Ecosystem potentials to provide ecosystem services - synthetic approach

Abstract This chapter is a synthesis of the analytical results presented in Chapter 6 . However, the investigation was conducted only on 29 ecosystem services (ES) indicators for which the ecosystem (detailed or Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services [MAES]–derived) was the spatial reference unit. To start with, synthetic assessment matrices were generated, which served as a basis for the majority of further analyses. Rank values obtained through expert and social assessment were compared, where possible. In the next step, the aggregated potential for each ecosystem type was calculated and ES hotspots were identified and then both mapped, separately for each ES section and in total. Next, the interactions among services and similarities among ecosystem types were investigated. Finally, spatial patterns of ES potentials, described in short for each indicator separately in the analytical chapter, were compared with each other and further analyzed using landscape metrics.