Trade-offs in Wetland Ecosystem Services in Working Landscapes Identification, spatial scale, and management implications

Transcription

1 Trade-offs in Wetland Ecosystem Services in Working Landscapes Identification, spatial scale, and management implications Elizabeth Boughton and Hilary Swain MacArthur Agro-ecology Research Center

2 Wetland Ecosystem Services in Working Landscapes Part I Wetlands in working landscapes Trade-offs in ecosystem services Introduction of session speakers Part II Spatial trade-offs Key future directions

3 HIGH MANAGEMENT LEVEL (LABOR, ENERGY, FERTILIZER, PESTICIDES) NONE COARSE-GRAINED STATIC HOMOGENEOUS LANDSCAPE COMPOSITION FINE-GRAINED DYNAMIC HETEROGENEOUS INTENSIVE CROP SYSTEMS ANIMAL CONFINEMENT SYSTEMS TREE PLANTATIONS ANIMAL GRAZING SYSTEMS NATIONAL FOREST From Krummel and Dyer, 1984 WILDERNESS

4 Wetland ES in working landscapes Wetland Ecosystem Service Wetland Ecosystem Function Service Classification Scale of influence/benefit Irrigation Water storage Provisioning Local Forage yield of wetland species Plant community Provisioning Local Flood amelioration Water Storage Regulating Local/regional Nutrient Retention Plant and soil Regulating Local/regional community Climate regulation Water Storage Regulating Local/regional Disease regulation Predator community Regulating Local/regional Primary production Plant and soil Supporting Local/regional community Biodiversity and Food web support Ecological community Cultural Local

5 Policy Landowner desires Diane DeSteven Chip Euliss Sanjay Shukla Wetland Ecosystem Services Economic Local Ecosystem Jos Verhoeven Filter Nutrients Patrick Bohlen Water Storage Biodiversity Chris Joyce Lauch Fraser Primary production Climate amelioration Downstream Ecosystems (watershed scale) Betsey Boughton

6 MacArthur Agro-ecology Research Center Cow calf 3,000 head 10,500 acres ~5,500 improved ~4,500 semi-native Bahia sod Hunt lease

7 Northern Everglades MAERC

8 Land Use and Wetlands in the Northern Everglades Northern Everglades Watershed Northern Everglades Watershed Agricultural Landuses Ag Landuses Citrus Groves Croplands/Pasture Field/Row Crops Improved Pasture Other Agriculture Plantations Semi-native Pasture SugarCane Wetlands are 24% of entire watershed Wetlands are 24% -marshes of entire watershed -seasonal wetlands Estuary Lake Okeechobee Estuary Miles / Everglades Miles /

9 Total P Load (5-year rolling average) Regional Downstream Ecosystem: Lake Okeechobee Average Receives 558 metric tons of P/year TMDL Target MT/year is target (meet by 2015) 51,000 MT of P in sediment

10 What happens to local ecosystems when we manage primarily for regional downstream ecosystem benefits? Local Regional

11 Local Ecosystem Managed for Regional Watershed: Lykes West Waterhole Marsh

12 Lykes West Waterhole Marsh Results Retention (%) Metric Tons of P

13 P reduction to regional watershed but expanding cattail on-site Typha latifolia: Cattail

14 High storage value, low biodiversity value? Low Elevation Higher Elevation Non-native Percent Cover Average plant richness per m LE p1 HE p4 0 LE p1 HE p4

15 Policy Landowner desires Economic Wetland Ecosystem Services Local Ecosystem Filter Nutrients Water Storage Biodiversity Primary production Climate amelioration Downstream Ecosystems

16 Many programs available for landowners to establish wetland functions and services Wetland Reserve Program Conservation Reserve Program Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program Environmental Quality Incentives Program Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program Payment for Environmental Services

17 Conceptual Model of Trade-offs in Ecosystem Services in relation to on-site, off-site and cost storm treatment areas WRPs Lykes WWH Cost per Unit ES high storage wetland Regional ES Benefits low storage wetland Local ES Benefits

18 Future Directions How do we identify trade-offs and make management decisions? Tabulation Wetland ecosystem modeling Decision support tools Landscape bundling (too coarse grained?) Valuation of ES is it possible? Cumulative effects of programs (local/regional) Spatial trade-offs (whether the effects of the trade-off are felt locally or at a distant location) Temporal trade-offs (whether effects take place rapidly or slowly) Reversibility ( the likelihood that the perturbed ES may return to its original state if perturbation ceases)

19 Participating Florida Ranchers

20 Photo credit: Carlton Ward Acknowledgements Sanjay Shukla Patrick Bohlen Raoul Boughton Mark Clark Sarah Lynch Len Shabman Ryan Mesmer Steven Hollingsed Christen Steele All session participants Questions?