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Modeling Coastal Vulnerability for Insight into Mangrove and Coral Reef Conservation Efforts in CubaGomez, Maria 01 August 2018 (has links)
Cuba’s expansive coral reefs and mangrove habitats provide a variety of ecosystem services to coastal communities including nursery grounds for fisheries, shoreline stability, and storm and flood protection. While Cuba’s coastal habitats are some of the most preserved in the Caribbean, they are under increasing threat of degradation from the impacts of climate change, increased tourism, and coastal development. With the goal of sustainable development, Cubans need to assess the storm and flood protection benefits these coastal habitats provide, and integrate this information into future expansion and management plans within the National Protected Areas System (SNAP). Using the open source software, Integrated Valuation on Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST), a national-scale coastal vulnerability model was developed to provide quantitative estimates of coastal exposure and the protective role of coastal habitats during storm events. This model integrates storm information with bathymetry and coastline geomorphology, coupled with coastal habitat data to estimate the influence of these habitats in reducing vulnerability to storms and flooding. By combining these results with human population data, the model identifies where coastal communities are most vulnerable to wave energy and storm surge, and where coral reefs and mangroves provide the most protection by reducing impacts to these communities. We classify these regions as areas of conservation priority. We observed that fifty percent of the areas identified as areas of conservation priority lack any form of environmental protection. We recommend including these key habitats within the National System of Protected Areas. This will permit decision makers to more effectively concentrate restoration and conservation efforts in areas where people and natural resources will experience greater benefit from valuable ecological services.
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Grönska i centrum : -en fallstudie i ÖrnsköldsvikJohansson, Johanna January 2022 (has links)
Today almost half the world’s population live in cities, and urbanization rates continue to increase. This puts a lot of strain on green areas in urban environments where sustainability can often be a problem. To be able to provide green areas in growing cities, that becomes more densely populated, city planners need to develop new strategies when constructing new green areas and improving already existing ones. Green areas are important since they provide important ecosystem services in urban environments, for example reducing air pollution. This study evaluates the potential to develop and improve green areas in downtown Örnsköldsvik. First by conducting interviews with city planners, secondly by conducting a field study of Viktoriaesplanaden, and thirdly through a survey. The results of this study indicates that green areas needs to be allowed to take more space in cities, especially near street-related infrastructure. More specifically already green areas needs to be developed and new green areas needs to be considered early on in the planning process when a city grows and becomes more densely populated. One key factor in this process is to educate planners and builders regarding the value of green areas in the modern urban environment.
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Unraveling diverse values of ecosystem services : A socio-cultural valuation using the Q-methodology in Messenia, GreeceManiatakou, Sofia January 2019 (has links)
People perceive the importance of ecosystem services in different ways, depending on their values, beliefs and needs. This study provides a nuanced understanding of the multiple ways stakeholder groups perceive the benefits derived from hydrologic services in the surrounding area of the "Gialova" coastal wetland in Messenia, Greece. The social-ecological system of this region depends on a steady flow of water-related ecosystem services and livelihoods are closely linked to agriculture and tourism. At the same time, these activities, along with climate change driven weather extremes, could affect regional water quality and availability. The objective of the study is to understand the stakeholders' key viewpoints on water-based ecosystem services (WES) and provide contextual information regarding the drivers affecting the identified WES. A "value pluralism" lens is applied to capture the multiple dimensions of values expressed by the participants of the study. The study's primary method is "Q-methodology", a participatory mixed-methods approach suitable for eliciting patterns of valuation that are held in common within a group. Thirty-two stakeholders participated in the study and the analysis highlighted five key perspectives, titled "Basic needs first", "Us vs. them", "Tradition and history", "Modern environmentalists" and "Ecocentric". The results indicate different perceptions of the importance of WES, alongside a range of multiple explanations of why the WES are important. The five perspectives were compared and they reflected divergent understandings of i) the nested nature of socio-ecological systems, ii) spatial perception of ecosystem services and, iii) trade-off between relational and instrumental values. The points of consensus and disagreement among the participants along with their perceptions of drivers of change, suggest promising leverage points for sustainable and inclusive water resource management. In addition, this empirical case study contributes methodological insights to the ecosystem services socio-cultural valuation body of literature.
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Trädens roll i den hållbara staden : En fallstudie av träd i centrala Gävles grönområdenOnelius, Christine, Sjölin, Lina January 2021 (has links)
Den ökade urbaniseringen och klimatförändringarna utgör några av de största utmaningarna vid utvecklingen av hållbara städer. Ekosystemtjänster som vatten- och temperaturreglering samt estetiska tjänster från träd kan bidra till att tackla utmaningar som extremväder och psykisk ohälsa. Gävle kommun har ett gediget hållbarhetsarbete men har inte genomfört någon egen undersökning över hur invånarna upplever de estetiska ekosystemtjänsterna från träd eller undersökt ekosystemtjänster från de vanligaste trädsläktena i staden. Med anledning av detta var syftet att sammanställa befintlig forskning rörande ekosystemtjänster från lind och tall i centrala Gävle samt ta fram egna data kring hur invånarna upplever stadsträd. Målet med studien var även att undersöka hur ekosystemtjänster från träd kan användas för att främja utvecklingen av mer hållbara städer. I denna fallstudie användes en blandad metod bestående av en litteraturöversikt och en webbaserad enkätstudie för att besvara forskningsfrågans olika delar. Litteraturstudien syftade till att undersöka hur lind respektive tall påverkar vattenreglering, temperaturreglering samt estetiska ekosystemtjänster och enkätstudien syftade till att undersöka hur invånarna i centrala Gävle upplever de estetiska värdena av stadsträd. Denna blandning av metoder valdes då de kompletterar varandra och ger en mer nyanserad bild av trädens roll i den hållbara staden. Litteraturöversikten visade att lindar har god förmåga att bidra till temperaturreglering samt gav en indikation att även tallar kan bidra till denna ekosystemtjänst men genom vissa andra egenskaper. Det fanns dock en avsaknad av forskning som fokuserar på lind och tall i relation till vattenreglering och estetiska tjänster i urbana miljöer. Överlag saknas mycket forskning om tall som stadsträd i relation till de valda ekosystemtjänsterna. Resultatet av enkätstudien visade att lövträd föredras framför barrträd i stadsmiljöer samt att blommor, bred trädkrona, färgstarka blad/barr och hög höjd är viktiga attribut för att ett träd ska upplevas som attraktivt. Utöver detta upplever många att träd är viktiga komponenter för välbefinnandet. Generellt sett bedöms det behövas mer artspecifik forskning gällande urbana träds ekosystemtjänster i de mer kalltempererade områdena där exempelvis tallar oftare förekommer som stadsträd. Vidare bör fler lokala undersökningar göras för att ta reda på hur invånarna upplever stadsträd och grönområden för att säkerställa att planeringen av dessa sker i enlighet med lokalbefolkningen preferenser. Slutligen bör nämnas att om utvecklingen av mer hållbara städer är ett mål som makthavarna avser uppnå måste mer fokus läggas på ekosystemtjänster från träd då de främjar mänskligt välbefinnande och långsiktigt resilienta samhällen. / Increased urbanization and climate change constitute some of the biggest challenges in the development of sustainable cities. Ecosystem services such as water and temperature regulation as well as aesthetic services from trees can help tackle challenges such as extreme weather and mental wellbeing. The municipality of Gävle has worked substantially with sustainability issues but has not conducted any survey of how residents experience the aesthetic ecosystem services from trees or examined ecosystem services from the most common trees in the city. Due to this, the purpose was to compile existing research concerning ecosystem services from linden and pine in central Gävle and research how the inhabitants experience urban trees. The aim of the study was also to investigate how ecosystem services from trees can be used to promote the development of more sustainable cities. In this case study, a mixed method consisting of a literature review and a web-based questionnaire was used. The literature review aimed to investigate how linden and pine affect water regulation, temperature regulation and aesthetic ecosystem services, and the survey study aimed to investigate how the inhabitants of central Gävle experience the aesthetic values of urban trees. This mix of methods was chosen as they complement each other and give a more nuanced picture of the role of trees in a sustainable city. The literature review showed that lindens can effectively contribute to temperature regulation and indicated that pines also have the ability to contribute to this ecosystem service, but through certain other properties. However, there was a lack of research focusing on linden and pine in relation to water regulation and aesthetic services in urban environments. In general, there is a lack of research on pine as an urban tree in relation to the selected ecosystem services. The results of the survey showed that deciduous trees are preferred over conifers in urban environments and that flowers, a broad tree crown, colorful leaves/conifers and height are important attributes for a tree to be perceived as attractive. In addition to this, many feel that trees are important components for their well-being. In conclusion more species-specific research is needed regarding ecosystem services of urban trees in the cold-tempered areas where, for example, pines more often occur as urban trees. Furthermore, more local surveys should be conducted to find out how residents experience urban trees and green areas to ensure planning of these spaces are in accordance with the preferences of the local population. Finally, it should be mentioned that if the development of more sustainable cities is going to be achieved, more focus must be placed on ecosystem services from trees as they promote human well-being and long-term resilient communities.
