Balancing regulating and provisioning ecosystem services: Comprehensive land-use concepts for effective conservation
Ecology and Biodiversity of Plants and Ecosystems
Final Report Abstract
This project contributed to the PAK 823-825 "Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Monitoring and Research in South Ecuador” (MRp|SE). The objective was to further develop comprehensive land-use models in order to include multiple ecosystem services into decisions on land-use allocation in South Ecuador. The research particularly focussed on a better understanding of trade-offs and synergies between different land-use strategies and the provision of ecosystem services. The guiding research question was “How can land-use concepts be used to develop climate- and water-friendly land-use options for food, biofuel and timber production (provisioning services) in a selected ecosystem in Ecuador?” The project used two landscapes and contexts in South Ecuador to apply the newly developed modelling approaches: A) The productive restoration of degraded areas in the San Francisco valley in the tropical mountain forest. Here the ideal mix of options to restore provision of ecosystem services was analysed. B) The Sustainable land-use management in the buffer zone of a protected forest in the Tumbesian dry forest of South Ecuador. This part focused on the effects of forest use, here goat grazing, on compensation payments for forest preservation and on the provision of multiple ecosystem services. Part A) synthesized a unique dataset of 23 ecosystem service indicators provided by the MRp|SE platform. A trade-off analysis contrasting normalized indicators of ecological and economic functions showed that reforestation with a native (Alnus acuminata) and an exotic (Pinus patula) tree species increased both, economic and ecological indicators compared to abandoned pastures. The same was true for pasture rehabilitation using intensive management, but not for low-input pasture. Thus the developed restoration projects of the MRp|SE platform may offer important alternatives for improving ecosystem service in the San Francisco valley. The dataset was then used to estimate the ideal mix of restoration options at the landscape scale. A multi-objective land-use allocation model was developed, which allows for consideration of uncertainty. This uncertainty arises from estimations and future provision of different ecosystem services from the respective land-cover options. Using robust optimization techniques the approach offers a solution which avoids underperformance of any of the indicators considered. The results show that provision of high and stable levels of ecosystem services can only be achieved through diversification of restoration options, which may even include abandoned pastures. This is particularly true under high uncertainty levels. In part B, the research demonstrated that the financial compensation of farmers required to maintain the current forest cover was much higher when prohibiting forest use. Without additional compensation payments this might lead to substantial conversion of forest to croplands. This is, because forest grazing plays and important economic role for local households to buffer financial risks. Building on these findings we applied the multi-objective optimization approach to the forested landscape and found that from a more public perspective, aiming at provision of multiple ecosystem services, silvopasture was not part of the ideal land-use portfolio. The optimization rather supported a “land sparing” approach which still involved some deforestation. In conclusion, the project offers important insights for land-use planning and management. We find that compositional landscape diversity is key for a stable economic income and provision of multiple ecosystem services. Thus agricultural and restoration incentives should build on a comprehensive mix of options. Providing a diverse set of ecosystem services might, however, not always support high levels of forest cover. In landscapes such as the dry forest of Ecuador with high remaining forest cover, a more direct consideration of biodiversity in land-use decisions will be needed to protect the remaining forest.
Publications
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(2014): Afforestation or intense pasturing improve the ecological and economic value of abandoned tropical farmlands. Nature Communications 5: 5612
Knoke, T.; Bendix, J.; Pohle, P.; Hamer, U.; Hildebrandt, P.; Roos, K.; Gerique, A.; Sandoval, M. L.; Breuer, L.; Tischer, A.; Silva, B.; Calvas, B.; Aguirre, N.; Castro, L. M.; Windhorst, D.; Weber, M.; Stimm, B.; Günter, S.; Palomeque, X.; Mora, J.; Mosandl, R.; Beck, E.
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(2015): Optimizing agricultural land-use portfolios with scarce data—A non-stochastic model. Ecological Economics 120: 250-259
Knoke, T.; Paul, C.; Härtl, F.; Castro, L.M.; Calvas, B.; Hildebrandt, P.
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(2016): 2030-Agenda-ein globaler Blick auf Trends in der Waldnutzung. Allgemeine Forst Zeitschrift für Waldwirtschaft und Umweltvorsorge 71 (13): 23-26
Paul, C.; Knoke, T.
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(2016): Banning goats could exacerbate deforestation of the Ecuadorian dry forest - How the effectiveness of conservation payment is influenced by productive use options. Erdkunde 70 (1): 49-67
Ochoa, S.; Paul, C.; Castro, L.M.; Valle, L.; Knoke, T.
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(2016): Compositional diversity of rehabilitated tropical lands supports multiple ecosystem services and buffers uncertainties. Nature Communications 7
Knoke, T.; Paul, C.; Hildebrandt, P.; Calvas, B.; Castro, L.M.; Härtl, F.; Döllerer, M.; Hamer, U.; Windhorst, D.; Wiersma, Y.F.; Curatola Fernandez, Giulia F.; Obermeier, W.A.; Adams, J.; Breuer, L.; Mosandl, R.; Beck, E.; Weber, M.; Stimm, B.; Haber, W.; Fürst, C.; Bendix, J.
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(2016): Warum Kleinbauern in Ecuador die Landnutzung diversifizieren. Allgemeine Forst Zeitschrift für Waldwirtschaft und Umweltvorsorge 71 (13): 31-34
Ochoa, S.; Paul, C.; Knoke, T.
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(2017): Balancing regulating and provisioning ecosystem services: Comprehensive land-use concepts for effective conservation. Landscape Restoration, Sustainable Use and Cross-scale Monitoring of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functions: 41-54
Paul, C.; Ochoa Moreno, S.; Castro, L. M.; Calvas, B.; Knoke, T.
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(2017): Science-directed guidance for an ecologically, economically and socially sustainable land use. Landscape Restoration, Sustainable Use and Cross-scale Monitoring of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functions: 3-16
Knoke, T.; Paul, C.
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(2018): Integrated bio-economic models as tools to support land-use decision making: a review of potential and limitations. Journal of Bioeconomics 20: 183–211
Castro, L. M.; Härtl, F.; Ochoa, S.; Calvas, B.; Izquierdo, L.; Knoke, T.
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(2019): Cropping systems are homogenized by off-farm income – Empirical evidence from small-scale farming systems in dry forests of southern Ecuador. Land Use Policy 82: 204-219
Ochoa, S.; Härtl, F., Paul, C., Knoke, T.
