Source: UNIV OF HAWAII submitted to
ECOSYSTEM SERVICE VALUE TRADE-OFF MODELING AND MAPPING TO IMPROVE AGRICULTURAL SYSTEM MANAGEMENT IN HAWAII
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
TERMINATED
Funding Source
HATCH
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0230685
Grant No.
(N/A)
Project No.
HAW01125-H
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Oct 1, 2012
Project End Date
Sep 30, 2017
Grant Year
(N/A)
Project Director
Oleson, KI.
Recipient Organization
UNIV OF HAWAII
3190 MAILE WAY
HONOLULU,HI 96822
Performing Department
Natural Resources & Environmental Management
Non Technical Summary
Spatial planning of working landscapes can improve ecological, social, and economic outcomes by optimizing across multiple goals. One emerging tool for spatial planning is ecosystem service value trade-off modeling. This tool combines spatial data, ecosystem production functions, and economic valuation into a decision-making platform decision-makers can use to assess outcomes due to alternative land management strategies. The role of Hawaiian agricultural systems in providing crucial ecosystem services cannot be understated. Fresh water supply, carbon emissions, and land-based pollutants are all current policy concerns in Hawaii, and all are affected by practices across Hawaii's 1.1 million acres of agricultural land. In the face of these policy issues, the utility of the models for decision-making in Hawaii has to be established. In order to optimize production and ecosystem service provision while ensuring cost effective outcomes, managers require tools to help balance trade-offs and optimize spatial planning. In parallel, the design of incentives targeting land owners requires tools to identify the economic benefits of alternate land management practices, and the relevant efficiencies of alternate incentive programs. Without these tools, managers and policy makers have no rational basis for land management decisions or incentive programs. The goal of the project is to develop a proof-of-concept ecosystem service value trade-off model, apply it in one watershed to generate recommendations (i) to improve the economic efficiency of agricultural system management and (ii) for possible incentive mechanisms, and then assess its usefulness in decision-making. Objectives include: (1)selecting the most appropriate ecosystem service valuation mapping tool for Hawaiian working landscapes (2) adapting the selected tool for Hawaiian agricultural systems; (3) applying the adapted tool to one case in order to assess the a. value of ecosystem services flowing from working landscapes b. trade-offs posed by alternate management strategies, c.damages due to threats; and, (4) generating recommendations for optimal management and sustainable finance incentive systems; (5) assessing the usefulness of mapping for land management in Hawaii.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
6050120301050%
1120210301025%
1210799301025%
Knowledge Area
605 - Natural Resource and Environmental Economics; 112 - Watershed Protection and Management; 121 - Management of Range Resources;

Subject Of Investigation
0120 - Land; 0799 - Rangelands and grasslands, general; 0210 - Water resources;

