), and hydrology/geomorphology indicators (mean = 21, range 4–52). In contrast, biotic indicators scored lowest for applicability (mean = 58, range 25–100) and indicators of landscape condition scored highest. The results of this review suggest that the development and selection of tidal wetland indicators could be vastly improved by employing a standardized development methodology that provides uniform information about each indicator. In addition, tidal wetland indicator research should focus on the development of indicators of ecological processes and disturbance regimes.