Spatio-temporal characterisation of ecosystem functions based on macro-habitats

Analysis and forecast of the spatial distribution and dynamics of ecosystem services is an important element of sustainable land management. The aim of this paper is to analyse the spatial and temporal variability of various ecosystem functions using indices derived from remote sensing products. These are applied in macro habitat types in a test area in the River Dee catchment in the north-east of Scotland, with a wide range of morphological features, soils and habitats and providing multi-functional ecosystem services (ESs), such as water quality, soil health, and biodiversity. A set of indices, single and multi-date, were derived from remotely sensed data (from the Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer; MODIS) and tested with respect to their potential for providing information relevant to analysing a targeted set of ecosystem functions. The indices considered were: i) Enhanced Vegetation Index, ii) primary productivity and iii) derived drought indices, such as the Normalised Difference Water Index. Representative climatic conditions were compared for two years. The macro habitats were derived from a detailed land cover and habitat dataset. The results provided a spatial measure of ecosystem functions in the test area with dynamic temporal modelling and estimation of uncertainty.