Field Of Science
3010 - Economics;
Goals / Objectives
Spatial planning of working landscapes can improve ecological, social, and economic outcomes by optimizing across multiple goals. One emerging tool for spatial planning is ecosystem service value trade-off modeling. This tool combines spatial data, ecosystem production functions, and economic valuation into a decision-making platform decision-makers can use to assess outcomes due to alternative land management strategies. Decision-makers can use the models to assess how alternative plans, policies, and futures affect the flow of various ecosystem services. Hawaiian watershed managers have long acknowledged the importance of landscape-scale coordination for maintaining ecosystem services. Eleven Watershed Partnerships across the main islands focus on facilitating cooperation amongst stakeholders. Ecosystem service models can support this cooperation by, for example, identifying high value areas where invasive species or fire are particular threats, helping managers focus their attention and limited funds. The utility of the models for decision-making in Hawaii has to be established. We need to build and apply these models and use them to inform real-world decision-making processes. On a technical level, modeling multiple services requires building modules that accurately capture Hawaiian systems and their interactions, then inputting site-specific data. By nature of our biogeographic and climatic diversity, Hawaiian systems are more complex than most. Building models for Hawaii will require careful calibration and data collection. Modeling economic values will also require careful calibration to Hawaii. For example, non-market values will likely be more important here than elsewhere, and particular attention will have to be dedicated to capturing cultural values. The goal of the project is to develop a proof-of-concept ecosystem service value trade-off model, apply it in one watershed to generate recommendations (i) to improve the economic efficiency of agricultural system management and (ii) for possible incentive mechanisms, and then assess its usefulness in decision-making. Objectives include: (1)selecting the most appropriate ecosystem service valuation mapping tool for Hawaiian working landscapes (2) adapting the selected tool for Hawaiian agricultural systems; (3) applying the adapted tool to one case in order to assess the a. value of ecosystem services flowing from working landscapes b. trade-offs posed by alternate management strategies, c.damages due to threats; and, (4) generating recommendations for optimal management and sustainable finance incentive systems; (5) assessing the usefulness of mapping for land management in Hawaii.
Project Methods
The model selection stage (1 year) will involve a thorough review of the strengths and weaknesses of existing spatial ecosystem service trade-off models and their respective approaches. Adaptations (2 years) we will make will depend on the model, but will include (i) taking an integrated ahupua'a approach linking headwater forest systems with downstream terrestrial, aquatic, and coastal systems, (ii) fine tuning models to reflect the diversity of agricultural systems in Hawaii, (iii) building modules for ecosystem services crucial to Hawaiian systems (water, land based pollution, cultural value), (iv) developing valuation methods for non-market ecosystem services, and (v) improving the economic modeling to better reflect economic theory. A model will result that accurately (i) measures ecosystem services and trade-offs; and (ii) captures key ecosystem service values. The decision-making interface of the model will be developed as well. The adapted model will be open source and available to other researchers. The model will then be applied to a small watershed in Hawaii (2 years). The project will select the case study watershed based on: (i) Watershed Alliance or landowner interest; (ii) data availability; (iii) importance of agricultural areas in ecosystem service provision; (iv) feasibility to conduct research. A case study will result that: (i) maps ecosystem services and their values; (ii) assesses trade-offs in these values under alternate management practices and/or futures; (iii) uses the tool to evaluate current management practices; (iv) identifies optimal management practices; (v) values the impacts of threats, such as fire and/or invasive species; (vi) identifies potential sustainable finance opportunities. Data will be assembled from existing sources, but primary data will also need to be collected, especially with respect to cultural values. This may involve a participatory economic valuation with affected communities. Extension colleagues' collaboration will be key to the success of this phase. Not only will they help identify and build a relationship with the client, but they will help researchers ensure that model outputs are presented in a manner useful to decision-makers. Finally, the usefulness of the model for informing agricultural land management practices will be evaluated (6 months).

Progress 10/01/12 to 09/30/17

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this work included stakeholders from mountain to reef who are part of the West Maui Ridge to Reef Imitative. These included the West Maui Mountain Partnership, Division of Aquatic Resources, private land owners, and the Division of Land and Natural Resources. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project supported multiple graduate students throughout its five years. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results have been distributed through conference presentations, publications, technical workshops, and regular outreach to stakeholders. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The project completed all its stated objectives. We built a first generation of ecosystem service models, and applied these to Hawaiian landscapes to support decision-making.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Oleson, K.L.L., K.A. Falinski, J. Lecky, C. Rowe, C.V. Kappel, K.A. Selkoe, C. White (2017). Upstream solutions to coral reef conservation: smart and cooperative decision-making pays off. Journal of Environmental Management 191:8-18.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Wedding, L.M., et al. 2016. Mapping anthropogenic and environmental drivers of Hawaiian coral reef ecosystem states. Plos One.


