Pierre Ibisch presented the research results of his group at the special wilderness symposium during the 3rd European Conference on Conservation Biology in Glasgow on August 2012. He argues for a definition of functional wilderness. His conclusions include the argument of functionality leads to functions which ultimately results in better ecosystem services.

1. Towards a quantification of wilderness?
Innovative approaches to spatial planning and
functionality-based priority setting for conservation
Pierre L. Ibisch, Lisa Freudenberger, Julia Sauermann, Nuria Selva & Peter Hobson
pibisch@hnee.de
Symposium Wilderness at the edge of survival in Europe
ECCB 2012, Glasgow
Centre for Econics and Ecosystem Management – Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development

2. Ibisch et al. - Centre for Econics and Ecosystem Management – Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development

3. Ibisch et al. - Centre for Econics and Ecosystem Management – Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development

4. P. Ibisch 2011
Scots Pine Plantation,
Stechlin-Ruppiner Land Nature Park, Brandenburg, Germany
Ibisch et al. - Centre for Econics and Ecosystem Management – Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development

5. 590 ha
Beech Forest, Grumsin
UNESCO World Heritage Site „Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and
Ancient Beech Forests of Germany“
Schorfheide-Chorin Biosphere Reserve, Brandenburg, Germany
Ibisch et al. - Centre for Econics and Ecosystem Management – Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development

6. 11.860 ha
Beech Forest, Uholka
UNESCO World Heritage Site „Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and
Ancient Beech Forests of Germany“
Carpathian Biosphere Reserve, Ukraine
Ibisch et al. - Centre for Econics and Ecosystem Management – Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development

7. The relative absence or presence of
wilderness: beech forests Relative absence of
wilderness
• ‚Scenery‘
• Form (structure, size)
• Function
Main sources: CORINE Land Cover data; Brus et al. 2011: Statistical mapping of tree species over Europe (EFI)
Ibisch et al. - Centre for Econics and Ecosystem Management – Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development

8. Functional definition of wilderness
Functional, self-ordering, self-referential ecosystems without
(‚modern‘) anthropogenic forcing
Functional ecosystems
• structures, ecological
functions and dynamics
• inherently resilient and
adaptive
• development without
abrupt change of
system properties
and/or geographical
distribution
(after adaptive cycle by Gunderson and Holling 2002)
Ibisch et al. - Centre for Econics and Ecosystem Management – Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development

9. Relevance of ´functional wilderness´
• In the context of
– Ecosystem services
– Ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change: goods
and services related to building resilience and
adaptive capacity into the managed landscape
– Green Infrastructure Where and how
much?
Functional wild Functional wild Functional wild Human
ecosystems ecosystems‘ ecosystems‘ well-
services goods being
e.g. temperature attenuation,
Processes and functions e.g., regulating, cultural clean water supply, inspiration
Ibisch et al. - Centre for Econics and Ecosystem Management – Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development

10. Quantifying functional wilderness:
mapping the (relative) absence of disturbances
• Internal disturbances
Proxies indicating
– Obvious physical changes multiple
• Modification disturbances?
• Fragmentation
• Destruction
– Subtle compositional changes – e.g., elimination
of certain ecosystem elements
• External disturbances
– (Global) Environmental changes
Ibisch et al. - Centre for Econics and Ecosystem Management – Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development

11. Quantifying functional wilderness:
mapping the (relative) absence of disturbances
Landscape-scale proxy of absence of a
series of disturbances (fragmentation,
pollution, noise, hydrological changes etc.)
Ibisch et al. - Centre for Econics and Ecosystem Management – Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development

12. Quantifying functional wilderness:
mapping the (relative) absence of disturbances
http://earthengine.google.org/#intro/Roadless10km
Ibisch et al. - Centre for Econics and Ecosystem Management – Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development

13. Quantifying
functional
Traffic intensity (T): number of vehicles per hour (TV)
wilderness: multiplied by the road length (R) in a given cell
mapping the
(relative) absence
of disturbances –
the example of Vicinity impact (V) in a given cell, was calculated as a
value which takes into account the
roads cumulative effect of all relevant roads as a function of
• Spatial Road their distance and traffic load
Disturbance Index
(SPROADI)
Freudenberger et al. (in review)
Prepared with Insensa-GIS
(www.insensa.org)
Fragmentation grade (F) was estimated using the
formula of Jaeger et al. (2000) for the degree of
Federal State of landscape division (DIVI)
Brandenburg
Ibisch et al. - Centre for Econics and Ecosystem Management – Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development

