Resources time footprint indicator extension for evaluating human interventions in provisioning ecosystem services...

Area of Science:

• Ecology and Environmental Science
• Resource Management
• Sustainability Science

Background:

• Intensive human intervention in provisioning ecosystem services (P-ES) creates spatial gaps, compromising long-term supply.
• The Resources Time Footprint (RTF) indicator assesses resource utilization but lacks water and pollutant occupancy rates for major P-ES.
• Effective management of P-ES requires robust indicators that account for all critical resource aspects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To broaden the scope and robustness of the RTF indicator by incorporating water and water pollutant occupancy rates.
• To identify resources requiring management interventions by evaluating RTF changes influenced by technological and social dynamics.
• To demonstrate the potential of the extended RTF for enhanced P-ES management through case studies.

Main Methods:

• Developed and integrated water and water pollutant occupancy rates into the RTF indicator.
• Applied the extended RTF to case studies: rice cultivation, hydropower (HP) generation, and sugarcane processing.
• Analyzed resource utilization against allocated capacities, considering lifespan and specific resource constraints.

Main Results:

• All case studies showed resource utilization within allocated capacity under prevailing conditions.
• Identified potential resource strains: land and water use in rice, copper in HP, and land/minerals in sugarcane bagasse.
• Highlighted the necessity of integrating water use and availability into P-ES assessments for rice and HP.

Conclusions:

• The enhanced RTF is a replicable tool for quantifying pressures across various P-ES.
• The indicator effectively guides management strategies to ensure sustained ecosystem service benefits.
• Integrating water factors into RTF assessments is crucial for maintaining nature's regenerative capacity and meeting human needs.