350 likes | 549 Views
Ecosystem Services in the northern hardwood forest at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. Peter M. Groffman Institute of Ecosystem Studies Millbrook, NY USA. OUTLINE :. An introduction to ecosystem services. The long-term research at Hubbard Brook: Acidification Mercury Nitrogen
E N D
Ecosystem Services in the northern hardwood forest at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest Peter M. Groffman Institute of Ecosystem Studies Millbrook, NY USA
OUTLINE: • An introduction to ecosystem services. • The long-term research at Hubbard Brook: • Acidification • Mercury • Nitrogen • Biodiversity (birds) • Conclusions: • The importance of long-term monitoring. • Science:policy interactions.
Ecosystem services: • “Flows of materials, energy, and information from natural capital stocks that are combined with manufactured and human capital services to produce human welfare” (Daily et al. 1997). • Things in nature that people value. • A means for comprehensive quantification of environmental damage. • Useful for evaluating tradeoffs and conflicts between different goals and values.
Focus: Ecosystem Services The benefits people obtain from ecosystems
Focus: Consequences of Ecosystem Change for Human Well-being
Degradation of ecosystem services often causes significant harm to human well-being • Examples of Costs: • The 1992 collapse of the Newfoundland cod fishery cost ~$2 billion in income support and retraining. • The “external” cost of agriculture in the UK in 1996 (damage to water, soil, and biodiversity) was $2.6 billion, or 9% of yearly gross farm receipts. • The frequency and impact of floods and fires has increased significantly in the past 50 years, in part due to ecosystem changes. Annual losses from extreme events totaled ~$70 billion in 2003 • Costanza et al. (1997) estimated that 17 ecosystem services for 16 biomes provide an average $33 trillion/year of value (compare to U.S. Gross Domestic Product of $12.5 trillion in 2005 dollars (source: https://bea.gov/bea/newsrel/gdpnewsrelease.htm).
Controllers: • Inherent/state factors: • Parent material • Topography • Climate • Biota (organisms capable of living in a place). • Time • Variable/stochastic (some examples): • Herbivores (insects, moose, deer) • Extreme climate events (ice storms, soil frost) • Pathogens • Acid rain
Functions/process/services: • Wood and fiber • Fresh water • Water purification • Air purification • Climate regulation • Soil carbon storage • Biodiversity maintenance • Aesthetics • Recreation
Acid rain and ecosystem services in the northern hardwood forest:
Source Area Includes: VT, MA, NY, NH, CT, RI, ME, OH, PA, DC, MD, NJ, DE, MI, VA, WV, QUE, ONT
Changes in the calcium cycle have delayed recovery from acid rain . . .
A watershed scale calcium manipulation at Hubbard Brook: • Apply 1.2 tons of Ca per ha as wollastonite (CaSIO3) to an 11.8 ha watershed. • Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest : • Northern hardwoods • ~80 years old • Acidic spodosols. • New Hampshire • Monitoring: • Stream and soil chemistry. • Vegetation. • Soil microbes and fauna. • Forest floor mass. • Birds, salamanders, etc.
The “Science Links” model for outreach to policy makers: • Led by separate “interface” organization, the Hubbard Brook Research Foundation. • Convene group of scientists. • Write synthesis paper for publication in peer-reviewed journal. • Write popular publication based on scientific papers. • Train scientists for outreach activities. • News releases; op-ed pieces; briefings/talks.
Global and Regional Atmospheric Emissions and Deposition Reservoir Fluctuations Local Emissions Landscape Sensitivity New Study Identifies Causal Factors
But there are new mysteries in the long-term nitrate record . . . . Source: Hong et al. (2005)
And biological mysteries as well . . . . (bird abundance at HBE,1969 - 2006)
Possible Causes of Population Change • Habitat change (e.g., due to succession/disturbance) • Weather events/climate change • Food resources (insects) • Predators, especially on eggs and young • Nutrient levels (e.g., Ca losses due to acid rain) • Events in the non-breeding season
CONCLUSIONS: • Ecosystem services approach helps to define the full range of important questions. • Long-term iterative process: • Long-term monitoring • Modeling • Experiments • Policy effectiveness: • Scientific consensus • Outreach • “Interface” organization, e.g, HBRF
New thinking in the U.S. National Science Foundation Long-Term Ecological Research network . . .