Characterizing and Mapping of Ecosystem Services (CMESs) Literature Database Version 1.0


EPA/600/C-11/003
April 2011
swvw.epa.gov
Characterizing and Mapping of Ecosystem
Services (CMESs) Literature Database Version 1.0
Paula E. Allen, Maliha S. Nash, Robert C. Ohman, Ricardo D. Lopez,
Jay R. Christensen, Ann M. Pitchford, Nita G. Tallent-Halsell,
and Larry Butler
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, ORD/ESD/LEB, Las Vegas, NV, USA
Background
Ecosystem services (ESs) represent an ecosystem's
capacity for satisfying essential human needs, directly
or indirectly, above that required to maintain ecosystem
integrity (structure, function and processes). The spatial
characterization and mapping of ESs is an essential first
step in establishing existing conditions to characterize,
assess, value and communicate the impact of decisions
that affect ESs and the benefits that flow to society.
The US Environmental Protection Agency, as part of
the Ecosystem Services Research Program, has a goal
of developing a National Atlas of Ecosystem Services,
thus we conducted an intensive literature survey related
to characterizing and mapping ecosystem functions,
processes, and services. We reviewed over 250 journal
articles dating from 1990 to 2009. The number of
articles on ecosystem services and related functions and
processes has increased exponentially since 1990.
Information on ecosystem services were summarized
from the literature and assigned to general ESs classes
as shown in Table 1. This literature database hereafter
will be referred as the characterization and mapping of
ecosystem services (CMESs) database. The CMESs
Database was developed to aid the Landscape Ecology
Branch in sorting through the ever increasing amount of
data specific to mapping ecosystem services and is
available to the public.
The following notes detail the construction of the
database including keywords that were searched as part
of this effort, a brief description of the data fields, and a
description of how to access and use the database by
adding records or viewing and printing pre-packed
report forms.
Databases Searched
Biosis Previews; Environmental Science and
Engineering; Agricola; NTIS; (National Technical
Information Service); CAB Abstracts; General Science
Abstracts; Waternet; Ebsco Greenfile; ScienceDirect;
Electronic Collections Online; ArticleFirst; Wilson
Select; WorldCat; SpringerLink; Taylor and Francis;
AGU.
Key Words Searched
Ecosystem service(s), ecosystem service value(s),
ecosystem benefits, natural capital, natures services,
ecological economics, public goods, ecological
service(s), environmental service(s), and
maps, mapping, map, GIS, ecological indicators,
metrics, scale(s), land use, landcover, land-cover, land
cover, landscape planning, landscape, cover, land use,
change, characterization, history, economic valuation,
valuation, remote sensing & biodiversity, biodiversity
& conservation, human health, human well-being,
disease, sustainability, spatial, monitoring, ecosystem
function, carbon, carbon sequestration, carbon storage,
water quality, water quantity, water supply, hydrologic
services, managing ecosystem resources.
Key words added:
Ecosystem structure, ecosystem condition, ecosystem
changes, ecosystem, diversity, ecosystem health,
ecosystem protection, ecosystem water quality,
ecosystem management, ecosystem GIS, ecosystem
remote sensing, ecosystem valuation, carbon flux,
nitrogen storage, ecological remote sensing, landscape
planning, ecosystem carbon sequestration, ecosystem
and human health, landcover, land cover, land-cover
change, spatially explicit.
Journals from which our compilation is derived
Advances in Marine Biology, Agricultural Systems,
Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, American
Journal of Agricultural Economics, American Journal
of Agricultural Economics, American Midland
Naturalist, American Society of Agricultural and
Biological Engineers, Annals of the Missouri Botanical
Garden, Aquatic Botany, Aquatic Conservation, Austral
Ecology, Biodiversity Conservation, Biogeochemistry,
Biological Conservation, Bioscience, Bulletin of
Marine Science, Climatic Change, Comptes Rendus
Biologies, Conservation Biology, Current Science
(Bangalore), Ecological Applications, Ecological
Economics, Ecological Engineering, Ecological
Indicators, Ecological Informatics, Ecological
Modeling, Ecology, Ecology Letters, Ecosystem
Health, Ecosystems, Environmental Management,
1

