Trade‐offs and synergies in a payment‐for‐ecosystem services program on ranchlands in the Everglades headwaters

Abstract

Increasingly, agriculture is recognized as valuable not only for food production, but also for regulating and supporting ecosystem services such as those encompassing biodiversity and water. Various government programs provide incentives to farmers and ranchers to maintain ecosystem services, with an emerging focus on payment‐for‐ecosystem services (PES) programs. However, interactions among ecosystem services, including synergies or trade‐offs, at spatial scales relevant to land managers are not well understood. Here, we examined how a PES program for enhanced water retention on subtropical ranchlands in the headwaters of the Everglades affected seven indicators of ecosystem services and three indicators of disservices within wetlands (local scale) and among wetlands (wetland scale) at four different ranches. We used general linear mixed models and model selection to evaluate the feasibility of explicit, a priori hypotheses using data from 15 wetlands sampled across four participating ranches. Our study indicated that managing for increased water retention could result in both synergies and trade‐offs among ecosystem services. Higher water retention increased wetland plants at both local and wetland scales and was associated with reduced mosquitoes. Trade‐offs included significant declines in forage plant cover and decreases in amphibian abundance with higher water retention. Unimodal non‐linear relationships described responses of macroinvertebrates, fish, mosquito, and non‐native plant abundance to increasing water retention. These complex relationships indicate that optimizing water retention, provisioning services, and wetland biodiversity in ranchlands may not be straightforward. Unimodal non‐linear relationships among water retention and biodiversity suggest there is a threshold of water retention that represents a trade‐off for also maintaining biodiversity. Land use was an important driver of ecosystem disservices, with more intensely managed ranches having a greater potential for ecosystem disservices such as increased cover of non‐native plants, abundant mosquitoes, and lower amphibian abundance. Multidisciplinary collaboration was required to design, implement, monitor, and assess this PES program for trade‐offs and synergies.

A framework for sustainable management of ecosystem services and disservices in perennial grassland agroecosystems

“…For example, in the Midwestern United States, Werling et al ( 2014) reported significantly higher plant and predatory arthropod richness in native prairies compared to adjacent cultivated monoculture. Boughton et al (2019) showed that more intensely managed ranches had a greater potential for ecosystem disservices in the context of wetland restoration projects such as increased cover of non-native plants, abundant mosquitoes, and lower amphibian abundance. Furthermore, native perennial grasslands preserve plant genetic diversity by harboring unique seed banks (Minns et al 2001), and species genetic diversity is key for adaptation to adverse environments and increased resistance to pests and diseases (Zhang et al 2007).…”

Long term agroecosystem research experimental watershed network

“…(Bohlen et al, 2009; Bohlen & Villapando, 2011; Boughton et al, 2019; Capece et al, 2007; Chamberlain et al, 2017; Gomez‐Casanovas et al, 2020; Jansen et al, 2019; Silveira et al, 2011; Sonnier et al, 2018; Zielinski et al, 2006)…”

Grassland intensification effects cascade to alter multifunctionality of wetlands within metaecosystems

“…For example, some grassland management such as patch-burn grazing can improve nutrient-use efficiency and forage quality 66 , 71 , which may reduce reliance on costly fertilizer inputs and ameliorate nutrient loads flowing to embedded wetlands. Payment for ecosystem services could also shift incentives toward hydrological and nutrient retention in the connected wetlands, and foster best management practices (e.g., buffer strips) to offset regional effects of grassland intensification 72 .…”