Increased anthropogenic pressures on the marine environment and multiple use conflicts have led t... more Increased anthropogenic pressures on the marine environment and multiple use conflicts have led to a worldwide interest in spatial planning with particular emphasis placed upon innovative, holistic approaches to management such as Ecosystem-Based Marine Spatial Planning (EB-MSP). It is important to remember that we can only plan and manage human activities in marine areas, not marine ecosystems or ecosystem components (Ehler & Douvere, 2009). Solid and meaningful biological and ecological information is as such needed to inform and underpin sustainable management approaches. Coastal planners and marine resource managers have used various tools for assessing the biological value of the marine environment in the past. These approaches vary in information content, scientific rigor and the level of technology used (Derous et al., 2007a & b).
Demonstrating economic benefits generated by protected areas is often pointed out as pivotal for ... more Demonstrating economic benefits generated by protected areas is often pointed out as pivotal for supporting decision-making. We argue in this paper that the concept of ecosystem services (ES), defined as the benefits humans derive from ecosystems, provides a consistent framework to approach this issue as it links ecosystem functioning and benefits, including benefits with economic value. This study aimed at providing evidence on how to bring the economic value of protected areas to the decision-making process and contributing to extend current EU Member…
The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2020 was a driving force behind spatially explicit quantificatio... more The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2020 was a driving force behind spatially explicit quantifications of Ecosystem Services (ES) in Europe. In Portugal, the MAES initiative (ptMAES–Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystem and their Services) was conducted in 2014 to address Target 2 (Action 5) of the Strategy, namely mapping and assessing ecosystems, ecosystems’ condition (EC), and ES. In this study covering the NUTS II Alentejo region, EC was assessed and mapped based on four indicators (soil organic matter, plant and bird diversity, and ecological value of plant communities) and five ES were assessed and mapped (soil protection, carbon sequestration, and fiber/crop/livestock production). Assessments were performed under a multi-tiered approach, ranging from spatialization of statistical data to analytical modeling, based on the most detailed land-use/land-cover cartography available. In this paper, we detail the methodological and analytical framework applied in ptMAES and present its ma...
Increased anthropogenic pressures on the marine environment and multiple use conflicts have led t... more Increased anthropogenic pressures on the marine environment and multiple use conflicts have led to a worldwide interest in spatial planning with particular emphasis placed upon innovative, holistic approaches to management such as Ecosystem-Based Marine Spatial Planning (EB-MSP). It is important to remember that we can only plan and manage human activities in marine areas, not marine ecosystems or ecosystem components (Ehler & Douvere, 2009). Solid and meaningful biological and ecological information is as such needed to inform and underpin sustainable management approaches. Coastal planners and marine resource managers have used various tools for assessing the biological value of the marine environment in the past. These approaches vary in information content, scientific rigor and the level of technology used (Derous et al., 2007a & b).
Demonstrating economic benefits generated by protected areas is often pointed out as pivotal for ... more Demonstrating economic benefits generated by protected areas is often pointed out as pivotal for supporting decision-making. We argue in this paper that the concept of ecosystem services (ES), defined as the benefits humans derive from ecosystems, provides a consistent framework to approach this issue as it links ecosystem functioning and benefits, including benefits with economic value. This study aimed at providing evidence on how to bring the economic value of protected areas to the decision-making process and contributing to extend current EU Member…
The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2020 was a driving force behind spatially explicit quantificatio... more The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2020 was a driving force behind spatially explicit quantifications of Ecosystem Services (ES) in Europe. In Portugal, the MAES initiative (ptMAES–Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystem and their Services) was conducted in 2014 to address Target 2 (Action 5) of the Strategy, namely mapping and assessing ecosystems, ecosystems’ condition (EC), and ES. In this study covering the NUTS II Alentejo region, EC was assessed and mapped based on four indicators (soil organic matter, plant and bird diversity, and ecological value of plant communities) and five ES were assessed and mapped (soil protection, carbon sequestration, and fiber/crop/livestock production). Assessments were performed under a multi-tiered approach, ranging from spatialization of statistical data to analytical modeling, based on the most detailed land-use/land-cover cartography available. In this paper, we detail the methodological and analytical framework applied in ptMAES and present its ma...
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