The LEGATO cross-disciplinary integrated ecosystem service research framework

an example of integrating research results from the analysis of global change impacts and the social, cultural and economic system dynamics of irrigated rice production

authored by

Joachim H. Spangenberg, Alexis L. Beaurepaire, Erwin Bergmeier, Benjamin Burkhard, Ho Van Chien, Le Quoc Cuong, Christoph Görg, Volker Grescho, Le Huu Hai, Kong Luen Heong, Finbarr G. Horgan, Stefan Hotes, Anika Klotzbücher, Thimo Klotzbücher, Ingolf Kühn, Fanny Langerwisch, Glenn Marion, Robin F.A. Moritz, Quynh Anh Nguyen, Jürgen Ott, Christina Sann, Cornelia Sattler, Martin Schädler, Anja Schmidt, Vera Tekken, Truong Dao Thanh, Kirsten Thonicke, Manfred Türke, Tomáš Václavík, Doris Vetterlein, Catrin Westphal, Martin Wiemers, Josef Settele

Abstract

In a cross-disciplinary project (LEGATO) combining inter- and transdisciplinary methods, we quantify the dependency of rice-dominated socio-ecological systems on ecosystem functions (ESF) and the ecosystem services (ESS) the integrated system provides. In the collaboration of a large team including geo- and bioscientists, economists, political and cultural scientists, the mutual influences of the biological, climate and soil conditions of the agricultural area and its surrounding natural landscape have been analysed. One focus was on sociocultural and economic backgrounds, another on local as well as regional land use intensity and biodiversity, and the potential impacts of future climate and land use change. LEGATO analysed characteristic elements of three service strands defined by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA): (a) provisioning services: nutrient cycling and crop production; (b) regulating services: biocontrol and pollination; and (c) cultural services: cultural identity and aesthetics. However, in line with much of the current ESS literature, what the MA called supporting services is treated as ESF within LEGATO. As a core output, LEGATO developed generally applicable principles of ecological engineering (EE), suitable for application in the context of future climate and land use change. EE is an emerging discipline, concerned with the design, monitoring and construction of ecosystems and aims at developing strategies to optimise ecosystem services through exploiting natural regulation mechanisms instead of suppressing them. Along these lines LEGATO also aims to create the knowledge base for decision-making for sustainable land management and livelihoods, including the provision of the corresponding governance and management strategies, technologies and system solutions.

External Organisation(s)

Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health
Sustainable Europe Research Institute SERI Germany
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg
University of Göttingen
Kiel University
Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF)
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Vietnam
Alpen-Adria-Universitat Klagenfurt (AAU)
OLANIS GmbH
Tien Giang University
UTS University of Technology Sydney
Zhejiang University
Philipps-Universität Marburg
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland
Vietnam National University
L.U.P.O. GmbH
University of Greifswald
Technical University of Munich (TUM)
Leipzig University
Palacky University
University of the Philippines
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig

Type

Article

Journal

Paddy and Water Environment

Volume

16

Pages

287-319

No. of pages

33

ISSN

1611-2490

Publication date

01.04.2018

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Environmental Engineering, Agronomy and Crop Science, Water Science and Technology

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 13 - Climate Action, SDG 15 - Life on Land

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10333-017-0628-5 (Access: Open)