A national scale web mapping platform for mainstreaming ecosystem services in Greece

Mallinis, Giorgos; Chalkidou, Sevasti; Roustanis, Themistoklis; Kokkoris, Ioannis P.; Chrysafis, Irene; Karolos, Ion-Anastasios; Vagiona, Dimitra; Kavvadia, Alexandra; Dimopoulos, Panayotis; Mitsopoulos, Ioannis

doi:10.1016/j.ecoinf.2023.102349

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…The study findings also support the ongoing efforts for MAES implementation in the EU and Greece, providing a concrete methodological procedure for mapping and assessing the national MAES indicators IB2 (Floristic diversity) and IB3 (Micro-refugia of floristic and endemic diversity) and providing robust input for developing a new indicator for the "Food, material and energy" group, with the name "MAPs", following [104]. Our results are also spatially explicit and ready to use and can be directly integrated into the open access, participatory, and web GIS (ppGIS/webGIS) platform of the LIFE-IP 4 NATURA project (this project is the recipient of the largest nature-focused funding scheme for Greece ever sanctioned by the European Commission), led by the Ministry of Environment and Energy [253]. Thus, our findings can be directly applied to the decision-making process, especially for the management and policymaking of Natura 2000 protected areas.…”

Section: Policy Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 91%

Assessing the Vulnerability of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants to Climate and Land-Use Changes in a Mediterranean Biodiversity Hotspot

Kougioumoutzis,

Tsakiri,

Kokkoris

et al. 2024

Land

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Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs) play a critical role in providing ecosystem services through their provision of herbal remedies, food and natural skin care products, their integration into local economies, and maintaining pollinators’ diversity and populations and ecosystem functioning. Mountainous regions, such as Chelmos-Vouraikos National Park (CVNP), represent unique reservoirs of endemic MAP diversity that require conservation prioritisation. This study aims to provide insights into the sustainable management of MAPs, contributing to efforts to protect Mediterranean biodiversity amid the dual challenges of climate and land-use change, using a suite of macroecological modelling techniques. Following a Species Distribution Modelling framework, we investigated the vulnerability of endemic and non-endemic MAPs to climate and land-use changes. We examined the potential shifts in MAP diversity, distribution, and conservation hotspots within the CVNP. Our results revealed species-specific responses, with endemic taxa facing severe range contractions and non-endemic taxa initially expanding but eventually declining, particularly under land-use change scenarios. Local biodiversity hotspots are projected to shift altitudinally, with considerable area losses in the coming decades and elevated species turnover predicted throughout the CVNP, leading to biotic homogenization. Climate and land-use changes jointly threaten MAP diversity, calling for adaptive conservation strategies, thus highlighting the importance of proactive measures, such as awareness raising, establishing plant micro-reserves, assisted translocation, and promoting sustainable harvesting to protect these species within the CVNP. Our study offers vital insights for managing biodiversity hotspots amid global change pressures, stressing the need to integrate ecological and socioeconomic factors.

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Section: Policy Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 91%

Assessing the Vulnerability of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants to Climate and Land-Use Changes in a Mediterranean Biodiversity Hotspot

Kougioumoutzis,

Tsakiri,

Kokkoris

et al. 2024

Land

Self Cite

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“…This is similar to the method of comprehensive analysis using multi-source data in the existing literature. Recently, Mallinis et al used WebGIS technology to build a visual platform that integrates thematic data of all available ecosystem types, ecosystem ranges, ecosystem conditions, ecosystem services and other information to help decision makers conduct overall assessment and comprehensive analysis of ecosystems [67]. Similarly, Yao et al demonstrated a variety of data such as locust spatial data, field survey data, control data, and meteorological data in the locust decision support system, which is helpful for users to fully understand the occurrence of locust disasters and make decisions [18].…”

Section: The Synergy Of Multi-source Environmental Variables In Webgi...mentioning

confidence: 99%

A WebGIS-Based System for Supporting Saline–Alkali Soil Ecological Monitoring: A Case Study in Yellow River Delta, China

