Consumption Of Ecosystem Services Research Articles

Habitat maintenance assessment and mapping as priority ecosystem service in mountain protected areas

Habitat maintenance as an ecosystem service (ES) is essential for the protection of natural capital, however, it is among the most challenging services for definition and evaluation. The present study is focused on assessing and mapping habitat maintenance ecosystem service in Rila and Pirin Mountains in Bulgaria for strategic planning purposes by better understanding the link between the potential of providing this ecosystem service and biodiversity in five protected areas (PAs). An integrated approach for the assessment of the condition of ecosystems in PAs and their potential to provide ecosystem services was applied and further developed in the present study. The results showed that the conservation regime allowed the territories to preserve a high degree of naturalness in a very good ecological condition – 96477 ha (73%) of the total case-study area, and 33078 ha (77%) of the target PAs, respectively. The potential of ecosystems to provide habitat maintenance ES is high to very high for 84% of the total studied area (81258.9 ha) and for 96.4% (31906 ha) of the area of the target PAs. A current assessment and mapping show the role of protected areas as spatial natural capital assets that purposefully and actively support their prioritized habitat maintenance functions as spatial guarantors for the sustenance of rich packages of material, regulating, and cultural functions in significant geographic areas. The results demonstrate the importance of protected site management in mountain areas in ensuring sustainable cooperation and consumption of ecosystem services in peripheral mountain communities of the European Union highly dependent on available natural capital.

ԷԿՈՀԱՄԱԿԱՐԳԱՅԻՆ ԾԱՌԱՅՈՒԹՅՈՒՆՆԵՐԻ ՖԻՆԱՆՍԱԿԱՆ ԿԱՌԱՎԱՐՄԱՆ ՏԵՂԵԿԱՏՎԱԿԱՆ ԱՊԱՀՈՎՄԱՆ ԽՆԴԻՐՆԵՐԸ/Issues of information provision for financial management of ecosystem services

The article proposes in process of obtaining ecosystem services in organizations, to solve information issues of financial management so that external and internal stakeholders understand the degree of responsibility for the consumption of environmental resources by business. To achieve this, the annual financial statements published by the organizations will provide the necessary information on the extent to which business activities compensated for the ecosystem services received, and what paths were taken in relation to such compensations. Financial management of the consumption of ecosystem services also requires disclosure of information about the risks of sustainable business development and opportunities to prevent them. In this way, organizations will provide comprehensive information to ecosystem service stakeholders so they can make effective decisions to manage the partnership.

Research on Ecosystem Service Consumption in Guilin City

Research on ecosystem service consumption not only helps to reveal the utilization intensity and management level of the ecosystem in Guilin, but it also provides a scientific basis for ecosystem investment, trade, subsidies and taxation by the Guilin government departments. Based on household survey data of urban and rural ecological consumption, the physical quantity accounting method is adopted for multivariate statistical analyses, such as analysis of variance and multiple comparison. This analysis reveals the differences and changes in the consumption level, consumption structure and consumption pattern of the main ecological products in Guilin among the various counties. The results fit into four main themes. (1) The annual per capita consumption of the main ecological products in Guilin varies either extremely significantly or significantly among the counties, but the consumption level of ecological products varies according to the type of products. There are significant or extremely significant differences in the annual per capita consumption of cereals, melons and fruits, pork, poultry, beef and mutton, fresh eggs and milk between urban and rural residents. (2) There are extremely significant differences in the annual per capita consumption of fruits, pork, poultry, beef and mutton, fish, fresh milk and vegetable oil among urban residents in different counties. There are also extremely significant differences in the annual per capita consumption of cereals, pork, poultry and alcohol among rural residents in different counties, and significant differences in the annual per capita consumption of fresh eggs and milk. The consumption level of ecological products by urban and rural resident varies with the type of products. (3) The ecological consumption patterns of all counties in Guilin mainly follow the “cereal + vegetable + fruit + meat” pattern for urban residents and the “cereal + vegetable + meat” pattern for rural residents (except for the rural residents in Pingle, which show the “cereal + vegetable” pattern). The consumption structure of urban residents is better than that of rural residents. (4) There is a large gap between the ecological consumption of urban and rural residents in Guilin and China′s recommended standards, except for cereals and meat. The main problems are excessive meat intake, and insufficient intake of dark vegetables, fruits, eggs, milk and fish. Therefore, we should make full use of forestland, grassland, water and other resources in the area, and vigorously develop fishery, fruit and vegetable production and herbivorous animal husbandry to meet people′s ecological needs for dark fruits and vegetables, eggs, milk and fish in Guilin City.

Research on the Patterns and Evolution of Ecosystem Service Consumption in Nepal

The study of ecosystem service consumption (ESC) in Nepal not only helps us to understand the intensity and management level of Nepal's ecosystem utilization, but also provides scientific data support for the establishment and planning of China's aid to Nepal. Based on the data of food consumption and forestry production and trade, this study dynamically investigated the consumption levels, structure and ecological consumption patterns of farmland, forest, grassland, water and the integrated ecosystem in Nepal and their main driving forces, using the physical quantity accounting method. The results showed that the total consumption of farmland, forest, grassland, water and the integrated ecosystem in Nepal from 1961 to 2018 exhibited a fluctuating increase, with average value of 7.26 Tg yr–1, 6.38 Tg yr–1, 1.10 Tg yr–1, 0.02 Tg yr–1 and 14.76 Tg yr–1, respectively. The annual per capita forest consumption roughly decreased, while the annual per capita consumption of farmland, grassland, waters and integrated ecosystems mostly increased with their growth rates accelerating. The corresponding ecological consumption patterns were the “Log-Cereal-Milk” mode during 1961–1984, the “Log-Cereal-Vegetable-Root-Milk-Sugar” mode during 1985–2007 and the “Log-Cereal-Vegetable-Root-Sugar-Fruit-Milk” mode during 2008–2018. This study indicated that the supply capacity of the ecosystem (production, import and export capacity) and socio-economic factors (population density, per capita GDP and religious beliefs) are the main driving forces that are restricting the evolution of Nepal's ecological consumption pattern. Although Nepal's dietary structure has improved significantly, there is still a large gap between it and the standard of a balanced diet. The supply capacities of fruits, meat, eggs, milk and aquatic products should be enhanced to meet people's demand for a balanced diet. This study can provide data support for the establishment of China's aid projects to improve Nepal's livelihood.

The influence of forest proximity to harvesting and use of provisioning ecosystem services from tree species in traditional agroforestry landscapes

ABSTRACT Traditional agroforestry landscapes play a critical role in conserving biodiversity and sustaining rural livelihoods through multiple products and services. However, an unprecedented rise in the unsustainable utilisation and management of provisioning ecosystem services from these landscapes contributes to forest biodiversity loss and impacts livelihood efforts. The objective was to evaluate the link between distance and socio-ecological determinants and the provisioning ecosystem services consumption behaviour. This study tested whether “rural people’s preferences and extent of PESs harvesting decrease as the distance from the village to forest patches increase, regardless of the prevalent socio-ecological conditions’. Using a structured questionnaire survey, data were collected in 882 households in four villages of Thulamela Municipality, Limpopo Province in South Africa. The data were analysed using Chi-square, Fidelity level, Use-value, Friedman test, and Generalised linear model. Consistent with the hypothesis, the results showed that local people harvest most of the provisioning ecosystem services at an immediate (1st) level, followed by intermediate (2nd) and far distance (3rd) levels. This study further revealed the existence of 108 useful tree species in the study areas. This study also found that although socio-ecological determinants influence consumption behaviour, the influence of specific socio-ecological determinants was not consistent across the different regimes of distance from the forest resources. The fact that there is a preference to use and harvest provisioning ecosystem services from the distance regime closest to the household, shows a concerted effort to conserve and enhance the abundance of multipurpose tree species in homesteads and the immediate areas.

A wicked problem between the supply and consumption of ecosystem services: The continuously declining degree of synergy in northeast China

Exploring the intrinsic relationship between the supply and consumption of ecosystem service (ES) is considered critical to sustainable ecosystem management and human well-being. However, the lack of understanding of the trade-off/synergy between supply and consumption contributes to disconnect between environmental science and practice. In this study, the synergistic relationship between the ES supply and consumption was traced in the four dimensions of land use, spatial pattern, ES cluster and sub-scale ES. The results indicate that a sustained decline occurred in the synergy level of ES clusters such as water, food, and atmospheric regulation from 1995 to 2018. In addition, the synergy level between the supply and consumption of NOx, PM10 and SO2 regulation, industrial and domestic water, grains, which belongs to sub-scale ES continued to decline. This obviously affected sustainable development and human welfare. Population agglomeration, industrial zoning, and inappropriate policies in the process of urbanization are important reasons for the declining degree of synergy between the ES supply and consumption. Since this issue cannot be resolved in a predictable and direct way, the continuously declining degree of synergy is thus more realistically regarded as a wicked problem with no clear-cut solution. Cross-administrative boundary cooperation, multi-sector joint action, market-based incentive schemes, research on the internal relationships between supply and consumption, and adaptive management are potential ideas to address the above wicked problem. Our results provide useful insights to formulate informed decisions toward the sustainable use and management of ecosystems.

Contributions of park constructions to residents' demands of ecosystem services consumption: A case study of urban public parks in Beijing.

Urban public parks can provide convenience for residents to get close to nature and provide places for daily ecosystem services. It is of practical and theoretical significance to choose urban public parks as the entry point to explore the changing trends and supply paths of urban residents’ daily ecosystem service consumption. Based on the government ‘s research? of urban public parks in Beijing from 1993 to 2018, this study explores the residents’ ecosystem services consumption demands and the contributions of park constructions to these demands. The results show that: (1) in the past 25 years, the frequency, duration, participation rate, and evaluation of people’s daily ecosystem service consumption have increased significantly. In other words, the ecosystem services demands are increasing. (2) different constructions of a park have distinct contributions to the increasing demands of ecosystem service consumption. The contributions from constructions of the natural landscape and the infrastructure have been in decline since 1993, yet they contribute the most to the demands of residents’ ecosystem services consumption until 2018. The contributions made by constructions of management and maintenance, and transportation around urban public parks have been on the rise and the significant points occurring after the 2008 Olympic Games. Our research proposes a method to determine the relation between the demands of residents’ ecosystem services consumption and the contributions of park constructions to these demands, which has significant implications for optimizing the constructions of urban public parks to better meet the demands of ecosystem services consumption.

ЦІНА ЗЕМЛІ СІЛЬСЬКОГОСПОДАРСЬКОГО ПРИЗНАЧЕННЯ З УРАХУВАННЯМ ВАРТОСТІ ЕКОСИСТЕМНИХ ПОСЛУГ ҐРУНТІВ

According to the latest data of the State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre on the normative monetary valuation of farmland in the regions of Ukraine, the results of calculations of the minimum and maximum initial price of agricultural land in Ukraine are given, as well as the average cost per hectare, which is almost one and a half times higher than their approximate starting value, announced with the opening of the domestic land market. The classification of factors of change of the price of hectare of agricultural land structured in three groups is proposed and accordingly specified: i) general factors of formation of the price of agricultural lands; ii) factors of price increase; iii) factors reducing the price of agricultural land. For the first time, such a factor in the formation of the price of agricultural land as the amount of income from the consumption of ecosystem services is presented and revealed. The importance of this factor is proved by the results of monetary assessment of the contribution of two types of ecosystem services of agricultural soils of local ecosystem assets of the Mykolayiv Oblast: regulatory services for soil carbon retention provided by the soils of lands of natural growth of agricultural crops, and providing services for the supply of crops provided by the soils of agricultural lands.. The results of hypothetical extrapolation of the value of the contribution of the providing ecosystem service for crop supply, which produced by chernozem soils of agricultural lands of the ecosystem assets of the territorial community of Semenivka village of Mykolayiv Oblast to the size of the initial value of agricultural lands of the regional ecosystem assets of the Mykolayiv Oblast are given. As a result, a much more expensive, but more realistic indicative price per hectare of land for the region is obtained, taking into account the amount of income from the use of such an ecosystem service of chernozem soil. It is concluded that there is a strong potential for growth of agricultural prices in the regions of Ukraine, as well as the actual unpreparedness of the starting price positions of the land market in Ukraine, primarily due to inconsistency of the current initial land price with objective socio-economic realities.

