A spatial analysis of integrated risk: vulnerability of ecosystem services provisioning to different hazards in the Czech Republic
Abstract
Ecosystem services are important to maintain the human well-being. However, their provisioning has been under the increasing pressure from both natural and socio-economic changes.
This paper aims to assess the most significant hazards, such as water quality, nitrogen deposition, erosion, floods, invasive species, urbanisation and contaminated sites affecting delivery of ecosystem services in the Czech Republic. Using the multi-hazard assessment, the integrated risk index for ecosystem service provisioning was proposed.
The spatial analysis based on this approach was then applied to the Czech Republic as a case study. The results showed that about 48% of the area falls into the very low risk category followed by 30%, 21%, and 1% for low, medium and high categories, respectively.
Forest and wetland ecosystems were estimated to have the highest proportion of their total area among the highest risk values. Moreover, we found that the national parks appeared to have the highest proportion of medium- and high-risk classes among the natural areas.
The approach presented in this study should aggregate the existing knowledge on ecosystem services and hazards and thus monitor the integrated risk. The results are intended to help with various planning and management decisions at both the national and regional levels and to bring more attention on the most problematic hot-spots.