Availability Of Ecosystem Services Research Articles

Keragaman Arthropoda pada Teknologi Bujangseta di Tanaman Jeruk Siam

Bujangseta is a technology used throughout the year to produce citrus fruits. This technology has economically succeeded in increasing the income of citrus farmers by 23.5%. Sustainable management of bujangseta technology is neede, one of which is maintaining the sustainability of the agroecosystem. A stable agroecosystem ensures the availability of ecosystem services through nutrient cycling and the natural control of pest and disease populations. The stability of agroecosystems is coherent with the high biodiversity of arthropods. This study aims to evaluate the effect of applying the citrus plant bujangseta in Karangwidoro village and Krajan village, Dau District, Malang Regency, East Java, from June to December 2022. The two application methods were light trapping (lighttrap) and pit trap (pitfall glass), and the results were analyzed using a t-test. The diversity index, species richness index, species evenness index, and dominance index were calculated. The results showed that the detrivores of the Collembola group dominated the diversity of arthropods, the primary pest of the Diaphorina citri, and the predatory arthropods of Paederus sp. and Braconidae. Diversity and community structure of arthopods indicated there at significant differences in diversity, dominance, evenness, and species richness in those two locations. Bujangseta in the Krajan has a higher community structure compared to the Karangwidoro, showing that the ecosystem at the Krajan location is better preserved. Keywords: arthropods, bujangseta, citrus, community structure

The Impact of Projected Land Use Changes on the Availability of Ecosystem Services in the Upper Flint River Watershed, USA

The Impact of Projected Land Use Changes on the Availability of Ecosystem Services in the Upper Flint River Watershed, USA

Contributions to a global understanding of socioenvironmental justice related to urban forest: Trends from Brazilian cities in the southeastern Paraná State

Global studies on urban forests (UFs) have extensively covered both environmental and social aspects, including concerns about public health and green solutions provided by trees and forests in cities. However, this trend has not been widely observed in South America, particularly in cities located outside and distant from capital cities and wealthier regions. So, this study examines disparities in socioenvironmental justice of cities in the poorest region of Paraná State, Brazil, comparing to Curitiba (CWB), the capital and one of the greenest cities of Brazil, and proposes a methodology to surpass the scarcity of adequate dataset. A four-dimensional analysis covers the configuration of UF landscapes, the provision of ecosystem services, accessibility to UF, and their interrelation with socioeconomic indicators. We used high-resolution multispectral images from PlanetScope Dove and employed a machine learning algorithm to accurately map UF. We quantified landscape patterns of UFs using a variety of landscape metrics (LM), including mean patch area (AREA_MN), percentage of the landscape class (PLAND), largest patch index (LPI), mean shape index (SHAPE_MN), and the percentage of similar adjacencies (PLADJ). Additionally, we estimated ecosystem services such as total biomass (TB), carbon stock (TCS), carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq), urban heat island (UHI), and available public green areas (PGA). We created accessibility maps to PGA at distances of 300 and 800 m. A Mann-Kendall correlation analysis was employed to explore the relationships between these variables and various socioeconomic indicators, including the percentage of people in households without adequate water supply and sewage (TAEE), the percentage of the population living in urban households without garbage collection service (TPSL), the illiteracy rate of the population aged 15 years or older (TANAL), the proportion of people with per capita household income equal to or less than half minimum wage at year of 2010 (TVULNER), the number of schools (SCHOOLS), and the number of permanent residents (MPERM). The Sen's slope test was performed to determine the magnitude of these correlations. Our four-dimensional analysis revealed significant disparities in the distribution and accessibility of ecosystem services within the cities of southeastern Paraná State when compared to CWB. Correlation analyses revealed significant discrepancies between different socioeconomic conditions and the availability of ecosystem services. Financial vulnerability is positively correlated with ecosystem services, while the lack of sanitation negatively impacts their availability. The results highlight the urgent need for equitable distribution of UF ecosystem services.

A risk assessment for the remote ocean: the case of the South East Atlantic

Degradation of the natural world and associated ecosystem services is attributed to a historical failure to include its ‘value’ in decision-making. Uncertainty in the quantification of the relationship between natural capital ‘assets’ that give rise to critical societal benefits and people is one reason for the omission of these values from natural resource management. As this uncertainty increases in marine systems and further still with distance from the coast, the connection between society and natural capital assets is less likely to be included adequately in decision-making. Natural capital assets of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ), including those of the deep sea, are distant but are known to generate many benefits for society, from the diffuse and broad-scale benefits of climate regulation to the provision of wild fish for food. While our understanding of the precise relationships (the status of asset stocks, ecosystem functions and processes) that control the availability of ecosystem services and the flows of benefits is limited, this does not preclude opening a discourse on how these natural capital assets could best be managed to continue to benefit society. Here we apply a natural capital approach to the South East Atlantic ABNJ, one of the least scientifically understood regions of the planet, and develop a framework for risk assessment. We do this by describing the benefit flows from the natural capital assets of the region, appraising how activities are creating pressures on these flows and whether the controls for these pressures protect them. Our risk register highlights how governance currently favours the protection of direct (extractive) benefit flows from natural capital assets of the region, which are primarily targeted for financial benefit. Without a systems-based framework that can account for the cumulative pressures on natural capital assets their status, associated ecosystem services and benefits are at risk. Such an approach is essential to capture and protect the foundational and often diffuse connections between marine natural capital and global society.

How urbanisation shapes availability of provisioning ecosystem services in peri-urban Ghana

ABSTRACTProvisioning ecosystem services are under threat in peripheral areas in African cities due to urbanisation pressures. Previous studies have focused on land conversion and food crop production. How urbanisation pressures intertwine with the provisioning ecosystem services availability to peri-urban households is an empirical question, which this paper answered using Wa in Ghana as a case. The mixed method research approach was employed involving 400 randomly selected households with the aid of a questionnaire, while interviews were also conducted with relevant stakeholders. Descriptive statistics and a five-point Likert scale were used to analyse the household data, while interview responses were thematised. We observed that urbanisation adversely affected ecosystems, reducing the availability of wild fruits, fuelwood, and game to farmer households. From the households’ perspective, most of these services will disappear in the future as urbanisation intensifies. We recommend the restoration of degraded lands for the conservation of natural habitats.

The impact of coastal realignment on the availability of ecosystem services: gains, losses and trade-offs from a local community perspective

Coastal realignment is the procedure of repositioning or removing coastal defense structures to restore tidal flooding and facilitate the development of intertidal ecosystems in a previously reclaimed area from the sea. A key policy objective of coastal realignment is to increase ecosystem services provided by intertidal ecosystems and thereby contribute to human well-being. However, the social response to coastal realignment is often negative, raising the question as to what extent communities living nearby project locations recognize, value and benefit from the goods and services provided by restored intertidal ecosystems. In this study, we examine public perceptions of ecosystem services gains, losses and trade-offs associated with coastal realignment. We hereby focus on three coastal realignment case study locations in the Southwest delta, the Netherlands. Questionnaires were administered in nearby villages and the collected data (N = 261) were analyzed using random forest regression models. A notable outcome of this study is that local communities often consider coastal realignment interventions to decrease rather than increase the availability of ecosystem services. This points to a discrepancy between how coastal realignment is viewed from a policy perspective and a local community perspective. Changes in the availability of cultural ecosystem services were found to have the highest impact on the level of support for coastal realignment, while the importance attached to provisioning, regulating and supporting ecosystem services was notably lower. In consequence, to increase public support, it will be essential to minimize the loss of cultural ecosystem services, or better yet, find ways to increase cultural ecosystem services through coastal realignment, for instance by creating opportunities for recreation and tourism.

Tree-related microhabitat diversity as a proxy for the conservation of beetle communities in managed forests of Fagus sylvatica

Abstract Integrating the conservation of biodiversity into silvicultural practices is one of the main challenges facing forest owners in the promotion of an emergent approach to sustainable forest management across European forests. The Mediterranean forests are among the richest biodiverse forest ecosystems due to their environmental heterogeneity, but climate change is threatening their integrity, with critical implications for the availability of ecosystem services. Forests managed for commercial purposes are under increasing pressure to provide timber while supporting biodiversity. This study aims to analyse the relationship between tree-related microhabitats (TreMs), which are structures occurring on living or standing dead trees that constitute an essential substrate for several living species, and beetles, an important indicator species group for forest biodiversity monitoring. Four generalized linear models were fitted to assess the influence of environmental factors, forest structure, and biodiversity-related parameters on the abundance and richness of beetles, mainly on saproxylic beetles. The study highlights significant associations between the abundance and richness of individual groups and types of TreMs and the Italian Red List of saproxylic species. Therefore, TreMs can serve as a tool to map, monitor, and enhance forest biodiversity in managed forests.

Ecosystem restoration reduces community vulnerability to water-induced disasters: Need to rethink Chure conservation in Nepal

Disaster risk reduction strategies are often accompanied by conventional adaptation approaches, involving high costs and limited flexibility. Conversely, ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) has been advocated as a sustainable approach because it is cost-effective, efficient and provides co-benefits (e.g., ecosystem services). However, there is limited awareness and understanding among both disaster risk reduction professionals and ecologists about the linkages of ecosystem restoration to disaster risk reduction. Here, we assessed people's perceptions towards the availability of ecosystem services in the highly degraded and fragile landscape to floods and soil erosion in Central Nepal. We then assessed vulnerabilities at household level in both pre- and post-restoration periods, using indicators such as distance to the river, land cover composition (ratio of forest to non-forest), occupation, availability of ecosystem services, and effectiveness of the restoration projects in the vicinity. Our results show that vulnerability as a function of adaptive capacity and sensitivity decreased even though there were no significant improvements in some of the provisions of ecosystem services we assessed. Since our results showed restoration projects were not integrated following the principles of EbA criteria, careful integration during project design and implementation would strengthen community resilience in future. Our work provides new insight into the restoration response to disasters and provides a basis for future research and policy development.

A two concentric circles model incorporating availability of ecosystem services and affordability of humans to clarify the ecological security concept

As human influences on natural ecosystems continue to expand, the utilization of natural resources is approaching a threshold where unsustainability threatens the security of human society. As the challenging tradeoffs between human resource demand, ecological sustainability and the security of human society have become more widely recognized, ecological security issues have received extensive attention. However, despite the emergence of substantial body of scientific research on these broader issues, there is still no broad consensus on the definition of ecological security and how it should be applied to mediate resource use and conservation dilemmas. Across the body of published research in this subject area, the criteria and evaluation methods are often so different that the results of different studies are difficult to compare. In this paper, we propose that ecological security refers to the degree to which the condition of ecosystem can support a certain level of socioeconomic development or quality of life. We propose a simple geometric model to quantify ecological security in two dimensions: the availability of ecosystem services and the affordability of humans. The availability dimension is determined by the supply and demand of ecosystem services and the affordability dimension is determined by the cost and the paying capacity balance to obtain ecosystem services. Then, we applied this model to two hypothetical cases to demonstrate its usefulness. The most important feature of the proposed model is that it enables the quick evaluation of important aspects of ecological security for a study area using eight key factors. Although the shape and geographic characteristics of a study area are usually more complex than the hypothetical case, our model can be applied if the conditions are properly simplified or adjusted.

Temperature, Precipitation, and Agro-Hydro-Meteorological Indicator Based Scenarios for Decision Making in Ogallala Aquifer Region

The Ogallala Aquifer is one of the most productive agricultural regions and is referred to as the “breadbasket of the world”. It covers approximately 225,000 square miles beneath the Great Plains region spanning the states of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Colorado. The aquifer is a major water source for the region, with its use exceeding recharge. Previous studies have documented climate changes and their impacts in the region. However, this is the first study to document temperature and precipitation changes over the entire Ogallala region from 35 General Circulation Models participating in Phase 5 of the Climate Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). The main study objectives were (1) to provide estimates of present and future climate change scenarios for the High Plains Aquifer, (2) to translate the temperature and precipitation changes to agro-ecosystem indicator changes for Kansas using scenario funnels, and (3) to make recommendations for water resource and ecosystem managers to enable effective planning for the future availability of ecosystem services. The temperature change ranged from −4 °C to 8 °C, while the precipitation changes were between −50% to +50% over the region. This study improves the understanding of climate change on water resources and agro-ecosystems. This knowledge can be used to evaluate similar resources where the replenishment rate is slow.

Interconnectedness of Ecosystem Services Potential with Land Use/Land Cover Change Dynamics in Western Uganda

Understanding the evolution of land use/land cover change (LULCC) and how it shapes current and future ecosystem services (ES) supply potential remains critical in sustainable natural resource management. Community perception of historic LULCC was reconciled with previous study via remote sensing/geographical information systems using recall data in the Budongo–Bugoma landscape in Uganda. Then, a CA-Markovian prediction model of a LULC situation in 2040 under business as usual (BAU) and forest restoration scenarios was constructed. Additionally, we assessed the perceived proximate and underlying drivers of LULCC, and how LULCC shapes ecosystem services potential using household surveys. The perceived LULCC trend for the past three decades (1990–2020) corresponded with previous studies showing grassland, bushland, tropical high forest, and wetland cover declined greatly, while subsistence farmland, commercial farmland, and built-up areas had a great increment. The predicted LULC under (i) the business as usual scenario showed a continued decline of natural LULC while anthropogenic LULC increased greatly, tending to cover half of the landscape area; (ii) forest restoration under different levels showed an improvement of forest cover and other native LULC classes with a decline in mostly subsistence farmland. The proximate drivers were in three principal components (soil infertility, subsistence farming, drought; infrastructural development, commercial farming, overstocking of livestock, pest and disease challenges; tree planting), while underlying drivers were in two principal components (technology adoption, corruption of environment stewards, policy implementation gaps; cultural gaps). Food and cash crops were perceived to be the most important ecosystem services in the landscape. Generally, the landscape ES supply potential was dwindling and predicted to continue with a similar trend under BAU, despite the increment in ES contribution of subsistence and commercial farmland. Forest restoration would slightly improve the landscape ES potential but would cause a decline in subsistence farmland, which would result in either a threat to food/livelihood security or a livelihood shift. We recommend combined interventions that seek to achieve a progressive frontier that achieves development needs and priorities based on national need such as food security through local level production with recognition for sustainable availability of ecosystem services.

The Impact of Wetland Utilisation on Provisioning Ecosystem Services in Nyando Wetland, Kenya

People’s livelihoods in developing countries are often directly dependent on wetlands and watersheds for the provision of food, water, fuel, wood, fibre, and genetic resources. The high rural population density within the Lake Victoria basin is facilitating the rapid conversion of land to settlement and agriculture. These activities have resulted in the depletion of wetland resources to the extent that they cannot replenish naturally, thus threatening the Nyando wetland ecosystem, potential recreational opportunities, and the livelihoods of local communities. This paper, therefore, examines the implication of Nyando wetland utilisation in provisioning ecosystem services. A case study survey design approach was employed for data collection. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected to answer the study objectives. Stratified random sampling was conducted to collect data from 391 households using a structured questionnaire. An interview guide was also used to collect data from stakeholder representatives at the national and county governmental level, non-governmental organisations, and members of the local community. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the quantitative data, while qualitative data were analysed through content analysis by ordering distinct themes into similar categories. A land-use change analysis was performed using an unsupervised classification technique. The results show that the local community depends on the wetland for farming, firewood, settlement, roofing and mat-making materials, and fishing for domestic and commercial use. The local community’s increased demand and utilisation of Nyando wetland resources has contributed to a reduction in the size of the wetland and consequently affected the availability of ecosystem services. Thus, sustainable utilisation of the wetland is needed.

Characterizing temporal trends of meteorological extremes in Southern and Central Ontario, Canada

Forecasts of increased frequency of meteorological extremes have received considerable attention due to their potential impact on the integrity of biotic communities, stability of terrestrial and aquatic environments, availability of ecosystem services, and broader societal prosperity. Canada is projected to experience greater warming rates than many other regions of the world and changes in meteorological extremes are predicted to be variable across the country. In this context, our goal is to evaluate the long-term trends of extreme meteorological variables (air and dew point temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and precipitation) in southern and central Ontario (from 42°N to 50°N), while considering the role dynamics of large-scale atmospheric oscillations (El Niño–Southern Oscillation, North Atlantic Oscillation, Arctic Oscillation, and Pacific Decadal Oscillation). Air temperature minima increased year-round, while temperature maxima mainly increased during the cooler months of the year. Consistent with recent evidence from the literature, our study identified an increase in the amount of atmospheric water since the 1950s, as shown by the rising trends in dew point temperature maxima and minima during winter and mid-summer/early-autumn, respectively. Likewise, we found a weak decline in the relative humidity during the warm season, and a more discernible declining trend during the cooler part of the year, which could be in turn reflective of the moderate change of temperature maxima and rising minima, respectively. Consistent with the broader evidence of a global terrestrial stilling, our analysis showed a declining occurrence of high wind-speed events across the entire study domain, and more frequent slow-wind speeds during both warm and cold periods of the year. Interestingly, a closer examination of temporal trends in calm wind frequency provides evidence of a recent reversal in the latter trend with diminishing prevalence of very calm wind conditions. We generally found a weakly increasing temporal trend with maximum total daily precipitation, but without a coherent spatial pattern within the broader study area. Our analysis showed that large-scale phenomena have a discernible signature mostly on air temperature and humidity variables, but had little impact on low relative humidity, high and low wind-speed, and precipitation variability. Given the modest impact of teleconnections on long-term temporal trends, our study concludes that the meteorological extremes are more directly influenced by regional and local heat and humidity balance processes rather than global-scale atmospheric circulation. The observed trends of air temperature, humidity, and wind speed extremes suggest a profound impact on the phenology of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and human experience of weather.

The spatial relationship between ecosystem service scarcity value and urbanization from the perspective of heterogeneity in typical arid and semiarid regions of China

Rapid expansions of urban areas and the intensification of human activities have severely impacted ecosystems and ecosystem service provisions. Considering limited availability of ecosystem services, the evaluation of ecosystem service value should consider its fluctuations supply and demand due to urbanization, i.e., the ecosystem service scarcity value (ESSV). Taking typical arid and semiarid regions of China and the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region as an example, the effects of different scarcity factors on the scarcity value of ecosystem services were compared. At the same time, a geographically weighted regression model (GWR) was developed to analyze the spatial relationships between urbanization and the scarcity value of ecosystem services. The results suggest that demand-driven scarcity is the most important factor affecting the ESSV in Ningxia, and between 1990 and 2015, the ESSV in Ningxia increased significantly, with increase being more evident from 2005 to 2015. Among the different types of ecosystem services, the scarcity values of ecosystem services such as air quality, waste treatment, soil retention, biodiversity services, and recreation and culture increased significantly from 1990 to 2015. Spatially, the total ESSV and the ESSV of different ecosystem service types exhibited evident spatial heterogeneity due, to spatial distribution characteristics of land-use type, population density and per capita GDP. The GWR modeling result shows, that the impact of urbanization on ESSV was positively correlated overall. The ESSV of food production, raw material, air quality, climate regulation and water supply are greatly affected by urbanization, while the ESSV of biodiversity services and recreation and culture are less affected by urbanization. Meanwhile, the High-Low type and Low-High type had significant aggregation effects in the study area.

Impact of urbanization processes on availability of ecosystem services in National Capital Region of Delhi (1992-2010).

