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Land use conflicts The competition between
food, bioenergy, urbanisation, biodiversity and
ecosystem services Biodiversity
perspective Support by DFG is greatfully
acknowledged Norbert Jürgens, Biocenter
Flottbek, University of Hamburg, World Social
Science Forum, Bergen, Norway, 11 May 2009
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• The dimensions of biological diversity

Structure
Composition
Land cover
Community composition
Genes
Impact interaction
Biological dynamics
Species
Ecosystems
Function goods, services and threats
Evolution Adaptation and innovation
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(No Transcript)
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Evolution of diversity of marine invertebrates
and the five larger mass extinction events
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Farewell
to global
wildlife
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The top four causes for biodiversity decline

• Habitat conversion and habitat destruction
• Pollution by toxic substances, fertilisers etc.
• Overexploitation of resources
• Introduction and invasion of exotic species
• threaten survival of biodiversity and ecosystems
• threaten availability of the goods and services
  provided by ecosystems
• are heavily driven by land use policies
• Can a new global approach to sustainable land use
  based on knowledge and planning replace the
  hitherto dominating spontaneous ever expanding
  evolution of land use, driven by necessity or
  opportunity?

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Global Change Drivers Climate, Biogeochemical
Cycles, Land use, Biological Invasions,
Pressures Habitat conversion, Overexploitation,
Eutrophication, Salinisation, Competition, Fire
regime,
Full economic accounting of negative impacts
on ecosystem services
Rewarding Regulation instruments
Biodiversity Genes, Species, Ecosystems Number,
Composition, Structure, Functional
Types Interaction, Evolution, Adaptation,
Expansion, Decline
Ecosystem Processes Primary and secondary
productivity Nutrient Cycling, Evapotranspiration,
Resistance, Resilience
Developing tools for sustainable management
Improving fair int. cooperation


Ecosystem Services Primary production, Oxygen,
Nutrient Water Cycling Provision of habitat,
Soil Fertility, Erosion Control Regulation of
Climate, Human Health, Pests, Floods Pollination
and Seed Dispersal,
Ecosystem Goods Food, Fiber Fuel, Genetic
ressources, Pharmaceuticals, Recreation and
easthetic value, Education Inspiration
Improving Governance
Improving capacities
Developing alternatives
Human Well-Being Basic material for good
life Security HealthFreedom of Choice and
Action Cultural and Spiritual Values Economic,
Scientific Technological Development
Understanding processes
Measuring change
Sustainable Management
Jürgens 2008, based on S. Diaz et al. 2004
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Pavan SukhdevThe Economics of Ecosystems and
Biodiversity (TEEB)
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• Are land users able to correct their management,
  when over-exploitation of ressources results in a
  degradation of the ecosystems goods and services?

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Case studie 1 The mid-european heath landscape
Global pole position with regard to ecosystem
degradation
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Ecosystem
Land use
Economic basis
(1000-1800)
A Natural oak-birch forest
Open access grazing
Wood, various stock
B Open grasland
Continued open access grazing
Various stock
Sheep meat wool, Bee honey wax
C Overgrazing weeds (heather, juniper)
Continued open access grazing
Lack of straw as litter ? plagging of heather
D Soil degradation
E Acid soils and nutrient-poor vegetation
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Plagging repeated removal of heather
including roots top soil ? nutrient-poor acid
infertile mobile sand!
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Ecosystem
Land use
Economic basis
(1800-1960)

• Collaps of economic basis due to globalisation
• Merino wool replaces wool of local breeds
• Sogar cane sugar-beet replace honey
• Paraffin replaces wax

Technological progress 1840 von Liebig, N P K
1910 Haber Bosch
Import Exotic forest Species (Pinus)
Forests in Lower Saxony County
Monocultures of Pinus and Spruce forests
Acres, based on mineral fertilizers
Open access ? private land tenure !
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1778 Kurhannoversche Landesaufnahme
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Pflege,warum?

1900 Modern maps
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Pflege,warum?

2000 Modern maps
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• Present-day trends
• Meat-driven cascade
• Many new stables (urban sprawl) in rural
  landscapes (mass lifestock cows, pigs)
• Corn acres (slurry, liquid manure)
• Energy-driven cascade
• Cultivation of bioenergy plants
• Rising value of land
• Rising food prices

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• Present-day land-use based problems
• Air pollution (NH4)
• Mineral fertilizers (? CO2)
• Direct energy consumption
• Groundwater pollution (NOx)
• Pesticide pollution
• GMO-problems
• Import of animal feed (D 20 12 140)
• Destruction of tropical forests (4 Mio ha/y)

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• Messages
• In spite of the drastic degradation no correction
  of the system was possible.
• Change was imposed by external processes (collaps
  due to global competition).
• In a luxury world environmental problems can be
  exported.
• Would todays approach for sustainable management
  of ecosystem services be able to fix the
  historical problem?

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Case studie 2 African landscapes
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Humans The hunted
becoming The hunters
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and start to keep domestic stock
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Introduction of domestic stock ca. 8000 y BP
Introduction of domestic stock ca. 6000 y BP
Introduction of domestic stock ca. 2000 y BP
SFB 389, 1997
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Desertification due to overexploitation of
resources Example taken from Damaraland, NW
Namibia
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Richtersveld, South Africa 1914 Brownanthus
pseudoschlichtianus Dwarf Shrubland Deep silty
loam
Foto Fred Cornell
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Richtersveld, South Africa 2003 Halophytic
Euphorbia gummifera Opophytum aquosum -
Semidesert Saline sandy-loamy gravel
Foto Norbert Juergens
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Changes in species richness per area
Recent
2020
2040
2060
2080
2100
Sommer et al., in prep
BIOTA W-03
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Current biodiversity- how much is left?
Remaning plant species richness (?)
BIOTA W-03
Küper, in prep.
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• Resumé Africa
• Often same mechanisms active as in mid-european
  heathland (tragedy of the commons)
• Bioenergy demand may destroy the remaining
  woodland savannas (Miombo, Mopane, Kavango, etc.)
• High expected population growth
• Last frontier, no further export possible
• Need for knowledge based better solutions

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• Is it possible to harmonise human welfare for a
  50 increased world population and sustainable
  use of the limited natural resources and
  biodiversity?
• Efficiency
• Better use of land (agricultural yields, denser
  living)
• Alternative uses of land (economically efficient
  land allocation)
• Alternative compositional and spatio-temporal
  structures of land use mosaics
• Integrate the ecosystem value of non-used land
  into the balance
• Integrate a precautionary principle by protecting
  biodiversity also when economic value of
  ecosystem service cannot be calculated!
• Substitution
• Migration (rural to urban)
• New bioenergy sources. No! This is rather the
  exploitation of the last remaining intact natural
  ecosystems e.g. arid woodland savannas!
• Sufficiency ? Innovation of food
• Lifestyle changes
• Nutritional habits (from meat to maigre ?
  innovation / better food)
• Awareness development
• Creating spaces for innovative management

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• Ecosystem services a useful concept!
• However, is it a sufficient concept?
• Extremely anthropocentric view The whole world
  is at our service!
• We also need to follow a precautional principle
  regarding still not fully understood global
  ecosystem functions in a very complex Earth
  System in contrast to the concept of a purelely
  anthropocentric approach.
• ? Ecosystem services therefore is not a
  sufficient concept, but needs to be accompanied
  by a sound definition of targets based on the
  precautional principle.

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Biosphäre II
13.000m², 3.800 Species, 8 Humans, 2 years
Problems CO2, Oxygen Extinction of most species