IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/lauspo/v75y2018icp711-725.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Assessing the capacity and flow of ecosystem services in multifunctional landscapes: Evidence of a rural-urban gradient in a Mediterranean small island state

Author

Listed:
  • Balzan, Mario V
  • Caruana, Julio
  • Zammit, Annrica

Abstract

Distinguishing between the ecosystems’ capacity to generate ecosystem services (ES) and the actual use of these service (ES flow) in ES assessment and mapping is important to develop an understanding of the sustainability of ES use. This study assesses the spatial variation in ES capacity and flow in the Mediterranean small island state of Malta. The services included in this study were crop provisioning, beekeeping and honey production, fodder and livestock production, crop pollination, air quality regulation, and aesthetic ES. This assessment develops different spatial models, which make use of available datasets, causal relationships between datasets, including a generated land use land cover (LULC) map, and statistical models and indicators based on direct measurements. Individual ES indicators were mapped to visualise and compare their spatial patterns across the case study area. Subsequently, an analysis of ES associations and bundles was carried out using Pearson parametric correlation test, for both ES capacity and flow indicators generated from this study, and through Principal Component Analysis. Results demonstrate several significant synergistic interactions between ES capacity and flow in rural landscapes characterised with agricultural and semi-natural LULC categories, indicating high landscape multifunctionality. In contrast, predominantly urban areas tend to be characterised with a low ecosystem capacity and ES flow, suggesting that ES delivery in the landscapes of the study area is determined by land use intensity. These findings support the notion that multifunctional rural landscapes provide multiple ES, making an important contribution to human well-being, and that land use planning that develops green infrastructure in urban areas can significantly contribute to support biodiversity and ES delivery.

Suggested Citation

  • Balzan, Mario V & Caruana, Julio & Zammit, Annrica, 2018. "Assessing the capacity and flow of ecosystem services in multifunctional landscapes: Evidence of a rural-urban gradient in a Mediterranean small island state," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 711-725.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:75:y:2018:i:c:p:711-725
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.08.025
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837717303708
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.08.025?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Crossman, Neville D. & Burkhard, Benjamin & Nedkov, Stoyan & Willemen, Louise & Petz, Katalin & Palomo, Ignacio & Drakou, Evangelia G. & Martín-Lopez, Berta & McPhearson, Timon & Boyanova, Kremena & , 2013. "A blueprint for mapping and modelling ecosystem services," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 4(C), pages 4-14.
    2. Dennis, M. & James, P., 2016. "Site-specific factors in the production of local urban ecosystem services: A case study of community-managed green space," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 208-216.
    3. Baró, Francesc & Gómez-Baggethun, Erik & Haase, Dagmar, 2017. "Ecosystem service bundles along the urban-rural gradient: Insights for landscape planning and management," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 147-159.
    4. Holt, Alison R. & Mears, Meghann & Maltby, Lorraine & Warren, Philip, 2015. "Understanding spatial patterns in the production of multiple urban ecosystem services," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 16(C), pages 33-46.
    5. Hauck, Jennifer & Görg, Christoph & Varjopuro, Riku & Ratamäki, Outi & Maes, Joachim & Wittmer, Heidi & Jax, Kurt, 2013. "“Maps have an air of authority†: Potential benefits and challenges of ecosystem service maps at different levels of decision making," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 4(C), pages 25-32.
    6. Jacobs, Sander & Burkhard, Benjamin & Van Daele, Toon & Staes, Jan & Schneiders, Anik, 2015. "‘The Matrix Reloaded’: A review of expert knowledge use for mapping ecosystem services," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 295(C), pages 21-30.
    7. Damien M Hicks & Pierre Ouvrard & Katherine C R Baldock & Mathilde Baude & Mark A Goddard & William E Kunin & Nadine Mitschunas & Jane Memmott & Helen Morse & Maria Nikolitsi & Lynne M Osgathorpe & Si, 2016. "Food for Pollinators: Quantifying the Nectar and Pollen Resources of Urban Flower Meadows," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(6), pages 1-37, June.