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Environmental Modeling & Software, Environmental
Monitoring and Assessment, Environmental Pollution,
Environmental. Science & Policy, Forest Ecology and
Management, Freshwater Biology, Frontiers in Ecology
and Environment, Geodenna, GeoJournal, GIScience
and Remote Sensing. Global Change Biology, Global
Ecology and Biogeography, Hydrobiologia, Hydrology
and Earth System Sciences, International Journal of
Remote Sensing, Irrigation and Drainage Systems,
Journal of Environmental Quality, Journal of
Agricultural Meteorology, Journal of Biogeography.
Journal of Coastal Research, Journal of Environmental
Management, Journal of Environmental Quality,
Journal of Forestry, Journal of Hazardous Materials,
Journal of Hydrology, Journal of Hydrometeorology,
Journal of Paleolimnology, Journal of Remote Sensing,
Journal of the American Water Resources Association,
Journal of the North American Benthological Society,
Journal of Vegetation Science, Journal of Wildlife
Diseases, Lake and Reservoir Management, Land
Economics, Landscape and Urban Planning, Landscape
Ecology, Limnology and Oceanography, Mapping
Sciences and Remote Sensing, Marine Ecology
Progress Seriess Nature, Oecologia, Pliilosopliical
Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological
Sciences, Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote
Sensing, Plant Ecology, PLoS Biology, Proceedings of
the National Academy of Sciences. Proceedings of the
Royal Society of Britain, Remote Sensing of
Environment, Science, Silvo Fennita, Society and
Natural Resources, Technological Forecasting & Social
Change, The Journal of Animal Ecology, Urban
Ecosystems, Waste Management, Water Resources
Research Western North American Naturalist,
Wetlands. Wuhan University Journal of Natural
Sciences.
Pre-defined searches
We developed and include in the database several pre-
defined reports that were found to be most useful to the
current database users; they include summary reports
by individual journal article and by:
• Study Area(s)
• Primary- ecosystem
• Types of models
• Report year
• General spatial scale (study area extent)
• Number and type of ecosystem services
• Summary by ecosystem services
Accessing and Using the Database
The database base was originally developed in Microsoft® Excel
97-2003 Worksheet and imported to Microsoft Access 2003. The
Microsoft Access Tables, Queries, Forms, Report, Macros and
Modules were created in Microsoft Access 2003. It was migrated
to Microsoft Office Access 2007 SP2 MSO. It uses the
Microsoft Office Access Database (.mdb) that has not been
converted to the new Access file format (.accdb). Accessing the
database can be done from the CD itself or from your PC (after
saving it on your personal computer). To make database
changes, you will have to copy the database to your PC.
*Note: page layout will be different
between versions of Microsoft Office
Access.
Create a folder named CMES and copy
the files on the CD into it. Double
clicking on the "Start" button with the
Explorer icon will get you to the front
page of the database (Figure 1).
(http://k2626unvgu001 .las.epa.gov:9876/lv/CMES/Start.htm)
vvEPA
ecosystems services research program
Characterizing and Mapping Ecosystem
Services (CMESs) Database Version.1.0.
Paula E. Alien, Maltha S. Mash, Robert C. Ohman.
Ricardo D. Lopez, Jay R. Christensen, Ann M. Pitchford,
Nita G. Tallent-Halsell, and Larry Butler
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Figure I. Top Panel
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You are given the choice of starting
Access or going to the LEB website for
more information about the Landscape
Ecology Branch. Start Access. You
will be prompted to save or open the
file. If you have not yet saved the
database in the CMES file you created,
do so now. If you have already saved
the database and started from your Figure 1. Bottom Panel
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CMES file then open the file; you will be brought to the
first page of the database (Figure 3). In some cases, new
users may be prompted to a security warning (Figure 2).
Clicking the "Open" button will bring you to the first
page of the database (Figure 3). From here you have
several options. You may advance through each record
by selecting the directional arrows in the lowerleft
corner of the screen. You can scroll through records based
on several types of data. The first button on the right
side of the screen with the binocular icon allows you to
search the entire database by keyword or to search the
database for a particular author. In Microsoft Office
Access 2007, this icon may not work unless you first
enable the feature.
Security Warning
Opening 'C:\CMESf cosystemServicesliteratureRevieYi'(5).iTKfi)'
This file may not be safe if it contains code that was intended to harm your
computer,
Do you want to open th$ fie Of cancel the operation?

