One Ecosys em 3: e20713
doi: 10.3897/oneeco.3.e20713
Ecosys em Se ice Mapping
P ac ical solu ions o bo lenecks in ecosys em
se ices mapping
Ignacio Palomo , Louise Willemen , E angelia D akou , Benjamin Bu kha d , Ne ille C ossman ,
Chloe Bellamy , K emena Bu kha d , C. Syl ie Campagne , Anuja Dangol , Jonas F anke ,
Sylwia Kulczyk , Solen Le Clec'h , Dania Abdul Malak , Lo ena Muñoz , Vy au as Na use icius ,
Sam O oy , Jenni e Roelens , Louise Sing , Amy Thomas , Koen aad Van Mee beek ,
Pe e Ve weij
‡ Basque Cen e o Clima e Change, Bilbao, Spain
§ Labo a o io de socio-ecosis emas, Depa amen o de Ecología, Uni e sidad Au ónoma de Mad id, Mad id, Spain
| Facul y o Geo-In o ma ion Science and Ea h Obse a ion (ITC), Uni e si y o Twen e, Enschede, Ne he lands
¶ Leibniz Uni e si ä Hanno e , Hanno e , Ge many
# Leibniz Cen e o Ag icul u al Landscape Resea ch ZALF, Münchebe g, Ge many
¤ School o Biological Sciences, Uni e si y o Adelaide, Adelaide, Aus alia
« Fo es Resea ch, Cen e o Ecosys ems, Socie y and Biosecu i y, No he n Resea ch S a ion, Edinbu gh, Uni ed Kingdom
» Leibniz Uni e si ä Hanno e , Ins i u e o En i onmen al Planning, Hanno e , Ge many
˄ I s ea, Aix-en-P o ence, F ance
˅ Depa men o Ea h and En i onmen al Sciences, Leu en, Belgium
¦ RSS - Remo e Sensing Solu ions GmbH, Baie b un, Ge many
ˀ Uni e si y o Wa saw, Facul y o Geog aphy and Regional S udies, Wa szawa, Poland
ˁ Ag icul u al Economics and Policy G oup, ETH, Zu ich, Swi ze land
₵ LETG Rennes, Uni e si é Rennes, Rennes, F ance
ℓ Eu opean Topic Cen e-Uni e si y o Malaga, Malaga, Spain
₰ Depa emen o A c ic and Ma ine BiologyUiT The A c ic Uni e si y o No way, T omsø, No way
₱ Vilnius Uni e si y, Li e Sciences Cen e, Saule ekio a e. 7, LT-10223, Vilnius, Li huania
₳ PXL Bio-Resea ch, PXL Uni e si y College, Diepenbeek, Belgium
₴ Depa men o Ea h and En i onmen al Sciences, KU Leu en, Leu en, Belgium
₣ Cen e o Ecology and Hyd ology, En i onmen Cen e Wales, Bango , Uni ed Kingdom
₮ Cen e o Biodi e si y Dynamics in a Changing Wo ld (BIOCHANGE), Aa hus Uni e si y, Ny Munkegade 114, 8000, Aa hus
C, Denma k
₦ Sec ion o Ecoin o ma ics and Biodi e si y, Depa men o Bioscience, Aa hus Uni e si y, Ny Munkegade 114, 8000,
Aa hus C, Denma k
₭ Wageningen En i onmen al Resea ch, Wageningen, Ne he lands
Co esponding au ho : Ignacio Palomo (ignacio.palomo@bc3 esea ch.o g)
Academic edi o : He mann Klug
Recei ed: 30 Aug 2017 | Accep ed: 19 Dec 2017 | Published: 03 Jan 2018
Ci a ion: Palomo I, Willemen L, D akou E, Bu kha d B, C ossman N, Bellamy C, Bu kha d K, Campagne C,
Dangol A, F anke J, Kulczyk S, Le Clec'h S, Abdul Malak D, Muñoz L, Na use icius V, O oy S, Roelens J, Sing
L, Thomas A, Van Mee beek K, Ve weij P (2018) P ac ical solu ions o bo lenecks in ecosys em se ices
mapping. One Ecosys em 3: e20713. h ps://doi.o g/10.3897/oneeco.3.e20713
‡,§ | | ¶,# ¤
« » ˄ ˅ ¦
ˀ ˁ,₵ℓ₰₱
₳ ₴ «₣ ₴,₮,₦
₭
© Palomo I e al. This is an open access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License (CC BY
4.0), which pe mi s un es ic ed use, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal au ho and sou ce a e
c edi ed.
