Functional biodiversity, ecosystem processes and ecosystem services for different stakeholders: a new conceptual framework

DÍAZ S, CÁCERES D, CABIDO M, QUÉTIER F Y N PÉREZ

Valdivia, Chile

Congreso; International Congress on Ecosystem Services in the Neotropics: State of the art and future challenges.; 2006

Universidad Austral de Chile

One of the main ways in which global change, and especially land use change, can alter ecosystem functioning is by causing shifts in functional biodiversity (FB= the value, range and relative abundance of plant functional traits present in a given ecosystem). These alterations in turn are expected to alter ecosystem processes and the ecosystem services that humans derive from them. We propose a new interdisciplinary framework to analyze and compare field studies of land use change in the Americas from the tropics to the tundra. The recent Millennium Ecosystem Assessment has identified key links between generalized ecosystem services, ecosystem processes, and different components of FB. Our approach will be to test those links using common land-use trajectories in contrasting biomes, and to identify specific ecosystem services in collaboration with different local and regional stakeholders. We expect that our findings will aid management decisions in the assessment and optimization of the ecosystem-service value of the land, considering the distinct and potentially conflicting interests of different social actors. Key words: environmental filters, land use change, plant functional traits, socio-ecological systems, sustainability.