Ecosystem service availability in view of long-term land-use changes:a regional case study in the Czech Republic

This study aims to analyze how changes in land use influenced the delivery of ecosystem services in Cezava,a South Moravian agricultural region in the Czech Republic,in the period of 1845–2010.An observation of this period covering more than 160 years made it possible to reflect on social forces driving processes of transformation in the country.To capture the landscape multifunctionality and to indicate the environmental quality of the area under study,seven services provided in parallel by arable land,forests,and bodies of water were studied.The quantification of ecosystem services is based primarily on the transfer of values from the existing literature and on chronicle reviews and map analysis.Because looking back to the more distant past is a challenge and reliable information resources are lacking,a simple scoring method defining the functional features of the ecosystems was applied in order to evaluate the change of qualitative characteristics of the observed ecosystems.Besides that,the findings of these integrated assessments were supported by an analysis performed using landscape metrics.A comparison of service provision over the decades revealed that regulating and cultural services were significantly reduced,while provisioning services increased due to the proliferation of arable land,land consolidation,and agricultural intensification.However,a trend of improvement in the delivery of ecosystem services was introduced after 1990.Despite several uncertainties,this study demonstrates that it is possible to analyze long-term land-use trends to generate more meaningful,spatially explicit information,which can form the basis for landscape planning and ecosystem management.

It is time to change land use and landscape management in the Czech Republic

The identity of man-made landscapes is based on the balance among their ecological,cultural,and economic dimensions.Since the 1950s,short-term economic benefits have globally often outweighed long-term interests.This results in decreased landscape quality manifested as increased erosion of agricultural land,decreased water retention capacity,increased landscape uniformity,and loss of biodiversity.A new phenomenon influencing the condition of man-made landscapes is climate change.Extreme fluctuations of temperature and precipitation have been causing repeated floods and also periods of drought in Europe.Landscapes damaged by inappropriate management are unable to offset these impacts.It is necessary to stop this development by changing land use and management methods to restore the balance among landscape functions.For the Czech Republic,we propose to develop a long-term landscape vision and to formulate a responsible landscape policy with regional strategic goals,including subsidies and penalties(carrots and sticks),based on the principles of the European Landscape Convention.To promote ecological stability,we recommend allocating funds from the Common Agricultural Policy to both the restoration and maintenance of valuable habitats.Landscape research and management(based on habitat/species monitoring in cooperation with stakeholders)must be strengthened in order to play a proper role in the transformation.It is time for clear communication with the public and the training of state officials and land users in spatial and landscape planning.To fill this gap in interdisciplinary cooperation,we call for the establishment of a platform on sustainable landscape management in the Czech Republic.