The spatiotemporal dynamics of ecosystem services bundles and the social-economic-ecological drivers in the Yellow River Delta region

Identifying and analyzing ecosystem service bundles and their socioecological drivers in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area

Humans continually transform landscapes, affecting the ecosystem services (ES) they provide. Thus, the spatial relationships among services vary across landscapes. Managers and decision makers have access to a variety of tools for mapping landscapes and analyzing their capacity to provide multiple ES. This paper characterizes and maps ES bundles across transformed landscapes in southeast Spain incorporating both the ecological and social perspectives. Our specific goals were to: (1) quantify ES biophysical supply, (2) identify public awareness, (3) map ES bundles, and (4) characterize types of ES bundles based on their social-ecological dimensions. Biophysical models and face-to-face social surveys were used to quantify and map ES bundles and explore the public awareness in a highly transformed Mediterranean region. Then, we classified ES bundles into four types using a matrix crossing the degree of biophysical ES supply and the degree of social awareness. Results mapped seven ES bundles types representing diverse social-ecological dynamics. ES bundles mapped at the municipality level showed mismatches between their biophysical provision and the public awareness, which has important implications for operationalizing the bundles concept for landscape planning and management. ES bundles characterization identified four types of bundles scenarios. We propose an ES bundles classification that incorporates both their social and ecological dimensions. Our findings can be used by land managers to identify areas in which ES are declining as well as priority areas for maximizing ES provision and can help to identify conflicts associated with new management and planning practices.

The impact of urbanization and climate change on ecosystem services: A case study of the city belt along the Yellow River in Ningxia, China

Understanding intricate interactions between natural–social factors and ecosystem service synergies and trade-offs (ESS/EST) can be valuable for promoting the sustainable development of multiple ecosystem services (ESs). Taking Beijing as the study area, this study was conducted from the perspective of ecosystem service bundles (ESBs). First, based on the identification of key ecological risks, the supply of 5 ESs was quantified. Then, 3 ESBs were identified through the cluster analysis of the ESs. We explored the synergies and trade-offs between ES pairs in different ESBs and quantified their strengths. By further exploring the influence of natural–social factors on ESS/EST, we developed targeted management policies in different ESBs to improve management efficiency. At the township scale, Beijing is divided into 3 ESBs. Marked differences in the ESS/EST were found among each bundle, indicating the necessity of zonal management. The results showed that landscape composition was the dominant factor affecting ESS in ESB3 and EST in ESB2, human activities had the greatest influence on ESS in ESB2, while biophysical indicators had the highest degree of contribution to ESS and EST in ESB1 and EST in ESB3. These results support the formulation of sustainable management strategies. The results of the study emphasize the importance of considering ESS/EST and their natural–social factors in different ESBs when formulating effective policies, which can provide useful guidance for sustainable urban planning and development and can be further applied to metropolitan areas around the world.

An ecosystem-based analysis of urban sustainability by integrating ecosystem service bundles and socio-economic-environmental conditions in China

Bundling ecosystem services for detecting their interactions driven by large-scale vegetation restoration: enhanced services while depressed synergies

Quantifying the trade-offs and synergies among ecosystem services (ESs) and exploring their spatial scale effects are essential to guide sustainable and diversified ecosystem management. This study systematically analyzed the trade-offs and synergies between seven ESs, including water purification (WP), carbon storage (CS), habitat quality (HQ), net primary productivity (NPP), soil conservation (SC), water conservation (WC), and water yield (WY) using self-organizing feature map methods. Further, we used geographically weighted regression to quantify the effect of spatial scales (county and sub-watershed) on the trade-offs and synergies (bundles) of ESs and their spatial distribution in the Huaihe river basin from 2000 to 2020. The results indicated that (1) from 2000 to 2020, WP, NPP, and WC showed an upward trend, with the most significant increase in WC (an average increase of 15.03 mm). CS and HQ showed a downward trend. (2) The relationship between CS, HQ, NPP, SC, and WC was synergistic at both County and sub-watershed scales, and there was a substantial trade-off between WP and WY. from 2000 to 2020, the average correlation coefficients at the county scale and the sub-watershed scale were − 0.546 and − 0.434 respectively (p < 0.001). the synergy between CS, HQ, NPP, SC, and WC mainly occurred in mountainous and hilly areas, while the trade-off between WP and other ESs mainly appeared in the central plains. The relationship between WP and other ESs developed in the trade-off direction, and the other ES optimized in the collaborative direction. In terms of spatial distribution, the synergy area between most ESs is larger than the trade-off area, and the synergy area between HQ-NPP and WC-WY at the county scale is significantly larger than that at the sub-watershed scale. The average synergy area of each ES pair at the county scale is 20.48% larger than that at the sub-watershed scale. (3) Different ecosystem combinations provided six and eight ES bundles that differed in ES composition and quantity at the county and sub-watershed scales. The key synergetic bundle in the Southern Tongbai Dabie mountain is shrinking, which is more evident at the sub-watershed scale. the discovered spatial patterns, dynamics, and scale effects of ecosystem services provide helpful baseline information for exploring sustainable ecosystem management and cross-scale planning strategies in the Huaihe river basin.

