Agricultural Intensification Reduces the Portfolio of Wetland Ecosystem Services: European Danube River Lowlands as a Global Biodiversity Hotspot

Tudor Racoviceanu, Constantin Cazacu (), Mihai Adamescu (), Relu Giucă, Magdalena Bucur, Mariia Fedoriak and Per Angelstam
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Tudor Racoviceanu: Research Centre in Systems Ecology and Sustainability, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, Spl. Independenţei 91-95, 050095 Bucharest, Romania
Constantin Cazacu: Research Centre in Systems Ecology and Sustainability, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, Spl. Independenţei 91-95, 050095 Bucharest, Romania
Mihai Adamescu: Research Centre in Systems Ecology and Sustainability, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, Spl. Independenţei 91-95, 050095 Bucharest, Romania
Relu Giucă: Research Centre in Systems Ecology and Sustainability, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, Spl. Independenţei 91-95, 050095 Bucharest, Romania
Magdalena Bucur: Research Centre in Systems Ecology and Sustainability, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, Spl. Independenţei 91-95, 050095 Bucharest, Romania
Mariia Fedoriak: Department of Ecology and Biomonitoring, Chernivtsi National University, 2 Kotsyubynskyi Street, 58012 Chernivtsi, Ukraine
Per Angelstam: School for Forest Management, Faculty of Forest Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), P.O. Box 43, SE-73921 Skinnskatteberg, Sweden

Land, 2023, vol. 12, issue 3, 1-22

Abstract: Anthropogenic landscape transformations have promoted the provision of ecosystem services (ES) at the expense of other ES, biodiversity, and human well-being. We analysed the transformation portfolios of ES provisions, the costs of transformation, and the rivalry between ES categories and biodiversity conservation during the pre-communist and communist eras. We also examined EU influences in Romania’s Danube River lowlands. The environmental history of social-ecological systems was used to: (1) map transformations of natural environments; (2) analyse the outputs of human modes of production, including crops, fish, timber, and livestock, using economic valuation methods and by appropriating the primary means of production; and (3) describe ideologies and values as drivers of ES transformations. During the communist era, the surface area of the agricultural land increased at the expense of natural ecosystems. This resulted in increased provisions being made for crops and timber at the expense of the fish supply; it also caused a reduction in livestock. The costs of land reclamation, hydrotechnical works, and the use of fertilizers and pesticides, resulted in a net annual loss of EUR 36 million for the entire case study area, disregarding the losses of other ES. Achieving a balanced portfolio of ES requires a discussion about the need for nature restoration, transdisciplinary social-ecological research, and the identification of key leverage points.

Keywords: biodiversity conservation; economic valuation; ecosystem services mapping; environmental history; multifunctional landscapes; land cover transformation; nature restoration; transdisciplinarity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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