Social mapping of perceived ecosystem services supply – The role of social landscape metrics and social hotspots for integrated ecosystem services assessment,landscape planning and management

This paper contributes to the discussion on integrating societal considerations, stakeholders' perceptions and laymen knowledge into ecosystem services (ES) assessments. The paper illustrates how social mapping of perceived ES supply (or alternatively demand) can contribute to integrated ES assessment. Based on sketched locations of the, according to 38 respondents, most important ES at the local scale, we describe the perceived ES distribution with social landscape metrics (abundance, diversity, richness, risk, rarity) based on traditional landscape ecology indicators. We illustrate how social landscape metrics can inform ES management and planning and describe how synergies between ES as stated by the respondents differ from calculated synergies (the latter based on correlation coefficients between perceived ES abundance). We present indicators pointing to locations where (multiple) ES synergies are perceived by stakeholders (stated synergy index), and to conflicting ES and ES perceived to be at risk (risk index). Overlapping social ES hotspots based on the social landscape metrics with ES hotspots based on more traditional biophysical modelling (biophysical hotspots) and ecological inventories (ecological hotspots) results in social–ecological or social–biophysical hotspots, coldspots and warmspots relevant for nature and landscape planning, management and governance. Based on an analysis of the overlaps between social, biophysical and ecological hotspots on the one hand, and the contribution of ecological quality, land zoning categories and conservation statuses on the other hand, we discuss the added value of integrating social ES mapping in integrated ES assessment, above ES assessments based on biophysical or ecological attributes. Given the limited overlap between social hotspots and ecological or biophysical hotspots, we conclude that integrating stakeholders' mapping of perceived ES supply (or demand) into ES assessments is necessary to reflect the societal aspects of ES in ES assessments. However, with a limited sample of respondents, there is a risk of collectivisation of respondents' viewpoints as a common, societal stance. Moreover, the social landscape metrics are not suitable for describing the distribution of ES with low perceived abundance. Finally, we explain how social ES assessment can result in mainstreaming ES in planning, policy and practice.     

Recreation potential assessment at large spatial scales: A method based in the ecosystem services approach and landscape metrics

Ecosystem services (ES) is a useful framework for land-use decision making oriented to, ensure human well-being. Outdoor recreation potential, as a cultural ecosystem service, pose, particular challenges to its evaluation and mapping: it depends to a greater extent that other ES on, stakeholderś perception and values, it has lower generalization capacity, the delimitation of, provisioning areas is not straightforward and it should be evaluated at different spatial scales. In this, study, we propose a conceptual framework and method that is intended to cope with these challenges. Our method is based on landscape metrics measured at coarse scale, and campsite density as an, indicator of ecosystem service supply and benefit capture. We applied this method to a case study in, Argentina. We estimated outdoor recreation potential level using a quantile multiple regression, analysis of the 0.9 quantile of campsite density with nine landscape metrics determinants of ecosystem, service supply. We also explored two determinants of benefit capture with a linear stepwise regression, analysis of differences between the predicted recreation potential and actual use. We stratified the, analysis by ecoregion to distinguish the different weight of determinants of ecosystem service supply, and benefit capture.The examined landscape determinants showed differences in their explicative capacity of outdoor, recreation potential across ecoregions, showing that their generalization capacity is limited. For, example, and contrary to our expectations, crop area did not have a negative effect for any of the 15, analyzed ecoregions. In fact, significant correlations are positive for three cases. Forest cover, on the, other hand, had a positive effect only in the Pampas ecoregion, originally dominated by grasslands and, where current forests consist in plantations of exotic trees. Results also showed that, in general, unrealized benefit increases with road and population density.Our method makes a contribution to the study of recreation potential under the framework of ES by, taking into account important aspects that are sometimes overlooked. It considers the differences with, other ecosystem services in terms of the underlying processes that control ecosystem service supply, and benefit capture and it can be applied at a very wide spatial extent, at which approaches with other, methods that are more information demanding is difficult. Yet complementary methods at more, detailed spatial scales would provide additional information for a comprehensive estimation of, outdoor recreation potential.     