    8. Gallai, Nicola & Salles, Jean-Michel & Settele, Josef & Vaissière, Bernard E., 2009. "Economic valuation of the vulnerability of world agriculture confronted with pollinator decline," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 810-821, January.
    9. Butler, J.R.A. & Skewes, T. & Mitchell, D. & Pontio, M. & Hills, T., 2014. "Stakeholder perceptions of ecosystem service declines in Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea: Is human population a more critical driver than climate change?," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 1-13.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Quintas-Soriano, Cristina & Buerkert, Andreas & Plieninger, Tobias, 2022. "Effects of land abandonment on nature contributions to people and good quality of life components in the Mediterranean region: A review," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    2. Roxanne Suzette Lorilla & Konstantinos Poirazidis & Stamatis Kalogirou & Vassilis Detsis & Aristotelis Martinis, 2018. "Assessment of the Spatial Dynamics and Interactions among Multiple Ecosystem Services to Promote Effective Policy Making across Mediterranean Island Landscapes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-28, September.
    3. Dani Broitman, 2020. "The Game of Developers and Planners: Ecosystem Services as a (Hidden) Regulation through Planning Delay Times," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-14, July.
    4. CAO, Yu & Cao, Yu & Li, Guoyu & Tian, Yuhan & Fang, Xiaoqian & Li, Yan & Tan, Yongzhong, 2020. "Linking ecosystem services trade-offs, bundles and hotspot identification with cropland management in the coastal Hangzhou Bay area of China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    5. De Toni, Andrea & Vizzarri, Matteo & Di Febbraro, Mirko & Lasserre, Bruno & Noguera, Joan & Di Martino, Paolo, 2021. "Aligning Inner Peripheries with rural development in Italy: Territorial evidence to support policy contextualization," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    6. Mario V. Balzan & Renata Sadula & Laura Scalvenzi, 2020. "Assessing Ecosystem Services Supplied by Agroecosystems in Mediterranean Europe: A Literature Review," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-21, July.
    7. Tao, Jieyi & Lu, Yuqi & Ge, Dazhuan & Dong, Ping & Gong, Xiao & Ma, Xiaobin, 2022. "The spatial pattern of agricultural ecosystem services from the production-living-ecology perspective: A case study of the Huaihai Economic Zone, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    8. Spyra, Marcin & La Rosa, Daniele & Zasada, Ingo & Sylla, Marta & Shkaruba, Anton, 2020. "Governance of ecosystem services trade-offs in peri-urban landscapes," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    9. Lorena Peña & Miren Onaindia & Beatriz Fernández de Manuel & Ibone Ametzaga-Arregi & Izaskun Casado-Arzuaga, 2018. "Analysing the Synergies and Trade-Offs between Ecosystem Services to Reorient Land Use Planning in Metropolitan Bilbao (Northern Spain)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-22, November.
    10. Manuela Giovanetti & Sergio Albertazzi & Simone Flaminio & Rosa Ranalli & Laura Bortolotti & Marino Quaranta, 2021. "Pollination in Agroecosystems: A Review of the Conceptual Framework with a View to Sound Monitoring," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-19, May.
    11. Giulia Capotorti & Vera De Lazzari & Marta Alós Ortí, 2019. "Local Scale Prioritisation of Green Infrastructure for Enhancing Biodiversity in Peri-Urban Agroecosystems: A Multi-Step Process Applied in the Metropolitan City of Rome (Italy)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-20, June.
    12. Wenbo Cai & Tong Wu & Wei Jiang & Wanting Peng & Yongli Cai, 2020. "Integrating Ecosystem Services Supply–Demand and Spatial Relationships for Intercity Cooperation: A Case Study of the Yangtze River Delta," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-24, May.