Abs ac
Backg ound
Ecosys em se ices (ES) mapping is becoming mains eam in many sus ainabili y
assessmen s, bu i s impac on eal wo ld decision-making is s ill limi ed. Robus ness, end-
use ele ance and anspa ency ha e been iden ified as key a ibu es needed o effec i e
ES mapping. Howe e , hese equi emen s a e no always me due o mul iple challenges,
e e ed o he e as bo lenecks, ha scien is s, p ac i ione s, policy make s and use s om
o he public and p i a e sec o s encoun e along he mapping p ocess.
New in o ma ion
A selec ion o commonly encoun e ed ES mapping bo lenecks ha ela e o se en hemes:
i) map-make map-use in e ac ion; ii) nomencla u e and on ologies; iii) skills and
backg ound; i ) da a and maps a ailabili y; ) me hods-selec ion; i) echnical difficul ies;
and ii) o e -simplifica ion o mapping p ocess/ou pu . The au ho s syn hesise he a ie y
o solu ions al eady applied by map-make s and map-use s o mi iga e o cope wi h hese
bo lenecks and discuss he eme ging ade-offs amongs diffe en solu ions. Tackling he
bo lenecks desc ibed he e is a c ucial fi s s ep owa ds mo e effec i e ES mapping, which
can in u n ensu e he adequa e impac o ES mapping in decision-making.
Keywo ds
Ecosys em se ices, mapping, solu ions, spa ial analysis, sus ainabili y.
In oduc ion
Mapping has become one o he mos p olific fields wi hin ecosys em se ice (ES) science
(C ossman e al. 2013; Klein e al. 2016). Robus ness, end-use ele ance and
anspa ency ha e been iden ified as key equi emen s o ES maps (Willemen e al.
2015b). Howe e , ES maps and mapping p ocesses o en all sho in mee ing hese
equi emen s, limi ing he impac o ES science (Roo -Be ns ein and Jaksic 2017). ES
mapping is a complex p ocess ha p esen s se e al challenges anging om da a
a ailabili y aspec s o in eg a ion o mapping ou pu s in decision-making (Bu kha d and
Maes 2017). These challenges, e e ed o he e as bo lenecks, need o be sol ed o
le e age he impac o ES mapping and in consequence, he implemen a ion o he ES
science in decision-making as a whole.
ES mapping has ecei ed much a en ion because i p o ides a clea link be ween ES and
spa ial planning (Albe e al. 2016). This a en ion in esea ch and p ac ice is expec ed o
inc ease, gi en, o example, he explici demand om he EU Biodi e si y S a egy o
2Palomo I e al
Membe S a es o e alua e and map ES (Ta ge 2 - Ac ion 5) (Maes e al. 2016) and he
upcoming en i onmen al accoun ing (e.g. SEEA EEA). Gi en he inc eased impo ance
o
ES mapping, he aim o his pape is o p esen he mos widesp ead ES mapping
challenges and po en ial solu ions. Specific objec i es a e: (i) o p o ide an o e iew o he
mos widesp ead bo lenecks in ES mapping; and (ii) o poin o possible solu ions o map-
make s and map-use s ha ha e been success ully implemen ed. This can help ES
mappe s and map-use s o find ways a ound challenges and o imp o e he u ili y o ES
maps o sus ainable decision-making.
Ma e ials and Me hods
Me hods
This pape is based on he esul s o 19 semi-s uc u ed ques ionnai es and he wo k
p esen ed in he hema ic session on mapping ES "Sol ing p ac ical bo lenecks in
ecosys em se ice mapping" ha ook place du ing he Eu opean Ecosys em Se ices
Pa ne ship (ESP) Con e ence in An we p in 2016. Du ing he hema ic session, p esen e s
we e asked o discuss hei challenges and solu ions du ing he ES mapping p ocesses in
which hey had pa icipa ed be o e and a b oad ange o ES mapping bo lenecks and
p ac ical solu ions we e co e ed. A e he con e ence, which included 12 p esen a ions, a
semi-s uc u ed ques ionnai e was designed and dis ibu ed o he session pa icipan s and
o he ecosys em se ice mappe s and maps-use s o collec in o ma ion on mapping
bo lenecks and po en ial solu ions. The ques ionnai e had h ee main sec ions: i) Mapping
pu pose; ii) Desc ip ion o he bo leneck aced; iii) How he bo leneck was sol ed.
