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Doing Ecosystem Science at the Right Scale . Dave Raffaelli Director of BESS Biodiversity & Ecosystem Service Sustainability. Ecosystem services are generated at landscapes scales. Managing landscapes for services means making decisions under uncertainty . Choices mean trade-offs.
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Doing Ecosystem Science at the Right Scale Dave Raffaelli Director of BESS Biodiversity & Ecosystem Service Sustainability
Ecosystem services are generated at landscapes scales Managing landscapes for services means making decisions under uncertainty
Choices mean trade-offs • Decisions have long-term implications. • Avoid closing down future options. • Sufficient evidence base? • No - too much uncertainty. ?
Sources of uncertainty • Uncertainty in processes • what is the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem services? • Are there critical levels of biodiversity? Uncertainty about futures • how will biodiversity respond to climate change, land-use change? Uncertainty in human behaviour • how will people respond to management?
Sources of uncertainty Are the answers to these questions scale-dependent? • Uncertainty in processes • what is the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem services? • Are there critical levels of biodiversity? Uncertainty about futures • how will biodiversity respond to climate change, land-use change? Uncertainty in human behaviour • how will people respond to management?
Societal interest Biodiversity research
Research at landscape scales •Experimental and control plots in matched pairs •Challenging to achieve Vyrnwy Project: UKPopNet and RSPB
Can we scale up? Measuring carbon flux at different scales
The BESS Programme 1. Relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem services? Ecosystem services Biodiversity ? stock ? flows
The BESS Programme Food security Climate change Biofuels 2. How will this change? Ecosystem services Biodiversity ? stock ? flows
The BESS Programme Food security Climate change Biofuels 3. Is service delivery sustainable? Ecosystem services Biodiversity ? stock ? flows Novel tools for measuring stocks and flows
How the BESS Programme will work • £13M NERC programme • Feb 2011 - Jan 2017 • AO in Spring, grants awarded later in year, to start early 2012 • £9M in the first tranche • Awards up to £3M • Representation of early career researchers • Focus: • Landscape science (all scales; most of Biodiversity Theme could be accommodated) • Systems under pressure and rapid change • Inter-disciplinary
How to become part of BESS Watch this space david.raffaelli@york.ac.uk