Decline In Ecosystem Services Research Articles

Evaluating the effects of changes in land use and assessing the value of ecosystem services in the Cisadane Watershed, Banten Province, Indonesia

Analyzing ecosystem service values (ESV) is crucial for achieving sustainable development. The main objective of this study was to assess the ecosystem services of the Cisadane watershed in Indonesia, with specific goals: (i) examining the spatiotemporal dynamics of ESV using multi-year land use and land cover (LULC) data from 2000 to 2021, (ii) exploring trade-offs and synergies among various ecosystem services, and (iii) investigating the sensitivity of ESV to changes in LULC. The results unveiled a significant decrease in forested areas (21.2%) and rice fields (10.2%), leading to a decline in ESV of $196.37 billion (33.17%) from 2010 to 2021. Throughout the period from 2000 to 2021, interactions between ESV were mainly synergistic. Projected from the baseline year (2021), the decline in ESV is expected to persist, ranging from $24.78 billion to $124.28 million by 2030 and from $45.78 billion to $124.28 million by 2050. The total estimated ecosystem values exhibited an inelastic response in terms of ecosystem value coefficients. The study also emphasizes an inelastic response in total estimated ESV coefficient concerning ecosystem value coefficients. These findings underscore the urgent need for targeted conservation efforts and sustainable land management practices to mitigate the further decline in ecosystem services and safeguard the long-term well-being of the Cisadane watershed and its inhabitants.

Spatiotemporal Coupling Analysis of Urbanization and Ecosystem Services in Southeastern Fujian

Revealing the spatiotemporal coupling relationship between urbanization and ecosystem services can help to clarify regional development differences, optimize the implementation path of urbanization, and improve the quality of ecosystem services. Taking southeastern Fujian, a region with a good ecological foundation and strong urbanization potential, as a case study, the levels of multidimensional urbanization systems and typical ecosystem services of this region in the years 2000, 2010, and 2020 were quantified using the index comprehensive evaluation method and the InVEST model. The Pearson correlation coefficient and the coupling coordination degree model were used to analyze the spatiotemporal coupling relationship between urbanization and ecosystem services, and suggestions for improving regional coordinated development were proposed. The results showed that： ① The comprehensive urbanization level in southeastern Fujian increased continuously, with an average annual growth rate of 7.3%, of which social urbanization was the fastest, followed by economic urbanization and population urbanization, and spatial urbanization was relatively backward. Ecosystem services tended to decline, especially food and water provision services, which decreased by 61.9% and 46.9%, respectively. The spatial distribution showed a mismatch pattern of "high urbanization level and weak ecosystem services" in the southeast coastal area and "low urbanization level and strong ecosystem services" in the northwest inland area. ② The correlation between urbanization and ecosystem services was mainly negative. The negative effect of economic and social urbanization on ecosystem services was weaker than that of population and spatial urbanization, with a clear weakening tendency. As population and spatial urbanization slowed down sharply and economic and social urbanization accelerated, the driving force of urbanization development gradually shifted from "quantitative increase" to "qualitative improvement." Thus, the decline of ecosystem services was alleviated. ③ Comprehensive urbanization and various ecosystem services experienced three stages of "imbalance-transition-reconciliation," with an average increase of 60.5% to 120.6% in the coupling coordination degree. However, highly coordinated regions remained scarce, indicating that there is still significant room for improvement. The relative relationship between urbanization and ecosystem services evolved from urbanization lag to ecosystem services lag. The fluctuation problem of backward coupling coordination level caused by excessive urbanization had initially appeared in the southeastern coastal area. Therefore, in future construction, southeastern Fujian should improve economic quality and social benefits； strengthen the overall management, protection, and restoration of ecological space； and enhance the order and stability of the coordinated development of urbanization and ecosystem services.