Resul s
The ques ionnai e esul s included bo lenecks aced du ing ES mapping exe cises
co e ing all ecosys em se ice ca ego ies, and mul iple spa ial scales om local o
na ional, con inen al and global. Bo lenecks can be encoun e ed in diffe en phases o he
mapping p ocess, which we desc ibe he e as a ci cula p ocess in which he angible
ou comes (maps) need o be e alua ed and discussed o help o define sha ed objec i es.
The landscape planning cycle p esen s a powe ul way o illus a e he mapping p ocess
and he ES mapping bo lenecks ha a e encoun e ed along he diffe en phases (Fig. 1).
As illus a ed o wa e shed planning, some bo lenecks exis du ing he whole planning
p ocess such as hose e e ed o knowledge co-p oduc ion o knowledge ans e as
Bo leneck 1: Map-make map-use communica ion, whe eas o he s such as Bo leneck 6:
Technical difficul ies, eme ge p edominan ly h ough he implemen a ion phase Adem
Esmail and Genele i 2017. The se en challenges iden ified a e p esen ed wi h diffe en
po en ial solu ions o map-make s and map-use s in Table 1. The p esen ed bo lenecks
and solu ions ha e been iden ified by scien is s and p ac i ione s wi hin he Ecosys em
Se ices Pa ne ship (ESP) ne wo k (h ps://www.es-pa ne ship.o g).
P ac ical solu ions o bo lenecks in ecosys em se ices mapping 3
Bo leneck Desc ip ion Solu ions o map-make s Solu ions o map-use s
1 Map-make and
map-use
communica ion
Maps do no ma ch
use s' needs due o he
lack o equi emen
assessmen s
I e a i e scien ific-p ac i ione
p ocesses, anspa en mapping
p occesses, PGIS, usabili y analysis
I e a i e scien ific-
p ac i ione p ocesses,
communi ies o p ac ice,
isualisa ion ools
2 Nomencla u e
and on ologies
Ba ie s ela ed o ES
classifica ions and
e minology
ES ee-lis ing based on socio-cul u al
assessmen s, classifica ions based on
on ologies, flexible classifica ion
sys ems, p e- es ing classifica ions wi h
di e se s akeholde s ac oss scales,
linked da a s anda ds
Guidelines o c osswalk
ac oss ES classifica ions
3 Skills and
backg ound
Insufficien aining, lack
o in e disciplina i y
Ha monised capaci y building, aining
in mapping pla o ms, u o ials and
guidelines, in e disciplina i y in
scien is s
Capaci y building,
in e disciplina i y in
p ac i ione s
4 Da a and maps
a ailabili y
Lack o adequa e da a PGIS, emo e sensing da a, ci izen
science, social media da a, use o
exis ing da a collec ed o o he
pu poses, field obse a ions and
measu emen s
Pa icipa e in PGIS and
ci izen science p ojec s
5 Me hods
selec ion
Difficul ies expe ienced
o selec adequa e
me hods
Tie ed mapping app oaches, decision
ees, guidelines o s anda dised
mapping/measu emen s o ecosys em
se ice
Pla o ms o me hods
documen a ion and
compa ison
Figu e 1.
Ecosys em se ice (ES) bo lenecks in ES mapping along he planning cycle. Modified om
Liu and Opdam (2014). Se e al bo lenecks can eme ge in diffe en phases o he mapping
p ocess o con inously h ough i as bo lenecks 1 and 7.
Table 1.
Ecosys em se ices (ES) mapping bo lenecks and solu ions offe ed a ound hem.