Ecosystem service (ES) bundles can be defined as the temporal and spatial co-occurrence of ESs. ES bundles are jointly driven by socio-ecological factors and form at different scales. However, in recent research, a few studies have analyzed the dynamic evolution and driving mechanisms of ES bundles at different scales. Therefore, this study explored the spatial patterns of six ESs supplied in Dalian (China) from 2005 to 2015 at three spatial scales, determining the distribution and evolution patterns of ES bundles and their responses to socio-ecological driving factors. Our results are as follows: (1) We identified four ES bundles representing ecological conservation, water conservation, ecological depletion, and food supply. The developmental trajectory of each ES bundle could be attributed to the combined effects of environmental conditions and urban expansion. In particular, the water conservation bundle and food supply bundle were changed to the ecological depletion bundle. Given the ongoing urbanization, the conflict between ESs has intensified. (2) The impact of socio-ecological driving factors on ES bundles vary with scale. At three spatial scales, the digital elevation model (DEM) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) had a great impact on ES bundles. Urbanization indicators also strongly explain the spatial distribution of ES bundles at the county and grid scales. The interaction factor detector shows that there is no combination of mutual weakening, indicating that the formation of ES bundles is driven by multiple factors in Dalian. Overall, this study used a more holistic approach to manage the ecosystem by studying the temporal-spatial dynamics of the multiple ESs.

The imbalance between the supply and demand of ecological products between society and ecosystems is an important cause of a series of water ecological problems, and water ecological restoration projects aim to improve the above supply–demand relationship by means of inputs from the social side. For this reason, this paper takes the Yellow River Delta region as an example to launch a study on the assessment of the effectiveness of water ecological restoration projects from the perspective of the supply and demand of ecological products. Specifically, the level of the supply and demand of ecological products, as well as the relationship between the supply and the demand in the studied area, were measured using the equivalent factor approach and the water footprint approach, and the effects of the Yellow River Delta hydro-ecological restoration project were assessed by integrating the following four metrics: land use, supply of ecological products (ecosystem services), demand for ecological products, and the relationship between the supply of and demand for ecological products. The results of this study show that although the hydro-ecological restoration project continues to replenish water resources in the Yellow River Delta region, and promotes the level of ecological product supply in the study area through the restoration of wetlands and water, the growing and excessive demand for ecological products in the study area still puts the local ecosystems at risk of degradation. In the future, the Yellow River Delta region should continue to control the scale of land for production and living on the supply side of ecological products and increase its investment in water ecological restoration, while establishing a highly efficient mode of ecological product development and utilization and a reasonable mechanism for the payment of ecological products on the demand side. In addition, the Yellow River Delta region needs to pay attention to the impacts of rising sea levels and other climatic problems on ecological restoration.

