Valerie A. Luzadis

The good, the bad, and the algae: Perceiving ecosystem services and disservices generated by zebra and quagga mussels

ABSTRACT Dreissenid (zebra and quagga) mussels are widely recognized as having strong, adverse ecological and economic impacts, e.g., biofouling and loss of water column primary production. We assessed perceptions and values associated with two less often considered ecological outcomes of dreissenid mussel influences on coastal ecosystems along Lake Ontario and the western St. Lawrence River in New York State. One, the generation of water clarity through filtration, we define as an ecosystem service; the other, the production of large amounts of nuisance algae (e.g., Cladophora and Microcystis) is defined as an ecosystem disservice. Surveys of business owners and homeowners quantified their preferences and the formation of values regarding these products of zebra mussel influence. Water clarity increased greatly, particularly in the eastern portion of Lake Ontario, and algal problems increased throughout. Businesses attributed increases and decreases in revenues associated with water clarity and algae; homeowners reported analogous changes in property values. Water clarity was positively associated, and algae negatively associated, with changes in revenues and property values. Threshold responses of costs as functions of filamentous algae were evident. Given the likely continued influx of invasive species due to human activities, further development of the ecosystem service concept should consider potential “goods” and “bads” of invasives and their influence on ecosystem and social system resiliency.

A social-ecological analysis of community perceptions of dengue fever and Aedes aegypti in Machala, Ecuador

BackgroundThe growing burden of dengue fever and the lack of a vaccine or specific medical treatment have increased the urgency of the public health sector to identify alternative management strategies. A prevailing trend in Latin America has been a shift towards decentralized vector control programs with integrated management strategies, requiring significant intersectoral coordination, community engagement, and knowledge of the local social-ecological system (SES). Community perceptions and responses are a critical component of this system, since perceptions shape actions, and thus govern behavioral responses and acceptance of shifts in policy and management.MethodsWe investigated perceptions, misconceptions, and local SES risk factors for dengue in high risk communities located at the urban periphery and center in Machala, Ecuador. We facilitated twelve focus group discussions with community members using semi-structured question guides and causal diagrams. Focus groups were recorded, transcribed, and coded to identify emergent themes using qualitative methods for theme analysis. To estimate the relative importance of the themes in each study area, we tabulated the number of focus groups in which each theme was present. Household surveys (n = 79) were conducted to further explore these themes, and we compared survey responses from the two areas using descriptive statistics.ResultsWe identified thirty biophysical, political-institutional, and community-household risk factors for dengue. People at the periphery identified a greater number of risk factors. Dengue control required considerable investment of time and resources, which presented a greater challenge for women and people at the periphery. Common misperceptions included confusion with other febrile diseases, lack of knowledge of transmission mechanisms, and misconceptions about mosquito behavior. People perceived that dengue control programs had been limited by the lack of inter-institutional coordination and lack of social cohesion.ConclusionsThere is a need for local, policy-relevant research that can be translated to strengthen the design, implementation, and evaluation of new dengue management strategies. This study contributes to a growing body of research in this area. Based on these findings, we identify key policy and management recommendations that will inform the ongoing transition to a decentralized dengue control program in Ecuador and other dengue endemic countries.

A New Process for Organizing Assessments of Social, Economic, and Environmental Outcomes: Case Study of Wildland Fire Management in the USA

Ecological risk assessments typically are organized using the processes of planning (a discussion among managers, stakeholders, and analysts to clarify ecosystem management goals and assessment scope) and problem formulation (evaluation of existing information to generate hypotheses about adverse ecological effects, select assessment endpoints, and develop an analysis plan). These processes require modification to be applicable for integrated assessments that evaluate ecosystem management alternatives in terms of their ecological, economic, and social consequences.We present 8 questions that define the steps of a new process we term integrated problem formulation (IPF), and we illustrate the use of IPF through a retrospective case study comparing 2 recent phases of development of the Fire Program Analysis (FPA) system, a planning and budgeting system for the management of wildland fire throughout publicly managed lands in the United States. IPF extends traditional planning and problem formulation by including the explicit comparison of management alternatives, the valuation of ecological, economic and social endpoints, and the combination or integration of those endpoints. The phase 1, limited prototype FPA system used a set of assessment endpoints of common form (i.e., probabilities of given flame heights over acres of selected land-resource types), which were specified and assigned relative weights at the local level in relation to a uniform national standard. This approach was chosen to permit system-wide optimization of fire management budget allocations according to a cost-effectiveness criterion. Before full development, however, the agencies abandoned this approach in favor of a phase 2 system that examined locally specified (rather than system-optimized) allocation alternatives and was more permissive as to endpoint form. We demonstrate how the IPF process illuminates the nature, rationale, and consequences of these differences, and argue that its early use for the FPA system may have enabled a smoother development path.

An Analysis of the Factors Influencing Fishing Participation by Resident Anglers

A survey of 7,000 property owners in the counties bordering Lake Ontario in New York State was conducted in 2009 to better understand the factors influencing fishing participation by resident anglers. Relationships among motivations, constraints, facilitators, demographic, and experiential characteristics, and fishing participation were studied. A total of 681 questionnaires were completed by anglers. Two factor analyses confirmed 9 motivations and 12 facilitators/constraints. Path analysis revealed direct relationships between fishing participation and gender, number of adult anglers in the household, and three factors perceived as facilitators by the average respondent (level of commitment to fishing, level of interest in fishing, and level of knowledge about fishing); none of the perceived constraints significantly influenced participation. Management efforts focused on increasing the knowledge and interest of resident anglers are suggested for increasing fishing participation in New Yorks Lake Ontario Region. Including facilitators in future studies on factors influencing participation is recommended.

