Ecosystem services and the protection, restoration, and management of ecosystems exposed to chemical stressors

Effects of plant protection products on ecosystem functions provided by terrestrial invertebrates

Plant protection products (PPP) are extensively used to protect plants against harmful organisms, but they also have unintended effects on non-target organisms, especially terrestrial invertebrates. The impact of PPP on ecosystem functions provided by these non-target invertebrates remains, however, unclear. The objectives of this article were to review PPP impacts on the ecosystem functions provided by pollinators, predators and parasitoids, and soil organisms, and to identify the factors that aggravate or mitigate PPP effects. The literature highlights that PPP alter several ecosystem functions: provision and maintenance of biodiversity, pollination, biotic interactions and habitat completeness in terrestrial ecosystems, and organic matter and soil structure dynamics. However, there are still a few studies dealing with ecosystem functions, with sometimes contradictory results, and consequences on agricultural provisioning services remain unclear. The model organisms used to assess PPP ecotoxicological effects are still limited, and should be expanded to better cover the wide functional diversity of terrestrial invertebrates. Data are lacking on PPP sublethal, transgenerational, and "cocktail" effects, and on their multitrophic consequences. In empirical assessments, studies on PPP unintended effects should consider agricultural-pedoclimatic contexts because they influence the responses of non-target organisms and associated ecosystem functions to PPP. Modeling might be a promising way to account for the complex interactions among PPP mixtures, biodiversity, and ecosystem functioning.

Spatial variation in the sensitivity of freshwater macroinvertebrate assemblages to chemical stressors

Assessing spatial variation in the chemical sensitivity of natural assemblages will enhance ecological relevance and reduce uncertainty in ecological risk assessments and the derivation of environmental quality standards (EQSs). However, the majority of species in natural communities have not undergone toxicity testing for any chemical, which poses a major challenge when assessing their sensitivity. We investigated spatial variation and patterns in the sensitivity of 4084 freshwater macroinvertebrate assemblages across England to 5 general-acting chemicals (heavy metals) and 13 specifically acting chemicals (insecticides) using a novel hierarchical species sensitivity distribution method based on taxonomic relatedness. Furthermore, we explored how river typology relates to spatial variation in assemblage sensitivity to chemicals and the potential impacts of such variation on current EQSs. Our findings revealed that, whereas assemblages with similar taxonomic compositions exhibit comparable sensitivity distributions, assemblages with different taxonomic compositions could have very similar or very different sensitivity distributions. The variation in assemblage sensitivity was greater for specifically acting chemicals than for general-acting chemicals and exhibited spatial clustering patterns. These spatial clustering patterns varied depending on the chemical, and the regions where assemblages were most sensitive to metals were generally not the same as the regions where assemblages were most sensitive to insecticides. Spatial variation in assemblage sensitivity was related to river typology with sensitive assemblages being more common than expected in lowland calcareous (or mixed geology) rivers within very small to small catchments. Comparing spatial variation in assemblage-specific chemical sensitivity to EQSs, we found that the operational EQSs in England would protect most study assemblages (i.e., > 99.5 %), although a small proportion of assemblages may face potential risks associated with azinphos-methyl, copper, and malathion. In many cases the EQSs were very precautionary, potentially requiring expensive control measures or restricting beneficial chemical use with no additional environmental benefit. The development of spatially defined EQSs, possibly based on river types, could be developed to target areas that require the highest level of protection and thus strike a balance between the benefits of chemical use and environmental protection.

Linking ecotoxicological effects on biodiversity and ecosystem functions to impairment of ecosystem services is a challenge: an illustration with the case of plant protection products

There is growing interest in using the ecosystem services framework for environmental risk assessments of chemicals, including plant protection products (PPPs). Although this topic is increasingly discussed in the recent scientific literature, there is still a substantial gap between most ecotoxicological studies and a solid evaluation of potential ecotoxicological consequences on ecosystem services. This was recently highlighted by a collective scientific assessment (CSA) performed by 46 scientific experts who analyzed the international science on the impacts of PPPs on biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and ecosystem services. Here, we first point out the main obstacles to better linking knowledge on the ecotoxicological effects of PPPs on biodiversity and ecological processes with ecosystem functions and services. Then, we go on to propose and discuss possible pathways for related improvements. We describe the main processes governing the relationships between biodiversity, ecological processes, and ecosystem functions in response to effects of PPP, and we define categories of ecosystem functions that could be directly linked with the ecological processes used as functional endpoints in investigations on the ecotoxicology of PPPs. We then explore perceptions on the possible links between these categories of ecosystem functions and ecosystem services among a sub-panel of the scientific experts from various fields of environmental science. We find that these direct and indirect linkages still need clarification. This paper, which reflects the difficulties faced by the multidisciplinary group of researchers involved in the CSA, suggests that the current gap between most ecotoxicological studies and a solid potential evaluation of ecotoxicological consequences on ecosystem services could be partially addressed if concepts and definitions related to ecological processes, ecosystem functions, and ecosystem services were more widely accepted and shared within the ecotoxicology community. Narrowing this gap would help harmonize and extend the science that informs decision-making and policy-making, and ultimately help to better address the trade-off between social benefits and environmental losses caused by the use of PPPs.

Conceptual methodological framework for the resilience of biogeochemical services to heavy metals stress

The idea of linking stressors, services providing units (SPUs), and ecosystem services (ES) is ubiquitous in the literature, although is currently not applied in areas contaminated with heavy metals (HMs), This integrative literature review introduces the general form of a deterministic conceptual model of the cross-scale effect of HMs on biogeochemical services by SPUs with a feedback loop, a cross-scale heuristic concept of resilience, and develops a method for applying the conceptual model. The objectives are 1) to identify the clusters of existing research about HMs effects on ES, biodiversity, and resilience to HMs stress, 2) to map the scientific fields needed for the conceptual model's implementation, identify institutional constraints for inter-disciplinary cooperation, and propose solutions to surpass them, 3) to describe how the complexity of the cause-effect chain is reflected in the research hypotheses and objectives and extract methodological consequences, and 4) to describe how the conceptual model can be implemented. A nested analysis by CiteSpace of a set of 16,176 articles extracted from the Web of Science shows that at the highest level of data aggregation there is a clear separation between the topics of functional traits, stoichiometry, and regulating services from the typical issues of the literature about HMs, biodiversity, and ES. Most of the resilience to HMs stress agenda focuses on microbial communities. General topics such as the biodiversity-ecosystem function relationship in contaminated areas are no longer dominant in the current research, as well as large-scale problems like watershed management. The number of Web of Science domains that include the analyzed articles is large (26 up to 87 domains with at least ten articles, depending on the sub-set), but thirteen domains account for 70-80% of the literature. The complexity of approaches regarding the cause-effect chain, the stressors, the biological and ecological hierarchical level and the management objectives was characterized by a detailed analysis of 60 selected reviews and 121 primary articles. Most primary articles approach short causal chains, and the number of hypotheses or objectives by article tends to be low, pointing out the need for portfolios of complementary research projects in coherent inter-disciplinary programs and innovation ecosystems to couple the ES and resilience problems in areas contaminated with HMs. One provides triggers for developing innovation ecosystems, examples of complementary research hypotheses, and an example of technology transfer. Finally one proposes operationalizing the conceptual methodological model in contaminated socio-ecological systems by a calibration, a sensitivity analysis, and a validation phase.

Joint Effects of Fragmentation and Mercury Contamination on Marsh Periwinkle (Littoraria irrorata) Movement

There are different ways contaminants can interact and enhance the effects of habitat fragmentation, such as modifying the movement of organisms. The present study tested the hypothesis that mercury exacerbates the effects of fragmentation by affecting the movement of the marsh periwinkle Littoraria irrorata and reducing the probability of snails crossing fragmented microlandscape experimental systems. How these changes could affect the search efficiency of organisms in the long term was assessed using hidden Markov models and random walks simulations. Bayesian nonlinear models were used to analyze the effects of fragmentation and contamination on the mean speed and mean directional change of organisms. Snail movement for control and two mercury-exposure treatments were recorded in microlandscapes with six different levels of habitat cover and three landscape replicates. The results indicated that exposed organisms had lower probabilities of crossing the landscape, reduced speed, and shifts in step length distributions. Both mercury exposure and habitat fragmentation affected the movement of the marsh periwinkle. Mercury exacerbated the effects of habitat fragmentation by affecting the cognition (e.g., route planning, orientation, and spatial learning) and movement of L. irrorata. Hence, the interaction of these stressors could further reduce the functional connectivity of landscapes and reduce the search efficiency of organisms. Environ Toxicol Chem 2022;41:1742-1753. © 2022 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

Identifying ecological production functions for use in ecosystem services-based environmental risk assessment of chemicals

There is increasing research interest in the application of the ecosystem services (ES) concept in the environmental risk assessment of chemicals to support formulating and operationalising regulatory environmental protection goals and making environmental risk assessment more policy- and value-relevant. This requires connecting ecosystem structure and processes to ecosystem function and henceforth to provision of ecosystem goods and services and their economic valuation. Ecological production functions (EPFs) may help to quantify these connections in a transparent manner and to predict ES provision based on function-related descriptors for service providing species, communities, ecosystems or habitats. We review scientific literature for EPFs to evaluate availability across provisioning and regulation and maintenance services (CICES v5.1 classification). We found quantitative production functions for nearly all ES, often complemented with economic valuation of physical or monetary flows. We studied the service providing units in these EPFs to evaluate the potential for extrapolation of toxicity data for test species obtained from standardised testing to ES provision. A broad taxonomic representation of service providers was established, but quantitative models directly linking standard test species to ES provision were extremely scarce. A pragmatic way to deal with this data gap would be the use of proxies for related taxa and stepwise functional extrapolation to ES provision and valuation, which we conclude possible for most ES. We suggest that EPFs may be used in defining specific protection goals (SPGs), and illustrate, using pollination as an example, the availability of information for the ecological entity and attribute dimensions of SPGs. Twenty-five pollination EPFs were compiled from the literature for biological entities ranging from 'colony' to 'habitat', with 75% referring to 'functional group'. With about equal representation of the attributes 'function', 'abundance' and 'diversity', SPGs for pollination therefore would seem best substantiated by EPFs at the level of functional group.

Collective scientific assessment as a relevant tool to inform public debate and policymaking: an illustration about the effects of plant protection products on biodiversity and ecosystem services

Several sustainable development goals cannot be achieved without implementing a new generation of environmental measures to better preserve or restore biodiversity and ecosystem services. However, understanding and addressing biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation is a challenging problem that is not solvable without integrating the best and latest science. It is crucial to enhance the legibility of this knowledge for decision-makers and policymakers following good-practice standards of scientific assessment. This is the main objective of collective scientific assessments (CSAs), as carried out by the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE) since the early 2000s following a documented procedure to inform public policy and foster public debate on complex interdisciplinary issues. This article describes the main steps of the CSA procedure designed by INRAE's Directorate for Collective Scientific Assessment, Foresight and Advanced Studies, from formulation of the initial question asked by public or para-public bodies (typically ministry divisions or environmental agencies) to wider dissemination of the results and conclusions. This process description is then illustrated through the example of a CSA recently commissioned by three French Ministries (for Ecology, for Research, and for Agriculture) regarding (i) contamination of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems by plant protection products (PPPs); (ii) the resulting effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services; and (iii) possible prevention and mitigation strategies. The capacity of this kind of CSA to inform public debate and policymaking is then exemplified through a description of the main outcomes generated by the latest CSA dealing with the adverse effects of PPPs. We also provide a short overview of some key expectations from the current CSA, with a focus on the recent development of the ecosystem service approach in ecological risk assessments of PPPs in the European Union. This illustration demonstrates that CSAs, which are applicable to a wide variety of complex interdisciplinary questions that are not limited to environmental issues, are a relevant tool to inform public debate and policymaking.

Risk Assessment Considerations for Genetically Modified RNAi Plants: EFSA's Activities and Perspective

Genetically modified plants (GMPs) intended for market release can be designed to induce "gene silencing" through RNA interference (RNAi). The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and other international risk assessment bodies/regulatory agencies have taken several actions to determine whether the existing risk assessment approaches for GMPs are appropriate for the risk assessment of RNAi-based GMPs or require complementary or alternative approaches. To our knowledge, at the international level, no dedicated guidelines have been developed for the risk assessment and regulation of RNAi-based GMPs, confirming that existing science-based risk assessment approaches for GMPs are generally considered suitable for RNAi-based GMPs. However, some specificities have been identified for the risk assessment of RNAi-based GMPs. Here, we report on some of these specificities as identified and addressed by the EFSA GMO Panel for the molecular characterisation, food/feed safety assessment and environmental risk assessment of RNAi-based GMPs, using the DvSnf7 dsRNA-expressing maize MON87411 as a case study.

Integrating Aquatic Designated Use Protection and Restoration Strategies Using an Ecosystem Goods and Services Framework

Water quality standards programs in the United States and other countries are based on designated uses (DUs), which are linked to criteria that specify maximum pollutant levels and other characteristics that are thresholds for waterbody compliance with regulatory goals. Most DUs are similar to certain provisioning ecosystem goods and services (EGS), such as drinking water supply and recreation (e.g., boating, fishing). Absent in the DU concept are supporting or regulating services, which results in disjointed and often ineffective aquatic ecosystem protection and restoration strategies. The focus on discrete sets of water quality parameters in the DU concept can often result in the appearance of conflicting DUs, resulting in poor provisioning of certain DUs. We present a framework that uses EGS to provide a more holistic assessment of DUs and to help inform best management practices that could result in fuller attainment of DUs while providing greater provisioning of desired goods and services. Two case studies are discussed, demonstrating some of the issues with the DU concept, how it is implemented in the United States, and how the EGS framework can provide a crosswalk between the DU paradigm and stakeholder goals for a watershed. A process is presented that could help regulatory agencies and stakeholders make better use of the EGS framework in DU decisions, including watershed protection and restoration. The EGS framework presented here, coupled with a watershed stakeholder process focused on developing an integrative management strategy based on the framework, could help achieve multiple beneficial uses in an aquatic system. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2019;15:808-818. © 2019 SETAC.

Applying ecosystem services for pre-market environmental risk assessments of regulated stressors

Ecosystem services (ES) are the benefits that people obtain from ecosystems. Investigating the environment through an ES framework has gained wide acceptance in the international scientific community and is applied by policymakers to protect biodiversity and safeguard the sustainability of ecosystems. This approach can enhance the ecological and societal relevance of pre‐market/prospective environmental risk assessments (ERAs) of regulated stressors by: (1) informing the derivation of operational protection goals; (2) enabling the integration of environmental and human health risk assessments; (3) facilitating horizontal integration of policies and regulations; (4) leading to more comprehensive and consistent environmental protection; (5) articulating the utility of, and trade‐offs involved in, environmental decisions; and (6) enhancing the transparency of risk assessment results and the decisions based upon them. Realisation of these advantages will require challenges that impede acceptance of an ES approach to be overcome. Particularly, there is concern that, if biodiversity only matters to the extent that it benefits humans, the intrinsic value of nature is ignored. Moreover, our understanding of linkages among ecological components and the processes that ultimately deliver ES is incomplete, valuing ES is complex, and there is no standard ES lexicon and limited familiarity with the approach. To help overcome these challenges, we encourage: (1) further research to establish biodiversity–ES relationships; (2) the development of approaches that (i) quantitatively translate responses to chemical stressors by organisms and groups of organisms to ES delivery across different spatial and temporal scales, (ii) measure cultural ES and ease their integration into ES valuations, and (iii) appropriately value changes in ES delivery so that trade‐offs among different management options can be assessed; (3) the establishment of a standard ES lexicon; and (4) building capacity in ES science and how to apply ES to ERAs. These development needs should not prevent movement towards implementation of an ES approach in ERAs, as the advantages we perceive of using this approach render it more than worthwhile to tackle those challenges. Society and the environment stand to benefit from this shift in how we conduct the ERA of regulated stressors.

Priorities and opportunities in the application of the ecosystem services concept in risk assessment for chemicals in the environment

The ecosystem services approach has gained broad interest in regulatory and policy circles for use in ecological risk assessment. Whilst identifying several challenges, scientific experts from European regulatory authorities, the chemical industry and academia considered the approach applicable to all chemical sectors and potentially contributing to greater ecological relevance for setting and assessing environmental protection goals compared to current European regulatory frameworks for chemicals. These challenges were addressed in workshops to develop a common understanding across stakeholders on how the ecosystem services concept might be used in chemical risk assessment and what would need to be done to implement it. This paper describes the consensus outcome of those discussions. Knowledge gaps and research needs were identified and prioritised, exploring the use of novel approaches from ecology, ecotoxicology and ecological modelling. Where applicable, distinction is made between prospective and retrospective ecological risk assessment. For prospective risk assessment the development of environmental scenarios accounting for chemical exposure and ecological conditions was designated as a top priority. For retrospective risk assessment the top priority research need was development of reference conditions for key ecosystem services and guidance for their derivation. Both prospective and retrospective risk assessment would benefit from guidance on the taxa and measurement endpoints relevant to specific ecosystem services and from improved understanding of the relationships between measurement endpoints from standard toxicity tests and the ecosystem services of interest (i.e. assessment endpoints). The development of mechanistic models, which could serve as ecological production functions, was identified as a priority. A conceptual framework for future chemical risk assessment based on an ecosystem services approach is presented.

Terrestrial isopods as model organisms in soil ecotoxicology: a review

Isopods play an important role in the decomposition of leaf litter and therefore are making a significant contribution to nutrient cycling and soil ecosystem services. As a consequence, isopods are relevant models in soil ecotoxicology, both in laboratory toxicity tests and in field monitoring and bioindication studies. This paper aims at reviewing the use of isopods as test organisms in soil ecotoxicology. It provides an overview of the use of isopods in laboratory toxicity tests, with special focus on comparing different exposure methods, test durations, and ecotoxicological endpoints. A brief overview of toxicity data suggests that chemicals are more toxic to isopods when exposed through soil compared to food. The potential of isopods to be used in bioindication and biomonitoring is discussed. Based on the overview of toxicity data and test methods, recommendations are given for the use of isopods in standardized laboratory toxicity tests as well as in situ monitoring studies.

The way forward confronting eco-environmental challenges during land-use practices: a bibliometric analysis

With rapid urbanisation and industrialisation, land-use practice, while satisfying the ever-increasing desires of our material civilisation in the short term, may undermine natural ecosystems on a local, regional and global scale in the long run. Innovative and sustainable land-use practices should be developed in response, so that eco-environmental problems can assessed and dealt with during the whole process of land-use planning, construction, operation, maintenance and management. Using a bibliometric analysis, this study has traced global trends in land-use research from 1992 to 2016, as indexed in the Science Citation Index EXPANDED (SCI-EXPANDED) and the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI). A novel method called 'word cluster analysis' has revealed that hotspot analysis is one of the emerging techniques, tools and strategies used to respond to, improve, and protect deteriorating ecosystems during land use. Based on involving various elements, the emerging analytical techniques and tools, including geographical information systems (GIS) and remote sensing, have attracted attention for their ability to assess and solve increasingly serious eco-environmental problems, such as climate change, deforestation, soil erosion, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and eutrophication. Ecosystem services, biodiversity conservation, protected areas, and sustainable development are also potential resilience strategies used to confront eco-environmental destruction. The maximum benefits that can be derived from natural ecosystems should be pursued to achieve environmentally sustainable land-use development, strengthening the socio-economy and eco-environment, as well as enhancing the well-being of people and nature.

Toward sustainable environmental quality: Priority research questions for Europe

The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals have been established to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. Delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals will require a healthy and productive environment. An understanding of the impacts of chemicals which can negatively impact environmental health is therefore essential to the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals. However, current research on and regulation of chemicals in the environment tend to take a simplistic view and do not account for the complexity of the real world, which inhibits the way we manage chemicals. There is therefore an urgent need for a step change in the way we study and communicate the impacts and control of chemicals in the natural environment. To do this requires the major research questions to be identified so that resources are focused on questions that really matter. We present the findings of a horizon-scanning exercise to identify research priorities of the European environmental science community around chemicals in the environment. Using the key questions approach, we identified 22 questions of priority. These questions covered overarching questions about which chemicals we should be most concerned about and where, impacts of global megatrends, protection goals, and sustainability of chemicals; the development and parameterization of assessment and management frameworks; and mechanisms to maximize the impact of the research. The research questions identified provide a first-step in the path forward for the research, regulatory, and business communities to better assess and manage chemicals in the natural environment. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:2281-2295. © 2018 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of SETAC.