西南地区生态系统服务供需历史变化与SSP-RCP情景预测

生态系统服务的供需平衡对实现可持续发展至关重要。为了更好地了解过去气候变化和社会经济发展对生态系统服务的影响,并对未来不同气候和社会经济发展情景做出正确响应,有必要对生态系统服务的供需变化进行系统的评估和预测。研究对我国西南地区2000、2010、2015年的水源涵养、食物生产和固碳3项生态系统服务的供给和需求进行了定量的空间评估,然后基于IPCC(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)提出的社会经济发展和气候变化联合情景框架,即SSP-RCP情景(Shared Socio-economic Pathways-Representative Concentration Pathways),对此3项生态系统服务在未来2035年和2050年的供给和需求进行了SSP1-RCP2.6、SSP2-RCP4.5、SSP4-RCP6.0和SSP5-RCP8.5 4个情景下的预测。结果显示,西南地区水源涵养和固碳服务的供给和需求具有显著的空间不匹配特征,且其需求从2000—2015年分别增长了11.49%和252.41%。根据SSP-RCP情景预测结果,水源...     

On the Effects of Scale for Ecosystem Services Mapping

Ecosystems provide life-sustaining services upon which human civilization depends, but their degradation largely continues unabated. Spatially explicit information on ecosystem services (ES) provision is required to better guide decision making, particularly for mountain systems, which are characterized by vertical gradients and isolation with high topographic complexity, making them particularly sensitive to global change. But while spatially explicit ES quantification and valuation allows the identification of areas of abundant or limited supply of and demand for ES, the accuracy and usefulness of the information varies considerably depending on the scale and methods used. Using four case studies from mountainous regions in Europe and the U.S., we quantify information gains and losses when mapping five ES - carbon sequestration, flood regulation, agricultural production, timber harvest, and scenic beauty - at coarse and fine resolution (250 m vs. 25 m in Europe and 300 m vs. 30 m in the U.S.). We analyze the effects of scale on ES estimates and their spatial pattern and show how these effects are related to different ES, terrain structure and model properties. ES estimates differ substantially between the fine and coarse resolution analyses in all case studies and across all services. This scale effect is not equally strong for all ES. We show that spatially explicit information about non-clustered, isolated ES tends to be lost at coarse resolution and against expectation, mainly in less rugged terrain, which calls for finer resolution assessments in such contexts. The effect of terrain ruggedness is also related to model properties such as dependency on land use-land cover data. We close with recommendations for mapping ES to make the resulting maps more comparable, and suggest a four-step approach to address the issue of scale when mapping ES that can deliver information to support ES-based decision making with greater accuracy and reliability.     

中国生态区划研究进展:从格局、功能到服务

在总结国内外生态区域研究的基础上,系统梳理了中国现有的生态区划方案,总结出生态特征和类型区划、生态地理和格局区划、生态功能和服务区划三大类,分别对每个区划的指标、技术、方案、特点进行了归纳,并提出了各自存在的问题。现有研究缺少面向服务供需的生态系统区划,生态制图和更新的标准化技术也存在不足。为此,提出明确不同生态区划的科学或管理目标、强调人类需求对于生态系统服务的影响、重视全球气候变化对生态系统的现实作用和未来影响、加强现代制图技术在生态区划的作用、整合现有多原则和多目标的生态分区方案等五个方面的建议。     

