Category Archives: Land Use Change

Landscape Diversity Begets Landscape Functioning -Relevance for policy implementation

Response Doctoral Program

It is that range of biodiversity that we must care for – the whole thing – rather than just one or two stars. – David Attenborough

When we think about ecological diversity, our minds often jump to different species of plants and animals. But what if there is more to this story? Diversity extends beyond genes, plants, and animals—it is also about the variety of ecosystems in the landscapes around us (Fig. 1). Imagine a patchwork quilt of croplands, forests, grasslands, wetlands and meadows. Could this mosaic be the key to a healthier, more resilient environment? Do these diverse ecosystems, working together, contribute to the overall balance of our landscapes on a grander scale?

Figure 1: Suggested hierarchy of ecological systems as nested component units. Each level of ecological organization can feature diversity e.g. genetic diversity in individuals, species diversity in communities, community diversity in ecosystems  and ecosystem type diversity in landscapes (Credits: Mayor et al., 2023)

Recently, researchers have started to explore the role that landscape diversity plays in the broader functioning of our environment. While the question is challenging, the answer is crucial for shaping policies that guide how we plan and manage landscapes in the long term. For example, think about zoning maps. These tools dictate how land is used, and they could greatly benefit from insights into how different ecosystems interact and support each other. To make a real impact, it is essential to connect academic research with political decision-making. By doing so, we can ensure that our understanding of landscape diversity goes beyond the theoretical, and has practical, real-world applications that benefit society as a whole.

Simon Landauer, is a PhD student in the Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies at the University of Zurich, as well as a RESPONSE fellow in the PhD program Science and Policy. He tackles this challenge by using satellite remote-sensed imagery of land covers derived every year for fifteen years for around 50’000 rectangular plots of 500m by 500m distributed on the North American continent. From this data, he calculates the number of different land covers in each plot, and correlates it with ecosystem functioning, which he operationalizes as the productivity of vegetation for each land cover type in a plot. Then, he determines positive and negative effects of diversity across all plots.

Figure 2: Graphical abstract of Simon’s research project. Study Area: Investigated region in North America, where different colors represent various biogeographic regions, where the superimposed rectangular grid further subdivides them into smaller units (so called “blocks”). Example: Shows a block in orange (bottom) with investigated plots therein, holding a different number of distinct land-cover types. Zoomed in on one plot, the different land-cover types (e.g. forest and cropland) are visible with the respective functioning of each land cover type area. The functioning is estimated greenness of vegetation (NDVI-normalized difference vegetation index) derived from satellite imagery. Insights: Simplified results of project, showing an average increase in landscape functioning with land cover type richness. (Credits: Simon Landauer)

Key research findings

Simon has identified that landscapes with mixed land cover type show higher vegetation productivity, compared to landscapes with a single land cover type. Analysis of the mechanistic underpinnings of these associations indicate that they are driven by two processes. On the one hand, positive complementarity is at play, whereby land cover types in a landscape complement each other and benefit on average from the mixture, bringing about enhanced vegetation productivity. And on the other hand, negative selection is a significant process, whereby those land covers that are generally less productive, for instance shrublands, benefit more from the presence of diverse land covers in the landscape. Interestingly, these patterns are comparable to results from traditional biodiversity research experiments at smaller spatial scales in grasslands. Simon further identified that productive land cover types supported local productivity, while the type thereof differed by location. These results further hint towards the presence of a so-called spatial insurance in diverse landscapes.

Stakeholder engagement at the science-policy interface

Simon acknowledges the importance of identifying and aligning interests of governmental and organizational entities to ensure that these findings of landscape diversity are contextualized for local policy in Switzerland. Therefore, he organized a stakeholder meeting of those engaged at the science-policy interface at the Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT). This meeting in Bern was attended by the Head of Sustainability Research, the Head of the forum Landscapes, Alps, Parks, and Simon’s research partner organization at the Swiss Biodiversity Forum.

The stakeholders identified the Landscape Quality Assessment Unit of the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) as an essential entity for matters of landscape diversity in Switzerland. Similar to other European countries, Switzerland has witnessed a continuing trend in land consolidation with re-adjustment and industrialization of agricultural land parcels. Consequently, special interest is given to a time series analysis of landscape diversity and the effects of such a process of homogenization. This is also visible in the Areal Statistik – a re-occurring sampling approach-based land use map of Switzerland. Identifying and measuring effects of landscape diversity at a large scale is therefore, likely, of particular interest to landscape quality assessing institutions such as FOEN as well as the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL).

Insights from the stakeholder meeting

Stakeholders acknowledged an increasing awareness of the idea of landscape diversity (Table 1), although political action in this regard is deemed to be still lacking. The trend of landscapes with a single land cover, i.e. monetization, is still predominant and spreading, despite being contradictory to the growing desire for sustainable diversification of landscapes. Despite being a fundamental issue affecting society, there is little bottom-up interest for landscape diversity. This may be due to the difficulty to assess short-term, direct effects of diverse landscapes on everyday life. Simon also emphasizes that this stakeholder exchange indicated that science and politics are often more closely connected than it appears. Further, he highlighted the value in seeking dialogue to discuss and align interests that can create effective outcomes for society.