Advantages and challenges associated with implementing an ecosystem services approach to ecological risk assessment for chemicals

The ecosystem services (ES) approach is gaining broad interest in regulatory and policy arenas for use in landscape management and ecological risk assessment. It has the potential to bring greater ecological relevance to the setting of environmental protection goals and to the assessment of the ecological risk posed by chemicals. A workshop, organised under the auspices of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Europe, brought together scientific experts from European regulatory authorities, the chemical industry and academia to discuss and evaluate the challenges associated with implementing an ES approach to chemical ecological risk assessment (ERA). Clear advantages of using an ES approach in prospective and retrospective ERA were identified, including: making ERA spatially explicit and of relevance to management decisions (i.e. indicating what ES to protect and where); improving transparency in communicating risks and trade-offs; integrating across multiple stressors, scales, habitats and policies. A number of challenges were also identified including: the potential for increased complexity in assessments; greater data requirements; limitations in linking endpoints derived from current ecotoxicity tests to impacts on ES. In principle, the approach was applicable to all chemical sectors, but the scale of the challenge of applying an ES approach to general chemicals with widespread and dispersive uses leading to broad environmental exposure, was highlighted. There was agreement that ES-based risk assessment should be based on the magnitude of impact rather than on toxicity thresholds. The need for more bioassays/tests with functional endpoints was recognized, as was the role of modelling and the need for ecological production functions to link measurement endpoints to assessment endpoints. Finally, the value of developing environmental scenarios that can be combined with spatial information on exposure, ES delivery and service provider vulnerability was recognized.

Is an ecosystem services-based approach developed for setting specific protection goals for plant protection products applicable to other chemicals?

Clearly defined protection goals specifying what to protect, where and when, are required for designing scientifically sound risk assessments and effective risk management of chemicals. Environmental protection goals specified in EU legislation are defined in general terms, resulting in uncertainty in how to achieve them. In 2010, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published a framework to identify more specific protection goals based on ecosystem services potentially affected by plant protection products. But how applicable is this framework to chemicals with different emission scenarios and receptor ecosystems? Four case studies used to address this question were: (i) oil refinery waste water exposure in estuarine environments; (ii) oil dispersant exposure in aquatic environments; (iii) down the drain chemicals exposure in a wide range of ecosystems (terrestrial and aquatic); (iv) persistent organic pollutant exposure in remote (pristine) Arctic environments. A four-step process was followed to identify ecosystems and services potentially impacted by chemical emissions and to define specific protection goals. Case studies demonstrated that, in principle, the ecosystem services concept and the EFSA framework can be applied to derive specific protection goals for a broad range of chemical exposure scenarios. By identifying key habitats and ecosystem services of concern, the approach offers the potential for greater spatial and temporal resolution, together with increased environmental relevance, in chemical risk assessments. With modifications including improved clarity on terminology/definitions and further development/refinement of the key concepts, we believe the principles of the EFSA framework could provide a methodical approach to the identification and prioritization of ecosystems, ecosystem services and the service providing units that are most at risk from chemical exposure.

Prospective Environmental Risk Assessment for Sediment-Bound Organic Chemicals: A Proposal for Tiered Effect Assessment

A broadly accepted framework for prospective environmental risk assessment (ERA) of sediment-bound organic chemicals is currently lacking. Such a framework requires clear protection goals, evidence-based concepts that link exposure to effects and a transparent tiered-effect assessment. In this paper, we provide a tiered prospective sediment ERA procedure for organic chemicals in sediment, with a focus on the applicable European regulations and the underlying data requirements. Using the ecosystem services concept, we derived specific protection goals for ecosystem service providing units: microorganisms, benthic algae, sediment-rooted macrophytes, benthic invertebrates and benthic vertebrates. Triggers for sediment toxicity testing are discussed.We recommend a tiered approach (Tier 0 through Tier 3). Tier-0 is a cost-effective screening based on chronic water-exposure toxicity data for pelagic species and equilibrium partitioning. Tier-1 is based on spiked sediment laboratory toxicity tests with standard benthic test species and standardised test methods. If comparable chronic toxicity data for both standard and additional benthic test species are available, the Species Sensitivity Distribution (SSD) approach is a more viable Tier-2 option than the geometric mean approach. This paper includes criteria for accepting results of sediment-spiked single species toxicity tests in prospective ERA, and for the application of the SSD approach. We propose micro/mesocosm experiments with spiked sediment, to study colonisation success by benthic organisms, as a Tier-3 option. Ecological effect models can be used to supplement the experimental tiers. A strategy for unifying information from various tiers by experimental work and exposure-and effect modelling is provided.

Using ecological production functions to link ecological processes to ecosystem services

Ecological production functions (EPFs) link ecosystems, stressors, and management actions to ecosystem services (ES) production. Although EPFs are acknowledged as being essential to improve environmental management, their use in ecological risk assessment has received relatively little attention. Ecological production functions may be defined as usable expressions (i.e., models) of the processes by which ecosystems produce ES, often including external influences on those processes. We identify key attributes of EPFs and discuss both actual and idealized examples of their use to inform decision making. Whenever possible, EPFs should estimate final, rather than intermediate, ES. Although various types of EPFs have been developed, we suggest that EPFs are more useful for decision making if they quantify ES outcomes, respond to ecosystem condition, respond to stressor levels or management scenarios, reflect ecological complexity, rely on data with broad coverage, have performed well previously, are practical to use, and are open and transparent. In an example using pesticides, we illustrate how EPFs with these attributes could enable the inclusion of ES in ecological risk assessment. The biggest challenges to ES inclusion are limited data sets that are easily adapted for use in modeling EPFs and generally poor understanding of linkages among ecological components and the processes that ultimately deliver the ES. We conclude by advocating for the incorporation into EPFs of added ecological complexity and greater ability to represent the trade-offs among ES. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2017;13:52-61. © 2016 SETAC.

Identifying and assessing the application of ecosystem services approaches in environmental policies and decision making

The presumption is that ecosystem services (ES) approaches provide a better basis for environmental decision making than do other approaches because they make explicit the connection between human well-being and ecosystem structures and processes. However, the existing literature does not provide a precise description of ES approaches for environmental policy and decision making, nor does it assess whether these applications will make a difference in terms of changing decisions and improving outcomes. We describe 3 criteria that can be used to identify whether and to what extent ES approaches are being applied: 1) connect impacts all the way from ecosystem changes to human well-being, 2) consider all relevant ES affected by the decision, and 3) consider and compare the changes in well-being of different stakeholders. As a demonstration, we then analyze retrospectively whether and how the criteria were met in different decision-making contexts. For this assessment, we have developed an analysis format that describes the type of policy, the relevant scales, the decisions or questions, the decision maker, and the underlying documents. This format includes a general judgment of how far the 3 ES criteria have been applied. It shows that the criteria can be applied to many different decision-making processes, ranging from the supranational to the local scale and to different parts of decision-making processes. In conclusion we suggest these criteria could be used for assessments of the extent to which ES approaches have been and should be applied, what benefits and challenges arise, and whether using ES approaches made a difference in the decision-making process, decisions made, or outcomes of those decisions. Results from such studies could inform future use and development of ES approaches, draw attention to where the greatest benefits and challenges are, and help to target integration of ES approaches into policies, where they can be most effective. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2017;13:41-51. © 2016 SETAC.

Application of ecosystem services in natural resource management decision making

An ecosystem services (ES) approach to natural resource management (NRM) can provide the framework for balancing economic, ecological, and societal drivers in decision making. The efficacy of such an approach depends on the successful execution of several key activities, from early and continuous engagement with relevant stakeholders, to development and application of ecological production functions (EPFs), to explicit recognition of uncertainty in the process. Although there are obstacles to the implementation of an ES approach in NRM, including unclear regulatory and policy frameworks and the paucity of useful EPFs, many of the tools are currently available or sufficiently developed. An ES approach can and, in some cases, should involve qualitative rather than quantitative assessment when the stakes are not very high or when quantitative approaches would not be cost effective because of highly uncertain results. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2017;13:74-84. © 2016 SETAC.

An ecosystem services approach to pesticide risk assessment and risk management of non-target terrestrial plants: recommendations from a SETAC Europe workshop

The registration of plant protection products (PPPs) in the EU is under Regulation 1107/2009, which recommends a tiered approach to assessing the risk to non-target terrestrial plants (NTTPs). However, little information is provided on how to perform and implement higher tier studies or how to use them to refine the risk assessments. Therefore, a stakeholder workshop was organized to consolidate current knowledge and expertise to aid the further development of testing and assessment procedures for NTTPs. This brief communication highlights the agreed recommendations of the workshop, which relate to the three main themes, i.e. specific protection goals, risk assessment and mitigation. The participants of the workshop adopted the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) approach of using an ecosystem services framework for identifying specific protection goals. First, delivery and protection of ecosystem services were discussed for in-crop, in-field and off-crop, and off-field areas. Second, lower and higher tier risk assessment methods, including modelling approaches, were evaluated. Third, options for risk mitigation of spray drift and run-off were discussed and evaluated. Several important knowledge gaps were identified, and specific data collation and literature-based tasks were actioned to begin to address them. A full workshop report is planned for the fall of 2014.