Ecosystem service

Working paper CIESIN / AIT -January 2010 3 IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, is the world's oldest and largest global environmental network -a democratic membership union with more than 1,000 government and NGO member organizations, and almost 11,000 volunteer scientists in more than 160 countries. www.iucn.org IUCN's World Commission on Protected Areas is the world's premier network of protected area expertise. WCPA has over 1,400 members, spanning 140 countries. Its mission is to promote the establishment and effective management of a worldwide representative network of terrestrial and marine protected areas as an integral contribution to IUCN's mission. www.iucn.org/wcpa WCPA's Cities and Protected Areas Specialist Group works to improve the lives of city dwellers while strengthening protection of nature -broadly defined -within cities and in larger ecosystems. It has some 100 members from over 35 countries. www.citiesandconservation.org The Dark Skies Advisory Group of the Specialist Group works to reduce light pollution and protect a natural night sky. While it focuses primarily on protected areas and sites, the group is also concerned with appropriate design and land development control policies.

An important effect of cattle raising in Nicaragua has been the fragmentation of natural landscapes, mainly forests. In the present paper we analyze species composition and community structure for birds, mollusks and trees in several silvopastoral systems and land uses in Matiguás and Paiwas, Matagalpa, Nicaragua. We also studied the relationship between vegetation structure and mollusks and birds as biological indicators. Within the study landscapes 45 out of 212 observed bird species and 16 out of 56 observed mollusk species were uniquely associated to a single land use. Beta diversity could be considered mediumis intermediate for both taxa (ca. 0,5), in a scale ranging from 0 to 1. The observed avifauna across all land uses included 119 generalists (56,1%), 26 forest-dependent species (12,26%) and 67 open-area species (31,6%), based on the forest dependence categories of Stiles and Skutch. Mollusk species composition included: 33 forest-dependent species (59%), 20 generalists species (35,7%), and 3 open-area species (5,36%). We observed significant correlations between species diversity of trees and structural diversity of trees (r = 0,88, p < 0,01) and between structural diversity of trees and species diversity of mollusks as well as species richness of mollusks (r= 0,655, p< 0,05, and r= 0,7, p< 0,01, respectively). Results also indicate the existence of a significant correlation between Vegetation Species Richness and Bird Diversity (r=0,7, p<0,05). There were no correlations between Bird Diversity and Vegetation Diversity, or between Bird Diversity and Structural Diversity. Silvopastoral systems contain highly diverse communities of animals and plants that should be managed properly on the landscape context in order to create a matrix where conservation and rural livelihoods can coexist.

The Danube east of Vienna is the 'lifeline' of the Donau-Auen National Park. In the last about 140 years it has been strongly altered by river engineering and, in a second stage, by a bed load deficit due to hydropower plants in the upper reaches of the river and its tributaries. As a consequence the river is degrading, with deepening rates between 2 and 3 cm/a in most parts of the study reach. On the other hand, overbank deposition and natural levee formation lead to an aggradation of the floodplain, the channel and its floodplain are diverging. In natural rivers, overbank deposition usually is balanced and restricted by side erosion and lateral channel migration. However, the banks of the Danube are fixed by riprap, thus the overbank deposits cannot be eroded, and distinct 'natural' levees are formed. Both river-bed degradation and overbank deposition are aspects of a geomorphic disequilibrium, and the system will further depart from the natural state.

Since the late 1960s, the valuation of ecosystem services has received ample attention in scientific literature. However, to date, there has been relatively little elaboration of the various spatial and temporal scales at which ecosystem services are supplied. This paper analyzes the spatial scales of ecosystem services, and it examines how stakeholders at different spatial scales attach different values to ecosystem services. The paper first establishes an enhanced framework for the valuation of ecosystem services, with specific attention for stakeholders. The framework includes a procedure to assess the value of regulation services that avoids double counting of these services. Subsequently, the paper analyses the spatial scales of ecosystem services: the ecological scales at which ecosystem services are generated, and the institutional scales at which stakeholders benefit from ecosystem services. On the basis of the proposed valuation framework, we value four selected ecosystem services supplied by the De Wieden wetlands in The Netherlands, and we analyze how these services accrue to stakeholders at different institutional scales. These services are the provision of reed for cutting, the provision of fish, recreation, and nature conservation. In the De Wieden wetland, reed cutting and fisheries are only important at the municipal scale, recreation is most relevant at the municipal and provincial scale, and nature conservation is important in particular at the national and international level. Our analysis shows that stakeholders at different spatial scales can have very different interests in ecosystem services, and we argue that it is highly important to consider the scales of ecosystem services when valuation of services is applied to support the formulation or implementation of ecosystem management plans.

