Training future experts in “biodiversity and ecosystem services”: a progress report

Biodiversity is essential for multiple aspects of human life and well-being, but many current assessments of the functioning of biodiversity and ecosystems, understanding of risks posed by environmental change and the best practice of their management of ecosystems are lacking a unified scientific and conceptual basis. Methods such as scenario analysis, and terms such as ecosystem services, are widely used, but their meaning is understood in many different ways depending on context, user needs and experience of researchers. In order to advance the conceptual basis for ecosystem analysis and management in a rapidly changing world, as well as the ability of young scientists to reflect upon these concepts, we have organised five 2-week-long summer schools in Peyresq, a remote village in the Southern French Alps. In total 173 participants have worked intensively with 69 experienced researchers and a team of conveners and tutors in order to discuss a broad range of views on topics on ecosystem analysis and functioning. Topics ranged from conditions of and threats to various ecosystems due to environmental change, models and scenarios for assessment, stakeholder perceptions and needs for information, to the social and economic contexts for biodiversity. We report our experience from these schools, present the training concept which has emerged from them and suggest lines of further development.

山区县域生态系统安全因子遥感和GIS分析--以重庆市忠县为例

数据的高效获取和信息的实时提取,长期以来一直是困扰区域生态安全研究领域和地学过程研究领域的瓶颈和难题。在对案例研究区——重庆忠县地区TM卫星遥感数据进行波谱信息特征分析的基础上,通过人机交互目视判读解译和模型模拟自动信息提取等多种有效技术和方法,实现用遥感影像数据对山区县域生态环境系统安全因子体系中的3个主要因子：土地覆被、水土流失强度、植被盖度等进行数据提取,并用GIS技术对这些指标因子数据进行空间分析。这在一定程度上解决了中尺度山区县域生态环境系统安全评价指标因子数据提取与地学分析的技术和方法难题。通过GIS空间分析,揭示出忠县部分生态安全因子的时空分异特征,为山区县域生态环境退化评价和生态恢复研究提供了一种新的方法尝试。     

基于生态敏感性分析的湖泊保护与利用——以湖北省斧头湖为例

为了湖泊生态系统健康及功能的可持续性，需要根据湖泊的具体情况加强对湖泊生态系统的管理，建立在湖泊生态敏感性分析基础上的生态功能分区，可为湖泊生态管理的具体措施的实施提供依据。以斧头湖为研究对象，在进行斧头湖生态环境调查基础上，选择有代表性的生态因子，利用GIS技术，采用因子叠加法，对其进行生态敏感性分析。结果表明:极高和高生态敏感区面积占斧头湖面积的32.0%，中度敏感区占斧头湖面积的57.1%，说明斧头湖生态敏感性总体上很高；同时根据生态敏感性分析结果对斧头湖保护与开发提出建议。首次将GIS矢量技术应用于湖泊生态敏感性区划，使生态敏感性因子空间叠加分析更为有效。同时，建议选取更多的因子如水生生物多样性、生物量等因素作为评价指标，可得到更全面的生态敏感性分区结果。     

Towards a spatially explicit and quantitative vulnerability assessment of environmental change in Europe

Over the next century, society will increasingly be confronted with the impacts of global change (e.g. pollution, land use changes, and climate change). Multiple scenarios provide us with a range of possible changes in socio-economic trends, land uses and climate (i.e. exposure) and allow us to assess the response of ecosystems and changes in the services they provide (i.e. potential impacts). Since vulnerability to global change is less when society is able to adapt, it is important to provide decision makers with tools that will allow them to assess and compare the vulnerability of different sectors and regions to global change, taking into account exposure and sensitivity, as well as adaptive capacity. This paper presents a method that allows quantitative spatial analyses of the vulnerability of the human-environment system on a European scale. It is a first step towards providing stakeholders and policy makers with a spatially explicit portfolio of comparable projections of ecosystem services, providing a basis for discussion on the sustainable management of Europe’s natural resources.

Integrated and comprehensive estimation of greenhouse gas emissions from land systems

Exchanges of carbon and nitrogen between the atmosphere and terrestrial ecosystems involve a complex set of interactions affected by both natural and management processes. Understanding these processes is important for managing ecosystem productivity and sustainability. Management processes also affect the net outcome of exchanges of greenhouse gases between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. In developing a national carbon accounting system (NCAS) for Australia to account for emissions and removal of greenhouse gases to and from the atmosphere, a carbon:nitrogen mass balance ecosystem model (FullCAM) was developed. The FullCAM model is a hybrid of empirical and process modelling. The approach enables application to a wide range of natural resource management issues, because it is at land-management-relevant spatial and temporal resolution and captures the main process and management drivers. The scenario-prediction capability can be used to determine the emissions consequences of different management activities. Because, in Australia, emissions of greenhouse gases are closely related to the retention of dead organic matter and the availability of nitrogen for plant growth, the carbon and nitrogen cycling as modelled are good indicators of ecosystem productivity and condition. The NCAS also emphasizes the advantages of a comprehensive and integrated approach to developing a continental scale ecosystem-modelling system that has relevance both to estimation of greenhouse gas emissions and sustainable management of natural resources.     

Application of Remote Sensing Detection and GIS in Analysis of Vegetation Pattem Dynamics in the Yellow River Delta

Regional vegetation pattem dynamics has a great im- pact on ecosystem and climate change.Remote sensing data and geographical information system (GIS) analysis were widely used in the detection of vegetation pattern dynamics.In this study,the Yellow River Delta was selected as the study area.By using 1986, 1993,1996,1999 and 2005 remote sensing data as basic informa- tion resource,with the support of GIS,a wetland vegetation spa- tial information dataset was built up.Through selecting the land- scape met...     

The Spatial Dimension of Landscape Sustainability

Sustainability indicators are mostly derived from parameters which are, in the spatial dimension, more or less distribution-free. In the majority of cases, the indicators are based on statistical data on production, consumption, pollutants emission, land use, etc. This statistical approach is liable to mask sustainability risks which are primarily caused by specific spatial and temporal patterns of landscape and land use structure, such as degradation of soil functions, disturbances in the landscape's water balance, and losses in functional habitat quality.Sustainability risks due to ecologically non-adapted spatial landuse patterns require measures on regional to local scales, based on disaggregated, spatially explicit indicators. Depending on the respective planning and decision level, different levels of spatial aggregation/disaggregation have to be considered.In the concept presented here, a differentiated approach is proposed. For an aggregated assessment of landscape sustainability, long term monitoring of the dynamics of water flow and matter load at the outlet point of river catchments is recommended. A prerequisite for analyzing those measurements in terms of the catchments' land cover and land use pattern, as well as changes thereof, is a Geographic Information System (GIS) holding relevant up-to-date geodata sets. For a spatially more detailed indication of sustainability risks, an approach of GIS-based functional landscape assessment was demonstrated in a regional case study.The results show GIS on regional to local scales together with satellite remote sensing data on land cover and landuse to be a powerful data basis for spatially explicit landscape evaluation, provided that suitable models for assessing specific landscape functions are applied.     

The Use of Remote Sensing and GIS in the Sustainable Management of Tropical Coastal Ecosystems

The sustainable use and management of important tropical coastal ecosystems (mangrove forests, seagrass beds and coral reefs) cannot be done without understanding the direct and indirect impacts of man. The ecosystem's resilience and recovery capacity following such impacts must be determined. The efficacy of mitigation measures must also be considered. Remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) are excellent tools to use in such studies. This paper reviews the state of the art and application of these tools in tropical coastal zones, and illustrates their relevance in sustainable development. It highlights a selected number of remote sensing case-studies on land cover patterns, population structure and dynamics, and stand characteristics from South-East Asia, Africa and South-America, with a particular emphasis on mangroves. It further shows how remote sensing technology and other scientific tools can be integrated in long-term studies, both retrospective and predictive, in order to anticipate degradation and to take mitigating measures at an early stage. The paper also highlights the guidelines for sustainable management that can result from remote sensing and GIS studies, and identifies existent gaps and research priorities.There is a need for more comprehensive approaches that deal with new remote sensing technologies and analysis in a GIS-environment, and that integrate findings collected over longer periods with the aim of prediction. It is also imperative to collect and integrate data from different disciplines. These are essential in the spirit of sustainable development and management, particularly in developing countries, which are often more vulnerable to environmental degradation.     

人类活动影响下的四湖地区湿地景观格局分析

湿地景观空间结构研究是湿地生态研究的核心之一，景观功能性的性质和发挥，影响着湿地的物质流、信息流和能量流的特征，进而影响湿地区域的资源开发利用与保护。运用景观的空间格局指数，在遥感和GIS技术的支持下，结合江汉平原四湖地区的湿地农业的区域特点，确定了 四湖地区湿地景观分类系统，为了更好地定量分析四湖地区湿地景观格局的特点，我们选取了三类景观格局指数来定量描述于景观空间格局，即基本空间格局指标（多样性、均匀度及优势度）、景观空间构型指标（聚集工、破碎化）及斑块特征指标（斑块分维数），比较系统地分析四湖地区湿地景观空间格局。在此基础上探讨了人类干扰对四湖地区湿地同的结构和空间演替的影响。     