    13. Wang, Lijuan & Zheng, Hua & Chen, Yongzhe & Ouyang, Zhiyun & Hu, Xiaofei, 2022. "Systematic review of ecosystem services flow measurement: Main concepts, methods, applications and future directions," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    14. Andrea Momblanch & Lindsay Beevers & Pradeep Srinivasalu & Anil Kulkarni & Ian P. Holman, 2020. "Enhancing production and flow of freshwater ecosystem services in a managed Himalayan river system under uncertain future climate," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 162(2), pages 343-361, September.
    15. Muñoz-Rojas, J. & Pinto-Correia, T. & Napoleone, C., 2019. "Farm and land system dynamics in the Mediterranean: Integrating different spatial-temporal scales and management approaches," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    16. Lyu, Rongfang & Clarke, Keith C. & Zhang, Jianming & Feng, Junli & Jia, Xuehui & Li, Jijun, 2021. "Dynamics of spatial relationships among ecosystem services and their determinants: Implications for land use system reform in Northwestern China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    17. Wenbo Cai & Chengji Shu & Yonggang Zhu, 2023. "Using Ecosystem Services to Inform Sustainable Waterfront Area Management: A Case Study in the Yangtze River Delta Ecological Green Integration Demonstration Zone," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-18, July.
    18. Zhipeng Zhu & Weicong Fu & Qunyue Liu, 2021. "Correlation between urbanization and ecosystem services in Xiamen, China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 101-121, January.
    19. Feiyan Chen & Ling Li & Jiqiang Niu & Aiwen Lin & Shiyu Chen & Lin Hao, 2019. "Evaluating Ecosystem Services Supply and Demand Dynamics and Ecological Zoning Management in Wuhan, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-17, July.
    20. Hualin Xie & Yanwei Zhang & Yongrok Choi & Fengqin Li, 2020. "A Scientometrics Review on Land Ecosystem Service Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-23, April.
    21. Taboada, Angela & García-Llamas, Paula & Fernández-Guisuraga, José Manuel & Calvo, Leonor, 2021. "Wildfires impact on ecosystem service delivery in fire-prone maritime pine-dominated forests," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    22. Gabriella Vindigni & Alexandros Mosca & Tommaso Bartoloni & Daniela Spina, 2021. "Shedding Light on Peri-Urban Ecosystem Services Using Automated Content Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-17, August.
    23. Lorilla, Roxanne Suzette & Kalogirou, Stamatis & Poirazidis, Konstantinos & Kefalas, George, 2019. "Identifying spatial mismatches between the supply and demand of ecosystem services to achieve a sustainable management regime in the Ionian Islands (Western Greece)," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    24. Lorilla, Roxanne Suzette & Poirazidis, Konstantinos & Detsis, Vassilis & Kalogirou, Stamatis & Chalkias, Christos, 2020. "Socio-ecological determinants of multiple ecosystem services on the Mediterranean landscapes of the Ionian Islands (Greece)," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 422(C).
    25. Yaotao Xu & Peng Li & Jinjin Pan & Yi Zhang & Xiaohu Dang & Xiaoshu Cao & Junfang Cui & Zhi Yang, 2022. "Eco-Environmental Effects and Spatial Heterogeneity of “Production-Ecology-Living” Land Use Transformation: A Case Study for Ningxia, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-20, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Orsi, Francesco & Ciolli, Marco & Primmer, Eeva & Varumo, Liisa & Geneletti, Davide, 2020. "Mapping hotspots and bundles of forest ecosystem services across the European Union," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    2. Cortinovis, Chiara & Geneletti, Davide, 2019. "A framework to explore the effects of urban planning decisions on regulating ecosystem services in cities," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 1-1.
    3. Jennifer Hodbod & Emma Tebbs & Kristofer Chan & Shubhechchha Sharma, 2019. "Integrating Participatory Methods and Remote Sensing to Enhance Understanding of Ecosystem Service Dynamics Across Scales," Land, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-30, August.
    4. Jacobs, Sander & Burkhard, Benjamin & Van Daele, Toon & Staes, Jan & Schneiders, Anik, 2015. "‘The Matrix Reloaded’: A review of expert knowledge use for mapping ecosystem services," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 295(C), pages 21-30.