Quantifying the value of ecosystem services is important for the social recognition and acceptance of ecosystem management across multiple geographic scales. Yet, the data required to perform such quantifications and the dynamic models that allow the projection of policy changes into the future are currently scattered, incomplete, and difficult to use. We describe the design of the Ecosystem Services Database (ESD), an integrated, web-accessible knowledge base that links a relational database for temporally and spatially explicit data to dynamic simulation models. The ESD architecture supports unit standardization, scale translation in space and time, and statistical analysis. Process-based dynamic models and valuation methods can be run by end users either through a web-based simulation engine or on their own computers by means of open-source software. The knowledge base will serve as: (1) a communication tool for use by researchers in several fields; (2) an analytical tool for meta-analysis, synthesis, and prediction; (3) an educational tool to disseminate knowledge on ecosystem services and their valuation; (4) a collaborative tool for institutions involved in different aspects of ecosystem service valuation; and (5) a prototype for linking databases and dynamic models.

It has become essential in policy and decision‐making circles to think about the economic benefits (in addition to moral and scientific motivations) humans derive from well‐functioning ecosystems. The concept of ecosystem services has been developed to address this link between ecosystems and human welfare. Since policy decisions are often evaluated through cost–benefit assessments, an economic analysis can help make ecosystem service research operational. In this paper we provide some simple economic analyses to discuss key concepts involved in formalizing ecosystem service research. These include the distinction between services and benefits, understanding the importance of marginal ecosystem changes, formalizing the idea of a safe minimum standard for ecosystem service provision, and discussing how to capture the public benefits of ecosystem services. We discuss how the integration of economic concepts and ecosystem services can provide policy and decision makers with a fuller sp...

Capital natural y funciones de los ecosistemas: explorando las bases ecológicas de la economía. La naturaleza es a la vez fuente de recursos y sumidero de los residuos generados por el sistema económico. Otros beneficios se obtienen directamente de los ecosistemas sin pasar por procesos de transformación ni por los mercados, como en el caso del aire limpio. Así, la buena salud de la economía y el bienestar humano están en el largo plazo supeditados al mantenimiento de la integridad y la resiliencia de los ecosistemas que la engloban. El que la teoría económica estándar haya ignorado este hecho, ha sido identificado como una causa fundamental de la actual crisis ecológica. Aproximaciones como la economía ecológica y ambiental tratan de poner coto a este tipo de carencias analíticas, desarrollando conceptos y formas de contabilidad que incorporen el papel de la naturaleza y los costes ecológicos derivados del crecimiento económico. Conceptos como el capital natural o las funciones y servicios de los ecosistemas están jugando un papel fundamental en la articulación de una nueva forma de entender la economía. Este artículo ofrece una breve revisión de dichos conceptos y discute posibles aproximaciones para medir su importancia (valor). Palabras clave: capital natural, servicios de los ecosistemas, valoración económica, economía ecológica. Natural capital and ecosystem functions: exploring the ecological basis of the economy. Natural ecosystems provide both resources and act as a sink of wastes generated by the economic system. Other benefits are obtained directly from nature without passing through transformation processes or the mediation of markets, as in the case of clean air. Economic health in the long term thus depends on the maintenance of the integrity and resilience of the natural ecosystems in which it is embedded. The fact that standard economic theory neglects this aspect has been identified as a main cause of the current environmental problems and ecological crises. Approaches such as ecological and environmental economics attempt to deal with these shortcomings of standard economics through the development of concepts and accounting methods that better reflect the role of nature in the economy and the ecological costs derived from economic growth. Concepts such as natural capital, ecosystem functions and ecosystem services are playing a key role in the articulation of a new form of understanding economics. This paper will give a brief overview of these concepts and discuss possible ways to measure their importance (value).

