The role of artificial ditches and their buffer zones in intensively utilized agricultural landscape
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The role of artificial ditches and their buffer zones in intensively utilized agricultural landscape Ivana Kozelová & Jana Špulerová & Viktória Miklósová & Katarína Gerhátová & Zita Izakovičová & Henrik Kalivoda & Michaela Kalivodová & Robert Kanka
Received: 16 April 2020 / Accepted: 14 September 2020 # Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract The extensive construction of drainage systems in the lowlands and flood plains of Slovakia has significantly changed the landscape and runoff ratios of rivers. Our study focuses on the assessment of the benefits provided by the ecosystems of water ditches and their catchment areas. Ditches and their buffer zone, similarly to other artificial anthropogenic elements in the country, fulfil various landscape-ecological functions and provide different ecosystem services (ESs) to human populations and society. As study areas, we chose ditches and their 1km buffer zones in the Podunajská nížina (P) lowland and Východoslovenská nížina (V) lowland (Slovakia). There are notable differences between these two selected lowlands. Hence, there are also differences in their potential to provide various ESs. Based on a re-evaluation
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-020-08610-w) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. I. Kozelová (*) : J. Špulerová : V. Miklósová : Z. Izakovičová : H. Kalivoda : R. Kanka Institute of Landscape Ecology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Štefánikova 3, 814 99 Bratislava, Slovakia e-mail: [email protected] K. Gerhátová Institute of Landscape Ecology, Branch Nitra, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Akademická 2, 949 10 Nitra, Slovakia M. Kalivodová Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 1, 949 01 Nitra, Slovakia
of the present state of the ditches, we evaluated nine ESs related to three main groups of ESs, using the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES). We assessed the ESs and benefits provided by ditches and their buffer zone in two ways: (1) ES assessment by experts and (2) biophysical assessment of ESs and their benefits based on an integrated assessment framework (relations between pressures, ecological status, and delivery of ESs). Finally, we compared the potentials for provisioning of the study areas. The study area in the V lowland has the highest potential to provide “Lifecycle maintenance, habitat and gene pool protection” benefits, and the study area in the P lowland has the highest potential to provide “Surface water for nondrinking purposes.” Keywords Ditches . Habitats . Ecosystem status . Ecosystem services . Pressures
Introduction A large network of drainage ditches was constructed in Slovakia as part of the intensification of agricultural production in the 1960s and 1980s. Construction of these ditches often did not take into account the landscape and ecological conditions and was associated with the drainage of land, and the liquidation of we
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