Trade-offs and driving factors of multiple ecosystem services and bundles under spatiotemporal changes in the Danjiangkou Basin, China

Conducting mountain ecosystem zoning through ecosystem service bundles (ESBs) plays a crucial role in achieving coordinated management of multiple ecosystem services (ESs). However, research on the interrelationships and underlying mechanisms among ESs across different partitioned zones remains inadequate. In this study, we quantified the spatial and temporal changes of six ESs in the Taihang Mountains, including water yield, soil conservation, carbon storage, food production, net primary productivity (NPP) and biodiversity maintenance, and revealed their trade‐offs/synergies based on the ESBs delineated by the Self‐Organizing Map (SOM) method. We subsequently deployed the Mantel Test to pinpoint the key drivers of ESs for multi ESBs. The results showed that: (1) four of the six ESs demonstrated significant growth, with NPP and biodiversity maintenance increasing substantially across &gt; 90% of the study area. Conversely, soil conservation fluctuated considerably overall, decreasing by 8.89% between 2000 and 2020. (2) Based on the characteristics features of six ESs, the Taihang Mountains were divided into NPP‐biodiversity mutual enhancement (B1), major grain producing (B2), ecological core (B3), ecological fragile (B4), and water resources supply bundles (B5). The trade‐off and synergies of ESs were not immutable, and varied with ESBs. A strong trade‐off between water yield and food production was observed in B2 and B5, while a synergistic relationship was found in B4. The highest synergy effect appeared in the B1 pair. (3) This study proposed a differentiated zoning governance framework: whereas B3 requires strict ecological protection, bundles B1 and B4 should prioritize grassland restoration and conservation, while B5 necessitated curbing uncontrolled urban expansion to safeguard water yield service. Furthermore, grain production in B2 continued to increase in the context of regional warming. This study establishes the ecosystem management framework for typical arid/semiarid mountains, providing a scientific basis for territorial spatial planning and ES optimization.

Although the research framework of ecological function zoning is complex and diverse, there are not many spatially continuous zoning results, which can be effectively applied to watershed management practices. Ecosystem service bundles and trade-offs can identify interactions among multiple ecosystem services, and achieve better social-ecosystem management when applying to ecological function zoning. Taking the Dongjiang Lake Basin, China, as research area, the study used the InVEST model to investigate the trade-offs and synergies of ecosystem services at township and grid scales, respectively. Then, the study conducted ecological function zoning based on the bundles and trade-off intensity among ecosystem services. The results showed that food production showed extremely significant trade-offs with other services in the two scales, in which the trade-off intensity between food production and water purification was the largest, and the water areas were the hotspots of trade-off intensity. Based on the ecosystem service bundles at the township, combined with the trade-off intensity, the watershed was finally divided into four ecological functional zones, namely, agricultural product supply area (southern part in the study area), economic forestry area (northeast regions in the study area), water supply area (western areas of the study area), and forest conservation area (northern areas in the study area), accounting for 29.27%, 14.63%, 17.07%, and 39.03%, respectively. The study contributed to the ecological function maintenance and sustainable development in Dongjiang Lake Basin and provided an important reference in ecological zoning.

In the face of rapid urbanization and global climate change, understanding the trade-offs and synergies of wetland city ecosystem services is vital for mitigating regional ecological and environmental risks, and enhancing human well-being. The Dongting Lake Basin is an ecologically fragile area of global significance. Uncontrolled resource utilization and intensive human activities have severely damaged the ecological environment, including in Miluo. Thus, it is of paramount research importance to uncover the trade-offs and synergies of ecosystem services and their driving mechanisms in Miluo. To achieve this, we classified Miluo’s land use data over the past two decades using a random forest model and Landsat imagery. We quantified the major ecosystem services in Miluo by employing ecological process models such as InVEST, RUSLE, and CASA. Additionally, we examined the trade-offs and synergies between ecosystem services at different scales and identified the driving mechanisms using multi-source remote sensing data. The results revealed that forests exhibited the highest level of ecosystem services, while urban ecosystem services experienced a significant decline. Over the past two decades, Miluo displayed notable trade-offs and synergies between ecosystem services, with synergies prevailing as the dominant pattern, particularly at the county scale. Furthermore, human activities emerged as the primary driver of changes in Miluo’s ecosystem services during the 20-year period. Therefore, it is imperative for scientists, policymakers, and civil society to develop effective and scientifically sound strategies to mitigate the ecological risks resulting from rapid urbanization and climate change in the future.

Exploring the heterogeneity and nonlinearity of trade-offs and synergies among ecosystem services bundles in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration

Identifying ecosystem service bundles and the spatiotemporal characteristics of trade-offs and synergies in coal mining areas with a high groundwater table