Elsevier

Ecosystem Services

Volume 42, April 2020, 101082
Ecosystem Services

Towards an integrative assessment of land-use type values from the perspective of ecosystem services

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2020.101082Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
open access

Highlights

  • We aimed to make Ecosystem Service (ES) knowledge accessible to stakeholders.

  • We estimated the supply of 19 ES for the main land-use types (LU) in the Alps.

  • Questionnaire results about socio-cultural values of ES were incorporated as demand.

  • We found great dis-/similarities between LU regarding ES supply-demand patterns.

  • The results help to detect and mitigate conflicts in spatial planning.

Abstract

Policy-makers and practitioners are increasingly interested in information about ecosystem services (ES), but the creation of indicators that are comprehensive and yet interpretable for stakeholders remains a challenge. In this study, we make use of the extensive body of research on ES and available data to quantify the value of land-use types from an ES perspective. Specifically, we estimate the supply of 19 important ES for the main land-use types on the basis of 58 ecosystem and landscape measures (capturing either state, quantity or process) derived from the literature. In addition, we used survey-based evidence of socio-cultural values of ES to integrate society’s demand for ES. Our approach allows for an integrative assessment and comparison of land-use types, considering both the supply and demand of multiple ES, and the production of outputs at three levels of aggregation, relating to (1) individual ES, (2) ES categories, and (3) land-use types. This makes it possible to flexibly adapt outputs according to the needs of stakeholders, while balancing concerns of comprehensiveness and ease of use. We conclude with a discussion of further avenues for future research, calling for a stronger coordination of ES research and the establishment of shared databases on ES.

Keywords

Indicator
Supply
European Alps
Scientifically sound measure
Socio-cultural value
Policy-making

Cited by (0)

1

Joint first authors.