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Social Equity and Payments for Ecosystem Services: From Macro to MicroLliso, Bosco 21 November 2019 (has links)
The overarching question that this thesis sheds some light on is whether making PES more equitable increases the likelihood that they will be successful. The findings of the three empirical chapters suggest that policy-makers would do well to keep equity consideration in mind when designing PES. The first of these chapters is based on the results of a survey of dozens of PES in Latin America. The second and third chapters use a deliberative choice experiments approach to measure participant preferences towards different equity design characteristics of PES in an indigenous community in Colombia, where one of these programs is likely to be implemented in the near future.
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Evaluation des services écosystémiques par la méthode des matrices de capacité : analyse méthodologique et applications à l'échelle régionale / Ecosystem services assessment based on the capacity matrix : methodological analysis and regional-scale applicationsCampagne, Carole Sylvie 05 November 2018 (has links)
Les services écosystémiques (SE) sont définis comme les bénéfices que les humains retirent des écosystèmes. A titre illustratif, un arbre peut produire des fruits, séquestre du carbone et différentes activités récréatives ou valeurs esthétiques lui sont liées. Parmi les différentes approches d’évaluation des SE, la matrice de capacité est une méthode considérée comme flexible et rapide à mettre en œuvre. Constituée d’une table d’allocation d’un score pour chaque SE et chaque écosystème considéré, elle est de plus en plus utilisée en France, ainsi qu’à l’international. Dans le cadre de cette thèse nous avons travaillés sur l’évaluation des scores à dire d’experts dans le but, notamment, de déterminer certains biais et limites méthodologiques, mais également d’explorer des développements innovants pour différentes applications sur le Parc Naturel Région Scarpe-Escaut et la Région Hauts-de-France. Enfin nous avons intégré les disservices (les effets indésirables de la nature sur l’Homme) et l’intégrité écologique (la condition/santé de l’écosystème) dans l’évaluation des SE afin d’avoir une vision plus complète de la relation homme-nature / Ecosystem services (ES) are the benefits that humans derive from ecosystems. For example, a tree produces fruit that we pick, sequesters carbon as it grows, supports various recreational activities and has aesthetic value. Among the different approaches developed to assess ES, the experts-based capacity matrix is flexible and quick to implement. The matrix is a look-up table that assigns each ecosystem type a score defined by experts expressing its ES capacity. It is increasingly used in France, Europe and internationally. Three themes are addressed in the thesis: (i) methodological analysis to define and specify limits and specify methodology to address them, (ii) application of the method to the Scarpe-Escaut Regional Natural Park and to the Hauts-de-France Region, and (iii) integration of the evaluation of disservices (undesired effects of the natural environment on humans) and ecological integrity (condition/health of the ecosystem) into the evaluation of ES to take fuller account of the relation between humans and their natural environment.
