Assessing ecosystem services in Neotropical dry forests: a systematic review

• Published in: Environmental conservation Vol. 44; no. 1; pp. 34 - 43
• Main Authors: CALVO-RODRIGUEZ, SOFIA, SANCHEZ-AZOFEIFA, ARTURO G., DURAN, SANDRA M., ESPÍRITO-SANTO, MARIO M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.03.2017
• Subjects: biodiversity; carbon; Carbon sequestration; Decision making; Dry forests; Ecosystem assessment; Ecosystem services; fauna; Forests; Internet; inventories; natural resources conservation; soil; Sustainability; Sustainability management; systematic review; tropical dry forests; carbon storage; Millennium Ecosystem Assessment; Neotropical dry forests; biodiversity; soil; water; ecosystem services
• ISSN: 0376-8929; 1469-4387; 1469-4387
• DOI: 10.1017/S0376892916000400

There is an increasing consensus on the importance of understanding ecosystem service (ES) provision in order to facilitate decision making and the sustainable management of Neotropical dry forests (NTDFs), yet research on the ESs provided by NTDFs is limited. We identified the main existing gaps and trends in the quantification of provisioning, regulating and supporting ESs in NTDFs. Systematic web-based searches showed that research has been increasing in recent decades in NTDFs, supporting greater ES knowledge and assessment. Carbon storage and biodiversity are the main subjects under study, while ESs relating to water and soil lack investigation. The most common approaches for assessing ES were fauna and plant inventories, carbon dynamics and ecological processes.