Modeling the Supporting Ecosystem Services of Depressional Wetlands in Agricultural Landscapes
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ECOSYSTEM SERVICES OF WETLANDS
Modeling the Supporting Ecosystem Services of Depressional Wetlands in Agricultural Landscapes David M. Mushet 1 & Cali L. Roth 2 Received: 16 January 2020 / Accepted: 31 March 2020 # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract We explored how a geographic information system modeling approach could be used to quantify supporting ecosystem services related to the type, abundance, and distribution of landscape components. Specifically, we use the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs model to quantify habitats that support amphibians and birds, floral resources that support pollinators, native-plant communities that support regional biodiversity, and above- and below-ground carbon stores in the Des Moines Lobe ecoregion of the U.S. We quantified services under two scenarios, one that represented the 2012 Des Moines Lobe landscape, and one that simulated the conversion to crop production of wetlands and surrounding uplands conserved under the USDA Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP). While ACEP easements only covered 0.35% of the ecoregion, preserved wetlands and grasslands provided for 19,020 ha of amphibian habitat, 21,462 ha of grassland-bird habitat, 18,798 ha of high-quality native wetland plants, and 27,882 ha of floral resources for pollinators. Additionally, ACEP protected lands stored 257,722 t of carbon that, if released, would result in costs in excess of 45-million USD. An integrated approach using results from a GIS-based model in combination with process-based model quantifications will facilitate more informed decisions related to ecosystem service tradeoffs. Keywords Conservation effects assessment project - Des Moines lobe ecoregion - ecosystem services . InVEST- pothole wetlands prairie pothole region
Introduction Through their natural functioning, ecosystems perform a variety of services that provide benefits to society (Daily 1997; Euliss et al. 2013). The societal services provided by ecosystems have been termed “ecosystem services” and come in four types: provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005). Ecosystem provisioning services include commodities that are provided by the ecosystem for use by society. The food, fiber, and biofuel feed-stocks provided by ecosystems are examples of provisioning services. Regulating services are the functions of ecosystems that can have a regulating or damping * David M. Mushet [email protected] 1
U.S. Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, 8711 37th Street SE, Jamestown, ND 58401, USA
2
U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Dixon Field Station, Dixon, CA, USA
influence on negative, societal impacts. A wetland ecosystem retaining water during a flood event and thus playing a role in reducing downstream flooding is an example of an ecosystem providing a regulating service. Cultural services are the spiritual, recreational, aesthetic, and educational benefits that societies gain from natural ecosystems. Lastly, supporting
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