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Quantification de services écosystémiques de régulation à l'échelle locale. Indicateurs, protocoles de terrain et incertitudes - Cas des services de pollinisation et de régulation du climat global / Evaluation of regulating ecosystem services at local scaleIndicators, field methods and uncertainties - Case of pollination and global climate regulation ecosystem servicesBartholomée, Océane 20 December 2018 (has links)
Les services écosystémiques (SE) désignent les bénéfices fournis par les écosystèmes à la société. En France, la législation cherche à les intégrer dans les études d’impact environnemental avec la promulgation de la Loi pour la reconquête de la biodiversité, de la nature et des paysages (2016). Pour ce faire, il est nécessaire de développer des méthodes de terrain d’estimation des SE. C’est dans ce cadre qu’une collaboration entre le Laboratoire d’Ecologie Alpine et le bureau d’études EGIS Environnement a vu le jour, afin de répondre à la question : comment quantifier les SE à l’échelle locale ?Pour cela, nous avons étudié deux SE de régulation régulièrement évoqués dans le contexte du changement global. Le service de pollinisation est essentiel pour l’alimentation humaine et est au cœur de l’actualité de par les déclins des populations d’insectes pollinisateurs. Le SE de régulation du climat global par la séquestration de carbone par les écosystèmes est d’intérêt majeur en regard des changements climatiques récents et annoncés.Nous avons suivi les quatre étapes du développement d’un protocole. Premièrement, pour le SE de pollinisation entomophile qui possède de nombreuses définitions dans la littérature, nous avons établi par une revue bibliographique un cadre conceptuel afin de définir le SE de pollinisation et d’identifier les indicateurs et leurs méthodes de mesures. Nous avons choisi pour la suite d’adopter la définition du SE de pollinisation comme la capacité de l’écosystème à soutenir la pollinisation entomophile, i.e. la présence d’insectes pollinisateurs. Deuxièmement, nous avons abordé la question du choix des indicateurs pour l’estimation de ce SE. En effet, la capacité du SE de pollinisation peut être estimée par des indicateurs directs, liés à la présence des insectes pollinisateurs sur la parcelle, et des indicateurs indirects, liés aux ressources d’alimentation et de nidification sur la parcelle d’étude et dans le paysage. Nous avons comparé les mesures de ces deux types d’indicateurs estimés en vergers et en prairies. Les objectifs étaient de tester la cohérence entre ces deux types d’indicateurs pour le SE de pollinisation et la possibilité d’une simplification du protocole d’estimation en la basant uniquement sur des indicateurs indirects. Les indicateurs indirects n’expliquaient pas une part suffisante de la variabilité observée dans les mesures d’abondance et de richesse des pollinisateurs pour permettre simplification du protocole.Troisièmement, nous avons cherché à simplifier le protocole d’estimation du SE de la régulation du climat global par la mesure des stocks de carbone en prairies et en forêts. Pour cela, nous avons comparé les estimations obtenues par des protocoles simplifiés à celles obtenues par un protocole plus complet et mesuré les incertitudes causées par ces simplifications. Le protocole d’estimation a pu ainsi être simplifié pour les deux compartiments de l’écosystème stockant le plus de carbone : la biomasse aérienne en forêt et le carbone organique du sol. Enfin, afin de tester l’applicabilité du protocole simplifié d’estimation du SE de régulation du climat global, nous l’avons testé sur des parcelles de zones humides, des écosystèmes stockant une grande quantité de carbone. Ces parcelles ont été placées dans un modèle d’états-et-transitions afin de tester si les mesures de gestion peuvent affecter les stocks de carbone des zones humides. Les actions de gestion sur la biomasse aérienne changeaient les stocks de carbone entre les zones humides herbacées et forestières. Le stock de carbone organique du sol, stock majeur dans les zones humides, ne différait pas entre les différents états étudiés, reflétant la difficulté d’agir sur ce compartiment.Cette étude montre que le développement méthodologique pour la quantification de SE sur le terrain peut mener à des protocoles simples et fiables mais que le processus de développement est différent selon les SE abordés. / Ecosystem services are benefits supplied by ecosystem to human societies. In France, recent legislation aims to include ecosystem service in environmental impact studies with the enactment of the Law for the recovery of biodiversity, nature and landscapes (2016). To do so, it is necessary to develop field methods for ecosystem service estimation. In this setting, a collaboration was established between the Laboratoire d’Ecologie Alpine and the environmental consultancy EGIS Environnement to answer the following question: how can ecosystem services be quantified at local scale?We studied two ecosystem services often cited in the global change context. The pollination service is essential for human food production. Given worldwide pollinator declines it is at the centre of scientific, citizen and political concerns. The service of global climate regulation by carbon sequestration by ecosystems is of major interest given the recent and coming climate changes.We investigated four key steps for developing a field protocol. First, the ecosystem service of entomophilous pollination has numerous definitions in the scientific literature. Thus, based on a literature review we built a conceptual framework for defining the pollination service and identifying quantifiable indicators and their measurement methods. We chose to define the pollination service as the ecosystem capacity to support entomophilous pollination, i.e. pollinating insect presence. Second, we worked on indicator selection for the pollination service estimation. Pollination capacity can be estimated through direct indicators linked to pollinator presence on the plot and through indirect indicators linked to feeding and nesting resources in the plot and in the landscape. We compared measures of these two types of indicators within orchards and grasslands. Our aims were to test consistency between both indicator types for the pollination service and the possibility of protocol simplification based on indirect indicators. Indirect indicators did not explain enough of the observed variability in pollinator abundance and richness to allow a protocol simplification.Third, we tried to simplify the estimation protocol of the ecosystem service of global climate regulation from measures of carbon stocks in grasslands and forests. We compared estimations obtained by simplified protocols to estimations obtained by a more complete protocol. We also quantified the uncertainties caused by these simplifications. The estimation protocol could be simplified for the two most important carbon pools: aboveground biomass in forests and soil organic carbon. Finally, to test the applicability of the simplified protocol of carbon stock estimations, we applied it on wetland plots. These plots were organized following in a state-and-transition model to test whether management decisions are likely to affect wetland carbon stocks. Management actions on aboveground biomass changed carbon stocks between herbaceous and forested wetland. Soil organic carbon, the major carbon stock in wetlands, was unchanged between the different studied stats, illustrating the difficulty to manage soil carbon stocks in the short term.This study shows that method development for field quantification of ecosystem service can lead to simple and reliable protocols. However, the development process is different for each ecosystem service.