    5. Chen, Chundi & Wang, Yuncai & Jia, Junsong & Mao, Longfei & Meurk, Colin D., 2019. "Ecosystem services mapping in practice: A Pasteur’s quadrant perspective," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    6. Valencia Torres, Angélica & Tiwari, Chetan & Atkinson, Samuel F., 2021. "Progress in ecosystem services research: A guide for scholars and practitioners," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    7. Cecilia Arnaiz-Schmitz & Cristina Herrero-Jáuregui & María F. Schmitz, 2021. "Recreational and Nature-Based Tourism as a Cultural Ecosystem Service. Assessment and Mapping in a Rural-Urban Gradient of Central Spain," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-19, March.
    8. Lia Laporta & Tiago Domingos & Cristina Marta-Pedroso, 2021. "Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems Services under the Proposed MAES European Common Framework: Methodological Challenges and Opportunities," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-28, October.
    9. Klein, T.M. & Celio, E. & Grêt-Regamey, A., 2015. "Ecosystem services visualization and communication: A demand analysis approach for designing information and conceptualizing decision support systems," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 13(C), pages 173-183.
    10. Lydia Gorn & Janina Kleemann & Christine Fürst, 2018. "Improving the Matrix-Assessment of Ecosystem Services Provision—The Case of Regional Land Use Planning under Climate Change in the Region of Halle, Germany," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-18, June.
    11. Roxanne Suzette Lorilla & Konstantinos Poirazidis & Stamatis Kalogirou & Vassilis Detsis & Aristotelis Martinis, 2018. "Assessment of the Spatial Dynamics and Interactions among Multiple Ecosystem Services to Promote Effective Policy Making across Mediterranean Island Landscapes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-28, September.
    12. Liu, Wenjing & Wang, Jingsheng & Li, Chao & Chen, Baoxiong & Sun, Yufang, 2019. "Using Bibliometric Analysis to Understand the Recent Progress in Agroecosystem Services Research," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 293-305.
    13. Vilém Pechanec & Helena Kilianová & Elwis Tangwa & Alena Vondráková & Ivo Machar, 2019. "What is the Development Capacity for Provision of Ecosystem Services in the Czech Republic?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-17, August.
    14. Jaligot, Rémi & Kemajou, Armel & Chenal, Jérôme, 2018. "Cultural ecosystem services provision in response to urbanization in Cameroon," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 641-649.
    15. Uta Schirpke & Erich Tasser, 2021. "Trends in Ecosystem Services across Europe Due to Land-Use/Cover Changes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-22, June.
    16. Holland, R.A. & Eigenbrod, F. & Muggeridge, A. & Brown, G. & Clarke, D. & Taylor, G., 2015. "A synthesis of the ecosystem services impact of second generation bioenergy crop production," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 30-40.
    17. Qingxiang Meng & Likun Zhang & Hejie Wei & Enxiang Cai & Dong Xue & Mengxue Liu, 2021. "Linking Ecosystem Service Supply–Demand Risks and Regional Spatial Management in the Yihe River Basin, Central China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-27, August.
    18. Czúcz, Bálint & Arany, Ildikó & Potschin-Young, Marion & Bereczki, Krisztina & Kertész, Miklós & Kiss, Márton & Aszalós, Réka & Haines-Young, Roy, 2018. "Where concepts meet the real world: A systematic review of ecosystem service indicators and their classification using CICES," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 29(PA), pages 145-157.
    19. Kim, Ilkwon & Lee, Jae-hyuck & Kwon, Hyuksoo, 2021. "Participatory ecosystem service assessment to enhance environmental decision-making in a border city of South Korea," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    20. Wei, Hejie & Fan, Weiguo & Wang, Xuechao & Lu, Nachuan & Dong, Xiaobin & Zhao, Yanan & Ya, Xijia & Zhao, Yifei, 2017. "Integrating supply and social demand in ecosystem services assessment: A review," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 15-27.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:75:y:2018:i:c:p:711-725. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joice Jiang (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/land-use-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.