To ensure indicators of ecosystem health are integrated into environmental decision-making, it is imperative to provide a comprehensive framework for indicator selection and use. The same framework can also be used to evaluate the utility of any given indicator. The Atlantic Slope Consortium (ASC) has developed such a framework, based upon three primary elements: 1) The specific questions to be answered (the type of indicator), recognizing the following types of questions/indicators: Condition assessment: snapshot of the current state of the system; Stressor diagnosis: identification of causative factors of condition; Communication to the public: encouraging comprehension of condition in its most elementary or integrated form; Futures assessment: estimating the probable trajectory of condition, or assessing the vulnerability of any system to a stochastic event; Evaluation: a subset of condition indicators that evaluate the effectiveness of management actions. 2) The spatial and/or temporal scale of the issue being addressed (the spatial/temporal scale over which the indicator is valid).3) The context of the question, using categories of surrounding land use as surrogates for social choices. A Fish Community Index (FCI) developed for the ASC will provide an example of utilizing the framework to select an indicator, as well as using the framework to judge the utility of the indicator.
A taxonomy of environmental indicators was developed to inform management of aquatic ecosystems, and its utility was evaluated through application within the Chesapeake Bay Program. We considered a set of 82 metrics generated by this Program, using qualitative assessment of descriptive materials. We found that 30 of these metrics conveyed sufficient information about the larger system to be considered true indicators. These 30 were classified according to the proposed taxonomy into one or more of five types: condition, evaluation, diagnostic, communication, or futures. We also evaluated the scales at which these indicators function temporally and spatially. We conclude that only a limited number of indicators are designed to be diagnostic and/or designed to forecast future conditions. The scale analyses suggest the indicator set is not focused on local scales and/or the watershed component of the Bay system. The taxonomy succeeds in framing an assessment of existing indicator sets that can productively guide future development efforts.
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