Assessing Landscape Functions with Broad-Scale Environmental Data: Insights Gained from a Prototype Development for Europe |
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Authors: | Felix Kienast Janine Bolliger Marion Potschin Rudolf S de Groot Peter H Verburg Iris Heller Dirk Wascher Roy Haines-Young |
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Institution: | 1.Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL,Birmensdorf,Switzerland;2.Centre for Environmental Management, School of Geography,University of Nottingham,Nottingham,England;3.Environmental Systems Analysis Group,Wageningen University,Wageningen,The Netherlands;4.Land Dynamics Group,Wageningen University,Wageningen,The Netherlands;5.Alterra-Landscape Centre,Wageningen,The Netherlands |
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Abstract: | We examine the advantages and disadvantages of a methodological framework designed to analyze the poorly understood relationships
between the ecosystem properties of large portions of land, and their capacities (stocks) to provide goods and services (flows).
These capacities (stocks) are referred to as landscape functions. The core of our assessment is a set of expert- and literature-driven
binary links, expressing whether specific land uses or other environmental properties have a supportive or neutral role for
given landscape functions. The binary links were applied to the environmental properties of 581 administrative units of Europe
with widely differing environmental conditions and this resulted in a spatially explicit landscape function assessment. To
check under what circumstances the binary links are able to replace complex interrelations, we compared the landscape function
maps with independently generated continent-wide assessments (maps of ecosystem services or environmental parameters/indicators).
This rigorous testing revealed that for 9 out of 15 functions the straightforward binary links work satisfactorily and generate
plausible geographical patterns. This conclusion holds primarily for production functions. The sensitivity of the nine landscape
functions to changes in land use was assessed with four land use scenarios (IPCC SRES). It was found that most European regions
maintain their capacity to provide the selected services under any of the four scenarios, although in some cases at other
locations within the region. At the proposed continental scale, the selected input parameters are thus valid proxies which
can be used to assess the mid-term potential of landscapes to provide goods and services. |
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