Roy H Haines-Young

• University of Nottingham

Mustajoki et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2019.101049 provided a valuable application of ecosystem services (ES) classification approaches to inform multi-criteria decision making analysis (MCDA) value trees. The exercise identified potential pitfalls of applying ES classification systems to MCDA and offered solutions by making adjustments...

As the mapping and assessment of ecosystem services (MAES) becomes a widely used tool in environmental governance, there is an increasing need for structure and standardization. In this study we present a systematic review of European MAES studies focussing on two important, but rarely documented aspects of ecosystem service (ES) indicators: (1) th...

Ecosystem services (ES) practitioners (e.g., researchers, policy makers) have been working to better define, measure, and value the ways that nature contributes to society. Because measurement techniques follow the labeling or identification of ES, precise identification is critical. This article reviews literature and consults experts in classific...

Three ‘megatrends’ have had a particular influence on ecosystem service provision and trade-offs in Europe. These are (i) the globalization of industrial and agricultural production, (ii) the changing lifestyles of a post-industrial society and (iii) the production of green energy. This chapter discusses the pressures arising from these trends and...

Scenario-based approaches provide decision makers with accessible storylines of potential future changes. The parameterisation of such storylines as input variables for integrated assessment models allows using models as a test bed for assessing the effects of alternative land use policy options in different scenarios. However, the potential of thi...

Ecosystem services (ES) practitioners have been working to better define and measure how nature contributes to society. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment’s (MA) four types (supporting, provisioning, regulating, cultural) is the most widely used definitional grouping of ES, despite ecosystem services classification systems (ES-CS) being proposed b...

New European Union level scenarios have been developed in the FP7 project OpenNESS to fill a thematic gap in existing broad-scale environmental scenarios to assess the uncertainties and risks of different drivers of change for natural capital and ecosystem service provision. The scenarios are aiming at applicability for science and policy-making at...

The European Union (EU) Horizon 2020 Coordination and Support Action ESMERALDA aimed at developing guidance and a flexible methodology for Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES) to support the EU member states in the implementation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy’s Target 2 Action 5. ESMERALDA’s key tasks included network cr...

The focus of this report is to present a broad framework for ecosystem services assessment and to test it. The framework aims to illustrate the integrated assessment cycle for practitioners. The framework also places within the other assessment activities, such as scenarios and assessing policies.

The aim of this Deliverable is to report on the use of the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES) to characterise the biophysical, social and economic methods of ecosystem assessments, and to identify how it can be further developed to support the needs of the user community. A first draft of this Deliverable was made ava...

The Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES) is widely used for mapping, ecosystem assessment, and natural capital ecosystem accounting. On the basis of the experience gained in using it since the first version was published in 2013, it has been updated for version 5.1. This policy brief summarises what has been done and ho...

We present a ‘concept matching’ systematic review linking the classes of the Common International Classification for Ecosystem Services (CICES, v4.3) to the ways scientists define and apply ES indicators in published studies. With the dual aim of creating an overview how the different services are measured in the studies, and determining if CICES p...

Small islands are of special interest for sustainable development because of their unique characteristics and vulnerabilities. They are ecologically fragile, have limited resources, are susceptible to natural disasters and climate change. This study reviews the literature on island ecosystems, their contribution in the delivery of five key Island E...

Nine Bayesian Belief Networks (BBNs) were developed within the OpenNESS project specifically for modelling ecosystem services for case study applications. The novelty of the method, its ability to explore problems, to address uncertainty, and to facilitate stakeholder interaction in the process were all reasons for choosing BBNs. Most case studies...

Understanding uncertainties and risks can be considered to be the main motivation behind environmental scenario studies to assess potential economic, environmental, social or technical developments and their expected consequences for society and environment. The scenario study presented in this paper was designed to contribute to the question of ho...

