Provision Of Ecosystem Services Research Articles

Integrating socioeconomic and ecological data into restoration practice.

Driven by the United Nations Decade on Restoration and international funding initiatives, such as the Mangrove Breakthrough, investment in mangrove restoration is expected to increase. Yet, mangrove restoration efforts frequently fail, usually because of ad hoc site-selection processes that do not consider mangrove ecology and the socioeconomic context. Using decision analysis, we developed an approach that accounts for socioeconomic and ecological data to identify sites with the highest likelihood of mangrove restoration success. We applied our approach in the Biosphere Reserve Marismas Nacionales Nayarit, Mexico, an area that recently received funding for implementing mangrove restoration actions. We identified 468 potential restoration sites, assessed their restorability potential based on socioeconomic and ecological metrics, and ranked sites for implementation with spatial optimization. The metrics we used included favorable conditions for propagules to establish and survive under sea-level rise, provision of ecosystem services, and community dynamics. Sites that were selected based on socioeconomic or ecological metrics alone had lower likelihood of mangrove restoration success than sites that were selected based on integrated socioeconomic and ecological metrics. For example, selecting sites based on only socioeconomic metrics captured 16% of the maximum attainable value of functioning mangroves able to provide propagules to potential restoration sites, whereas selecting sites based on ecological and socioeconomic metrics captured 46% of functioning mangroves. Our approach was developed as part of a collaboration between nongovernmental organizations, local government, and academics under rapid delivery time lines given preexisting mangrove restoration implementation commitments. The systematic decision process we used integrated socioeconomic and ecological considerations even under short delivery deadlines, and our approach can be adapted to help mangrove restoration site-selection decisions elsewhere.

A relação entre a heterogeneidade da paisagem e os serviços ecossistêmicos em Santa María Huatulco, Oaxaca, México

[Introduction]: The variability of geographic space, in terms of the horizontal structure of landscapes, influences ecology and suggests an association between landscape heterogeneity indices (LHI) and ecosystem services (ES). This relationship is crucial for conservation and sustainable development in Latin America, given the diversity of landscapes, from tropical forests to snow-capped mountains and deserts, which harbor a unique wealth of biodiversity and ecological functions. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between LHI and ES. [Methodology]: Fourteen landscape heterogeneity indices and seven ecosystem services were calculated in Santa María Huatulco, Oaxaca, and related to the estimated ecosystem services for the same area. [Results]: The models showed a statistically significant relationship between LHI and ES, suggesting that certain LHI can influence the provision and distribution of ES. [Conclusions]: Therefore, understanding how LHI affect ES is essential to promote sustainable development in Latin America.

A meta‐analysis of the effects of anthropogenic disturbances on tropical mammal functional diversity

Abstract Understanding the processes that shape biological communities under a variety of perturbations is a central challenge in ecology and conservation. Mammals contribute to critical functional processes of an ecosystem, such as seed dispersal to maintain forest carbon stocks. The analysis of functional diversity, which measures the range and value of the ecological traits of organisms, provides critical information to understanding the link between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. A growing number of studies have investigated the effects of anthropogenic disturbances on mammalian functional diversity; however, their results are very heterogeneous. Here, we conduct a comprehensive meta‐analysis of the effects of such anthropogenic disturbances on mammalian functional diversity in the tropics. We highlight major trends and analyse the influence of the type of anthropogenic disturbance, subgroups, and the functional diversity index used/applied. Our results indicate a negative effect of anthropogenic disturbances on mammalian functional diversity, particularly on functional richness (FRic) and functional dispersion (FDis). Habitat isolation was the stressor with the strongest effect, while agriculture and urbanisation showed a positive link with functional diversity. These results indicate that anthropogenic disturbances not only affect taxonomic diversity, but also reduce the functional diversity of mammals, which is likely to affect ecosystem functioning and possibly ecosystem service provision.

Socio Economic Factors Contributing to Riparian Ecosystem Degradation along Kaiti River in Makueni County

The degradation of riparian ecosystems threatens the livelihoods of communities that depend on these socio-ecological systems (SES) for their well-being. This is because; riparian ecosystems provide ecosystem services like fodder, timber, soil development, water regulation and habitat for wildlife. The riparian ecosystem in Kenya's Eastern Semi-Arid Region is one of the affected zones and information is required to understand the causes therein. This case study focussed on the Kaiti River in Makueni County to analyse the socio-economic factors leading to its riparian degradation. Data was collected between September 2018 to March 2019 using questionnaires, key informant interviews, focus group discussions and photographs. To analyse the data, SPSS version 26 interface with regression and correlation analysis was used to analyse the causes of riparian ecosystem degradation along the river. Crop farming was found to be a leading cause of degradation (R-Square =0.849, F (1, 99) =9.4495, p-value=0.0003<0.05) showing that farming accounts for 84.9% of the variations in degradation of River Kaiti riparian ecosystem. A calculated beta value implied that a unit raise in crop farming would lead to a rise in the degradation of the River Kaiti riparian ecosystem by 0.782 (p-value=0.001<0.05). The results of the study also revealed that livestock farming (R-Square =0.615, β=0.211, p-value =0.002≤0.05), lack of riparian conservation awareness (R-Square =0.573, β=-0.757, p-value= 0.002<0.05) and Commercial sand harvesting R-Square=0.659, β=0.205, p value=0.000<0.05) significantly contribute to River Kaiti riparian ecosystem degradation. Other causes significantly contributing to degradation (R-Square =0.520, β=0.212, p-value=0.001≤0.05,) were poor natural resource governance, poverty, poor infrastructure, climate change and land use changes. The study concludes that awareness creation and control of human activity in the Kaiti riparian zone would significantly reduce riparian ecosystem degradation. A multi-stakeholder approach whereby the community takes centre stage in monitoring and implementing riparian conservation measures is recommended.

Quantifying farm sustainability through the lens of ecological theory.

The achievements of the Green Revolution in meeting the nutritional needs of a growing global population have been won at the expense of unintended consequences for the environment. Some of these negative impacts are now threatening the sustainability of food production through the loss of pollinators and natural enemies of crop pests, the evolution of pesticide resistance, declining soil health and vulnerability to climate change. In the search for farming systems that are sustainable both agronomically and environmentally, alternative approaches have been proposed variously called 'agroecological', 'conservation agriculture', 'regenerative' and 'sustainable intensification'. While the widespread recognition of the need for more sustainable farming is to be welcomed, this has created etymological confusion that has the potential to become a barrier to transformation. There is a need, therefore, for objective criteria to evaluate alternative farming systems and to quantify farm sustainability against multiple outcomes. To help meet this challenge, we reviewed the ecological theories that explain variance in regulating and supporting ecosystem services delivered by biological communities in farmland to identify guiding principles for management change. For each theory, we identified associated system metrics that could be used as proxies for agroecosystem function. We identified five principles derived from ecological theory: (i) provide key habitats for ecosystem service providers; (ii) increase crop and non-crop habitat diversity; (iii) increase edge density: (iv) increase nutrient-use efficiency; and (v) avoid extremes of disturbance. By making published knowledge the foundation of the choice of associated metrics, our aim was to establish a broad consensus for their use in sustainability assessment frameworks. Further analysis of their association with farm-scale data on biological communities and/or ecosystem service delivery would provide additional validation for their selection and support for the underpinning theories.

Construction and Change Analysis of Water Ecosystem Service Flow Networks in the Xiangjiang River Basin (XRB)

Clearing and successfully characterizing ecosystem service flow paths has become a key bottleneck restricting in-depth research on the supply and demand relationships of ecosystem services. At present, although some explorations have been performed using water ecosystem services as a pioneer, the nature of its network and the fact that ecological base flow needs to be eliminated have been ignored. This study used InVEST and network models to consider ecological base flow, quantifying the supply, demand, and flow paths of freshwater ecosystem services in the Xiangjiang River Basin. The results showed that the overall distribution of the water supply in the Xiangjiang River Basin from 2000 to 2020 shows a pattern of higher supply in the south and lower supply in the north. The distribution of water demand shows higher levels in the north and lower levels in the south. The network density remains at its maximum level. The results of this study have provided a scientific basis for water resource management in river basins and improving ecological compensation mechanisms.