Qpen
L
More Info
Figure 2. Security warning when opened
' Characterizing and Mapping Ecosystem Services
ynllxl
ID:
Project Code
REFERENCE:
ESS_REV
Endreny
YEAR:
JOURNAL
AREA:
f
m
[Technological Forecasting & Social Change v
United States
Primary System Regulating Provisioning Supporting Cultural/Aesthetic Other Info
Author:
Title:
Volume:
Issue:
Page:
Keywords:
Abstract:
Record: | H |
Find Text
(author.Title, etc.)
IForest buffer strips; mapping the water quality benefits
JournalNbr:
Year:
iJan/Feb 2002
35-40
Journal Technological Forecasting & Social Change
forest, hydrology, nonpoint-source pollution, water quality benefits CADA-EC
(Contributing Area-dispersal Area-Export Coefficient) model
Forest buffer strips are widely recommended for trapping nonpoint-source pollutants and
protecting surface water quality, yeet few models are designed to identify key areas for
buffer installation and management. This artide presents a conceptual model of polluted
runoff dynamics to provide traction in estimating watershed-wide forest buffer needs.
Inputs required for these estimates include elevation and land-cover maps, along with
derived products that represent basic nutrient runoff principles.
Reports
Display
Reports Form
Acic1
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Home Create
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Clipboard ^
Database Tools
^ Security Warning Certain co
11
Reports
UateMo dmedTTl TtOTaT.
Scale of Ecosyste... Report
Date Created: 10/9/2009-
Date Modified: 11/19/20...
Scale of Total Ec... Report
Date Created: 8/6/2010 ...
Date Modified: 2/23/201...
TopEcosystemSe... Report
Date Created: 8/27/2010...
Date Modified: 11/22/20...
TopEcosystemSe... Report
Date Created: 8/27/2010...
Date Modified: 11/19/20...
Type of Ecosyste... Report
Date Created: 10/4/2010...
Date Modified: 2/23/201...
Wetland Report Report
Date Created; 8/11, 2009...
Date Modified: 2/23/201
m

Microsoft Office Security Options
Q
Security Alert
VBA Macro
Access has cteabJed potentially harmful content in this database.
If you trust the contents of this database and would lice to enabte it for th«s session
only, ckk Enable this content.
Warning: It is not possible to determine that this content came from a
trustworthy source. You should leave this content disabled unless the
content provides critical functionality and you trust its source.
More information
Fie Path: C: V'aula \CMES ^cosystemServicesLiteratureReview(5).mdb
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Find
hetjc Other Info

Marine Biology
t-source pollutants and
) identify key areas fa-
ctual model of pofluted
forest buffer needs.
Inputs requred for these estimates mdude elevation and land-cover maps, along with
derived products that represent bas»c nutnent runoff prrtoptes.
¦< T
Form View
Figure 4. Click on "Enable this content" to proceed.
Numlock yO'B itS Q
Making New Database Entries
To make database entries, you will have to copy the
database to your PC. To make a new entry in the database,
scroll to the last record as in Figure 5. on the first page of
the database form (Figure 6) fill out the relevant fields.
If the Journal does not appear on the pull down menu
you must first add it. From the CMESs window press
, which will take you to Figure 2.
Figure 5. Bottom Left of Figure 3: scroll to an emply
page for data entry
Record: GUST
Form View
216
El
of 216
tP Characterizing ar»d Mapping Ecosystem Services
Retort: | H~f <] f
Figure 6. New data entry page.
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Characterizing and Mapping Ecosystem Services
EE®
08
ID:
Project Code
(AulofMnber)!
Journal Data Primary System ' Regulating Provswnng i Supporting ! Cultural/Aesthetic Other Info
Author:
Tltte:
Vofcme:
Issue:
JournaM*:
rear:
Jotmal
•Hard: firm | 20 (TT]1 of 21?
0
Find Text
(author ,TitJe, etc.)
Add New
Journals
Record
Add New
Primary
Ecosystem
Record
I Est Maosoft Access
Figure 7. New information entry for record 217.
Then select "Add New Journal Record" button to the right of the screen, you will be taken to a window as shown in
Figure 8 which shows the ID number of the last record and last journal (i.e. 92). Press ~ to go to the first of the
blank fields. Now fill in the new ID (e.g. 93), in the Journal rD field and type in the Journal name (Fig. 8). The journal
will now appear in the pull down menu and can be selected in your new entry. Figures 8 and 9 describe the entry of
new journal. Close, refresh, go back and search for the journals in CMESs window to confirm the new entiy (Fig. 9).
* JournalForm

