UWA’s Leonie Valentine and co-authors recently examined how small-scale digging activities of the southern brown bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus) influence broader-scale landscape processes by modifying soil and litter properties, trapping organic matter and seeds and altering seedling recruitment. Valentine and colleagues examined environmental characteristics of the bandicoot’s foraging pits and found they typically contained a higher […]
Forest restoration enhances the provision of many ecosystem services, is an important tool for combating climate change and helps protect biodiversity. In a recent issue of Applied Vegetation Science, Leticia Garcia and coauthors (including CEED’s Richard Hobbs) examined restoration outcomes in the Atlantic Forest area in Brazil. They show that simply planting trees is insufficient […]
The processes of eucalypt recruitment are infrequent, patchy and difficult to predict. Long timeframes with appropriate incentives are needed to manage natural regeneration. These are the conclusions of Peter Vesk and colleagues who sought to investigate the processes of eucalypt regeneration within the Bush Returns trial, a native vegetation management incentive scheme in the Goulburn […]
Mixed policies can meet multiple expectations Key messages: We analysed the potential outcomes of 10 alternative land-use policy scenarios for a high-priority region for forest protection, restoration and rural development in Central Kalimantan All 10 policy strategies are capable of achieving all stakeholder objectives provided at least 29–37% of the landscape is conserved for biodiversity […]
Carbon AND biodiversity benefits on agricultural land Key messages: Researchers evaluated policy mechanisms for supplying carbon and biodiversity co-benefits on Australian agricultural land Uniform payments targeting carbon achieved significant carbon sequestration but negligible biodiversity co-benefits. Land-use regulation increased biodiversity co-benefits, but was inefficient in regards to carbon Discriminatory payments with land-use competition were efficient and, […]
Public ‘willingness-to-pay’ for co-benefits Key messages: Adopting carbon farming practices often leads to a loss in profit for farmers We estimated the public’s ‘willingness-to-pay’ for the co-benefits of carbon farming Respondents were willing to pay $19.20 per year for every extra hectare of native vegetation, and $1.13 per year for every metric tonne of CO2-e […]
What drives landholders’ participation in biodiverse carbon plantings? Key messages: We developed a Bayesian Belief Network that predicts landholder participation rate for any type of carbon-farming scheme We found that program characteristics are more influential at driving participation than financial incentives Biodiversity co-benefits of carbon planting is another important factor Many believe that biodiverse carbon […]
A review of climate change impacts on ecosystem services Key messages: We carried out the first quantitative synthesis of the literature on climate change impacts on ecosystem services We found: more research needs to take place in regions with a lower capacity to adapt to the impacts of climate change using (only) expert opinions to […]
What do dairy farmers think about planting riparian margins? Key messages: We surveyed Taranaki dairy farmers on their perceptions of the value of riparian plantings They reported many different values with the plantings; some positive, some negative Farmers who carried out riparian plantings reported improvement to both farm performance and the environment Over two stormy […]
Relating flooding to land-use in Indonesian Borneo Key messages: Flood events are widespread in Indonesian Borneo, and have large impacts on communities Two novel sources of information – village interviews and news archives – give new insights into where and when floods occur, and how they relate to the surrounding landscape Floods have large impacts […]
Getting the balance right Key messages: For economic development to be sustainable it needs to respect the different values people have for the region We developed a conservation plan for the Daly Catchment using a novel scenario-planning approach coupled with optimal land-use design We found that scenarios involving 10% clearing are most aligned with stakeholder […]
And CEED is active in realising that potential The idea of ecosystem services emphasizes the benefits that nature provides – benefits that are both tangible and intangible. This, among other things, includes the production of food and clean water, the regulation of floods, the provision of recreation and scenic beauty, a connection to place, and […]
When did the notion of ‘ecosystem services’ take on real meaning? In one sense, it stretches back to the beginning of history with Plato noting the connection between deforestation, soil erosion and the drying of springs. However, attempting to frame the benefits of nature in a way that enabled us to make decisions around the […]