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Ecosystem Services in Temperate Rainforests of the Pacific Northwest, USA ⇑ Patric Brandt A,B, , David J

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Ecosystem Services in Temperate Rainforests of the Pacific Northwest, USA ⇑ Patric Brandt A,B, , David J Biological Conservation 169 (2014) 362–371 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Biological Conservation journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/biocon Multifunctionality and biodiversity: Ecosystem services in temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest, USA ⇑ Patric Brandt a,b, , David J. Abson c, Dominick A. DellaSala d, Robert Feller b, Henrik von Wehrden b,c a Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute of Meteorology and Climate - Atmospheric Environmental Research, Kreuzeckbahnstraße 19, 82467 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany b Leuphana University Lüneburg, Centre for Methods & Institute of Ecology, Faculty of Sustainability, Scharnhorststr. 1, 21335 Lüneburg, Germany c Leuphana University Lüneburg, FuturES Research Center, Scharnhorststr. 1, 21335 Lüneburg, Germany d Geos Institute, 84-4th St., Ashland, OR 97520, USA article info abstract Article history: Forests produce a myriad of ecosystem related benefits known as ecosystem services. Maximizing the Received 1 August 2013 provision of single goods may lead to the overexploitation of ecosystems that negatively affects biodiver- Received in revised form 30 October 2013 sity and causes ecosystem degradation. We analyzed the temperate rainforest region of the Pacific North- Accepted 2 December 2013 west, which offers a multitude of ecosystem services and harbors unique biodiversity, to investigate Available online xxxx linkages and trade-offs between ecosystem services and biodiversity. We mapped nine actual and poten- tial ecosystem services, grouped into provision, supporting, regulating and cultural ecosystem service Keywords: categories, as well as species richness of four taxonomic groups (mammals, birds, trees, and amphibians). Biodiversity conservation We analyzed linkages and tradeoffs between ecosystem services, their overall diversity, and species rich- Ecosystem management Ecosystem service diversity ness as well as different levels of taxon diversity. We also tested if ecosystem service categories, in addi- Multifunctional ecosystems tion to climate and land cover parameters, could indicate species richness. We found significant positive Temperate rainforests linkages between ecosystem service diversity and species richness of all considered taxa. The provision of the majority of ecosystem services was higher in areas of high taxon diversity, indicating both positive relationships and slight trade-offs in maximizing single ecosystem services. In general, ecosystem service categories were a comparable indicator of species richness as climate. Our findings show that multifunc- tionality largely coincides with high levels of biodiversity within the study region. Hence, an integrative ecosystem management approach that incorporates ecosystem services and biodiversity concerns is needed to both provide diverse ecosystem benefits and conserve biological diversity. Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction is seen as essential requirement for the provisioning of ecosystem services (Diaz et al., 2006). Here it should be noted that as well as Ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation have become an instrumental value related to the provision of ecosystem ser- the two dominant, and potentially conflicting (Bullock et al., 2011; vices, the conservation of biodiversity is also a normative goal in Marrs et al., 2007; McShane et al., 2011) management aims in its own right (Mace et al., 2012). Biodiversity conservation is there- conservation science during the last decades. Ecosystem services fore not solely contingent on the instrumental contribution to hu- are the numerous benefits people directly or indirectly appropriate man well-being it may provide. from the functioning of ecological systems and provide the founda- The increasing number of studies on the functional relation- tions for human well-being (Daily, 1997; Nelson et al., 2009). The ships between biodiversity and ecosystem services reveal mostly ecosystem services concept combines resource use, ecosystem positive patterns (Gamfeldt et al., 2013; Hector and Bagchi, 2007; management – including adaptation to impacts of driving forces Maskell et al., 2013). However, many of these diversity-ecosystem such as land use and climate change – and the valuation of nature services studies focus on a single facet of diversity such as one spe- (Maskell et al., 2013), making it a key concept that bridges social cies group and a single ecosystem service, such as primary produc- and ecological systems (Carpenter et al., 2009). Biodiversity is vital tivity (Costanza et al., 2007), pest control (Simon et al., 2010)or for maintaining ecosystem processes and functioning (Duffy, 2009; agricultural yields (Di Falco and Chavas, 2006). Managing an Hector and Bagchi, 2007). Its loss has been shown to cause ecosystem for a single ecosystem service is potentially problematic ecosystem degradation (Hooper et al., 2012). Hence, biodiversity as it may result in trade-offs in terms of associated biodiversity (Ingram et al., 2012; Ridder, 2008; Rodriguez et al., 2006) and thereby compromises conservation efforts. The interplay between ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +49 4131 677 1571. the provision of multiple ecosystem services and biodiversity E-mail address: [email protected] (P. Brandt). 