IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v11y2022i3p399-d766998.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Importance of Scale and the MAUP for Robust Ecosystem Service Evaluations and Landscape Decisions

Author

Listed:
  • Alexis Comber

    (School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK)

  • Paul Harris

    (Sustainable Agriculture Sciences, Rothamsted Research, North Wyke, Okehampton EX20 2SB, UK)

Abstract

Spatial data are used in many scientific domains including analyses of Ecosystem Services (ES) and Natural Capital (NC), with results used to inform planning and policy. However, the data spatial scale (or support) has a fundamental impact on analysis outputs and, thus, process understanding and inference. The Modifiable Areal Unit Problem (MAUP) describes the effects of scale on analyses of spatial data and outputs, but it has been ignored in much environmental research, including evaluations of land use with respect to ES and NC. This paper illustrates the MAUP through an ES optimisation problem. The results show that MAUP effects are unpredictable and nonlinear, with discontinuities specific to the spatial properties of the case study. Four key recommendations are as follows: (1) The MAUP should always be tested for in ES evaluations. This is commonly performed in socio-economic analyses. (2) Spatial aggregation scales should be matched to process granularity by identifying the aggregation scale at which processes are considered to be stable (stationary) with respect to variances, covariances, and other moments. (3) Aggregation scales should be evaluated along with the scale of decision making (e.g., agricultural field, farm holding, and catchment). (4) Researchers in ES and related disciplines should up-skill themselves in spatial analysis and core paradigms related to scale to overcome the scale blindness commonly found in much research.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexis Comber & Paul Harris, 2022. "The Importance of Scale and the MAUP for Robust Ecosystem Service Evaluations and Landscape Decisions," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-17, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:3:p:399-:d:766998
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/3/399/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/3/399/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kelvyn Jones & David Manley & Ron Johnston & Dewi Owen, 2018. "Modelling residential segregation as unevenness and clustering: A multilevel modelling approach incorporating spatial dependence and tackling the MAUP," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 45(6), pages 1122-1141, November.
    2. Daisuke Murakami & Morito Tsutsumi, 2015. "Area-to-point parameter estimation with geographically weighted regression," Journal of Geographical Systems, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 207-225, July.
    3. Comber, Alexis & Dickie, Jennifer & Jarvis, Claire & Phillips, Martin & Tansey, Kevin, 2015. "Locating bioenergy facilities using a modified GIS-based location–allocation-algorithm: Considering the spatial distribution of resource supply," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 309-316.
    4. Adrienne Grêt-Regamey & Bettina Weibel & Kenneth J Bagstad & Marika Ferrari & Davide Geneletti & Hermann Klug & Uta Schirpke & Ulrike Tappeiner, 2014. "On the Effects of Scale for Ecosystem Services Mapping," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(12), pages 1-26, December.
    5. Juan C Duque & Henry Laniado & Adriano Polo, 2018. "S-maup: Statistical test to measure the sensitivity to the modifiable areal unit problem," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(11), pages 1-25, November.
    6. Chris Brunsdon & Alexis Comber, 2021. "Opening practice: supporting reproducibility and critical spatial data science," Journal of Geographical Systems, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 477-496, October.
    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. Turkeltaub, Tuvia & Gongadze, Kate & Lü, Yihe & Huang, Mingbin & Jia, Xiaoxu & Yang, Huiyi & Shao, Ming'an & Binley, Andrew & Harris, Paul & Wu, Lianhai, 2022. "A review of models for simulating the soil-plant interface for different climatic conditions and land uses in the Loess Plateau, China," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 474(C).
    2. Muyi Huang & Qilong Wang & Qi Yin & Weihua Li & Guozhao Zhang & Qiaojun Ke & Qin Guo, 2023. "Analysis of Ecosystem Service Contribution and Identification of Trade-Off/Synergy Relationship for Ecosystem Regulation in the Dabie Mountains of Western Anhui Province, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-22, May.

