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This thesis examines the conservation narratives of Madagascar the ambiguity of forest cover and deforestation estimates, and the difficulty in deconstructing the narratives linked to the idea of a once fully forested island. In particular, shifts in the conservation debate are related to the discursive power of a large-scale international NGO, the WWF. A diachronic perspective is provided both through a discussion of earlier research and discourse analyses of selected texts, published by WWF Madagascar between 1991–2020. The theory and method are developed from Dryzek’s environmental discourse analysis with some modifications. The categories used in the conservation discourse analysis relate to baselines and intertextuality; underlying narratives such as problem representations and metaphors; the different values given to biodiversity; and possible hegemonic discourses within the conservation debate surrounding Madagascar. The discussion on WWF Madagascar also connects with the progression of environmental movements and conservationism, as reflected through shifting conservation priorities in both international contexts and local community conservation efforts. The conclusion demonstrates that shifts in WWF Madagascar’s conservation work reflect global perceptions and assumptions of what has protection value, and vice versa. It is concluded that the role of NGOs in creating and disseminating environmental narratives affects the conservation discourse on all levels and inmultiple contexts – such as media, academia, communities, and politics. In this discussion, the diachronic perspective on intertextuality presented here, especially regarding baselines and estimates of forest cover, illustrates how environmental history is key to conservation, and how at the same time NGOs can play a role as intermediaries in reshaping environmental narratives., Denna avhandling undersöker Madagaskars bevarandeberättelser, oklarheten i uppskattningar av skogstäcke och avskogning samt svårigheten i att dekonstruera berättelser kopplade till idén om en tidigare helt skogbevuxen ö. Framför allt är förändringar i bevarandedebatten relaterade till det diskursiva inflytandet hos en storskalig internationell icke-statlig organisation, WWF (Världsnaturfonden). Ett diakront perspektiv ges både genom en diskussion av tidigare forskning och diskursanalyser av utvalda texter, publicerade av WWF Madagaskar mellan 1991–2020. Teorin och metoden är utvecklad med några modifieringar av Dryzeks miljödiskursanalys. De kategorier som används i diskursanalysen relaterar till skogsmätning och intertextualitet; underliggande berättelser såsom problemrepresentationer och metaforer; de olika värden som ges till biologisk mångfald; och eventuella hegemoniska diskurser inom bevarandedebatten kring Madagaskar. Diskussionen om WWF Madagaskar hänger också ihop med miljörörelsens och naturvårdens utveckling, sett genom växlande bevarandeprioriteringar i både internationella sammanhang och lokalsamhällets bevarandeinsatser. Slutsatsen visar att förändringar i WWF Madagaskars bevarandearbete återspeglar globala uppfattningar och antaganden om vad som har skyddsvärde och vice versa. Slutsatsen som dras är att de icke-statliga organisationernas roll i att skapa och sprida miljöberättelser påverkar bevarandediskursen på alla nivåer och i flera sammanhang – såsom media, akademi, samhällen och politik. Särskilt gällande uppskattningar av skogstäcke belyser denna diskussion det diakrona perspektivet på intertextualitet som presenteras här, hur miljöhistoria är nyckeln till bevarande, och samtidigt hur icke-statliga organisationer kanagera som förmedlare i omformningen av miljöberättelser.

Non-technical summary. In this paper, we explore how critically important ecosystems on the land provide evaporation to the atmosphere, which will later fall as precipitation elsewhere. Using a model-based analysis that tracks water flowing through the atmosphere, we find that more than two-thirds of the precipitation over critically important ecosystem areas is supplied by evaporation from other land. Likewise, more than 40% of the evaporation from critically important ecosystems falls as precipitation on other land. We conclude our work by discussing the policy implications for how these critically important ecosystems connect spatially distant wild and working lands via the atmospheric water cycle.Technical summary. Global ecosystems are interconnected via atmospheric water vapor flows. Land use change can modify evaporation from land, altering atmospheric moisture recycling and potentially leading to significant changes in downwind precipitation and associated ecological impacts. We combine insights on global ecosystem-regulated moisture recycling with an analysis of critical natural assets (CNA, the 30% of global land providing most of nature's contributions to people) to reveal the sources and sinks of atmospheric water cycle regulation. We find that 65% of the precipitation over CNA is supplied by evaporation from other land areas. Likewise, CNA regions supply critical moisture as precipitation to terrestrial natural ecosystems and production systems worldwide, with 44% of CNA evaporation falling on terrestrial surfaces. Specifically, the Congo River basin emerges as a hotspot of overlap between local atmospheric water cycle maintenance and concentration of nature's contributions to people. Our results suggest global priority areas for conservation efforts beyond and in support of CNA, emphasizing the importance of sparsely populated managed forests and rangelands, along with wild forests, for fostering moisture recycling to and within CNA. This work also und

This thesis examines the conservation narratives of Madagascar the ambiguity of forest cover and deforestation estimates, and the difficulty in deconstructing the narratives linked to the idea of a once fully forested island. In particular, shifts in the conservation debate are related to the discursive power of a large-scale international NGO, the WWF. A diachronic perspective is provided both through a discussion of earlier research and discourse analyses of selected texts, published by WWF Madagascar between 1991–2020. The theory and method are developed from Dryzek’s environmental discourse analysis with some modifications. The categories used in the conservation discourse analysis relate to baselines and intertextuality; underlying narratives such as problem representations and metaphors; the different values given to biodiversity; and possible hegemonic discourses within the conservation debate surrounding Madagascar. The discussion on WWF Madagascar also connects with the progression of environmental movements and conservationism, as reflected through shifting conservation priorities in both international contexts and local community conservation efforts. The conclusion demonstrates that shifts in WWF Madagascar’s conservation work reflect global perceptions and assumptions of what has protection value, and vice versa. It is concluded that the role of NGOs in creating and disseminating environmental narratives affects the conservation discourse on all levels and inmultiple contexts – such as media, academia, communities, and politics. In this discussion, the diachronic perspective on intertextuality presented here, especially regarding baselines and estimates of forest cover, illustrates how environmental history is key to conservation, and how at the same time NGOs can play a role as intermediaries in reshaping environmental narratives., Denna avhandling undersöker Madagaskars bevarandeberättelser, oklarheten i uppskattningar av skogstäcke och avskogning samt svårigheten i att dekonstruera berättelser kopplade till idén om en tidigare helt skogbevuxen ö. Framför allt är förändringar i bevarandedebatten relaterade till det diskursiva inflytandet hos en storskalig internationell icke-statlig organisation, WWF (Världsnaturfonden). Ett diakront perspektiv ges både genom en diskussion av tidigare forskning och diskursanalyser av utvalda texter, publicerade av WWF Madagaskar mellan 1991–2020. Teorin och metoden är utvecklad med några modifieringar av Dryzeks miljödiskursanalys. De kategorier som används i diskursanalysen relaterar till skogsmätning och intertextualitet; underliggande berättelser såsom problemrepresentationer och metaforer; de olika värden som ges till biologisk mångfald; och eventuella hegemoniska diskurser inom bevarandedebatten kring Madagaskar. Diskussionen om WWF Madagaskar hänger också ihop med miljörörelsens och naturvårdens utveckling, sett genom växlande bevarandeprioriteringar i både internationella sammanhang och lokalsamhällets bevarandeinsatser. Slutsatsen visar att förändringar i WWF Madagaskars bevarandearbete återspeglar globala uppfattningar och antaganden om vad som har skyddsvärde och vice versa. Slutsatsen som dras är att de icke-statliga organisationernas roll i att skapa och sprida miljöberättelser påverkar bevarandediskursen på alla nivåer och i flera sammanhang – såsom media, akademi, samhällen och politik. Särskilt gällande uppskattningar av skogstäcke belyser denna diskussion det diakrona perspektivet på intertextualitet som presenteras här, hur miljöhistoria är nyckeln till bevarande, och samtidigt hur icke-statliga organisationer kanagera som förmedlare i omformningen av miljöberättelser.

The shrinking of permeable areas in favour of urban development is a phenomenon described in both scientific literature and policy documents. Changes in rainfall intensity and frequency following climate change are expected, but predicting the exact magnitude of these changes remains unclear. The uncertainty of what we will have to face in the future and when it will happen causes a blur of activities that may successively influence the mitigation of climate change. This study aims to explore and understand sustainable stormwater management within nature-based solutions (NBS) by reviewing both scientific and grey literature, as well as development plans in a specific area in southern Stockholm. Both risks and benefits of NBS implementation in urban stormwater management have been reviewed and described. Moreover, it is found in the literature that conceptual ambiguities and uncertainties of the NBS concept lead to weaker decision-making and planning processes. The goal of this study was to understand stormwater management recommendations for climate change mitigation, how these recommendations relate to detailed planning documents, what types of solutions are considered and proposed in the planning process, whether there is a link between the NBS and the proposed solutions, and finally, whether spatial analysis can help in the planning process in locating the strengths and weaknesses of the planned construction in flood-prone areas. The results of this study indicates whether the selected detailed development plans follow the recommendations of strategic documents. Detailed planning documents followed the recommendations to a limited extent. Moreover, in terms of spatial analysis, the analysed plans rarely referred to Skyfallsmodell, the model used to represent the flood-risk caused by 100-year rain event. In one of the cases of the early-stage detailed development plan, the new construction area were proposed inside an area with significant risk of flooding. The us, Minskningen av genomsläppliga markområden till förmån för stadsutveckling är ett fenomen som beskrivs i både vetenskaplig litteratur och policydokument. Förändringar i nederbördsintensitet och storlek efter klimatförändringar förväntas, men det är fortfarande svårt att förutsäga den exakta storleken på dessa förändringar. Osäkerheten om vad vi kommer att behöva möta i framtiden och när det kommer att hända orsakar en oklarhet kring vilka aktiviteter som kommer att kunna påverka och mildra effekterna av klimatförändringarna. Denna studie syftar till att utforska och förstå hållbar dagvattenhantering genom naturbaserade lösningar (NBS) genom att granska både vetenskaplig och grå litteratur, samt utvecklingsplaner i ett specifikt område i södra Stockholm. Både risker och fördelar med NBS-implementering i urban dagvattenhantering har granskats och beskrivits. Dessutom framgår av litteraturen att begreppsmässiga oklarheter och osäkerheter i NBS-begreppet leder till svagheter i beslutsfattande och planeringsprocesser. Målet med denna studie var att förstå rekommendationer för dagvattenhantering för att mildra klimatförändringar, hur dessa rekommendationer relaterar till detaljerade planeringsdokument, vilka typer av lösningar som övervägs och föreslås i planeringsprocessen, om det finns en koppling mellan NBS och de föreslagna lösningarna, och slutligen - om rumslig analys kan hjälpa till i planeringsprocessen för att lokalisera styrkor och svagheter med den planerade konstruktionen i översvämningsutsatta områden. Resultaten av denna studie indikerar hur de valda detaljutvecklingsplanerna följer rekommendationerna i strategiska dokument. Detaljerade planeringshandlingar följde rekommendationerna i begränsad omfattning. Dessutom, när det gäller rumslig analys, hänvisade de analyserade planerna sällan till Skyfallsmodellen, som används för att representera översvämningsrisken orsakad av 100-årsregn. I ett av fallen med en tidig detaljplanen föreslogs nybyggnadsområdet inom

The shrinking of permeable areas in favour of urban development is a phenomenon described in both scientific literature and policy documents. Changes in rainfall intensity and frequency following climate change are expected, but predicting the exact magnitude of these changes remains unclear. The uncertainty of what we will have to face in the future and when it will happen causes a blur of activities that may successively influence the mitigation of climate change. This study aims to explore and understand sustainable stormwater management within nature-based solutions (NBS) by reviewing both scientific and grey literature, as well as development plans in a specific area in southern Stockholm. Both risks and benefits of NBS implementation in urban stormwater management have been reviewed and described. Moreover, it is found in the literature that conceptual ambiguities and uncertainties of the NBS concept lead to weaker decision-making and planning processes. The goal of this study was to understand stormwater management recommendations for climate change mitigation, how these recommendations relate to detailed planning documents, what types of solutions are considered and proposed in the planning process, whether there is a link between the NBS and the proposed solutions, and finally, whether spatial analysis can help in the planning process in locating the strengths and weaknesses of the planned construction in flood-prone areas. The results of this study indicates whether the selected detailed development plans follow the recommendations of strategic documents. Detailed planning documents followed the recommendations to a limited extent. Moreover, in terms of spatial analysis, the analysed plans rarely referred to Skyfallsmodell, the model used to represent the flood-risk caused by 100-year rain event. In one of the cases of the early-stage detailed development plan, the new construction area were proposed inside an area with significant risk of flooding. The us, Minskningen av genomsläppliga markområden till förmån för stadsutveckling är ett fenomen som beskrivs i både vetenskaplig litteratur och policydokument. Förändringar i nederbördsintensitet och storlek efter klimatförändringar förväntas, men det är fortfarande svårt att förutsäga den exakta storleken på dessa förändringar. Osäkerheten om vad vi kommer att behöva möta i framtiden och när det kommer att hända orsakar en oklarhet kring vilka aktiviteter som kommer att kunna påverka och mildra effekterna av klimatförändringarna. Denna studie syftar till att utforska och förstå hållbar dagvattenhantering genom naturbaserade lösningar (NBS) genom att granska både vetenskaplig och grå litteratur, samt utvecklingsplaner i ett specifikt område i södra Stockholm. Både risker och fördelar med NBS-implementering i urban dagvattenhantering har granskats och beskrivits. Dessutom framgår av litteraturen att begreppsmässiga oklarheter och osäkerheter i NBS-begreppet leder till svagheter i beslutsfattande och planeringsprocesser. Målet med denna studie var att förstå rekommendationer för dagvattenhantering för att mildra klimatförändringar, hur dessa rekommendationer relaterar till detaljerade planeringsdokument, vilka typer av lösningar som övervägs och föreslås i planeringsprocessen, om det finns en koppling mellan NBS och de föreslagna lösningarna, och slutligen - om rumslig analys kan hjälpa till i planeringsprocessen för att lokalisera styrkor och svagheter med den planerade konstruktionen i översvämningsutsatta områden. Resultaten av denna studie indikerar hur de valda detaljutvecklingsplanerna följer rekommendationerna i strategiska dokument. Detaljerade planeringshandlingar följde rekommendationerna i begränsad omfattning. Dessutom, när det gäller rumslig analys, hänvisade de analyserade planerna sällan till Skyfallsmodellen, som används för att representera översvämningsrisken orsakad av 100-årsregn. I ett av fallen med en tidig detaljplanen föreslogs nybyggnadsområdet inom

Soil and Water Bioengineering (SWBE) for river management is a viable alternative to civil engineering when bank stabilization is needed. Unlike riprap, SWBE techniques support bank stabilization while promoting the development of riparian vegetation. The preservation of vegetation biodiversity on riverbanks helps maintain and create essential ecosystem services such as recreation, carbon sequestration, pollutant filtration, and the creation of ecological niches and corridors. However, the potential of SWBE remains largely underestimated. Managers are often reluctant to use these techniques as they present failure risks, particularly in rivers with severe mechanical constraints. In cold environments experiencing freezing waters, ice-related processes such as ice abrasion or ice jams are significant disturbance factors for both river morphology and riparian vegetation. The marginality of SWBE is thus exacerbated in these environments, where considerable knowledge gaps persist regarding the interactions between ice, river channel morphology, and vegetation persistence. This review article aims to discuss the insights that biogeomorphology can provide for SWBE in cold environments. Biogeomorphology, a science that studies the interactions and feedbacks between living organisms and the physical processes shaping the landscape, offers new concepts and models as tools for understanding the co-development between landforms and vegetation. In the scope of SWBE, biogeomorphology can be used to (1) provide a better understanding of a river's dynamics and biogeomorphological changes in time and space to better identify the root causes of degraded riverbanks, (2) identify assemblages of species best suited to local conditions and better understand the relationship between channel morphology, vegetation, and ice to improve SWBE structure design, and (3) develop monitoring and evaluation tools to define the biogeomorphological functions of SWBE structure and improve maintenance s

In sight of a growing urban population and intensified extreme weather events, cities must integrate in their urban planning elements to both reduce their impact (i.e., air and water pollution, degradation of habitats, loss of biodiversity) and increase their resilience to climate change. In contrast to engineering solutions, which normally not only fail to adequately address these issues but often also exacerbate them, Nature-based Solutions are an efficient strategy which can help cities become more sustainable. Aqua-Nature-based Solutions (aNBS) tackle water-related hazards by enhancing water regulation and mitigating flood and drought impacts. However, under a warming climate, aNBS are expected to often dry-out, changing biodiversity and the ecosystem services they support. The aim of this study is to compare the biodiversity of temporarily and permanently wet urban waterbodies which function as aNBS. We selected two pond complexes with different hydroperiod (i.e., different duration, amplitude and frequency of inundation) and studied the riparian vegetation and aquatic macroinvertebrate biodiversity. The Multimetric Macroinvertebrate Index of Flanders was used to determine the macroinvertebrate biodiversity and to assess water quality of the ponds. Using water stable isotopes and piezometers, the hydrological dynamics were studied in order to identify the water regulating ecosystem services these ponds deliver. The results showed that the selected pond complexes have a high plant biodiversity, particularly in temporary ponds. Water quality ranged from moderate to poor and macroinvertebrate biodiversity tended to be greater in permanent ponds. Plant and macroinvertebrate alien species were also found in the aNBS. Regarding water regulating ecosystem services, the pond complexes enhanced infiltration and groundwater recharge, providing resilience to both flooding and drought. Our findings corroborate previous studies on the need of diversifying urban ponds’ hydro, Peer Reviewed

In sight of a growing urban population and intensified extreme weather events, cities must integrate in their urban planning elements to both reduce their impact (i.e., air and water pollution, degradation of habitats, loss of biodiversity) and increase their resilience to climate change. In contrast to engineering solutions, which normally not only fail to adequately address these issues but often also exacerbate them, Nature-based Solutions are an efficient strategy which can help cities become more sustainable. Aqua-Nature-based Solutions (aNBS) tackle water-related hazards by enhancing water regulation and mitigating flood and drought impacts. However, under a warming climate, aNBS are expected to often dry-out, changing biodiversity and the ecosystem services they support. The aim of this study is to compare the biodiversity of temporarily and permanently wet urban waterbodies which function as aNBS. We selected two pond complexes with different hydroperiod (i.e., different duration, amplitude and frequency of inundation) and studied the riparian vegetation and aquatic macroinvertebrate biodiversity. The Multimetric Macroinvertebrate Index of Flanders was used to determine the macroinvertebrate biodiversity and to assess water quality of the ponds. Using water stable isotopes and piezometers, the hydrological dynamics were studied in order to identify the water regulating ecosystem services these ponds deliver. The results showed that the selected pond complexes have a high plant biodiversity, particularly in temporary ponds. Water quality ranged from moderate to poor and macroinvertebrate biodiversity tended to be greater in permanent ponds. Plant and macroinvertebrate alien species were also found in the aNBS. Regarding water regulating ecosystem services, the pond complexes enhanced infiltration and groundwater recharge, providing resilience to both flooding and drought. Our findings corroborate previous studies on the need of diversifying urban ponds’ hydro, Peer Reviewed

Various approaches are available to assist stakeholders in identifying and resolving ecosystem service tradeoffs. However, existing tools fall short in simulating land use configuration effects on ecosystem services and subsequently making these effects accessible to users with varying levels of expertise. To address this gap, we introduce PLACES, a tool that estimates land use impacts on multiple ecosystem services by incorporating landscape-level processes. Tool results are provided in real-time and visualized to support a dialogue between different stakeholders. This study presents the tool development and application during a mixed stakeholder workshop, after which mental models, questionnaires, and videos were analyzed to evaluate PLACES. The tool increased the participants’ understanding of insights of spatial processes and sparked discussions on the societal goals for sustainable landscapes. For future applications of PLACES, we encourage careful tailoring of the landscape representation and land use impact simulations to match the knowledge of the respective users.

The possibility that the Amazon forest system could soon reach a tipping point, inducing large-scale collapse, has raised global concern1-3. For 65 million years, Amazonian forests remained relatively resilient to climatic variability. Now, the region is increasingly exposed to unprecedented stress from warming temperatures, extreme droughts, deforestation and fires, even in central and remote parts of the system1. Long existing feedbacks between the forest and environmental conditions are being replaced by novel feedbacks that modify ecosystem resilience, increasing the risk of critical transition. Here we analyse existing evidence for five major drivers of water stress on Amazonian forests, as well as potential critical thresholds of those drivers that, if crossed, could trigger local, regional or even biome-wide forest collapse. By combining spatial information on various disturbances, we estimate that by 2050, 10% to 47% of Amazonian forests will be exposed to compounding disturbances that may trigger unexpected ecosystem transitions and potentially exacerbate regional climate change. Using examples of disturbed forests across the Amazon, we identify the three most plausible ecosystem trajectories, involving different feedbacks and environmental conditions. We discuss how the inherent complexity of the Amazon adds uncertainty about future dynamics, but also reveals opportunities for action. Keeping the Amazon forest resilient in the Anthropocene will depend on a combination of local efforts to end deforestation and degradation and to expand restoration, with global efforts to stop greenhouse gas emissions.

