Ecosystems science at Landcare Research
Possums are the main vectors of bovine tuberculosis in New Zealand. Image - Graham Nugent
Landcare Research has 10 research portfolios – clusters of research projects of common purpose that are aligned to users’ needs – and three of these portfolios are directly related to the idea of ecosystem services.
Enhancing Policy Development
Effective policy, whether public or organisational, is an important component of resource management and planning as it provides the framework for sound decision-making. This portfolio complements Landcare Research’s biophysical science by focusing on the social, cultural and economic processes and information needed to improve policy performance.
Development of effective policy entails designing, undertaking and evaluating engagement processes and strategies; understanding preferences, values and governance processes for natural asset management; assessing information to underpin choices and decisions; designing policy instruments and their implementation; and tracking policy performance to enable adaptive management.
Our research spans urban, rural and conservation landscapes and catchments, the full range of ecosystem services and natural resources, and a wide array of stakeholders — central and local government, industry, NGOs, community and Māori organisations.
Contact: Suzie Greenhalgh
Supporting Trade
This portfolio supports trade by enabling business, production and tourism industries to understand and meet community expectations and market demands for environmental responsibility and sustainable practices. Our approach links the economic, social, cultural and environmental aspects of business performance. The ability of businesses to understand their own performance, manage and where appropriate to report it publicly is becoming increasingly important for market access and community license to operate. The integrity of responses to such challenges is widely seen as critical to the New Zealand brand.
The portfolio includes our important research on bovine TB control, which is a trade compliance issue for New Zealand’s animal industry. Also included is work on trade policy impacts, market developments in respect to sustainability and green growth, and our support to businesses implementing environmental management and reporting systems.
Research priority areas:
- TB freedom
- Production pests & environmental compensation
- Risk & environmental limits
- Export competitiveness
Contact: Caroline Saunders
Understanding Ecosystem Services
The scientific goal of this portfolio is to better understand the key pressures and drivers of ecosystem change, the consequences for ecosystem properties and processes, and ultimately ecosystem services (i.e. benefits such as carbon sequestration, water availability, and contaminant removal). Research will help policymakers understand what drives ecosystem change, and the spatial and temporal trade-offs in managing for different or multiple ecosystem services.
Some key upcoming projects include understanding the effects of irrigation on soil processes, understanding the benefits of more diverse pastures, quantifying emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide and soil carbon changes in pasture and designing, implementing sampling and monitoring methods for evaluating invasive tree spread and the effectiveness of management, and finally, demonstrating links between soil quality and natural capital.
Research priority areas:
- Ecosystem services interactions & controls
- Ecosystem services pressures & limits
- Multiple pressures & ecosystem services
- Ecosystem services relevance & policy
Contact: Duane Peltzer