The tradeoffs between food supply and demand from the perspective of ecosystem service flows: A case study in the Pearl River Delta, China

Ecosystem service flows are a research topic of significant interest, and exploring this topic may mitigate the shortcomings related to the spatial mismatches between supply and demand in the current ecosystem services studies. The Pearl River Delta (PRD) experiences a serious spatial mismatch in ecosystem services in particular the food supply, between the supply areas (hilly areas) and demand areas (central areas). Therefore, this study focused on the PRD as a case study to analyze change trends of food supply-demand ratio (FSDR) at city level, and depict the spatial flow path within and between cities from the perspective of ecosystem service flow with different threshold distance, using an enhanced two-step floating catchment area accessibility method. The results showed that the food demand significantly exceeded the supply, the budget was 3.58 million tons and FSDR was 0.49 in 2015. There were large discrepancies in the FSDR at the city level before and after when considering the ecosystem service flows. The FSDR of cities in the central areas increased 0.1%–30%, due to the ecosystem service flow from the low hilly areas. As delivery distances increased, the size of food flow decreased within cities and increased among cities. This led to a significant decline in the population living in severe undersupplied areas (FSDR＜0.1) and oversupplied areas (FSDR＞1), and an increase in undersupplied areas (0.1＜FSDR＜0.9). Our findings indicate that local governments would benefit from enhancing connections between supply and demand areas to meet the food demand of big cities. This study offers a comprehensive and realistic understanding of the physical situation of ecosystem service consumption by human beings, and provides decision-making information for optimize land use allocation.

TEEB-Russia: Towards National Ecosystem Accounting

Russia’s ecosystems and ecosystem services (ES) are critical not only for the country’s economy and well-being of the people but also for maintaining biodiversity and biosphere regulation around the world. Thus, the introduction of ecosystem accounting in Russia is an urgent national and international goal to which the TEEB-Russia project is dedicated. In this publication, we briefly review and discuss the main project results. Based on currently available open statistical and cartographic data, TEEB-Russia project conducted the first national assessment of terrestrial ES in Russia to derive methodological approaches to national ecosystem accounting. A range of indicators were used to assess the ES provided by ecosystems (potential) as well as the level of demand and consumption of ES by Russia’s regions, both for populations and economies. Indicators of ecosystem assets include extent (ecosystem size) and condition (productivity, phytomass, bird and plant species diversity). An analysis of the correlations between indicators of ES and ecosystem assets showed that a system of national ecosystem accounting in Russia should be regionally differentiated to take account of the strong heterogeneity of natural conditions and the socio-economic development at this level. Decision-making in spatial planning and ecosystem management should carefully consider the difference between causal relationships between indicators and correlations that arise from the simultaneous response of indicators to changes in other factors. Differences in relationships between indicators at different spatial scales should also be taken into account.

Equilibrium Relationship between Ecosystem Service Supply and Consumption Driven by Economic Development and Ecological Restoration

Economic development and ecological restoration guided by policies has had a profound impact on the relationship between ecosystem service supply and consumption in the past few decades. Exploring the relationship in specific study areas is necessary to support regional planning for sustainability. In this study, we analyzed the equilibrium relationship between ecosystem service supply and consumption driven by economic development and ecological restoration from 1995 to 2018 in Northeast China. We quantified the supply and consumption of three critical ecosystem services, food production, water yield and atmospheric regulation, and identified the main areas for supply and consumption of ecosystem services. We measured the quantity and spatial equilibrium relationship between ecosystem service supply and consumption driven by economic development and ecological restoration at economic megaregion scale. We found the new industrial structure shaped by regional economic development policies formed the new ecosystem service consumer demand. The development of agricultural industry not only resulted in the increase of water consumption, but also the scope of water consumption was expanded in Northeast China. The development of tertiary industry causes the change of atmospheric regulation consumption in urban agglomeration. What’s more, economic development exacerbated imbalances in the supply and consumption of ecosystem services. The unbalanced areas where food supply was less than consumption were in the clusters of Harbin, Changchun, Shenyang, and coastal cities. Since food products can circulate freely through the market, this imbalance will not fundamentally affect regional food security, but will improve the level of agricultural industrialization and scale. The implementation of the grain economic policy caused the rapid expansion of unbalanced areas where water supply was less than consumption. The incredible space mismatch between the supply and consumption of ecosystem services still exists for a long time. However, the implementation of the ecological restoration didn’t effectively solve the problem of insatiable ecosystem service consumption. The ecosystem service consumption brought by economic development need to be given the utmost attention when formulating ecological restoration policies and economic development policies. The results can provide insights for enhancing economic sustainability in northeast china, as well other economic megaregion with similar characteristics throughout the world.

Consumption of Ecosystem Services in Laos

The exponential increase of ecosystem utilization has instigated a serious conflict between ecosystem services and residents' needs. The Belt and Road Initiative has greatly influenced Laotian production and living, and the scientific assessment of the consumption of ecosystem services in Laos is important for exploring residents' influence on the ecosystem. Based on data for the Laotian consumption of agricultural products, fruits and livestock products during 1961–2013, normalized by either harvest index or feed conversion ratio, this study draws three main conclusions. 1) Ecosystem service consumption in Laos is centered on the consumption of farmland, forestry and grassland ecosystem services, which account for over 80%, over 10% and under 2%, showing downward, upward and constant trends, respectively. The consumption of these ecosystem services shows a trend of increasing first, then fluctuating, and finally increasing. 2) The consumption of ecosystem services in Laos was characterized by the mode of “dominance of consumption of the farmland ecosystem services” from 1961 to 2008, and the mode of “balanced development of consumption of farmland, forest and grassland ecosystem services” from 2008 to 2013, with a trend of transformation from the former into the latter. 3) The formation and change in the consumption mode of Laotian ecosystem services have been affected by both supply and trade. Laos developed agriculture mainly during the period from 1961 to 2008, forming the mode of “dominance of consumption of the farmland ecosystem services”. This development benefited from the enriched varieties of imports as well as the increased value of trade and import volume. However, the consumption of ecosystem services in Laos after 2008 changed from the mode of “dominance of consumption of the farmland ecosystem services” to one of “balanced development of consumption of farmland, forest and grassland ecosystem services”. This study provides an empirical reference for research on the consumption of ecosystem services.

Research on the Patterns and Evolution of Ecosystem Service Consumption in the “Belt and Road”

