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

DÍAZ, S.; CÁCERES, D.; CABIDO, M.; QUÉTIER, F.; PÉREZ, N.

Valdivia, Chile

Congreso; "Ecosystem Services in the Neotropics" FORECOS; 2006

FORECOS

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. These alterations in turn are expected to alter ecosystem processes and the ecosystem services that humans derive from them. We propose a new interdisciplinarty 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 the key links between generalized ecosystem services, ecosystem processes, and different components of FB. Our approach will be to test those links usiong 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.