Transcript Slide 1
Doing Ecosystem Science at the Right Scale Dave Raffaelli Director of BESS Biodiversity & Ecosystem Service Sustainability Ecosystem services are generated at landscapes scales Managing landscapes for services means making decisions under uncertainty Choices mean trade-offs Decisions have long-term implications. Avoid closing down future options. Sufficient evidence base? No - too much uncertainty. ? Sources of uncertainty Uncertainty in processes what is the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem services? Are there critical levels of biodiversity? Uncertainty about futures how will biodiversity respond to climate change, land-use change? Uncertainty in human behaviour how will people respond to management? Sources of uncertainty Uncertainty in processes what is the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem services? Are there critical levels of biodiversity? Uncertainty about futures how will biodiversity respond to climate change, land-use change? Uncertainty in human behaviour how will people respond to management? Are the answers to these questions scale-dependent? Why scale matters Ecological patterns and processes occur at different scales 10,000 years forests century invertebrates year months landscape change leaves El Nino events forest fires days phytoplankton hours thunderstorms cm m 100 m 10 km 1000 km Ecological patterns and processes occur at different scales 10,000 years forests century invertebrates year months landscape change leaves El Nino events forest fires days phytoplankton hours thunderstorms cm m Biodiversity research 100 m 10 km 1000 km Ecological patterns and processes occur at different scales 10,000 years forests century invertebrates year months landscape change leaves El Nino events forest fires days phytoplankton hours thunderstorms cm m Biodiversity research 100 m 10 km Societal interest 1000 km Research at landscape scales •Experimental and control plots in matched pairs •Challenging to achieve Vyrnwy Project: UKPopNet and RSPB Can we scale up? Measuring carbon flux at different scales The BESS Programme 1. Relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem services? Ecosystem services Biodiversity ? stock ? flows The BESS Programme Food security Climate change Biofuels 2. How will this change? Ecosystem services Biodiversity ? stock ? flows The BESS Programme Food security Climate change Biofuels 3. Is service delivery sustainable? Ecosystem services Biodiversity ? stock ? flows Novel tools for measuring stocks and flows How the BESS Programme will work £13M NERC programme Feb 2011 - Jan 2017 AO in Spring, grants awarded later in year, to start early 2012 £9M in the first tranche Awards up to £3M Representation of early career researchers Focus: Landscape science (all scales; most of Biodiversity Theme could be accommodated) Systems under pressure and rapid change Inter-disciplinary How to become part of BESS Watch this space [email protected]