Beyond biomass production: Enhancing biodiversity while capturing carbon in short rotation coppice poplar plantations

Biodiversity is essential for the functioning of ecosystems and the provision of services. In recent years, the role of plantations in mitigating climate change through carbon sequestration has been highlighted. In the Mediterranean area, high-density poplar plantations in short-rotation with resprouting management (SRC) have been established for biomass purposes on mostly irrigated agricultural land, coexisting with rainfed and irrigated agricultural crops. This study aims to assess the contribution of these plantations to this type of agroforest ecosystem in terms of biodiversity. For this purpose, both flora and fauna diversity were evaluated both within and outside of the plantation. Additionally, the accumulated carbon in the biomass, as well as in the accompanying vegetation within the plantation, was assessed. Different indices were used to evaluate both the intrinsic diversity of the forest plantation and the degree of substitution and complementarity between the different communities of the landscape. Our findings reveal distinct biodiversity patterns in the land-use scenarios sampled. Specifically, we observed significantly higher flora-species richness in SRC plantations than in the adjacent agricultural land, whereas fauna richness showed a similar but slightly higher level in the forested area. A moderate level of complementarity between land uses was found for insects and mammals (around 45 %), contrasting with high complementarity for birds (87 %) and flora (90 %). This suggests substantial turnover and replacement among these ecological environments. Our results indicate that a second rotation (4 year) plantation could accumulate a total of 61.6 Mg C ha−1, and even though adventitious flora represents <2 % of the total carbon accumulated, its importance in providing ecosystem services is considerable. Hence, these findings evidence the fact that SRC poplar plantations can enhance biodiversity in Mediterranean agroforest ecosystems and actively contribute to various provisioning ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration, reflecting a multi-objective approach that extends beyond biomass production.

Integrating improved ecosystem status assessment and ecosystem management urgency to identify important zones for ecological protection and restoration

The implementation of ecological protection and restoration (EPR) aims to provide the corresponding ecosystem services (ESs) for the region’s long-term development. Ecosystem status, usually evaluated by ecosystem quality, is an important foundation for delineating EPR zones. However, previous assessment methods fail to consider the effects of site conditions on ecosystem status. Furthermore, if limited resources are allocated to areas where ecosystem management is less urgent, the overall efficiency of the process will be compromised. To fill this gap, we developed a new framework that integrated improved ecosystem status assessment and ecosystem management urgency (EMU) to identify important EPR zones. To begin, the study area was divided into several ecosystem site type based on the site-condition factors, such as soil, climate, and others. Ecological quality then was assessed by parameters from remote sensing, including leaf area index, fractional vegetation cover, etc., which supported the identification of potential EPR zones based on a more accurate assessment of ecosystem status. Secondly, the EMU was determined by assessing the risk of ES supply–demand in the future under various development paths of the study area, potential EPR zones with great EMU are the EPR zones. Finally, the importance levels for EPR were divided by ecosystem quality to improve the practicability of EPR projects, and the important EPR zones are those where we should focus our efforts. The new framework was implemented in Hunan Province, a representative province in China of marked contradiction between economic development and ecosystem protection. The findings show that there is a 58.7 % disparity in the spatial distribution of potential EPR zones, depending on whether the impacts of site conditions on ecosystem status are taken into account or not; and given the EMU, the extent of important EPR zones under natural growth path (NGP) and economic development path (EDP) account for 0.43 % (902.15 km2) and 0.56 % (1195.43 km2) of the study area, respectively, comparing to the existing protection zones, there is 7.2 % (NGP) and 10.1 % (EDP) of vacancy, respectively. Under the ecosystem conservation path, the extent of EPR zones is 0, indicating that the ecosystem will recover gradually without the need for excessive human intervention. The new framework can assist in accurately identifying important EPR zones and promoting regional development by advanced ecosystem intervention in areas with potential risk in the future.

