Assessment of changes in ecosystem service delivery – a historical perspective on catchment landscapes

Abstract

Although the relationships between habitats and ecosystem services (ESs) have been acknowledged, investigating spatio-temporal change in these has received far less attention. This study assesses the influence of habitat changes on ES delivery across space and time, based on two time points some 60 years apart, 1946 and 2009. A 1946 aerial photo coverage of two catchments in Scotland was used to construct digital photo mosaics which were then visually interpreted and digitised to derive historic habitat maps. Using the Spatial Evidence for Natural Capital Evaluation (SENCE) mapping approach, the derived habitat maps were translated into ES maps. These were then compared with contemporary ES maps of the two catchments, using the same mapping methodology. Increases in provisioning ESs were associated with increases in intensively managed habitats, with reductions in supply capacity of other regulating and supporting ESs associated with loss of semi-natural habitats. ES delivery was affected not only by gross area changes in habitats over time, but also by changes in configuration and spatial distribution of constituent habitats, including fragmentation and connectivity. It is argued that understanding historic changes in ESs adds an important strand in providing baselines to inform options for current and future management of catchments. ARTICLE HISTORY

Ecosystem services bundles: challenges and opportunities for implementation and further research

“…This specialisation of production is a factor which contributed to shaping the bundles in the study region. In a study of historical change in the agricultural landscape in the Scottish Borders, Ncube et al (2018) similarly showed that changes in ecosystem services between time periods 60 years apart reflected changes in agriculture policy leading to concurrent switches in service provision between competing regulating and provisioning services (Ncube et al (2018)).…”

Does agricultural intensification cause tipping points in ecosystem services?

“…Relatively few other studies have examined the temporal dynamics of ES provision ; examples include Renard et al (2015) in Ncube et al (2018) in southern Scotland. In the former study, spanning 35 years, Renard et al (2015) found that provision of most ES increased through time, although the rate of increase varied spatially.…”

Natural flood management, lag time and catchment scale: Results from an empirical nested catchment study

“…Soils on steeper hillsides are typically freely‐draining brown soils but towards the base of the hillslopes and in the west soils comprise sequences of gleyed clays and peats, or alluvial deposits closer to the river (Soil Survey of Scotland Staff, 1970). Upstream of Peebles (Figure 1) the catchment is entirely rural and agriculture is dominated by sheep grazing on improved and semi‐improved grassland (Ncube, Spray, & Geddes, 2018), with plantation forestry above 300 m OD in much of the western catchment, covering up to 70% of some smaller catchments. The catchment has undergone extensive human‐induced changes over the last 500 years including deforestation, land drainage, river straightening and afforestation (Harrison, 2012).…”