Multiple ecosystem services of a changing Alpine landscape: past, present and future

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Environmental Science
• Agricultural Science

Background:

• Ecosystem services in mountain regions are influenced by land use, topography, and climate.
• Global change poses significant impacts on these services.
• Understanding past, present, and future relationships between land use and ecosystem services is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between agricultural activities and multiple ecosystem services in the Austrian Alps.
• To model future land-use patterns under different socio-economic and climate scenarios.
• To inform policies for sustainable ecosystem service provision.

Main Methods:

• Landscape-scale analysis of past land-use changes and their impact on ecosystem services.
• Future land-use modeling based on stakeholder workshops and integrated socio-economic and climate scenarios.
• Assessment of trade-offs between different ecosystem services under various future developments.

Main Results:

• Past reductions in land-use intensity led to decreased forage provision but enhanced regulating services.
• Future scenarios indicate a shift towards tourism under global change, but increased farming during economic crises.
• Drought periods may lead to farmland abandonment, while forest regeneration benefits regulating services but reduces aesthetic value.
• Optimizing forage provision negatively impacts both regulating and cultural ecosystem services.

Conclusions:

• Agricultural management must be aligned with ecosystem service provision.
• Integrating ecosystem services into land-use policies and agricultural incentives is essential for sustainable mountain development.
• Balancing competing demands for ecosystem services requires adaptive management strategies.