Understanding ecosystems

Integrated science for our changing worldwww.ceh.ac.uk

Monitoring and Managing Ecosystem

Services: An Integrated

Approach

Professor Mark BaileyCentre for Ecology & Hydrology

Science Director of Biodiversity


Understanding ecosystemsWhat natural capital do we have and how is it changing?

What is causing the change and why?

How confident are we in predicting future change and risk?

What innovative management solutions do we need?

We need to adapt and enhance services and functions, to understand the impact of trade-offs and provide decision support

tools

Biodiversity

Water

Biogeochemistry


What natural capital do we

have and how is it changing?


How do we measure natural capital and the services they provide?

Countryside Survey -

a long term integrated monitoring programme of the UK’s rural landscape since 1978

Uniquely we can map and identify associations

Ecosystem service Measurement

Climate regulation Topsoil carbon concentration

Water quality Aquatic plant species richness

Pollination Number of bumble bee food plants

Support of biodiversity Plant species richness

www.countrysidesurvey.org.uk


National stock and change in ecosystem services

0

100

200

300

400

500

Car

bon

Con

cent

ratio

n (g

/kg)

Bog Soils

All Habitats

Arable Soils

1978 1998 2007

*

* *

*

Biodiversity: Plant species richness

Climate regulation: Topsoil carbon

Bog Soils

All Soils

Arable Soils


New data from Countryside Survey:Associations between services

r2 = 0.72; p = 0.008;

1

2

4

5

6

8

1 0

1 2

0 5 0 1 0 0 1 5 0 2 0 0 2 5 0 3 0 0 3 5 0 4 0 0 4 5 0

S o il C arbo n sto ck in 2007

3 0

4 0

5 0

6 0

7 0

8 0

9 0

Water quality- stock

If we protect or enhance soil carbon will water quality also be protected?

Topsoil carbon stock in 2007

Wat

er q

ual

ity

in

200

7

Preliminary analysis of Countryside Survey data


Predicting future risk

and developing management

solutions


Win : Win Production and biodiversity in grasslands

Adding wildflowers to species-poor grasslands increases hay yield by up to 40%

DM difference = 0.148 Species difference - 0.58

r 2 = 0.46, n = 15, P < 0.01

-0.5

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18

Difference in species number

Diff

eren

ce in

DM

t.ha

-1

Difference in plant species number

Hay

pro

du

ctio

n (

t/h

a)


Proving habitat for pollinators in arable systems

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

Nu

mb

er

of

bees p

er

vis

it

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Year of sowing


Trade-offFood production and pollination

Crops and conservation headland areas (where crop is unsprayed) are not good for pollinators

We need to plant specific areas for bees

Pollinators are worth 150 billion euros to agriculture worldwide


Win : Win Wetland habitat management reduces

flood risk

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

08 10 12 14

Day (April 1998)

Flo

w (

m³/

s)

more time to act

lower flood risk

Flood flow to Oxford April 1998 (data)Flood flow without wetlands upstream (model)

Date in April 2008


Trade-offFlooding versus biodiversity within wetlands

Raising water levels in wetlands improves biodiversity but removes flood storage


Future challenges How do we quantify trade-offs and

develop decision support tools?

What are the metrics for different services and can they be combined?

How can we respond to win-win and trade-offs when they operate at different scales in the landscape?

How do place monetary value on these ecosystem services?

How can we overcome barriers and conflicts between different stakeholders?

Understanding ecosystems

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