Ecosystem Service Databases and Their Contribution to Mainstream Ecosystem Service Information

Résumé du livre

In order to make more sustainable decisions on natural resources and land use, the concept of ecosystem services (ES) is gaining popularity in science and practice. Incorporating ES information into decision-making (mainstreaming), however, is impeded by a lack of standards that define terminology, acceptable data and methods, and reporting requirements for sharing consistent information on ES. Databases provide consistent information that can facilitate the development of standards and contribute to mainstreaming. In this dissertation, 29 ES databases containing information of 36,112 studies were analyzed. Results showed that information from ES databases contribute to the formalization of standards for the following application contexts: i) integration of ES information into six generic policy instruments that affect resource and land-use decisions, ii) global transferability and uncertainties of ES database information exemplified by monetary valued ES, and iii) evaluation of effectiveness and efficiency of ES study outcomes.