4Palomo I e al
6 Technical
difficul ies
Technical issues ela ed
o so wa e, IT-
in as uc u e, capaci y
Use iendly so wa e, be e
compu a ion powe , aining, blogs/
o ums, la ge communi ies o mappe s
Be e in e aces o map
use s, communi ies o
p ac ice
7 O e -
simplifica ion
Hinde ing o complexi y
inhe en in ES
Combina ion o app oaches, mapping
diffe en alue dimensions, co-
p oduc ion o ecosys em se ices
In e ac i e maps, 3D
landscape isualisa ions,
dynamic isualisa ion,
hema ic maps, po olio o
maps
Bo leneck 1. Map-make map-use communica ion
Re e s o cases whe e he mapped ou pu s p oduced do no mee he end use needs
because o poo communica ion be ween he map-make and he map-use . This can occu
when he end use 's da a equi emen s and decision-making p ocess a e no ully
unde s ood by he map-make . I is also ela ed o communica ing unce ain y and o
ans e ing he message accu a ely in a way ha is ele an bu unde s andable o end
use s.
Science-policy i e a i e p ocesses and capaci y building ha e been sugges ed as means o
imp o e map-make o map-use communica ion and o sol e he ES implemen a ion gap
(Ruckelshaus e al. 2015). This could be achie ed h ough con inuous and mo e in ense
collabo a ion o esea che s wi h decision-make s and in ol ing decision-make s h ough
he mapping p ocess (e.g. h ough Pa icipa o y Geog aphic In o ma ion Sys ems (PGIS)
and alida ion o ou pu s). Since he final map is he main communica ion ou pu - and hus
he decision-making base, he map-make should ne e unde es ima e he impo ance o
he basic p inciples o map design, me ada a, documen a ion o he me hodologies,
explana ion on he in e p e a ion o he map as well as s a ing hei limi a ions (Bu kha d
and Maes 2017). A he same ime, dedica ed effo s o cap u e use needs, using me hods
such as usabili y analysis (Go z and Zhou 2009) should be adop ed as an inhe en pa o
he ES mapping p ocess. Highe anspa ency and be e explana ion o he (me a)da a
and me hods used o map ES can also enhance map-make o map-use communica ion
(C ossman e al. 2013). Fo a e iew abou knowledge in eg a ion and social lea ning ha
akes place h ough he sha ed use o Spa ial Decision Suppo Sys ems (SDSS), see
Rodela e al. (2017).
Resea che s ha e a emp ed o sol e communica ion bo lenecks h ough communi ies o
p ac ice and sha ing pla o ms o ES such as he ESP Visualisa ion ool (D akou e al.
2015) (h p://esp-mapping.ne /Home/), he ECOPLAN Moni o (h p://www.
ecosys eemdiens en.be) and OPPLA (h p://www.oppla.eu/). Ye , i is necessa y o assess
whe he hese pla o ms ulfil use s’ needs and how hese pla o ms can be ha monised,
main ained and imp o ed. The way ES a e isualised also con ibu es o map-make and
map-use communica ion. In some cases, 3D maps and in og aphics combining maps,
ables and ex co e be e he needs o map use s (Klein e al. 2015). Mo eo e , adop ing
me ada a s anda ds (i.e. he INSPIRE Di ec i e 2007/2/EC) can acili a e communica ion
amongs hose in ol ed in he map-making p ocess.
P ac ical solu ions o bo lenecks in ecosys em se ices mapping 5
Bo leneck 2. Nomencla u es and on ologies
Re e s o mapping ba ie s encoun e ed due o diffe ences in he use and unde s anding o
ES classifica ions and e minology (such as he Common In e na ional Classifica ion o
Ecosys em Se ices (CICES), The Millennium Ecosys em Assessmen (MEA), The
Economics o Ecosys ems and Biodi e si y (TEEB), The Final Ecosys em Good and
Se ices Clasifica ion (FEGS), o he classifica ion om he In e go e nmen al Science-
Policy Pla o m on Biodi e si y and Ecosys em Se ices (IPBES)).This also includes he
ade-off be ween he s anda disa ion o in e ope abili y o ES classifica ions and con ex
adequacy, as ES can ha e diffe en meanings depending on he amewo k used o
concep ualising hem (e.g. ES po en ial s. supply s. flow s. demand; in e media e s.
final ES; diffe en human-na u e wo ld iews) and he mapping con ex s (e.g. spa ial scale
o assessmen ). This bo leneck also e e s o challenges ha a ise when ES classifica ions
hinde he exp ession o ES alues ha s akeholde s hold (Fage holm e al. 2016) and o
he ac ha diffe en unde s andings o ES concep s amongs s akeholde s (Lama que e
al. 2011) and p o essionals (Kulczyk e al. 2014) deli e diffe en ES e alua ions. Some
nomencla u e challenges also eme ge when ES maps a e needed a bo h b oad and local
scales, making compa abili y difficul .