Semi-arid's Unsung Heroes: Hymenoptera and the Vital Ecosystem Services Enabled by Encholirium spectabile, a Rupicolous Bromeliad in the Brazilian Semi-arid Region.

The concept of Ecosystem Services (ES) recognizes the importance of natural ecosystems in supporting human well-being. Hymenoptera, a diverse group of insects including ants, bees, and wasps, play crucial roles in providing ESs. Despite their significance, the provision of ESs by Hymenoptera is often undervalued, leading to ecosystem degradation and loss of important services. This study focuses on the association between Hymenoptera and a rupicolous bromeliad species (Encholirium spectabile) and explores the ESs promoted directly and indirectly by these insects. The study area is located in the Caatinga region of Brazil, characterized by irregular rainfall and a dry season. The results show that Hymenoptera, particularly bees, ants, and wasps, provide a range of ESs including pollination, honey production, pest control, cultural symbolism, and educational value. These services are vital for plant reproduction, food production, and ecosystem functioning in both seasons; there are no differences in species richness between seasons, but rather in species composition. Understanding the importance of Hymenoptera for ESs is crucial for informing conservation and management practices to ensure the sustainability of natural ecosystems. The study highlights the need for conservation actions to protect the intricate ecological relationships between Hymenoptera and bromeliads, which indirectly support ESs by providing habitat and resources, especially during droughts when resources are scarce in the region. By recognizing the importance of bromeliads in supporting Hymenopteran communities, conservation efforts can focus on preserving these critical ecological interactions and maintaining ES provision.

Construction of Cultivated Land Ecological Network Based on Supply and Demand of Ecosystem Services and MCR Model: A Case Study of Shandong Province, China

The research on the ecological protection of cultivated land has gradually become a focus and frontier of cultivated land protection. Constructing an ecological network of a cultivated land system is important to improve the effect of cultivated land ecological protection. In this study, the supply-demand ratio of five ecosystem services was calculated from 2000 to 2020 in Shandong Province, a major grain-producing area in China. The morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) model was used to construct the minimum cumulative resistance (MCR) model. The conclusions of the study are as follows: (1) the areas with a higher supply and demand ratio of various ecosystem services of cultivated land in Shandong Province are distributed in southern and southwestern areas. (2) The ecological source of cultivated land in Shandong Province has decreased by about 7000 km2 from 2000 to 2020, and the fragmentation trend is obvious. (3) The total length of the ecological corridors is 798.5 km2. The majority of these corridors are located in central and southern Shandong. The ideas and conclusions of this study are important for the formulation of ecological protection policies for regional cultivated land systems.

A spatially explicit framework for assessing ecosystem service supply risk under multiple land‐use scenarios in the Xi'an Metropolitan Area of China

AbstractRapid global urbanization has perturbed ecosystem structures and functions, resulting in ecological risk and threatening sustainable human well‐being and socioeconomic development. However, scientific indicators to analyze ecosystem service (ES) risk patterns need to be explored in detail. In addition, studies on ES supply risk are stagnating on historical or status explorations, especially from the view of disturbance from land‐use changes. This study seeks to develop a framework for modeling past‐future ES supply risk pattern evaluation and probing into ES risk patterns under different future land‐use scenarios. To achieve this objective, the framework integrates the Future Land Use Simulation (FLUS) model, the Intelligent Urban Ecosystem Management System (IUEMS) model, and an established indicator system incorporating ES supply trend, hotspots and coldspots, and ES trade‐offs, and synergies. The results show that: (1) In 2050, the supply of climate regulation in the Xi'an Metropolitan Area (XMA) will increase, while that of carbon sequestration and recreation will decrease. In 2050, the supply of climate regulation is the highest under ecological protection (EP) scenario, while the supply of carbon sequestration and recreation are the highest under cropland protection (CP) scenario. (2) From 2000 to 2050, the hotspots and coldspots of climate regulation increase in both natural development (ND) scenario and CP scenario. Notably, CP scenario experiences the most significant reduction in extremely significant hotspots and coldspots of carbon sequestration. From 2000 to 2050, at the regional and pixel scales, climate regulation and carbon sequestration mainly show trade‐offs, and carbon sequestration and recreation show synergies. (3) ES supply risk in XMA is high in the center and low in the north and south. The ES supply risk from 2000 to 2050 is increasing, with expanding “extremely high risk”, “high risk”, and “extremely safe” areas. ES supply risk management should adhere to more strict land‐use policies and guidelines, management zoning for areas with different levels of ES risk, and an accurate understanding of ES trade‐offs and synergies for scientific risk management. This study could provide theoretical and technical references for ES risk assessment research and promote scientific ecological risk management.