Termites cause a wide array of damages to plantations, trees and manmade structures. Both industrial and food crops as well as forest trees are attacked by termite. Reports on economic losses caused by termite infestations have been made worldwide. The objective was to identify suitable and sustainable indigenous methods adopted by resource poor farmers for termite control. Semistructured questionnaires were administered to 20 farmers in each of the selected communities who practiced indigenous termite control methods. A total of 100 farmers were interviewed, who had applied various indigenous treatments on their crop fields against termite infestation. The study recorded a total of 24 termite species, which varied in presence at each locality, with a few serious pest species damaging agricultural products such as maize, yam, millet, and other natural resources in the area. Five termite prevention and control methods were identified: (i) burial of plant and animal materials, (ii) ap...

The ECOBREED project is coordinated by the Agricultural Institute of Slovenia and is carried out in collaboration with 25 partner organisations representing 15 countries: AT, CN, CZ, DE, ES, GR, HU, IT, PL, RO, RS, SI, SK, UK and USA. ECOBREED will improve the availability of seed and varieties suitable for organic and low- input production. Activities will focus on four crop species, selected for their potential contribution to increase competitiveness of the organic sector, i.e. wheat (both common Triticum aestivum L. and durum Triticum durum L.), potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), soybean (Glycine max (L). Merr), and common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench.). The project will develop (a) methods, strategies and infrastructures for organic breeding, (b) varieties with improved stress resistance, resource use efficiency and quality and (c) improved methods for the production of high-quality organic seed. The objectives of the project are: •To increase the availability of seeds an...

The montane rainforests of SW Ethiopia are the primary centre of diversity of Coffea arabica and the origin of all Arabica coffee cultivated worldwide. This wild gene pool is potentially threatened by forest fragmentation and degradation, and by introgressive hybridization with locally improved coffee varieties. We genotyped 703 coffee shrubs from unmanaged and managed coffee populations, using 24 microsatellite loci. Additionally, we genotyped 90 individuals representing 23 Ethiopian cultivars resistant to coffee berry disease (CBD). We determined population genetic diversity, genetic structure, and admixture of cultivar alleles in the in situ gene pool. We found strong genetic differentiation between managed and unmanaged coffee populations, but without significant differences in within‐population genetic diversity. The widespread planting of coffee seedlings including CBD‐resistant cultivars most likely offsets losses of genetic variation attributable to genetic drift and inbreed...

This article builds on recent interventions into the study of planetary urbanization that call for greater interaction with the multiple social struggles and standpoints that embed this process. To do so, we advocate for academic engagement between planetary urbanization and the concept of the 'construction state'. This is a term used in Japan and South Korea to describe an alliance between development corporations and the state, one whose expansionary logic accords with the notions of planetary and extended urbanization and acts as a co-constitutive, regional driver of it. To better situate this concept, and to highlight the social struggles that inform it, we examine the politics of greenbelt deregulation and the expanding real estate-led urbanization in the Seoul Metropolitan Region in recent decades. We show how the construction state and its supply-centrism played a key part in the 'explosive' process of greenbelt development and examine the dynamics of the struggles that activists waged against it. By doing so, we contribute to ongoing debates about planetary urbanization as an open totality of processes, stress the importance of a situated approach that foregrounds the diverse practices and struggles that shape it and encourage communication between critical standpoints.

Ecosystem services are vital for humans in urban regions. However, urban development poses a great risk for the ability of ecosystems to provide these services. In this paper we first address the most important ecosystem services in functional urban regions in Finland. Well accessible and good quality recreational ecosystem services, for example, provided by urban nature, are an important part of a high-quality living environment and important for public health. Vegetation of urban regions can have a role in carbon dioxide sequestration and thus in climate change mitigation. For instance, estimates of carbon sinks can be compared to total CO 2 emissions of an urban region, and the municipality can aim at both increasing carbon sinks and decreasing CO 2 emissions with proper land-use planning. Large and contiguous core nature areas, smaller green areas and ecological connections between them are the essence of regional ecological networks and are essential for maintaining interconnected habitats for species and thus biological diversity. Thus, both local and regional level ecological networks are vital for maintaining ecosystem services in urban regions. The impacts of climate change coupled with land-use and land cover change will bring serious challenges for maintaining ecosystem services in urban areas. Although not yet widely used in planning practices, the ecosystem services approach can provide an opportunity for land-use planning to develop ecologically sustainable urban regions. Currently, information on ecosystem services of urban regions is lacking and there is a need to improve the knowledge base for land-use planning.

