Drivers Of Ecosystem Services Research Articles

Spatiotemporal changes and driving factors of ecosystem services between karst and non-karst World Heritage sites in Southwest China

Understanding the spatiotemporal variation and drivers of ecosystem services is fundamental to optimal management and sustainable development of World Heritage (WH) sites. Although WH sites face multiple natural and anthropogenic threats, our understanding of their ecosystem services is still limited, especially for karst WH sites. In this study, we assessed habitat quality (HQ), carbon storage (CS), soil retention (SR), water conservation (WC), and the combined ecosystem service (CES) of karst and non-karst WH sites in Southwest China from 2000 to 2020 using the InVEST model. We also assessed trade-offs/synergies among ecosystem services using the spatial overlay method, and identified driving factors of variation in ecosystem services using geographical detector and structural equation models. The results showed that ecosystem services of the WH sites exhibited high spatiotemporal variation. In particular, there were higher values in the property zone than in the buffer zone, and an increasing trend in SR but a decreasing trend in HQ and CES over time. Compared to non-karst sites, karst WH sites had significantly lower values of HQ, CS, SR, and CES, but higher spatial heterogeneity in CS, WC, and CES. Weak trade-offs among ecosystem services dominated the WH sites, with the proportion of weak synergies increasing over time. Compared to non-karst sites, karst WH sites had a significantly lower proportion of strong synergies and a significantly higher proportion of weak synergies. The provision of ecosystem services was primarily influenced by natural factors (e.g., landscape division index and normalized difference vegetation index), followed by anthropogenic factors (e.g., distance from road and population density). Overall, these findings may have important implications for decision-making aimed at protecting the outstanding universal value, authenticity, and integrity of WH with different attributes.

Drivers of ecosystem services and their trade-offs and synergies in different land use policy zones of Shaanxi Province, China

Clarifying the marginal effects of dominant factors influencing ecosystem services in different land use policy zones and the resulting changes in trade-offs and synergies within ecosystem services is an essential prerequisite for the sophisticated management of ecosystem services. Moreover, it is a crucial requirement for achieving the sustained provision of ecosystem services and sustainable human development. This study quantified spatial and temporal changes of ecosystem services in different land use policy zones of Shaanxi, assessed the marginal effects of drivers using the random forest, and explained the relationships within ecosystem services by the geographically weighted regression model. The results showed that water yield (WY) increased in the Economic Development Zone, food Production (FP), water yield (WY), carbon storage (CS), soil conservation (SC), and habitat quality (HQ) improved in the Ecological Enhancement Zone and Ecological Restoration Zone. In contrast, water yield (WY) and soil conservation (SC) in the Ecological Conservation Zone decreased from 2000 to 2020. Changes in the dominant factors in different policy zones affected ecosystem services in a non-stationary manner. For example, the initial increase in construction land ratio would lead to complex and dramatic effects on multiple ecosystem services. Differences in the most significant factors and their respective marginal effects led to disparities in transformations of trade-offs and synergies between ecosystem services in different land use policy zones. The area of trade-offs between water yield (WY) and carbon storage (CS) decreased by 1.67% in the Ecological Conservation Zone, while it increased by 1.53% in the Ecological Restoration Zone. This study could provide theoretical guidance for different policy zones to optimize ecological management policies, coordinate human-earth relations, and achieve sustainable development.

Integrating Ecosystem Services into Impact Assessments: A Process-Based Approach Applied to the Belgian Coastal Zone

Policy makers increasingly acknowledge the importance of considering ecosystem services (ESs) and biodiversity in impact assessment (IA) to reduce ecosystem degradation and halt ongoing losses of biodiversity. Recent research demonstrates how ESs can add value to IA, i.e., by shifting the focus from avoiding negative impacts to creating opportunities, by linking effects on ecological functioning to benefits for society, and by providing a multi-disciplinary framework that allows to consider cross-sectoral effects. However, challenges exist to its implementation in practice. The most commonly used ES models do not consider interactions among ESs. This restricts their capacity to account for cross-sectoral effects. Integrating ESs into IA also increases time investments as they cover a wide variety of disciplines and need detailed information. This paper presents a pragmatic approach that tackles these challenges and may facilitate the inclusion of ESs into IA. The approach focuses on ecosystem processes as the driver of ESs and biodiversity and the basis to evaluate effects of a project. Using the Belgian coastal ecosystem, we illustrate how the approach restricts data needs by identifying the priority ESs, how it improves the coverage of cross-sectoral effects in IA, and how it contributes to a more objective selection of impacts.

Deciphering the spatiotemporal trade-offs and synergies between ecosystem services and their socio-ecological drivers in the plain river network area

Understanding changes in ecosystem services (ESs) and quantitatively identifying the drivers that influence these changes are essential for achieving sustainable ecosystem development. In this study, multiple data sources and techniques, including meteorological data, land use/cover data, soil data, the InVEST model, and ArcGIS, were used to analyze the spatiotemporal variation characteristics of carbon storage, habitat quality, soil retention, water yield, and crop product supply in Xinghua City from 2000 to 2015. Additionally, we explored the causes of these changes and the interrelationships among these ESs. The results showed that: (1) During the study period, carbon storage and habitat quality declined, water yield fluctuated and increased, and soil retention had small interannual variations. The supply capacity of crop products first increased rapidly and then stabilized. (2) ESs were influenced by multiple drivers, with altitude having the strongest explanatory power for habitat quality and soil retention, and food production having the strongest explanatory power for crop product supply. (3) Relationships between different ESs were variable and changed over time. This study could enrich the understanding of spatial and temporal changes and drivers of ESs in the plain river network area, which has important implications for future land use planning and sustainable development of ESs.

Coupled high-resolution GCM downscaling framework for projecting dynamics and drivers of ecosystem services in Pearl River Basin, China

The projection of future ecosystem service (ES) dynamics under SSP-RCP scenarios would be beneficial for the development of effective climate mitigation strategies for policymakers. However, current projection frameworks generally neglect the downscaling of high-resolution climate and land use data, leading to uncertainties in the simulation of ESs under the SSP-RCP scenarios. To address this issue, this study proposes an integrated analysis framework to downscale climate and land use data. We first identified areas of high risk in terms of inadequate water-related ESs in the Pearl River Basin (PRB) of China. Subsequently, we analyzed key socio-environmental factors driving the dynamics of water-related ESs under future SSP-RCP scenarios. The results indicate that 1) water-related ESs in the PRB are expected to show an overall increasing trend, 2) the sub-watersheds located in the downstream is at a higher risk of experiencing insufficient supply capacity for water-related ESs, and 3) under the coupling effects of climate change, land use change, and socio-economic development, drastic changes in future land use are expected to have a stronger impact on watershed ESs than the climate (i.e., global warming). Our work provides valuable insights for policymakers and managers regarding future water and land resource planning. The proposed framework can be integrated with other hydrological or land surface models to project the spatial–temporal evolution characteristics of future watershed ESs with finer temporal resolution.

Ecosystem Service Relationships, Drivers, and Regulation Strategies in a Degraded Alpine Shrub Meadow on the Northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

One of the challenges of managing grasslands sustainably is the conflict between the different ecosystem services they provide. This is especially evident in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) region, where fragile alpine ecosystems make balancing the needs of grassland conservation and development difficult. However, our current understanding of the relationships and drivers of ecosystem services in degraded alpine shrub meadows on the QTP is insufficient. To address this, we studied forage provisioning and water retention services in a degraded alpine shrub meadow in the northeastern QTP. We analyzed the changes and relationships between these services at different levels of degradation and identified those factors that influenced ecosystem service relationships. The results showed that the forage supply service and the water retention service of the alpine shrub meadow increased and decreased by 23.6% and 27.07%, respectively, due to degradation. The trade-offs between these two services varied depending on the degree of degradation, with light and moderate degradation showing a preference for water retention service, and heavy and extreme degradation showing a preference for forage supply. Water retention was constrained by forage supply and both services showed an exponential function form of decay. The physical and chemical properties of the soil in the alpine shrub meadow remained relatively stable during the degradation process, with only soil organic carbon (SOC), total potassium (TK), and total nitrogen (TN) decreasing significantly. SOC may have indirectly influenced the relationship between the two services by affecting water retention. This study provides insights into alpine shrub meadow management and conservation on the QTP.

Analyzing spatio-temporal changes and trade-offs/synergies among ecosystem services in the Yellow River Basin, China

Global changes have significant impacts on changes in ecosystem services (ESs) and their interrelationships. The Yellow River Basin (YRB) is an important ecological barrier in China, and it is important for ecological decision-making and management in the basin by quantitatively assessing the trends and drivers of ESs and analyzing the trade-offs and synergies among them. In this study, the food production model, InVEST model, and RUSLE model were used to quantitatively assess three ESs (food production, water yield, and soil conservation) in the YRB from 2000 to 2018. The spatio-temporal trends and future trends were quantified using Theil-Sen Median trend analysis and Hurst exponent. Correlation analysis was used to determine the main influencing factors of the spatio-temporal changes of ESs and analyze the trade-offs and synergies among ESs. The research results show that during 2000–2018, in terms of spatial distribution, food production in the YRB gradually decreases from east to west, water yield gradually decreases from south to north, and the dominant areas of soil conservation are mainly distributed in the plateau areas in the upper and middle reaches of the basin; in terms of temporal changes, food production shows a continuous increase, while water yield and soil conservation generally show an increasing trend in fluctuation. Excluding areas with no significant change and random change, food production will mainly show improvement in the future, and water yield and soil conservation will show some degree of decline in the future. Food production is mainly influenced by the type of land use, water yield is mainly influenced by precipitation, and soil conservation is influenced by a combination of slope and land use type. ESs in the YRB were generally dominated by synergy but locally dominated by trade-offs. Our results will provide reference for policymakers in ecological construction, and analyze trade-offs and synergies of regional ESs in a holistic and local context based on the assessment results and change trends of ESs, thus providing a basis for formulating scientific and reasonable ecological protection policies, and will promote the high-quality development of the YRB.

环京津城市群生态系统服务的时空演变与驱动因素

PDF HTML阅读 XML下载 导出引用 引用提醒 环京津城市群生态系统服务的时空演变与驱动因素 DOI: 10.5846/stxb202111203270 作者: 作者单位: 作者简介: 通讯作者: 中图分类号: 基金项目: 中央高校基本科研业务费专项资金资助（2021ZY33）；国家林草局重点项目（2019132703，2020132109） Spatial and temporal evolution and drivers of ecosystem services in Beijing, Tianjin and the Beijing-Tianjin Ring urban agglomeration Author: Affiliation: Fund Project: The National Natural Science Foundation of China（NO.51908034） 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:城市群已成为全球经济竞争的新空间单元，在促进城镇化建设，实现资源优质配置和发挥辐射带动作用等方面发挥着重要的功能。但剧烈的社会经济活动必然会对城市群生态系统服务造成破坏，因此开展城市群生态系统服务的时空演变研究，进而探索不同驱动因子对其的作用机制具有重要意义。目前，在已有的研究中缺少对城市群尺度和长时间跨度下的生态系统服务水平演变与驱动因素探究。为此，选取京津及环京津地区为研究区域，通过总结区域生态问题，构建起研究区域生态系统服务评价体系，并对2000-2018年生态系统服务进行计算，分析时空演变特征。然后，通过最小二乘法模型（Ordinary Least Squares，OLS）筛选出潜在的驱动因子，并导入地理加权回归模型（Geographically Weighted Regression，GWR）进行地理加权回归计算。最后，通过对结果分析，探讨自然和社会因子对生态系统服务的作用机制。研究结果表明：1）2000-2018年，研究区域生态系统服务呈现出先上升后下降，在2015年达到最高值的发展特征。2）在空间上，研究区域生态系统服务内总体上呈现燕山山脉及太行山山脉北部区域为生态系统服务的高值区域，坝上区域为低值区的空间分异特征。同时，生态系统服务演变在空间上呈现以燕山和太行山为界，燕山和太行山区域呈现先减弱后提升的趋势，西北区域整体呈现减弱趋势，东南区域从2015年起逐渐降低的空间演化特征。3）在驱动因素方面，自然环境和社会经济因素对生态系统服务的驱动作用从强到弱排列依次是：降雨量 > 土壤含沙 > 人口密度 > 温度 > 基础设施密度。4）其中，人口密度、土壤含沙量、基础设施呈较为明显的负相关驱动特征，降雨量呈较为明显的正相关驱动特征，温度则呈南部负相关，北部正相关，由东南向西北影响增强的趋势。本研究通过评估环京津城市群生态系统服务，分析区域生态系统服务的分析演变特征，并探索区域自然、社会因子对生态系统服务的驱动作用，为环京津城市群未来的生态环境保护和规划策略制定提供了科学指导和决策依据。 Abstract:Urban agglomerations have become a new spatial unit for global economic competition and had important functions in promoting urbanization, achieving high-quality allocation of resources and driving economic development. Intense socio-economic activities, however, are bound to cause damage to the ecosystem services of urban agglomerations. It is important to conduct studies on the spatio-temporal evolution of the ecosystem services of urban agglomerations and explore its driving factors. In this study, Beijing, Tianjin and the Beijing-Tianjin Ring were selected as the study area. The experiments constructed an ecosystem service evaluation system for the study area by summarizing regional issues, calculated ecosystem services from 2000-2018, and also analyzed their spatial and temporal evolution characteristics. Then, the potential drivers were screened out by the ordinary least squares model of the experimental data and imported into the geographically weighted regression model for regression. Finally, the driving role of natural and social factors on ecosystem services is explored, through an analysis of geographically weighted regression results. Firstly, the ecosystem services of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration showed an upward and then downward trend from 2000 to 2018, reaching the highest value in 2015. Secondly, Spatially, the ecosystem services in the study area generally show the spatial differentiation characteristics of high value areas in the northern regions of Yanshan Mountains and Taihang Mountains, and low value areas in the dam area. At the same time, the evolution of ecosystem services spatially shows the boundary between Yanshan and Taihang Mountains, with the Yanshan and Taihang Mountains regions showing a trend of first weakening and then improving, while the northwest region shows an overall weakening trend and the southeast region gradually decreases from 2015 onward. Thirdly, Natural environment and socio-economic factors drive ecosystem services in descending order of strength:rainfall > soil sand content > population density > temperature > infrastructure density. Fourth, the population density, soil sediment concentration and infrastructure showed significantly negative correlation driving characteristics, while the rainfall showed significantly positive correlation driving characteristics, while the temperature showed negative correlation in the south and positive correlation in the north, with an increasing trend from southeast to northwest. Overall, by assessing the ecosystem services of the Beijing-Tianjin urban agglomeration, analyzing the analytical evolution characteristics of regional ecosystem services, and exploring the driving roles of regional natural and social factors on ecosystem services, this study provides scientific guidance and decision basis for the future ecological environmental protection and planning strategy formulation of the Beijing-Tianjin urban agglomeration. 参考文献 相似文献 引证文献

Scale dependency in drivers of outdoor recreation in England

Abstract Managing landscapes for multiple, sometimes conflicting, objectives requires an understanding of the trade‐offs and synergies between ecosystem services (ES). These trade‐offs and synergies are often the result of drivers acting at different scales. Therefore, in order to understand trade‐offs and synergies it is important that we understand the scale dependency in drivers of ES. Here, we examine scale dependencies in the drivers of outdoor recreation in England to better understand trade‐offs between different aspects of this ES. We focus on outdoor recreation because it is culturally and economically important; it is the result of a range of social and biophysical attributes which vary at different scales; and proxies that are independent of these drivers exist. First, we tested the hypothesis that a social media‐based proxy (photographs from Flickr) represents ‘destination’ recreation (e.g. day trips and overnight visits). We did so by comparing to a survey‐based proxy, which is known to represent ‘day‐to‐day’ recreation (e.g. dog walking, visiting local parks). Second, we examined the scale dependencies in the social and biophysical drivers of both types of outdoor recreation. Flickr data were best explained by variables capturing supply of recreation; whereas, the survey data were best explained by variables capturing demand for recreation. This confirms our hypothesis that Flickr data measure ‘destination’ recreation given that the survey data measure ‘day‐to‐day’ recreation. In both cases, the importance of demand variables increased with increasing spatial resolution. Understanding what a proxy measures provides us with information about how to use it. We conclude that Flickr data may be useful to plan at broad scales, but that to plan for equitable day‐to‐day recreation, specially designed survey data may be more appropriate. Estimating the scale dependencies in drivers of outdoor recreation gets us a step closer to a mechanistic understanding of the social‐ecological system. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Spatially explicit assessment of ecosystem services in China's Loess Plateau: Patterns, interactions, drivers, and implications

Abstract Human demands for natural resources have significantly changed the natural landscape and induced ecological degradation and associated ecosystem services. An understanding of the patterns, interactions, and drivers of ecosystem services is essential for the ecosystem management and guiding targeted land use policy-making. The Losses Plateau (LP) provides ecosystem services including the carbon sequestration and soil retention, and exerts tremendous impacts on the midstream and downstream of the Yellow River. Three dominant ecosystem services between 2000 and 2012 within the LP were presented based on multiple source datasets and biophysical models. In addition, paired ecosystem services interactions were quantified using the correlation analysis and constraint line approach. The main conclusions are as follows. It was observed that the warming and wetting climate and ecological program jointly promoted the vegetation growth and carbon sequestration. The increasing precipitation throughout 2000–2012 was related to the soil retention and hydrological regulation fluctuations. The vegetation restoration played a positive role in the soil retention enhancement, thus substantially reduced water and sediment yields. The relationships between ecosystem services were not only correlations (tradeoffs or synergies), but rather constraint effects. The constraint effects between the three paired ecosystem services could be classified as the negative convex (carbon sequestration vs. hydrological regulation) and hump-shaped (soil retention vs. carbon sequestration and soil retention vs. hydrological regulation), and the coefficients of determination for the entire LP were 0.78, 0.84, and 0.65, respectively. In the LP, the rainfall (water availability) was the key constraint factor that affected the relationships between the paired ecosystem services. The spatially explicit mapping of ecosystem services and interaction analyses utilizing constraint line approach enriched the understanding of connections between ecosystem services and the potential drivers, which had important implications for the land use planning and landscapes services optimizing.

Response of ecosystem services to land use change in county scale of Fengqiu, Henan Province, China

Population growth and increasing economic activities cause a large amount of natural lands to be converted into artificial areas, which is one of the most direct and important drivers of ecosystem services (ES) degradation. To protect and recover ES, governments need more information about the relationship between land use and ecosystem services. Based on GIS platform, three periods of remote sensing images were processed to be land use maps. Then we analyzed the change of ecosystem services with land use from 2002 to 2013 by mathematical models. Result showed the whole ES degenerated from 2002 to 2013; all land use types except settlements and mining sites (SMS) had a positive effect on the total ES value in the whole period; the main land use type is agricultural landscapes, but in ecological sense, it was not the best efficient land use type. Subsequently, an improved Markov model was used to predict the ES change trendy with land use in the year of 2017. These information of ES change with land use can be used for making sustainable land use plan.

Analyzing the spatial patterns and drivers of ecosystem services in rapidly urbanizing Taihu Lake Basin of China

Quantifying and mapping the distribution patterns of ecosystem services can help to ascertain which services should be protected and where investments should be directed to improve synergies and reduce tradeoffs. Moreover, the indicators of urbanization that affect the provision of ecosystem services must be identified to determine which approach to adopt in formulating policies related to these services. This paper presents a case study that maps the distribution of multiple ecosystem services and analyzes the ways in which they interact. The relationship between the supply of ecosystem services and the socio-economic development in the Taihu Lake Basin of eastern China is also revealed. Results show a significant negative relationship between crop production and tourism income (p<0.005) and a positive relationship between crop production, nutrient retention, and carbon sequestration (p<0.005). The negative effects of the urbanization process on providing and regulating services are also identified through a comparison of the ecosystem services in large and small cities. Regression analysis was used to compare and elucidate the relative significance of the selected urbanization factors to ecosystem services. The results indicate that urbanization level is the most substantial factor inversely correlated with crop production (R 2 = 0.414) and nutrient retention services (R 2 = 0.572). Population density is the most important factor that negatively affects carbon sequestration (R 2 = 0.447). The findings of this study suggest the potential relevance of ecosystem service dynamics to urbanization management and decision making.

Management intensity – not biodiversity – the driver of ecosystem services in a long-term row crop experiment

A positive role for biodiversity is assumed for managed ecosystems. We conducted a 12-year study of this sustainability principle, through separate manipulation of management intensity and crop diversity. The site was located in southwest Michigan, representative of rain-fed production, with high climate variability and well-drained soils. Provisioning services of grain and protein yield were monitored, simultaneous with supporting services of soil fertility, C and N, and regulating services associated with water quality (N-use efficiency and nitrate-N leached in gravimetric lysimeters). Surprisingly, a strong role for management was shown, and almost nil for crop diversity. Organic management (ORG) sustained soil fertility, augmented soil C (36% increase), enhanced N retention (50% decrease in nitrate-N leaching) and improved N-use efficiency, compared to conventional, integrated (INT) management. Provisioning of grain – quantity, quality and temporal yield stability – was highest in INT continuous maize (monoculture and biculture) with an annual yield of 6.4 Mg ha −1, compared to ORG of 5.1 Mg ha −1. Biodiverse rotational systems (three and six species) produced 25% lower yield, but the grain was of high quality. A focus on ORG management rather than crop diversity is suggested as a means to sequester C, and produced grain in a semi-closed system.