The Urban Funnel Model and the Spatially Heterogeneous Ecological Footprint

Urban ecological systems are characterized by complex interactions between the natural environment and humans at multiple scales; for an individual urban ecosystem, the strongest interactions may occur at the local or regional spatial scale. At the regional scale, external ecosystems produce resources that are acquired and transported by humans to urban areas, where they are processed and consumed. The assimilation of diffuse human wastes and pollutants also occurs at the regional scale, with much of this process occurring external to the urban system. We developed the urban funnel model to conceptualize the integration of humans into their ecological context. The model captures this pattern and process of resource appropriation and waste generation by urban ecosystems at various spatial scales. This model is applied to individual cities using a modification of traditional ecological footprint (EF) analysis that is spatially explicit; the incorporation of spatial heterogeneity in calculating the EF greatly improves its accuracy. The method for EF analysis can be further modified to ensure that a certain proportion of potential ecosystem services are left for in situ processes. Combining EF models of human appropriation with ecosystem process models would help us to learn more about the effects of ecosystem service appropriation. By comparing the results for food and water, we were able to identify some of the potentially limiting ecological factors for cities. A comparison of the EFs for the 20 largest US cities showed the importance of urban location and interurban competition for ecosystem services. This study underscores the need to take multiple scales and spatial heterogeneity into consideration to expand our current understanding of human–ecosystem interactions. The urban funnel model and the spatially heterogeneous EF provide an effective means of achieving this goal. Received 17 October 2000; accepted 31 May 2001.     

From instantaneous to continuous: Using imaging spectroscopy and in situ data to map two productivity-related ecosystem services

Spatially well-informed decisions are essential to sustain and regulate processes and ecosystem services (ES), and to maintain the capacity of ecosystems to supply services. However, spatially explicit ES information is often lacking in decision-making, or exists only as ES maps based on categorical land cover data. Remote sensing (RS) opens new pathways to map ES, in particular biophysical ES supply. We developed an observation-based concept for spatially explicit and continuous ES mapping at landscape scale following the biophysical part of the ES cascade. We used Earth observations in combination with in situ data to map ecosystem properties, functions, and biophysical ES supply. We applied this concept in a case study to map two ES: carbon dioxide regulation and food supply. Based on Earth observations and in situ data, we determined the ecosystem property Sun-Induced chlorophyll Fluorescence (SIF) to indicate ecosystem state and applied scaling models to estimate gross primary production (GPP) as indicator for ecosystem functioning and consequently carbon dioxide regulation and food supply as ES.Resulting ES maps showed heterogeneous patterns in ES supply within and among ecosystems, which were particularly evident within forests and grasslands. All investigated land cover classes were sources of CO₂, with averages ranging from ‐66 to ‐748 g C m^‐2 yr^‐1, after considering the harvest of total above ground biomass of crops and the storage organ, except for forest being a sink of CO₂ with an average of 105 g C m^‐2 yr^‐1. Estimated annual GPP was related to food supply with a maize grain yield average of 9.5 t ha^‐1 yr^‐1 and a sugar beet root yield of 110 t ha^‐1 yr^‐1. Validation with in situ measurements from flux towers and literature values revealed a good performance of our approach for food supply (relative RMSE of less than 23%), but also some over- and underestimations for carbon dioxide regulation. Our approach demonstrated how RS can contribute to spatially explicit and continuous ES cascade mapping and suggest that this information could be useful for environmental assessments and decision-making in spatial planning and conservation.     

生态系统服务网及其生态学意义

生态系统服务概念的提出将人类福祉与生态环境更直接地联系起来,有助于认识和解决发展与保护的难题。从生态系统服务网络的视角出发,可以更好的理解生态系统服务供给、流动和需求等相关复杂问题。（1）生态系统服务网将不同生态过程与服务有机联系起来,为生态系统服务交互研究提供参考。（2）不同尺度下生态系统服务间的交互作用以及自然-社会的互动是网络体系的重要组成部分,按服务网络间联系方式可以划分为网状层次、关系模块和对象模块。（3）生态系统服务在生物、生境网络中形成,受自然因素和人为因素的双重影响,服务网络间的联系与转化受生态系统服务流和网络关系的制约。（4）景观异质性、生物多样性和生态循环分别是生态系统服务网络形成的基础、核心和形成机制。（5）生态系统服务网络便于生态系统服务价值评估、空间制图,是提高人类对环境认知的重要手段。（6）人类福祉与生态系统服务间的非线性关系适宜用网络来表达,景观优化实质上是生态系统服务网调控的动态过程。     