The aim of this paper is to identify the role of conceptual frameworks in operationalising and mainstreaming the idea of ecosystem services. It builds on some initial discussions from IPBES, which suggested that conceptual frameworks could be used to: ‘simplify thinking’, ‘structure work’, ‘clarify issues’, and ‘provide a common reference point’. T...

ContextIncreasing human populations in urban areas pose a threat to species’ persistence through habitat loss and fragmentation. It is therefore essential that we develop methods to investigate critical habitat loss thresholds and least detrimental landscape configurations. Objectives We develop a framework to assess how the pattern of habitat loss...

A study of the cultural ecosystem services (CES) arising from peoples' interactions with the rural environment is conducted within the context of a landscape scale, 'nature improvement' initiative in the United Kingdom. Taking a mixed methodological approach, the research applies, and demonstrates empirically, a framework for CES developed under th...

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Participatory ecosystem services scenarios can be used to inform decision making on the sustainable or wise use of biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (ES). To establish the plausibility and coherency of the recently constructed Biscay participatory scenarios, and to analyse policy options for improving sustainability of land use and the supply of...

We explore the degree to which a useful and cost-effective set of cultural ecosystem services (CES) indicators can be produced at different spatial scales in the UK, using readily available data. We place this within the conceptual framework developed for the understanding of CES produced by the recent UK National Ecosystem Assessment (UK NEA) and...

Study aims and approach An aim of the UK NEA Follow-on (UK NEAFO) is to develop and communicate the evidence base of the UK NEA and make it relevant to decision and policy making. It also provides an important opportunity for those working on scenario methods and concepts to scrutinise the role of futures thinking in the management of ecosystem ser...

The UK National Ecosystem Assessment Follow-on (UK NEAFO) project built on the work and findings of the UK National Ecosystem Assessment (UK NEA 2011a, b). The aim of the overall project was to deliver a world-leading, peer-reviewed, independently produced report with supporting materials which develop and communicate the work of the UK NEA and mak...

The ecosystem approach is used to analyse four case studies from England to determine what kind of ecosystem knowledge was used by people, and how it shaped their arguments. The results are reported across decision-making venues concerned with: innovation, conflict management, maintenance of ecosystem function, and recognising the environment as an...

C. Obst et al. provide a welcome opportunity to clarify the difference between environmental-economic cost-benefit analyses (such as ours) and environmental accounting exercises [such as the UN-SEEA ([ 1 ][1], [ 2 ][2]) initiative]. Accounting studies attempt to assess the total value of goods

Levels of reactive nitrogen (N) in the atmosphere have declined by around 25% in Europe since 1990. Ecosystem services provide a framework for valuing N impacts on the environment, and this study provides a synthesis of evidence for atmospheric N deposition effects on ecosystem services. We estimate the marginal economic value of the decline in N d...

The use of ecosystem service maps for conservation planning is increasing. However, their potential for measuring the benefits derived from protected areas has rarely been studied. To overcome this, information gap, we organized two expert workshops based on participatory mapping techniques for Doñana and Sierra Nevada protected areas. Protected ar...

A major strength of the ecosystem services (ESS) concept is that it allows a succinct description of how human well-being depends on nature, showing that the neglect of such dependencies has negative consequences on human well-being and the economy. As ESS refer to human needs and interests, values are to be considered when dealing with the concept...

Landscapes generate a wide range of valuable ecosystem services, yet land-use decisions often ignore the value of these services. Using the example of the United Kingdom, we show the significance of land-use change not only for agricultural production but also for emissions and sequestration of greenhouse gases, open-access recreational visits, urb...

We combine natural science modelling and valuation techniques to present economic analyses of a variety of land use change scenarios generated for the UK National Ecosystem Assessment. Specifically, the agricultural, greenhouse gas, recreational and urban greenspace impacts of the envisioned land use changes are valued. Particular attention is give...

There is currently, widespread interest in the assessment of ecosystem services, and the new insights that the concept provides in understanding the ecology of landscapes and the science of sustainability. Three major assessment frameworks can be identified in the contemporary literature, namely one based on habitats, one based on the identificatio...