Agroforestry offers a transformative approach to sustainable intensification by creating multifunctional landscapes that enhance ecological functions, boost productivity, and support rural livelihoods. Its widespread adoption by smallholder farmers, along with its potential to contribute to restoration and climate goals under the Paris Agreement, makes it a promising nature-based solution. However, a systematic understanding of its carbon sequestration potential remains limited, particularly concerning the contribution of different agroforestry practices. In particular, the role of fruit tree integration is often overlooked due to the lack of accurate allometric equations for biomass estimation. To address these gaps, we conducted a systematic review and an empirical study. A comprehensive search of Web of Science and SCOPUS yielded 185 publications meeting our criteria, including 152 on livelihoods and 43 on carbon sequestration. Results show agroforestry significantly improves household resilience while contributing to carbon storage. Key livelihood benefits reported include fodder (70 studies), food (63), firewood (56), and income (40), offering diversified support, especially during climate shocks. Yet, carbon credit income was rarely mentioned, pointing to policy and scientific gaps in carbon rights, land and tree tenure, and the effects of climate change on tree species distribution. Our review found that East African agroforestry systems store on average 24.2±2.8 Mg C ha￿¹ in biomass and 98.8±12.2 Mg C ha￿¹ in soil. Among practices, homegardens were most multifunctional and carbon-rich (34.3±7.9 Mg C ha￿¹), followed by perennial tree–crop systems (29.9±12.7) and boundary trees (26.7±14.1). To complement the review, we developed species-specific allometric equations for avocado (AGB=0.0638×DBH2̂.5435; n=40) and mango (AGB=0.083×µDPB2̂.184; n=51) trees and estimated carbon stocks from these major fruit trees in two contrasting Kenyan counties. In Kiambu (subhumid), an inventory with 466 avocado trees yielded 20.6±5.4 Mg ha￿¹ AGB. In Makueni (semi-arid), 230 mango trees contributed 22.3±6.3 Mg ha￿¹ AGB.These findings highlight agroforestry’s vital role in carbon storage and climate adaptation. Incorporating fruit trees into carbon initiatives can avoid food security trade-offs while advancing restoration and mitigation goals. Our allometric models support the integration of fruit trees into carbon accounting, reinforcing agroforestry’s dual benefits for livelihoods and climate resilience in East Africa.

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Introducao; Beneficios das florestas ciliares; Aspectos legais relacionados as APP dos cursos d?agua; Descricao da area de trabalho; Avaliacao e monitoramento da qualidade de agua; Distribuicao do uso e cobertura da terra; Areas de floresta ciliar; Metodologia para obter a APP fluvial; Resultados.

The hyporheic invertebrate community from the pre-alpine river (W Slovenia) was studied in order to analyze the impacts of high discharge and in-stream gravel extraction. Two distinct river reaches were sampled from June 2004 to May 2005. At impacted site, where gravel extraction was carried out, the response of hyporheic community to the anthropogenic disturbance was studied. Physical and chemical parameters, together with the amounts organic matter and activity of the biofilm were measured. Invertebrates were sampled by Bou-Rouch pumping method. Discharge of the Baca River varied from 108 m3s-1 in October 2004 to 1.6 m3s-1 in March 2005. Streambed sediments at both sites were composed of heterogeneous mixture of boulders, cobbles, pebbles, gravel, sand and silt. Oxygen saturation was close to 100 %, indicating good sediment permeability. A total of 75 invertebrate taxa were identified, 40 of which belonged to the occasional hyporheos, 26 to the permanent hyporheos and 9 were stygo...

DesertNet () is an interdisciplinary scientific network which was established in October 2006 at the UN premises in Bonn, Germany, by a group of international scientists. The network strives to generate and enhance scientific knowledge and understanding of the biophysical and socio-economic processes of desertification. This international scientific network provides an international platform for scientifically based discussions and exchange of ideas, addressing knowledge gaps, and identifying research areas. DesertNet is also a think tank community which identifies issues and priorities for the sustainable development of drylands. The paper outlines the current role of DesertNet in the international scientific community and it delineates its role to strengthen the Science/Policy Interface.

