Introducing the index-based ecological condition assessment framework (IBECA)

Jakobsson, Simon; Evju, Marianne; Framstad, Erik; Imbert, Alexis; Lyngstad, Anders; Sickel, Hanne; Sverdrup‐Thygeson, Anne; Töpper, Joachim; Vandvik, Vigdis; Velle, Liv Guri; Aarrestad, Per Arild; Nybø, Signe

doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.107252

Cited by 21 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…There is currently a missed opportunity to link these monitoring programs and produce valuable data to assist national monitoring efforts. The IBECA framework (Jakobsson et al, 2021) developed for forest and alpine ecosystems in Norway is an example of how a quantitative and cost-effective framework can be developed and we believe a similar approach may be viable with ecological scorecards.…”

Section: Recommendations For Developing Scorecards Outside Of Results...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation in Ecological Scorecards and their Potential for Wider Use

Gorman,

Kindermann,

Healy

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Ecological monitoring is a vital tool to help us assess habitat condition and understand the mechanism(s) for habitat change. Yet many countries struggle to meet their monitoring requirements in part due to the high assessment workload. Rapid ecological assessment methods may have an important role to play in this regard. Following their success within several European habitats (e.g., semi-natural grasslands), they are now being developed for additional habitats such as heathlands, peatlands, and other agri-associated areas. Whilst some rapid assessments using ecological scorecards have been shown to be accurate compared to traditional ecological monitoring, less is known about the functionality of these scorecards in heterogenous landscapes. In this study, we selected four existing scorecards to test alongside a prototype. We assessed how these different scorecards measured habitat condition on the same heathland sites. We found that the choice of metrics, their score weighting, and the thresholds used for categorical scores cause scorecards to assess the same site with substantial variation (37%). Vegetation metrics were the primary cause of score variation, with vegetation structure and positive indicator species being the leading causes. Our study indicates that while current scorecards may be representative of project-specific goals, they may not be suitable for wider monitoring uses in their current form. Ecological scorecards have great potential to drastically increase the extent of monitoring, but caution is needed before adapting existing scorecards beyond the purposes from which they were designed.

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Section: Recommendations For Developing Scorecards Outside Of Results...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation in Ecological Scorecards and their Potential for Wider Use

Gorman,

Kindermann,

Healy

et al. 2024

Preprint

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show abstract

“…Therefore, understanding patterns in ecological condition, ca. 'state' in the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response framework and quantified as the structure, function and biodiversity of ecosystems, is an important underpinning of effective management (Jakobsson et al 2021;Patrício et al 2016;Pollock et al 2017). For example, many ecosystems rely on the growth and persistence of habitat-forming species (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of Ecological Condition Identify Bright Spots and Sites for Management Across Coastal Seascapes

Gilby

Gaines

Borland

et al. 2023

Estuaries and Coasts

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Disentangling natural and anthropogenic effects on ecosystem condition can uncover bright spots in urban landscapes that are performing above expectations and so are potential sites for conservation or benchmarking, as well as sites performing below expectations that should be the focus of management. In this study, we tested for correlations between metrics indexing ecological condition (focusing on habitat-forming species) and a suite of spatial and environmental variables at 373 sites across four ecosystems (mangroves, seagrass, saltmarsh and rocky outcrops) and 13 estuaries in southeast Queensland, Australia. Ten condition metrics across the four ecosystems correlated with variables indexing the seascape context of sites, with condition metrics typically higher at sites more connected to natural features including the estuary mouth and mangroves. Urbanisation affected only two metrics, with rocky outcrop oyster cover being 75% lower at sites near extensive urbanisation and algae cover being highest at sites with intermediate urbanisation. We identified patterns in at least two variables from each ecosystem, meaning that decisions need to be made regarding optimal ecosystem states. Overall, management sites were more common than bright spots, with 50% more management sites in mangroves, 42.8% more in seagrasses, 38.5% more in saltmarshes and no bright spots in rocky outcrops (however, 10.3% of rocky outcrop sites were bright spots under an alternate ecosystem state model). We found that patterns in habitat condition across coastal seascapes can be predicted using spatial modelling approaches, and that these models can be readily used to prioritise management actions across the entire regions.

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“…Matching indicators developed on the basis of practical considerations to theoretical aspects helps to find the balance between theoretical importance and feasibility criteria. Published condition assessments related to the Biodiversity Strategy (Kokkoris et al 2018, Sopotlieva et al 2018, Jakobsson et al 2021) are either regional or deal with only one or a few major ecosystem types; their representation in the literature is spatially and thematically biased (Rendon et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing ecosystem condition at the national level in Hungary - indicators, approaches, challenges

Tanács¹,

Bede‐Fazekas²,

Csecserits³

et al. 2022

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The availability of robust and reliable spatial information on ecosystem condition is of increasing importance in informing conservation policy. Recent policy requirements have sparked a renewed interest in conceptual questions related to ecosystem condition and practical aspects like indicator selection, resulting in the emergence of conceptual frameworks, such as the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting - Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EA) and its Ecosystem Condition Typology (ECT). However, while such frameworks are essential to ensure that condition assessments are comprehensive and comparable, large-scale practical implementation often poses challenges that need to be tackled within stringent time and cost frames. We present methods and experiences of the national-level mapping and assessment of ecosystem condition in Hungary. The assessments covered the whole country, including all major ecosystem types present. The methodology constitutes four approaches of quantifying and mapping condition, based on different interpretations of naturalness and hemeroby, complemented by two more using properties that ‘overarch’ ecosystem types, such as soil and landscape attributes. In order to highlight their strengths and drawbacks, as well as to help reconcile aspects of conceptual relevance with practical limitations, we retrospectively evaluated the six mapping approaches (and the resulting indicators) against the indicator selection criteria suggested in the SEEA-EA. The results show that the various approaches have different strengths and weaknesses and, thus, their joint application has a higher potential to address the specific challenges related to large-scale ecosystem condition mapping.

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Introducing the index-based ecological condition assessment framework (IBECA)

Cited by 21 publications

References 34 publications

Variation in Ecological Scorecards and their Potential for Wider Use

Variation in Ecological Scorecards and their Potential for Wider Use

Drivers of Ecological Condition Identify Bright Spots and Sites for Management Across Coastal Seascapes

Assessing ecosystem condition at the national level in Hungary - indicators, approaches, challenges

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