With great significance in ecosystem protection and sustainable development, the study of ecosystem service consumption (ESC) has become a hot topic in ecological research. Based on FAOSTAT data, in this study the patterns, composition and evolution of ESC and ecosystem service consumption patterns (ESCP) in the “Belt and Road” were revealed on the total and regional scales, taking consumed-biomass as a main indicator. Three main conclusions were reached. 1) The total ESC was mainly contributed from farmland ecosystems along the “Belt and Road” , followed by grassland ecosystems. The ESC indicators on the whole system scale fluctuated, but increased from year 2000 to year 2016. The total ESC increased from 12911.89 Tg yr–1 to 16810.00 Tg yr–1, and the annual per capita consumption of ecosystem services increased from 3.3228 million g p–1 yr–1 to 3.6392 million g p–1 yr–1. 2) The ESC, composition and evolution varied significantly among countries, zones and ecosystems. The annual per capita ESC was highest in Mongolia on the national scale, and highest in Central and Eastern Europe and lowest in Southeast Asia on zone scale, which represented the results from the joint effects of regional resource endowments, consumption habits, levels of productive forces, and other factors. 3) Higher farmland ESC was the dominant ESCP, which accounted for about 76.7% of the total area along the “Belt and Road”, followed by higher farmland + higher grassland ESC, which accounted for about 19.0% of the total area. The other consumption patterns (i.e., those of higher grassland ESC, higher forestland ESC or higher farmland + higher forest + higher grassland ESC) were found in only a few countries. The ESCP may be related to higher regional population density or the higher proportions of developing countries. Therefore, to realize sustainable social, economic and ecological development, and to improve people's well-being, countries along the “Belt and Road” should take advantage of their own resources in developing industries, actively expand trade, achieve mutual benefits and win-win situations, and adjust and optimize consumption patterns of ecosystem services. This study can provide data support for further research on the mechanism of ESCP formation this area.

Ecological Carrying Capacity and Green Development in the “Belt and Road” Initiative Region

Since the 1970s, resource crisis, environmental pollution and ecological degradation have become prominent globally, and the limits to growth have always been an important theoretical and policy issue. The technological system of early warning and regulation based on carrying capacity evaluation has great potential in natural resource utilization, environmental management and ecosystem conservation. In this paper, the evolution of carrying capacity research and the concept of ecological carrying capacity are summarized, and the existing evaluation methods of ecological carrying capacity are classified into ecological footprint method, comprehensive index system method, ecosystem service analysis method and human appropriation of net primary productivity method. The current problems in ecological carrying capacity study were analyzed and the trend was outlooked. Combined with the special issue, the recent proceeding of ecological carrying capacity study in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) region was narrated, from the aspects of ecological carrying capacity evaluation method and application, the supply and consumption of ecosystem services, and the resources use and environment change. Some suggestions have been proposed to improve the accuracy and reliability of ecological carrying capacity evaluation: 1) the spatial heterogeneity and temporal dynamic change of ecological carrying capacity should be explored furtherly; 2) the interaction between ecological process and human activities should be simulated; 3) factors such as climate change, human activities and ecological products and ecological service flows should be integrated into the evaluation system of ecological carrying capacity.

Food consumption and its local dependence: A case study in the Xilin Gol Grassland, China

Food consumption research is an important part of ecosystem service consumption research. Studying regional food consumption patterns and their dependence on local areas can provide important reference for research on regional resource utilization and sustainable development. The grassland areas selected for this study including a typical pastoral grassland area, a sandyland and an agro-pastoral transition zone in the Xilin Gol Grassland, Inner Mongolia. We analyzed food consumption of rural residents and its dependence on local ecosystems based on a primary (first-hand) household food tracking survey conducted from August 2017 to July 2018, data from a 2017 household questionnaire survey and a local market survey in the study areas in combination with land-use data and socioeconomic data from China. Results showed three distinct food consumption patterns along Xilin Gol Grassland transects. The quantity of per capita food consumption in each typical area decreased from north to south areas, which also showed that the dominant type of food consumption shift from animal to plant food. Moreover, we found that local production can provide local residents with most of the food they require. Local production supply has had an important impact on the food consumption patterns of the local people, while residents had a certain preference for food produced from other external regions, and this demand is gradually increasing. The food consumption demands of residents showed a trend in diversified development. This study could provide empirical reference to policymakers for regional resource management.