Many services generated by forest ecosystems provide essential support for human well-being. However, the vulnerability of these services to environmental change such as forest fragmentation are still poorly understood. We present spatial modeling of the generation of ecosystem services in a human-dominated landscape where forest habitat patches, protected by local taboos, are located in a matrix of cultivated land in southern Madagascar. Two ecosystem services dependent on the forest habitats were addressed: (1) crop pollination services by wild and semidomesticated bees (Apoidea), essential for local crop production of, for example, beans, and (2) seed dispersal services based on the presence of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta). We studied the vulnerability of these ecosystem services to a plausible scenario of successive destruction of the smallest habitat patches. Our results indicate that, in spite of the fragmented nature of the landscape, the fraction of the landscape presently covered by both crop pollination and seed dispersal services is surprisingly high. It seems that the taboo system, though indirectly and unintentionally, contributes to upholding the generation of these services by protecting the forest patches. Both services are, however, predicted to be very vulnerable to the successive removal of small patches. For crop pollination, the rate of decrease in cover was significant even when only the smallest habitat patches were removed. The capacity for seed dispersal across the landscape displayed several thresholds with habitat patch removal. Our results suggest that, in order to maintain capacity for seed dispersal across the landscape and crop pollination cover in southern Androy, the geographical location of the remaining forest patches is more crucial than their size. We argue that in heavily fragmented production landscapes, small forest patches should increasingly be viewed as essential for maintaining ecosystem services, such as agricultural production, and also should be considered in the ongoing process of tripling the area of protected habitats in Madagascar.

Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary. Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility. To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors, assume any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein.

Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary. Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility. To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors, assume any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein.

HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.

The expediency of introducing resource and energy-saving technologies in rural territories, specializing in agricultural production, was substantiated in the article. A number of factors, which stipulate the choice of farming system, were given, taking into account economic, ecological, technological-energy, and social factors, which form the efficiency of farming. The peculiarities of different farming systems (intensive, organic, no-till, strip-till, precision, bio-enzyme, biogenic) were considered, which enabled to evaluate their energy and resource-efficiency in rural territories. The estimation of each farming system as to resource and energy-saving was conducted with the aim of their practical using, which will lead to the economy in spending resources and various kinds of energy, increase the productivity of farm machinery and used resources, decrease ecological loading on the environment, ensure energy efficiency of the rural territories and their long-term development. Keyw...

We review published studies to show that changes in soil moisture levels have significant impacts on a range of wading bird species that use UK lowland grassland, including wet grassland, and obtain their food predominantly by probing the soil. We examine both the hydrological and the ecological literature and assess how management options could alter (1) ecosystem services (via water quality and flooding) and ( ) habitat quality for wading birds. The combination of biodiversity goals with broader ecosystem services has been widely advocated and we suggest that appropriate management at multiple scales (e.g. small-scale: ponds; large-scale: integrated washlands) could potentially provide both ecosystem services and habitat for wading grassland birds. However, there is only a limited base of evidence on which to assess the potential linkage between these two areas, particularly for non-wading bird species. Future work should be directed at identifying (1) how crop yield, ecosystem services and biodiversity relate to each other, (2) the extent of land needed to be managed to benefit these multiple purposes and bring about measurable gain (e.g. one or two ponds may make significant inroads in reducing run-off and pollution but make little difference to wading birds) and (3) solutions to the challenges of setting up management options at large spatial scales (e.g. catchments).

The fish-based farming system occupies the edges of Africa's water bodies along coastlines, lakeshores and the floodplains of river systems and provides a diversified, flexible and resilient livelihood portfolio for some 22 million sub-Saharan fisher-farmers with half of those living in extreme poverty. The fisheries operations provide 30 to 50 per cent of household income. • System performance is under threat from land use changes that affect the quality, quantity and timing of the water supply, notably deforestation and the construction of dams upstream but also conversion to large-scale irrigation. On coasts overfishing is an issue. • Maintaining the drivers of ecosystem productivity and especially the natural flooding regime is crucial. Governance inspired by traditional systems with strong involvement of the users in all stages of planning and management will facilitate development trajectories that are adapted to local context, favouring incremental rather than wholesale change.

Despite the attention that research on ecosystem services has attracted in recent years, its use to support real-life decision-making processes is still very limited, especially at the planning level. Spatial planning results in actions that may affect the distribution and quality of a wide range of ecosystem services. Hence, spatial planning decisions would benefit from systematic considerations of their effects on ecosystem services. Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) provides an excellent platform to this purpose. This paper aims at providing insights on why it is important to promote ecosystem service-inclusive SEA processes, and on how to do it, with particular emphasis on spatial planning. First, possible actions to include relevant information of ecosystem services throughout the SEA process are presented. Second, the advantages are discussed by considering both the characteristics of ecosystem services approaches and the criteria of good-quality SEA. Finally, four main challenges are identified, concerning scoping, scale issues, trade-offs, and indicators, respectively. Addressing these challenges is bound to produce more effective SEA processes and better planning decisions.

