Author
Helena Posthumus
Other affiliations: University of Greenwich, Cranfield University, Wageningen University and Research Centre
Bio: Helena Posthumus is an academic researcher from Royal Tropical Institute. The author has contributed to research in topics: Soil conservation & Agricultural productivity. The author has an hindex of 18, co-authored 35 publications receiving 3040 citations. Previous affiliations of Helena Posthumus include University of Greenwich & Cranfield University.
Papers
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TL;DR: This paper asks how and why stakeholder analysis should be conducted for participatory natural resource management research, and proposes new tools and combinations of methods that can more effectively identify and categorise stakeholders and help understand their inter-relationships.
2,011 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the adoption process of investments in SWC measures, and the factors influencing adoption and continued use of these measures are discussed, and some general conclusions are drawn from these diverse research results.
208 citations
TL;DR: The African Conservation Tillage Network (ABACO) as discussed by the authors is an initiative that brings together scientists and practitioners from West, East and Southern Africa coordinated through the ABACO initiative, which relies on agro-ecologically intensive measures for soil rehabilitation and increased water productivity in semi-arid regions.
152 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored changes in rural land use in floodplains by measuring the range of ecosystem services provided under different management scenarios, identifying potential synergy and conflict, which can help to inform future policy and practice for floodplain management.
136 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present the results of a case study on land management and flooding in the Laver and Skell catchments in North Yorkshire, and explore the perceptions of local stakeholders through interviews with farmers and discussions among stakeholders that were held, supported by the Floods and Agriculture Risk Matrix (FARM) tool, during a stakeholder workshop.
125 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a review of the development of participatory approaches in different disciplinary and geographical contexts, and reviews typologies that can be used to categorise and select participatory methods.
3,421 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify two major yield gaps: (1) the gap between actual yields (YA) and the water-limited yield potential (Yw), which is the maximum yield achievable under rainfed conditions without irrigation if soil water capture and storage is optimal and nutrient constraints are released, and (2) The gap between YA, and a locally attainable yield (YL) which corresponds to the water and nutrient-limited yields that can be measured in the most productive fields of resource endowed farmers in a community.
789 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a methodological framework for mapping and assessing ecosystems and their services at European scale, using the water purification service as a case and using functional traits to map ecosystem services.
Abstract: Mainstreaming ecosystem services into policy and decision making is dependent on the availability of spatially explicit information on the state and trends of ecosystems and their services. In particular, the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 addresses the need to account for ecosystem services through biophysical mapping and valuation. This paper reviews current mapping methods, identifies current knowledge gaps and provides the elements for a methodological framework for mapping and assessing ecosystems and their services at European scale. Current mapping methodologies go beyond purely land cover based assessments and include the use of primary data of ecosystem services, the use of functional traits to map ecosystem services and the development of models and ecological production functions. Additional research is needed to cover marine ecosystems and to include the resilience of ecosystems to environmental change in spatially explicit assessments. The ecosystem services cascade which connects ecosystems to human wellbeing is argued to provide a suitable, stepwise framework for mapping ecosystem services in order to support EU policies in a more effective way. We demonstrate the use of this framework for mapping using the water purification service as case.
785 citations
TL;DR: A template and checklist of information needed for those beginning an ecosystem service modelling and mapping study will reduce the uncertainty associated with quantifying ecosystem services and thereby help to close the gap between theory and practice.
Abstract: The inconsistency in methods to quantify and map ecosystem services challenges the development of robust values of ecosystem services in national accounts and broader policy and natural resource management decision-making. In this paper we develop and test a blueprint to give guidance on modelling and mapping ecosystem services. The primary purpose of this blueprint is to provide a template and checklist of information needed for those beginning an ecosystem service modelling and mapping study. A secondary purpose is to provide, over time, a database of completed blueprints that becomes a valuable information resource of methods and information used in previous modelling and mapping studies. We base our blueprint on a literature review, expert opinions (as part of a related workshop organised during the 5th ESP conference2 ) and critical assessment of existing techniques used to model and map ecosystem services. While any study that models and maps ecosystem services will have its unique characteristics and will be largely driven by data and model availability, a tool such as the blueprint presented here will reduce the uncertainty associated with quantifying ecosystem services and thereby help to close the gap between theory and practice.
635 citations