Using ES ee-lis ing (bo om-up classifica ions), flexible classifica ion sys ems and p e-
es ing classifica ions wi h di e se s akeholde s ac oss scales ha e been widely applied o
o e come hese difficul ies (Ma ín-López e al. 2012, Willemen e al. 2017). The use o
mo e diffuse ES classifica ion, such as ha o Na u e Con ibu ions o People (NCP) om
IPBES, in con as wi h o he siloed classifica ions (e.g. MEA, The Economics o
Ecosys ems and Biodi e si y (TEEB), CICES), can enhance ou unde s anding o ES
complexi y (Pascual e al. 2017). Guidelines o ables o c osswalk amongs classifica ions
can also be use ul o map use s o deal wi h co-exis ing classifica ion sys ems (Haines‐
Young and Po schin 2014). Pla o ms o ES mapping based on on ologies such as ARIES
(Villa e al. 2014) a e use ul o a oiding his challenge since new on ologies adap ed o
specific con ex s can be de eloped.
A combina ion o exis ing and eme ging classifica ions has been applied as well.
Campagne e al. (2017) aced he nomencla u e bo leneck when ying o apply he CICES
(Haines-Young and Po schin 2012) on he g ound. P o isioning and egula ing se ices’
classifica ion, defini ions and examples we e adap ed o local con ex s by map-make s and
map-use s and a new classifica ion o cul u al ES was specifically de eloped because he
CICES was pe cei ed as oo abs ac o local s akeholde s.
S onge and mo e de ailed socio-cul u al assessmen s ha connec he s a e o
biodi e si y wi h human well-being o elici s akeholde s´ alues a e s ill needed o acili a e
he adequa e unde s anding o mul iple alue ypes. Se e al on ological concep s such as
he SERONTO on ology (We B Van De e al. 2009) ha e been p oposed in o de o
acili a e his p ocess, al hough hei use is s ill qui e limi ed. To o e coming he ba ie o
nomencla u e, i is c ucial o e e y s udy o define s ic ly he e ms used a he beginning
o he mapping p ocess.
6Palomo I e al
Bo leneck 3. Skills and backg ound
Re e s o he skills and he disciplina y backg ound o he people in ol ed in he mapping
p ocess as map-make s o map-use s. I is ela ed o insufficien o unsus ainable aining
bu also o he inco po a ion o mul iple disciplines wi hin in e disciplina y science such as
ES science and o he selec ion o pa icipan s o expe -based o PGIS mapping
exe cises. Spa ial analysis and da a isualisa ion a e complex p ocesses equi ing a wide
ange o expe ise om he hema ic backg ound and unde s anding he use equi emen s,
o choosing he op imal me hodology, selec ing he app op ia e so wa e, ha ing he skills
o analyse da a and designing a map. Fo example, mappe s using online pa icipa o y
mapping su eys ha e epo ed ha he lack o in ui i e con ols has made he mapping
complex and migh ha e biased he answe s owa ds people wi h highe compu a ional
skills (Muñoz e al., in p ep.).
Some o he mos widely used pla o ms o mapping ES, such as InVEST and ARIES,
ha e long benefi ed om he p o ision o in ensi e aining oppo uni ies o map make s,
which a e an essen ial pa o he dis ibu ion o hese ools and o which significan
esou ces need o be alloca ed Ruckelshaus e al. 2015, Villa e al. 2014. T aining o map-
use s is also o pa icula impo ance gi en he isks o misin e p e a ion o model ou pu s
and ES maps by use s who may w ongly belie e hey unde s and hem. In-model e idence
acking and guidance o in e p e ing model ou pu s and final ES maps can limi he
esou ce-in ensi e equi emen o map-use s' aining and suppo . Capaci y building,
inno a i e ES mapping guidance documen s and use manuals, eposi o ies o eaching
ma e ials and online discussion o ums also aid wide use and applica ion o mapping
ools.