Assessing changes in land cover, NDVI, and LST in the Sundarbans mangrove forest in Bangladesh and India: A GIS and remote sensing approach

Mangrove ecosystems, although limited in diversity and area compared to tropical forests, provide essential ecological and economic services, such as carbon sequestration and coastal protection. The Sundarbans mangrove forest, shared by Bangladesh and India, is one of the largest mangrove ecosystems in the world and is crucial for biodiversity, economy, and climate regulation. Unfortunately, this ecosystem has been under severe stress over the years, with alarming rates of deforestation leading to habitat loss and a decline in ecosystem services. This study analyzes the spatiotemporal changes in the Sundarbans mangrove forest coverage from 1973 to 2023 using supervised image classification on Landsat images. It also assesses the relationship between the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and Land Surface Temperature in the Sundarbans using MODIS data which were extracted in Google Earth Engine. It finds that, despite the loss of denser mangrove areas, an improvement in overall vegetation health is visible, which suggests a natural resilience within the Sundarbans mangrove forest. The Land Surface Temperature result shows a weak but statistically significant negative correlation with the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, indicating that the depletion of the Sundarbans mangrove forest could have an impact on the area's surface temperature. As such, the study regressed the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index on Land Surface Temperature. The results confirm that although the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index has a statistically significant negative impact on Land Surface Temperature, the Coefficient of Determination is low. This suggests that other factors such as water bodies that intersect with the mangrove forest in the area may play an important role in influencing Land Surface Temperature. The paper reveals a nuanced picture of the Sundarbans' ecological state, with both declining mangrove densities and signs of vegetation recovery. It highlights the need for comprehensive conservation strategies to mitigate further ecosystem degradation.

Spatiotemporal evolution and driving factors of ecosystem service bundle based on multi-scenario simulation in Beibu Gulf urban agglomeration, China.

Rapid urbanization is profoundly impacting the ecological environment and landscape patterns, leading to a decline in ecosystem services (ES) and posing threats to both ecological security and human well-being. This study aimed to identify the spatial and temporal patterns of ecosystem service bundles (ESB) in the Beibu Gulf urban agglomeration from 2000 to 2030, analyze the trajectory of ESB evolution, and elucidate the drivers behind ESB formation and evolution. We utilized the Patch-generating Land Use Simulation (PLUS) model to establish baseline (BLS), carbon sequestration priority (CPS), and urbanization priority (UPS) scenarios for simulating land use patterns in 2030. Following the assessment of ecosystem service values (ESV) through the equivalent factor method, we identified the spatiotemporal distribution patterns of ESB using the K-means clustering algorithm. By employing stability mapping and landscape indices, we identified and analyzed various types of ESB evolutionary trajectories. Redundancy analysis (RDA) was employed to pinpoint the drivers of ESB formation and evolution. The results revealed that from 2000 to 2030, land use changes were primarily observed in cropland, forestland, and construction land. Between 2000 and 2020, 92.88% of the region did not experience shifts in ESB types. In UPS, the ESB pattern in the study area underwent significant changes, with only 76.68% of the region exhibiting stabilized trajectories, while the other two scenarios recorded percentages higher than 80%. Key drivers of ESB-type shifts included initial food provision services, elevation, slope, changes in the proportion of construction land, and population change. This multi-scenario simulation of ESB evolution due to land use changes aids in comprehending potential future development directions from diverse perspectives and serves as a valuable reference for formulating and changing ecological management policies and strategies.

Integrating social-ecological system into watershed ecosystem services management: A case study of the Jialing River Basin, China

A severe decline in ecosystem services (ES) has accompanied the rapid development of human societies. There is a growing interest in considering ES management from a systemic and integrated perspective. Yet, researchers still need to explore effective ways to integrate human and natural systems for strengthening ES. This study proposes an integrating framework that connects the concept of social-ecological system (SES) with ES. We utilize land use types as indicators of basic SES structure and employ the InVEST model to evaluate typical ES in the Jialing River Basin (JRB). By analyzing spatial and temporal characteristics of SES and multiple typical ES, we investigate how ES is related to different SES types. The results reveal that: (1) from 1980 to 2020, the SES of the JRB underwent significant transformations, including a decrease in cropland areas, while construction land and forestland areas increased. Especially, construction land SES experienced an increase as high as 212.53%. (2) Regarding ES, water yield (WY) increased while soil conservation (SC), carbon storage (CS), and habitat quality (HQ) decreased. (3) The relationship analysis demonstrated disparities in levels of ES across various SES types. Construction land SES exhibited the highest average WY but lower SC, CS, and HQ values compared to forestland which had higher average SC, CS, and HQ instead. These findings imply that regional ES will be positively or negatively affected by transformation within SES. In the long run, it is crucial to synthesize both the characteristics of SES and functional benefits provided by ES in the JRB, then control the favorable transformations within SES to enhance a sustainable supply of ES. This study provides a novel methodology for connecting SES and ES comprehensively with new perspectives that will be beneficial for building regional SES management and ES enhancement.

