Understanding the role of conceptual frameworks: Reading the ecosystem service cascade.

The aim of this paper is to identify the role of conceptual frameworks in operationalising and mainstreaming the idea of ecosystem services. It builds on some initial discussions from IPBES, which suggested that conceptual frameworks could be used to: 'simplify thinking', 'structure work', 'clarify issues', and 'provide a common reference point'. The analysis uses the cascade model as a focus and looks at the way it has been used in recent published material and across a set of case studies from the EU-funded OpenNESS Project as a device for conceptual framing.

Metapopulation modelling of long-term urban habitat-loss scenarios.

Context: Increasing human populations in urban areas pose a threat to species' persistence through habitat loss and fragmentation. It is therefore essential that we develop methods to investigate critical habitat loss thresholds and least detrimental landscape configurations.

Objectives: We develop a framework to assess how the pattern of habitat loss impacts the ecological and social characteristics of a landscape and how this varies depending on the species and criteria by which it is judged.