Identifying multi-scale drivers of biodiversity and ecosystem services to build multifunctional working landscapes

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Humans activities to grow food and harvest timber also cause biodiversity loss and ecosystem changes that threaten the ecosystem services (benefits that people derive from nature) upon which human well-being depends. In the face of these changes, multifunctionality - the ability of landscapes to provide multiple services - is an increasingly critical sustainability goal. However, key drivers of multifunctionality remain unclear and likely vary across spatial scales, with landscape heterogeneity and biodiversity both proposed as important drivers. My research seeks to create a multi-scale understanding of the ecological drivers of multifunctionality in working landscapes. Over the next 5 years I will integrate evidence from (1) empirical fieldwork and (2) continental-scale data analyses into (3) predictive models to inform landscape-scale decision-making. (1) Landscape structure has important effects on species movement, functional diversity, and ecosystem services. Yet, there are few studies that investigate these links for multiple services in real landscapes. Using the working landscapes of the Lower Fraser Valley of BC, I will sample arthropod, bird, and tree functional diversity and proxies for eight ecosystem services across gradients of landscape heterogeneity. The results will advance understanding of the links between land use change, functional diversity, and the provision of multiple ecosystem services. (2) At broader spatial scales, multiple drivers of multifunctionality are likely important (e.g., climate, land use intensity) but will vary and interact across scales. However, multi-scale analyses that identify combinations of drivers that lead to multifunctional landscapes are lacking. Taking advantage of new national and global datasets of biodiversity and ecosystem services, I will determine the patterns and multi-scale drivers of multifunctionality and bird biodiversity across two scales in North American working landscapes, significantly improving our understanding of processes that lead to multifunctionality at different scales. (3) Finally, current ecosystem service models fail to explicitly model interactions between services across scales, limiting effective management for multifunctionality. I will update current ecosystem service models to include the effects of landscape heterogeneity, functional diversity, and cross-scale interactions. These models will then be used to evaluate how future land use in the Lower Fraser Valley will impact multifunctionality in order to inform sustainable landscape management in the region. My research program will train 5 graduate and 9 undergraduate students in unique interdisciplinary research skills and advanced ecological and spatial techniques. The knowledge we will develop will be used by decision-makers, conservation organizations, and farmers to create multifunctional working landscapes in Canada and beyond that conserve biodiversity and provide sustainable human livelihoods.