Ecosystem services are often analysed individually, but are intertwined with one another and the social-ecological systems they occur in. As a response, ecosystem service bundles, i.e. co-occurring sets of ecosystem services, can be used to simplify complex relationships between nature and society, and in turn aid understanding. Typically bundles are studied on the local to regional scale, given the importance of local context to bundling, but wider scale analysis may help highlight broader ecosystem service balances for sustainable management. However, it remains uncertain if the relationships between ecosystem services are strong enough to describe coherent bundles at the global scale, and the extent to which these bundles are robust across different social-ecological systems and within different biogeographical realms. Here, we examine whether coherent bundles emerge from a set of 25 ecosystem property and service indicators across regional mountain, island and delta systems around the world. We analyse differences between bundle composition and correlation structure based on system, latitude and biome. We find consistent bundles broadly representing ‘food’, ‘productivity’ and biodiversity ‘intactness/soil’ ecosystem properties and services emerge across mountains, islands and deltas globally. These bundles show strong positive correlations internally, and consistent negative correlations between ‘food’ services and ‘intactness/soil’ ecosystem properties across bundles. The bundles weakened at higher latitudes and individual biomes where the division between ecosystem properties and services broke down. In sum, while islands, mountains and deltas are distinct social-ecological systems, we found ecosystem bundles robustly described synergies and trade-offs between ecosystem services across these systems. This suggests that bundling has a role in simplifying wider scale interactions between humans and ecosystem services.

Urban green infrastructure (UGI) is gaining popularity for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in urban contexts, but dense development obstructs the realisation of large-scale greening measures. This thesis investigates the potential of small-scale, site-specific urban greening in a residential area in Cologne, Germany, to improve ecosystem service supply. The objective is to assess how much the capacity for heat mitigation and biodiversity conservation can be increased through small-scale solutions, such as grass, shrubs, trees, green roofs and green facades. A spatial analysis is conducted to inventory the current UGI and map opportunities for functional upgrading, i.e. increasing, enriching, and connecting the existing UGI, resulting in a maximal greening scenario. Heat mitigation and biodiversity conservation are quantified based on the spatial dimensions of the UGI, using published supply rates and indicators. The urban surface exhibits enormous potential for UGI implementation, which is currently underutilised, particularly regarding roofs, facades and streets. Through small-scale interventions, about 1.2 million square meters of UGI can be added, increasing the green cover of the urban surface from 8 to 23%. The cooling capacity can be more than doubled, largely due to building-based solutions. The increase in tree canopy also contributes significantly, but a deficit remains regarding the provision of shadow. The biodiversity conservation can be improved through greater habitat, larger patches, and a significant increase in connectivity (proximity index increases by five times). Public and private efforts are required to utilise this potential and participatory processes are recommended to ensure environmental justice., Transforming roofs, facades and streets into green spaces can significantly cool cities and enhance biodiversity. Discover how small-scale greening interventions can improve urban life and create resilient cities. GREEN SUPERPOWERS TO TACKLE URBAN CHALLENGES As cities grow and the planet warms, urban areas are increasingly at risk from disasters like heatwaves, while global and local biodiversity is shrinking due to habitat loss. This makes new urban planning strategies essential for sustainable and safe living conditions. One promising approach is to improve the urban green infrastructure (UGI), which can offer multiple benefits: cooling through evapotranspiration and shading, air filtration, noise reduction, carbon storage, flood mitigation, and enhanced recreational and aesthetic value. These "superpowers" make urban greening a powerful tool in urban resilience strategies. However, implementing these solutions often faces challenges, such as limited space and insufficient data on their benefits. The city of Cologne, Germany, aims to increase greenery to combat heat, conserve biodiversity, and provide other ecosystem services. Considering the dense development, this thesis explores how small-scale greening interventions—like greening roofs and facades, and planting street trees—can enhance heat mitigation and biodiversity conservation. ENORMOUS UNTAPPED POTENTIAL By conducting a case-study in two of the least-greened neighbourhoods in Cologne, this study finds enormous potential for small-scale greening. In the study area, around 90% of the roof area and at least 7% of the facade space can be greened, amounting to ca. 1.1 million square meters of additional green surface, and around 1,900 street trees can be planted. By applying these measures, the overall green area can be tripled, leading to double the current cooling capacity, and a five-fold increase in the green space connectivity, which improves biodiversity. Additionally, some great co-benefits can be expec

The adoption of agri-environment practices (AEPs) is crucial for safeguarding the long-term sustainability of ecosystem services within European agricultural landscapes. However, the tailoring of agri-environment policies to the unique characteristics of farming systems is a challenging task, often neglecting local farm parameters or requiring extensive farm survey data. Here, we develop a simplified typology of farming system archetypes (FSAs), using field-level data on farms' economic size and specialisation derived from the Integrated Administration and Control System in three case studies in Germany, Czechia and the United Kingdom. Our typology identifies groups of farms that are assumed to react similarly to agricultural policy measures, bridging the gap between efforts to understand individual farm behaviour and broad agri-environmental typologies. We assess the usefulness of our approach by quantifying the spatial association of identified archetypes of farming systems with ecologically relevant AEPs (cover crops, fallow, organic farming, grassland maintenance, vegetation buffers, conversion of cropland to grassland and forest) to understand the rates of AEP adoption by different types of farms. Our results show that of the 20 archetypes, economically large farms specialised in general cropping dominate the agricultural land in all case studies, covering 56% to 85% of the total agricultural area. Despite regional differences, we found consistent trends in AEP adoption across diverse contexts. Economically large farms and those specialising in grazing livestock were more likely to adopt AEPs, with economically larger farms demonstrating a proclivity for a wider range of measures. In contrast, economically smaller farms usually focused on a narrower spectrum of AEPs and, together with farms with an economic value <2 000 EUR, accounted for 70% of all farms with no AEP uptake. These insights indicate the potential of the FSA typology as a framework to infe

One of the riches for business entrepreneurship in the country, in contexts of environmental crisis, is the use of biodiversity. Undoubtedly, the practices of the native agrobiodiversity system in the Andes integrate the immediate and future strategic ecological and economic benefits for sustainable agriculture, as well as combinations of conservation agriculture practices, mixed crop-livestock farming, and organic agriculture. Their ecological-economic performance depends largely on the geographical, socio-cultural and political context. Their practice should be rewarded financially and by sanctioning negative externalities. We jointly analyze the economic and ecological benefits of the indigenous agrobiodiversity system and non-diversified agriculture. The indigenous agrobiodiversity system provides substantially greater biodiversity and associated ecosystem services, such as pest and weed control, soil health, nutrient and water management, and carbon sequestration. The results show that combined FD practices provide the highest ecological and economic benefits at the farm level. It is concluded that according to the economic model proposed, financial instruments are needed to increase the implementation of combined FD practices to adequately reward the ecological benefits at the farm level, which explains the regular use (98.5%) by farmers of an economic model of agrobiodiversity proposed, studied, described and explained by the five economic factors, production, raw materials, ecological and social sustainability.Translated with DeepL.com (free version), Una de las riquezas para el emprendimiento empresarial en el país, en contextos de crisis ambiental, es el aprovechamiento de la biodiversidad. Sin duda las prácticas del sistema de la agrobiodiversidad autóctono en los Andes integran los beneficios ecológicos y económicos estratégicos inmediatos y futuros para una agricultura sostenible, así como, las combinaciones de prácticas de agricultura de conservación, cultivo mixto-ganadería, agricultura orgánica. Su desempeño ecológico-económico depende en gran medida del contexto geográfico, sociocultural y político. Su práctica se debe recompensar financieramente y sancionando las externalidades negativas. Analizamos de manera conjunta los beneficios económicos y ecológicos del sistema de la agrobiodiversidad autóctono y la agricultura no diversificada. El sistema de la agrobiodiversidad autóctono brinda una biodiversidad sustancialmente mayor y los servicios ecosistémicos asociados, como el control de plagas y malezas, la salud del suelo, la gestión de nutrientes y agua y el secuestro de carbono. Los resultados muestran que las prácticas combinadas de DF brindan los más altos beneficios ecológicos y económicos a nivel de finca. Se concluye que según el modelo económico planteado se necesitan instrumentos financieros para aumentar la implementación de prácticas combinadas de DF para recompensar adecuadamente los beneficios ecológicos a nivel de finca esto explica el uso regular (98.5%) por parte de los agricultores de un modelo económico de agrobiodiversidad planteado, estudiado, descrito y explicado por los cinco factores económico, producción, materias primas, sostenibilidad ecológica y social.

The article focuses on the identification and evaluation of cultural ecosystem services within the territory of the Local Action Group (LAG) Třeboňsko. The practical implementation of ecosystem services into decision-making processes, planning, monitoring, or economic mechanisms in the Czech Republic is still low. Besides the need for its dissemination in public administration, it is desirable to raise awareness within the organization of local action groups as a tool for local and rural development. Methodically, the article works with an expert estimation of the signifikance of cultural ecosystem services in terms of targeted management on a scale of 4 to 0 points. For the actual identification of cultural ecosystem services, the CICES system was used. Its ecosystem service classes were grouped into four groups - 9.1.1.1 Characteristics of ecosystems that enable activities supporting health, recovery, or pleasure through active physical or impressive interactions; 9.1.1.2 Characteristics of ecosystems that enable activities supporting health, recovery, or pleasure through passive or observational interactions; 9.1.1.3 Characteristics of ecosystems that enable intellectual interactions, research activities, or education; 9.1.1.4 Characteristics of ecosystems with heritage value - cultural, historical, traditional, regional heritage (biodiversity conservation also belongs to this group). To map the sources of cultural ecosystem services, the Consolidated Ecosystem Layer (KVES) was used. The model area of LAG Třeboňsko is unique with its pond landscape, where valuable natural ecosystems intersect with a historical pond management system. This is reflected in the widespread representation of cultural ecosystem service sources belonging to group 9.1.1.4 with the highest priority in terms of management.

Die Richtlinie der Europäischen Union (EU) zur Nachhaltigkeitsberichterstattung von Unternehmen (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive – CSRD) legt einen besonderen Schwerpunkt auf Biodiversität und verändert die Art und Weise, wie Unternehmen über ihre Umweltauswirkungen und -abhängigkeiten berichten. Sie fordert einen mehrdimensionalen Ansatz in der Rechnungslegung, der die Einflüsse eines Unternehmens auf die Natur (impact driver accounting), die möglichen Veränderungen der Ökosysteme durch die Geschäftstätigkeit (ecosystem accounting), die Abhängigkeit des Unternehmens von natürlichen Ökosystemleistungen (dependency accounting) und die mit diesen Wechselwirkungen verbundenenfinanziellen Risiken und Chancen (nature-related risks and opportunities accounting) erfasst. Obwohl die Methoden zu einigen Aspekten dieses umfassenden Rechnungslegungsrahmens bereits entwickelt wurden, besteht insbesondere im Bereich des dependency accounting und des nature-related risks and opportunities accounting ein dringender Bedarf an harmonisierten Methoden. Dieser Bedarf ergibt sich aus der starkenNachfrage seitens der Regulierungsbehörden, der Unternehmen und des Finanzsektors. Darüber hinaus werden bevorstehende Gesetze wie die EU-Richtlinie zur Sorgfaltspflicht von Unternehmen (Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive – CSDDD), die Erweiterung der EU-Taxonomie und die Aufnahme der Berichterstattung über die biologische Vielfalt in internationale Berichtsstandards die Bedeutung des Themasweiter erhöhen.The EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) places a special focus on biodiversity and changes the way companies report on their environmental impacts and dependencies. It calls for a multidimensional approach to accounting that recognises a company's impact on nature (impact driver accounting), the potential changes to ecosystems through business activities (ecosystem accounting), the company’s dependence on natural ecosystem services (dependency acc

La tesis doctoral presenta un avance innovador en el análisis de entornos urbanos, profundizando en elementos fundamentales que regulan sus cambios y procesos. Se centra en los desafíos del análisis urbano de zonas extensas y complejas y del estudio a medida en escalas locales, con la implementación de conjuntos de datos de múltiples fuentes (datos abiertos y teledetección) para identificar áreas de interés para su intervención de forma remota. Este enfoque integra características biofísicas existentes del entorno construido, la vegetación (prestando atención a la escala espacio-temporal y su impacto en servicios ecosistémicos), el albedo de banda ancha, y la temperatura superficial del suelo (LST). El desarrollo de la tesis se estructura en cuatro secciones, que comienzan con una revisión exhaustiva de los métodos de evaluación urbana en remoto, seguida por la caracterización detallada de la vegetación. Posteriormente, se propone un marco de clasificación de las características biofísicas, se diagnostica el entorno urbano según el comportamiento de las características existentes y, finalmente, se definen patrones morfológicos. Las secciones concluyen con el diseño de un método para caracterizar áreas de interés y su aplicación en los procesos de toma de decisiones. El diseño del método se fundamenta en la extracción de características y cálculo de variables biofísicas a distancia, fusionando datos del Catastro (una base de datos de edificaciones en España), imágenes satelitales de alta y muy alta resolución, y datos infrarrojos térmicos (TIR). Para validar el método, se lleva a cabo en un caso de estudio que cumple con criterios establecidos previamente en la metodología, ubicado en el barrio de Canillas, Madrid, España. Los desarrollados en la tesis priorizan la integración de componentes biofísicos urbanos en su estado actual, con detalles intrincados y escalas espacio-temporales esenciales para la planificación urbana. Los resultados abordan los desafíos en los, The PhD thesis represents an innovative advance in the analysis of urban environments, delving into fundamental elements that drive their changes and processes. It focuses on the challenges of urban analysis of extensive and complex areas and tailored studies at local scales, using multisouce datasets (open data and remote sensing) to remotly identify areas of interest for intervention. This approach integrates existing biophysical characteristics of the built environment, vegetation (with attention to the spatio-temporal scale and its impact on ecosystem services), broadband albedo, and land surface temperature (LST). The thesis is structured in four sections, starting with an exhaustive review of remote urban assessment methods, followed by a detailed characterisation of vegetation. Subsequently, a classifi cation framework for biophysical features is proposed, the urban context in diagnosed according to the behaviour of the existing features and, fi nally, morphological patterns are defi ned. The sections conclude with the design of a method to characterise areas of interest to be applied in decision-making processes. The design of the method relies on the retrieval of the characteristics and calculation of biophysical variables by fusing data from the Cadastre (a database of buildings in Spain), high and very-high-resolution satellite images, and thermal infrared (TIR) data. To validate the method, it is conducted in a case study that meets the criteria previously established in the methodology, located in the neighbourhood of Canillas, Madrid, Spain. The processes carried out in the thesis prioritise the integration of urban biophysical components in their current state, with intricate details and spatiotemporal scales essential for urban planning. The results address challenges in current urban analyses and have been disseminated through papers published in scientifi c journals, books, congresses and international conferences proceedings, recognised for their

Given the multitude of challenges Earth is facing, sustainability science is of key importance to our continued existence. Evolution is the fundamental biological process underlying the origin of all biodiversity. This phylogenetic diversity fosters the resilience of ecosystems to environmental change, and provides numerous resources to society, and options for the future. Genetic diversity within species is also key to the ability of populations to evolve and adapt to environmental change. Yet, the value of evolutionary processes and the consequences of their impairment have not generally been considered in sustainability research. We argue that biological evolution is important for sustainability and that the concepts, theory, data, and methodological approaches used in evolutionary biology can, in crucial ways, contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We discuss how evolutionary principles are relevant to understanding, maintaining, and improving Nature Contributions to People (NCP) and how they contribute to the SDGs. We highlight specific applications of evolution, evolutionary theory, and evolutionary biologys diverse toolbox, grouped into four major routes through which evolution and evolutionary insights can impact sustainability. We argue that information on both within-species evolutionary potential and among-species phylogenetic diversity is necessary to predict population, community, and ecosystem responses to global change and to make informed decisions on sustainable production, health, and well-being. We provide examples of how evolutionary insights and the tools developed by evolutionary biology can not only inspire and enhance progress on the trajectory to sustainability, but also highlight some obstacles that hitherto seem to have impeded an efficient uptake of evolutionary insights in sustainability research and actions to sustain SDGs. We call for enhanced collaboration between sustainability science and evolutionary b

Ecosystems and societies face increasing pressures from global change, including climate and land use changes. Subsequent impacts to ecosystems are compounded through the interactions, dependencies, and feedbacks with human systems (i.e. social-ecological systems). The interdependence of ecosystems and society is manifested through the invaluable contributions that nature provides to people, commonly referred to as ecosystem services. As climate change alters the structure and functioning of ecosystems, there are corresponding impacts on ecosystem services, consequently impacting human well-being. While climate change impacts on ecosystems are well studied, the subsequent impacts on the services they provide to people are less understood, especially in the case of the non-material benefits people derive from nature (i.e. cultural ecosystem services). Thus, we lack a holistic understanding of the implications of climate change on human well-being. My dissertation draws on a multitude of disciplines to unveil and test innovative methods, tools, and data to overcome historical limitations in studying cultural ecosystem services and assess their vulnerability to climate change. Specifically, I focus on using social sensing data (i.e. sensing/data collected from humans and/or their devices) and machine learning to map, model, and value climate change impacts on cultural ecosystem services in a holistic social-ecological fashion and in understudied data-poor regions of the world. Ultimately, this work develops and tests new approaches to accounting for the non-material benefits of nature to people in order to create a more comprehensive understanding of how climate change will impact human well-being.The first chapter of this dissertation systematically reviews the literature to assess how machine learning and big data are being used in ecosystem service research to overcome major gaps in the field. I find that although cultural ecosystem services are understudied across

Climate change is expected to affect temperate and boreal forests, potentially causing profound changes to the functioning and the structure of ecosystems. This calls for assessments of the plausible long-term outcomes of a range of climate change scenarios to increase the knowledge base for decision making in forestry. Forest owners need to consider whether current silvicultural management practices remain suitable also in the future. Contemporary decisions will determine the future landscape composition of production forests and have implications for the provisioning of ecosystem services.In this thesis, we analysed the varying preferences for maintaining ecosystem services among a sample of non-industrial private forest owners in Sweden. The findings demonstrated positive perceptions of 10 forest ecosystem services, with the highest rankings of biodiversity, timber quality, water quality and recreation. Differences in prioritization between ecosystem services largely depended on whether the owners were certified and if they were members of a forest owner association. These findings also revealed a consistent and broad agreement regarding a preferred expansion of mixed-species and deciduous stands in the landscapes, in line with current recommendations for climate change adaptation.The process-based ecosystem model LPJ-GUESS was evaluated to determine its skill in simulating managed production forests in Sweden through comparisons of model projections of standing volume against observations derived from the Swedish National Forest Inventory. New vegetation parameters were suggested for Norway spruce and Scots pine, which better represented observed growth rates in even-aged monocultures. Additionally, the evaluations provided insight into potential model improvements, specifically regarding the early phase of stand growth.The evaluated model was applied to study the long-term outcomes of altered management practices and climate change on forests in Sweden. Three a

Enhancing scientific understanding and providing practical guidance for safeguarding and rejuvenating the EU’s Mediterranean Blue Natural Capital employing an Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) approach., Peer Reviewed

(English) This paper explores the interdependent relationship of cities, as an expression of the process of urbanization and human agglomeration, as well as of all their spatial, political, social, economic and environmental dynamics, with the regions that provide them with different ecosystem services, without which they would not be able to subsist. By clearly identifying how to analyze this dependence, proposals can be made to incorporate the valuation (not only an economic valuation) of these ecosystem services in the policies traditionally known as urban or city policies, as well as in the different planning instruments such as, in the case of Colombia, development plans and land use plans, which, for the purposes of this paper, are analyzed in greater depth on a metropolitan and regional scale. The proposal presented advances from the conceptual and methodological point of view through three practical exercises that allow the incorporation of ecosystem services as priorities in the sustainability policies of these territories, which should not be analyzed and managed in isolation but, on the contrary, should be analyzed as urban•regional environments, since there is a permanent exchange or flow of services that nature provides and that in most policies and visions of territorial development are seldom identified, valued and incorporated. As a case study we analyze the city of Medellín, its metropolitan area also known as the Aburrá Valley, made up of nine other physically and functionally conurbed municipalities, and its interdependent relationship with its urban•regional environment, that is, the central region of the department of Antioquia (also known as the metropolitan region), which includes at least 50 municipalities., (Català) El present treball indaga per la relació d'interdependència de les ciutats, com a expressió del procés d'urbanització i aglomeració humana, així com de totes les seves dinàmiques espacials, polítiques, socials, econòmiques i ambientals, amb les regions que les proveeixen de diferents serveis ecosistèmics i sense els quals no podrien subsistir. A partir d'identificar clarament la manera d'analitzar aquesta dependència, es poden construir propostes d'incorporació de la valoració (no únicament una valoració econòmica) d'aquests serveis ecosistèmics en les polítiques que tradicionalment coneixem com a polítiques urbanes o de les ciutats, així com dels diferents instruments de planificació com són, en el cas de Colòmbia, els plans de desenvolupament i els plans d'ordenament territorial, els quals, per a efectes d'aquest treball, s'analitzen amb major profunditat en una escala metropolitana i regional. La proposta que es presenta avança des del conceptual i el metodològic a través de tres exercicis pràctics, que permeten incorporar els serveis ecosistèmics com a prioritats de les polítiques de sostenibilitat d'aquests territoris, els quals no haurien de ser analitzats i gestionats de manera aïllada sinó que, per contra, haurien d'analitzar-se com a entorns urbà•regionals, ja que permanentment existeix un intercanvi o flux de serveis que la naturalesa proporciona i que en la majoria de polítiques i visions del desenvolupament dels territoris poques vegades són identificats, valorats i incorporats. Com a cas d'estudi s'analitza la ciutat de Medellín, la seva àrea metropolitana també coneguda com la vall de Aburrá, conformada per altres nou municipis conurbats física i funcionalment, i la seva relació d'interdependència amb el seu entorn urbà•regional, és a dir la regió central del departament de Antioquia (també denominada regió metropolitana) que abasta almenys 50 municipis., (Español) El presente trabajo indaga por la relación de interdependencia de las ciudades, como expresión del proceso de urbanización y aglomeración humana, así como de todas sus dinámicas espaciales, políticas, sociales, económicas y ambientales, con las regiones que las proveen de diferentes servicios ecosistémicos y sin los cuales no podrían subsistir. A partir de identificar claramente la forma de analizar esa dependencia, se pueden construir propuestas de incorporación de la valoración (no únicamente una valoración económica) de estos servicios ecosistémicos en las políticas que tradicionalmente conocemos como políticas urbanas o de las ciudades, así como de los diferentes instrumentos de planificación como son, en el caso de Colombia, los planes de desarrollo y los planes de ordenamiento territorial, los cuales, para efectos de este trabajo, se analizan con mayor profundidad en una escala metropolitana y regional. La propuesta que se presenta avanza desde lo conceptual y lo metodológico a través de tres ejercicios prácticos, que permiten incorporar los servicios ecosistémicos como prioridades de las políticas de sostenibilidad de estos territorios, los cuales no deberían ser analizados y gestionados de manera aislada sino que, por el contrario, deberían analizarse como entornos urbano•regionales, ya que permanentemente existe un intercambio o flujo de servicios que la naturaleza proporciona y que en la mayoría de políticas y visiones del desarrollo de los territorios pocas veces son identificados, valorados e incorporados. Como caso de estudio se analiza la ciudad de Medellín, su área metropolitana también conocida como el valle de Aburrá, conformada por otros nueve municipios conurbados física y funcionalmente, y su relación de interdependencia con su entorno urbano•regional, es decir la región central del departamento de Antioquia (también denominada región metropolitana) que abarca por lo menos 50 municipios., Postprint (published version)

In compost, the relationship between humans, more-than-humans and the environment is diffuse because it involves the active participation of an entire food web. The entanglements embedded in the composting process(es) can be studied by attempting to understand the care needed to keep a compost active and how this relates to more-than-humans. We conducted interviews with two composting advocates in Berlin and visited the Peace of Land’s composting facility. In our work, we discuss the different perspectives of the two to shed light on their motivations for the care work they provide. In doing so, we combine their responses based on practical experience with theoretical reflections. Both interviewees expressed a similar view about the reciprocal relationship between humans and more-than-humans, suggesting that composting is a simple practice that allows us to “give back” to the earth rather than just take from it. Further, the interviewees described composting as a continuous learning process that requires constant work, learning, and maintenance. Finally, the act of composting involves an ongoing interconnectedness between humans and more-than-humans. This entanglement leads us to the need to redefine anthropocentric concepts such as the concept of ecosystem services, where the role of more-than-humans has been less discussed., Peer Reviewed

Bomen maken de stad leefbaar. Ze dragen bij aan klimaatadaptatie, de gezondheid van mensen, sociale samenhang en biodiversiteit. Omdat de stad voor veel bomen een moeilijke groeiomgeving is, is de keuze van de juiste boom op de juiste plaats essentieel. Als hulpmiddel hebben Stadswerk en Wageningen University & Research een nieuwe interactieve Bomentabel gelanceerd. Groen en bomen in de stad zijn niet alleen mooi, maar bieden ook andere belangrijke voordelen, de zogenaamde ecosysteemdiensten. Zo beperken bomen hittestress, verbeteren ze de luchtkwaliteit en helpen ze bij het verwerken van neerslag. Daarnaast versterken bomen en ander groen de sociale samenhang, doordat zij bijvoorbeeld mogelijkheden bieden voor recreatie en ontspanning. Bovendien zijn bomen voor allerlei andere organismen zoals vogels, insecten, kleine zoogdieren en (korst)mossen een belangrijke leefomgeving, waardoor ze de biodiversiteit ondersteunen.

This report is part of the Nordic Sustainable Construction project, which falls under the Nordic Sustainable Construction program launched by the Nordic Ministers for Construction and Housing and funded by Nordic Innovation. Here we present findings from an analysis of carbon stocks and carbon sinks of individual trees of different species within urban areas in Göteborg, Umeå and Malmö. The estimates are for total tree biomass, including below ground biomass. The original data were collected through the “i-Tree Sweden” project and are sampled during the year 2018. Values for tree growth and tree carbon sinks were calculated using the software application “i-Tree Eco v6”., Commissioned By: Ministry of Environment, Finland.

Seagrass meadows provide important ecosystem services including carbon sequestration, coastal protection from erosion, and sustained biodiversity and fisheries thereby improving the wellbeing and livelihoods of coastal communities. The erosion of millenary deposits of intertwined roots and rhizomes of Posidonia results in the formation of three-dimensional structures named escarpments that constitute a biogenic reef habitat. However, the natural history of seagrass escarpments including their formation processes and their role as habitat for reef fauna and flora remains poorly understood. This research located and characterized Posidonia oceanica escarpments in Menorca (Balearic Islands) and compared structural complexity and fish assemblages among seagrass escarpments, seagrass meadows, rocky substrates and bare sand with emphasis on its role as habitat and shelter for typical rocky fish. Fish abundance and biomass were similar between seagrass escarpments and rocky substrates (P > 0.05), but significantly lower in seagrass meadows (P < 0.001). The large number of caves found along seagrass escarpments provide shelter to fish, including species only associated to rocky substrates. Seagrass meadows form a rather homogenous habitat within their canopy, but the presence of seagrass escarpments enhances habitat heterogeneity and structural complexity along with fish abundance and biomass at the seascape level. This study enhances understanding on the ecological importance of seagrass escarpments.

Intensified agriculture, a driver of biodiversity loss, can diminish ecosystem functions and their stability. Biodiversity can increase functional redundancy and is expected to stabilize ecosystem functions. Few studies, however, have explored how agricultural intensity affects functional redundancy and its link with ecosystem function stability. Here, within a continental-wide study, we assess how functional redundancy of seed predation is affected by agricultural intensity and landscape simplification. By combining carabid abundances with molecular gut content data, functional redundancy of seed predation was quantified for 65 weed genera across 60 fields in four European countries. Across weed genera, functional redundancy was reduced with high field management intensity and simplified crop rotations. Moreover, functional redundancy increased the spatial stability of weed seed predation at the field scale. We found that ecosystem functions are vulnerable to disturbances in intensively managed agroecosystems, providing empirical evidence of the importance of biodiversity for stable ecosystem functions across space.

The transition of food systems for healthy diets and sustainable food systems calls for greater production of fruit and nuts, i.e. pollinated crops. The North China Plain (NCP) is a cereal dominated area that needs to transition to a more sustainable food system with a nutritionally more diverse output. Buckwheat pairs high nutritional quality with low input requirement, but it is pollination dependent. There is little knowledge on the pollinator communities and pollination service in the NCP. We selected Quzhou county as a study region on the NCP, and used potted plants of buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum M.) to measure pollination in three treatments: insect exclusion, open pollination, and honeybee supplementation. Measurements were made at 24 sites across the county in 2021 and 2022. At each site, we directly observed the activity of flower-visiting insects and measured the pollination rate, seed set, seed abortion rate and yield-related indicators. Most flower visits were made by hoverflies (Syrphidae) and flies from the families Muscidae, Sarcophagidae, and Calliphoridae. Compared with open pollination, insect exclusion reduced buckwheat pollination rate and seed set by more than 90 %. Without honeybee supplementation, the pollination rate in different experimental sessions was reduced by 12–21 %, and the seed set was reduced by 22–33 %. Honeybee supplementation increased harvest index and seed weight per plant with factors of 1.6 and 2.0, respectively. Hence, a pollination deficit would exist if only natural pollinators were relied upon. Managed honeybees provide an efficient means for enhancing pollination of buckwheat in the North China Plain.

Peatlands store vast amounts of carbon (C). However, land-use-driven drainage causes peat oxidation, resulting in CO2 emission. There is a growing need for ground-truthing CO2 emission and its potential drivers to better quantify long-term emission trends in peatlands. This will help improve National Inventory Reporting and ultimately aid the design and verification of mitigation measures. To investigate regional drivers of CO2 emission, we estimated C budgets using custom-made automated chamber systems measuring CO2 concentrations corrected for carbon export and import. Chamber systems were rotated among thirteen degraded peatland pastures in Friesland (the Netherlands). These peatlands varied in water table depth (WTD), drainage-irrigation management (fixed regulated ditch water level (DWL), subsurface irrigation, furrow irrigation, or dynamic regulated DWL), and soil moisture. We investigated (1) whether drainage-irrigation management and related hydrological drivers could explain variation in C budgets, (2) how nighttime ecosystem respiration (Reconight) related to hydrological drivers, and (3) how C budgets compared with estimates from Tier 1 and Tier 2 models regularly used in National Inventory Reporting. Deep-drained peatlands largely overlapped with C budgets from shallow-drained peatlands. The variation in C budgets could not be explained with drainage-irrigation measures or annual WTD, likely because of high variation between sites. Reconightincreased from 85 to 250 kg CO2 ha−1 day−1 as the WTD dropped from 0 to 50 cm across all sites. A deeper WTD had no apparent effect on Reconight, which could be explained by the unimodal relationship we found between Reconight and soil moisture. Finally, C budgets estimated by Tier 1 emission factors and Tier 2 national models mismatched the between-site and between-year variation found in chamber-based estimated NECBs. To conclude, our study showed that shallow WTDs greatly determine C budgets and that regional C bud

Various approaches are available to assist stakeholders in identifying and resolving ecosystem service tradeoffs. However, existing tools fall short in simulating land use configuration effects on ecosystem services and subsequently making these effects accessible to users with varying levels of expertise. To address this gap, we introduce PLACES, a tool that estimates land use impacts on multiple ecosystem services by incorporating landscape-level processes. Tool results are provided in real-time and visualized to support a dialogue between different stakeholders. This study presents the tool development and application during a mixed stakeholder workshop, after which mental models, questionnaires, and videos were analyzed to evaluate PLACES. The tool increased the participants’ understanding of insights of spatial processes and sparked discussions on the societal goals for sustainable landscapes. For future applications of PLACES, we encourage careful tailoring of the landscape representation and land use impact simulations to match the knowledge of the respective users.

Integrated assessment models that incorporate biodiversity and ecosystem services could be an important tool for improving our understanding of interconnected social-economic-ecological systems, and for analyzing how policy alternatives can shift future trajectories towards more sustainable development. Despite recent scientific and technological advances, key gaps remain in the scientific community's ability to deliver information to decision-makers at the pace and scale needed to address sustainability challenges. We identify five research frontiers for integrated social-economic-ecological modeling (primarily focused on terrestrial systems) to incorporate biodiversity and ecosystem services: 1) downscaling impacts of direct and indirect drivers on ecosystems; 2) incorporating feedbacks in ecosystems; 3) linking ecological impacts to human well-being, 4) disaggregating outcomes for distributional equity considerations, and 5) incorporating dynamic feedbacks of ecosystem services on the social-economic system. We discuss progress and challenges along each of these five frontiers and the science-policy linkages needed to move new research and information into action.

Fire-induced changes in vegetation composition due to fire-regime intensification are leading to alterations in ecosystem services that might threaten their future sustainability. Fire recurrence, in particular, could be a key driver shaping ecosystem service resilience in fire-prone ecosystems. This study evaluates the impact of fire recurrence, over twenty-four years, on the potential supply capacity of ten regulating, provisioning, and cultural services selected as critical services by stakeholders and experts. We assessed fire effects in four fire-prone landscapes dominated by species with different functional-traits response to fire (i.e., obligate seeder vs resprouter species). Trends in the potential supply capacity linked to fire recurrence were estimated by applying a supervised classification of Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) classes performed using Landsat imagery, associated to an ecosystem service capacity matrix adapted to the local socio-ecological context. In landscapes dominated by seeders, fire recurrence broke off the potential supply capacity of services traditionally associated to mature forest cover (i.e., the predicted probability of a decrease in the potential supply capacity of climate regulation, timber, wood fuel, mushroom production, tourism, landscape aesthetic, and cultural heritage occurred with high fire recurrence). In landscapes dominated by resprouter species, the effect of fire recurrence was partially buffered in the short-term after fire and no substantial differences in trends of change were found (i.e., equal predicted probability in the potential supply capacity of ecosystem services regardless of fire recurrence). We detected two new opportunities for ecosystems service supply associated to fire recurrence: livestock and honey production, especially in sites dominated by seeders. These findings provide valuable information aiming at recovering post-fire ecosystem service potential supply to partially counterbalance the loss

Societal Impact Statement Seagrass ecosystems are of fundamental importance to our planet and wellbeing. Seagrasses are marine flowering plants, which engineer ecosystems that provide a multitude of ecosystem services, for example, blue foods and carbon sequestration. Seagrass ecosystems have largely been degraded across much of their global range. There is now increasing interest in the conservation and restoration of these systems, particularly in the context of the climate emergency and the biodiversity crisis. The collation of 100 questions from experts across Europe could, if answered, improve our ability to conserve and restore these systems by facilitating a fundamental shift in the success of such work. Summary Seagrass meadows provide numerous ecosystem services including biodiversity, coastal protection, and carbon sequestration. In Europe, seagrasses can be found in shallow sheltered waters along coastlines, in estuaries & lagoons, and around islands, but their distribution has declined. Factors such as poor water quality, coastal modification, mechanical damage, overfishing, land-sea interactions, climate change and disease have reduced the coverage of Europe’s seagrasses necessitating their recovery. Research, monitoring and conservation efforts on seagrass ecosystems in Europe are mostly uncoordinated and biased towards certain species and regions, resulting in inadequate delivery of critical information for their management. Here, we aim to identify the 100 priority questions, that if addressed would strongly advance seagrass monitoring, research and conservation in Europe. Using a Delphi method, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers with seagrass experience from across Europe and with diverse seagrass expertise participated in the process that involved the formulation of research questions, a voting process and an online workshop to identify the final list of the 100 questions. The final list of questions covers areas across nine themes: B

This study proposes a novel methodology that integrates the “Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services” (MAES) project for evaluating ecosystems to protect vulnerable land. By applying it to the Spanish case and adaptable to European Statesit results in a new regional-scale methodology to better handle natural values, improve environmental data in spatial plans, enable more precise assessments of direct ecosystem pressures, and detect changing impacts. This approach, aligned with municipal spatial planning, provides benefits for the regional level: it matches scale, includes vital environmental data and GIS application to facilitate the integration of ecosystem considerations in planning tools.

This study underscores the limited integration of natural features in Italian local planning, despite approximately 30% of the territory facing hydrogeological risks. With heightened frequency of extreme events due to climate change, such incidents strain sewerage systems and often lead to waterway flooding. Focusing on the Reno River catchment area in central-northern Italy, the re- search examines the impact of municipal planning on ecosystem services, specifically urban flood risk mitigation and sediment management. While some plans acknowledge ecosystem services, stra- tegic implementation remains lacking. The study advocates for a more comprehensive integration of these services in local planning to ensure a resilient territory amid escalating climate change threats.

This study aims to analyze the relationships between the provision of ecosystem services, the various attributes of green spaces, and the characteristics of urban areas, by using the Italian city of Cagliari as the primary focal point of investigation. Within the urban environment, a set of regu-lating ecosystem services has been identified as particularly significant, and its interplay with the spatial configuration of green spaces within urban environments is assessed in detail. These ecosys-tem services encompass crucial facets such as heat regulation, carbon sequestration and storage, and the effective management of surface runoff, of outmost importance to mitigate flood events.

Soils, just like all other ecosystem compartments, change over time and, consequently, conditions for soil-inhabiting organisms are also changing, affecting their composition and diversity. Soil biodiversity is a critical component of ecosystems that supports many essential ecosystem functions and services, such as nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, water regulation and biomass production for food, fodder, fibre and energy. However, and despite the importance of soil biodiversity for ecosystem health and human well-being, neither current state, drivers, potential consequences for ecosystem services nor options for sustainable governance of soil biodiversity are well understood. Here, we provide a framework for and argue that conducting a national assessment of soil biodiversity, albeit being a complex endeavour, is fundamental to building a baseline to understand the current state and trends of soil biodiversity, but also to identify the main drivers of change, the impacts of soil biodiversity loss and the potential pathways for conservation and sustainable governance of soil biodiversity.

This paper presents a global synthesis of economic values for ecosystem services provided by 15 terrestrial and marine biomes. Information from over 1,300 studies, yielding over 9,400 value estimates in monetary units, has been collected and organised in the Ecosystem Services Valuation Database (ESVD). This is a substantial expansion of data since the de Groot et al. (2012) description of the ESVD and provides an important juncture to explore developments in the use of valuation methods and the contexts in which valuations are conducted. In this paper we provide summary values for 23 ecosystem services from 15 biomes to represent the magnitude, variation and gaps in economic values. To enable the comparison and synthesis of values, estimates in the ESVD are standardised to a common set of units (Int$/ha/year at 2020 price levels). This data provides a basis for value transfers to inform decision-making in current policy contexts but requires due consideration and adjustment for context specific determinants of value. Although the coverage of the ESVD is global, the geographic distribution of data is not even. There is a particularly high representation of European ecosystems and relatively little information for Russia, Central Asia and North Africa. Therefore, the data are not globally representative of biophysical and socio-economic contexts. The distribution of data across ecosystem services is also far from even, with some services very well represented (e.g. recreation, wild fish and wild animals, ecosystem and species appreciation, air filtration and global climate regulation) and others with almost no value estimates (e.g. disease control, water baseflow maintenance, rainfall pattern regulation). In the past decade, there has been a notable increase in demand for information on the economic value of ecosystem services from both public and private institutions to improve the conservation and management of natural capital. The literature is developing to meet

Coastal ecosystems are of extreme importance for the environment and human livelihoods based on their ecosystem services: they provide habitat for diverse fauna, supplying food, protection, and nursing grounds for a myriad of species; they provide a self-sustaining source of nourishment and income for the growing coastal communities; they sequester carbon more efficiently and in greater quantities than any land ecosystem; they trap sediments and reduce energy from waves, currents, and tides, thus protecting the coast and the inherent communities and habitats. Despite these services, coastal ecosystems have seen rapid decline over the past century, mostly due to the rapid human population expansion and the ensuing destructive infrastructure. One of the most affected ecosystems are seagrasses, which unfortunately do not receive the attention of more conspicuous ones such as coral reefs and mangrove forests. Nonetheless, recent research has shown that, although they only cover 0.2% of the ocean floor, seagrasses can sequester 10% of the ocean carbon (a.k.a. blue carbon), exceeding the rate of any land cover. Moreover, according to the United Nations (UN), half of the human population will be living near coastal areas by 2030, while already more than half of the population lives in urbanized areas, meaning more infrastructure, and hence more ecosystem destruction. This deadly trend has led to the disappearance of more than a third of the seagrass cover since the late 19th century. To counter this, several restoration efforts have been initiated. Within this thesis, the emulation of seagrass ecosystem services is proposed and investigated as a restoration solution. Seagrasses facilitate their own growth by adapting to their surroundings, affecting the ambient hydrodynamics to promote their own survival. Reproducing this behavior through artificial structures in either virgin or former seagrass-covered habitats should then promote seagrass establishment and proliferation.

This thesis assessed the capacity of the regulating ecosystem services (R-ES) of stormwater regulation (SW-R) and local climate regulation (CL-R) in the context of urban densification, which adversely affects the provision of these services. Conducted in collaboration with the FORMAS-funded REPLAN project, the study focused on the Södertörn Municipalities, located on the Södertörn peninsula, south of Stockholm. Their plans for further growth in both population size and urban development, combined with their mix of urban and natural landscapes, made this area an interesting subject for assessment. GIS-based spatial analysis was employed to model and map the current capacity of SW-R and CL-R to meet human demand, incorporating a scenario perspective to enable a comprehensive assessment of the impacts of urban densification over time. The projected scenario, set to 2040, was developed based on population growth projections and new housing distribution proposals as outlined by the public consultation proposal for The Regional Development Plan for Stockholm County (RUFS) 2060. For the spatial modelling and analysis, two primary models were employed. The scenario required the processing of land use data to model urban expansion within the study area. This was accomplished using Python scripting, which automated the process and enabled capacity calculations for the areas expected to be impacted by urbanisation. Two main models, developed by Goldenberg et al. (2017), were applied for the spatial modelling and analysis. Firstly, the SW-R model was applied to assess the study area's capacity to manage stormwater runoff based on the infiltration capacities of different land cover types and soils, under the influence of topography. Additionally, a flow accumulation module was integrated to adjust the SW-R capacity to meet demand based on runoff patterns. Next, the CL-R model was used to evaluate the study area's capacity for air mixing and heat distribution, primarily based o, Denna masteruppsats syftade till att utvärdera både nuvarande och framtida kapaciteter hos de reglerande ekosystemtjänsterna dagvatten- och lokal klimatreglering i samband med urban förtätning, vilket har en negativ inverkan på tillhandahållandet av dessa tjänster. Studien genomfördes i samarbete med det FORMAS-finansierade projektet REPLAN och fokuserade på Södertörnskommunerna, belägna på Södertörns-halvön söder om Stockholm. Kommunkollektivets planer på fortsatt tillväxt sett till såväl befolkningsmängd som stadsutveckling, tillsammans med regionens blandning av urbana och naturliga landskap, gjorde området till ett intressant studieobjekt. GIS-baserad rumslig analys låg till grund för modellering och kartläggning av de nuvarande kapaciteterna hos dagvatten- och klimatreglering för att möta mänsklig efterfrågan, med ett scenarioperspektiv som möjliggör en omfattande bedömning av effekterna av urban förtätning över tid. Det framskrivna scenariot, satt till år 2040, utformades baserat på befolkningsprognoser och förslag om bostadsfördelning enligt samrådsförslaget för den regionala utvecklingsplanen för Stockholmsregionen (RUFS) 2060. Scenariot krävde bearbetning av landanvändningsdata för att modellera urban expansion inom studieområdet. Detta genomfördes med hjälp av Python-skriptning, vilket automatiserade processen och möjliggjorde kapacitetsberäkningar för de områden som förväntas påverkas av urbaniseringen. För den rumsliga modelleringen och analysen tillämpades två huvudmodeller framtagna av Goldenberg et al. (2017). Först utvärderades studieområdets kapacitet att hantera avrinning, baserat på infiltrationskapaciteter hos olika markanvändningstyper och jordarter i samverkan med topografi. Därefter integrerades en flödesackumulerings-modul för att justera den beräknade kapaciteten utifrån avrinningsmönster. Sedan tillämpades modellen för lokal klimatreglering för att bedöma studieområdets kapacitet för luftblandning och värmefördelning, huvudsakligen basera

Climate change poses many challenges and threats for society, and cities must adapt to the changing environment. Already today extreme weather events have caused major casualties in urban areas, and in the future, such events are expected to become more frequent. Municipalities hold a lot of responsibility in developing and transforming cities to become more resilient, why this report investigates how that can be done. Using green infrastructure and nature based solutions is proven efficient for mitigation and adaptation to climate consequences, while simultaneously providing social and economic synergies for society. The aim of this thesis is therefore to investigate how green infrastructure can be implemented in planning, in order to tackle climate change. This has been done by looking into a case study of Solna Municipality, just north of Stockholm. To tackle the topic, several qualitative methods have been used, which include a literature review, document study, interviews with municipal officials and participant observation. The findings show that there are many ways municipalities can use urban greenery to mitigate and adapt to climate change consequences. Currently some aspects of climate adaptation, such as the management of storm water and flooding, are integrated into the urban development process, but others, like heat problems, are lacking. It can therefore be concluded that there are many opportunities for improvement. The study identifies four main areas of planning practice that would improve the integration of a green climate adaptation perspective. These are working actively with policy, incorporating climate perspectives into everyday practice, working strategically with broader contexts and utilising available tools for a systematic work process. Although the study is based on a single case study, it is believed that this thesis can provide valuable insights and recommendations for municipalities and other actors and guide them towards a more resi, Klimatförändringarna innebär flera utmaningar och hot mot samhället, och städer måste kunna anpassa sig till den föränderliga miljön. Redan idag har extremväder orsakat stora skador och problem i urbana områden, och i framtiden förväntas dessa bli mer frekventa. Kommuner har ett stort ansvar för att utveckla och omvandla urbana områden till att bli mer resilienta, och därav undersöker denna rapport hur detta kan göras. Användning av grön infrastruktur och naturbaserade lösningar har visat sig vara effektivt för att mildra och anpassa sig till de negativa klimatkonsekvensera, samtidigt som de också ger både sociala och ekonomiska synergier för samhället. Syftet med detta arbeta är därför att undersöka hur grön infrastruktur kan implementeras i planering för att hantera klimatförändringar. Detta har gjorts genom en fallstudie av Solna kommun, strax norr om Stockholm. För att undersöka ämnet har flera kvalitativa metoder använts, som litteraturstudie, dokumentstudie, intervjuer med kommunala tjänstemän och deltagande observation. Resultaten visar att det finns många sätt för kommuner att använda urban grönska för att mildra och anpassa sig till klimatförändringarnas konsekvenser. Idag är några aspekter av klimatanpassning, såsom dagvattenhantering och översvämningar, integrerade i stadsutvecklingsprocessen, medan andra aspekter, som värmerelaterade problem, saknas. En slutsats är därför att det finns tydliga förbättringsmöjligheter. Studien identifierar fyra huvudområden inom planeringspraktiken som skulle förbättra integrationen av ett grönt klimatanpassningsperspektiv. Dessa är att arbeta aktivt med policy, inkludera klimatperspektivet i det dagliga arbetet, arbeta strategiskt i större skala och använda de verktyg som finns tillgängliga idag för att systematisera arbetsprocessen. Även om studien är baserad på en fallstudie, är det många kommuner och andra aktörer som kan dra nytta av de insikter och rekommendationer som presenteras i detta arbete.

Purpose: In modern urban planning it is essential to find a balance between vegetation and hard structures to create an environment that help combating local climate problems and benefit ecosystem services. To ensure that a sufficient portion of areas in a city environment is green, a simple and robust evaluation method is required for planning purposes. This study examines possibilities and risks associated with the use of Green Area Factor as a method of green planning in urban areas. A new model that calculates Green Area Factor was developed for the city of Eskilstuna in collaboration with the municipality. The model and pre-existing models were tested in selected areas of the city and later compared to each other. Method: Possibilities and risks were gathered by literary studies and a survey of municipal workers specialized in urban planning in different geographical areas. Development of a new model to calculate Green Area Factor required analysis of documents and several pre-existing models, case studies, site visits and collaboration with the municipality of Eskilstuna. To compare the new model with the existing ones, the Green Area Factor was calculated for selected areas of Eskilstuna by use of every model included in this study. Results: Risks associated with the use of Green Area Factor include difficulties to ensure proper ground conditions and care of green structures, further spread of invasive species, greenwashing when ecological effects are not achieved, and that Green Area Factor is not a comprehensive quality assurance. Possibilities include simplicity in understanding and setting requirements, measurement of green areas and exploitation impact, management of environmental challenges and reduced spending of time and money. The newly developed model is customized to the needs of Eskilstuna. It contains, among other things, higher than average scores for categories participating in stormwater management and hard structures are separated based on pe, Problem: Studien grundar sig i den marginaliserade roll grönstrukturer historiskt spelat i städer och vilka konsekvenser det medfört. Hållbar befolkningstillväxt och förtätning av städer i ett föränderligt klimat kräver stadsplanering som värdesätter gröna strukturer och ekosystemtjänster. Dessa har potential att både bromsa den negativa klimatutvecklingen och avhjälpa den skada som redan skett. I Eskilstuna kommuns grönplan står det om viljan som finns att utveckla och använda grönytefaktor i staden.Syfte: Denna studie undersökte möjligheter och risker förknippade med användningen av grönytefaktor som planeringsverktyg i tätorter. En ny modell för beräkning av grönytefaktor har tagits fram för Eskilstuna stad i samarbete med kommunen och denna modell samt redan existerande modeller applicerades i utvalda områden för att sedan jämföras med varandra.Metod: Möjligheter och risker samlades in genom litteraturstudier och enkät med kommunalarbetare specialiserade på samhällsplanering i olika geografiska områden. Utvecklandet av en ny modell för beräkning av grönytefaktor krävde dokumentanalyser och analyser av flera redan existerande modeller, fallstudier, platsbesök och samarbete med Eskilstuna kommun. För att jämföra den nya modellen med de befintliga, beräknades grönytefaktorn för utvalda områden i Eskilstuna med alla de modeller som denna studie inkluderar.Resultat: Risker förknippade med grönytefaktor inkluderar, bland andra, svårigheter att säkerställa korrekta markförhållanden och skötsel av gröna strukturer, invasiva arter som genom verktyget får ett värde, så kallad greenwashing när ekologisk effekt inte uppnås och att verktyget inte är en heltäckande kvalitetssäkring. Möjligheterna inkluderar enkelhet i att förstå och ställa krav, grönområden och exploateringspåverkan blir mätbar, hantering av miljöutmaningar säkerställs och minskade kostnader i tid och pengar. Den nyutvecklade modellen är speciellt anpassad efter Eskilstunas behov. Den innehåller bland annat h

Klimatförändringar, en ökande urbanisering samt en degraderad biologisk mångfald är utmaningar som gör att våra samhällen behöver anpassas och ställa om genom hållbara lösningar. Naturen kan hjälpa oss med flera av dessa utmaningar, tack vare det som kallas ekosystemtjänster (EST). EST är de nyttor, i form av tjänster och produkter, som naturen tillhandahåller människan vilka bidrar till vårt välmående och vår välfärd. Genom att lyfta fram ett EST-perspektiv i planering och beslutsfattande kan hållbara lösningar främjas för att möta framtidens behov, och för detta har miljöbedömningar identifierats som lämpliga verktyg. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur väl ett EST-perspektiv i dagsläget integreras i miljöbedömningar, samt vilka utmaningar och förbättringsmöjligheter det finns för arbetet framgent. Detta har undersökts med konsultens roll i fokus. Metoden har involverat en litteraturstudie, en dokumentgranskning där miljöbedömningar för detaljplan har granskats, samt en mindre intervjustudie. Resultaten tyder på att konsulten har stor möjlighet att initiera ett EST-perspektiv i miljöbedömningar, och eventuellt även ett ansvar. Dock har ett antal utmaningar identifierats som gör att EST-perspektivet till stor del blir projekt- och kundberoende. En första utmaning är att termen ekosystemtjänster inte finns med i lagtext, vilket gör att den generella uppfattningen är att det inte finns tydligt ställda krav på att inkludera EST i miljöbedömningar. Detta gör i sin tur att ett EST-perspektivet sällan efterfrågas, varken av beställare eller Länsstyrelsen. På grund av detta läggs inte tillräckliga resurser på detta arbete. En andra utmaning är att det i dagsläget inte finns något standardiserat arbetssätt för att systematiskt arbeta med EST i miljöbedömningar. Arbetet framgent behöver därför fokusera på att ta fram ett sådant arbetssätt, så att EST kan integreras i miljöbedömningar på ett effektivt och träffsäkert sätt, och därigenom bidra till mervärden för milj, Climate change, an increasing urbanization and a degraded biodiversity are challenges that force our cities to adapt to new conditions, by implementing sustainable solutions. Nature can help us handle these challenges by something called ecosystem services (ES). ES are benefits provided by the ecosystems - through services and products - which contribute to human well-being. By adopting an ES perspective in planning and decision-making we can promote sustainable solutions to meet the future needs. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) have been identified as suitable tools for this. The aim of this study is to examine how well an ES perspective is integrated in environmental assessments today, and to identify challenges and improvements for this work. This has been examined with the role of the consultant in focus. The methods of the study include a literature review, a document analysis where SEAs for detailed development plans are reviewed, and an interview study. The results indicate that the consultant has a large possibility to initiate an ES perspective into the EIA and SEA processes, and possibly also a responsibility of doing so. Furthermore, it has been shown that ES can contribute to added value to the environmental assessments through a holistic perspective. However, several challenges have been identified which makes the ES perspective dependent on the conditions of the project as well as the client’s ambitions. A first challenge is that the term ‘ecosystem service’ is not included in legislation. Because of this ES are seldomly asked for, neither from the clients nor the county administrative board, which are two important actors for setting the scope of the assessment. Consequently, not enough resources are allocated to the work of integrating an ES perspective. Another challenge is that there is no standardized method of systematically implementing an ES perspective into the assessments. Thus, future work n