The role of non-commercial intermediate services in the valuations of ecosystem services: Application to cork oak farms in Andalusia, Spain

This research applies and compares the Agroforestry Accounting System (AAS) and the lightly revised System of National Accounts (SNA) in five cork oak farms in Andalusia, Spain, in 2010. We value eighteen economic activities, eleven of which are managed by individual farmers and seven of which are overseen by government. Our objectives are to measure and compare ecosystem services (ES), gross value added (GVA) and environmental income (EI). The comparison takes into account the valuation of products at producer, basic and social prices. Our most noteworthy novelty is that the AAS proposal incorporates the environmental income as a variable which serves as a reference value for the condition of economic sustainability of ecosystem service consumption. Our results show that ES and GVA estimates vary depending on the omission/measurement of auto-consumed/donated non-commercial intermediate services and nature based activity with zero ES value represents nature’s free physical service contribution to the farms net value added. Farms AAS ecosystem services at social prices contribute to 64% of final product consumption, and ES at basic prices represent 1.2 times the ES at social prices. Farm revised SNA ecosystem services at basic prices are 0.5 times the AAS ecosystem services at social prices.

Agent-Based Modeling of Sustainable Ecological Consumption for Grasslands: A Case Study of Inner Mongolia, China

Sustainable ecosystem services consumption is of vital importance to the survival and development of human society. How to balance the conflicts between ecosystem protection and ecosystem services consumption by local residents has been a serious challenge, especially in ecologically vulnerable areas. To explore the reasonable ecosystem services consumption approaches of grassland ecosystems for sustainable land system management, this study takes Hulun Buir of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region as a case study region and develops an EcoC-G (ecological consumption of grassland) model based on herders’ livelihood behaviors using the agent-based model technique to simulate the dynamics of ecosystem pressure, livestock production, and living quality of herders under different grassland management scenarios over the next 30 years. The EcoC-G model links the supply and consumption of grassland ecosystem services by calculating the ecosystem net primary productivity (NPP) supply and household NPP consumption. The model includes three sub-models, namely, the individual status transferring sub-model, the households’ grassland-use decision sub-model, and the ecosystem pressure sub-model. In accordance with multi-objective grassland management practices, the following four land management scenarios were simulated: (1) baseline scenario, (2) increasing household’s living standard, (3) ecosystem protection, and (4) balancing living standard improvement with the protection of the ecosystem. The result indicates that by focusing on the NPP supply and consumption of the grassland ecosystem, the EcoC-G is capable of simulating the impacts of herders’ livelihood behaviors on grassland ecosystems. If timely grassland management strategies are implemented, it is possible to relieve the ecosystem pressure and improve the livelihood of local herders. The specific scenario simulation results are: (1) Under the current grassland management mode, the pasture could never be overgrazed, and herders could achieve the basic living standard, but the accumulated wealth decreased due to the decline of livestock. (2) With grazing control, herders can accumulate wealth by increasing the breeding amount and reducing the marketing rate, but the ecosystem consumption pressure can reach a maximum of 2.3 times. (3) With strict restrictions on the livestock number, the pressure on the ecosystem decreases; however, herders might not achieve basic living standards. (4) Modest regulation leads to rational ecological consumption intervals, meaning the ecosystem pressure will become stable and herders can gradually accumulate wealth with the achievement of basic living standards in advance.