Synergies between biodiversity conservation objectives and ecosystem service management were investigated in the Succulent Karoo biome (83,000 km 2 ) of South Africa, a recognised biodiversity hotspot. Our study complemented a previous biodiversity assessment with an ecosystem service

Arid regions are home to unique fauna, flora, and vulnerable human populations, and present a challenge for sustainable land-use management. We undertook an assessment and valuation of three key services, grazing, tourism and water supply in the arid Succulent Karoo biome in western South Africa -a globally recognised biodiversity hotspot. We were looking for ways and values that could be used to promote conservation in this region through the adoption of sustainable land-use practices which have human welfare benefits. Our study adopted a variety of methods in valuing these services in developing ranges of values for these services. At the biome level, total annual values ranged from $ 19e114 million for grazing, $ 2e$ 20 million for tourism, and $ 300e3120 million for water. These values are generally low compared with values derived for other biomes and regions and do not adequately reflect known dependence and the importance of ecosystem services to the residents of this biome. The ecosystems here provide small but critical benefits enabling communities to sustain themselves and small changes in service levels can have major welfare effects. Highlighting these sensitivities will require finding more appropriate ways to link ecological and social factors.

Cette étude présente une estimation de la valeur économique totale (VET) des biens et services marchands de la ressource en eau dans le delta de l’Ouémé en l’unité monétaire. Les données utilisées sont collectées dans le mois d’Avril 2021 avec 797 pour le compte de l’agriculture, 500 pour le compte de la pêche et 138 pour le compte de l’élevage. En somme, la valeur d’utilisation économique totale des biens et services marchands liés à l’agriculture, la pêche et l’élevage de la ressource en eau du delta de l’Ouémé est de cent quarante millions cent quatre-vingt-trois mille cent quatre-vingt-onze virgule soixante cinq franc cfa (140.183.191,65). Cette valeur est nécessaire pour l’introduction des approches intégrées de planification et de valorisation des ressources agricoles, animales
et halieutiques dans le delta de l’Ouémé.

LES ANNALES DE SCIENCES ECONOMIQUES DE L'UAC AKPO Laurent G. : Tarif Extérieur Commun (TEC) et diversification intrarégionale des exportations dans la Communauté Economique des Etats de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (CEDEAO). DOSSOU Akom Ilessan : Effet de l'assurance maladie sur la demande de soins de santé au Togo. FATOUMBI Djibril A. & ALINSATO Alastaire : Simulation de politique fiscale dans les pays de l'UEMOA : quelle fiscalité pour quelle croissance économique ?.

Alien plant species have been essential for farming and agro-forestry systems and for their supply of food, fiber, tannins, resins or wood from antiquity to the present. They also contributed to supporting functions and regulating services (water, soil, biodiversity) and to the design of landscapes with high cultural and scenic value. Some of those species were intentionally introduced, others arrived accidentally, and a small proportion escaped, naturalized and became invasive in natural ecosystems-these are known as invasive alien species (IAS). Here, invasive means that these species have some significant negative impact, either by spreading from human-controlled environments (e.g. fields, gardens) to natural ecosystems, where they can cause problems to native species, or to other production systems or urban areas, impacting on agricultural, forestry activities or human

In many parts of Europe, decades of production subsidies led to the steady intensification of agriculture in marginal areas, but the recent decoupling of subsidies from production decisions means that the future of farming in these areas is uncertain. For example, in the uplands of the United Kingdom, an area important both for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service provision, hill farmers steadily increased stocking densities in response to headage payments but must now reconfigure farm businesses to account for the shift to the Single Farm Payment scheme. We examined hill farming in the Peak District National Park as a case study into the future of marginal agriculture after decoupling. We surveyed 44 farm businesses and from this identified six representative farm types based on enterprise mix and land holdings. We developed linear programming models of production decisions for each farm type to examine the impacts of policy changes, comparing the effects of decoupling with and without agri-environment and hill farm support, and evaluating the effects of removal of the Single Farm Payment. The main effects of decoupling are to reduce stocking rates, and to change the mix of livestock activities. Agri-environmental schemes mediate the income losses from decoupling, and farmers are predicted to maximise take up of new Environmental Stewardship programmes, which have both positive and negative feedback effects on livestock numbers. Finally, removal of the Single Farm Payment would lead to negative net farm incomes, and some land abandonment. These changes have important implications for ongoing debates about how ecological service flows can be maintained from upland areas, and how marginal upland farming communities can be sustained.