基于生态系统服务簇的小尺度区域生态用地功能分类-以重庆两江新区为例

生态用地功能分类是其生态价值评估及管理的基础,与生态系统服务的权衡和协同关系联系密切;对小尺度区域进行生态用地功能分类研究有助于实现精细化生态资源管理。以重庆两江新区为例,选取该区8种重要的生态系统服务,兼顾生态与社会成分,基于层次聚类法得到6类生态系统服务簇,依据提供重要生态系统服务和维护关键生态过程的原则,对其重要性等级进行了划分;依据生态系统服务簇与土地利用类型之间的关联关系,将生态用地定义为提供重要生态系统服务、维护关键生态过程或生态脆弱的用地空间,并按重要性将其划分为3个等级。研究结果表明,基于生态系统服务簇的生态用地分类框架不仅能够最大限度涵盖生态用地的功能属性,而且能够在空间上量化不同生态系统服务的相对比例,有助于对用地类型与生态功能之间的对应关系形成深入系统的认识,也可为精细化生态管理提供参考。     

From Field Data to Ecosystem Services Maps: Using Regressions for the Case of Deforested Areas Within the Amazon

Quantifying and mapping ecosystem services (ES) is seen as one way to improve decision making and land management to better integrate environmental issues. This study aimed to characterize ES supply in deforestation context where an improvement of scientific knowledge should help develop more efficient environmental management. For three case studies in the Brazilian Amazon impacted by deforestation, seven indicators of potential ES supply were mapped at a spatial resolution of 30 × 30 m: biodiversity index (indicator of food web support); richness of pollinators (pollination); index of soil chemical quality (support to production); water available for plants (water regulation); soil carbon stocks (support to production and climate regulation); rate of water infiltration into the soil (soil erosion control); and vegetation carbon stocks (climate regulation). To map these indicators, in situ measurements of ES for 135 sampling points and remote sensing data were linked using regression methods. These methods were used to predict ES values and identify environmental factors that influence ES supply. The resulting maps help in understanding the influence of environmental factors on ES spatial distribution within the sites. The analyses illustrate the influence of land-use changes on ES supply and the role of context effects due to the heterogeneity of the biophysical environment, the temporality of deforestation and/or their diversified sociopolitical contexts. From a methodological viewpoint, the study highlights the importance of choices inherent in all cartographic practices and that need to be considered, especially in the context of rendering ES maps operational.     

Community mapping of ecosystem services in tropical rainforest of Ecuador

Tropical forests provide a wide range of ecosystem services (ES), and their continuous supply depends on efficient and effective management against deforestation and forest degradation. In Ecuador, indigenous communities are highly dependent on the forest and therefore on forest ES. However, there is a lack of knowledge about their demands concerning ES. In order to better understand how local and indigenous people use the forest and to facilitate its management, this study completed a spatially explicit assessment of ES using participatory mapping in the Sumaco Biosphere Reserve (Napo province, Central-Northern Ecuador). The Biosphere Reserve is suitable as a case study because it is a protected area with high land-use and population pressure and therefore requires the development and monitoring of management plans.First, semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts (n = 15) in order to identify the most important ES used by the communities in the study area. In a second step, members (n = 208) of 24 communities were asked to indicate on a 3-D map where they utilize the different ES (food, wood, water, tourism, hunting). The highlighted localities were digitized and then analyzed with statistical and GIS techniques. The results showed that the ES locations were not randomly distributed, but were most abundant four kilometers or less from roads. Spatial pattern analysis identified hotspots of ES provision, and the evaluation according to administrative units allowed us to identify five municipalities where demand for all assessed ES was high. In conclusion, the combination of participatory mapping of ES and GIS-based analysis can facilitate the identification of priority protection areas, provide guidance for developing specific forest management strategies, and also support monitoring systems to detect forest degradation.     