The 'ecosystem service' debate has taken on many features of a classic Kuhnian paradigm. It challenges conventional wisdoms about conservation and the value of nature, and is driven as much by political agendas as scientific ones. In this paper we review some current and emerging issues arising in relation to the analysis and assessment of ecosyste...

The analysis of the relationships between people and nature is complex, because it involves bringing together insights from a range of disciplines, and, when stakeholders are involved, the perspectives and values of different interest groups. Although it has been suggested that analytical-deliberate approaches may be useful in dealing with some of...

Advances in positioning, imaging, location-based services capabilities, and broadband connectivity enable public participation in environmental monitoring and decision making in a manner previously only possible for professional scientists. Data collected by volunteers has long been an important factor in environmental programmes, but the dif- ficu...

This study develops an approach to mapping indicators of the potential of ecosystems to supply ecosystem services, and the impact of changes in land cover and use upon them. The study focuses on the EU-25 plus Switzerland and Norway, and develops the methodology proposed by Kienast et al. (2009), which uses expert-and literature-driven modelling me...

Ecosystem services, such as nutrient cycling, hydrological processes, healthy fisheries and soil formation are increasingly recognized as vital to society and of significant economic and social value. The resilience of ecosystem is threatened by the transformation of land cover and land use by human activities. In order to document these changes, e...

Reviewing landscape developments in the last decades evidently shows that in the future most pressing changes can be expected for the land surface. This indispensably calls for strategic approaches based on visions and transdisciplinary creativity. Hence, this paper critically reviews the Leitbild concept, an idea on spatial planning which has been...

Ecosystem services are the benefits humankind derives from the workings of the natural world. These include most obviously the supply of food, fuels and materials, but also more basic processes such as the formation of soils and the control and purification of water, and intangible ones such as amenity, recreation and aesthetics. Taken together, th...

Previous studies have shown a relationship between the number of Dunlin breeding on moorland sites in Caithness and Sutherland and the near-infrared reflectance of the sites measured from satellite imagery. We test the generality of this relationship using two images of Caithness and Sutherland recorded 12 years apart, and new imagery and survey da...

What can ecological science contribute to the sustainable management and conservation of the natural systems that underpin human well-being? Bridging the natural, physical and social sciences, this book shows how ecosystem ecology can inform the ecosystem services approach to environmental management. The authors recognise that ecosystems are rich...

Plant pathogens and invertebrates harmful to plants, collectively referred to as plant pests, continue to threaten food security. International cooperation and regulatory systems to inhibit the spread of plant pests began formally in 1878. Initially seven countries worked together and agreed phytosanitary measures against grape phylloxera, Phylloxe...

Linking biophysical aspects of ecosystems with human benefits through the notion of ecosystem services is essential to assess the trade-offs (ecological, socio-cultural, economic and monetary) involved in the loss of ecosystems and biodiversity in a clear and consistent manner. Any ecosystem assessment should be spatially and temporally explicit at...

The relationships between land use and biodiversity are fundamental to understanding the links between people and their environment. Biodiversity can be measured in many ways. The concept covers not only the overall richness of species present in a particular area but also the diversity of genotypes, functional groups, communities, habitats and eco...

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 assessmen...

Sustainability impact assessments (SIA) are inherently difficult because they often require policy advisors to compare things that are not easily compared. For example, they generally require an evaluation of policy proposals or options across the 'three pillars' of economy, society and environment. In this chapter we explore how decisions are made...

Carbon dioxide records from polar ice cores and marine ocean sediments indicate that the last glacial maximum (LGM) atmosphere CO2 content was 80–90 ppm lower than the mid-Holocene. This represents a transfer of over 160 GtC into the atmosphere since the LGM. Palaeovegetation studies suggest that up to 1350 GtC was transferred from the oceans to th...

