Assessing ecosystem services for land restoration in Iceland: a public participatory GIS approach

• Main Author: George David King 1993-
• Other Authors: Háskóli Íslands
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Umhverfis- og auðlindafræði; Vistkerfi; Jarðvegseyðing; Landnýting; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1946/35905

Globally, land degradation decreases the ability of diverse ecosystems to provide beneficial services, to the detriment of nature and human wellbeing. In Iceland, widespread soil erosion has left many of its ecosystems severely damaged with a corresponding decline in ecosystem services. Efforts to restore ecosystems since the early 20th century have had notable successes such as at Þórsmörk - a native birch woodland located in the southern part of the Icelandic highlands. To date, no research has undertaken an assessment of ecosystem services in an area undergoing restoration in Iceland. This thesis seeks to quantify ecosystem services in the context of ecological restoration in the Icelandic Southern Highland region. Its central objective is to explore the geography of ecosystem services across two neighbouring study sites located within this region, which exhibit different land use class patterns and represent different stages of the restoration process. Visitors to the sites (public stakeholders) were presented with an online public participation geographic information system (PPGIS) survey composed of multiple-choice questions and an interactive map. Results show that (1) preferences for ecosystem services differ by key stakeholder characteristics, (2) stakeholders make connections between ecosystem services and land use classes, (3) stakeholders generally ascribe high value to recreation, as an ecosystem service, when visiting areas where birch woodland has been restored. In conclusion, the ‘wisdom of the crowds’ can be called upon to record localised knowledge and experiences of ecosystem services in the context of restoration. PPGIS could help to inform other land use conflict debates and democratise management across Iceland’s protected areas. Afleiðingar landhnignunar eru miklar og margvíslegar um alla jörð. Á Íslandi hefur víðáttumikil jarðvegseyðing haft mikil áhrif á vistkerfi landsins og stuðlað að hnignun vistkerfisþjónustu þeirra. Tilraunir til að endurheimta vistkerfin hafa staðið yfir frá ...