The Project

Headwater catchment ecosystems play an essential role in regulating the fluxes of CO2 and other greenhouse gases (GHGs), such as methane and nitrous oxide. These systems can act as natural carbon sinks, but under certain conditions, they may become emission sources.

The SERVICO2 project investigates how global change —including climate change, atmospheric nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) deposition, and land use changes— affects this ecosystem service of GHG regulation in headwater catchments.

Today, headwater ecosystems face multiple pressures:

Rising temperatures and changing rain and snowfall regimes

Eutrophication caused by excess nutrients, especially N and P

Changes in land and vegetation cover due to land abandonment, forest expansion or intensive grazing

These processes alter the ability of ecosystems to absorb or emit GHGs, with direct implications for global climate change.

Objectives

SERVICO2 aims to understand, quantify and predict how this ecosystem service is generated and how it may evolve. The main objectives are:

To generate new knowledge on the combined effects of deposition, climate, and land use on GHG regulation and water quality

To improve carbon balance estimates, models,and projections

To enhance valuation and monitoring methods for this ecosystem service

To have influence within advisory bodies guiding emissions control policies.

Our research across Europe

Spain, Italy, Czech Republic, Sweden and Finland.

Methodology

The research is based on a multidisciplinary approach, combining:

Work Package 1

Conducting social and economic valuations, and fostering awareness through co-creation with researchers and stakeholders, in order to improve the consideration of CO2 regulation ecosystem services in relevant policies.

Work Package 2

Reanalyzing, meta-analyzing, and modeling long-term data series to gain insights into the role of catchments in regulating greenhouse gas emissions.

Work Package 3

Developing innovative approaches and cost-effective technology for monitoring GHG fluxes, with a focus on high-resolution measurements.

Work Package 4

Conducting field measurements throughout the seasonal cycle in a network of headwater catchments across Europe, considering climate, N-P deposition gradients, and local land use effects, to determine the balance of CO2 and other climate-relevant gases inferred from their fluxes.