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The impact of proxy-based methods on mapping the distribution of ecosystem services

The impact of proxy-based methods on mapping the distribution of ecosystem services
The impact of proxy-based methods on mapping the distribution of ecosystem services
An increasing number of studies are examining the distribution and congruence of ecosystem services, often with the goal of identifying areas that will provide multiple ecosystem service 'hotspots'. However, there is a paucity of data on most ecosystem services, so proxies (e.g. estimates of a service for a particular land cover type) are frequently used to map their distribution. To date, there has been little attempt to quantify the effects of using proxies on distribution maps of ecosystem services, despite the potentially large errors associated with such data sets. 2. Here, we provide the first study examining the effects of using proxies on ecosystem service maps and the degree of spatial congruence of these maps with primary data, using England as a case study. 3. We show that land cover based proxies provide a poor fit to primary data surfaces for biodiversity, recreation and carbon storage, and that correlations between ecosystem services change depending on whether primary or proxy data are used for the analyses. 4. The poor fit of proxies to primary data was also evident when we selected hotspots of single ecosystem services, and consistency between raw and modelled surfaces was extremely low when considering the locations that were coincident hotspots for multiple services. 5. Synthesis and applications. Proxies may be suitable for identifying broad-scale trends in ecosystem services, but even relatively good proxies are likely to be unsuitable for identifying hotspots or priority areas for multiple services
biodiversity, carbon, conservation planning, ecosystem services, england, gis, hotspots, natural capital assets, recreation, spatial value transfer
377-385
Eigenbrod, Felix
43efc6ae-b129-45a2-8a34-e489b5f05827
Armsworth, Paul R.
b139013b-4201-4c71-804f-b3f9c01316b3
Anderson, Barbara J.
9cda6238-a0dc-4fad-b3a8-7849ba033766
Heinemeyer, Andreas
4014ceb3-f411-42fc-8251-99c4a608eb7e
Gillings, Simon
a3908516-53f4-41f2-9f9d-d20137044f79
Roy, David B.
75efe5f9-82d3-42c6-bfbb-1c3997dc1221
Thomas, Chris D.
bbcfba65-4f02-4a50-9a9e-04b8e046671d
Gaston, Kevin J.
8d5f7517-9d47-442a-a11c-1a53304041e3
Eigenbrod, Felix
43efc6ae-b129-45a2-8a34-e489b5f05827
Armsworth, Paul R.
b139013b-4201-4c71-804f-b3f9c01316b3
Anderson, Barbara J.
9cda6238-a0dc-4fad-b3a8-7849ba033766
Heinemeyer, Andreas
4014ceb3-f411-42fc-8251-99c4a608eb7e
Gillings, Simon
a3908516-53f4-41f2-9f9d-d20137044f79
Roy, David B.
75efe5f9-82d3-42c6-bfbb-1c3997dc1221
Thomas, Chris D.
bbcfba65-4f02-4a50-9a9e-04b8e046671d
Gaston, Kevin J.
8d5f7517-9d47-442a-a11c-1a53304041e3

Eigenbrod, Felix, Armsworth, Paul R., Anderson, Barbara J., Heinemeyer, Andreas, Gillings, Simon, Roy, David B., Thomas, Chris D. and Gaston, Kevin J. (2010) The impact of proxy-based methods on mapping the distribution of ecosystem services. Journal of Applied Ecology, 47 (2), 377-385. (doi:10.1111/j.1365-2664.2010.01777.x).

Record type: Article

Abstract

An increasing number of studies are examining the distribution and congruence of ecosystem services, often with the goal of identifying areas that will provide multiple ecosystem service 'hotspots'. However, there is a paucity of data on most ecosystem services, so proxies (e.g. estimates of a service for a particular land cover type) are frequently used to map their distribution. To date, there has been little attempt to quantify the effects of using proxies on distribution maps of ecosystem services, despite the potentially large errors associated with such data sets. 2. Here, we provide the first study examining the effects of using proxies on ecosystem service maps and the degree of spatial congruence of these maps with primary data, using England as a case study. 3. We show that land cover based proxies provide a poor fit to primary data surfaces for biodiversity, recreation and carbon storage, and that correlations between ecosystem services change depending on whether primary or proxy data are used for the analyses. 4. The poor fit of proxies to primary data was also evident when we selected hotspots of single ecosystem services, and consistency between raw and modelled surfaces was extremely low when considering the locations that were coincident hotspots for multiple services. 5. Synthesis and applications. Proxies may be suitable for identifying broad-scale trends in ecosystem services, but even relatively good proxies are likely to be unsuitable for identifying hotspots or priority areas for multiple services

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Published date: April 2010
Keywords: biodiversity, carbon, conservation planning, ecosystem services, england, gis, hotspots, natural capital assets, recreation, spatial value transfer
Organisations: Biological Sciences

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Local EPrints ID: 181353
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/181353
PURE UUID: 127ee4f7-6f3e-480e-87ad-9b6498d54680
ORCID for Felix Eigenbrod: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-8982-824X

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Date deposited: 18 Apr 2011 10:38
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:56

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Contributors

Author: Felix Eigenbrod ORCID iD
Author: Paul R. Armsworth
Author: Barbara J. Anderson
Author: Andreas Heinemeyer
Author: Simon Gillings
Author: David B. Roy
Author: Chris D. Thomas
Author: Kevin J. Gaston

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