Ecosystem Service Benefits Research Articles

Terrestrial protected areas: Understanding the spatial variation of potential and realized ecosystem services

Terrestrial protected areas (TPAs) have become a keystone in nature conservation and environmental policy-making because they provide a potpourri of ecosystem services—benefits that are foundational for human existence and well-being. The intensity of ecosystem services production (i.e., potential) and use (i.e., realized) from a TPA depends on several variables such as ecosystem type, TPA size, population in the region, and development infrastructure. However, little is known about how ecosystem services intensity varies in relation to these variables. The TPAs provide a rich setting to investigate these relationships in support of better management for both TPAs and ecosystem services. Here, using the Co$ting Nature model, I map the potential and realized ecosystem services intensity from 140 of Pakistan's TPAs. To ascertain the direct impacts on realized ecosystem services, I use ArcGIS and InVEST tools to infer three spatial variables: TPA size (area), TPA distance from the nearest urban center, and visitation rates to the TPA. Results from the statistical analyses show that potential and realized ecosystem services are positively and significantly correlated, meaning increased supply results in more use. Yet, both are negatively correlated with TPA size and distance from the urban centers. Finally, a multivariate regression analysis is conducted considering potential ecosystem services and the selected three spatial variables as predictors for realized ecosystem services. The analysis indicates that potential ecosystem services and the size of a TPA are both significant for realized ecosystem services, with the potential services positively and TPA size negatively correlated with realized ecosystem services. The data generated and the results obtained in the study can inform the protection, stewardship, and expansion of TPAs at national and global scales.

Can seasonal fire management reduce the risk of carbon loss from wildfires in a protected Guinea savanna?

AbstractFire is fundamental to the functioning of tropical savannas and routinely used as a management tool. Shifting prescribed burning from later to earlier in the growing season has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, large uncertainties surround the impact of seasonal burning on longer term plant and soil carbon sequestration. In this study, we quantify ecosystem carbon storage across burn seasons and histories in a wet‐to‐mesic Guinea tropical savanna in Mole National Park, Ghana. Aboveground (plant and litter) and belowground (soil plus roots) carbon storage was quantified across four burning seasons and histories: recent (<3 years) early‐season burns, recent late‐season burns, old (>4 years) late‐season burns, and long‐unburned (>15 years) sites. We found that recent late‐season burns significantly lowered belowground carbon storage to a depth of 17 cm compared with all other burn seasons and histories. Belowground carbon was 1.2 kg C m−2, or 27% lower, for recent late‐season burns compared with prescribed early‐season burns. However, in older late‐season burns sites, belowground carbon “recovered” after 4–13 burn years to comparable storage as long‐unburned and early‐season burn sites. For most aboveground carbon pools, there was no significant difference in carbon storage across burn seasons and histories, except higher aboveground tree carbon in long‐unburned sites. We suggest that observed changes in belowground carbon are likely due to the turnover and production of root carbon. Prescribed early‐season burning is promoted to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and our findings affirm that early‐season burning has limited impact on plant and soil carbon stocks compared with long‐unburned sites. While early‐season burning regimes will have some patches that become late‐season wildfires, our results suggest on balance early‐season burning regimes are a low‐risk land management practice in reducing plant and soil carbon storage losses and sustaining a patch‐mosaicked landscape with multiple other ecosystem service benefits for savannas.

Highlighting Mycorrhizal Structures in Roots of Zea mays L.


 Agriculture is one of the key economic activities designed to provide food for a growing population. It is expected that 21st-century agriculture will try to reduce the number of fertilizers by using microorganisms, in this category arbuscular mycorrhizas representing a complex set of benefits for plants and ecosystem services. The aim of this paper is to identify the mycorrhizal structures present in the roots of Zea mays. The objectives of the research are: i) are mycorrhizae natively present in the corn root and have a constant presence from the first stages of plant development? and ii) what kind of colonization pattern is characteristic of these roots? Maize has prominent fasciculate roots, and due to its intense branching capacity provides increased biological support for the establishment of mycorrhizal symbionts. Within the fungal structures highlighted, the most prominent were arbuscules and vesicles. Arum-type arbuscules were mostly observed, Paris-type arbuscules being less common in this species. Vesicles have a low frequency in the root cortex. They are present only in the early stages of plant development. Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae are present in the root of the Zea mays plant with a constant presence, without major fluctuations.

Ecosystem Services of the Buffalo National River in Arkansas

The Buffalo National River is a scenic and ecologically significant resource located in the Ozark Plateau of Arkansas, USA. As a free-flowing and protected river, the Buffalo offers natural benefits to humanity (e.g., food production, carbon storage, recreation), known as ecosystem services. Using both market and survey data, we performed the first comprehensive valuation of the ecosystem services that the Buffalo National River provides to Arkansas residents. The total ecosystem services benefits in 2018 USD were valued at $20.5 million per year ($550/ha). Most of the value was concentrated in cultural services (i.e., recreation, aesthetics, cognitive development), which were responsible for over 70% of total value at $384/ha. Air quality regulation and the provisioning of water also made important contributions to the total, with values of $103/ha and $36/ha, respectively. Our study highlights the considerable economic value provided by the Buffalo National River in its current state. Recent economic activity, in particular intensive agriculture, has threatened these services and in the process created conflicts between different industries. These values are important to consider when making management and policy decisions that affect the region.

A Comprehensive Review of Different Types of Green Infrastructure to Mitigate Urban Heat Islands: Progress, Functions, and Benefits

Climate change and rapid urbanization increase/amplify urban heat islands (UHIs). Green infrastructure (GI) is an effective and popularly strategy used to moderate UHIs. This paper aims to better understand the progress of different GI types (urban parks, urban forests, street trees, green roofs, green walls) in mitigating UHIs, and what benefits they provide. Firstly, this paper used CiteSpace to analyze 1243 publications on the Web of Science from 1990 to 2021, then analyzed the function/regulation of ecosystem services/benefits and values of GI types in reducing UHIs. The historical review results show that research on all GI types showed rapid growth since 2013, and their GR increased rapidly. The highest-ranking keywords were urban heat island/heat island, climate/climate change/microclimate, and temperature/land surface temperature/air temperature. “Design,” “vegetation,” “quality,” and “reduction” are the top four strongest keyword bursts. The most published countries are the People’s Republic of China, USA, Australia, Germany, and Italy, and the top three institutions are the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Arizona State University, and the National University of Singapore. Landscape and Urban Planning, Building and Environment, Energy and Building, and Urban Forestry and Urban Greening are the most published journals. In urban areas, different GI types as a form of ecosystem hardware provide multiple functions (reduced land surface temperatures, lower building energy usage, improved thermal comfort and enhanced human health, reduced morbidity and mortality, etc.). GI thus provides a regulated ecosystem service to ameliorate UHIs primarily through temperature regulation and shade. At the same time, GI provides benefits and values (ecological, economic, social, and cultural) to humans and urban sustainable development. GI types determine the functions they provide, afford corresponding regulated ecosystem services, and provide benefits and values in a logical/recycle system. Overall, this review highlights the development and importance of GI, as well as the relationship of GI types and functions of regulating the ecosystem service benefits and values to mitigate UHI, and advances the study of climate change adaptation in cities.

Transformative changes in tree breeding for resilient forest restoration

Deciding how to establish woodland in forest restoration is not straightforward as different outcomes may be obtained from different establishment approaches, each with cost implications and degree of success limitations attached. Planning restoration requires knowledge of site conditions, including how sites are likely to respond under climate change. For objectives of production and high timber quality it is likely that ground preparation will be used, and planting with forest reproductive material (FRM) of known traits, such as: high survival and growth in establishment, drought tolerance adequate for climate projections, good resistance to pests and pathogens. For objectives associated with biodiversity, carbon sequestration, water supply protection, soil protection, natural regeneration could be a less costly solution with a limited amount of assisted translocation of selected FRM to improve resilience. If objectives are for rewilding forest areas, a degree of natural colonisation perhaps with translocation of some FRM could be a solution. Ignoring site conditions and suitability of available sources of FRM for forest restoration is likely to provide unexpected results with a mix of open ground, scrub and scattered trees resulting from climate, herbivore, and browsing impacts. The recent B4EST EU Horizon 2020 project examined progress in novel rapid approaches for testing the quality of FRM from existing genetic trials. Here we review the work of B4EST to show the opportunities from transformative tree breeding in forest restoration schemes, including: new climate projection ensembles at high temporal and spatial resolution to develop norms of reaction and transfer models with genetic components; multi-environment genotype-phenotype associations and multi-locus genotype-environment associations in identifying drivers of local adaptation; techniques for genomic selection using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays to derive functional traits from polygenic associations; work on seed orchard site and climate specific FRM and zones for deployment; and work on some of the forest ecosystem service benefits derived at a landscape scale. We conclude that tree-breeding will provide robust forest restoration for planting, and rewilding (assisted natural regeneration), and if not “ignoring” but instead assisting natural colonisation processes – tree breeding may improve long-term forest resilience under environmental change.

How to not trade water for carbon with tree planting in water-limited temperate biomes?

The most widespread nature-based solution for mitigating climate change is tree planting. When realized as forest restoration in historically forested biomes, it can efficiently contribute to the sequestration of atmospheric carbon and can also entail significant biodiversity and ecosystem service benefits. Conversely, tree planting in naturally open biomes can have adverse effects, of which water shortage due to increased evapotranspiration is among the most alarming ones. Here we assessed how soil texture affects the strength of the trade-off between tree cover and water balance in the forest-steppe biome, where the global pressure for afforestation is threatening with increasing tree cover above historical levels. Here we monitored vertical soil moisture dynamics in four stands in each of the most common forest types of lowland Hungary on well-drained, sandy (natural poplar groves, and Robinia and pine plantations) and on poorly drained, silty-clayey soils (natural oak stands and Robinia plantations), and neighboring grasslands. We found that forests on sand retain moisture in the topsoil (approx. 20 cm) throughout the year, but a thick dry layer develops below that during the vegetation period, significantly impeding groundwater recharge. Neighboring sandy grasslands showed an opposite pattern, with often dry topsoil but intact moisture reserves below, allowing deep percolation. In contrast, forests on silty-clayey soils did not desiccate lower soil layers compared neighboring grasslands, which in turn showed moisture patterns similar to sandy grasslands. We conclude that, in water-limited temperate biomes where landscape-wide water regime depends on deep percolation, soil texture should drive the spatial allocation of tree-based climate mitigation efforts. On sand, the establishment of new forests should be kept to a minimum and grassland restoration should be preferred. The trade-off between water and carbon is less pronounced on silty-clayey soils, making forest patches and wooded rangelands viable targets for both climate mitigation and ecosystem restoration.

The ecosystem services framework in archaeology (and vice versa)

Abstract Economics, ecology and archaeology study various aspects of resource utilisation and mobilisation, differing in the studied systems, objects and currencies. However, the three disciplines have developed mostly independently, resulting in limited dialogue among them. Emergent fields such as ecological economics and environmental archaeology are now linking the three disciplines and promoting dialogue among them, but a theoretical framework that links all three disciplines at once is missing. I propose that ecosystem services (ES) can serve as such a theoretical framework. Moreover, after an ES‐centred framework establishes, it will be capable of further evolving – independently of ES—into a unified superdiscipline, relieving boundaries among disciplines. To demonstrate this potential, I present some examples of archaeology‐ES linkages, relating to the past, present and future. I show, in general, how archaeology studies past ES and informs us on current ES, as well as how ES benefit archaeological practice. Thus, I demonstrate the strong interface between archaeology and ES, and how it can promote the dialogue among the three disciplines, provide them with new practical tools, and resolve theoretical issues as the sustainability of ancient societies and anthropocentricity and monetisation of ES. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Opportunities for agrivoltaic systems to achieve synergistic food-energy-environmental needs and address sustainability goals

Achieving decarbonization goals to address global climate change and increasing energy needs requires significant continued investments in solar energy. The expansion of utility-scale solar development across the globe has increased the pressure on land resources for energy generation and other land uses (e.g., agriculture, biodiversity conservation). To address this growing issue, greater emphasis has been placed on solar development strategies that maximize the benefits of solar energy generation and multiple ecosystem services, such as the development of agrivoltaics systems that co-locate solar energy production and various forms of conservation and agricultural land uses. The purpose of this paper is to systematically synthesize the potential ecosystem services of agrivoltaics and summarize how these development strategies could address several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our review will focus on four broad potential ecosystem services of agrivoltaics: (1) energy and economic benefits; (2) agricultural provisioning services of food production and animal husbandry; (3) biodiversity conservation; and (4) regulating ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and water and soil conservation. In particular, we will highlight the state of the science, challenges, and knowledge gaps that represent opportunities for further study to better understand how solar energy deployment can facilitate sustainable development.

Identification of key priority areas under different ecological restoration scenarios on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

With the intensification of climate warming and human activities, the ecosystems on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) are facing increasing threats which leads to extensive ecological degradation. Ecological restoration measures need to be implemented to improve biodiversity and ecosystem services to mitigate the impact of climate change and human disturbances. However, the key priority areas (KPAs) for ecological restoration are not clear on the QTP, and the benefits of ecosystem services for ecological restoration are often ignored. In this study, we are the first to identify the KPAs based on the quantitative evaluation method and multicriteria optimization algorithm under five restoration scenarios aiming at ecosystem service improvement on the QTP. Results showed that: (1) The benefits of ecological restoration for climate change mitigation and associated costs under different scenarios showed generally similar spatial variability, exhibiting higher in the south and lower in the west, which were different from those for biodiversity. (2) The restoration priorities in Sichuan and Yunnan were generally higher under scenarios Ⅱ and Ⅴ, while in Xinjiang, Sichuan, Yunnan, and western and southern Tibet were higher under scenarios Ⅰ, Ⅲ and Ⅳ. (3) For different ecosystems, the similarities lied in that the restoration priorities of wetland ecosystem were the highest, while those of desert ecosystem were the lowest under five restoration scenarios. (4) When the restoration area requirement was 25% of the total degraded area, the highest restoration priority levels under scenarios Ⅰ, Ⅲ and Ⅳ were mainly distributed in Guinan, Renbu, Nierong and Chayu counties, and under scenarios Ⅱ and Ⅴ were mainly distributed in Renbu, Lang and Guinan counties. When the restoration area requirements were 50% and 75% of the total degraded area, the counties with higher restoration priority levels under scenario Ⅱ were different from those under other four scenarios. This study identified the KPAs under different restoration scenarios, which provided references for the restoration measures implementation on the QTP.

Assessing the Benefit Produced by Marine Protected Areas: The Case of Porto Cesareo Marine Protected Area (Italy)

The article focuses on the integrated environmental accounting model called ‘eValue’, developed for protected areas and applied in the research programme coordinated by the Italian Ministry of the Environment and aimed at implementing an environmental accounting system for Italian Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). eValue adopts a cost-benefit analysis approach. Financial accounting based on costs and revenues is integrated with environmental accounting, which reflects environmental costs and environmental revenues, i.e., environmental benefits. The environ-mental costs assess the impacts related to human activities in the MPA expressed by calculating the carbon footprint and the environmental benefits of the marine ecosystem services calculated by applying monetary valuation techniques. The values thus estimated flow into the annual flow account, where the value produced (or consumed) by the MPA is estimated by difference. The eValue model was applied to the Porto Cesareo MPA (Italy). eValue showed that the annual benefit-cost ratio reaches a value of 3.4. Furthermore, the ratio of net benefit to public funding is 3.7, completely covering the number of public transfers and thus summarizing the MPA overall value for money.

Evaluating Chemical Suppression Treatments to Alter the Red: Far-Red Ratio in Perennial Groundcovers for Maize Production

Perennial groundcover (PGC) has great potential to deliver ecosystem service benefits and control weeds in annual row crop systems. Inadequately suppressed PGC, however, acts as an early-season weed, causing a shade avoidance response (SAR) in maize (Zea mays L.) before the critical period for weed control (CPWC) even with resource abundance. The SAR results from a low red to far-red light shift, impairing early season plant growth and decreasing yield. A field study was conducted in Ames, IA, USA to assess application timing of groundcover suppression chemicals on maize growth and development. Two suppression chemical treatments (paraquat or paraquat + glufosinate) were each applied to “Midnight” Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) PGC once on the day of maize planting (DOP) or consecutive maize stages from VE to V6 in a randomized complete block design with unsuppressed groundcover control. Response variables included maize plant height, maize phenological development stage, reflected red:far-red (R:FR) ratio above the PGC canopy, early vegetative and final maize plant density, maize yield and components, and weed communities. Suppression increased reflected R:FR ratio from the groundcover immediately after application. Where suppression was applied at later stages, low R:FR ratio during early vegetative growth stages triggered a maize SAR and maize plant etiolation. Final maize plant height and yield were greater in PGC suppressed at earlier maize stages, although no suppression treatment provided adequate suppression duration. Paraquat + glufosinate more effectively suppressed groundcover overall and limited groundcover competition, producing 8% greater maize grain yield than paraquat alone in year 1, and 13% greater stover and 8% greater total aboveground biomass (TAB) in year 2. Weather conditions influenced chemical suppression efficacy in year 2, emphasizing the importance of identifying reliable chemical suppression to support grain yield from the day of maize planting.

The importance of eco-evolutionary dynamics for predicting and managing insect range shifts.

Evolutionary change impacts the rate at which insect pests, pollinators, or disease vectors expand or contract their geographic ranges. Although evolutionary changes, and their ecological feedbacks, strongly affect these risks and associated ecological and economic consequences, they are often underappreciated in management efforts. Greater rigor and scope in study design, coupled with innovative technologies and approaches, facilitates our understanding of the causes and consequences of eco-evolutionary dynamics in insect range shifts. Future efforts need to ensure that forecasts allow for demographic and evolutionary change and that management strategies will maximize (or minimize) the adaptive potential of range-shifting insects, with benefits for biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Conceptual framework for the management of conservation sites

Introduction. The close links between conservation sites, ecosystem services, and public well-being point to the importance of preserving the integrity and ecological sustainability of ecosystems.The aim of the article is to design strategies for the development of natural protected areas that will enable a timely response to changes in socio-ecological-economic systems and rapid adaptation to global challenges.Research methods. The methodological basis of the study is general scientific and special methods: generalization, comparison, systematic approach, SWOT-analysis, Analytic Hierarchy Process.Results. The modern state of natural protected areas in Ukraine is characterized. The management concepts of conservation sites as VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity), sustainable development and ecosystem approach are described. The mechanism of the natural protected areas development strategy is generalized. The Schorfheide-Chorin Biosphere Reserve (Germany) was chosen as the object of research. The main characteristics of the conservation site, features of functional zoning, main types of activity and the existing management system are given. The SWOT-analysis of the status and tendencies of the biosphere reserve’s development was carried out. The model of multi-criteria optimization for choosing the effective strategy was developed. A survey of different groups of stakeholders on the prospects of tourism and recreation development in the territory of the biosphere reserve was carried out. The results of the expert evaluation of the strategies priority are presented. The foreign experience of natural protected areas management in Ukraine is offered taking into account institutional and socio-economic conditions. Perspectives. The results of the study have established the relationship between the ecological and socio-economic systems, identified market and non-market benefits of ecosystem services, requirements for maximizing public well-being, features of adaptive management and strategic decisions making in management conservation sites.

Estimating the Economic Values of Restricted Monoculture Eucalyptus Plantations: A Choice Modeling Approach.

Today, evaluating ecological wellbeing and ecosystem services is becoming a great concern towards conserving the natural resource base. Healthy functioning ecosystems have fundamental roles for aiding humankind to lead a healthy life and ensure an improved social welfare. Estimating the non-market benefits of ecosystem services can help experts and the public frame policy directions designed for landscape development. The ecosystem of the Eucalyptus hotspot highlands of northwestern Ethiopia, where this study was carried out, provides services that are essential to changes in the life of the society and biodiversity. However, in recent years, the ecosystem is facing a serious threat from intensive monoculture plantations of Eucalyptus. This has resulted in transformation of the cultural landscapes and a loss of biodiversity. The problem in turn calls for designing appropriate ecological improvement programs. Thus, the current study examined the preferences of residents concerning this area and estimated their willingness to pay (WTP) for the proposed ecosystem improvement programs using a Choice Experiment approach. Data were aggregated from 388 residents using a questionnaire survey in January 2020. The survey contained ecological improvement schemes and a hypothetical event by which respondents expressed their willingness to pay a yearly utility fee as a compensation for the improvement programs. Results showed significant differences in resident preferences towards the proposed ecological improvement attributes. The findings also indicated that the socioeconomic backgrounds of residents contributed for the heterogeneity in their WTP for ecological improvement schemes. Accordingly, the marginal willingness to pay of residents was USD 205/person/year for the respective ecological improvement attributes. The findings suggest that policy makers should consider such attribute-based public preferences while planning landscape development and conservation programs. This study can provide vital policy implications and contribute to knowledge as it presents how the non-market valuations of ecosystems help maximize social welfare.

Can Restoration of Freshwater Mineral Soil Wetlands Deliver Nature-Based Climate Solutions to Agricultural Landscapes?

This study advances scientific understanding of the magnitude of carbon sequestration that could be achieved through conservation (securing existing carbon stocks) and restoration (creating new carbon stocks) of freshwater mineral soil wetlands on agricultural landscapes. Within an agricultural landscape in southern Ontario (Canada), 65,261 wetlands comprising 63,135 ha were lost. Of these, 6,899 wetlands comprising 5,198 ha were “easy-to-restore” wetlands, defined as wetlands that were small (<0.5 ha), with no hydrological inflow or outflow, and that were drained by a drainage ditch and could be restored by plugging the drainage ditch. Within these easy-to-restore wetlands, a chronosequence of wetlands that covered a range of restoration ages [i.e., drained (0 years), 15 years, 25 years, 40 years, and intact marshes] was established to capture potential changes in rates of sedimentation and organic carbon (OC) sequestration with restoration age. Three sediment cores were collected at the center of the open-water portion of the wetland and segmented in the field. In the lab, each individual segment from each core was dried, sieved through a 2-mm mesh, weighed and analyzed for 137Cs and 210Pb radioisotopes and OC. OC stocks (35.60 Mg ha–1) and OC sequestration rates (0.89 Mg C ha–2 yr–1) in wetlands restored for 40 years were comparable to if not marginally larger than intact wetlands, suggesting that restoration promotes OC sequestration but that an initial recovery phase of up to 25 years or more is needed before returning to a pre-drainage equilibrium. An economic analysis to compare the costs and benefits of wetland conservation and restoration was then conducted. The benefit-cost analysis revealed that the financial benefits of carbon sequestration are greater than the financial costs over a 30-year time horizon for retaining wetlands but not for restoring wetlands. The breakeven costs such that wetland restoration is economically feasible based on current carbon price projections is estimated to be $17,173 CAD ha–1 over the 30-year time horizon; any wetland restoration project that costs this amount or less could be justified on economic grounds based solely on the carbon benefits. This study’s findings indicate that wetlands are important nature-based climate solutions, but that incentivizing their use through a carbon market will require either scientific innovations to reduce restoration costs or increase carbon sequestration rates, or stacking carbon benefits with other ecosystem service benefits into a comprehensive market for nature-based climate solutions.

Nature-Positive Design and Development: A Case Study on Regenerating Black Cockatoo Habitat in Urban Developments in Perth, Australia

The benefits of ecosystem services to cities are well documented; for example, water-sensitive urban design to mitigate stormwater flows and purify run-off, the cooling benefits provided by tree shade, and psychological benefits of urban greening. Cities tend to displace nature, and in urban environments where nature exists it tends to be as highly altered ecosystems. This paper sets out how it is possible to regenerate nature in cities. We outline the principles of how to do this through a study on a new regenerative urban development in Perth, Australia, where urban planning is intended to support the regeneration of a bioregional habitat within the city. The authors, drawn from sustainability, property development and ecological backgrounds, describe how urban regeneration can potentially facilitate the regeneration of endemic habitat within the city. This builds on the original ecosystem functionality to provide an urban ecosystem that enables biodiversity to regenerate. Perth lies on the Swan Coastal Plain, a biodiversity hotspot; it is home to 2.1 million people and numerous endemic species such as the endangered Black Cockatoo. Low reproduction rates and habitat loss through agricultural clearing, fire and urban expansion have greatly reduced the Black Cockatoo’s range and this continuing trend threatens extinction. However, the charismatic Black Cockatoos enjoy passionate support from Perth’s citizens. This paper describes a range of strategies whereby new urban development could potentially harness the popularity of the iconic Black Cockatoo to build momentum for urban habitat regeneration (for the cockatoos and other species) on the Swan Coastal Plain. The strategies, if systematically operationalised through urban planning, could allow city-scale ecological gain. The authors suggest a framework for nature-positive design and development that offers multiple benefits for human and non-human urban dwellers across scales, from individual gardens, to city/regional scale habitat corridors. Collectively, these strategies can increase the capacity of the city to support endemic species, simultaneously enhancing a bioregional “sense of place”, and numerous associated ecosystem services to increase urban resilience in the face of climate change.

A global synthesis of ecosystem services provided and disrupted by freshwater bivalve molluscs.

ABSTRACTIdentification of ecosystem services, i.e. the contributions that ecosystems make to human well‐being, has proven instrumental in galvanising public and political support for safeguarding biodiversity and its benefits to people. Here we synthesise the global evidence on ecosystem services provided and disrupted by freshwater bivalves, a heterogenous group of >1200 species, including some of the most threatened (in Unionida) and invasive (e.g. Dreissena polymorpha) taxa globally. Our systematic literature review resulted in a data set of 904 records from 69 countries relating to 24 classes of provisioning (N = 189), cultural (N = 491) and regulating (N = 224) services following the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES). Prominent ecosystem services included (i) the provisioning of food, materials and medicinal products, (ii) knowledge acquisition (e.g. on water quality, past environments and historical societies), ornamental and other cultural contributions, and (iii) the filtration, sequestration, storage and/or transformation of biological and physico‐chemical water properties. About 9% of records provided evidence for the disruption rather than provision of ecosystem services. Synergies and trade‐offs of ecosystem services were observed. For instance, water filtration by freshwater bivalves can be beneficial for the cultural service ‘biomonitoring’, while negatively or positively affecting food consumption or human recreation. Our evidence base spanned a total of 91 genera and 191 species, dominated by Unionida (55% of records, 76% of species), Veneroida (21 and 9%, respectively; mainly Corbicula spp.) and Myoida (20 and 4%, respectively; mainly Dreissena spp.). About one third of records, predominantly from Europe and the Americas, related to species that were non‐native to the country of study. The majority of records originated from Asia (35%), with available evidence for 23 CICES classes, as well as Europe (29%) and North America (23%), where research was largely focused on ‘biomonitoring’. Whilst the earliest record (from 1949) originated from North America, since 2000, annual output of records has increased rapidly in Asia and Europe. Future research should focus on filling gaps in knowledge in lesser‐studied regions, including Africa and South America, and should look to provide a quantitative valuation of the socio‐economic costs and benefits of ecosystem services shaped by freshwater bivalves.

Co‐benefits for terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystem services available from contrasting land protection policies in the contiguous United States

AbstractConservation organizations seek to achieve multiple benefits for biodiversity and ecosystem services through protected area expansion, necessitating an understanding of potential co‐benefits and trade‐offs. We use benefit functions derived from modeled and best‐available data to characterize five benefits (habitat area, total species richness, threatened species richness, carbon storage, and recreational use) and examine how trade‐off assessments are influenced by policy context, when controlling for the effect of cost and future conversion threat. We applied a pairwise correlation (broad actions) and a “best sites” approach (narrow actions) for land protection across the contiguous United States. We also considered the spatial footprint of regional and thematic policies. Nationally, we find strong potential for co‐benefits between biodiversity, habitat, and carbon storage. Scope for co‐benefits is weaker when including recreational use, an ecosystem service driven primarily by human population. Crucially, we show that the conclusions one would draw regarding scope for co‐benefits can change markedly depending on the context and spatial footprint of policy decisions.

GEF Innovative Forest Management Plan—Taking Grassland Forest Farm in Fengning County as an Example

Currently, China’s forest ecosystem focus is shifting from a single management objective to multiple management objectives, aiming to improve forest quality and maximize the benefits of ecosystem services. Many difficulties and problems are encountered in the long-term development of most northern state-owned forest farms—for example, the fragmentation and degradation of forest landscapes caused by poor forest management and extensive land use—resulting in an ecosystem that is unable to provide optimal services. This research was conducted on the Fengning Grassland Forest Farm, which is based on the GEF project of state-owned forest farms. We applied lessons from international advanced concepts, such as landscape restoration, and combinecombined all types of existing data and supplementary survey data on forest farms. In addition, we used multivariate statistical analysis and geostatistical analysis methods to optimize spatial layout and forest landscape structure. Strategies of landscape restoration and optimization, forest quality improvement, and grassland ecological restoration were proposed. A forest growth model was established to predict the annual growth of forests, calculate sustainable levels of annual cutting, calculate biomass and carbon sequestration in the management period, and evaluate the value of the ecological service functions of forest ecosystems in forest farms. Finally, a set of forest management methods was developed to effectively improve the sustainable management level of state-owned forest farms and enhance the service function of forest ecosystems.