Measuring ecosystem multifunctionality across scales
Multifunctionality refers to the capacity of an area to supply multiple ecosystem functions or services. While many conceptual and methodological advances have focused on defining and quantifying multifunctionality, the challenge of dealing with cross-scale dynamics of multifunctionality remains ope...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2019-01-01
|
| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab5ccb |
| _version_ | 1797747613733224448 |
|---|---|
| author | Lisanne Hölting Sander Jacobs María R Felipe-Lucia Joachim Maes Albert V Norström Tobias Plieninger Anna F Cord |
| author_facet | Lisanne Hölting Sander Jacobs María R Felipe-Lucia Joachim Maes Albert V Norström Tobias Plieninger Anna F Cord |
| author_sort | Lisanne Hölting |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Multifunctionality refers to the capacity of an area to supply multiple ecosystem functions or services. While many conceptual and methodological advances have focused on defining and quantifying multifunctionality, the challenge of dealing with cross-scale dynamics of multifunctionality remains open. This study proposes a new way of measuring multifunctionality across spatial scales, illustrated with a European-wide dataset of 18 ecosystem services. Our assessment captures not only the diversity of ecosystem services supplied within each municipality ( alpha-multifunctionality ), but also the unique contribution of each municipality to the regional ecosystem service diversity ( beta-multifunctionality ). This cross-scale analysis helps better understanding the spatial distribution of ecosystem services, which is required to design management and policies at the right scale. Our analysis shows that alpha-multifunctionality follows a latitudinal gradient across Europe and strongly decreases towards the city centers of metropolitan areas. By relating alpha- and beta-multifunctionality to land use intensity, we show that low-intensity management systems support higher ecosystem multifunctionality across Europe. Municipalities of low alpha-multifunctionality often contribute significantly to regional multifunctionality, by providing ecosystem services of a specific value to the region. Our method to measure both alpha- and beta-multifunctionality thus provides a new way to inform reconciliation of competing land uses when maximizing alpha-multifunctionality is not reasonable. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:54:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b5f5ab35f08f4e67bc4d1ee0cdb6c33e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:54:00Z |
| publishDate | 2019-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-b5f5ab35f08f4e67bc4d1ee0cdb6c33e2023-08-09T15:02:10ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262019-01-01141212408310.1088/1748-9326/ab5ccbMeasuring ecosystem multifunctionality across scalesLisanne Hölting0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0867-7828Sander Jacobs1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4674-4817María R Felipe-Lucia2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1915-8169Joachim Maes3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8272-1607Albert V Norström4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0706-9233Tobias Plieninger5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1478-2587Anna F Cord6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3183-8482UFZ—Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Department of Computational Landscape Ecology, Permoserstraße 15, D-04318 Leipzig, GermanyResearch Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO) , Havenlaan 88 bus 73, D-1000 Brussel, BelgiumUFZ—Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Department of Computational Landscape Ecology, Permoserstraße 15, D-04318 Leipzig, Germany; German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5E, D-04103 Leipzig, GermanyEuropean Commission, Joint Research Centre, Via E. Fermi, 2749, I-21027 Ispra (VA), ItalyStockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University , SE-106 91 Stockholm, SwedenUniversity of Kassel, Faculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences and University of Göttingen , Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Platz der Göttinger Sieben 5, D-37073 Göttingen, GermanyUFZ—Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Department of Computational Landscape Ecology, Permoserstraße 15, D-04318 Leipzig, GermanyMultifunctionality refers to the capacity of an area to supply multiple ecosystem functions or services. While many conceptual and methodological advances have focused on defining and quantifying multifunctionality, the challenge of dealing with cross-scale dynamics of multifunctionality remains open. This study proposes a new way of measuring multifunctionality across spatial scales, illustrated with a European-wide dataset of 18 ecosystem services. Our assessment captures not only the diversity of ecosystem services supplied within each municipality ( alpha-multifunctionality ), but also the unique contribution of each municipality to the regional ecosystem service diversity ( beta-multifunctionality ). This cross-scale analysis helps better understanding the spatial distribution of ecosystem services, which is required to design management and policies at the right scale. Our analysis shows that alpha-multifunctionality follows a latitudinal gradient across Europe and strongly decreases towards the city centers of metropolitan areas. By relating alpha- and beta-multifunctionality to land use intensity, we show that low-intensity management systems support higher ecosystem multifunctionality across Europe. Municipalities of low alpha-multifunctionality often contribute significantly to regional multifunctionality, by providing ecosystem services of a specific value to the region. Our method to measure both alpha- and beta-multifunctionality thus provides a new way to inform reconciliation of competing land uses when maximizing alpha-multifunctionality is not reasonable.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab5ccbspatial scaleecosystem servicesα-diversityβ-diversityEurope |
| spellingShingle | Lisanne Hölting Sander Jacobs María R Felipe-Lucia Joachim Maes Albert V Norström Tobias Plieninger Anna F Cord Measuring ecosystem multifunctionality across scales Environmental Research Letters spatial scale ecosystem services α-diversity β-diversity Europe |
| title | Measuring ecosystem multifunctionality across scales |
| title_full | Measuring ecosystem multifunctionality across scales |
| title_fullStr | Measuring ecosystem multifunctionality across scales |
| title_full_unstemmed | Measuring ecosystem multifunctionality across scales |
| title_short | Measuring ecosystem multifunctionality across scales |
| title_sort | measuring ecosystem multifunctionality across scales |
| topic | spatial scale ecosystem services α-diversity β-diversity Europe |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab5ccb |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lisanneholting measuringecosystemmultifunctionalityacrossscales AT sanderjacobs measuringecosystemmultifunctionalityacrossscales AT mariarfelipelucia measuringecosystemmultifunctionalityacrossscales AT joachimmaes measuringecosystemmultifunctionalityacrossscales AT albertvnorstrom measuringecosystemmultifunctionalityacrossscales AT tobiasplieninger measuringecosystemmultifunctionalityacrossscales AT annafcord measuringecosystemmultifunctionalityacrossscales |