Spatial correlation between ecosystem services and biodiversity in Limburg, the Netherlands

Clear evidence is currently lacking about to what extent biodiversity conservation is beneficial for ecosystem service provision. Likewise, evidence that conservation of ecosystem services are beneficial for biodiversity conservation is weak. Among the manifold links between biodiversity and ecosystem services that need to be studied more deeply are spatial relations. Strong positive spatial correlations between biodiversity and ecosystem services could, for instance provide incentives for conservation policies. The Netherlands has a long history in spatial planning of biodiversity conservation. EU incentives (e.g. Natura 2000) and national policies (e.g. the Dutch ecological network EHS) are being implemented to conserve biodiversity within ecological networks. The EHS is planned to be fully established in 2018, creating a network of interconnected ecosystems throughout the Netherlands. Besides benefitting biodiversity conservation the EHS could potentially also benefit the provision of multiple ecosystem services. The objective of this research is to study the spatial correlation between biodiversity and ecosystem services for Limburg province, the Netherlands. Multiple spatially explicit biodiversity indicators are developed based on the European SEBI Targets (Streamlining European Biodiversity Indicators) and included in the analysis. These indicators include distribution and abundance of birds and butterflies, distribution and abundance of red list species, percentage coverage of protected areas and habitat fragmentation. Besides biodiversity indicators, eight spatial models of provisioning, regulating and cultural ecosystem services are included. These services are drinking water extraction, hunting, fodder production, crop production, air quality regulation, carbon sequestration, nature tourism and cycling recreation. The analysis will assess spatial correlation between the various biodiversity indicators and ecosystem services throughout the province to identify overall spatial correlation. We assess spatial relations of biodiversity and ecosystem services both within and outside the ecological network EHS to assess whether certain ecosystem service bundles, hotspots and trade-offs appear more often within these areas than outside.