Quantifying the Contribution of Organisms to the Provision of Ecosystem Services

Luck, Gary W.; Harrington, R.; Harrison, Paula A.; Kremen, Claire; Berry, Pam; Bugter, Rob; Dawson, Terence P.; Bello, Francesco de; Dı́az, Sandra; Feld, Christian K.; Haslett, John; Hering, Daniel; Kontogianni, Areti; Lavorel, Sandra; Rounsevell, Mark; Samways, Michael J.; Sandin, Leonard; Settele, Josef; Sykes, Martin T.; Hove, Sybille van den; Vandewalle, Marie; Zobel, Martin

doi:10.1525/bio.2009.59.3.7

Cited by 332 publications

(239 citation statements)

References 59 publications

(74 reference statements)

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“…The dynamic nature of ecosystems means that information on how service provision alters as the characteristics of SPUs change along a continuum of variation, is fundamental to policy-makers and land managers who need to make trade-offs between different management strategies (e.g. trade-off decisions arising from conflicting interests within and between services) (Luck et al 2009). Indeed, it is the provision of quantitative information that is of most value to policy-makers and land managers because it facilitates specific rather than vague management guidelines, which ensure the sustainability of ecosystem services (Harrison et al 2010, this volume).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1, also includes antagonisers that may have a negative effect on conservation, creating potential conflicts of interest. Further discussion of Ecosystem Service Antagonisers and resulting conflicts is provided by Luck et al (2009).…”

Section: Erecting a Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Parallel, and perhaps coupled to this, a wave of new interest in biodiversity conservation strategy and policy has arisen that involves the sustainable provision of Ecosystem Services (ES): The benefits that humans obtain from ecosystems that support, directly or indirectly, their survival and quality of life (full definition in Harrington et al 2010, this volume). Populations of one or multiple species responsible for providing a particular ecosystem service constitute so-called Service Providing Units (SPUs) (Luck et al 2003(Luck et al , 2009definition in Harrington et al 2010, this volume).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Changing conservation strategies in Europe: a framework integrating ecosystem services and dynamics

et al. 2010

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Protecting species and their habitats through the designation and management of protected areas is central to present biodiversity conservation efforts in Europe. Recent awareness of the importance of ecosystem dynamics in changing environments and of human needs for the sustainable provision of ecosystem services expose potential weaknesses in current European conservation management strategies and policy. Here we examine these issues in the light of information gained from reviews, workshops, interviews and discussions undertaken within the RUBICODE project. We present a new conceptual framework that joins conventional biodiversity conservation with new requirements. The framework links cultural and aesthetic values applied in a static environment to the demands of dynamic ecosystems and societal needs within social-ecological systems in a changing Europe. We employ this framework to propose innovative ways in which ecosystem service provision may be used to add value to traditional conservation approaches by supporting and

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Erecting a Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Changing conservation strategies in Europe: a framework integrating ecosystem services and dynamics

et al. 2010

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“…indicators that directly refer to the component of biodiversity or to the functions and processes behind a certain ecosystem service. Scientists often discover that certain ecosystem services are provided by a small number of species or a functional group of species rather than by the whole diversity present in that ecosystem (Luck et al 2009). Feld et al (2010) have defined seven criteria to assess the general suitability of existing indicators of biodiversity and ecosystem services (Table 2).…”

Section: Developing Indicators For Ecosystem Service Monitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whilst a number of recent studies have attempted to construct conceptual models of the interactions between species, ecosystems and human processes that modify (either deliberately or unintended) ecosystems functions that generate goods and services , the dynamics of social-ecological systems (SES) are complex . As a result, it remains difficult to assess and quantify the extent and abundance of species or habitat type necessary to maintain sufficient levels of ecosystem services to support human well-being in a sustainable manner (Luck et al, 2009). It is crucial, therefore, to develop a suite of indicators of the health and status of ecosystems, to monitor and quantify services delivery and to facilitate policy responses to stop and reverse negative trends (Feld et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of remote sensing in the development of SMART indicators for ecosystem services assessment

2016

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Making research relevant? Ecological methods and the ecosystem services framework

Root‐Bernstein

Jaksic

2017

Earth's Future

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We examine some unexpected epistemological conflicts that arise at the interfaces between ecological science, the ecosystem services framework, policy, and industry. We use an example from our own research to motivate and illustrate our main arguments, while also reviewing standard approaches to ecological science using the ecosystem services framework. While we agree that the ecosystem services framework has benefits in its industrial applications because it may force economic decision makers to consider a broader range of costs and benefits than they would do otherwise, we find that many alignments of ecology with the ecosystem services framework are asking questions that are irrelevant to real-world applications, and generating data that does not serve real-world applications. We attempt to clarify why these problems arise and how to avoid them. We urge fellow ecologists to reflect on the kind of research that can lead to both scientific advances and applied relevance to society. In our view, traditional empirical approaches at landscape scales or with place-based emphases are necessary to provide applied knowledge for problem solving, which is needed once decision makers identify risks to ecosystem services. We conclude that the ecosystem services framework is a good policy tool when applied to decision-making contexts, but not a good theory either of social valuation or ecological interactions, and should not be treated as one. Plain Language SummaryThe ecosystem services framework is a policy tool that aims to help industrial actors and economic decision makers to appreciate the true costs of environmental destruction. In industry standards that incorporate ecosystem services, decision makers should consider the harms to a wide range of actors who may suffer if the ecosystems that they depend on are disrupted by a project. When used this way, the ecosystem services framework appears to be good and effective. However, in the rush to show that their research is relevant to society, and to attract funding, many ecologists have tried to use the ecosystem services framework as if it were a theory of ecological interactions and ecosystem functioning. We show how ecologists, including ourselves, have developed "hybrid" methods that mix traditional ecological science with an ecosystem services perspective. We have come to the conclusion, however, that these approaches often answer questions that are not relevant to applied contexts, and provide data that are not useful for solving real-world problems. These possible mistakes can be avoided, and we discuss approaches to make ecology useful to society without misusing the ecosystem services framework

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Quantifying the Contribution of Organisms to the Provision of Ecosystem Services

Cited by 332 publications

References 59 publications

Changing conservation strategies in Europe: a framework integrating ecosystem services and dynamics

Changing conservation strategies in Europe: a framework integrating ecosystem services and dynamics

The role of remote sensing in the development of SMART indicators for ecosystem services assessment

Making research relevant? Ecological methods and the ecosystem services framework

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