Integrated Assessment of Biodiversity and Multi-functionality of Satoyama Landscapes

摘要

We devised indicators to assess the biodiversity of satoyama environments and developed models to assess their regulating services at a nationwide scale using a common database. Because of a lack of information on species distribution and farming systems in Japan, we used indirect habitat information such as land use/cover and assessed biodiversity by calculating JOIN values, which can be used as indicators of mixtures of two land uses {e.g., paddy-forest, paddy-built-up area) calculated by land-use grid data. We also developed assessment models of regulating services by collecting grid data such as "digital national land information" and modifying existing models, and measured the values of several regulating services. These values were compared among the land classes of the Rural Landscape Information System (RuLlS), a survey/information system developed by the National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences (NIAES), with the aim of monitoring, analyzing and assessing changes in biodiversity and wildlife habitats in agro-ecosystems effectively at various spatial scales. The results suggested that the spatial and temporal conditions and trends in biodiversity and regulating services could be assessed effectively by using RuLIS land class categories. Therefore, these assessment models for biodiversity and ecosystem services, both of which are assessed as functions of land use, could contribute to the creation of land-use change scenarios and estimation of environmental changes by being coupled with the spatial hierarchical framework of RuLIS.