In the context of widespread changes in European rural landscapes we underline the importance of considering threats to landscape functions relating to a sense of place, exemplified using the concept of landscape character. Illustrating our argument with examples from the English CQC (Countryside Quality Counts) Project we strongly suggest to move...

The ‘sustainability debate’ has had a profound influence on contemporary Landscape Ecology. This paper explores the implications of the second global summit for the research agendas that developed after the Rio Summit (1992), and argues that although the Declaration from Johannesburg 2002 restates the earlier summit concerns, the messages it sends...

Habitat suitability modelling has shown itself to be an important decision support tool for those concerned with the problem of where to target habitat and landscape restoration efforts. However, present approaches generally focus upon the biophysical characteristics of habitats and sites, and tend to ignore the social values associated with landsc...

Recent European instruments such as the European Landscape Convention (ELC) and institutionalized environmental reporting activities such as by OECD or the European Environment Agency have formulated clear demands for assessing the state and trends of European landscapes. One critical reference for understanding landscape changes is the recognition...

The analysis of pattern is a fundamental part of landscape ecology. Typically, we view landscape as a mosaic of elements and believe that their spatial arrangement controls or affects the ecological processes that operate within it. Similarly, we claim that landscape pattern itself is generated by other processes operating across such mosaics. As a...

This paper critically reviews the way land-cover stock and change data are used for ‘state of the environment’ reporting. The paper considers the relative merits of the indicator approach as opposed to one based on natural resource accounting. It is shown that indicators have a number of shortcomings as measures of the sustainability of land-cover...

Countryside Survey 2000 (CS2000) is the latest in a series of surveys designed to measure and evaluate stock and change of land cover, landscape features, freshwaters, habitats and the vegetation of Great Britain. The ideas behind CS2000 developed during the 1960s and 1970s and culminated in the first survey of vegetation and land cover in 1978. On...

This paper describes how Countryside Survey 2000 (CS2000) and earlier Countryside Surveys in 1990 and 1984, can be used to develop an integrated view of the changes in land cover, landscape and biodiversity that have taken place at the regional scale in Great Britain. A particular concern is to develop an understanding of how the national patterns...

This paper explores how the quality of environmental assessment could be improved by using the concept of natural capital. The issues are examined by reference to golf course developments in the area between Freiburg, Germany and Basel, Switzerland. The paper evaluates the site-level environmental impact assessments statements that were undertaken...

Writing over a generation ago in her celebrated work on the future of Britain’s landscapes Nan Fairbrother makes the following comment: “Landscape is the battleground where land use works out its own salvation. Economic, social, transport and other problems cannot be solved in isolation but must first be combined and related in a single situation,...

Remotely-sensed satellite data from TM and MSS were processed digitally to make landscape clas- sifications of three study areas of south east Wales. The classifications were constructed by classifying major variations in land cover mosaics within the areas, and using these data to group the 1 km x 1 km cells of the National Grid into landscape cla...

The fragmentation of ancient woodland has been identified as a cause of decline in biodiversity in the UK. Current policy advocates the targeting of resources to mitigate its effects. In this study a number of patch and landscape scale measures of ancient woodland distribution were derived from national data sets. These measures were translated int...

Recent advances in geographical information systems make it timely to reconsider the value of planning applications as a data source for the study of development pressure. This paper examines the way in which such data can be used to provide insights into different forms of development pressure and variations in that pressure within different lands...

Data gathered from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) National Rabbit Survey sites in the 1980s showed substantial site-to-site and year-to-year variation in rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus abundance. Data on physical and biological factors from 450 sites were collected to seek explanations for this variation. The rabbit abundance...

This essay describes a new paradigm for landscape ecology based on the concept of natural capital. These ideas are used to explore what we mean by the term sustainability in a landscape context, and to show how the scientific and cultural traditions of landscape ecology can be more effectively combined when we seek to manage such landscapes. It is...