MONEC

To manage or not: Assessing the benefit of managing ecosystem disservices

In this project we will challenge the current management model of the socio-ecological system of reindeer husbandry by evaluating management effects of crowberry, a native invasive species. We evaluate the costs and benefits of management of crowberry to the socio-ecological system as well as to other ecosystem services. As our evaluation system we will combine a set of approaches including revisiting large scale areas to assess the impact of the above mentioned pressures over the last decades. We will focus on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning of the terrestrial ecosystem, and assess associated ecosystem services of both the terrestrial and the connected freshwater systems. We will explore ways to value biodiversity and ecosystem functioning as input to bio-economic modelling. Finally, we will provide a policy-relevant cost-benefit analysis of consequences of multiple pressure management, exploring whether management of the ecosystem disservices of a native invasive plant is advisable.

Time period: 2020-2024

The project has received funding from the Research Council of Norway.