Rega ding backg ound- ela ed skills, ansdisciplina y educa ion p og ammes and using
sys ema ic me hods o s akeholde (map-make s and map-use s) selec ion ha accoun
o mul iple disciplines a e needed. A use - iendly design o mapping me hods, ideo
u o ials and a sec ion o F equen ly Asked Ques ions (FAQ) ha e been applied o be e
guide mappe s h ough he mapping p ocess and o ma ch use s´ skills.
Bo leneck 4. Da a and maps a ailabili y
Re e s o limi ed a ailabili y o access o accu a e, us wo hy and affo dable da a in he
equi ed o ma and a an adequa e spa ial o empo al esolu ion o he en i e a ea o
in e es and o he a ailabili y o maps o map-use s. ES maps a ailabili y is s ill a e y
significan cons ain ha p ac i ione s ace. A ecen su ey amongs 60 use s o ES maps
in sub-Saha an A ica ound ha only 27% o esponden s had adequa e ES da a Willcock
e al. 2016. This s udy epo ed he need o mo e dynamic ES in o ma ion ac oss spa ial
and empo al scales. Access o da a and maps o map-make s and map-use s is o en
complex since i can a y h ough diffe en en i onmen al, economic o social ins i u ions/
au ho i ies. Finding ways o access he specific ma e ials and, mo e specifically,
conque ing he o mal ba ie s, can consume mo e ime and effo s han he mapping
p ocess i sel . Fo example, in Poland, coope a ion be ween public agencies,
adminis a ion and esea ch ins i u ions ha include access o da a is poin ed ou as a main
P ac ical solu ions o bo lenecks in ecosys em se ices mapping 7
challenge o implemen ing ES in policy and decision-making S ępniewska e al. 2017.
Howe e , some ecen go e nmen open da a s a egies a e aking s eps in some places o
imp o e and in some cases, en o ce he elease o da a om public agencies, which may
imp o e access o da ase s use ul o ES mapping (e.g. Depa men o En i onmen e al.
2013/UK De a Open Da a S a egy, 2013).
In o de o map ES, ha nessing expe knowledge (e.g. h ough Bayesian Belie Ne wo ks,
ES ma ix/sp eadshee models o PGIS) has been widely applied in da a-sca ce egions
(e.g.Bu kha d and Maes 2017, Ricau e e al. 2017, Ve weij e al. 2016Ga cía-Nie o e al.
2015). Global, con inen al o egional da ase s (e.g. Global Clima e Moni o (h p://
www.globalclima emoni o .o g/), FAO soil maps (h p://www. ao.o g/soils-po al/soil-su ey/
soil-maps-and-da abases/en/), GlobCo e (h p://due.es in.esa.in /page_globco e .php),
CORINE land co e (h p://land.cope nicus.eu/pan-eu opean/co ine-land-co e ) e c.) can
also be used as da a sou ces, in cases whe e he e a e no o he a ailable esou ces o
da a collec ion. The unce ain y inhe i ed by he use o b oad-scale da ase s o local case
s udies should none heless be epo ed in he documen a ion o he final esul s. Remo ely
sensed da a can also help o map ce ain ES when no on-g ound in o ma ion exis s (o
complemen he exis ing in o ma ion) and i will acili a e la ge-scale mapping o ES in he
u u e (e.g.Asne e al. 2017, Bellamy e al. 2017, F anke e al. 2012, Roelens e al. 2016).
Fo ins ance, he Sen inel missions o Cope nicus wi h imp o ed spa ial, spec al and
empo al cha ac e is ics oge he wi h long- e m his o ical sa elli e da a can imp o e
mapping and moni o ing o ES. The use o new da a sou ces such as social media o map
cul u al se ices o la ge da a can also help o o e come his bo leneckWillemen e al.
2015a, an Zan en e al. 2016, Pas u e al. 2015. Ci izen science coupled wi h applica ions
o echnology, such as he ES sma phone App MapNa , can help p o ide ci izen science
(c owd-sou ced) da a o ES maps Edsall e al. 2015 al hough lowe confidence in some
inpu da a could inc ease unce ain y in he ou pu s. Imp o ed sys ems o da a sha ing
and jou nal o p ojec equi emen s (i.e. he open access app oach o EU Ho izon 2020-
unded p ojec s) o make da a eely a ailable could also help sol e his bo leneck. To
inc ease he a ailabili y o maps, sha ing pla o ms and communi ies o p ac ice as
desc ibed in bo leneck 1 a e essen ial.