Crop pest and disease incidences at plot scale vary as a result of landscape effects. Two main effects can be distinguished. First, landscape context provides habitats of variable quality for pests, pathogens, and beneficial and vector organisms. Second, the movements of these organisms are dependent on the connectivity status of the landscape. Most of the studies focus on indirect effects of landscape context on pest abundance through their predators and parasitoids, and only a few on direct effects on pests and pathogens. Here we studied three coffee pests and pathogens, with limited or no pressure from host‐specific natural enemies, and with widely varying life histories, to test their relationships with landscape context: a fungus, Hemileia vastatrix, causal agent of coffee leaf rust; an insect, the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Coleoptera: Curculionidae); and root‐knot nematodes, Meloidogyne spp. Their incidence was assessed in 29 coffee plots from Turrialba, Costa R...

The accelerating impacts of climate change—rising sea levels, extreme weather events, biodiversity loss, and resource scarcity—demand a fundamental rethinking of how we design and manage our landscapes. This book, Adaptive Landscapes: Planning, Design, and Community Resilience in the Climate Change Era, was written as a response to this urgent need. It reflects a shared conviction that landscapes are no longer passive backdrops to human activity but active, dynamic systems that can mitigate risks, enhance ecological resilience, and foster social well-being. By framing landscapes as both vulnerable and capable of transformation, this work seeks to bridge the gap between theory, design practice, and community adaptation.The primary objective of this book is to provide a comprehensive framework for adaptive landscape planning and design that integrates ecological, technological, and social dimensions. It emphasizes not only nature-based solutions and innovative design strategies but also the centrality of community participation in building resilience. By combining scientific research, practical design approaches, and policy insights, the book serves as both a reference for academic study and a practical guide for planners, designers, policymakers, and communitystakeholders.iThe content is structured into six chapters. It begins by outlining the vulnerabilities of landscapes under climate stress, followed by strategies for adaptive planning and regenerative practices. Subsequent chapters explore the social dimensions of resilience, the enabling environments needed for sustainable transformation, and a selection of global case studies that demonstrate the successful application of adaptive principles. Through this progression, readers are invited to understand adaptation not as an isolated technical response but as a holistic, systemic approach that links ecology, technology, and society.We extend our deepest gratitude to the many colleagues, practitioners, and communities who have inspired and contributed to this work. Their insights, experiences, and unwavering dedication to creating sustainable and equitable landscapes have been invaluable. It is our hope that this book will not only inform academic discourse but also inspire meaningful action toward landscapes that thrive amidst uncertainty, serving both humanity and the ecosystems upon which it depends.

Human-dominated marine ecosystems are experiencing accelerating loss of populations and species, with largely unknown consequences. We analyzed local experiments, long-term regional time series, and global fisheries data to test how biodiversity loss affects marine ecosystem services across temporal and spatial scales. Overall, rates of resource collapse increased and recovery potential, stability, and water quality decreased exponentially with declining diversity. Restoration of biodiversity, in contrast, increased productivity fourfold and decreased variability by 21%, on average. We conclude that marine biodiversity loss is increasingly impairing the ocean&#39;s capacity to provide food, maintain water quality, and recover from perturbations. Yet available data suggest that at this point, these trends are still reversible.

Agroforestry system (AFS) is described as the best promising mitigation method for alarmingly changing climate through its adequate and proven carbon sequestration capacity. The present study was taken over in Silite District; Southern Ethiopia highly aiming to estimate unaccounted but recognized important capacity of AFS regarding its carbon lock potential. Biomass and soil organic carbon (SOC) were considered carbon pools in the present study. The samples were taken from temporary plots laid for this particular experiment each land use systems have standard sample plot size according to their nature. While taking the biomass samples Height (H) and diameter at breast height (DBH) of woody species were compulsory parameters considered for measurement to estimate the biomass. Proper and adequate number of soil samples was also taken for bulk density and SOC valuation. Non woody/herbaceous plats including grass was also sampled for total land use system biomass amount estimation. The samples were taken in1m 2 quadrant within the main plot. The finding from this estimation shows that the range for studied land use system found to be (1.28-7 Mg ha), while running the variance test between means of each land use system no substantial variation was observed. Whare as higher rate was attributed by parkland AFS has the higher rate. while the lowest was woodlot. A significantly higher amount of SOC was recorded in home garden AFS along the two depths (82.5 Mg ha -1) than the other two systems and the lowest was attributed to parkland (41.7 Mg ha -1). Therefore, this traditional AFS should be recognized and given enough attention for contribution in climate change mitigation schemes through significant amount of carbon in every available pool of the system.