Healthy soils provide valuable ecosystem services (ES), but soil contamination can inhibit essential soil functions (SF) and pose risks to human health and the environment. A key advantage of using gentle remediation options (GRO) is the potential for multifunctionality: to both manage risks and improve soil functionality. In this study, an accessible, scientific method for soil health assessment directed towards practitioners and decision-makers in contaminated land management was developed and demonstrated for a field experiment at a DDX-contaminated tree nursery site in Sweden to evaluate the relative effects of GRO on soil health (i.e., the ‘current capacity’ to provide ES). For the set of relevant soil quality indicators (SQI) selected using a simplified logical sieve, GRO treatment was observed to have highly significant effects on many SQI according to statistical analysis due to the strong influence of biochar amendment on the sandy soil and positive effects of nitrogen-fixing leguminous plants. The SQI were grouped within five SF and the relative effects on soil health were evaluated compared to a reference state (experimental control) by calculating quantitative treated-SF indices. Multiple GRO treatments are shown to have statistically significant positive effects on many SF, including pollutant attenuation and degradation, water cycling and storage, nutrient cycling and provisioning, and soil structure and maintenance. The SF were in turn linked to soil-based ES to calculate treated-ES indices and an overall soil health index (SHI), which can provide simplified yet valuable information to decision-makers regarding the effectiveness of GRO. The experimental GRO treatment of the legume mix with biochar amendment and grass mix with biochar amendment are shown to result in statistically significant improvements to soil health, with overall SHI values of 141 % and 128 %, respectively, compared to the reference state of the grass mix without biochar (set to 10, This work was supported by Formas (2021-01428), the Swedish Geotechnical Institute's research programme Tuffo (1.1-2014-0303), COWIfonden (C-147.01), the Swedish Geological Survey (3411-821/2021).

Daylight is essential for ecosystems and for the physical and mental well-being of people. In densely populated cities, only a small proportion of total daylight is available to support urban greenery and most people have little daily exposure to natural daylight. Despite this, many cities have followed a strategy of densification as a way of preventing urban sprawl and reducing energy consumption. In this article, we review the biological importance of daylight and show that urban densification leads to a reduction in the daylight available for both people and nature. We conclude that daylight in cities should be treated as a limiting resource that needs to be planned and managed carefully, much like water or energy. We suggest elements for a policy framework aimed at optimizing urban daylight, including how to determine daylight needs, how to determine the maximum viable urban density, and policy options for built and unbuilt areas.

Forests provide a variety of resources and benefits, but only a few, such as timber, are traded on the markets. Ecosystem service valuation is a method for quantifying the non-market benefits of forests to understand the full costs of forest management. This review examines the forest ecosystem service valuations over the past 20 years, with a particular focus on their spatial modeling. The literature review method is designed to provide a systematic, explicit, and reproducible outcome concerning the valuations of forest ecosystem services and the contextual setting of these valuations. The findings suggest that there is a huge variation in the values reported for similar ecosystem services but that carbon sequestration, recreation in forests, and hydrological services, such as watershed protection and flood prevention, are the ecosystem services that are consistently valued highly in the reviewed studies. In the last ten years, studies have more frequently modeled ecosystem services in spatial terms., Validerad;2024;Nivå 2;2024-06-14 (signyg);Full text license: CC BY

Societal Impact Statement Seagrass ecosystems are of fundamental importance to our planet and wellbeing. Seagrasses are marine flowering plants, which engineer ecosystems that provide a multitude of ecosystem services, for example, blue foods and carbon sequestration. Seagrass ecosystems have largely been degraded across much of their global range. There is now increasing interest in the conservation and restoration of these systems, particularly in the context of the climate emergency and the biodiversity crisis. The collation of 100 questions from experts across Europe could, if answered, improve our ability to conserve and restore these systems by facilitating a fundamental shift in the success of such work. Summary Seagrass meadows provide numerous ecosystem services including biodiversity, coastal protection, and carbon sequestration. In Europe, seagrasses can be found in shallow sheltered waters along coastlines, in estuaries & lagoons, and around islands, but their distribution has declined. Factors such as poor water quality, coastal modification, mechanical damage, overfishing, land-sea interactions, climate change and disease have reduced the coverage of Europe’s seagrasses necessitating their recovery. Research, monitoring and conservation efforts on seagrass ecosystems in Europe are mostly uncoordinated and biased towards certain species and regions, resulting in inadequate delivery of critical information for their management. Here, we aim to identify the 100 priority questions, that if addressed would strongly advance seagrass monitoring, research and conservation in Europe. Using a Delphi method, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers with seagrass experience from across Europe and with diverse seagrass expertise participated in the process that involved the formulation of research questions, a voting process and an online workshop to identify the final list of the 100 questions. The final list of questions covers areas across nine themes: B

I den urbaniseringstrend som pågår och ansträngda situation som den moderna människan orsakat, behöver naturen skapa sig ny motståndskraft i tidsepoken antropocen. Om ekonomi och människor ska kunna fortsätta utvecklas behöver hela samhället bli bättre på att förhålla sig inom jordens planetära gränser. I takt med att förtätningar i städer sker riskerar grönområden försvinna eller transformeras till hårdgjorda ytor. Samhället måste ta ett större krafttag eftersom grönstrukturer och ekosystemtjänster bidrar med flera viktiga uppgifter. Förutom att grönområden har betydelse i uppfyllandet av olika klimat- och miljömål inom Agenda 2030, behöver beslutsfattare också utbildas från ett bredare biosfäriskt perspektiv. Om miljöarbetet bromsas upp av en bristfällig stadsplanering på lokal nivå, kan en lösning vara att ta fram olika förbättringsförslag för en grönare stadsplanering. Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur gröna skolgårdar kan bidra till social-ekolgisk resiliens i urbana miljöer, skapa välbefinnande och pedagogiska förtjänster för barn, samt belysa viktiga faktorer som myndigheter, kommuner och stadsplanerare bör beakta vid transformering av en befintlig svensk urban skolgård. Målet med studien har varit att presentera ett gestaltningsförslag, med en typisk svensk urban skolgård som utgångspunkt, utformat mer som ett sammanflätat social-ekologiskt system. Som verktyg för detta ändamål användes ett interaktivt metodupplägg, där kunskap mellan miljövetare och arkitekt integrerades. Genom en fallstudie utförd på Adolf Fredriks musikklassers skolgård i centrala Stockholm visar studien på möjligheten till att skapa nya planeringsstrategier för att barn ska få ett mer kvalitativt utrymme i den urbana miljön. Genom ett litteraturunderlag från tidigare forskning pekar resultat på att ett ökat fokus på ekosystembaserad förvaltning av skolgårdar och ett pedagogiskt lärande utomhus har god potential för att öka välbefinnande hos barn i urbana miljöer. Studiens re, In the ongoing urbanization trend and the strained situation caused by modern man, nature needs to create new resilience in the Anthropocene era. If economy and people are to be able to continue to develop, the earths planetary boundaries need to be taken in consideration by its inhabitants. As urban densification occurs, green areas risk disappearing or being transformed into hard surfaces. Society must therefore take a greater step because green structures and ecosystem services contribute to several important tasks. In addition to the fact that green areas are important in the fulfillment of various climate and environmental goals within Agenda 2030, decisionmakers also need to be educated from the biospheric perspective. If environmental work is slowed down by inadequate urban planning at the local level, a solution may be to develop improvement proposals for a greener urban planning. The purpose of the report is to investigate how green schoolyards can contribute to social-ecological resilience in urban environments, create well-being and educational benefits for children, and highlight factors that authorities, municipalities and urban planners should consider when transforming an existing Swedish urban schoolyard. The goal of the study has been to present a design proposal, with a typical Swedish urban school yard as a starting point, designed more like an intertwined social-ecological system. As a tool for this purpose, an interactive methodology was used, where knowledge between an environmental scientist and architect was integrated. Through a case study carried out at Adolf Fredrik's music class schoolyard in central Stockholm, the study shows the possibility of creating new planning strategies for children to have a more qualitative space in the urban environment. Through a literature from previous research, results indicate that an increased focus on ecosystem-based management of schoolyards and pedagogical learning outdoors has good potential for inc

Societal Impact Statement Seagrass ecosystems are of fundamental importance to our planet and wellbeing. Seagrasses are marine flowering plants, which engineer ecosystems that provide a multitude of ecosystem services, for example, blue foods and carbon sequestration. Seagrass ecosystems have largely been degraded across much of their global range. There is now increasing interest in the conservation and restoration of these systems, particularly in the context of the climate emergency and the biodiversity crisis. The collation of 100 questions from experts across Europe could, if answered, improve our ability to conserve and restore these systems by facilitating a fundamental shift in the success of such work. Summary Seagrass meadows provide numerous ecosystem services including biodiversity, coastal protection, and carbon sequestration. In Europe, seagrasses can be found in shallow sheltered waters along coastlines, in estuaries & lagoons, and around islands, but their distribution has declined. Factors such as poor water quality, coastal modification, mechanical damage, overfishing, land-sea interactions, climate change and disease have reduced the coverage of Europe’s seagrasses necessitating their recovery. Research, monitoring and conservation efforts on seagrass ecosystems in Europe are mostly uncoordinated and biased towards certain species and regions, resulting in inadequate delivery of critical information for their management. Here, we aim to identify the 100 priority questions, that if addressed would strongly advance seagrass monitoring, research and conservation in Europe. Using a Delphi method, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers with seagrass experience from across Europe and with diverse seagrass expertise participated in the process that involved the formulation of research questions, a voting process and an online workshop to identify the final list of the 100 questions. The final list of questions covers areas across nine themes: B