Add a new Journal Record with this
JournallD
JOURNAL
Click on the button on the right to add a new Journal Record
Environmenta Research Letter
Record: f 93
Figure 8. Journal Form for entering new journal that is not in the list.
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m
ID:
221
flEAR:
20C8
Project Gode
216
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4REA:

Journal Data primary System RsgUethg Provisiorirg EiDpcrtirg Cdtural/Aes+ejc Other Iifo
Authcr:
Title:
Vol ure
Issue:
Page:
Keywords:
20C8
Erwrcrrnental Research Letter
Tourre fM
Figure 9. The new Journal has been added, enter the rest of the new information and refresh to retain entries.
This same procedure applies to adding additional ecosystems; select "Add New Ecosystem" Add the
PrimSysID corresponding to the record number in the lower left scroll field. Exit the fonn. and return to the first
page of your new entry. After completing the entiy of the Journal Data, select the Primary System folder. The new
ecosystem will now appear in the pull down menu of the Primary Ecosystem field. Select yes or no for remaining
pages and fields where applicable.
Ecosystem Literature Printable Reports
Pro ect Code
ESS REV
REFERENCE
Endreny
JournaNbr
Single Journal
Article Information
Scale and
Eco- System
Journal
Information
Ecosystem
Services
Record: [ H ]
Summary Charts
BIBLIO or ESS REV
Number of
Articles by
Journal
Summary Charts
All Projects
Ecosystem
BIBLIO or ESS REV
Ecosystem
Research
Location
Publication
Year
Top
Ecosystem
Services
Research
Scale

i rnirniFii of 215
Number of
Articles by
Journal
Location
Research
Publication
Year
Top
Ecosystem
Services
Research
Scale
Wetland
Report
Scale (Extent)
Models
Total
Wetland
Report
Figure 10. Report print selections.
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Printing and Displaying Reports
The Display Reports Form button (Figure 10) takes you to a series of printable forms. The forms can be printed by
individual journal article or summarized by article ID. Summaries of data collected from individual journal articles
are available on three separate forms (Scale and Ecosystem; Journal Information, or Ecosystem Services). You must
input the ID number of the article in the database you want to print on each of the forms that correspond to data you
wish to print. To exit the form ;
upper right of your menu bar
return to the selectable forms page simply hit the close window button in the
To exit the selectable forms page and return to first page of the database, again simply hit the close window button
on your menu bar
The second set of forms allows you to print histograms and corresponding tables that summarize database
information by project code. For example, to develop a summary chart for all projects by number of articles and
journal, press. Summary Charts
All Projects
Number of
Articles by
Journal
This will prompt you to Enter "Biblio" for bibliography or
enter "ESS REV" for ecosystem reviewed. You must enter
the exact project name.
Enter Parameter Value | ? Jfx"
Enter Biblio or ESS_REV:

Cancel

The following information can be summarized: the number of articles by journal, location of research, publication
year, ecosystem services and research scales (Figure 11). When any one of these forms is selected you must type in
the project code twice before the form is completed; once to call up the table and once to create the histogram.
Additionally, by right clicking your mouse on the figure and selecting export, you are able to export the summarized
data to several different formats including Excel.
The next set of forms (third column of fonns) is similar to the second and summarizes data in the entire database;
therefore you do not have to enter a project code for these forms.
The wetland report in the next column will list the articles where wetlands were the primary ecosystem after
selecting a project code. This report lists the ID numbers and basic reference information for the articles so the
wetlands data in the database can be found and printed easily.
7
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W Report by Journal
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18
17
Chart of Ecosystem Literature Articles per Journal (More than twoartictes)
Page:
~i
Figure 11. An example of a report output.
8
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Database Fields and Their Definitions
The database was developed in Access 2003 and includes the following data fields:
• Project Code - Provided for LEB internal use, however users have the ability to add their own codes
• Brief comment
• LEB Reference Number - Relates specifically to documents being prepared by the Landscape Ecology Branch
• Short Reference - Primary authors and year of publication
• Year - Year of publication
• Journal - Journal that the article appears in
• Area - The location(s) of project sites studied by the authors
• Spatial Scale - The spatial extent(s) of project sites studied by the authors. If known, the spatial extent is given
in km2
• Temporal Scale - The temporal duration of the studies conducted by the authors. If known, the temporal
duration is given in years.
• General Scale- The articles were grouped based on the generalized extent of a projects area. The general scales
are defined as follows:
o Local -A single basin or less and include multiple watersheds, urban areas, islands, and households
etc.
o Subregional - More than one basin.
o Regional - Areas with common biophysical characteristics (e.g., Midwest corn belt, Atlantic Coastal
Plain).
o SubNational - Large areas covering at least 1/3 of the nation.
o National - Country-wide or for the United States, covering at least the lower 48 states or continental
US (CONUS).
o Continental - North America, South America, Asia, Europe, etc.
o Global - The entire planet.
• Primary ecosystem addressed - An ecosystem was the primary research target. However, few ecosystems are
studied without an understanding of their relationship to other ecosystems.
• Other ecosystems addressed - Ecosystems that were of secondary importance in the study. In some cases where
land cover was the target and the researcher did not explicitly establish all of the various cover types, they were
regarded as multiple ecosystems only.
• Ecosystem Services - The services that were the focus of the research by the authors. We included biodiversity
and habitat as well as several quality of life indicators (Table 1). Although several services can be placed into
more than one class, we selected one class for each ecosystem service, based on our expert judgment, in order to
summarize the data. For example, waterfowl production could be either a provisioning/supporting or cultural
service. Although waterfowl production is managed primarily for recreational purposes (hunting and bird
watching), waterfowl may also provide food for subsistence and support biodiversity and ecosystem integrity.
Because waterfowl production supports recreation, we felt it played more supporting roles and so placed it in
the supporting class. The characterization of a service depends both on semantics and individual research goals.
Our original list of services also included quality of life (QOL) indicators summed as a group. We eliminated
this service and placed all of the QOL indicators under the cultural class of services. The QOL indicators are
identified in Table 1 with an asterisk. Users can reclassify services in the database.
• Primary Tools - We grouped the primary tools used to study ecosystem services into six major categories;
geospatial models, neutral models, process models, statistical models, land cover change models, or climate
change models, and further identified where models were used for development of future scenarios.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency, through its Office of Research and Development, funded this
research. The work has been subjected to Agency review and approved for publication. Approval does not signify
that the contents reflect the views of the Agency, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute
endorsement or recommendation for use.
Acknowledgment: The authors are grateful for the input of Dr. David Bradford and Ms. Caroline Erickson (US
Environmental Protection Agency, Landscape Ecology Branch). Authors also thank Mr. Gerald Brimer for proof
reading the manuscript.
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Table 1. Ecosystem Services in the database identified frein the literature, '*'denotes quality of life indicators.
Ecosystem Services
Classes of Ecosystem Services
Provisioning
Supporting
Regulating
Cultural
Aesthetics*

X
Air Quality (clean air)
X

Avalanche Protection

Biodiversity

Bio-prospecting
X

Carbon cycling

Crop Production
X

Disturbance Regulation (natural
and human)

Economic Activity*

X
Economic Stress (stress
reduction, i.e. human health)*

X
Ecosystem Resilience/integrity

Energy Supply*
X

Existence Value*

X
Fish Production
X

Flood Control

Food and Fiber
X

Forage Production
X

Natural Gas regulation

Habitat (any)

Habitat (fish & wildlife)

Habitat (general)

Habitat (LULC)

Housing Density*

X
Housing Prices/value

X
Human Disease Regulation

Human Health

X
X
Invasive Species Risk
Reduction

Jobs*

X
Livestock Production
X

Nitrogen Cycling

Non-timber forest production
X

Open Space/greenspace*

X
Phosphorus Cycling

Pollination

Pollution Attenuation

Quality of Life (any)

X
Reduced Traffic*

X
Reed Cutting
X

10
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Ecosystem Services
Classes of
Ecosystem
Services

Provisioning
Supporting
Regulating
Cultural
Soil formation or retention

Soil Quality

Subsistence Food Production
X

Timber harvest/ production
X

Tourism

X
Viewshed*

X
Water Flow Regulation (flow and
retention)

Waterfowl Production

Water Quality (clean water)
X

Wave Attenuation

Wilderness Protection

X
Wildlife Health
X

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