Dataset Information

Bayesian Belief Network-based assessment of nutrient regulating ecosystem services in Northern Germany.

ABSTRACT: This study aims to assess the potential supply of the ecosystem service (ES) nutrient regulation on two spatial scales, the federal German state of Schleswig-Holstein (regional) and the Bornhöved Lakes District (local), exemplarily for the nutrient nitrogen. The methodology was developed using the ES matrix approach, which can be applied to evaluate and map ES at different geospatial units such as land use/land cover classes. A Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) was constructed in order to include additional spatial information on environmental characteristics in the assessment. The integration of additional data, which describes site-specific characteristics such as soil type and slope, resulted in shifted probability distributions for the nutrient regulation ES potential. The focal objective of the study was of methodological nature: to test the application of a BBN as an integrative modelling approach combining the information from the ES matrix with additional data sets. In the process, both study areas were assessed with a regional differentiation with regard to the predominant landscape types. For both study areas, regional differences could be detected. Furthermore, the results indicate a spatial mismatch between ES demand and supply of the nutrient regulation potential. Land management and agricultural practices seem not to be in harmony with the spatial patterns of the environmental characteristics in the study areas. The assessment on the local scale, which comprised higher resolution input data, emphasized these circumstances even more clearly.

SUBMITTER: Bicking S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6490909 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Bayesian Belief Network-based assessment of nutrient regulating ecosystem services in Northern Germany.

Bicking Sabine S Burkhard Benjamin B Kruse Marion M Müller Felix F

PloS one 20190430 4

This study aims to assess the potential supply of the ecosystem service (ES) nutrient regulation on two spatial scales, the federal German state of Schleswig-Holstein (regional) and the Bornhöved Lakes District (local), exemplarily for the nutrient nitrogen. The methodology was developed using the ES matrix approach, which can be applied to evaluate and map ES at different geospatial units such as land use/land cover classes. A Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) was constructed in order to include ad ...[more]

PMID: 31039186

Similar Datasets

Project description:Ecosystems provide multiple services that are necessary to maintain human life. Agroecosystems are very productive suppliers of biomass-related provisioning ecosystem services, e.g. food, fibre, and energy. At the same time, they are highly dependent on good ecosystem condition and regulating ecosystem services such as soil fertility, water supply or soil erosion regulation. Assessments of this interplay of ecosystem condition and services are needed to understand the relationships in highly managed systems. Therefore, the aim of this study is twofold: First, to test the concept and indicators proposed by the European Union Working Group on Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES) for assessing agroecosystem condition at a regional level. Second, to identify the relationships between ecosystem condition and the delivery of ecosystem services. For this purpose, we applied an operational framework for integrated mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services. We used the proposed indicators to assess the condition of agroecosystems in Northern Germany and regulating ecosystem service control of erosion rates. We used existing data from official databases to calculate the different indicators and created maps of environmental pressures, ecosystem condition and ecosystem service indicators for the Federal State of Lower Saxony. Furthermore, we identified areas within the state where pressures are high, conditions are unfavourable, and more sustainable management practices are needed. Despite the limitations of the indicators and data availability, our results show positive, negative, and no significant correlations between the different pressures and condition indicators, and the control of erosion rates. The idea behind the MAES framework is to indicate the general condition of an ecosystem. However, we observed that not all proposed indicators can explain to what extent ecosystems can provide specific ecosystem services. Further research on other ecosystem services provided by agroecosystems would help to identify synergies and trade-offs. Moreover, the definition of a reference condition, although complicated for anthropogenically highly modified agroecosystems, would provide a benchmark to compare information on the condition of the ecosystems, leading to better land use policy and management decisions.

Dataset Information

Bayesian Belief Network-based assessment of nutrient regulating ecosystem services in Northern Germany.

Publications

Bayesian Belief Network-based assessment of nutrient regulating ecosystem services in Northern Germany.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets