Ecosystem services research in Latin America: The state of the art

Balvanera, Patricia; Uriarte, María; Almeida-Leñero, Lucía; Altesor, Alice; DeClerck, Fabrice; Gardner, Toby A.; Hall, Jefferson S.; Lara, Antonio; Laterra, Pedro; Peña-Claros, Marielos; Matos, Dalva Maria da Silva; Vogl, Adrian L.; Romero-Duque, Luz Piedad; Arreola, Luis Felipe; Caro-Borrero, Ángela; Gallego, Federico; Jain, Meha; Little, Christian; Xavier, Rafael de Oliveira; Paruelo, José M.; Peinado, Jesús Emilio; Poorter, Lourens; Ascarrunz, Nataly; Correa‐Araneda, Francisco; Cunha-Santino, Marcela Bianchessi da; Hernández-Sánchez, Amabel Paula; Vallejos, María

doi:10.1016/j.ecoser.2012.09.006

Cited by 197 publications

(108 citation statements)

References 93 publications

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“…Due to their complexity, the land cover data can be used as a proxy for ecological assessments in natural areas (Balthazar et al 2015). This information is relevant to recognize the influence of land management in Andean basins that comprises the endemic affectation of ES and the welfare of rural communities (Balvanera et al 2012, Frank et al 2012.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Productive Activities on the Water Quality for Human Consumption in an Andean Basin, a Case Study

Ruiz

Idrobo

Sarmiento

et al. 2017

Rev. Int. Contam. Ambie.

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Productive activities such as agriculture and livestock have transformed the Andean basins in South America. In accordance with this statement, the objective of this study was to assess the water quality of "Las Piedras" river located in an Andean basin with 6626 ha in Colombian Highlands. This study analyzed nutrient inputs from agricultural production, spatial crops distribution, human activities and their influence on the ecological state of the river. The evaluation integrated physicochemical and biological parameters in the indexes of water quality, pollution and the aquatic macroinvertebrates community. Results showed that aggregated crop fields occupy 25.2 % in the basin and the biological water quality through the Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP) index denotes the presence of tolerant-pollution organisms, additionally the biodiversity was low (Shannon H´1.1). The water quality in the river satisfies the Colombian regulation criteria for human consumption, even higher concentrations of nutrients in the lower area with 2.20 mg/L nitrates and 1.49 mg/L of phosphates, besides the loss of nutrients by runoff, which was 2.57 mg/L nitrates in the middle area and 0.18 mg/L phosphates in the upper area. In this sense, the nutrient concentration input increases toward the lower area of the basin because of the crop distribution. The agricultural land use modified the hydrological ecosystem services by decreasing the basin water regulatory capacity and nutrients input to the main stream.Palabras clave: contaminación hídrica, agricultura, distribución espacial de los cultivos, biodiversidad, agua potable RESUMENLas actividades productivas como la agricultura y la ganadería han transformado las cuencas andinas de América del Sur. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar la calidad del agua en la cuenca del río Las Piedras (6626 ha), localizada en la alta montaña colombiana. Se analizaron los aportes de nutrientes a partir de la producción agrícola, distribución espacial de cultivos, actividades humanas y su influencia en el estado ecológico del río. La evaluación integró los parámetros físicos, químicos y biológicos en índices de calidad del agua, de contaminación y de macroinvertebrados acuáticos. Los resultados mostraron que los cultivos ocupan el 25.2 % de la cuenca, la calidad biológica del agua según el 362índice del Grupo de Trabajo de Monitoreo Biológico (BMWP, por sus siglas en inglés) evidenció la presencia de organismos tolerantes a la contaminación y baja biodiversidad (Shannon H' 1.1). La calidad del agua es apta para consumo humano según los estándares establecidos por la normatividad Colombiana. Sin embargo, se encontraron altas concentraciones de nutrientes en la zona baja del río con 2.20 mg/L de nitratos y 1.49 mg/L de fosfatos, adicionalmente los aportes de nutrientes en escorrentía superficial fueron de 2.57 mg/L de nitratos en la zona media y 0.18 mg/L de fosfatos en la zona alta. En este sentido, se observó que el ingreso de nutrientes aumenta hacia la zona baja de la cuenca deb...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Productive Activities on the Water Quality for Human Consumption in an Andean Basin, a Case Study

Ruiz

Idrobo

Sarmiento

et al. 2017

Rev. Int. Contam. Ambie.