Table 1: Relevance of potential insights from landscape-diversity-functioning research for different stakeholders. The table represents interests of different actors from the domains: government (GOV), research (RES), organization (ORG).

Simon Landauer is a fellow of the RESPONSE Doctoral Program (DP) «RESPONSE – to society and policy needs through plant, food and energy sciences» funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No 847585.

This article is co-authored by Simon Landauer and Mary Ann George (University of Zurich, RESPONSE Program office assistant).

Featured Image credits: Hendrik Wulf (2024). The featured image titled “WunderTundra” won the 2nd prize under category “Locations and instruments” in the MNF Science Photo Contest 2024. Image description: “This false-color Landsat 8 image shows the North Siberian tundra along the Indigirka River. In addition to the meandering river, this landscape features several lakes (pink and yellow) next to grasslands and shrubs (green and blue). The vivid colors and patterns of the image reveal the beauty and diversity of the almost untouched tundra landscape in summer.”

Unlocking Forest Restoration Success: DNA traces are Revolutionizing Wildlife Monitoring and Conservation

Response Doctoral Program

The tropics lost a whopping 4.1 million hectares of primary forests in 2022, equivalent to losing 11 football fields of forest per minute, according to research from the World Resources Institute. Numerous restoration projects worldwide target counteracting these large scales of forest destruction that are causing insurmountable loss of biodiversity. By planting native vegetation as well as by assisting in natural regrowth of vegetation, these projects aim to restore degraded forests back to their flourishing state. These efforts are not just about the trees. They are crucial for the recovery of animal communities too. However, it is unfortunately undermined by the limited data available on the influence of forest loss and regeneration on recovery of faunal species and communities.  

Continue reading Unlocking Forest Restoration Success: DNA traces are Revolutionizing Wildlife Monitoring and Conservation

Unlocking Forest Restoration Success: DNA traces are Revolutionizing Wildlife Monitoring and Conservation

Response Doctoral Program

The tropics lost a whopping 4.1 million hectares of primary forests in 2022, equivalent to losing 11 football fields of forest per minute, according to research from the World Resources Institute. Numerous restoration projects worldwide target counteracting these large scales of forest destruction that are causing insurmountable loss of biodiversity. By planting native vegetation as well as by assisting in natural regrowth of vegetation, these projects aim to restore degraded forests back to their flourishing state. These efforts are not just about the trees. They are crucial for the recovery of animal communities too. However, it is unfortunately undermined by the limited data available on the influence of forest loss and regeneration on recovery of faunal species and communities.  

Continue reading Unlocking Forest Restoration Success: DNA traces are Revolutionizing Wildlife Monitoring and Conservation

Charcoal Chronicles: Navigating Environmental Sustainability and Societal Needs in sub-Saharan Africa

Response Doctoral Program

In the vast expanse of sub-Saharan Africa, trees sustain the timeless tradition of producing charcoal; the very charcoal used to grill food at barbecues. Charcoal is a vital energy source fueling households and industries. Having said that, this seemingly innocuous practice of burning wood in a kiln comes at a hefty price tag. Converting trees to charcoal disrupts the delicate balance of carbon in ecosystems, with consequences that reverberate far beyond the local landscape.

Continue reading Charcoal Chronicles: Navigating Environmental Sustainability and Societal Needs in sub-Saharan Africa

Charcoal Chronicles: Navigating Environmental Sustainability and Societal Needs in sub-Saharan Africa  

Response Doctoral Program

Background

In the vast expanse of sub-Saharan Africa, trees sustain the timeless tradition of producing charcoal; the very charcoal used to grill food at barbecues. Charcoal is a vital energy source fueling households and industries. Having said that, this seemingly innocuous practice of burning wood in a kiln comes at a hefty price tag. Converting trees to charcoal disrupts the delicate balance of carbon in ecosystems, with consequences that reverberate far beyond the local landscape.

Continue reading Charcoal Chronicles: Navigating Environmental Sustainability and Societal Needs in sub-Saharan Africa  

Science & Policy Stakeholder Event

The future of land-use in Switzerland under the new Global Biodiversity Framework (COP15).

Download Summary Report (including group protocols) (PDF)

On September 26, 2023, the PSC organized a Fireside chat in collaboration with the Franxini Project. At the 15th UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15, 2022) in Montreal, Canada, all 195 countries agreed that 30% of land and water areas should be reserved for habitat and species protection.

Around 40 participants composed of PSC scientists, the Franxini team, representatives of governmental and non-governmental organizations discussed what Switzerland could look like assuming that the biodiversity targets as formulated in Kunming and Montreal will be met in 2030.

Continue reading Science & Policy Stakeholder Event