2008~2016年鄱阳湖生态经济区生态系统服务价值的时空变化研究

鄱阳湖生态经济区是中国重要生态功能区和世界自然基金会划定的全球重要生态区,2009年开始建设,目前已完成首要阶段的建设工作。基于土地覆被遥感解译数据,利用生态价值评估模型及GIS空间统计方法,分析鄱阳湖生态经济区2008~2016年间生态系统服务价值时空格局及动态演化。结果表明,鄱阳湖生态经济区土地利用/覆被方式以耕地、林地和草地为主,8年间区内草地和建筑用地面积明显增加,水域面积减少加剧,生态系统服务价值总体呈减少趋势,其中减少最明显的是林地和水域系统价值。水源涵养和土壤保持是鄱阳湖生态经济区最主要的生态系统服务功能,两者合计占比38%以上,但食物生产、水源涵养与废物处理的各单项生态服务价值下降比例较多。生态系统服务价值年均减少率超过20%的区域主要在城市地区,从空间分布来看,南部区域生态服务价值增长具有优势,尤其在2012~2016年间总的优势更为明显。     

卫星遥感与地理信息系统在淮阴市可持续发展中的应用

本文通过淮阴市卫星遥感与地理信息系统应用示范研究的实践,探讨地级市资源环境信息系统在国土规划和区域可持续发展中的应用。     

杭州市暴雨洪涝灾害风险区划

暴雨洪涝灾害是一个多因素耦合的复杂系统,在自然灾害系统理论基础上,根据杭州市1959～2009年的降水资料、自然环境以及社会经济要素,综合致灾因子、孕灾环境、承灾体以及防灾减灾能力,构建区域暴雨洪涝灾害风险评价模型。考虑到降水、地形、水系以及GDP和耕地等因子,通过ArcGIS空间分析技术结合模糊综合评价法,编制以100 m×100 m栅格为基本评价单元的杭州市暴雨洪涝灾害风险区划图。区划结果表明杭州暴雨洪涝风险东北部高于西南部。杭州暴雨洪涝风险高值区主要在杭州市区、余杭区、临安市、富阳市和桐庐县的富春江流域、淳安千岛湖西南部地区。暴雨洪涝风险高值区主要集中在山谷、河边、江边、人口密集地区等区域     

Recent Changes in Land-Use in the Pambala–Chilaw Lagoon Complex (Sri Lanka) Investigated Using Remote Sensing and GIS: Conservation of Mangroves vs. Development of Shrimp Farming

Shrimp aquaculture is currently one of the major threats to mangroves, their destruction causing both environmental and social problems. This study investigated the mangrove area in the Pambala–Chilaw Lagoon complex (07°30 N, 079°49 E) in Sri Lanka. Using air-borne remote sensing, a land-use map was constructed in a geographical information system of the study area and pond managers were interviewed about the functioning of their shrimp farms. Based on fieldwork during the four years after taking the aerial photographs, an updated GIS-based land-use map was constructed and compared the original situation. This revealed that shrimp farms had expanded with by 25 ha in four years, mainly at the expense of mangrove forest (approx. 13 ha) and coconut plantations (approx. 11 ha). Official documents from the World Conservation Union advise conservation of the undisturbed habitats in Pambala, but this study's observations do not corroborate an eventuation of this. Other authors reported political patronage as the main cause of this adverse situation. Since the shrimp industry depends on various ecological services provided by the mangrove ecosystem in order to maintain production (cf. ecological footprint concept) the mangrove destruction is counter-productive and these observations are therefore alarming for the aquaculturists as well. The low ratio (2.6 : 1) of remaining mangrove to shrimp pond area suggests that the industry may experience severe problems, particularly as mangrove areas continue to be reclaimed for aquaculture or other land uses, unless drastic measures are taken.     

From spatial models to spatial evaluation in the analysis of wetland restoration in the Vecht river basin

Water tables are strictly controlled throughout much of the Netherlands. Higher water tables could permit the restoration of wetland ecosystems. Deriving benefits from this requires the spatial matching of physical planning, eco-hydrological processes, and economic activities. This paper reports on a study combining spatial analysis and disciplinary integration to assess management strategies for the Vecht river basin in the Netherlands. The paper addresses two research questions. How can the information generated by spatial models be condensed into performance indicators for the evaluation of strategies? How can spatial information be retained in the evaluation, and does this lead to different rankings and/or insights? Procedures for the construction of performance indicators for three criteria – net present value, environmental quality and spatial equity – are presented. The evaluation concludes that recreation and higher water tables provide a means for restoration, recouping of costs, and stimulating regional incomes. Maintenance of spatial detail led to different insights, and in particular indicated uncertainty about this conclusion.     

A spatially explicit and quantitative vulnerability assessment of ecosystem service change in Europe

Environmental change alters ecosystem functioning and may put the provision of services to human at risk. This paper presents a spatially explicit and quantitative assessment of the corresponding vulnerability for Europe, using a new framework designed to answer multidisciplinary policy relevant questions about the vulnerability of the human-environment system to global change. Scenarios were constructed for a range of possible changes in socio-economic trends, land uses and climate. These scenarios were used as inputs in a range of ecosystem models in order to assess the response of ecosystem function as well as the changes in the services they provide. The framework was used to relate the impacts of changing ecosystem service provision for four sectors in relation to each other, and to combine them with a simple, but generic index for societal adaptive capacity. By allowing analysis of different sectors, regions and development pathways, the vulnerability assessment provides a basis for discussion between stakeholders and policymakers about sustainable management of Europe’s natural resources. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

三峡库区水源涵养重要区生态系统格局动态演变特征

利用三期遥感分类数据为基础数据源,结合野外地面核查和生态空间分析方法,对三峡库区水源涵养重要区2000~2010年生态系统格局时空动态变化进行了分析。结果表明:研究区内各类生态系统空间分布差异较大,以森林和农田为主体生态系统;10a间,由于三峡水库蓄水淹没了大量农田和林地,导致森林生态系统和农田生态系统分别向湿地生态系统转化了179.99km2和191.27km2;其他生态系统(主要是人工表面)面积在时段内增加了506.63km2,主要是城镇建设占用部分森林和农田转换而来;时段内森林生态系统总的面积未发生较大减少主要是由于近年退耕还林、森林工程等生态工程的实施获得了大量补充;研究区后期的生态系统转化强度在逐渐增强,生态系统动态类型相互转化强度也显示出研究区生态系统类型的转化总体变差。     

Sustainability science: an ecohealth perspective

Sustainability science is emerging as a transdisciplinary effort to come to grips with the much-needed symbiosis between human activity and the environment. While there is recognition that conventional economic growth must yield to policies that foster sustainable development, this has not yet occurred on any broad scale. Rather, there is clear evidence that the Earth’s ecosystems and landscapes continue to degrade as a consequence of the cumulative impact of human activities. Taking an ecohealth approach to sustainability science provides a unique perspective on both the goals and the means to achieve sustainability. The goals should be the restoration of full functionality to the Earth’s ecosystems and landscapes, as measured by the key indicators of health: resilience, organization, vitality (productivity), and the absence of ecosystem distress syndrome. The means should be the coordinated (spatially and temporally) efforts to modify human behaviors to reduce cumulative stress impacts. Achieving ecosystem health should become the cornerstone of sustainability policy—for healthy ecosystems are the essential precondition for achieving sustainable livelihoods, human health, and many other societal objectives, as reflected in the Millennium Development Goals.     

城市化背景下喀斯特流域生态服务价值时空分异特征——以贵阳市南明河流域为例

以贵阳市南明河流域1990、2000和2013年遥感影像数据为基础,通过多尺度空间单元格及空间自相关分析,结合GIS空间分析技术,定量描述了南明河流域生态系统服务功能的时空分异特征,进一步揭示了喀斯特区域城市发展引起的生态服务价值变化。结果表明:1990~2013年,南明河流域生态服务价值增加6.87亿元,林地生态服务价值增加,而耕地、建设用地的变化造成生态服务价值的损失;流域生态服务价值存在较强空间聚集性,生态服务价值"热点"区主要分布在流域中下游,"冷点"区主要集中在流域中游;随着研究尺度的增加,流域生态服务价值的空间自相关性增强;流域生态服务价值对价值系数缺乏弹性,林地敏感性最高,对流域生态服务价值贡献最大,而城市化进程加快使得建设用地对总生态服务价值的影响程度增加。     

基于遥感技术的长江三角洲海岸带生态系统服务价值评估

长三角海岸带是长江三角洲与东海间的重要过渡性区域,基于联合国千年评估提出的生态系统服务框架,以生态学为原理、以遥感反演技术为手段、借助经济学方法,对2005年及2008年长三角海岸带的10项生态系统服务价值进行了评估。结果表明,长三角海岸带2005及2008年的生态系统服务总价值分别为1 235.92、1 493.04亿元,与长三角地区实际GDP对比得出,生态系统服务价值实际降低,海岸带生态环境退化;对于不同的生态系统来说,林地、耕地、湿地的生态系统服务价值较高,为增强生态系统可持续发展应重点加以保护;对于不同的生态系统服务功能来说,旅游娱乐服务、土壤保持、调节水源为价值量最大的3项服务,而调节空气质量、精神文化服务、养分循环为价值量最小的3项服务。     

基于遥感信息的流域生态系统健康评价——以大宁河流域为例

以三峡库区大宁河流域为研究对象,以生态系统健康理论为基础,以联合国经济合作开发署提出的P S R(压力－状态－响应)模型为基础,建立了大宁河流域生态系统健康评价指标体系,并以遥感数据为主结合少量辅助数据,提取了流域的生态系统信息。以小流域为评价单元,对每个小流域进行单因子及综合评价,结果表明大宁河流域生态系统健康状况具有垂直地带性分布规律。