生态系统服务制图研究进展

生态系统服务是生态学研究的前沿方向之一,生态系统服务制图是将生态系统服务的评估结果纳入到生态环境保护规划与管理决策制定与实施过程中的重要组成部分。生态系统服务制图是根据决策需求,选择合适的制图评价方法,对特定时空尺度上生态系统服务的空间分布以及在各种自然-社会因素共同影响下生态系统服务的情景变化进行量化描述的过程。它最终为决策参与者提供研究区域生态系统服务时空变化特征具体的、可视的量化描述,辅助决策者权衡利弊,最终制定出符合区域生态环境与人类社会共同可持续发展的最优决策。综述了生态系统服务制图的内涵及其在辅助决策过程中的重要作用;介绍了生态系统服务的重点研究内容(生态系统服务的提供、需求及权衡协同关系制图)及研究方法;并对目前研究中所存在的问题进行了深入的探讨,归纳了生态系统服务的制图评价流程及未来重点的研究方向。     

How are biodiversity and carbon stock recovered during tropical forest restoration? Supporting the ecological paradigms and political context involved

To meet agendas for biodiversity conservation and mitigation of climate change, large-scale restoration initiatives propose ecological restoration as an alternative that can reconcile these two objectives. In ongoing ecosystem restoration, increased diversity is always associated with increased productivity (and consequent carbon stock), which is among the most important ecosystem functions. The ecological paradigm of this association is that ecosystem biodiversity (B) is positively related to both ecosystem functions and services (EF and ES). However, BEF and BES relationships vary spatially and temporally, which makes understanding these relationships relevant and important for practical restoration actions. In this study, we asked how biodiversity and carbon stock recovery occurs during tropical forest restoration. We reviewed literature of the relationships between BEF and BES in the context of ecological restoration and asked whether ecological restoration can recover both. In addition, we conducted a metadata analysis of studies on the recovery of biodiversity and biomass in regenerating tropical forests (n = 83) to find the best model that describes this relationship. In general, studies showed that ecosystem biodiversity and productivity are positively related, and that restoration can recover both. We found an asymptotic and positive correlation between biodiversity and biomass in tropical forests, suggesting limitation of the mutual gains of these two ecosystem properties during restoration. We discuss these results in the context of ecological theory and the practice of ecological restoration.     

生态系统服务供给与需求的理论与管理方法

生态系统服务是当前可持续科学研究的热点之一。随着环境保护与管理需求的不断增加,政策制定者希望将生态系统服务信息更多地融入管理实践中。由于理论的不确定性和研究方法的局限性,如何准确地评价生态系统服务、如何考虑不同利益相关者的需求,提取重要的生态系统服务信息给决策者参考,仍然是当前该领域研究的难点。基于生态系统服务的产生、传递和消耗过程,区分生态系统服务的潜在供给、实际供给和人类需求;引入生态系统服务供需比和供给率两个指标,为区域间自然资源资产的比较提供一种方法;以白洋淀流域为案例,采用生态系统服务矩阵法,结合GIS空间模拟技术,揭示生态系统服务供给与需求的空间特征。白洋淀流域2010年生态系统服务的供给率和供需比分别是:0.4966和0.1131,说明流域生态系统服务供给状态较好,且处于盈余状态。对流域内供给率较高且供给处于盈余的区域,应作为生态保护与补偿的主要区域;对生态系统服务需求较大的区域应进行必要的生态建设与修复。研究结果为区域生态环境管理和政策制定提供了实际的科学依据。     