The Southern and Eastern National Capital Region of Delhi is experiencing diversified and expanding urbanization as in million-plus cities of the area the urban sprawl activities are more frequent than the urban densification activities. The progressing sprawl of residential and construction sites is transforming the regional ecosystems and hampering the generation of ecosystem services of fundamental importance, i.e. the benefits and services that we get directly or indirectly from the ecosystem functioning. The Costanza et al., (2014) approach shows that the ecosystem services value has decreased at US$ 56 ha−1 year−1 (0.09% per year) and absolute and cumulative losses are estimated US$ 285.4 ha−1 year−1 and US$ 502.8 ha−1 year−1, respectively. The ecosystem service values assessment shows that the ecosystem services like climate regulation and recreation have increased but food production, genetic resources, water supply, soil formation, raw materials and waste treatment have decreased over the time. The use of alternative ecosystem value coefficient shows that the estimated value of the ecosystem service value changed from a low of 0.005% for 1% change in the value of the forest coefficient, to a high of 0.749% for a 1% change in the value of the agricultural land coefficient. For each land use/land cover category, the sensitivity analysis reflects the inelasticity or robustness of the estimated ecosystem value with respect to the value coefficient. Overall, prioritizing the conservation and enrichment of natural and man-made ecosystems of critical value will lead to sustainable development of urban ecosystems.

Potential distribution of oak forests in the central Himalayas and implications for future ecosystem services supply to rural communities

Oak forests are an ecologically and socio-economically valuable late-successional forest formation of central Himalaya. We used niche modelling to identify the potential distribution of oak forests in Uttarakhand, India and estimated the possible changes in the availability of ecosystem services (ES) from oak forests in a scenario without human disturbance. Quantification of provisioning ES and carbon density was done by field-based household and vegetation assessments respectively. Carbon density was estimated using allometric equations provided by the Forest Survey of India. We found that the region has a much higher potential to support oak than its current distribution. In a no-disturbance scenario, under current climatic conditions, we estimate a 170.6% increase (current area 14741 ha, potential area 39899 ha) in the coverage of dense oak forests which would result in a 60.3% increase in carbon stock, a 90.69% increase in non-wood forest products, a 75.04% increase in fuelwood and fodder, and a 54.83% increase in the supply of small diameter wood. In order to increase the provision of ES in the study area the best-suited course of action would be to support the succession of current pine, pine-oak, and open-oak forests to late-successional dense-oak forest community.

Landowner concerns related to availability of ecosystem services and environmental issues in the southern United States

The effectiveness of conservation initiatives on private lands in the southern United States plays an important role in improving provision of ecosystem services and mitigating negative environmental impacts. However, participation in conservation efforts is in part affected by landowner concern about environmental issues. This study used a seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) to quantify the impacts of local environmental conditions (e.g., air and water pollution, population density, and land cover type), private land attributes and sociodemographic factors on landowner ecosystem service and environmental concerns. The study involved a mail survey of private landowners in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley and East Gulf Coastal Plain sub-geographies of the Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks Landscape Conservation Cooperative. At least 37% of landowners were extremely concerned about drinking water quality, drinking water quantity, soil erosion, loss of wildlife habitat, and loss of open spaces. Local environmental conditions and sociodemographic factors were only marginally related to landowner ecosystem service and environmental concerns, although these factors could affect landowner environmental attitudes, personal health and outdoor activities. Private land attributes, such as property size and landownership objectives, strongly influenced landowner concerns about environmental issues where landowners with larger agricultural land parcels, and who owned land for profit making and provision of ecosystem services were more concerned about environmental issues than other landowners. Conservation policies should focus not only on activities that address ecosystem service and environmental issues that are of concern to landowners but also help them attain their landownership objectives because such approach is more likely to increase their participation in conservation practices.

