For instance, in alpine grasslands, livestock provisioning services represent a trade-off
with regulatory services provided by NPP, which in turn determines carbon sequestration and water and soil conservation (Pan et al. 2014; Fig. 2.3c). While trade-offs
between services lead to cost-effective analyses, synergies between them represent
reinforcing mechanisms that make it possible to save resources or focus investment on
obtaining multiple benefits.
Another source of complexity comes from the fact that the outcomes of
ecosystem services may depend on previous management. For instance, land use
transformation in Andean mountains over the past decades has led to the loss of
ecosystem services, due to the conversion of cloud forests and paramo grasslands in
the alpine and sub-alpine stages to agricultural use; later, pine plantations were
developed on open alpine grasslands and agricultural land. While pine plantations
produce an adverse impact through reducing the area previously occupied by native
alpine grasslands, they can improve ecosystem services when they occupy land that
had been previously degraded by agriculture (Balthazar et al. 2015).
Table 2.1 (continued)
Contribution
Trade-offs
Synergies
Food webs
Biodiversity services
Habitat for
species
High
Species and genetics
diversity
Species and genetics
diversity, cultural
services
Refuges, corridors, buffers
Maintenance of
species and
genetic
diversity
High
Species, genotypes, food webs, interaction networks
Cultural services
Recreation and
health
High
Tourism
Tourism, aesthetic
appreciation, spiritual
experience
Hiking, picnicking, sailing
Tourism
High
Aesthetic appreciation,
spiritual experience
Aesthetic appreciation,
spiritual experience
Skying, resorts, alpinism, trekking, hunting, fishing
Aesthetic
appreciation
High
Spiritual experience
Spiritual
experience
High
Note that some services may present both trade-offs and synergies with other services depending
on the intensity and characteristics of the involved processes (f.i., overgrazing often causes soil
erosion while moderate grazing can promote biodiversity). Trade-offs and synergies between
services are only indicated in the service appearing first in the list
52
F. Lloret
with regulatory services provided by NPP, which in turn determines carbon sequestration and water and soil conservation (Pan et al. 2014; Fig. 2.3c). While trade-offs
between services lead to cost-effective analyses, synergies between them represent
reinforcing mechanisms that make it possible to save resources or focus investment on
obtaining multiple benefits.
Another source of complexity comes from the fact that the outcomes of
ecosystem services may depend on previous management. For instance, land use
transformation in Andean mountains over the past decades has led to the loss of
ecosystem services, due to the conversion of cloud forests and paramo grasslands in
the alpine and sub-alpine stages to agricultural use; later, pine plantations were
developed on open alpine grasslands and agricultural land. While pine plantations
produce an adverse impact through reducing the area previously occupied by native
alpine grasslands, they can improve ecosystem services when they occupy land that
had been previously degraded by agriculture (Balthazar et al. 2015).
Table 2.1 (continued)
Contribution
Trade-offs
Synergies
Food webs
Biodiversity services
Habitat for
species
High
Species and genetics
diversity
Species and genetics
diversity, cultural
services
Refuges, corridors, buffers
Maintenance of
species and
genetic
diversity
High
Species, genotypes, food webs, interaction networks
Cultural services
Recreation and
health
High
Tourism
Tourism, aesthetic
appreciation, spiritual
experience
Hiking, picnicking, sailing
Tourism
High
Aesthetic appreciation,
spiritual experience
Aesthetic appreciation,
spiritual experience
Skying, resorts, alpinism, trekking, hunting, fishing
Aesthetic
appreciation
High
Spiritual experience
Spiritual
experience
High
Note that some services may present both trade-offs and synergies with other services depending
on the intensity and characteristics of the involved processes (f.i., overgrazing often causes soil
erosion while moderate grazing can promote biodiversity). Trade-offs and synergies between
services are only indicated in the service appearing first in the list
52
F. Lloret