Abstract
According to the United Nations there is a need for the development of indicators for ecosystem services and for better predictions on how these are affected by environmental change. From a perspective of ecosystem functioning, not only species diversity is important, but also the functional diversity within communities, based on functional traits of species. A better understanding of how functional diversity is influenced by environmental change is a prerequisite for predicting changes in ecosystem functioning and for cost-efficient management strategies. In order to link environmental changes to ecosystem functions and associated ecosystem services, we will distinguish between two aspects: traits on the one hand determine the response of the plants to environmental change and on the other hand traits are instrumental for the effect that plants impose on ecosystem functions and ecosystem services (response-to-effect framework). By using traits of known importance to ecosystem functions, shifts in trait composition within communities can be used as indicators (proxies) for changes in ecosystem functions and associated ecosystem services. Our objectives are: 1. To develop a set of trait-based indicators of ecosystem functions and associated ecosystem services; 2. To link changes in habitat quality and connectivity to shifts in indicators of ecosystem functions and services; Especially the trait-based approach to ecosystem services is innovative. By combining recent trait databases with the Dutch National Vegetation Database, containing over 562.000 geo-referenced site descriptions of species composition and habitat characteristics, this can be done in a way that could not be achieved before.
Netherlands