Some s udies ha e op ed o combine diffe en me hods in an a emp o ackle he sca ci y
o adequa e da a. In a s udy in Sou h-Eas e n A ica (Willemen e al., 2017), maps we e
de i ed om a combina ion o model-based maps and PGIS da a in o de o iden i y ES
ho spo s whe e hese ou comes o he wo app oaches coincided in space. In some cases,
despi e he loss o in o ma ion, simplifica ion o gene alisa ion can be a way o wa d o
ci cum en he lack o da aMee beek e al. 2016. In addi ion, models can be used o in e -
and ex apola e da a o egions whe e da a is lacking O oy e al. 2017. A local scale, field
measu emen s and obse a ions o en p o e o be an efficien way o gaining new
in o ma ion o en iching exis ing da a wi h impo an de ails (Kulczyk e al., o hcoming).
8Palomo I e al
Bo leneck 5. Me hods' selec ion
Re e s o he difficul ies expe ienced o selec adequa e me hods because he diffe ences
amongs he mul iple me hodologies a ailable and he esou ces needed o apply hem is
o en unclea .
Applying in eg a ed mapping s eps (“ ie ed app oaches”) in which fi s he aim o mapping
is defined, hen he a iables needed a e iden ified and finally he me hod is selec ed, has
been p oposed o he iden ifica ion and selec ion o me hods (G ê -Regamey e al. 2015).
Decision ees ha allow he selec ion o he adequa e me hod based on he objec i e
pu sued, accu acy needed and da a and esou ce a ailabili y can also help o iden i y he
adequa e me hodology o use (Sch ö e e al. 2015). Applying diffe en me hodologies o
map ES and compa ing he esul s ob ained conside ing hei fi - o -pu pose o diffe en
objec i es (i.e. educa ional, heu is ic, ope a ional and poli ical) can also help o selec he
mos adequa e me hod (Clec’h e al. 2016).
Se e al decision-making online pla o ms exis ha allow he use o compa e he diffe en
ools. Fo ins ance, he IPBES ca alogue o policy suppo ools (in de elopmen ), he UK-
NEAT oolki (h p://nea .ecosys emsknowledge.ne /), he ValuES pla o m (h p://
www.abou alues.ne ), The Ecosys ems Knowledge Ne wo k’s Tool Assesso (h p://
ecosys emsknowledge.ne / esou ces/guidance-and- ools/ ools/ ool-assesso ), he
Ecosys em-Based Managemen ools pla o m (h ps://ebm oolsda abase.o g) and he
many me hodological decision ees in he Guidance o ES Assessmen (h p://
www.guide oes.eu). Fo he academic communi y, s udies compa ing model pe o mance
a ca chmen scale a e a ailable (e.g. Bags ad e al. 2016, Sha ps e al. 2017, Vo s ius and
Sp ay 2015).
Bo leneck 6. Technical difficul ies
Re e s o echnical issues expe ienced in he mapping p ocess ela ed o so wa e o
ha dwa e cons ain s. GIS and spa ial models, used o map ES, need o ep esen complex
sys ems and so o en equi e he use o la ge, complex da ase s and in ensi e analysis.
Technical difficul ies include aspec s such as how o digi ise analogue pa icipa o y maps,
coun o e lapping polygons, handling and analysing complex emo e sensing da a om
diffe en sou ces o de eloping an online pla o m o da a ga he ing. Some ools a e
ex ensions o comme cial, closed-code so wa e (e.g. A cGIS) o which no all use s can
eadily o affo dably access, hus es ic ing he communi y o use s.
Mul iple solu ions o his bo leneck exis , such as use - iendly so wa e de elopmen
(including Open Sou ce ini ia i es such as QGIS and QUICKScan), aining h ough GIS
cou ses, as -e ol ing compu a ion powe and capabili ies o s o e and analyse ‘big da a’.
Technical difficul ies a e o en sol ed h ough openly accessible online blogs and o ums.
G owing communi ies o use s can also be use ul o sha e solu ions o echnical p oblems.
P ac ical solu ions o bo lenecks in ecosys em se ices mapping 9
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