OPERAs and Ecosystem Services
I am part of several projects working on ecosystem services - the benefits that people derive from nature.
From 2012-2017, I was the Exemplars Task Lead and Work Package Co-Lead within OPERAs, a collaborative European research project with 27 partner institutions in 17 countries using ecosystem science for policy and practice. I led the coordination of the 12 Exemplar case studies chosen to represent different geographies, ecosystems, scales, sectors and stakeholders, where researchers worked with stakeholders to develop and test tools and instruments. OPERAs brought together academic, civil society, business, and policy partners to explore how to apply ecosystem services tools and approaches to decision-making processes in support of sustainable ecosystem management. I worked with Heather Schoonover to lead the Wine Exemplar, which worked to increase the ecosystem services provided by vineyards.
I mentored six masters's students who have completed their LUMES thesis within the OPERAs project, many generously hosted by collaborators in the Exemplars. All of these awesome students have written blog posts summarizing their research, and many have submitted or are preparing manuscripts for publication- read more about their research below!
At Lund University, I am a Principal Investigator within the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in a Changing Climate (BECC) research area. This collaboration involves nearly 200 researchers working on ecosystem services between Lund and Gothenburg Universities. The Graduate Research School of BECC is called ClimBECo, Climate, Biodiversity, and Ecosystem Services in a Changing World, where I serve on the Advisory Board.
From 2012-2017, I was the Exemplars Task Lead and Work Package Co-Lead within OPERAs, a collaborative European research project with 27 partner institutions in 17 countries using ecosystem science for policy and practice. I led the coordination of the 12 Exemplar case studies chosen to represent different geographies, ecosystems, scales, sectors and stakeholders, where researchers worked with stakeholders to develop and test tools and instruments. OPERAs brought together academic, civil society, business, and policy partners to explore how to apply ecosystem services tools and approaches to decision-making processes in support of sustainable ecosystem management. I worked with Heather Schoonover to lead the Wine Exemplar, which worked to increase the ecosystem services provided by vineyards.
I mentored six masters's students who have completed their LUMES thesis within the OPERAs project, many generously hosted by collaborators in the Exemplars. All of these awesome students have written blog posts summarizing their research, and many have submitted or are preparing manuscripts for publication- read more about their research below!
At Lund University, I am a Principal Investigator within the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in a Changing Climate (BECC) research area. This collaboration involves nearly 200 researchers working on ecosystem services between Lund and Gothenburg Universities. The Graduate Research School of BECC is called ClimBECo, Climate, Biodiversity, and Ecosystem Services in a Changing World, where I serve on the Advisory Board.
Engaging citizens in ecosystem services
Webinar and policy brief on the process we developed across seven case studies for finding out what people value about ecosystems.
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OPERAs Wine Exemplar
Some of the members of the OPERAs
Wine Exemplar research team
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The ultimate goal of the OPERAs Wine Exemplar was to increase ecosystem services provided by vineyard ecosystems. To do so, the Wine Exemplar researchers seek to understand how different stakeholders in the wine value chain, including growers, wineries, distributors, retailers, and consumers, influence wine production and thus the ecosystem services provided by vineyards.
Our approach is unique because most scientific work on ecosystem services focuses only on the production stage of the value chain. Although ecosystem services are supplied at the grower level, many other stakeholders can and do influence wine production. In addition, since wine is a consumer product, ecosystem services may be more likely to be incorporated into vineyard management and decision-making if they are something consumers, retailers, and distributors value and demand. |
Cultural ecosystem services
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Wine climate pioneers
MSc student Ellen Redford writes about how the emerging wine industry in Sussex, England can adopt best practices from low-carbon wine pioneers.
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Growing organic wine in Germany
Master's student Laura Siepmann summarizes her thesis findings on motivations for German winegrowers to adopt organic farming. See also her earlier fieldwork report.
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More master's student projects within OPERAs
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Coastal services in the Mediterranean
Shrina Kurani surveyed tourists on Mallorca to discover their values for the ecosystem services provided by the coastal environment, with some surprising results.
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Mapping and modeling services from cork oak landscapes in Portugal
Valuing and mapping cork and carbon across land use scenarios in a Portuguese montado landscape
New paper in PLOS ONE
Marius von Essen developed three future land use scenarios in the cork oak landscapes of the Montado in Portugal, and used the InVEST mapping tool to model the carbon storage and cork production they would provide. Link to his blog post.
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Marius & I collaborated with colleagues from the Montado exemplar to contribute to a policy report on case studies in mapping forest ecosystem services (MAES).
Marius von Essen reflects on the use of ecosystem services tools like InVEST to guide investment decisions.
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First impressions
Impressions of 2 Lund master's students, Pontus and Ellen, joining the OPERAs project in 2015.
OPERAs videos
Inclusive Conservation
Calling for Inclusive Conservation in a 2015 Nature piece led by Heather Tallis.