Bidecadal analysis of urbanization effects and ecosystem services at Haldwani, Western Himalayas, India

The study addresses the impact of urbanization on fragile ecosystems such as the Western Himalayas. One rapidly growing city in the Himalayan region is Haldwani, Uttarakhand, which has been subject to human encroachment and subsequent loss of ecosystem services. Several environmental parameters such as Nighttime light (NTL), Land Surface Temperatures (LSTs), Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD), and forest cover are used in this study based on satellite imagery to allow a bidecadal comparison (between 2000 and 2020) of the status of these parameters for the city based on these parameters shows a decline in ecosystem services. Significant statistical differences for LSTs and AOD can be found in the bidecadal comparison. Furthermore, a strong negative effect was found between LST-NDVI (r = −0.69) and NTL-NDVI (r = −0.58) in earlier and last decade intervals. In addition, long-term multi-spectral satellite imagery also shows a decline in tree cover in the reserved forest. Therefore, focusing on ecosystem services related to tree cover in reserved forest areas, particularly in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) must be part of a broader action plan to address these issues to protect fragile Himalayan ecosystems further.

Enhancing temperate grassland diversity and functionality: Crafting seed mixtures to align stakeholder interests and to increase establishment success

Grassland biodiversity is positively correlated to ecosystem productivity and resilience that secure net gains and functionality of such systems. Land-use change of grasslands is associated with local extinction of species and declining ecosystem services. Hence, the design of more diverse seed mixtures is crucial for successful species reintroduction and grassland functionality. Thus, we conducted a systematic review of the scientific literature on temperate grassland reseeding during the past 30 years. This generated a knowledge base of reseeding methods and success, and revealed knowledge gaps and mismatches in the design of seed mixtures created by different stakeholders. From 201 published studies, we extracted information on stakeholder groups and focus, starting conditions, species selection for the mixtures, and monitoring of reseeded grasslands. Our review showed: (i) There were five stakeholder groups with varying focus along a gradient of biodiversity control; in turn, the starting conditions of reseeded sites changed along a gradient of dissimilarity in relation to reference grasslands. (ii) The design of the grassland mixtures varied in species composition, seed origin, and seed quality. (iii) While mixtures aiming at a certain vegetation structure and biomass showed high establishment success, grassland reseeding with a biodiversity focus was less successful. (iv) The design of seed mixtures changed significantly during the past decades, since species numbers in mixtures, i.e., the biodiversity focus, and the proportion of forbs, which indicates lower productivity, decreased in most stakeholder groups. (v) The number of ecosystem services monitored, i.e., the proportion of multiple-to-single ecosystem services, also declined for most stakeholders. Such findings indicate a narrowing focus on specific grassland composition and functions by stakeholders, in contrast to current trends toward multiple ecosystem services. The different establishment success of stakeholders conducting temperate grassland reseeding call for knowledge transfer among groups to achieve higher establishment success in restoration and conservation professionals as seen among turf managers and farmers. Overall, the design of grassland mixtures needs to be revisited in the face of the current biodiversity losses and climate change.