Global trends and scenarios for terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystem services from 1900 to 2050.

Based on an extensive model intercomparison, we assessed trends in biodiversity and ecosystem services from historical reconstructions and future scenarios of land-use and climate change. During the 20th century, biodiversity declined globally by 2 to 11%, as estimated by a range of indicators. Provisioning ecosystem services increased several fold, and regulating services decreased moderately. Going forward, policies toward sustainability have the potential to slow biodiversity loss resulting from land-use change and the demand for provisioning services while reducing or reversing declines in regulating services. However, negative impacts on biodiversity due to climate change appear poised to increase, particularly in the higher-emissions scenarios. Our assessment identifies remaining modeling uncertainties but also robustly shows that renewed policy efforts are needed to meet the goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Multi-year analysis of physical interactions between solar PV arrays and underlying soil-plant complex in vegetated utility-scale systems

Concerns over the land use changes impacts of solar photovoltaic (PV) development are increasing as PV energy development expands. Co-locating utility-scale solar energy with vegetation may maintain or rehabilitate the land's ability to provide ecosystem services. Previous studies have shown that vegetation under and around the panels may improve the performance of the co-located PV and that PV may create a favorable environment for the growth of vegetation. While there have been some pilot-scale experiments, the existence and magnitude of these benefits of vegetation has not been confirmed in a utility-scale PV facility over multiple years. In this study we use power output data coupled with microclimatic measurements in temperate climates to assess these potential benefits. This study combines multi-year microclimatic measurements to analyze the physical interactions between PV arrays and the underlying soil-vegetation system in three utility-scale PV facilities in Minnesota, USA. No significant cooling of PV panels or increased power production was observed in PV arrays with underlying vegetation. Fine soil particle fraction was the highest in soils within PV arrays with the vegetation which was attributable to the lowest wind speeds from the compounding suppression of wind by vegetation and PV arrays. Soil moisture and soil nutrient response to re-vegetation varied between PV facilities, which could be attributed to differing soil texture. No statistically significant vegetation-driven panel cooling was observed in this climate. This finding prompts a need for site-specific studies to identify contributing factors for environmental co-benefits in co-located systems.

Patterns of forest community diversity, regeneration potential and carbon storages along an altitudinal gradient in Eastern Himalaya, India

This study showed changing patterns in the plant species composition, diversity, and carbon storage potential of different forests along altitudinal gradients (i.e. 100 – 1900 m) in Eastern Himalayan India. Different tree, shrub and herb species were sampled along the altitudinal gradients ranging from tropical to temperate forests through Nested Plot design. In each forest, vegetation sampling was made by establishing a permanent plot of 250 m × 250 m as per ISRO-GBP/NCP-VCP protocol. Individuals of trees ≥10 cm girth at breast height (GBH), shrubs and herbs were recorded in 4, 8 and 16 subplots of 31.62 m × 31.62 m, 5 m × 5 m and 1 m × 1 m, respectively. Community attributes such as species richness, density, basal area, diversity indices and biomass and carbon storages were computed for each study site. A total of 5 forest communities (2 each from tropical and subtropical and one from temperate forest) were identified. The woody species diversity was highest in the subtropical forest followed by tropical and temperate forest. Altitude played an important role in the Eastern Himalayan Mountains in the establishment and distribution of forest community. Forest community composition changes with elevation, for instance, the dominant communities like Dipterocarpus retusus–Phoebe goalparensis–Schima wallichii (D-P-S), Gmelina arborea–Schima wallichii-Duabanga grandiflora (G-S-D), Schima wallichii–Duabanga grandiflora–Alstonia scholaris (S-D-A), Alstonia scholaris–Terminalia myriocarpa–Bischofia javanica (A-T-B) and Acer thomsonii–Rhodendron arboreum–Quercus lamellose (A-R-Q) were present at elevational ranges of 100–300 m, 300–700 m, 700–1100 m, 1100–1500 m and 1500–1900 m, respectively. The study showed that about 41–57% of the tree species exhibited good regeneration followed by 23–30% as fair, 6–16% as poor, and 6–21% species did not show regeneration along the altitudinal gradient. The total biomass carbon (Mg C ha−1) varied from 84.74 to 163.56 in tropical, 103.12 – 156.41 in subtropical and 133.05 in temperate forest. In conclusion, community composition, regeneration pattern and biomass carbon storage changes along altitude because of altered biophysical characteristics. However, despite variations in elevation, factors for forest disturbance at different altitudes significantly contributed to the community attributes and overall accumulation of biomass carbon. Hence, the traditional management practices carried out by local communities also play a crucial role in shaping the structure, composition, and carbon dynamics of forest ecosystems. Understanding the impacts of these practices is essential for promoting sustainable forest management by conserving forests and preserving carbon stocks for mitigating climate change in future. This study emphasizes the importance of long-term forest monitoring to promote biodiversity conservation and formulate conservation strategies that support sustainable forest management policies to which ensure continuous provision of ecosystem services in the region.

Ecosystem service trade-offs and synergies relationships and their driving factor analysis based on the Bayesian belief Network: A case study of the Yellow River Basin

A systematic understanding of shifts in the temporal and spatial distributions of ecosystem services (ESs) in the Yellow River Basin and the trade-offs and synergies between these services and their driving variables is essential for effective management of the environment and for enhancing human well-being. This study quantitatively assessed the carbon storage (CS), water yield (WY), habitat quality (HQ), and soil retention (SR) from 2000 to 2020, combinded Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) and ESs, determined the crucial elements influencing the supply of ESs via sensitivity analysis, identified synergies and trade-offs between ESs via probabilistic reasoning, and explored the driving processes via scenario analysis. The following are the key findings of this research. (1) Geographically, the Yellow River Basin, SR, CS, and WY exhibited higher levels in southern regions and lower levels in northern regions, whereas HQ showed higher levels in the northwestern region and lower levels in the southeastern region. Both WY and CS showed annual increases in the time series. (2) With respect to trade-offs and synergistic interactions, HQ, WY, and CS had a synergistic connection, whereas SR and HQ, CS, WY had a trade-off connection. (3) According to the BBN sensitivity analysis, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), temperature, precipitation, and land use (LU) were the main variable nodes affecting ESs. (4) The results of the scenario analysis revealed that LU was the primary driver of the four ESs In addition, precipitation and NDVI primarily drove the synergistic and trade-off relationships between HQ, CS, and WY. This study combined BBN and ESs to develop a new method for investigating ES functions and established a solid scientific foundation for ES management and macroeconomic growth planning.

