ECOSER: A spatially-explicit model to assess of land use impact on ecosystem services provision

LATERRA, PEDRO; VIGLIZZO, ERNESTO; CASTELLARINI, FABIANA; BALVANERA, PATRICIA; PARUELO, JOSÉ

Brisbane, Australia

Congreso; 10th International Congress of Ecology; 2009

International Association for Ecology

<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 415 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:ES; mso-fareast-language:ES;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;} @page Section1 {size:595.3pt 841.9pt; margin:72.0pt 89.85pt 72.0pt 89.85pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> The increasing worldwide demand of food and fodders exacerbates the unplanned expansion and intensification of croplands in Latin American countries.  As a result, the economic income increased at the cost of carrying environmental impacts,  unsustainable development, and social conflicts. For example, 18% of native forests cover in Argentina dropped during the last decade, mostly conversed to soybean fields and cultivated pastures, and a first national law that promotes land-use policies with focus on ecosystem services preservation was recently promulgated. Aiming to support such kind of policies, here we present an Ecosystem Services model (ECOSER) that assess the impact of land use change on ecosystem services provision and their appropriation by human societies. With the support of a GIS, ECOSER comprises a multi-functional ecosystems model that links ecological goods and services with social attributes. The system scores and displays spatial values in response to provision and appropriation patterns of ecosystem services. By including lateral fluxes, like water runoff and wind erosion ECOSER illustrates about on-site and off-site impacts of land-use change. Simulations on critical areas of Chaco and Pampas in Argentina showed that the model is sensitive to neighbor effects, “filtering-processes” parameters and spatial data resolution. Though the parameterization of current version relies on incomplete knowledge, untested assumptions and empirical judgment, ECOSER provides a framework to incorporate future improvements and benefit from collaborative work.