A theory for ecological survey methods to map individual distributions

Spatially explicit approaches are widely recommended for ecosystem management. The quality of the data, such as presence/absence or habitat maps, affects the management actions recommended and is, therefore, key to management success. However, available data are often biased and incomplete. Previous studies have advanced ways to resolve data bias and missing data, but questions remain about how we design ecological surveys to develop a dataset through field surveys. Ecological surveys may have multiple spatial scales, including the spatial extent of the target ecosystem (observation window), the resolution for mapping individual distributions (mapping unit), and the survey area within each mapping unit (sampling unit). We developed an ecological survey method for mapping individual distributions by applying spatially explicit stochastic models. We used spatial point processes to describe individual spatial placements using either random or clustering processes. We then designed ecological surveys with different spatial scales and individual detectability. We found that the choice of mapping unit affected the presence mapped fraction, and the fraction of the total individuals covered by the presence mapped patches. Tradeoffs were found between these quantities and the map resolution, associated with equivalent asymptotic behaviors for both metrics at sufficiently small and large mapping unit scales. Our approach enabled consideration of the effect of multiple spatial scales in surveys, and estimation of the survey outcomes such as the presence mapped fraction and the number of individuals situated in the presence detected units. The developed theory may facilitate management decision-making and inform the design of monitoring and data gathering.     

The quest for a mechanistic understanding of biodiversity–ecosystem services relationships

Ecosystem services (ES) approaches to biodiversity conservation are currently high on the ecological research and policy agendas. However, despite a wealth of studies into biodiversity''s role in maintaining ES (B–ES relationships) across landscapes, we still lack generalities in the nature and strengths of these linkages. Reasons for this are manifold, but can largely be attributed to (i) a lack of adherence to definitions and thus a confusion between final ES and the ecosystem functions (EFs) underpinning them, (ii) a focus on uninformative biodiversity indices and singular hypotheses and (iii) top-down analyses across large spatial scales and overlooking of context-dependency. The biodiversity–ecosystem functioning (B–EF) field provides an alternate context for examining biodiversity''s mechanistic role in shaping ES, focusing on species'' characteristics that may drive EFs via multiple mechanisms across contexts. Despite acknowledgements of a need for B–ES research to look towards underlying B–EF linkages, the connections between these areas of research remains weak. With this review, we pull together recent B–EF findings to identify key areas for future developments in B–ES research. We highlight a means by which B–ES research may begin to identify how and when multiple underlying B–EF relationships may scale to final ES delivery and trade-offs.     

Valuing ecosystem services to explore scenarios for adaptive spatial planning

As the ecosystem services concept increasingly gains importance, it needs translation into practical applications. Recent efforts of EU member states to map ES are opening new opportunities to include ES in spatial planning and adaptive land management. For this, spatial planners and policy makers need practical tools that integrate a variety of social and biophysical information in an accessible way. We argue that monetary valuation of ES can contribute to this challenge. A methodological framework was developed to explore adaptive management of bioproductive space. The first stage in the methodology is a spatially explicit evaluation of various ecosystem services for different land uses. In a second stage, bio-physical and socio-economic drivers or shocks are introduced that can influence the value society attributes to specific ecosystem services. The third stage of the methodology takes policy priorities into account. In a final stage, the output of the approach is synthesised by ranking the analysis results for different scenarios and policy priority settings. This methodology allows spatial planners to explore and evaluate policy decisions against trade-offs between various land use alternatives, while taking ecosystem services into account. To demonstrate its use, the methodology is applied to a small-scale case study that combines extensive livestock production with the development of natural values. The application to the case demonstrates that the optimal strategy from a societal perspective, can be highly context-dependent. Besides the potential for supporting policy makers to think about the broader implications of land use changes for community wellbeing, the methodology provides useful feedback for adaptive farm and landscape management. We underline both the potential and possible caveats in using this approach for land use evaluation.     

