Citation:

Myer, M. AND JohnM Johnston. Models and Mapping Tools to Inform Resilience Planning After Disasters: A Case Study of Hurricane Sandy and Long Island Ecosystem Services. Chapter 21, Ecosystem Based Management and Ecosystem Services: Theory, Tools, and Practice. Springer, Heidelberg, Germany, , 417-430, (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45843-0_21

Impact/Purpose:

This book chapter provides an overview of the utility of final ecosystem goods and services (FEGS) mapping tools to assist in ecosystem based management (EBM) decision making. FEGS are useful because they explicitly identify the biophysical attributes of ecosystems that matter to people – i.e., those that people directly use, enjoy or appreciate for a specific purpose, such as shoreline fishing and clam collecting. FEGS facilitate identifying, quantifying, and assigning value to biophysical attributes of ecosystems that are of greatest relevance to people who care about or depend on those ecosystems. FEGS are useful for communicating with stakeholders and policy-makers about how people obtain specific benefits from specific aspects of an ecosystem. Tools have been developed to identify FEGS, working with stakeholders to prioritize which FEGS are of greatest concern within a given decision context, and to identify mathematical models useful for estimating FEGS production. Along with 25 other chapters by US and European authors, this chapter will appear in an internationally-edited book, Ecosystem Based Management and Ecosystem Services: Theory, Tools, and Practice, that is expected to be published in 2020.

Description:

In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy in 2012, recovery and rebuilding efforts focused on resilience and diversified infrastructure that included consideration of the benefits that healthy ecosystems provide. County governments on Long Island identified a need for tools to map coastal and estuarine areas that may provide ecosystem services. Current methods of ecosystem service mapping often rely on complicated statistical models, labor-intensive site validation, or proprietary data. We examined a method of fast ecosystem services mapping that relies on publicly-available data, includes stakeholder input, and uses ArcGIS software that is ubiquitous in municipal planning. This chapter provides an example of ecosystem service mapping that generates easily explained visualizations suitable for non-scientific audiences with tools already available to municipal planning departments. We explain how to define indicators of benefit presence, obtain data, and create maps using examples from a collaboration with Nassau County, Long Island, New York.

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