Using a range of different methods including extensive reviews, workshops and an electronic conference, 70 key research recommendations and 12 priority research needs to integrate the ecosystem services approach into biodiversity conservation policy and funding were identified by a cross-disciplinary group of over 100 scientists and 50 stakeholders, including research funders and policy-makers. These recommendations focus on the ecological underpinning of ecosystem services, drivers that affect ecosystems and their services, biological traits and ecosystem services, the valuation of ecosystem services, spatial and temporal scales in ecosystem service assessment, indicators of ecosystem services, and habitat management, conservation policy and ecosystem services. The

Protecting species and their habitats through the designation and management of protected areas is central to present biodiversity conservation efforts in Europe. Recent awareness of the importance of ecosystem dynamics in changing environments and of human needs for the sustainable provision of ecosystem services expose potential weaknesses in current European conservation management strategies and policy. Here we examine these issues in the light of information gained from reviews, workshops, interviews and discussions undertaken within the RUBICODE project. We present a new conceptual framework that joins conventional biodiversity conservation with new requirements. The framework links cultural and aesthetic values applied in a static environment to the demands of dynamic ecosystems and societal needs within social-ecological systems in a changing Europe. We employ this framework to propose innovative ways in which ecosystem service provision may be used to add value to traditional conservation approaches by supporting and

This paper focuses on the potential of green roofs in stormwater management. Through their water retention capacity and to the evapotranspiration phenomena, green roofs are capable of improving urban drainage by reducing stormwater runoff. In this work, a green roof model able to simulate the complex hygrothermal behavior of green roofs, including coupled mechanisms of heat and mass transfer, is used to simulate the hydrological performance of non-tilted green roofs.

Oilseed pennycress (Thlaspi arvense) is a new, autumn-sown, "cash cover crop" for the Midwestern USA and elsewhere. Anthesis occurs in early spring when few other plants bloom, and its flowers attract early-emerging bees. However, the taxonomic composition of these bees was unknown. Consequently, we systematically captured and identified the genera and species of bees (Hymenoptera) visiting pennycress flowers throughout anthesis at five site-years: two in Illinois and three in Minnesota. A cumulative total of 28 bee species were found across site-years. The most common genera were Andrena (10 species), Lasioglossum (12 species), and Halictus (2 species). Rarer genera were Apis, Ceratina, Hylaeus, and Nomada. Bee abundance and diversity were related closely and in a negative exponential manner with percent land area devoted to annual cropping. The inclusion of new, early flowering crops, such as pennycress, that provide valuable food resources may enhance bee abundance and diversity, especially if even small areas of uncropped land are nearby.

The Niger Delta Region of Nigeria over the years has witnessed an unprecedented level of security challenges that warrant academic discourse. This region is known to domicile the oil on which Nigerian economy largely depends. From time past, there has been continued militancy, kidnapping, insurgency, piracy, armed robbery, oil bunkering, communal disputes and cultist activities among other social vices. Due to oil exploration and other human activities in the Niger Delta Region, there is evidence of environmental degradation in the region. Environmental degradation is occasioned by consistent flow of industrial waste, oil spills, gas flaring, fire disasters, acid rain and flooding erosion which has led to the pollution of farmlands and life stock. It has also led to the destruction of properties and human lives, including aquatic life and biodiversity worth millions of naira. This paper investigates security challenges and its impacts on environmental degradation in the Niger Delta region, in the context of the patterns, major causes and impacts of such degradation and how these could be addressed in the light of frustration-aggression theory for a better Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. It was however revealed that the manifestation of militancy and insurgency groups acts as a "threat multiplier," intensifying existing security challenges in the region. Necessary recommendations were made in accordance with the findings of the study.

by the Portugal Sub-Global Assessment Team 1 This report is a contribution to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment prepared by the Portugal Sub-Global Assessment Team. The report has been prepared and reviewed through a process approved by the MA Board but the report itself has not been accepted or approved by the Assessment Panel or the MA Board. © Centro de Biologia Ambiental, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa