Flow Of Ecosystem Services Research Articles

Changing Outlook on Harnessing Biodiversity Values – A Special Focus on Indian Himalaya

The Himalaya, as provider of goods and range of ecosystem services, is vitalfor sustaining life of millions of people in uplands and billions in lowlands.Indian National Action Plan on Climate Change has recognized the regionvital for ecological security of the country. However, growing demand forbio-resources, combined with inadequate appreciation for values of goodsand services provided by Himalayan biodiversity, has led to the unsustainableuse of these resources, leading to environmental degradation in the region.The paper also looks into the scenario as to how recent pandemic of COVID19 has brought increased focus of people on bio-resources of the region.More importantly it has suggested conservation and sustainable utilizationof biodiversity to ensure for sustaining the continuous flow of ecosystemservices and goods. Biodiversity in the region provides several opportunities,however, under changing scenario, we need to think afresh and differently onpossibilities of finding better and optimal livelihood options, and the issuesof conservation in the region. In this context, larger focus on conservationeducation has been stressed as a way forward. This paper attempts to builda case for the biodiversity in Indian Himalayan Region through a SWOT assessment. Certain cases have been elaborated wherein the outlook haschanged to harness the values.

Assessing nature-based solutions for transformative change

Assessing nature-based solutions for transformative change

Urban afforestation and its ecosystem balance contribution: a bibliometric review

PurposeUrbanization is characterized mainly by changes in land use and conversion of natural areas into built environments, as well as by a series of impacts, such as loss of biodiversity, which interfere with the proper functioning of ecological networks.Design/methodology/approachThus, the authors apply a bibliometric analysis using the term “Urban Trees” in the “Web of Science” database, between 2009 and 2019, as a keyword to include all urban green structures and identify the main aspects of urban ecological relationships. They found 8,367 published articles.FindingsThis review identified the main countries and research institutions that operate in urban afforestation. In general, developing countries seek to understand the environmental benefits that urban afforestation can provide, demonstrating the importance of maintaining existing green areas in urban centers to promote the balance of the ecosystem. It depends directly on the flow of ecosystem services provided by green infrastructures in the city, contributing significantly to carbon sequestration, retention of particulate matter, mitigation of heat islands and reduction of surface runoff, directly favoring the health and well-being of the population. The authors conclude that the actions currently implemented in urban afforestation, especially to increase the richness and abundance of species, will be decisive for the future of urban centers and the construction of more sustainable and egalitarian cities.Originality/valueThis work sought to develop a bibliographic research based on information obtained by bibliometric analysis that has the ability to identify trends and volumes of scientific production in a given area of knowledge.

Estimating Marginal Costs of Additional Water Flow from a Loblolly Pine Stand in South Georgia, United States

AbstractCertain silvicultural operations enhance the flow of ecosystem services derived from forestlands. Monetary estimates of an increased flow of such services that can impact forest management decisions are generally lacking. Here we use a growth-and-yield model to estimate physical changes in water yield and assign monetary values to these changes under different regimes of forest thinning and planting density in a loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) stand located in South Georgia. The model is expanded to develop corresponding measures of water yield and net present value per each management scenario. Results show an expected inverse relationship between average annual water yield and economic rent. Further, the marginal costs associated with producing an extra liter of water (per unit area) decrease as thinning intensifies and planting density declines (US$1.35/kL to US$0.72/kL under a site index of 18.3 m and US$1.20/kL to US$0.66/kL, assuming a site index of 21.3 m) relative to our baseline scenario. We emphasize that a landowner’s profits may be negatively affected by the provision of improved water yield downstream as it competes with timber extraction. Monetary payments are needed to encourage the net production of water from existing loblolly pine stands in South Georgia, United States.

