Strong and nonlinear effects of fragmentation on ecosystem service provision at multiple scales
Human actions, such as converting natural land cover to agricultural or urban land, result in the loss and fragmentation of natural habitat, with important consequences for the provision of ecosystem services. Such habitat loss is especially important for services that are supplied by fragments of n...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2015-01-01
|
| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/9/094014 |
| _version_ | 1797748706784575488 |
|---|---|
| author | Matthew G E Mitchell Elena M Bennett Andrew Gonzalez |
| author_facet | Matthew G E Mitchell Elena M Bennett Andrew Gonzalez |
| author_sort | Matthew G E Mitchell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Human actions, such as converting natural land cover to agricultural or urban land, result in the loss and fragmentation of natural habitat, with important consequences for the provision of ecosystem services. Such habitat loss is especially important for services that are supplied by fragments of natural land cover and that depend on flows of organisms, matter, or people across the landscape to produce benefits, such as pollination, pest regulation, recreation and cultural services. However, our quantitative knowledge about precisely how different patterns of landscape fragmentation might affect the provision of these types of services is limited. We used a simple, spatially explicit model to evaluate the potential impact of natural land cover loss and fragmentation on the provision of hypothetical ecosystem services. Based on current literature, we assumed that fragments of natural land cover provide ecosystem services to the area surrounding them in a distance-dependent manner such that ecosystem service flow depended on proximity to fragments. We modeled seven different patterns of natural land cover loss across landscapes that varied in the overall level of landscape fragmentation. Our model predicts that natural land cover loss will have strong and unimodal effects on ecosystem service provision, with clear thresholds indicating rapid loss of service provision beyond critical levels of natural land cover loss. It also predicts the presence of a tradeoff between maximizing ecosystem service provision and conserving natural land cover, and a mismatch between ecosystem service provision at landscape versus finer spatial scales. Importantly, the pattern of landscape fragmentation mitigated or intensified these tradeoffs and mismatches. Our model suggests that managing patterns of natural land cover loss and fragmentation could help influence the provision of multiple ecosystem services and manage tradeoffs and synergies between services across different human-dominated landscapes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:09:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-93f1759a1e574621a48ee13444f503f8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:09:41Z |
| publishDate | 2015-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-93f1759a1e574621a48ee13444f503f82023-08-09T14:12:09ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262015-01-0110909401410.1088/1748-9326/10/9/094014Strong and nonlinear effects of fragmentation on ecosystem service provision at multiple scalesMatthew G E Mitchell0Elena M Bennett1Andrew Gonzalez2Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University , 21111 Lakeshore Road, Ste.-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, CanadaDepartment of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University , 21111 Lakeshore Road, Ste.-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada; McGill School of Environment, McGill University , 21111 Lakeshore Road, Ste.-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, CanadaDepartment of Biology, McGill University , 1205 Docteur Penfield, Montreal, QC H3A 1B1, CanadaHuman actions, such as converting natural land cover to agricultural or urban land, result in the loss and fragmentation of natural habitat, with important consequences for the provision of ecosystem services. Such habitat loss is especially important for services that are supplied by fragments of natural land cover and that depend on flows of organisms, matter, or people across the landscape to produce benefits, such as pollination, pest regulation, recreation and cultural services. However, our quantitative knowledge about precisely how different patterns of landscape fragmentation might affect the provision of these types of services is limited. We used a simple, spatially explicit model to evaluate the potential impact of natural land cover loss and fragmentation on the provision of hypothetical ecosystem services. Based on current literature, we assumed that fragments of natural land cover provide ecosystem services to the area surrounding them in a distance-dependent manner such that ecosystem service flow depended on proximity to fragments. We modeled seven different patterns of natural land cover loss across landscapes that varied in the overall level of landscape fragmentation. Our model predicts that natural land cover loss will have strong and unimodal effects on ecosystem service provision, with clear thresholds indicating rapid loss of service provision beyond critical levels of natural land cover loss. It also predicts the presence of a tradeoff between maximizing ecosystem service provision and conserving natural land cover, and a mismatch between ecosystem service provision at landscape versus finer spatial scales. Importantly, the pattern of landscape fragmentation mitigated or intensified these tradeoffs and mismatches. Our model suggests that managing patterns of natural land cover loss and fragmentation could help influence the provision of multiple ecosystem services and manage tradeoffs and synergies between services across different human-dominated landscapes.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/9/094014landscape structurelandscape fragmentationspatially explicit modelecosystem service supplyecosystem service flow |
| spellingShingle | Matthew G E Mitchell Elena M Bennett Andrew Gonzalez Strong and nonlinear effects of fragmentation on ecosystem service provision at multiple scales Environmental Research Letters landscape structure landscape fragmentation spatially explicit model ecosystem service supply ecosystem service flow |
| title | Strong and nonlinear effects of fragmentation on ecosystem service provision at multiple scales |
| title_full | Strong and nonlinear effects of fragmentation on ecosystem service provision at multiple scales |
| title_fullStr | Strong and nonlinear effects of fragmentation on ecosystem service provision at multiple scales |
| title_full_unstemmed | Strong and nonlinear effects of fragmentation on ecosystem service provision at multiple scales |
| title_short | Strong and nonlinear effects of fragmentation on ecosystem service provision at multiple scales |
| title_sort | strong and nonlinear effects of fragmentation on ecosystem service provision at multiple scales |
| topic | landscape structure landscape fragmentation spatially explicit model ecosystem service supply ecosystem service flow |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/9/094014 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT matthewgemitchell strongandnonlineareffectsoffragmentationonecosystemserviceprovisionatmultiplescales AT elenambennett strongandnonlineareffectsoffragmentationonecosystemserviceprovisionatmultiplescales AT andrewgonzalez strongandnonlineareffectsoffragmentationonecosystemserviceprovisionatmultiplescales |