Table 6 Rules for the classification of ecosystem services
Classification of ecosystem services | Criterion | Parameter | Scores |
|---|---|---|---|
Erosion resistance function—stabilization of solid masses (soil, sand, snow, etc.) | Vegetation cover | Deciduous forests (cover > 80%) | 5 |
Mixed deciduous/coniferous forests (cover > 80%) | 5 | ||
Coniferous forests (cover 70 to 80%) | 4 | ||
Deciduous near natural wood on soils of strong and rich nutritive value (cover 60 to < 70%) | 3 | ||
Mixed coniferous/deciduous near natural wood on soils rich in nutrients (cover 60 to < 70%) | 3 | ||
Coniferous near natural wood on soils of strong and rich nutritive power (cover 50 to < 60%) | 2 | ||
Mixed coniferous/deciduous near natural wood on soils of poor to moderate nutritive value (cover 50 to 60%) | 2 | ||
Coniferous near natural wood on soils of poor to moderate nutritive value (cover < 50%) | 1 | ||
Flood protection function | Storage capacity of the soil | Soils with thick peat layers (humus content > 30%) | 5 |
Soils with high clay/silt content (> 50%) and high humus content (> 15%) | 4 | ||
Soils with high clay/silt content (> 50%) and low humus content (< 15%) | 3 | ||
Soils with low clay/silt content (< 50%) and high humus content (> 15%) | 2 | ||
Soils with low clay/silt content (< 50%) and low humus content (< 15%) | 1 | ||
Groundwater recharge/drinking water supply function | Leachate rate (function of climate, slope, and soil factors) | Moderate mountain climate | 5 |
Temperate sub-oceanic climate, partly mountain climate | 4 | ||
Temperate sub-oceanic to temperate subcontinental climate, partly mountain climate | 3 | ||
Moderate Central European climate | 2 | ||
Temperate subcontinental climate | 1 | ||
Groundwater protection function/ensuring drinking water quality | Permeability of the soil | Fine and medium gravel (permeability coefficient: Kf = 7 × 10–3 m/s) | 5 |
Medium sands (Kf = 1 × 10–4 m/s) | 4 | ||
Silty subsoils and interbedded sands, sandy deep loam soils (Kf = strongly varying from 5 × 10–5 to 1 × 10–6 m/s) | 3 | ||
Lowland peat (Reedfen) (Kf = 6 × 10–5 m/s) | 3 | ||
Degraded lowland peat (mulm) in drained lowlands and siltation zones (Kf = 3 × 10–6 m/s) | 2 | ||
Silt with sand deposits (Kf = strongly fluctuating from 1 × 10–6 to 1 × 10–8 m/s) | 1 | ||
Silt and clay soils (Kf < 1 × 10–8 m/s) | 0 | ||
Habitat function | Degree of naturalness | Natural—largely uninfluenced | 5 |
Near-nature—anthropogenic changes recognizable | 5 | ||
Semi-natural—deforested, but little altered site (permanent grassland) | 4 | ||
Near-natural/semi-natural with significant impairments | 3 | ||
Far from nature | 2 | ||
Far from nature—with changed site factors | 1 | ||
Compositional completeness | > 90 to 100% of the diagnostic plant species in the ecosystem type | 5 | |
> 80–90% of the diagnostic plant species in the ecosystem type | 4 | ||
> 50–80% of the diagnostic plant species in the ecosystem type | 3 | ||
 > 30–50% of the diagnostic plant species in the ecosystem type | 2 | ||
> 10–30% of the diagnostic plant species in the ecosystem type | 1 | ||
< 10% of the diagnostic plant species in the ecosystem type | 0 | ||
Habitat suitability for animals | Ecosystem type is at the same time reproduction, feeding, retreat habitat for mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, as well as insects | 5 | |
Ecosystem type is also reproduction, feeding, refuge habitat for mammals, or birds, or reptiles, or amphibians, or insects | 4 | ||
Ecosystem type is reproduction, or feeding, or refuge habitat for mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, and insects | 3 | ||
Ecosystem type is reproduction, or feeding, or refuge habitat for mammals, or birds, or reptiles, or amphibians, or insects | 2 | ||
Ecosystem type is reproduction, or feeding, or refuge habitat for mammals, or birds, or reptiles, or amphibians, or insects | 0 | ||
Need for protection | Ecosystem type is FFH habitat type (Annex I FFH Directive) | 5 | |
Ecosystem type is suitable for protected species of the Habitats Directive (Annex II and IV) and for specially and strictly protected bird species of the EU Birds Directive | 4 | ||
Ecosystem type is suitable for occurrences of specially and strictly protected species | 3 | ||
Ecosystem type is suitable for occurrences of a legally protected biotope | 2 | ||
Ecosystem type is rare and endangered by pressure of use | 1 | ||
Ecosystem type is not site suitable for occurrence of protected/endangered species | 0 | ||
Recoverability | Ecosystem type is not restorable in the long term | 5 | |
Ecosystem type is to be restored in the long term (in about 100–300 years) | 4 | ||
Ecosystem type is to be restored in the medium term (in approx. 60–100 years) | 3 | ||
Ecosystem type is to be restored in the medium term (in approx. 30—60 years) | 2 | ||
Ecosystem type st in medium term to be restored (in about 10–30 years) | 1 | ||
Ecosystem type to be restored in the short term (up to about 10Â years) | 0 | ||
Maturity | Self-regenerative maturity stage of the ecosystem is reached | 5 | |
Self-regenerative maturity stage of the ecosystem achievable with current vegetation (near-natural pre-climax stage) | 4 | ||
Self-regenerative maturity stage of the ecosystem achievable with continued non-anthropogenically disturbed ecosystem development (natural succession to potential natural vegetation with abandonment of use) | 3 | ||
Self-regenerative maturity stage of the ecosystem not achievable with current vegetation due to site conditions (non-native tree species) | 2 | ||
Self-regenerative maturity stage of the ecosystem not achievable with current vegetation due to use (constantly disturbed sites) | 1 | ||
Self-regenerative maturity stage of the ecosystem not achievable due to irreversible site degradation | 0 | ||
Function in the biotope network system | Main networking element in the biotope network | 5 | |
Stepping stone biotope in the biotope network | 3 | ||
Low importance in the biotope network | 1 | ||
No significance for the biotope network | 0 | ||
Carbon storage function | Clay content | Clay content > 60% | 5 |
Clay content > 30–60% | 4 | ||
Clay content > 20–30% | 3 | ||
Clay content > 10–20% | 2 | ||
Clay content > 5–10% | 1 | ||
Clay content ≤ 5% | 0 | ||
Litter mass productivity | > 5.5 t dry mass ha−1 a−1 | 5 | |
> 4.5 to ≤ 5.5 t dry mass ha−1 a−1 | 4 | ||
> 3.5 to ≤ 4.5 t dry mass ha−1 a−1 | 3 | ||
> 2.5 to ≤ 3.5 t dry mass ha−1 a−1 | 2 | ||
≤ 2.5 t dry mass ha−1 a−1 | 1 | ||
Decomposition time | ≥ 3 to > 4 years | 5 | |
≥ 2 to ≤ 4 years | 4 | ||
≥ 1 to ≤ 3 years | 3 | ||
≥ 0.5 to ≤ 2 years | 2 | ||
≤ 0.5 to ≤ 1 year | 1 | ||
Volumetric water content at saturated field capacity (m3 water m−3 soil) | ≤ 0.05 to 0.15 | 1 | |
0.14 to 0.3 | 5 | ||
0.3 to 0.42 | 4 | ||
0.42 to 0.66 | 3 | ||
0.5 to 0.97 | 2 | ||
> 0.97 | 0 | ||
Annual average temperature/annual precipitation total | − 4 to 8 °C/1065 to 2710 mm | 1 | |
4.7 to 11.1/745 to 1291Â mm | 2 | ||
5.5 to 11.1/514 to 854Â mm | 3 | ||
8.1 to 12/380 to 632Â mm | 4 | ||
> 12/< 400 mm | 5 | ||
pH(H2O)-value | < 3.8 | 1 | |
4.2–3.8 | 2 | ||
5.0–4.2 | 3 | ||
6.2–5.0 | 4 | ||
8.6–6.2 | 5 | ||
Biomass primary productivity | Plant-physiological net primary productivity maximum | > 4.8 t dry mass ha−1 a−1 (spruce, beech, large-leaved and small-leaved lime, hornbeam) | 5 |
> 3.7–4.8 t dry mass ha−1 a−1 (pedunculate and sessile oak, alders, poplars) | 4 | ||
> 2.8–3.7 t dry mass ha−1 a−1 (Scots pine, silver fir, maples) | 3 | ||
> 1.9–2.8 t dry mass ha−1 a−1 (larches, birches, willows, mountain ash) | 2 | ||
< 1.9 t dry mass ha−1 a−1 (mountain and black pine) | 1 | ||
Growing season (d > 10 °C) | 65–135 | 1 | |
120–175 | 3 | ||
145–175 | 4 | ||
165–190 | 5 | ||
Annual precipitation total | 1065 to 2710Â mm | 5 | |
745 to 1291Â mm | 4 | ||
514 to 854Â mm | 3 | ||
380 to 632Â mm | 2 | ||
< 400 mm | 1 | ||
Volumetric water content at saturated field capacity (m3 water m−3 soil) |  ≤ 0.05 to 0.15 | 1 | |
0.14 to 0.3 | 5 | ||
0.3 to 0.42 | 4 | ||
0.42 to 0.66 | 3 | ||
0.5 to 0.97 | 2 | ||
> 0.97 | 0 | ||
Nature experience and recreation function | Diversity/regeneration-capacity | High diversity, high naturalness, high regeneration capacity (near-natural deciduous and mixed forests on riverbanks or in floodplains) | 5 |
High diversity, high naturalness, high regeneration capacity (semi-natural deciduous and mixed forests) | 4 | ||
Medium diversity, low closeness to nature, high regeneration capacity (deciduous or mixed forests with few tree species) | 3 | ||
Low diversity, low closeness to nature, high regenerative capacity (coniferous forests) | 2 | ||
High diversity, high naturalness, very low regeneration capacity and difficult to access (e.g., near-natural moist) forests | 1 | ||
Very low regeneration capacity and inaccessible (e.g., bog forests) | 0 | ||
Sensation of aesthetics, nature education, natural heritage | Naturalness/individuality | Very high naturalness, special character (bog and wet forests, rocky dry forests) | 5 |
High naturalness, special character (e.g., near-natural deciduous and mixed forests) | 4 | ||
High naturalness, medium specificity (e.g., near-natural coniferous mountain forests) | 3 | ||
Medium naturalness, no characteristic (deciduous and mixed forests) | 2 | ||
Low naturalness, no characteristic (deciduous or mixed forests with few tree species) | 1 | ||
Very low naturalness, no characteristic (coniferous forests) | 0 | ||
Safeguarding function of cultural heritage, bequest to future generations | Rarity/cultural historical value | Currently rare and threatened by changes in cultivation, evidence of former extensive use (e.g., hornbeam-rich hute forest) | 5 |
Currently rare near-natural forests threatened by changes in management (e.g., near-natural wetland and bog forests) | 4 | ||
Currently rare forests and forests threatened by changes in management (e.g., wetland and peatland forests) | 3 | ||
Currently rare but not threatened near-natural forests | 2 | ||
Currently not rare and not threatened deciduous and mixed forests, deciduous forests | 1 | ||
Currently not rare and not threatened coniferous forests | 0 |