A Decision Support Tool for Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on Multiple Ecosystem Services
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Decision Support Tool Description
2.1. Conceptual Design and System Architecture
- Information management component, used mainly for handling input data for the simulations (i.e., forest inventory data, climatic data (historical and future), and management prescription data);
- Prescription generator component, used to automatically create multiple alternatives based on user-defined management options;
- External stand simulator, able to project the future states of forest stands for each management prescription and climatic scenario;
- Ecosystem services component, used to assess future ecosystem services based on the evolution of the stands;
- Visualization component, able to display input and output data in form of maps, tables, figures, and 3D scenes.
2.2. Stand Dynamics Simulation Component
2.3. Ecosystem Services Component
- provisioning (e.g., food, water, fiber, and fuel);
- regulating (e.g., climate, water, and disease regulation (pest outbreaks and pathogens));
- cultural (e.g., aesthetics, recreation, spiritual, and educational).
2.4. Visualization and Graphical User Interfaces
2.4.1. Stand Definition UI
2.4.2. Climate Change UI
- T is the annual temperature, in degrees C, at time t
- T1 is the mean annual temperature value, as assigned in the initial parameters
- B is the temperature change parameter
- C is the temperature change parameter
- t is the time elapsed, in years, since the start of the run
- P is the annual precipitation, in mm, at time t
- P1 is the annual precipitation value at the start of the run, as assigned in the plot parameters
- B is the annual precipitation change parameter
- C is and the mean annual precipitation change parameter
- t is the time elapsed, in years, since the start of the run
2.4.3. Management UI
2.4.4. Simulation
2.4.5. 2D Visualization UI
2.4.6. 3D Visualization Component
2.5. Usability Evaluation
3. Illustrative Example
3.1. Data Input
3.2. Management
3.3. Simulation Outputs
3.3.1. Overview of a Simulated Stand
3.3.2. 3D Viewer
4. Discussion and Conclusions
- Overall, I am satisfied with the ease of completing the task(s).
- Overall, I am satisfied with the amount of time it took to complete the task(s).
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Ecosystem Service | Description | Author |
---|---|---|
Provisioning Services | ||
Biomass production | Above- and below-ground biomass, expressed by roots, stem, branches, and foliage of the trees. | Ruiz-Peinado et al., (2011) [7] |
Timber production | Volume of harvested timber, derived from the stem biomass and wood density at 12% humidity | Catalan Guide for Forest Species [54] |
Mushroom production | Amount of total, edible, and marketed mushrooms, in kg per hectare | De-Miguel et al. (2014) [55] |
Regulating and Maintenance Services and Indicators | ||
Carbon sequestration | Amount of sequestrated carbon by the tree biomass | Ruiz-Peinado et al. (2011) [7] |
Forest fire prevention indicator | Potential fire damage, derived from Spanish forest inventories from plots affected by fire. | González-Olabarria et al. (2005) [38] |
Snow and wind damage prevention indicator | Stand-level models for Pinus sylvestris and Pinus uncinata, describing the snow and wind damage severity based on data from the national forest inventory. | Martín-Alcón et al. (2010) [56] |
Erosion protection indicator | Stand-level models for all the species in Catalonia, based on data from national forest inventory describing the probability of surface erosion occurrence. Used as an indicator of the erosion protection class defined by the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES). | Selkimäki et al. (2012) [57] |
Cultural Services | ||
Scenic beauty | The aesthetic value of the forest, based on 259 evaluations of perceptual preference of pictures and 3D scenes. | Blasco et al. (2009) [58] |
Auxiliary Models | ||
Timber value | Economical value of timber, expressed in relation to roadside timber price, felling cost, and transportation cost | Solano et al. (2007) [59] |
Maximum shrub coverage | Maximum response models relating maximum understory shrub cover with stand basal area and elevation for different dominant canopy species, using data from the Spanish National Forest Inventory | Coll et al. (2010) [60] |
System Modules | Basic Steps | Alternative Path |
---|---|---|
Data input |
| Upload tab delimited files containing stand initial conditions and stand composition |
| Provide precipitation and temperature change parameters | |
Management |
| Proceed without management alternatives |
Simulation |
| |
2D visualization |
| |
| ||
3D visualization |
|
DBH Class | P. sylvestris | P. uncinata |
---|---|---|
0–10 | 127 | 0 |
11–15 | 0 | 14 |
16–20 | 56 | 0 |
21–25 | 0 | 14 |
26–30 | 14 | 0 |
Latitude (degrees) | AVG Precipitation (mm) | AVG Temperature (°C) | Slope (%) | Distance from Road (m) | Altitude (m) | Aspect (degrees) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
42.0 | 900 | 10 | 27.5 | 0 | 1200 | 260 |
Harvest Type | Year | Intensity (%Basal Area) |
---|---|---|
Alternative 1 | ||
Thinning | 40 | 30 |
Preparatory cut | 80 | 50 |
Seed cut | 90 | 50 |
Final cut | 100 | 90 |
Alternative 2 | ||
Clearcut | 120 | 100 |
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Cristal, I.; Ameztegui, A.; González-Olabarria, J.R.; Garcia-Gonzalo, J. A Decision Support Tool for Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on Multiple Ecosystem Services. Forests 2019, 10, 440. https://doi.org/10.3390/f10050440
Cristal I, Ameztegui A, González-Olabarria JR, Garcia-Gonzalo J. A Decision Support Tool for Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on Multiple Ecosystem Services. Forests. 2019; 10(5):440. https://doi.org/10.3390/f10050440
Chicago/Turabian StyleCristal, Irina, Aitor Ameztegui, Jose Ramon González-Olabarria, and Jordi Garcia-Gonzalo. 2019. "A Decision Support Tool for Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on Multiple Ecosystem Services" Forests 10, no. 5: 440. https://doi.org/10.3390/f10050440
APA StyleCristal, I., Ameztegui, A., González-Olabarria, J. R., & Garcia-Gonzalo, J. (2019). A Decision Support Tool for Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on Multiple Ecosystem Services. Forests, 10(5), 440. https://doi.org/10.3390/f10050440