Non-linearity in ecosystem services: temporal and spatial variability in coastal protection
esanalysis.colmex.mx Abstract
Natural processes tend to vary over time and space, as well as between species. The ecosystem services these natural processes provide are therefore also highly variable. It is often assumed that ecosystem services are provided linearly (unvaryingly, at a steady rate), but natural processes are characterized by thresholds and limiting functions. In this paper, we describe the variability observed in wave attenuation provided by marshes, mangroves, seagrasses, and coral reefs and therefore also in coastal protection. We calculate the economic consequences of assuming coastal protection to be linear. We suggest that, in order to refine ecosystem-based management practices, it is essential that natural variability and cumulative effects be considered in the valuation of ecosystem services.
Citation
Koch, E. W., Barbier, E. B., Silliman, B. R., Reed, D. J., Perillo, G. M. E., Hacker, S. D., ... Wolanski, E. (2009). Non-linearity in ecosystem services: temporal and spatial variability in coastal protection.Publisher
Ecological Society of AmericaSubject
Acknowledgment/Sponsorship
This work was conducted as a part of the Measuring ecological, economic, and social values of coastal habitats to inform ecosystem-based management of land-sea interfaces Working Group supported by the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, a Center funded by NSF (#DEB-0553768), the University of California, Santa Barbara, the State of California, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Several colleagues kindly shared data: I Moller provided the data for marsh wave attenuation in Figure 2d, while J Kaldy and K Seoup made Figure 3a possible. K Merkal provided the seagrass data for Figure 2f and Gil Cintron provided mangrove aboveground biomass data. Symbols used in Figure 4 are courtesy of the Integration and Application Network (www.ian.umces.edu/symbols/), University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. D Shafer provided insight from the seagrass and coastal engineering perspectives. This paper is dedicated to Prof Dr Walter Koch, who passed away on February 9, 2008, at the age of 82. He was admired for reaching his stars and loved for helping others reach theirs.
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