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Understanding spatial patterns of dispersal and deposition of fine sediment and adsorbed phosphates in the Wiesdrift Wetland on the Nuwejaars River, Cape AgulhasJagganath, Tashveera January 2021 (has links)
Magister Scientiae (Integrated Water Resource Management) / River catchments in agricultural areas are strongly influenced by runoff from cultivated or grazed fields, and nutrient loading of these fields can result in large quantities of nitrates and phosphates being transported to rivers in surface runoff. In intensively farmed areas, nutrient loading is often so high that large quantities of nitrates and phosphates are transported to streams in surface runoff. Within these areas, strips of natural riparian vegetation and wetlands are critical in providing nutrient uptake functions that can reduce the load entering streams. A wetland can be a source, sink or transformer of nutrients, where fine sediments such as silt and clay have the ability to store and trap considerable amounts of phosphorus through adsorption and precipitation processes. Therefore, the determination of phosphorus adsorbed to fine sediment is important in understanding the role and value of wetlands in agricultural landscapes, and is the main focus of this study. The aim of the study is to evaluate an indicator-based approach, WET-EcoServices, to assess wetland sediment and phosphate trapping, through comparison with field survey data. The study focuses on spatial analysis and field survey of three Hydrogeomorphological (HGM) units classified for the Wiesdrift wetland on the Nuwejaars River, Cape Agulhas. The three HGM units are classified as: a floodplain wetland at the inlet of the system, a channelled valley-bottom wetland towards the middle part of the system and a floodplain wetland towards the outlet of the system. In-field observations were recorded for hydrogeomorphic and vegetation characteristics for each HGM Unit. AstroTurf mat sediment samples, grabbed channel bed and floodplain sediment samples were analysed for particle size and orthophosphate concentrations, while suspended sediment masses were recorded from three pairs of time-integrated sediment samplers located near the inlet, near the middle, and near the outlet of the wetland. Statistical analysis showed that orthophosphate concentrations are associated with fine sediment. Thus, the orthophosphate concentrations follow the distribution of silt on the Wiesdrift wetland. The dominant vegetation along transect 2, at which the highest concentrations of orthophosphate was found, is occupied by Typha capensis and Cyperus textilis. The percentage of fine sediment (silt) ranged between 0-37%, where the remaining percentage was sand. There was also a significant positive correlation between orthophosphate concentration and silt (Spearman’s rank-order correlation: rs = 0.692, N = 70, P < .001). The largest total sediment amount was found at Outlet 1 and Outlet 2 in the HGM unit 3 of the Wiesdrift wetland, with a value of 0.653 g. Overall, orthophosphate concentrations ranged between 0 mg/kg and 31320 mg/kg within the Wiesdrift wetland. WET-EcoServices determines an average score for phosphate trapping from on-site indicators such as hydrological zones, vegetation structure and soil texture/permeability. The dispersal of fine sediment and associated adsorbed phosphate is more complex than can be determined by a tool like WET-EcoServices because the tool captures the long-term mean conditions of a wetland system that determines the overall uptake of phosphates over extended time periods, thus future wetland assessments is recommended to take place over a longer period than this study. However, the field results of orthophosphate distribution are generally consistent with the findings from WET-EcoServices, further motivating for the use of the tool in wetland management applications.
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Toward Software for Incorporating the Role of Ecosystem Services in LCA along with Regional VariationUpasani, Shubhankar, Upasani January 2018 (has links)
No description available.
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Quantifying the Ecosystem Services and Functions of Forests across Diverse Urban LandscapesRiley, Christopher B. January 2019 (has links)
No description available.
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