0006-3207/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2013.12.003 P. Brandt et al. / Biological Conservation 169 (2014) 362–371 363 represents an important knowledge gap (Geijzendorffer and Roche, (i.e. the direct quantification of services) from physically appropri- 2013; Sircely and Naeem, 2012), potentially limiting our ability to ated goods such as timber must be related to how those physical effectively manage multifunctional landscapes for both ecosystem goods contribute to human well-being (Fischer et al., 2009). Given services provision and biodiversity conservation. the importance of both the actual appropriation and the potential In this regard, it becomes vital to analyze ecosystems that are capacity to supply ecosystem services and the difficulty in directly managed for diverse societal needs. Multifunctional ecosystems of- and accurately quantifying multiple ecosystem services across fer several services simultaneously to satisfy social, cultural, eco- large spatial and temporal extents, we focus on the mapping of nomic and environmental demands (O’Farrell et al., 2010). Hence, proxy datasets that indicate nine important potential and actual a diverse set of ecosystem services needs to be considered when ecosystem services within the temperate rainforest region of the assessing the relations between biodiversity conservation and eco- Pacific Northwest. The following proxy data for ecosystem services system service provision in multifunctional ecosystems (Chan were modeled: timber harvest, salmon abundance, deer hunting, et al., 2006; Tallis and Polasky, 2009). This includes services that net primary productivity, carbon storage in vegetation, organic cannot be straightforwardly linked to specific ecosystem functions matter in soil, forest importance for drinking water supply, land- such as cultural services (Hernandez-Morcillo et al., 2013). Poten- scape aesthetics, and park visitation. These proxies for ecosystem tial synergies between ecosystem services and biodiversity are ex- services were grouped into the MA categories of provision, sup- pected, though they might vary across ecosystems and depend on porting, regulating, and cultural ecosystem services (MA, 2005). the specific ecosystem services and aspects of biodiversity taken Biodiversity was quantified in terms of spatially explicit species into consideration (Mace et al., 2012). richness data for higher taxa, including mammals, birds, trees Forests are of immense global importance in delivering a myr- and amphibians. Diversity metrics were derived for ecosystem ser- iad of benefits to humanity (Bonan, 2008; FAO, 2010; Schwenk vices and the higher taxa. Subsequently, we computed univariate et al., 2012). In particular, temperate rainforests represent an eco- models to reveal the patterns between ecosystem service diversity logically complex, unique ecosystem with high biodiversity impor- and species richness. Potential and actual ecosystem services and tance, subjected to multiple human demands. We analyzed a their diversity were linked to the higher taxon diversity. Multivar- region along the Pacific coastline of North America harboring the iate direct gradient analyses were performed to assess if the MA world’s largest remaining extents of temperate rainforests ecosystem service categories are able to indicate species richness (DellaSala, 2011). While currently offering a broad range of goods in interaction with and untangled from environmental variables and services such as salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.), timber, water such as climate and land cover. regulation and recreation, these rainforests are threatened by climate and land use changes (DellaSala, 2011; Fitzgerald et al., 2. Materials and methods 2011). We addressed three key questions to investigate linkages and 2.1. Study area trade-offs between ecosystem services and biodiversity across the temperate rainforest region of the Pacific Northwest: (1) How The study area was based on the original coastal temperate is ecosystem service diversity related to species richness across dif- rainforest extent of the Pacific Northwest region (DellaSala, 2011) ferent taxonomic groups? (2) How are ecosystem services and that shows an overall high proportion of forest
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