Conceptual Model of Ecosystem Service Flows from Carbon Dioxide to Blue Carbon in Coastal Wetlands: An Empirical Study Based on Yancheng, China

Large amounts of blue carbon exist in the ecosystems of coastal wetlands. Accurate calculations of the stocks and economic value of blue carbon in various plant communities can facilitate vegetation rehabilitation. Based on this objective, first, a blue carbon estimation model was constructed by combining a Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach (CASA) model, and second, the distribution pattern of blue carbon and flow direction of ecosystem services (carbon sequestration) in a coastal wetland in China was analyzed utilizing a combination of field surveys, remote sensing data, and laboratory analysis techniques. Finally, the wetland carbon sequestration value and its income-expenditure status were measured using the carbon tax method. The results show that the aboveground net primary productivity of coastal wetland vegetation exhibits a non-zonal distribution in the south-north direction, whereas it presented a three-level gradient distribution, characterized as “low (200–300 g/m2∙y)–intermediate (300–400 g/m2∙y)–high (400–500 g/m2∙y)”, in the east-west direction. The accumulation of carbon gradually increased from the ground surface to the underground (litter < underground roots < soil) in Spartina alterniflora and Phragmites australis. On the type scale, Spartina alterniflora and Phragmites australis wetlands were of the “blue carbon” net outflow type (supply type), with mean annual outflow carbon sequestration values of 3272.3 $/ha and 40.9 $/ha, respectively. The Suaeda glauca wetland was of the “blue carbon” net inflow type (benefit type), with a mean annual inflow carbon sequestration value of 190.7 $/ha.

Exploring global interregional food system's sustainability using the functional regions typology

Maintaining food security and environmental integrity over time requires a transition towards sustainable food systems. This paper analyzes different dimensions of national food supply sustainability on a global scale. By focusing on four food staples: wheat, rice, maize, and soybeans, the analysis identifies production regions that are more or less environmentally sustainable. It explores the dependence of different countries on calories supplied by these regions. These four staples' production requires 648 million hectares of cropland and about 559 cubic kilometers of irrigation water. It also leads to several environmental impacts, including potential soil loss and species loss. Yet, these impacts and pressures are spread unevenly across agricultural systems.We find that over one-third of the global calorie intake originates from regions with a high per ton environmental impacts. Although most consumed calories are from domestic sources, traded calories mostly originate from environmentally suitable production regions, increasing importing countries' food supply sustainability. This analysis also reveals interregional tradeoffs, where food imports into one region (increased food provision) is associated with high environmental impact in production regions. Further, this typology allows identifying an elusive, often overlooked interregional connection. That is the potential loss of future ecosystem service flow from countries with the lower gross domestic product per capita and high biodiversity. To date, those countries rely primarily on domestic staple production, which puts pressure on vulnerable local ecosystems. Species loss in those regions reduces the potential future interregional flows of genetic material. Alternatively, conservation combined with food imports can maintain diversity and the potential flow of genetic material from those regions. The functional regions typology provides a complete assessment of the interregional connections that make up the global food system. Therefore, it is useful for informing policy analysts and policymakers of a broader collection of stakeholders regarding the local environment. It also provides essential information about the suitability of different policy mechanisms to govern interregional systems. Future research shall expand the functional regions' typology to include additional environmental and human-related (e.g., technological), to cover more crops, and to account for other food categories, such as meat.

Evidence of Similarities in Ecosystem Service Flow across the Rural-Urban Spectrum

In 2006, the world’s population passed the threshold of being equally split between rural and urban areas. Since this point, urbanisation has continued, and the majority of the global population are now urban inhabitants. With this ongoing change, it is likely that the way people receive benefits from nature (ecosystem services; ES) has also evolved. Environmental theory suggests that rural residents depend directly on their local environment (conceptualised as green-loop systems), whereas urban residents have relatively indirect relationships with distant ecosystems (conceptualised as red-loop systems). Here, we evaluate this theory using survey data from >3000 households in and around Hyderabad, India. Controlling for other confounding socioeconomic variables, we investigate how flows of 10 ES vary across rural, peri-urban and urban areas. For most of the ES we investigated, we found no statistical differences in the levels of direct or indirect use of an ecosystem, the distance to the ecosystem, nor the quantities of ES used between rural and urban residents (p > 0.05). However, our results do show that urban people themselves often travel shorter distances than rural people to access most ES, likely because improved infrastructure in urban areas allows for the transport of ES from wider ecosystems to the locality of the beneficiaries’ place of residence. Thus, while we find some evidence to support red-loop–green-loop theory, we conclude that ES flows across the rural-urban spectrum may show more similarities than might be expected. As such, the impact of future urbanisation on ES flows may be limited, because many flows in both rural and urban areas have already undergone globalisation.

How to coordinate cross-regional water resource relationship by integrating water supply services flow and interregional ecological compensation

Ecosystem service (ES) flow reveals the transregional benefits transferred from service supply areas (SSAs) to service benefiting areas (SBAs), which correspond to the sellers and buyers of interregional ecological compensation, respectively. However, current ecological compensation policies usually ignore this close connection. This study took the water supply services (WSSs) with the most obvious flow characteristics as an example and established a universal framework for interregional ecological compensation by combining WSSs flow simulation and regional disparity. The simulation process was programmed with Interactive Data Language (IDL) and analyzed with ArcGIS. Most regions serve as a dual role in the WSSs flow process, the water suppliers and users are relative and scale-dependent. Taking Ningxia as an example, As water benefiting areas (WBAs)/buyers, the total material inflow to Ningxia was 135.86 × 108 ~ 294.22 × 108 m3 from 2000 to 2015 and the value inflow ranged from 1077.39 × 108 ~ 2333.16 × 108 CNY, requiring 101.64 × 108 ~ 293.51 × 108 CNY ecological compensation paid by Ningxia. As water supply areas (WSAs)/sellers, the total material outflow from Ningxia was 72.83 × 108 ~ 200.46 × 108 m3 from 2000 to 2015, and the value outflow was between 577.54 × 108 CNY and 1589.65 × 108 CNY, requiring 63.80 × 108 ~ 112.34 × 108 CNY of ecological compensation to be paid by the downstream basins, especially the Shizuishan – Hekou Town subbasin. Overall, Ningxia was a beneficiary area of WSSs flow and the payers of interregional ecological compensation, with a net payment amount of 37.84 × 108 ~ 181.16 × 108 CNY. This study provides a direct spatial-visualized reference to water resource management for policy-makers and promotes the integration of ES flow and interregional ecological compensation. Furthermore, it can improve the public recognition of interregional ecological compensation with the spatial mapping of the levy and allocation and conducive to the sustainable provisioning of ESs ultimately.

Network landscape representation: ecosystem services context

Mostly ecosystem problems concern contradictions between extensive land use and cover in the context of sustainable agricultural landscape. Environment governance along with land use planning and development requires a thorough consideration of capacities and flows of ecosystem services and concomitant goods as well. Pertinent assessment is usually performed through mapping techniques. However, experts emphasized the need to find and apply novel means of presenting the structure and dynamics of service-providing entities. This paper introduces a brief characterization of landscape of the Oka district (Republic of Buryatia, Russia) in novel network scope with aim to provide further possible tradeoff between traditional land use and ecosystem sustainability.

Representación espacial de la oferta y la demanda de los servicios ecosistémicos vinculados al agua

Many of the contributions of nature to people are embodied or mediated by water. This article explores and exemplifies the spatial representation of the supply and demand of ecosystem services related to water and its application to the different needs of environmental management and policy, with particular focus in the Argentine case. The supply of these services can be mapped by combining different sources of geographic and satellite information supported by pre-established protocols or models. Their demand, even for highly subjective services such as the cultural ones, can be mapped using public photo databases or social networks. Representing supplydemand links often requires spatial abstractions or distortions. One possibility is to discretize the territory into sections and generate an exchange matrix for multiple services among them. Another one is the continuous quantification of the production and consumption of services along watersheds. Representations of ‘virtual water’ transport associated with the exchange of products can be related to the flow of water-related ecosystem services only if the water sources involved are distinguished (e.g., rain or ‘green water’ vs. irrigation or ‘blue water’ for agricultural products) and valued according to the context of the origin and destination. Each spatial representation is better adapted to different environmental management situations. Maps are valuable for land use planning. Exchange matrices are suggested to explore conflicts and cooperation opportunities. Continuous representations of watersheds are useful for evaluating hydraulic or green interventions. Finally, the analyses of virtual water exchange between countries constitute a valuable element for international negotiations. The representation of water-related ecosystem services is a pillar of nature governance, ideally co-constructed by scientists and decision makers.

Towards an enhanced indication of provisioning ecosystem services in agro-ecosystems

Provisioning ecosystem services play a vital role in sustaining human well-being. Agro-ecosystems contribute a significant share of these services, besides food and fodder and also fuel and fibre as well as regulating and cultural ecosystem services. Until now, the indication of provisioning ecosystem services of agro-ecosystems has been based almost only on yield numbers of agricultural products. Such an indication is problematic due to several reasons which include a disregard of the role of significant anthropogenic contributions to ecosystem service co-generation, external environmental effects and strong dependence on site conditions. We argue for an enhanced indication of provisioning ecosystem services that considers multiple aspects of their delivery. The conceptual base for such an indication has been made by prior publications which have been reviewed. Relevant points were taken up in this article and condensed into a conceptual model in order to develop a more holistic and expanded set of indictors, which was then exemplarily applied and tested in three case studies in Germany. The case studies represent different natural conditions, and the indicator set application showed that ecosystem services (ES) flow—in terms of output alone—does not characterise agro-ecosystems sufficiently. The proposed aspects of provisioning ecosystem services can give a fuller picture, for example, by input-output relationships, as it is possible by just using single indicators. Uncertainties as well as pros and cons of such an approach are elaborated. Finally, recommendations for an enhanced indication of provisioning ecosystem services in agro-ecosystems that can help to integrate agricultural principles with ideas of sustainability and site-specific land use are derived.

Ecological restoration of agricultural land can improve its contribution to economic development.

Given the negative environmental impacts of intensive agriculture, there is an urgent need to reduce the impact of food production on biodiversity. Ecological restoration of farmland could potentially contribute to this goal. While the positive impacts of ecological restoration on biodiversity are well established, less evidence is available regarding impacts on economic development and employment. Potentially, prospects for economic development could be enhanced by ecological restoration though increased provision of ecosystem services, on which some economic activity depends. Here we examined this issue through the development of contrasting land use scenarios for the county of Dorset, southern England. Two scenarios of future agricultural expansion were compared with two scenarios of landscape-scale ecological restoration and the current situation. Impacts on provision of multiple ecosystem services (ES) were explored using InVEST models and proxy values for different land cover types. Impacts on economic employment were examined using an economic input-output model, which was adjusted for variation in ES flows using empirically determined ES dependency values for different economic sectors. Using the unadjusted input-output model, the scenarios had only a slight economic impact (≤ 0.3% Gross Value Added, GVA). Conversely, when the input-output model was adjusted to take account of ES flows, GVA increased by up to 5.4% in the restoration scenarios, whereas under the scenario with greatest agricultural expansion, GVA was reduced by -4.5%. Similarly, employment increased by up to 6.7% following restoration, compared to declines of up to -5.6% following maximum agricultural expansion. These results show that the economic contribution of rural land is far greater than that attributable to agricultural production alone. Landscape-scale restoration of agricultural land can potentially increase the contribution of farmland to economic development and employment, by increasing flows of multiple ES to the many economic sectors that depend on them.

Neanche VAIA resiste all’insostenibile leggerezza delle statistiche forestali

Abstract: Recently published data on Italian forest removals from FAO and EUROSTAT are still ridden with inaccuracies and underestimation. In this work we show how and why the Italian forestry data collection system is in itself unreliable. This represents a major obstacle for designing sector policies, ensuring the flow of forest ecosystem services from the forest to the society, and defining a role for forests, forestry and wood consistent with the European Green Deal and in the NextGenerationEU Recovery and Resilience Facility. A more reliable strategy for data collection is urgently required.

Ecosystem services from forest and farmland: Present and past access separates beneficiaries in rural Ethiopia

Ecosystem services are essential to human well-being. Different mechanisms modify people’s access to the benefits from ecosystem services, but who benefits from which services, and the underlying factors that shape such variability, often remain unclear. To address this, we surveyed current and past ecosystem service flows from forest and farmland into rural Ethiopian households. After disaggregating beneficiary groups, we explored current and past mechanisms that impeded or facilitated their access. We found five groups of current ecosystem service beneficiaries that received varying degrees of service flows from forest and farmland. Important access barriers were economic problems and shortage of land, particularly for worse-off households, and wildlife damage and labour shortage. Over time, flows from forest and those directly benefiting human well-being (e.g. food, energy) were perceived to have declined, especially for worse-off groups. In contrast, access to emerging market-oriented services with indirect benefits (such as cash crops) increased, but especially so for better-off groups who capitalised on market opportunities and agricultural intensification. Forest cover loss and protection caused decreased access across groups. Identifying group-specific access problems and trajectories, removing economic, land- and labour-related barriers, and addressing environmental challenges, are important to facilitate equitable sharing of the benefits of rural ecosystems.

Assessment of ecological importance of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau based on ecosystem service flows

Assessments of ecological importance based on static indexes that do not consider service flows frequently underestimate the importance of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau as a “source”. On the basis of natural environmental characteristics, this study selected six type of ecosystem services for evaluation, including water retention, soil retention, carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, sandstorm prevention, and tourism. According to the attributes of each ecosystem service flow, we calculated the flow length and traffic accessibility indexes, using ArcGIS hydrological module and kernel functions separately, to comprehensively analyse the ecological importance levels of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Results showed that after considering the service flows, the ecologically important zone shifted to the core area of the Three River Source Region, such as Zadoi County located in the Tanggula Mountains. The area of extreme importance is mainly distributed in the Yarlung Zangbo River basin, Tanggula Mountains, Hengduan Mountains, and Qilian Mountains, which accounts for 31.7% of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, providing approximately 60% of the ecosystem services and having extremely high protection efficiency and protection value. By introducing ecosystem service flow indexes, this study confirmed the ecological importance of core source areas such as the Tanggula Mountains, weakened the space bias caused by not considering the spatial transfer of ecosystem services, and provided technical support for optimizing ecological protection strategies and coordinating regional development.

Quantifying tree carbon stock in historically conserved Seminary Hills urban forest of Nagpur, India

Urban forests help regulating flow of ecosystem services and are efficient to sequester atmospheric carbon. Tree carbon stock in urban forests and green spaces can help improving human well-being. Nagpur being one of the fastest growing urban agglomerate in India that has faced rapid loss of green spaces in last three decades. Present study assessed tree biomass carbon storage potential of a historically conserved large (67.41 ha) Seminary Hills Reserve forest of Nagpur. A total of 150 quadrats of 100 m2 were laid to understand the vegetation structure and tree biomass storage. Overall structure and composition of the forest was assessed while, non-destructive biomass estimation was carried out using tree volume eqs. A total of 27 tree species belonging to 12 plant families were observed from the forest with only 6 tree species being dominant and remaining 21 being rare in occurrence. The maximum tree carbon storage was observed in dominant tree species of Hardwickia binata (76.30 t C ha−1) followed by 17.04 t C ha−1 in Tectona grandis and 1.19 t C ha−1 in Boswellia serrata. Carbon stock in other co-dominant species was reported in Terminalia bellirica (76.57 kg C ha−1), Gardenia resinifera (1118.6 g C ha−1) and Terminalia arjuna (84.8 g C ha−1). Total carbon stock of dominant tree species present in Seminary Hills urban forest was 94.53 ± 39.6 t C ha−1. The study intends to bring focus ecosystem benefits from Urban Forests in growing urban sprawls of India and the need to include their vital role in urban planning.

Agriculture impacts benthic insects on multiple scales in the Eastern Amazon

Brazilian Amazon is facing ongoing threat due to deforestation. Eastern Amazon (EA), however, is an old colonization front, where rural landscape is dominated by secondary vegetation (capoeira) and cattle ranching. The effects of land-use land-cover (LULC) at catchment, riparian and local scales upon stream insect assemblages (SIA) were analyzed from 17 catchments. Agriculture development, daily variation in temperature, dissolved oxygen and sodium concentrations explained variations of 33.7% in taxa composition and 58.5% in functional feeding groups. Partial Least Squares Regression revealed complex effects on SIA, pointing to interactions of LULC at all scales, but stronger at the riparian. Capoeira placed varied effects upon SIA, positive and negative and weaker than agriculture or forest cover. In order to warrant optimal conditions to the stream biota, indicating a sustained flow of ecosystem services, both forest fragments and capoeira patches should be adequately managed, especially along and closer to the aquatic habitat network.

Evaluating coral reef ecosystem services outcomes from climate change adaptation strategies using integrative system dynamics

Coral reef ecosystems provide a broad spectrum of essential ecological, economic and cultural services for Small Island Developing State (SIDS) communities. However, coral reef communities are increasingly threatened by the adverse impacts of human activities at both global and local scales. This study aims to develop an integrated dynamic assessment framework to evaluate coral reef conditions under different adaptation and climate change scenarios, and their consequential economic impacts in the small island community of Port Resolution on Tanna Island in Vanuatu. Our assessment framework follows a sequential multilayered modelling approach that uses System Dynamics (SD) coupled with Bayesian Network (BN) modelling to deal with the complexity and dynamicity of socioeconomic and environmental systems, and impacts from trans-discipline variables. The BN incorporated existing data and expert knowledge to project the future conditions of coral reefs under different scenario settings, and to parametrise and quantify the SD model where the existing data and information was insufficient. The SD was then used to simulate the dynamic relationship between coral reef condition and the economic benefits derived from its ecosystem services under different climate change (i.e. RCPs) and management scenarios through to 2070. Our findings show that sustainable community-based conservation management strategies are key to preserving the flow of coral reef ecosystem services under RCP 2.6 and 6.0. Importantly, we demonstrate that the implementation of an integrated portfolio of management strategies better protects ecosystem services provided by coral reefs and maximises the total economic benefits achieved over the long-term despite a temporary and short-term economic loss due to high initial capital investments and income reduction due to fishing and tourism restrictions.

Analysis of Spatial and Temporal Characteristics and Spatial Flow Process of Soil Conservation Service in Jinghe Basin of China

The supply and demand of ecosystem services and their mutual feedback are important for the formulation of basin ecological environmental policies. Simulation of the spatial flow of ecosystem services can clarify the division of areas and can support policy development. This paper takes the Jinghe Basin in the Loess Plateau of China as the case-study area to simulate the spatial flow of soil conservation service on different scales. The results showed that (1) soil erosion situations in Jinghe Basin improved overall, with a trend of first aggravating and then recovering between 2005 and 2015; (2) the amount of annual soil conservation in the basin accounted for more than 75% of the potential soil erosion and showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing; and (3) using digital elevation model (DEM) data and ArcGIS software, the experiment divided the basin into sub-basins (58 in total) and hydrological response units (HRUs) (e.g., 2181 HRUs in sub-basin #1), which were used to quantify the spatial flow direction and the corresponding amount of soil conservation service on the “HRU—river-sub-basin” scale. The divided supply and demand helped quantify the spatial flow pattern of soil conservation services from HRU to the sub-basin.

Integrating Ecosystem Services Supply, Demand and Flow in Ecological Compensation: A Case Study of Carbon Sequestration Services

Through the implementation of ecological compensation policy, it is of great significance to protect ecosystems, coordinate regional development, and achieve sustainable development goals. This study selected the carbon sequestration service in Yantai as an example and carried out a study on the measurement of ecological compensation based on the ecosystem services supply and demand. Moreover, this study clarified the whole process of the generation, circulation and social demand docking of ecological benefits from the perspective of “nature-society”, proposed a spatial flow characterization method for carbon sequestration services, and described the “externality” spillover of ecosystem services. The results showed that most areas of Yantai belonged to the ecological surplus area, which were important sources of carbon sequestration services. Ecological compensation was needed, with a total amount of about 2.2 billion yuan. Qixia, Muping and Penglai had greater comparative ecological radiation force (CERF), and the total amount of carbon sequestration services transferred to the external areas was large. Although the carbon sequestration flows of Yantai showed a spatial decay law, there were significant differences in the direction of different districts and cities. The study can provide a reference for achieving sustainable development of Yantai and formulating ecological compensation policy.