14. Quantifying
functional
wilderness:
mapping the
(relative) absence
of disturbances –
the example of
roads
• Spatial Road
Disturbance Index
(SPROADI)
Freudenberger et al. (in review)
Prepared with Insensa-GIS
(www.insensa.org)
Federal State of
Brandenburg
Ibisch et al. - Centre for Econics and Ecosystem Management – Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development

15. • Spatial Road Disturbance Index (SPROADI)
• Freudenberger et al. (in review); prepared with Insensa-GIS (www.insensa.org)
• Correlation with land use types and protection status
Ibisch et al. - Centre for Econics and Ecosystem Management – Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development

16. Quantifying wilderness: mapping the (relative) presence of
‚functionality‘ using proxy indicators
Global map of
the ecosystem
functionality
index (EFI) in
1km
resolution and
WGS 1984
projection.
High index
values are
colored green.
Based on Species Richness
Vegetation Plant Functional
proxies: Tree Height Density
of Vascular Slope
Richness
Carbon Storage
Plants
Prepared with Insensa-GIS (www.insensa.org)
Freudenberger et al. (in press): A global map of the functionality of terrestrial ecosystems. Ecological Complexity.
Ibisch et al. - Centre for Econics and Ecosystem Management – Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development

17. Quantifying wilderness:
combining proxies of
(relative) presence and a. Biological-ecological proxies
absence of • Plant species richness
‚functionality‘ • Slope
• Soil carbon
Freudenberger et al. (2012, in prep.) • Vegetation density
Prepared with Insensa-GIS
(www.insensa.org) b. Connectivity and conservation
status
• Brandenburg
• Road Disturbance Index
Ecosystem
• Forest connectivity
Functionality Index
Freudenberger et al. (2012 & in prep.) • Human footprint
c. Climate change exposure change
• Relative temperature change
• Relative precipitation change
• Relative change of forest fires
Ibisch et al. - Centre for Econics and Ecosystem Management – Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development

18. Quantifying wilderness:
combining proxies of
(relative) presence and
absence of
‚functionality‘
Freudenberger et al. (2012, in prep.)
Prepared with Insensa-GIS
(www.insensa.org)
Road disturbance
• Brandenburg
Ecosystem
Functionality Index
Freudenberger et al. (2012 & in prep.)
a. Biological-ecological proxies
b. Connectivity and conservation
status
c. Climate change impact
d. FUNCTIONALITY INDEX
Ibisch et al. - Centre for Econics and Ecosystem Management – Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development

19. Gap analysis:
Relatively functional
areas unprotected
Freudenberger et al. (2012, in prep.)
Prepared with Insensa-GIS
(www.insensa.org)
• Brandenburg
unprotected
Ecosystem
protected
Functionality Index
Freudenberger et al. (2012 & in prep.)
Value
Federal State of High
Brandenburg Low
Ibisch et al. - Centre for Econics and Ecosystem Management – Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development

20. Quantifying
wilderness: mapping
the (relative)
presence of
‚functionality‘ in
forest ecosystems
• forest inventory data
(tree species richness,
share of native tree
species, age
heterogeneity, max. age,
height)
Sauermann et al. (2012)
Hoffmann et al. (in prep.)
Prepared with Insensa-GIS
(www.insensa.org)
Ibisch et al. - Centre for Econics and Ecosystem Management – Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development

21. Conclusions
• Functionality-based wilderness quantification
• Functionality  functions  ecosystem services
• Combination of both disturbance (footprint) and
functionality indicators allows mapping of
‚relatively wild‘ and functional ecosystems
• Putting wilderness into context in Europe:
‚wilding‘ landscapes in terms of improving
functionality and ecosystem services
• Conservation planning targeting functional
ecosystems
Ibisch et al. - Centre for Econics and Ecosystem Management – Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development