Progress 10/01/15 to 09/30/16

Outputs
Target Audience:We have primarily been working with the West Maui Ridge to Reef Initiative in their efforts to improve land management. Other audiences have included government agencies (Division of Aquatic Resources, EPA, US Army Corps of Engineers, NOAA, etc.). Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Multiple grad students have been working on this project. Students have also had opportunities to present their research at an international conference help in Honolulu last summer. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Yes, to managers and well as the broader scientific community. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue to develop the agricultural models, focusing on nutrients and sediment. We have partnered with USGS to better understand some of the more obscure erosion processes in order to better incorporate those into our model. We have partnered with Department of Health to evaluate the effluent from on-site disposal systems, and their impact on groundwater quality.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We have developed models to estimate multiple ecosystem goods and services. We have used these to estimate effects of various land management alternatives. Using a sediment model we adapted to Hawaii, and an economic model to estimate cost, we developed an ecological-economic model to prioritize agricultural road repair. This article is under review at the Journal of Environmental Management, but the analysis is in the hands of managers, and has been used to inform action. In addition to sediment, we developed models for carbon sequestration, water yield, agricultural production, and coupled these with economic outcomes at the shoreline via a recreational opportunity model.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Oleson, K.L.L. (2016). Building a ridge-to-reef ecosystem service tool to support ridge-to-reef management in Maui. Source to sea session, International Union for the Conservation of Nature World Conservation Conference, September 1-10, 2016. Honolulu, HI.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Oleson, K.L.L. 2016. Smart decisions to sustain coral reefs expert panel. Moderated by H. Possingham. Panel members included: P. Kareiva, O. Hoegh-Guldberg, B. Halpern, D. Wachenfeld, L. Mcleod, D. Obura, J. Pandolfi, and B. Anderson. 13th International Coral Reef Symposium, June 19-24, 2016. Honolulu, HI.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Falinski, K., Oleson, K.L.L., Lecky, J., White, C., Kappel, C., Selkoe, K. 2016. Using an ecosystem service decision support tool to support ridge to reef management: An example of sediment reduction in west Maui, Hawaii. 2016 Ocean Sciences Meeting. February 21-26, 2016. New Orleans, LA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Oleson, K.L.L., Falinski, K., Lecky, J., Rowe, C., White, C. 2016. Predictive models and trade-off analysis for guiding cost-effective land-based management actions for conserving coral reefs. 13th International Coral Reef Symposium. June 19-24, 2016. Honolulu, HI.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Wedding, L.M., et al. 2016. Mapping anthropogenic and environmental drivers of Hawaiian coral reef ecosystem states. 13th International Coral Reef Symposium. June 19-24, 2016. Honolulu, HI.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2017 Citation: Wedding, L.M., et al. 2016. Mapping anthropogenic and environmental drivers of Hawaiian coral reef ecosystem states. PLoS One.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Falinski, K., Oleson, K.L.L., Lecky, J., Hamel, P., Yost, R., Sutherland R. 2016. Development of a subtropical, volcanic geology-specific model for sediment delivery in the Hawaiian islands. 13th International Coral Reef Symposium. June 19-24, 2016. Honolulu, HI.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Lecky, J., Oleson, K.L.L., Wedding, L., Falinski, K., McCoy, K., Kappel, C., Selkoe, K. 2016. Ecosystem vulnerability and cumulative impacts on Hawaiian reefs. 13th International Coral Reef Symposium. June 19-24, 2016. Honolulu, HI. (poster presentation)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Falinski, K., Oleson,K.L.L., Htun, H., Hamel, P. 2016. Comparing the impact of centuries of land use and climate change on ecosystem services in the Pacific using terrestrial InVEST models. Natural Capital Symposium, March 21, 2016. Stanford, CA.


Progress 10/01/14 to 09/30/15

Outputs
Target Audience:The project focused on building models of sediment and nutrient fluxes under alternative land and climate change conditions. The work directly supports efforts in West Maui. Our counterparts include representatives actually managing the watersheds, as well as federal and state agency staff. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The students involved in this project have had ample opportunity for professional development, from connecting with collaborators to presenting at conferences. We also worked with our management partners to iteratively develop and vet the models we are developing. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have been presenting intermediate products and results as part of community science forums, the Hawaii Conservation Conference, AGU, etc., and we regularly meet with our stakeholders in Maui. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the coming period, we will be linking the sediment and hydrological models - along with a coral reef model developed separately with funding from DOI - in an integrated modeling platform. The platform will enable landscape-scale scenario analysis.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? A major focus of effort in the past year has been to finalize a sediment model to predict how different land management actions will affect sediment fluxes to the nearshore environment. Two students, Htun and Falinski, advanced their assessments of the appropriate hydrological and sediment delivery modeling tools. We have also been working on valuation studies to assess the economic cost of the pollutants once it reaches the near shore environment.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Oleson, K.L.L., Callender, T., Delevaux, J., Falinski, K., Htun, H., and Jin, G. (2014) An ecosystem service evaluation tool to support ridge-to-reef management in Hawaii. NOAA Kona Integrated Ecosystem Assessment Scientific Symposium, Kailua-Kona, HI.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Falinski, K., Oleson, K.L.L., and Hamel, P. (2015) InVEST sediment retention model: A Hawaiian case study, Stanford University Natural Capital Symposium.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Falinski, K., Htun, H., and Oleson, K.L.L. (2014) Modeling to connect land management to hydrologic ecosystem services: Opportunities and challenges. Hawai'i Conservation Conference in Honolulu, HI.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Falinski, K., Oleson, K.L.L., and Stock, J. (2015) Developing a decision support framework to assess soil erosion in leeward Hawaiian islands. CTAHR Symposium in Honolulu, HI.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Peng, M. and Oleson, K.L.L. (2015) Whats a clean beach worth: Recreationalist willingness to pay for coastal water quality. UHERO Seminar in Energy and Environmental Policy, Honolulu, HI.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Falinski, K., Htun, H., and Oleson, K.L.L. (2014) Modeling to connect land management to hydrologic ecosystem services: Opportunities and challenges. Hawai'i Conservation Conference, Honolulu HI.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Falinski, K., White, C., Rowe, C., Kappel, C., Delevaux, J., and Oleson, K.L.L. (2014) Predictive models and trade-off analysis for guiding cost-effective land-based management actions for conserving coral reefs. NOAA Kona Integrated Ecosystem Assessment Scientific Symposium, Kailua-Kona, HI.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Falinski, K., Oleson, K.L.L., and Nielson, J. (2014) Evaluation of Hydrologic Models to Predict Sediment Export With Changing Land Use in Leeward Hawaiian Watersheds. American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, CA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Falinski, K., Oleson, K.L.L., and Sutherland, R. (2014) Mauka to Makai: Modeling the effects of agricultural land use change on sediment yield in two Hawaiian watersheds. International Hydrology and Sedimentation Conference, Sediment to Sea in New Orleans, LA.