A Scientometric Analysis of Payments for Ecosystem Services Research: Mapping Global Trends and Directions

Payment for ecosystem services (PES) is an innovative economic intervention to mitigate the decline of ecosystem services and biodiversity; it plays a key role in harmonizing protection and development. Based on numerous PES practices worldwide, PES has emerged as a research hotspot in the field of sustainability. This paper presents a comprehensive scientometric analysis of PES academic publications between 1987 and 2022. The study aims to characterize the intellectual landscape of PES by identifying and visualizing the evolution of the collaboration network, the co-citation network, and emerging research trends. The findings reveal a rapid increase in publications of this field, indicating its growing importance as an interdisciplinary research subject. In particular, PES has gained significant attention from numerous researchers since 2007. Environmental sciences and ecology (50.77%) have been the core subjects, followed by business economics (11.04%) and biodiversity conservation (9.58%). Engineering (3.52%) and water resources (3.40%) have emerged as new fields in recent years. Notably, productive authors and institutions in this domain are primarily located in the United States, China, and the United Kingdom. However, fewer stable collaborations were found between China and European countries. Regarding the keywords, the most popular keywords of this topic were “ecosystem service” (1423), “conservation” (1324), and “biodiversity” (1029). By synthesizing the literature, this paper identifies pressing topics related to the effectiveness of PES, including the evaluation of effectiveness, efficiency assessment, and equity. Through an in-depth analysis, this paper elucidates global trends and directions in PES research. It is important to create a fair and efficient market that boosts the motivation and initiative of society to engage in PES initiatives, to increase investment in comprehensive PES projects, which helps improve the efficiency of fund utilization, especially concerning climate change mitigation. It is proposed to integrate natural sciences and social sciences to comprehensively assess the effectiveness of climate-friendly PES, which contributes to the sustainable development of PES research and application.

Trade-offs and synergies among ecosystem services in Inland River Basins under the influence of ecological water transfer project: A case study on the Tarim River basin

Ecosystem services (ESs) are the largest benefits that humans derive directly or indirectly from ecosystems. Inland river basins in arid zones have a variety of key ecosystem functions. At present, inland river basins are experiencing a decline in ESs, such as shrinking lakes, land degradation, and rapid biodiversity loss. In order to address these problems, several ecological restoration projects (ERPs) have been implemented. Therefore, this study selected the Tarim River Basin (TRB), which is highly affected by the ecological water transfer project (EWTP), as the study area, and quantified the differences in ESs caused by the implementation of the EWTP through different scenarios of simulation, and discussed the impact of the EWTP in changing the ESs of the basin. Compared to the pre-EWTP period (1990–1999), the major ESs within the basin showed varying degrees of improvement. Water yield increased by 18 %, carbon sequestration increased by 2 %, wind prevention and sand fixation increased by 13 %, habitat quality increased by 8 %, and food production increased by 35 %. EWTP has shown positive impacts by directly or indirectly affecting runoff, vegetation, evapotranspiration, and landscape patterns, which in turn improves the comprehensive benefits of ESs in the TRB. The implementation of EWTP plays an important role in restoring ESs in inland river basins, and this study provides a key reference for the restoration of ESs in inland river basins in arid zones.

Plant functional traits explain long-term differences in ecosystem services between artificial forests and natural grasslands

Declining ecosystem services have prompted numerous studies aiming at developing more sustainable management practices for vegetation restoration. Advances in functional ecology indicate that the sustainable management of afforestation ecosystems should be performed based on plant functional traits, which provides pivotal knowledge for long-term sustainable vegetation restoration. Currently, the mechanism of how plant functional traits affect long term ecosystem services in restored areas is still unclear. This study investigates plant functional traits and the associated ecosystem services from artificial forestlands (Robinia pseudoacacia, Caragana korshinskii) and natural grasslands following different durations of vegetation restoration (10, 20, 30 and 40 years) in the Danangou watershed, a loess hilly-gully region in the Loess Plateau, China. The results showed that 1) the water conservation services of artificial forestlands first decreased and then increased over time, whereas the soil conservation service had an opposite trend; in turn, natural grassland led to a consistent increase in soil conservation and carbon sequestration services over time. 2) Artificial forestlands had greater soil conservation and carbon sequestration services than natural grassland but had lower water conservation services. 3) Leaves had a greater impact on carbon sequestration and water conservation services than did root length and root biomass density. 4) Root biomass density had a greater effect on soil conservation services than did leaf carbon content and soil organic matter. 5) Leaf carbon content, specific root length, and root biomass density had significant effects on the trade-off value between any two ecosystem services with increasing time after restoration of artificial forestland. 6) Specific leaf area had a greater effect on the trade-off values among the three services than did the other functional traits in the natural grassland. In arid ecosystems, natural grasslands are the best restoration strategy given their higher water conservation services. However, in soil erosion-affected areas, restoration through artificial forestlands is more appropriate. To mitigate the trade-offs between ecosystem services, it is recommended that artificial forestlands be thinned before the leaf carbon content, specific root length, and root biomass density reach a maximum (i.e., mature forestland).

ANALISIS PERUBAHAN DAYA DUKUNG LINGKUNGAN BERBASIS JASA EKOSISTEM PENYEDIA AIR DAN PENYEDIA PANGAN DI DAS TABANIO KABUPATEN TANAH LAUT PROVINSI KALIMANTAN SELATAN

Tabanio Watershed which is one of 4 (four) large watersheds covering 7 (seven) of 11 (eleven) sub-districts in Tanah Laut Regency, has a very large role in providing water which is characterized by the function of the Tabanio river itself as a source of raw material for the PDAM. . In addition, 57.6% of the food comes from paddy fields and dry fields and 66.10% of the food comes from livestock, both cows and broilers, which support food supply in Tanah Laut Regency. Changes in land use over a period of time have reduced catchment areas and water bodies. The purpose of this study was to determine the environmental carrying capacity based on ecosystem services for water and food providers in the Tabanio watershed in 2010, 2015 and 2020 and to determine changes from 2010 to 2015 and from 2015 to 2020. The carrying capacity of the ecosystem services based on the ecosystem services of water and food providers in the Tabanio watershed in 2010, 2015 and 2020 is dominated by the medium classification and has a steady trend, but there is still a decline in ecosystem services from changes in land cover mainly due to the expansion of plantation land which reached 17,257.93 Ha and settlement expansion of 2,272.20 Ha. In addition, there was a decrease in the area of dry land agriculture which reached 20,200.15 Ha.

Climate response of alpine lakes and impacts on ecosystem services

Small alpine lakes are highly sensitive to global warming and human influence, which can affect the ecological integrity of these freshwaters. However, the response of lakes is variable and knowledge about potential impacts on related ecosystem services is insufficient. The project CLAIMES (Climate response of alpine lakes: Resistance variability and management consequences for ecosystem services) therefore aimed at assessing potential impacts on ecosystem services for 15 study lakes located in Niedere Tauern (Austria) and South Tyrol (Italy). In a first step, the lakes’ ecological variability was characterized based on limnological data and lake surface temperature modelling. Adopting a participatory approach, the most important ecosystem services were identified, and their importance was evaluated by local stakeholders. The prioritized ecosystem services were quantified using multiple indicators, and potential future impacts were assessed based on different possible worst-case scenarios. Our findings predict that global warming reduces ice cover duration affecting ecosystem functions and consequently the trophic state. Perceptions of local stakeholders were mostly consistent, but key ecosystem services depend on the regional context. Our results also indicate that the provision of ecosystem services by lakes is largely influenced by the local socio-ecological characteristics. The projected decline in ecosystem services in the future calls for better integration of alpine lake ecosystem services into decision- and policymaking across different governance levels.

Construction and Optimization Strategy of County Ecological Infrastructure Network Based on MCR and Gravity Model—A Case Study of Langzhong County in Sichuan Province

Against the backdrop of rapid urbanization, there is a passive adaptation state shown in urban and rural ecological spaces. Due to the shrinking of ecological patches and the fracture of corridors, problems such as the obstruction of ecological processes, the decline of ecosystem services, and the loss of biodiversity occur. Considering that county ecological space is the key level to undertake provincial ecological security patterns and implement ecological demonstration projects, the construction of a county ecological infrastructure (EI) network is beneficial to the protection of regional ecological security, the improvement of the structures and functions of farmland ecosystems, and the enhancement of the quality of human settlements. In this study, taking Langzhong County in Sichuan Province as an example, a method path for an EI network construction was explored, and an optimization strategy for ecological patterns was proposed. Firstly, morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) and a patch importance index were employed to identify ecological sources. Secondly, by constructing a landscape resistance surface and adopting a minimum cumulative resistance (MCR) model, potential EI corridor paths were extracted. Thirdly, the interaction force values between ecological sources were calculated with a gravity model and important ecological corridors were identified for priority protection and restoration. Finally, an EI corridor network was optimized by combining network structure indexes (α, β, and γ) with the field situation, and stepping stone patches and ecological breakpoints were identified. Based on the analysis results, an ecological protection pattern, which involved three vertical and two horizontal ecological belts, four ecological control zones, and six clusters of EI networks in Langzhong County, was put forward, aiming at protecting 50 ecological sources, repairing 105 ecological corridors of different grades, adding 9 stepping stone patches near long-distance corridors and 15 at the intersection of ecological corridors, and repairing 18 ecological breakpoints. This study has guiding significance for the optimization of county ecological patterns, the construction of farmland forest belts, and site selection of ecological restoration projects.

A new approach to assessing natural capital consumption inequities from a nonlinear perspective

The rate of decline in ecosystem services has been exacerbated by inefficient and inequitable natural resource use and management. This study analyzes the natural capital stock and outflow in the Arid and Semi-Arid Northern Region of China (ASRNC) from 2000 to 2020. The Gini coefficient and coefficient of variation are used in the equity assessment of natural capital consumption. Over-appropriation of natural capital is a prerequisite for the inequitable distribution of natural resources, and all variables were accounted for through a geographic probe. Since most of the variables in this study have a nonlinear relationship, an in-depth analysis was conducted using NARDL. The results show that (1) natural capital flow occupancy generally shows an upward and downward trend and peaks in 2015. Natural capital stock occupancy was on a linear upward trend over the study period, rising from 14.580hm2/cap to 18.272hm2/cap. Depletion of natural capital is increasing and construction land has become the land type that leads to deep footprint changes (2) A city's consumption of natural capital matches its ecological carrying capacity to contribute to economic growth. However, the Gini coefficient for the depth of the ecological footprint from 2000 to 2020 is on a fluctuating upward trend. It reached its maximum in 2020 (1.457), indicating that the inequitable use of natural capital stock is increasing. (3) In the long run, population density and urbanization rate have different adverse effects on utilizing natural capital stock. In addition, the equity of planted forest area on natural capital use is heterogeneous in the long and short term. There is a negative effect of planted forest area on natural capital stock under long-term development. The study helps to judge the equity of regional consumption of natural capital and provides a scientific basis for the harmonious development between socio-economic systems and ecosystems.

Tipping time in a stochastic Leslie predator–prey model

Critical transitions are usually accompanied by a decline in ecosystem services and potentially have negative impacts on human economies. Although some early warning signals based on a generic characteristic of local bifurcations, such as variance and autocorrelation, can be used to predict an imminent critical transition, studies have shown that these indicators are ineffective for purely stochastic transitions. In this paper, we propose to use the maximum likelihood state, based on the Fokker–Planck equation, to track the true state of a predator–prey model under noisy fluctuations. Then, we use the maximal likely trajectory to determine tipping times for the most probable transitions from a high biomass state to a low biomass one. Numerical results show that the tipping times of population collapse depend strongly on the noise intensity and the growth rate of predator. We uncover that the enhanced disturbance events promote ecosystem collapse and that an increase in predator growth rate significantly alleviates the influence, which is beneficial to the stability and biodiversity of an ecosystem. Based on this, we define a two-dimensional region, called the Safe Operating Set (SOS) of the population ecosystem. SOS boundary exhibits a trade-off such that increased predator growth rates can compensate to some degree for losses from environmental perturbations. To verify the above conclusions, we fix noise intensity and calculate the quasi-potentials of the corresponding high biomass state for different predator growth rates. We can see that the results for measuring the stability of the high biomass state derived from the perspective of quasi-potential are consistent with the results obtained from the analysis of tipping time.

