Comparing participatory mapping and a spatial biophysical assessment of ecosystem service cold spots in agricultural landscapes
In this study, we assess the supply of five ecosystem services (ES, i.e. biodiversity provision, carbon sequestration, erosion control, water availability and yield) in an agricultural landscape in Northeast Germany as perceived by different stakeholders with a web-based questionnaire. We complement...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Ecological Indicators |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22011736 |
| _version_ | 1811190630536183808 |
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| author | Carmen Schwartz Fabian Klebl Fabrizio Ungaro Sonoko-Dorothea Bellingrath-Kimura Annette Piorr |
| author_facet | Carmen Schwartz Fabian Klebl Fabrizio Ungaro Sonoko-Dorothea Bellingrath-Kimura Annette Piorr |
| author_sort | Carmen Schwartz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this study, we assess the supply of five ecosystem services (ES, i.e. biodiversity provision, carbon sequestration, erosion control, water availability and yield) in an agricultural landscape in Northeast Germany as perceived by different stakeholders with a web-based questionnaire. We complement this participatory approach with a biophysical assessment of the same ES in the same study area using spatially explicit, indicator-based methods. A research gap exists in the combination of participatory and biophysical ES assessment methods within one study area. We derive spots of low supply of multiple ES (cold spots of ES supply) from the areas identified by the mapping and the biophysical assessment, and in collaboration with stakeholders of the region during an online workshop. Our interest is to (i) identify the advantages of comparing and combining biophysical with participatory methods to assess ES and to (ii) identify interfaces where combining both approaches can help to integrate ES assessment in landscape planning, management and design. Our goal is to establish an assessment basis that allows for a spatially explicit representation of trade-offs and synergies of ES by displaying multiple ES in one case study area, capable of integrating different resolutions. By comparing participatory and biophysical assessments, we identify ecological and social benefits of the landscape, and emphasize the social-ecological interface by limiting the scope of the biophysical assessment to the area of interest by the stakeholders. Besides, areas in which participants over- or underestimate the current ES supply are spotted by quantifying the gap between actual and perceived supply. The results reveal several similarities in the observations derived from both assessments. However, water availability is widely underestimated, whereas biodiversity and carbon sequestration are slightly overestimated. Based on our results, we conclude that in many cases, stakeholders who are familiar with the landscape because they live there or have a professional relation to it have a profound understanding of the ongoing ecosystem processes. The decision whether to use participatory, biophysical or both assessment techniques should be made according to the use case: from a governance perspective, participatory data can be easier to communicate and more easily accessible. We encourage the perspective that there are cases in which the low-threshold participatory data provide sufficiently reliable information to make informed decisions on ES management, particularly when biophysical assessment studies are too resource- and cost-intensive. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T14:54:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-acf261daa1cd46c18bb2aceff289212c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1470-160X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T14:54:09Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Indicators |
| spelling | doaj.art-acf261daa1cd46c18bb2aceff289212c2022-12-22T04:17:19ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2022-12-01145109700Comparing participatory mapping and a spatial biophysical assessment of ecosystem service cold spots in agricultural landscapesCarmen Schwartz0Fabian Klebl1Fabrizio Ungaro2Sonoko-Dorothea Bellingrath-Kimura3Annette Piorr4Leibniz-Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Eberswalder Straße 84, 15374 Müncheberg, Germany; Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt-University Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10117 Berlin, Germany; Corresponding author at: Leibniz-Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) e.V., Eberswalder Straße 84, 15374 Müncheberg, Germany.Leibniz-Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Eberswalder Straße 84, 15374 Müncheberg, Germany; Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt-University Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10117 Berlin, GermanyNational Research Council of Italy, Institute of BioEconomy (CNR – IBE), Sesto Fiorentino, ItalyLeibniz-Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Eberswalder Straße 84, 15374 Müncheberg, Germany; Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt-University Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10117 Berlin, GermanyLeibniz-Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Eberswalder Straße 84, 15374 Müncheberg, GermanyIn this study, we assess the supply of five ecosystem services (ES, i.e. biodiversity provision, carbon sequestration, erosion control, water availability and yield) in an agricultural landscape in Northeast Germany as perceived by different stakeholders with a web-based questionnaire. We complement this participatory approach with a biophysical assessment of the same ES in the same study area using spatially explicit, indicator-based methods. A research gap exists in the combination of participatory and biophysical ES assessment methods within one study area. We derive spots of low supply of multiple ES (cold spots of ES supply) from the areas identified by the mapping and the biophysical assessment, and in collaboration with stakeholders of the region during an online workshop. Our interest is to (i) identify the advantages of comparing and combining biophysical with participatory methods to assess ES and to (ii) identify interfaces where combining both approaches can help to integrate ES assessment in landscape planning, management and design. Our goal is to establish an assessment basis that allows for a spatially explicit representation of trade-offs and synergies of ES by displaying multiple ES in one case study area, capable of integrating different resolutions. By comparing participatory and biophysical assessments, we identify ecological and social benefits of the landscape, and emphasize the social-ecological interface by limiting the scope of the biophysical assessment to the area of interest by the stakeholders. Besides, areas in which participants over- or underestimate the current ES supply are spotted by quantifying the gap between actual and perceived supply. The results reveal several similarities in the observations derived from both assessments. However, water availability is widely underestimated, whereas biodiversity and carbon sequestration are slightly overestimated. Based on our results, we conclude that in many cases, stakeholders who are familiar with the landscape because they live there or have a professional relation to it have a profound understanding of the ongoing ecosystem processes. The decision whether to use participatory, biophysical or both assessment techniques should be made according to the use case: from a governance perspective, participatory data can be easier to communicate and more easily accessible. We encourage the perspective that there are cases in which the low-threshold participatory data provide sufficiently reliable information to make informed decisions on ES management, particularly when biophysical assessment studies are too resource- and cost-intensive.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22011736Ecosystem service assessmentParticipatory methodsPGISBiophysical assessment methodsAgricultural landscapesEcosystem service governance |
| spellingShingle | Carmen Schwartz Fabian Klebl Fabrizio Ungaro Sonoko-Dorothea Bellingrath-Kimura Annette Piorr Comparing participatory mapping and a spatial biophysical assessment of ecosystem service cold spots in agricultural landscapes Ecological Indicators Ecosystem service assessment Participatory methods PGIS Biophysical assessment methods Agricultural landscapes Ecosystem service governance |
| title | Comparing participatory mapping and a spatial biophysical assessment of ecosystem service cold spots in agricultural landscapes |
| title_full | Comparing participatory mapping and a spatial biophysical assessment of ecosystem service cold spots in agricultural landscapes |
| title_fullStr | Comparing participatory mapping and a spatial biophysical assessment of ecosystem service cold spots in agricultural landscapes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comparing participatory mapping and a spatial biophysical assessment of ecosystem service cold spots in agricultural landscapes |
| title_short | Comparing participatory mapping and a spatial biophysical assessment of ecosystem service cold spots in agricultural landscapes |
| title_sort | comparing participatory mapping and a spatial biophysical assessment of ecosystem service cold spots in agricultural landscapes |
| topic | Ecosystem service assessment Participatory methods PGIS Biophysical assessment methods Agricultural landscapes Ecosystem service governance |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22011736 |
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