TY - GEN
T1 - A new method for large-scale assessment of change in ecosystem functioning in relation to land degradation
AU - Horion, Stéphanie Marie Anne F
AU - Ivits, Eva
AU - Verzandvoort, Simone
AU - Fensholt, Rasmus
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - Ongoing pressures on European land are manifold with extreme climate
events and non-sustainable use of land resources being amongst the most
important drivers altering the functioning of the ecosystems. The
protection and conservation of European natural capital is one of the
key objectives of the 7th Environmental Action Plan (EAP). The EAP
stipulates that European land must be managed in a sustainable way by
2020 and the UN Sustainable development goals define a Land Degradation
Neutral world as one of the targets. This implies that land degradation
(LD) assessment of European ecosystems must be performed repeatedly
allowing for the assessment of the current state of LD as well as
changes compared to a baseline adopted by the UNCCD for the objective of
land degradation neutrality. However, scientifically robust methods are
still lacking for large-scale assessment of LD and repeated consistent
mapping of the state of terrestrial ecosystems. Historical land
degradation assessments based on various methods exist, but methods are
generally non-replicable or difficult to apply at continental scale
(Allan et al. 2007). The current lack of research methods applicable at
large spatial scales is notably caused by the non-robust definition of
LD, the scarcity of field data on LD, as well as the complex inter-play
of the processes driving LD (Vogt et al., 2011). Moreover, the link
between LD and changes in land use (how land use changes relates to
change in vegetation productivity and ecosystem functioning) is not
straightforward. In this study we used the segmented trend method
developed by Horion et al. (2016) for large-scale systematic assessment
of hotspots of change in ecosystem functioning in relation to LD. This
method alleviates shortcomings of widely used linear trend model that
does not account for abrupt change, nor adequately captures the actual
changes in ecosystem functioning (de Jong et al. 2013; Horion et al.
2016). Here we present a new methodology for assessing gradual and
abrupt changes in ecosystem functioning in Europe. Based on segmented
trend analysis of water-use efficiency (WUE) time series, an Ecosystem
Change Type (ECT) map was produced over Europe at 1km resolution for the
period 1999 to 2013. An analysis of auxiliary data on land use/cover
change, drought trends, and soil threats was performed over hotspot
areas to better understand the observed changes in ecosystem functioning
and their driving mechanisms. The ECT map was validated using the case
study sites from the EU-funded RECARE project. Overall, the ECT map
accurately highlighted areas characterized by a major change in pathways
of ecosystem functioning as well as indicated the type and timing of
changes. Allan, R. et al. (2007). Climate and land degradation. Verlag
Berlin Heidelberg: Springer. de Jong, R et al. (2013). Remote Sensing,
5, 1117-1133 Horion, S. et al. (2016). Global Change Biology, 22,
2801-2817 Vogt, J. V et al. (2011). Land Degradation & Development,
22: 150-165.
AB - Ongoing pressures on European land are manifold with extreme climate
events and non-sustainable use of land resources being amongst the most
important drivers altering the functioning of the ecosystems. The
protection and conservation of European natural capital is one of the
key objectives of the 7th Environmental Action Plan (EAP). The EAP
stipulates that European land must be managed in a sustainable way by
2020 and the UN Sustainable development goals define a Land Degradation
Neutral world as one of the targets. This implies that land degradation
(LD) assessment of European ecosystems must be performed repeatedly
allowing for the assessment of the current state of LD as well as
changes compared to a baseline adopted by the UNCCD for the objective of
land degradation neutrality. However, scientifically robust methods are
still lacking for large-scale assessment of LD and repeated consistent
mapping of the state of terrestrial ecosystems. Historical land
degradation assessments based on various methods exist, but methods are
generally non-replicable or difficult to apply at continental scale
(Allan et al. 2007). The current lack of research methods applicable at
large spatial scales is notably caused by the non-robust definition of
LD, the scarcity of field data on LD, as well as the complex inter-play
of the processes driving LD (Vogt et al., 2011). Moreover, the link
between LD and changes in land use (how land use changes relates to
change in vegetation productivity and ecosystem functioning) is not
straightforward. In this study we used the segmented trend method
developed by Horion et al. (2016) for large-scale systematic assessment
of hotspots of change in ecosystem functioning in relation to LD. This
method alleviates shortcomings of widely used linear trend model that
does not account for abrupt change, nor adequately captures the actual
changes in ecosystem functioning (de Jong et al. 2013; Horion et al.
2016). Here we present a new methodology for assessing gradual and
abrupt changes in ecosystem functioning in Europe. Based on segmented
trend analysis of water-use efficiency (WUE) time series, an Ecosystem
Change Type (ECT) map was produced over Europe at 1km resolution for the
period 1999 to 2013. An analysis of auxiliary data on land use/cover
change, drought trends, and soil threats was performed over hotspot
areas to better understand the observed changes in ecosystem functioning
and their driving mechanisms. The ECT map was validated using the case
study sites from the EU-funded RECARE project. Overall, the ECT map
accurately highlighted areas characterized by a major change in pathways
of ecosystem functioning as well as indicated the type and timing of
changes. Allan, R. et al. (2007). Climate and land degradation. Verlag
Berlin Heidelberg: Springer. de Jong, R et al. (2013). Remote Sensing,
5, 1117-1133 Horion, S. et al. (2016). Global Change Biology, 22,
2801-2817 Vogt, J. V et al. (2011). Land Degradation & Development,
22: 150-165.
M3 - Article in proceedings
T3 - Proceedings of the 19th EGU General Assembly (EGU2017)
SP - 13317
BT - EGU2017, proceedings from the conference held 23-28 April, 2017 in Vienna
ER -