Integrating Diverse Perspectives for Managing Neighborhood Trees and Urban Ecosystem Services in Portland, OR (US)

Municipalities worldwide are increasingly recognizing the importance of urban green spaces to mitigate climate change’s extreme effects and improve residents’ quality of life. Even with extensive earlier research examining the distribution of tree canopy in cities, we know little about human perceptions of urban forestry and related ecosystem services. This study aims to fill this gap by examining the variations in socioeconomic indicators and public perceptions by asking how neighborhood trees and socioeconomic indicators mediate public perceptions of ecosystem services availability. Using Portland, Oregon (USA) as our case study, we assessed socioeconomic indicators, land cover data, and survey responses about public perceptions of neighborhood trees. Based on over 2500 survey responses, the results indicated a significant correlation among tree canopy, resident income, and sense of ownership for urban forestry. We further identified the extent to which the absence of trees amplifies environmental injustices and challenges for engaging communities with landscape management. The results suggested that Portland residents are aware of tree maintenance challenges, and the inclusion of cultural ecosystem services can better address existing environmental injustices. Our assessment of open-ended statements suggested the importance of conducting public outreach to identify specific priorities for a community-based approach to urban forestry.

Contribution of Avenue Trees Planted Along Managed Roadways in the Provision of Ecosystem Services to the Population of the Municipality of Sèmè-Podji in Benin

The plant needs of city dwellers sometimes force them to make use of the local plant diversity of which the avenue trees are a part. In the municipality of Sèmè-Podji, avenue trees provide social and environmental advantages to residents in daily practices. However, they are poorly valued and subjected to anthropogenic pressures. The objective of this study is to analyze the contribution of avenue trees in the provision of ecosystem services to the populations along roadways of the municipality of Sèmè-Podji. The methodological approach used is based on counting the forms of harvesting from the different species of trees over 26 kilometers of developed streets. Then, semi-structured interviews are carried out with 260 peoples, divided into 4 socio-professional categories. The Pearson correlation test was used to assess the agreement between the opinions of the respondents, then the prioritization matrix and the factorial correspondence analysis were used to assess the involvement of species and organs in the availability of ecosystem services. The results obtained reveal 7 forms of use classified into 4 categories of ecosystem services, confirmed by the opinions of the socio-professional categories with high degree of consensus between traders and craftsmen (r = 0.955; p = 0.001). The usage values vary between 0.53 (regulation service) and 0.04 (support service). However, supply services are the most cited and come from the species <i>Coccoloba uvifera</i>, <i>Terminalia catappa</i>, <i>Cocos nucifera</i>, <i>Manguifera indica</i> and <i>Eleais guineensis</i>. Taking into account the information provided by the populations on ecosystem services could facilitate the integration of alignment plantations in the sustainable development of this city.

Loss of coastal ecosystem spatial connectivity and services by urbanization: Natural-to-urban integration for bay management

Urbanization has negative consequences for the integrity of ecosystems and services they provide, by reducing their extent and quality in both aquatic and terrestrial environments. Few studies have explored how urban infrastructure expansion affects the spatial connectivity of coastal ecosystems by provoking their fragmentation and loss. Here we explore changes in the spatial connectivity of coastal ecosystems due to urbanization, analyzing ecosystem extent and concatenation with urban infrastructures (shared perimeter) in four bays of the Coquimbo region of northern Chile (from 29°S to 32°S) as model systems. Increase in natural-to-urban concatenation patterns were observed in most urbanized bays; sandy beaches and wetlands were the habitats most connected with urban infrastructures like roads and coastal artificial defenses. Availability of ecosystem services is compromised by progressive loss of natural connectivity and poor governance structure, which seems to confer high vulnerability to urbanized bays with future urban expansion. Complementary actions are proposed to reduce the vulnerability of coastal urban systems, considering 1) investment in nature-based infrastructures for coastal defenses, 2) restoration-rehabilitation of natural (remnant) urban ecosystems and eco-engineering of current artificial infrastructures, focusing on reestablishment of biodiversity patterns and habitat connectivity, and 3) limitation of coastal town and village expansion. Management strategies can improve coastal adaptation to natural hazards, stabilizing changes in the natural-urban concatenation mosaic present in coastal urban systems like bays.