National ecosystem services mapping at multiple scales ⿿ The German exemplar

The EU Biodiversity Strategy 2020 requires the Member States of the European Union to map and assess ecosystem services. This paper presents a procedure for developing a national framework of ecosystem service indicators for Germany that is applicable at different scales and is transferable to other countries. The framework was set up to use existing indicators or datasets and to be compatible with international typologies of ecosystem services and their indicators. Starting with an evaluation of the importance of different ecosystem services for Germany and an analysis of existing monitoring systems, we define suitable indicators for mapping ecosystem services nationwide. We demonstrate how both the supply of and demand for ecosystem services can be mapped with different indicators and datasets and how these indicators have to be adapted for use at different scales. Subsequently, we analyze the resulting maps to draw conclusions about the suitability of the different indicators and their complementarity. Furthermore, we show synergies and trade-offs between ecosystem services in Germany and discuss the applicability of the ecosystem services concept for decision making and spatial planning.     

Assessing regulating and provisioning ecosystem services in a contrasting tropical forest landscape

Ecosystem services are the bridge between nature and society, and are essential elements of community well-being. The Wet Tropics Australia, is environmentally and biologically diverse, and supplies numerous ecosystem services. It contributes to the community well-being of this region, Australian national economy and global climate change mitigation efforts. However, the ecosystem services in the region have rarely been assessed undermining strategic landscape planning to sustain their future flow. In this study, we attempted to: (i) assess the quantity of five regulating ecosystem services – global climate regulation, air quality regulation, erosion regulation, nutrient regulation, and cyclone protection, and three provisioning ecosystem services – habitat provision, energy provision and timber provision across rainforests, sclerophyll forests and rehabilitated plantation forests; (ii) evaluate the variation of supply of those regulating and provisioning ecosystem services across environmental gradients, such as rainfall, temperature, and elevation; (iii) show the relationships among those ecosystem services; and (iv) identify the hotspots of single and multiple ecosystem services supply across the landscape. The results showed that rainforests possess a very high capacity to supply single and multiple ecosystem services, and the hotspots for most of the regulating and provisioning ecosystem services are found in upland rainforest followed by lowland rainforest, and upland sclerophyll forest. Elevation, rainfall and temperature gradients along with forest structure are the main determinant factors for the quantity of ecosystem services supplied across the three forest types. The correlation among ecosystem services may be positive or negative depending on the ecosystem service category and vegetation type. The rehabilitated plantation forests may provide some ecosystem services comparable to the rainforest. The results demonstrated disturbance regimes (such as tropical cyclones) may have influenced the usual spatial trend of ecosystem service values. This study will assist decision makers in incorporating ecosystem services into their natural resource management planning, and for practitioners to identify the areas with higher values of specific and multiple ecosystem services.     

How Can We Identify and Communicate the Ecological Value of Deep-Sea Ecosystem Services?

Submarine canyons are considered biodiversity hotspots which have been identified for their important roles in connecting the deep sea with shallower waters. To date, a huge gap exists between the high importance that scientists associate with deep-sea ecosystem services and the communication of this knowledge to decision makers and to the wider public, who remain largely ignorant of the importance of these services. The connectivity and complexity of marine ecosystems makes knowledge transfer very challenging, and new communication tools are necessary to increase understanding of ecological values beyond the science community. We show how the Ecosystem Principles Approach, a method that explains the importance of ocean processes via easily understandable ecological principles, might overcome this challenge for deep-sea ecosystem services. Scientists were asked to help develop a list of clear and concise ecosystem principles for the functioning of submarine canyons through a Delphi process to facilitate future transfers of ecological knowledge. These ecosystem principles describe ecosystem processes, link such processes to ecosystem services, and provide spatial and temporal information on the connectivity between deep and shallow waters. They also elucidate unique characteristics of submarine canyons. Our Ecosystem Principles Approach was successful in integrating ecological information into the ecosystem services assessment process. It therefore has a high potential to be the next step towards a wider implementation of ecological values in marine planning. We believe that successful communication of ecological knowledge is the key to a wider public support for ocean conservation, and that this endeavour has to be driven by scientists in their own interest as major deep-sea stakeholders.