Toward a More Integrated Ecosystem Model

We assess the potential of the Human Ecosystem Model (HEM; Machlis et al. 1997) as a social science framework for a more fully integrated social and biophysical ecosystem model. Our approach to discussing this integration is to accept the HEM as a solid example of a sociologically based model of the ecosystem and use it to interface with typical systems ecology energy models. This assessment provides an agenda for future research that includes the need to focus on process in social models and the opportunity to specify using a systems approach for more complete understanding of the complex human ecosystem.

A role for economic analysis in the ecosystem management debate

Abstract Ecosystem managements underpinnings have been biological in nature—the concern for ecosystem integrity, health, and resilience. This intent has been translated into a similar societal goal. However, its philosophy is still evolving biologically and socially. Since the geographic boundaries of an ecosystem may probably cross many different ownership types, this leaves landowners wondering how this new management approach will affect them. We discuss the role of economics within the ecosystem management debate. In addition, we also examine three existing economic analytical techniques that can be used to analyze ecosystem management, discuss the contributions of these techniques and their limitations, and identify three key points that an economic analysis should address. Finally, we survey five examples of ecosystem management in practice on United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service lands.

The science of ecological economics: A content analysis of Ecological Economics, 1989–2004

The Ecological Economics journal is a primary source for inquiry on ecological economics and sustainability. To explore the scholarly pursuit of ecological economics, we conducted a content analysis of 200 randomly sampled research, survey, and methodological articles published in Ecological Economics during the 15‐year period of 1989–2004. Results of the analysis were used to investigate facets of transdisciplinarity within the journal. A robust qualitative approach was used to gather and examine data to identify themes representing substantive content found within the span of sampled journal papers. The extent to which each theme was represented was counted as well as additional data, such as author discipline, year published, etc. Four main categories were revealed: (1) foundations (self‐reflexive themes stemming from direct discussions about ecological economics); (2) human systems, represented by the themes of values, social indicators of well‐being, intergenerational distribution, and equity; (3) biophysical systems, including themes, such as carrying capacity and scarcity, energy, and resource use, relating directly to the biophysical aspects of systems; and (4) policy and management encompassing themes of development, growth, trade, accounting, and valuation, as well as institutional structures and management. The results provide empirical evidence for discussing the future direction of ecological economic efforts.

The science of ecological economics

The Ecological Economics journal is a primary source for inquiry on ecological economics and sustainability. To explore the scholarly pursuit of ecological economics, we conducted a content analysis of 200 randomly sampled research, survey, and methodological articles published in Ecological Economics during the 15‐year period of 1989–2004. Results of the analysis were used to investigate facets of transdisciplinarity within the journal. A robust qualitative approach was used to gather and examine data to identify themes representing substantive content found within the span of sampled journal papers. The extent to which each theme was represented was counted as well as additional data, such as author discipline, year published, etc. Four main categories were revealed: (1) foundations (self‐reflexive themes stemming from direct discussions about ecological economics); (2) human systems, represented by the themes of values, social indicators of well‐being, intergenerational distribution, and equity; (3) biophysical systems, including themes, such as carrying capacity and scarcity, energy, and resource use, relating directly to the biophysical aspects of systems; and (4) policy and management encompassing themes of development, growth, trade, accounting, and valuation, as well as institutional structures and management. The results provide empirical evidence for discussing the future direction of ecological economic efforts.

Integrating beneficiaries into assessment of ecosystem services from managed forests at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, USA

BackgroundForests contribute to human wellbeing through the provision of important ecosystem services.MethodsIn this study, we investigated how the perceived importance of ecosystem services may impact the overall benefit provided by managed watersheds at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest over a 45-year period, using standardized measures of service capacity weighted by service importance weights derived from a survey of beneficiaries.ResultsThe capacity of watersheds to regulate water flow and quality was high in all watersheds throughout the study period, whereas cultural services such as scenic beauty declined after harvest. Impacts on greenhouse gas regulation depended on the efficiency with which harvested biomass was used. Surveys revealed that stakeholders placed high value on all ecosystem services, with regulating and cultural services seen as more important than provisioning services. When service metrics were weighted by survey responses and aggregated into a single measure, total service provision followed the same overall trend as greenhouse gas regulation. Where biomass use was less efficient in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, harvesting resulted in an overall “ecosystem service debt”; where use was more efficient, this “ecosystem service debt” was reduced. Beneficiaries’ educational backgrounds significantly affected overall assessment of service provision. Beneficiaries with college or university degrees incurred smaller “ecosystem service debts” and were less negatively affected by harvesting overall.ConclusionsThis study highlights the importance of including empirical measures of beneficiary preference when attempting to quantify overall provision of ecosystem services to human beneficiaries over time.

Forest Sustainability and Social Policy: The Role of Ecosystem Services

Ecosystem services are considered as a foundation for the integration of environmental and social policies to provide certain economic incentives and alternatives to tackle existing environmental and social problems. This chapter specifically addresses the potential of integrated social and environmental policies to provide benefits from sustainable land use and management – forestry in particular. A brief assessment of existing global policy frameworks on sustainable forest management is presented focusing on how well they integrate ecosystem services to promote environmentally and socially sound policy development and practices. We reflect on problems occurring from the lack of integrated policies and incentives to promote sustainable land use and management, highlighting such negative outcomes as forest degradation, causing various social and economic problems, such as overexploitation of natural resources, starvation, migration, and unemployment. Insights are shared from an examination of how current practices and case studies such as REDD and PES address the issues of sustainability and sustainable development.