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“…Public agencies and NGOs increasingly recognize that working landscapes, producing commercial timber, can also provide multiple public benefits relative to more intensive agricultural uses, such as cattle ranching (Kirby and Potvin, 2007;Paquette and Messier, 2010;Hall et al, 2011a). These benefits may include habitat for biodiversity conservation, carbon storage, and hydrological regulation (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005;Balvanera et al, 2013). One approach to realizing the public benefits of forested landscapes is to incentivize landowners to switch from cattle ranching to forestry.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teak–cattle production tradeoffs for Panama Canal Watershed small scale producers

Stefanski

Shi

Hall

et al. 2015

Forest Policy and Economics

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Reforestation and forest conservation are important issues in the Panama Canal Watershed (PCW). Uncertainty remains about relative net benefits of profit-maximizing timber rotations compared to the net present value of incumbent land uses such as cattle ranching. The scientific and popular literatures have displayed enthusiasm for teak (Tectona grandis) and native species plantations. We estimate a realistic yield model for teak, an exotic tree species, based on growth data from actual small scale landholders who were incentivized to convert lands to teak plantations. We use a suite of well fit yield models to solve for the optimal Faustmann rotation and compute the net present value (NPV) of a teak plantation to a private land manager as a starting point for understanding land-use patterns. We compare the NPV from forestry to cattle and find that site characteristics, discount rates, and market prices are all important factors in influencing the land manager's decision to switch from cattle ranching to plantation forestry. We find that traditional cattle ranching is economically competitive, in terms of NPV, with and may often outperform teak plantations within the PCW. This result is robust to the teak yield model selected.

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“…Of primary importance, projects in tropical regions are widespread and expanding (Bennett et al 2013). For example, from 2001 to 2011, [3.4 million hectares of land across Latin America were managed for water benefits through water services projects (Balvanera et al 2012;Bennett et al 2013). In 2014, The Nature Conservancy announced a US$ 27M investment in a Latin American Water Funds Partnership with the stated objective of managing *3 million hectares of watershed lands (The Nature Conservancy 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing water services in tropical regions: From land cover proxies to hydrologic fluxes

Ponette‐González

Brauman

Marín-Spiotta

et al. 2014

Ambio

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Watershed investment programs frequently use land cover as a proxy for water-based ecosystem services, an approach based on assumed relationships between land cover and hydrologic outcomes. Water flows are rarely quantified, and unanticipated results are common, suggesting land cover alone is not a reliable proxy for water services. We argue that managing key hydrologic fluxes at the site of intervention is more effective than promoting particular land-cover types. Moving beyond land cover proxies to a focus on hydrologic fluxes requires that programs (1) identify the specific water service of interest and associated hydrologic flux; (2) account for structural and ecological characteristics of the relevant land cover; and, (3) determine key mediators of the target hydrologic flux. Using examples from the tropics, we illustrate how this conceptual framework can clarify interventions with a higher probability of delivering desired water services than with land cover as a proxy.

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Ecosystem services research in Latin America: The state of the art

Cited by 197 publications

References 93 publications

Effects of Productive Activities on the Water Quality for Human Consumption in an Andean Basin, a Case Study

Effects of Productive Activities on the Water Quality for Human Consumption in an Andean Basin, a Case Study

Teak–cattle production tradeoffs for Panama Canal Watershed small scale producers

Managing water services in tropical regions: From land cover proxies to hydrologic fluxes

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