Afforestation and abandonment of semi‐natural grasslands lead to biodiversity loss and a decline in ecosystem services and functions

Abstract During the past century, semi‐natural grasslands, once widespread throughout Europe, have largely been converted into intensively managed agricultural areas, abandoned or afforested. These large‐scale land‐use changes have already resulted in considerable biodiversity loss but can also lead to decline in ecosystem service provision and ecosystem multifunctionality. We assessed the impact of afforestation and abandonment of semi‐natural grasslands on the supply of ecosystem services in Western Estonia. We compared a wide array of services provided by open grasslands, abandoned grasslands and afforested grasslands. Additionally, we analysed the impact of land‐use change and species richness on ecosystem multifunctionality. Significant declines in the supply of pollination services, natural pest regulation, forage production, soil quality, wild food and cultural appreciation of landscape were detected as a result of overgrowing or afforestation. There was significant positive relationship between species richness and ecosystem multifunctionality, that is, more biodiverse grasslands were able to support more services at higher capacity. Results show that both grassland degradation due to abandonment, as well as grassland afforestation, have significant negative impacts on biodiversity, on the supply of multiple important ecosystem services and on the ecosystem multifunctionality. Synthesis and applications. Temperate semi‐natural grasslands have high biodiversity and capacity to deliver multiple important ecosystem services simultaneously. Conservation and restoration of grassland habitats must be considered as an important part of sustainable landscape planning.

Effects of multispecies restoration on soil extracellular enzyme activity stoichiometry in Pinus massoniana plantations of subtropical China

Multispecies restoration is considered a feasible practice to tackle the decline in ecosystem services provided by monocultures. However, our understanding of how multispecies restoration influences microbial catabolic and anabolic pathways in coniferous monocultures based on enzymatic stoichiometry remains limited. Here, to assess the microbial resource limitation and carbon (C) use efficiencies in topsoil and subsoil after multispecies restoration, we compared the soil enzyme activities and stoichiometry of two multispecies plantations (broadleaf-oriented transformation and replenishment with local broadleaved trees), two stand ages of Pinus massoniana monocultures, and secondary forests in subtropical China. According to the specific enzyme activities, the labile C decomposition was suppressed but the recalcitrant C decomposition was stimulated in the subsoil in multispecies restorations. Additionally, the vector analysis and microbial acquisition ratios consistently indicated that multispecies plantations aggravated the co-limitation of C and phosphorus (P) in the subsoil and that the limitation was equal to the level of secondary forests. We also found significant decreases in C use efficiencies in multispecies plantations compared with pine monocultures. These findings suggested a trade-off between obtaining multiple nutrients and increasing C use efficiency in the subsoil of forests with different restoration approaches. Furthermore, the microbial acquisition ratios and C use efficiencies were mainly influenced by soil pH and microbial biomass stoichiometry. Overall, our study integrated the microbial resource limitation and C use efficiency to provide an enzymatic perspective for underground C-cycling and nutrient mineralization after forest restoration, highlighting the critical role of multispecies plantations in inducing strong shifts in microbial metabolism, especially in the subsoil.

Major Type of Mattic-Epipedon Ruptures in Alpine Meadow Ecosystems on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Alpine meadow degradation is an important issue for ecosystem stability in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP). As an essential part of alpine meadow ecosystems, mattic epipedon (ME) refers to the soil surface horizons rich in organic matter and roots, which plays an important role in nutrient cycling, water retention, and ecological stability of QTP. The rupture of ME has caused serious alpine meadow degradation, biodiversity accidents, and ecosystem service decline, as well as attracted substantial concerns. However, the type of ME ruptures and their distribution environment are not well studied. In this perspective, to identify the major type of ME ruptures in QTP, 257 areas were investigated and 24 dominant plant species were collected from 2019 to 2023. Results indicated that ME ruptures exist in 234 investigated areas and can be broadly divided into 5 types based on visual observations and expert knowledge: collapsed ruptures, polygon ruptures, sheddable ruptures, cavernous ruptures, and hummock ruptures. The dominant plant species and coverage also present great differences between different rupture types. This study provides insights into alpine meadow degradation from the ME rupture types and distribution perspectives. Identifying the ME rupture types and their distribution will contribute to enhance alpine meadow restoration success for protecting the ecological benefits.

Urban Expansion Was the Main Driving Force for the Decline in Ecosystem Services in Hainan Island during 1980-2015.

Hainan Island is one of China's most ecologically diverse areas. Human activities and climate change have recently influenced Hainan Island's ecosystem services. Therefore, scientific methods are urgently needed to investigate the characteristics of these services' spatial and temporal variations and their driving mechanisms for maintaining Hainan Island's biodiversity and high-quality ecological conservation. Based on multivariate remote sensing and reanalysis data, this study analysed the spatial and temporal variations in water retention, soil conservation, carbon sequestration, and oxygen release services on Hainan Island during 1980-2015 using various ecosystem service models such as INVEST, CASA and RULSE. Then, we analysed different ecosystem service drivers using a random forest model. The results indicated that (1) from 1980 to 2015, the change characteristics of different ecosystem types (arable, forest, and grassland) decreased, and the proportion of decrease was 0.98%, 0.55% and 0.36%, respectively. Built-up and water increased significantly, and the proportion of increase reached 1.46% and 0.51%, respectively. (2) Hainan Island's functions of water retention, soil conservation, carbon sequestration, and oxygen release services decreased from 23.31 billion m3, 2.89 billion t, 9.68 million t and 56.05 million t in 1980 to 23.15 billion m3, 2.79 billion t, 9.42 million t and 55.53 million t in 2015, respectively. The high value area was mainly distributed in Hainan Island's central mountainous area, and the low value area was mainly distributed in the lower-elevation coastal area. (3) In the past 35 years, urban expansion has been the leading factor in the reduction of Hainan Island's ecosystem service capacity. However, its central nature reserve and other forms of ecological protection have improved its ecosystem service capacity, which has alleviated the overall declining trend of its amount of ecosystem service functions. (4) The driving forces for the spatial distribution of Hainan Island's ecosystem services were analysed using a random forest algorithm, which indicated that its spatial distribution was mainly driven by rainfall, soil moisture, actual evapotranspiration, maximum temperature, and minimum temperature. This study is expected to help planners develop effective environmental policies to accommodate the potential ecological risks associated with urban expansion during the construction of Hainan Island's future free trade port while filling the gaps in existing studies.

Spatial-temporal changes in ecosystem services and social-ecological drivers in a typical coastal tourism city: A case study of Sanya, China

Tourism is an important economic and social activity with distinct characteristics of human-land interaction, which creates increasingly pronounced ecological and environmental challenges. The changes in four ecosystem services, including water yield (WY), carbon storage (CS), soil retention (SR) and habitat quality (HQ) in the coastal and noncoastal zones of Sanya were analysed, and the influencing factors were discussed. We found that from 2000 to 2018, the built-up land area of the coastal zone of Sanya quadrupled; CS, SR and HQ of the coastal zone were lower than those of the non-coastal zone with a clear downwards trend; and WY was higher than that of the noncoastal zone, indicating that the development of coastal tourism in Sanya damaged the surrounding ecological environment. The decline in ecosystem services in Sanya from 2010 to 2018 was smaller than that from 2000 to 2010, indicating that Sanya's ecological and environmental protection measures have been effective in recent years. The ecosystem services of Sanya were mainly affected by the natural environment, such as precipitation(P), and fractional vegetation coverage (FVC), but the impact of tourism factors, such as total tourism attraction (TA) and accommodation capacity (AC) also gradually became significant. Based on these findings, we propose to adhere to the sustainable development of coastal ecotourism, implement dynamic planning and dynamic monitoring, and strengthen the protection of coastal and its buffer zone. This study is of great significance to the scientific decision-making and comprehensive regulation of tourism-oriented cities and towns to improve ecosystem services.