Song,

Pan,

Xiang

et al. 2024

Remote Sensing

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The monitoring and evaluation of soil ecological environment is very important to ensure the saline-alkali soil health and the safety of agricultural products. It is of foremost importance to, within a regional ecological risk-reduction strategy, develop a useful online system for soil ecological assessment and prediction to prevent people from suffering the threat of sudden disasters. However, the traditional manual or empirical parameter adjustment causes the mismatch of the hyperparameters of the model, which cannot meet the urgent needs of high-performance prediction of soil properties using multi-dimensional data in WebGIS system. For the end, this study aims to develop a saline-alkali soil ecological monitoring system for real-time monitoring of soil ecology in the Yellow River Delta, China. The system applied advanced web-based GIS, including front-end and back-end technology stack, cross-platform deployment of machine learning models, and a database embedded in multi-source environmental variables. The system adopts a five-layer architecture and integrates functions such as data statistical analysis, soil health assessment, soil salt prediction and data management. The system visually displays the statistical results of air quality, vegetation index and soil properties in the study area. It provides users with ecological risk assessment functions to analyze soil heavy metal pollution. Specially, the system introduces a tree structured Parzan estimator (TPE) optimized machine learning model to achieve accurate prediction of soil salinity. The TPE-RF model had the highest prediction accuracy (R2 = 94.48%) in the testing set in comparison with the TPE-GBDT model, which exhibited the strong ability for the nonlinear relationship between environmental variables and soil salinity. The system developed in this study can provide accurate saline-alkali soil information and health assessment results for government agencies and farmers, which is of great significance for agricultural production and saline-alkali soil ecological protection.

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Mapping and Assessing Cultural Ecosystem Services to Inform Maritime Spatial Planning: A Systematic Review

Banela,

Kyvelou,

Kitsiou

2024

Heritage

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Socio-cultural dimensions and values in maritime spatial planning (MSP) are gaining momentum worldwide and especially in the European Union (EU), since it is acknowledged that they are the “missing layer” of maritime spatial plans (MSPlans). These values are partly explored through cultural ecosystem services (CES). Coastal and marine CES refer to the benefits that humans derive from the coastal and marine environments in recreational, artistic, spiritual, and educational terms. They reflect the ways in which coastal and marine ecosystems contribute to human well-being, cultural identity, and interactions with nature. The research question is how to map and assess coastal/marine ecosystem services and to integrate them in the MSPlans. Thus, this systematic review sheds light on methodological and technical issues with CES mapping and assessment and provides guidance on how to incorporate CES in MSP for future research. Publications dealing with the spatial aspects of CES were examined with an extra focus on participatory mapping approaches. Initially, 199 articles were identified, and 50 articles were ultimately eligible for the analysis. Papers were concentrated in the European Atlantic, whilst their scope was either local or regional. A large number of articles consider the contribution of CES to efficient marine management rather than to achieving an integrated and coordinated MSP. Social and mixed mapping approaches were met with the most often, especially participatory mapping approaches. Also, non-monetary valuation was prevailing, and a multitude of techniques, tools, and statistical software were used. In most of the cases, the distribution of values in relation to environmental, socio-economic, and demographic factors was examined. This article concludes that an effective integration of CES into MSP is crucial for creating prospects of a more sustainable and inclusive approach to coastal/marine planning and for the well-being of ecosystems and communities both currently and for future generations. This knowledge should become “property” of the maritime spatial planners.

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A national scale web mapping platform for mainstreaming ecosystem services in Greece

Cited by 3 publications

References 60 publications

Assessing the Vulnerability of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants to Climate and Land-Use Changes in a Mediterranean Biodiversity Hotspot

Assessing the Vulnerability of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants to Climate and Land-Use Changes in a Mediterranean Biodiversity Hotspot

A WebGIS-Based System for Supporting Saline–Alkali Soil Ecological Monitoring: A Case Study in Yellow River Delta, China

Mapping and Assessing Cultural Ecosystem Services to Inform Maritime Spatial Planning: A Systematic Review

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