Non‐linearity in ecosystem services: temporal and spatial variability in coastal protection

Natural processes tend to vary over time and space, as well as between species. The ecosystem services these natural processes provide are therefore also highly variable. It is often assumed that ecosystem services are provided linearly (unvaryingly, at a steady rate), but natural processes are characterized by thresholds and limiting functions. In this paper, we describe the variability observed in wave attenuation provided by marshes, mangroves, seagrasses, and coral reefs and therefore also in coastal protection. We calculate the economic consequences of assuming coastal protection to be linear. We suggest that, in order to refine ecosystem-based management practices, it is essential that natural variability and cumulative effects be considered in the valuation of ecosystem services.

[1]  A. Komiyama,et al.  Allometry, biomass, and productivity of mangrove forests: A review , 2008 .

[2]  E. Sala,et al.  Mangroves in the Gulf of California increase fishery yields , 2008, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[3]  R. Feagin.  Vegetation's Role in Coastal Protection , 2008, Science.

[4]  D. J. Meltzer.  A Quaternary Question , 2008, Science.

[5]  Carrie V. Kappel,et al.  A Global Map of Human Impact on Marine Ecosystems , 2008, Science.

[6]  Carrie V. Kappel,et al.  Coastal Ecosystem-Based Management with Nonlinear Ecological Functions and Values , 2008, Science.

[7]  W. F. Boer.  Seagrass–sediment interactions, positive feedbacks and critical thresholds for occurrence: a review , 2007, Hydrobiologia.

[8]  B. G. Ruessink,et al.  Daily to seasonal cross‐shore behaviour of quasi‐persistent intertidal beach morphology , 2007 .

[9]  J. Kaldy,et al.  Factors controlling Zostera marina L. growth in the eastern and western Pacific Ocean : Comparisons between korea and oregon, USA , 2007 .

[10]  J. Benoit,et al.  The National Academies Report on Mitigating Shore Erosion along Sheltered Coasts , 2007 .

[11]  E. Koch,et al.  A nearshore model to investigate the effects of seagrass bed geometry on wave attenuation and suspended sediment transport , 2007 .

[12]  E. Barbier.  Valuing Ecosystem Services as Productive Inputs , 2007 .

[13]  Frederick T. Short,et al.  A Global Crisis for Seagrass Ecosystems , 2006 .

[14]  Joshua S Madin,et al.  Ecological consequences of major hydrodynamic disturbances on coral reefs , 2006, Nature.

[15]  Iris Möller,et al.  Quantifying saltmarsh vegetation and its effect on wave height dissipation: Results from a UK East coast saltmarsh , 2006 .

[16]  R. Davidson‐Arnott,et al.  Controls on spatial patterns of sediment deposition across a macro-tidal salt marsh surface over single tidal cycles , 2006 .

[17]  David Lodge,et al.  Habitat loss, trophic collapse, and the decline of ecosystem services. , 2006, Ecology.

[18]  R. D. Groot,et al.  Spatial scales, stakeholders and the valuation of ecosystem services , 2006 .

[19]  E. Koch,et al.  Fluid Dynamics in Seagrass Ecology—from Molecules to Ecosystems , 2006 .

[20]  Yoshihiro Mazda,et al.  Wave reduction in a mangrove forest dominated by Sonneratia sp. , 2006, Wetlands Ecology and Management.

[21]  M. Bertness,et al.  Drought, Snails, and Large-Scale Die-Off of Southern U.S. Salt Marshes , 2005, Science.

[22]  P. Herman,et al.  Trade-offs related to ecosystem engineering: A case study on stiffness of emerging macrophytes , 2005 .

[23]  M. Gourlay,et al.  Coral mortality increases wave energy reaching shores protected by reef flats: Examples from the Seychelles , 2005 .

[24]  Mikako Takahoko,et al.  How effective were mangroves as a defence against the recent tsunami? , 2005, Current Biology.

[25]  T. McClanahan,et al.  Management of the Kenyan coast , 2005 .

[26]  P. Chambers,et al.  The interaction between water movement, sediment dynamics and submersed macrophytes , 2001, Hydrobiologia.

[27]  Y. Wong,et al.  Community structure and standing crop biomass of a mangrove forest in Futian Nature Reserve, Shenzhen, China , 2004, Hydrobiologia.

[28]  R. Gardner,et al.  Multiscale Experiments in Coastal Ecology: Improving Realism and Advancing Theory , 2003 .

[29]  K. Gaston,et al.  Pattern and Process in Macroecology , 2000 .

[30]  Edward B Barbier,et al.  Valuing Ecosystem Services , 1999, Ecosystems.

[31]  Carlos M. Duarte,et al.  Seagrass Biomass And Production: A Reassessment , 1999 .

[32]  C. Duarte,et al.  AN APPROACH TO MEASUREMENT OF PARTICLE FLUX AND SEDIMENT RETENTION WITHIN SEAGRASS (POSIDONIA OCEANICA) MEADOWS , 1999 .

[33]  E. Koch,et al.  Water flow in tide- and wave-dominated beds of the seagrass Thalassia testudinum , 1999 .

[34]  S. Massel,et al.  Surface wave propagation in mangrove forests , 1999 .

[35]  P. Komar.  Wave erosion of a massive artificial coastal landslide , 1998 .

[36]  D. Starrett.  Valuing Ecosystem Services , 1998 .

[37]  E. Farnsworth,et al.  Issues of spatial, taxonomic and temporal scale in delineating links between mangrove diversity and ecosystem function , 1998 .

[38]  Akira Sase,et al.  Drag force due to vegetation in mangrove swamps , 1997 .

[39]  G. van der Velde,et al.  Interactions between waves, bank erosion and emergent vegetation: An experimental study in a wave tank , 1996 .

[40]  Debbie Whitall,et al.  WETLANDS , 1995, Restoration & Management Notes.

[41]  M. Fonseca,et al.  A preliminary evaluation of wave attenuation by four species of seagrass , 1992 .

[42]  R. Twilley,et al.  Carbon sinks in mangroves and their implications to carbon budget of tropical coastal ecosystems , 1992 .

[43]  Betsy Haskin,et al.  A 5‐yr Record of Aerial Primary Production and Stand Characteristics of Spartina Alterniflora , 1990 .

[44]  N. Shuto.  The Effectiveness and Limit of Tsunami Control Forests , 1987 .

[45]  Silviu Brucan.  The Global Crisis , 1984 .

[46]  S. Goldhor.  Ecology , 1964, The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine.