Susana BAUTISTA "Introduction of the CASCADE Project and ways in which we plan to involve non-scientific stakeholders"

UNCCD 2nd Scientific Conference 2013 -- Bonn
UNCCD 2nd Scientific Conference 2013 Bonn

Catastrophic shifts in drylands: how can
we prevent ecosystem degradation?

Introduction of the CASCADE project
Susana Bautista

Collaborative Large Integrated Project (IP)
2012-2017

www.cascade-project.eu


Catastrophic shifts in drylands: how can
we prevent ecosystem degradation?

Introduction of the CASCADE project
Coordination: Prof. Coen Ritsema


One of the most challenging themes in ecology over the last decades is the quest
for the understanding of critical transitions (tipping points) in ecosystems…

CASCADE focuses on critical transitions in dryland ecosystems

Such shifts in drylands may imply major losses of biological diversity,
ecosystem functioning, and provision of ecosystem services


Critical transitions can be explained by linkages among

Vegetation structure Availability of
(species composition, resources
cover) (water, nutrients)

Biotic and abiotic
disturbances

Empirical evidence??

Mayor et al. 2013


CASCADE combines manipulative experiments, models, and
field assessment to investigate catastrophic shifts

Objectives
- Better understanding of sudden shifts in drylands that may lead to major losses
in biodiversity and ecosystem services.

- Improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying sudden and catastrophic
shifts, and of the key biotic and abiotic factors influencing these processes.

- Develop ways to predict the proximity of dryland ecosystems to tipping points in such
a way that these predictions can be used by policymakers and land users for more
sustainable management of drylands worldwide.


CASCADE investigates dryland ecosystems in southern Europe :
6 study sites in the Mediterranean region

Fire recurrence
Past overexploitation (grazing, wood gathering, ..)
Land abandonment; grazing mismanagement
Overgrazing


Specific Objectives

- Analyse the historical and current state of selected dryland ecosystems in
relation to climate and human activities, and the role of tipping points in their
degradation processes (WP2)


Specific Objectives

- Unravel regulating processes in plant-soil system dynamics and
tipping points (WP3)


Specific Objectives

- Assess on a field mesocosm scale the interplay between vegetation
structures (spatial patterns and composition) , resource redistribution
and sudden regime shifts (WP4)


Specific Objectives

Assess on a landscape scale the changes in vegetation structure (composition,
cover, spatial patterns) and ecosystem services associated to regime shifts, as
well as the potential of restoration of degraded systems (WP5)


Specific Objectives
- Develop a spatially explicit model that links the empirical observations on
the various scales in WP3, WP4 and WP5 to come up with empirically
based indicators of the proximity of the ecosystems to tipping points(WP6)


Specific Objectives

- Design management strategies to deal with tipping points in dryland ecosystems;
comprehensive guidelines including principles, best practices, implementation
approaches and recommendations (WP7)


Specific Objectives

- Integrate socio-economic factors into the ecological model and undertake
scenario analyses of land management strategies, to enable formulation of
policy recommendations for dryland management (WP8)


Specific Objectives

Make the results accessible to the scientific community focused on the outcomes
of the integrated modelling, indicators of sudden shifts, and adaptation strategies,
and develop a multi-media communication strategy on knowledge transfer and
dissemination (WP9)


WB 2: Historical evolution and WB 3: Field microplot experiments WB 4: Manipulative f ield
current state of Mediterranean to unravel regulating processes in mesocosms experiments on
dryland ecosystems in relation to plant-soil ecosystem dynamics ecosystems dynamics
climate and human activities

Coordinator: TUC, Greece Coordinator: WU, Netherlands Coordinator: UALI, Spain

:
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WB 5: Landscape assessments WB 6: Development and
on thresholds dynamics application of integrated soil-water-
plant models describing

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catastrophic shif ts spatially and
dynamically
Coordinator: CNRS, France
Coordinator: CEAM, Spain

WB 7: Evaluation of land use and
management to prevent
catostrophic shif ts, and
preparation of guidelines f or
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natural resource managers
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Coordinator: UNIBE,Switzerland
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WB 8: Scenario analysis of
upscaling preventive and
restorative measures and policy
recommendations at local to
international scales
Coordinator: UNIVLEED, U.K.


Major expected impacts of CASCADE:
Knowledge impact. Advancement of knowledge on dryland ecosystem functioning
with regard to tipping points and sudden anthropogenic or climate induced shifts.

Community impact. Development of land use and management measures aimed
at preventing catastrophic shifts of ecosystems and preserving ecosystem
functions and services for the populations living in European drylands.

Policy impact. Feeding knowledge and recommendations to policy makers
at the regional, national and international level


Involve and engage all relevant stakeholders

THANKS

Susana BAUTISTA "Introduction of the CASCADE Project and ways in which we plan to involve non-scientific stakeholders"

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Susana BAUTISTA "Introduction of the CASCADE Project and ways in which we plan to involve non-scientific stakeholders"