    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. Makovníková Jarmila & Pálka Boris & Kološta Stanislav & Flaška Filip & Orságová Katarína & Spišiaková Mária, 2020. "Non-Monetary Assessment and Mapping of the Potential of Agroecosystem Services in Rural Slovakia," European Countryside, Sciendo, vol. 12(2), pages 257-276, June.
    2. Costa, Fabrício Rodrigues & Ribeiro, Carlos Antonio Alvares Soares & Marcatti, Gustavo Eduardo & Lorenzon, Alexandre Simões & Teixeira, Thaisa Ribeiro & Domingues, Getulio Fonseca & Castro, Nero Lemos, 2020. "GIS applied to location of bioenergy plants in tropical agricultural areas," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 911-918.
    3. Enrique Calfucura, 2024. "Evaluación de Servicios Ecosistémicos de Regulación y Soporte: Una Revisión y Hechos Estilizados para Chile," Economic Statistics Series 142, Central Bank of Chile.
    4. Stepinski, Tomasz & Dmowska, Anna, 2019. "Imperfect melting pot – analysis of changes in diversity and segregation of US urban census tracts in the period of 1990-2010," SocArXiv uqj8x, Center for Open Science.
    5. Cebi, Selcuk & Ilbahar, Esra & Atasoy, Aylin, 2016. "A fuzzy information axiom based method to determine the optimal location for a biomass power plant: A case study in Aegean Region of Turkey," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 116(P1), pages 894-907.
    6. Saha, Mithun & Eckelman, Matthew J., 2015. "Geospatial assessment of potential bioenergy crop production on urban marginal land," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 540-547.
    7. Hammad, Ahmed W A & Akbarnezhad, Ali & Rey, David, 2017. "Sustainable urban facility location: Minimising noise pollution and network congestion," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 38-59.
    8. Xiang Zhao & Xiaoya Ma & Kun Wang & Yuqing Long & Dongjie Zhang & Zhanchun Xiao, 2017. "A Spatially Explicit Optimization Model for Agricultural Straw-Based Power Plant Site Selection: A Case Study in Hubei Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-19, May.
    9. 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.
    10. Faccioni, G. & Sturaro, E. & Ramanzin, M. & Bernués, A., 2019. "Socio-economic valuation of abandonment and intensification of Alpine agroecosystems and associated ecosystem services," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 453-462.
    11. Singlitico, Alessandro & Kilgallon, Ian & Goggins, Jamie & Monaghan, Rory F.D., 2019. "GIS-based techno-economic optimisation of a regional supply chain for large-scale deployment of bio-SNG in a natural gas network," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 250(C), pages 1036-1052.
    12. He-Lambert, Lixia & English, Burton C. & Lambert, Dayton M. & Shylo, Oleg & Larson, James A. & Yu, T. Edward & Wilson, Bradly, 2018. "Determining a geographic high resolution supply chain network for a large scale biofuel industry," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 218(C), pages 266-281.
    13. Lovrak, Ana & Pukšec, Tomislav & Duić, Neven, 2020. "A Geographical Information System (GIS) based approach for assessing the spatial distribution and seasonal variation of biogas production potential from agricultural residues and municipal biowaste," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    14. Francesca Valenti & Attilio Toscano, 2021. "A GIS-Based Model to Assess the Potential of Wastewater Treatment Plants for Enhancing Bioenergy Production within the Context of the Water–Energy Nexus," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-15, May.
    15. Buffat, René & Raubal, Martin, 2019. "Spatio-temporal potential of a biogenic micro CHP swarm in Switzerland," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 443-454.
    16. Ileana Pătru-Stupariu & Constantina Alina Hossu & Simona Raluca Grădinaru & Andreea Nita & Mihai-Sorin Stupariu & Alina Huzui-Stoiculescu & Athanasios-Alexandru Gavrilidis, 2020. "A Review of Changes in Mountain Land Use and Ecosystem Services: From Theory to Practice," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-21, September.
    17. Huihua Hu & Hua Shao & Yang Li & Mengfan Guan & Jiaxing Tong, 2025. "GIS-Based Analysis of Elderly Care Facility Distribution and Supply–Demand Coordination in the Yangtze River Delta," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-24, March.
    18. Giusi Midolo & Simona M. C. Porto & Giovanni Cascone & Francesca Valenti, 2024. "Sheep Wool Waste Availability for Potential Sustainable Re-Use and Valorization: A GIS-Based Model," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-13, May.
    19. Francesco Latterini & Walter Stefanoni & Alessandro Suardi & Vincenzo Alfano & Simone Bergonzoli & Nadia Palmieri & Luigi Pari, 2020. "A GIS Approach to Locate a Small Size Biomass Plant Powered by Olive Pruning and to Estimate Supply Chain Costs," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-17, July.
    20. Ma, Qiuzhuo & Paudel, Krishna P. & Cui, Luqi, 2018. "A multi-objective optimization problem for using poultry litter in electricity production," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C), pages 1220-1242.

    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:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:3:p:399-:d:766998. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.