Progress 10/01/13 to 09/30/14

Outputs
Target Audience: West Maui Ridge to Reef Intitiative US Army Corps of Engineers US EPA USGS Maui Cultural Lands HI Department of Land and Natural Resources - Division of Aquatic Resources Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Multiple students have worked on this project, modeling, talking with stakeholders, doing fieldwork, and collaborating with experts. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? We have been very active in connecting to our target audiences: multiple trips offering technical assistance, workshops, modeling scenario runs, presentations at state conservation conferences. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Continue to refine our models Plan formal assessment

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The tools we have developed (and continue to improve) are improving the efficiency of land management practices. For instance, we used our models to assess which roads were the most cost effective to rehabilitate. We have yet to formally assess the tool's usefulness in decision-making.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: Bremer, L., Delevaux, J., Leary, J., Cox, L., and Oleson, K.L.L. (In press). Opportunities and strategies to incorporate ecosystem services knowledge and decision support tools into planning and decision making in Hawaii. Environmental Management.


Progress 10/01/12 to 09/30/13

Outputs
Target Audience: Having established the location of our first case study, we worked directly with the groups and people involved in watershed management in west Maui, which includes the West Maui Ridge-to-Reef intitiative, teh US Army Corps of Engineers, the West Maui Mountain Watershed Alliance, USGS, USEPA, DLNR, and private landowners. This year, our efforts included educating these groups about our approach (ecosystem services), interviewing over 50 land and resource managers across the state in a "needs assessment" to gauge desirability of a decision support tool, presentation at planning meetings, and a modeling workshop on campus that was open to the broader UH community. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? One post-doctoral scholar, two PhD students, one Masters student, and one additoinal PhD student (for technical support) were hired using project funds. These students accompanied the PI and collaborators from the USGS and watershed initiative to the field, discussing the land management issues and collecting data. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Aside from extensive collaboration with partners in the case study site, we have held modeling workshops on campus, discussed the research with numerous colleagues, and presented our plan to multiple stakeholders (USACE, USEPA, NOAA, DLNR). We also conducted a needs assessment which served as an important educational activity for land managers, where we were able to discuss the ecosystem services approach. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? We will publish our needs assessment, present at conferences, and spend a lot of time in the field gathering data.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We are well on the way to accomplishing these goals: (1) We have established a partnership with a watershed management group in west Maui, who are interested and willing to test the utility of an ecosystem service decision support tool. Through our needs assessment, we established an overwhelming demand from stakeholders for this product. (2) We are evaluating existing models and tools in a systematic way, developing evaluation criteria and identifying areas where we will need to adapt models for the Hawaiian context. (3) We have established collaborations with scientists to help us understand the key processes at play, and thus what our tool must capture (4) We have gathered and processed most of the required data to run our models for the case study watersheds (5) We have run some of the off-the-shelf models (6) We are in the early stages of developing an adapted, dynamic tool for spatial planning of working landscapes.

Publications