Global Ecosystem Mapping For UN SEEA Ecosystem Accounting Roger Sayre (U. S. Geological Survey); Dawn Wright, Sean Breyer, Charlie Frye, and others (Esri) UN SEEA Experts Forum on Ocean Ecosystem Accounting 1-3 Aug 2018 UN ESCAP, Bangkok ELUs (land) EMUs (marine) ECUs (coastal) EFUs (freshwater)
UN Sustainable Development Goals The need to conserve global ecosystems is mandated in three UN SDGs (below). To conserve them requires knowing where they are on the landscape and in the oceans, and thus the need for global ecosystem mapping. Terrestrial: By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands. By 2030, ensure the conservation of mountain ecosystems, including their biodiversity, in order to enhance their capacity to provide benefits that are essential for sustainable development. Freshwater: By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes. Marine: By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans By 2020, conserve at least 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, consistent with national and international law and based on the best available scientific information.
GEO ECOSYSTEMS Initiative: Global Ecosystem Mapping Develop a standardized, robust, and practical global ecosystems classification and map for the planet s terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems.
Global Ecological Land Units (ELUs) Globally comprehensive ~4000 ELUs Climate/Landform/Geology/Vegetation 250 m spatial resolution Global Ecological Marine Units (EMUs) Globally comprehensive and true 3D 37 EMUs Temperature/Salinity/Oxygen/Nitrate/Phosphate/Silicate 27 km m spatial resolution
Ecological Land Units (ELUs) The Ecophysiographic Stratification Approach Bioclimate Example: Warm Wet Plains on Metamorphic Rock with Mostly Deciduous Forest Landform Lithology Land Cover 3,639 Ecological Land Unit Classes
Ecological Marine Units (EMUs)
EMUs (Ecological Marine Units) 37 distinct volumetric region units from sea surface to seafloor Based on statistical clustering of 3D point data for six physical and chemical environment parameters (50 yr averages) 27 km by 27 km by variable depth, adequate for oceanic characterization, but insufficient for capture of coastal variation
Global Ecological Marine Units (EMUs) 0m -200m -400m -800m -1200m -1800m -2400m -3800m
Localized EMUs
Localized EMUs
Journal of Operational Oceanography Special Issue on GEO Blue Planet
ECUs (Ecological Coastal Units) New 30 m Global Shoreline Vector (GSV) from 2014 Landsat imagery! We will quantitatively segment (stratify) the global coastal zone into environmentally distinct/ecologically meaningful units.
GSV (GID)
GSV (GID)
GSV
ECUs (Ecological Coastal Units)
The SEEA Ecosystem Types (under revision) Derived from land cover classes Emphasized terrestrial ecosystems - freshwater, coastal, and marine domains not adequately captured Not Mutually Exclusive (no overlap) or Exhaustive (comprehensive, does not miss important classes).
Proposed revision of SEEA Ecosystem Types Ecological Domains (4) Ecosystem Classes (20) Level One Ecosystems (42?) Level Two Ecosystems (thousands) Level Three Ecosystems.. Hierarchical Mutually exclusive, exhaustive, ecologically meaningful Globally comprehensive mapping in progress Compatible with major ecological and ecoregional classification concepts
Proposed revision of SEEA Ecosystem Types Terrestrial Domain (6) Forests, Shrublands, Grasslands, Croplands, Barrenlands (sparsely or non-vegetated), Built Environment Freshwater Domain (3) Lakes and Ponds, Rivers and Streams, Wetlands Coastal Domain (5) Coastal Lands, Nearshore Waters, Nearshore Seafloor, Offshore Waters, Offshore Seafloor Oceanic Domain (6) Sunlit Waters, Twilight Waters, Deep Waters, Slope Seafloor, Abyssal Seafloor, and Hadal Seafloor
Proposed revision of SEEA Ecosystem Types Terrestrial Domain (6) Forests, Shrublands, Grasslands, Croplands, Barrenlands (sparsely or non-vegetated), Built Environment Freshwater Domain (3) Lakes and Ponds, Rivers and Streams, Wetlands Coastal Domain (5) Coastal Lands, Nearshore Waters, Nearshore Seafloor, Offshore Waters, Offshore Seafloor Oceanic Domain (6) EMUs Sunlit Waters, Twilight Waters, Deep Waters, Slope Seafloor, Abyssal Seafloor, and Hadal Seafloor
Ocean Ecoregionalization Partitioning of the Global Ocean into Ecologically Meaningful Regions LME coastal, geopolitical, expert-derived, surface MEOW coastal, biogeographic, expert-derived, surface Longhurst oceanic, biochemical, data-derived, surface Bailey oceanic, environmental, expert-derived, surface GOODS oceanic, biogeographic, expert-derived, water column EMUs oceanic, environmental, data-derived, true 3D
Ocean Ecoregionalization Partitioning of the Global Ocean into Ecologically Meaningful Regions LME coastal, geopolitical, expert-derived, surface MEOW coastal, biogeographic, expert-derived, surface Longhurst oceanic, biochemical, data-derived, surface Bailey oceanic, environmental, expert-derived, surface GOODS oceanic, biogeographic, expert-derived, water column EMUs oceanic, environmental, data-derived, true 3D The EMUS have an embedded MBSU
Recommendations Evaluate proposed SEEA Oceanic and Coastal ecological domains and associated ecosystem classes for use in marine ecosystem accounting with test accounts Evaluate new GSV as a standardized shoreline vector for accounting Endorse fast-track development of global ECUs as candidate standardized coastal ecosystem types fro marine ecosystem accounting Replicate NOAA WOA surface point data/pixel structure as MBSU for Oceanic domain ecosystem accounting For Coastal domain, identify a 30 m point data/pixel structure as MBSU for coastal ecosystem accounting