生态承载力研究进展

PDF HTML阅读 XML下载 导出引用 引用提醒 生态承载力研究进展 DOI: 10.5846/stxb201712292350 作者: 作者单位: 中国科学院地理科学与资源研究所,中国科学院地理科学与资源研究所,中国科学院地理科学与资源研究所,中国科学院地理科学与资源研究所,中国科学院地理科学与资源研究所 作者简介: 通讯作者: 中图分类号: 基金项目: 国家重点研发计划项目（2017YFA0604803）；中国科学院地理科学与资源研究所特色所培育项目——"一带一路"建设决策支持研究 Review of ecological carrying capacity Author: Affiliation: Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences,Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences,Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences,Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences,Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences Fund Project: 摘要 | 图/表 | 访问统计 | 参考文献 | 相似文献 | 引证文献 | 资源附件 | 文章评论 摘要:基于生态承载力的概念发展，介绍了常用的生态承载力研究方法，包括生态足迹法、人类净初级生产力占用法、状态空间法、综合评价法、系统模型法和生态系统服务消耗评价法，并客观评述了这些方法的优缺点，指出了目前生态承载力研究中存在的薄弱环节。未来生态承载力研究需要完善理论体系，深入研究承载力过程机理与承载机制，将生态系统服务的空间流动因素纳入评估体系，构建完善的评价指标体系，加强生态承载力时空动态评估。最终将生态承载力作为解决生态脆弱区资源环境问题的抓手，建立区域资源环境监测预警机制，并落实到主体功能规划和生态安全建设上，为生态文明建设提供有力的科学依据。 Abstract:Based on the development of the concept of ecological carrying capacity (ECC), this study summarized the methods in ECC, including ecological footprint, human appropriation of net primary production, state-space techniques, comprehensive evaluation schemes, systematic models, and the ecosystem services consumption method, which has often been used in previous studies. The advantages and disadvantages of these methods have been analyzed objectively and the weakness pointed out. This study suggested that the theory of ECC needs to be enriched, and the interaction mechanism between variation in ecological factors and its influence on the ECC should be examined. Future research should couple the ecosystem services flow factors into the evaluation system, improve the evaluation index system, and strengthen the temporal and spatial dynamics assessment of ECC. By enhancing the study of ECC feedback in ecologically vulnerable regions scientifically, ECC will be the key to solving the resource and environmental problems of the ecologically vulnerable region, which could support regional resources, environment monitoring, early-warning system establishment, and the main function plan implementation and construction of ecological security. This study introduces several ECC methods that are in widespread use, such as human appropriation of net primary production and the ecosystem services consumption method, which combine land use with the social and economic metabolism mechanism to analyze the temporal-spatial evolution of the ecosystem and demonstrates the changes in the ecosystem function. These comprehensive methods also avoid the error caused by subjective decisions based on a single evaluation index, representing the quantitative limits of the regional ecosystem function. 参考文献 相似文献 引证文献

Assessment of human consumption of ecosystem services in China from 2000 to 2014 based on an ecosystem service footprint model

Ecosystem services are essential for the well-being of humans, and the measurement of ecosystem service provision and consumption is an effective approach for estimating regional sustainability. In this work, an ecosystem service footprint (ESF) model was presented to calculate ecosystem service consumption in China from 2000 to 2014. Seven service footprints were estimated in this model, namely, food provision, raw material provision, freshwater provision, energy (hydropower) provision, air purification, climate regulation, and tourism and leisure. Results showed that from 2000 to 2014, the average annual ESF was 2.78 ha per capita, and the provisioning, regulation, and cultural service footprints were 1.56, 1.20, and 0.02 ha per capita, respectively. ESF exhibited an increasing trend during this period. National ecosystem services presented a slight upward deficit, with the eastern region having the highest deficit and a slight surplus in the western region. Each provincial-level administrative region can be classified into one of four categories based on two dimensions, gross domestic product (GDP) and their ecosystem service surplus (ESS) or deficit (ESD) situation. High GDP values and ESD situation provinces are mainly located in coastal areas, whereas low-GDP and ESS situation provinces are located in the northwest and southwest regions. The model is expected to provide scientific basis and direction for optimizing environmental management.

Evaluation Methods and Research Trends for Ecological Carrying Capacity

With the intensive research into global coupling relationships, ecological carrying capacity (ECC), seen as the crucial link between natural ecosystems and human systems, has gradually become an important tool for interdisciplinary research in ecology, resources science and environmental science, as well as for research on regional sustainable development. However, ECC research remains immature and lacks a complete theoretical system, as a result of many limiting factors and different space-time conditions. At present, Chinese and foreign studies focus on methods to evaluate ECC while neglecting to identify the internal driving mechanisms of ECC. In this article, based on the development and conceptualization of ECC, we introduce three evaluation methods for ECC: ecological footprint (EF), human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP) and ecosystem services consumption (ESC). Furthermore, we illuminate research focuses and developmental directions for ECC with respect to driving mechanisms, threshold, comprehensive evaluation systems and coupling dynamic model of multi ecological factors, in order to provide a reference for future ECC research.