Spatial and temporal evolution analysis of ecological security pattern in Hubei Province based on ecosystem service supply and demand analysis

Realizing the superior stability of natural resources for regional economic growth depends on the construction of the Ecological Security Pattern (ESP)11the Ecological Security Pattern (ESP).. The ESP of Hubei Province was determined based on the supply and demand of ecosystem services (ESSD)22the supply and demand of ecosystem services (ESSD).. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) The overall supply of ecosystem services in Hubei Province exceeds the demand, and the imbalance between supply and demand in Wuhan, Xiangyang and Jingzhou is the most serious. (2) The largest ecological source area in 2000 was 90,506 km2, followed by 86,946 km2 in 2020. (3) 11 long-term ecological obstacles with a total area of 312.96 km2 were identified, which were mainly composed of large areas of cultivated land and water. (5) The ecological protection and restoration pattern of “two axes, three belts, four districts and five cores (two main and three secondary)” has been constructed in Hubei Province. The results of this study provide reference for the management and protection of regional ecosystem and the overall response to ecological problems in Hubei Province.

Exploring livelihood dependency on provisioning ecosystem services in a protected tropical forest area of eastern India: keys to sustainable forest management

Exploring livelihood dependency on provisioning ecosystem services in a protected tropical forest area of eastern India: keys to sustainable forest management

CO2 Emission Compensation by Tree Species in Some Urban Green Areas

Mitigating the negative impacts of climate change in urban areas has recently become essential to improving citizens’ living conditions. Trees are one of the most effective ways to attenuate the Heat Island phenomenon in cities, and numerous projects have been carried out to calculate tree ecosystem services (ES) provisioning. Among these, the Clivut European project (LIFE 18 GIC/IT/001217) developed a web app to allow citizens and the public administration to quantify the ES provided by the most common tree species. The present study aims to consider a new model to calculate the tree evapotranspiration cooling effect in the urban environment in terms of CO2-compensated emissions. The model directly converts the surface temperature change produced by tree evapotranspiration into the corresponding CO2 offset in four urban parks in two Italian cities (Bologna and Perugia). The considered parks stored 1100 t of CO2 at the time of the study, while the CO2 compensated is 860 t, showing the significance of this interpretation. As a result of the study, it can be concluded that the presented model will allow a better estimation of the potential trees’ climate change compensation and also add further functionality to the web app.

Massive seasonal high-altitude migrations of nocturnal insects above the agricultural plains of East China

Long-distance migrations of insects contribute to ecosystem functioning but also have important economic impacts when the migrants are pests or provide ecosystem services. We combined radar monitoring, aerial sampling, and searchlight trapping, to quantify the annual pattern of nocturnal insect migration above the densely populated agricultural lands of East China. A total of ~9.3 trillion nocturnal insect migrants (15,000 t of biomass), predominantly Lepidoptera, Hemiptera, and Diptera, including many crop pests and disease vectors, fly at heights up to 1 km above this 600 km-wide region every year. Larger migrants (>10 mg) exhibited seasonal reversal of movement directions, comprising northward expansion during spring and summer, followed by southward movements during fall. This north-south transfer was not balanced, however, with southward movement in fall 0.66× that of northward movement in spring and summer. Spring and summer migrations were strongest when the wind had a northward component, while in fall, stronger movements occurred on winds that allowed movement with a southward component; heading directions of larger insects were generally close to the track direction. These findings indicate adaptations leading to movement in seasonally favorable directions. We compare our results from China with similar studies in Europe and North America and conclude that ecological patterns and behavioral adaptations are similar across the Northern Hemisphere. The predominance of pests among these nocturnal migrants has severe implications for food security and grower prosperity throughout this heavily populated region, and knowledge of their migrations is potentially valuable for forecasting pest impacts and planning timely management actions.

Short-term service crops affect the spatial organization of soil aggregates, microbial C[sbnd]N biomass, and microbial activities in a degraded monoculture system

Service crops are grown to provide ecosystem services, such as the ability to increase soil organic matter and fertility. Also, they reduce erosion processes, weed control, disease regulation, water purification, soil biodiversity, and physical restoration. The physical arrangement of elemental particles in soil aggregates controls many ecosystem functions such as soil stability and carbon sequestration. This study aimed to analyze the short-term effect of including different service crops on the soil aggregate dynamics in a degraded common bean monoculture system and how it influences the rhizospheric microbial activity, carbon, and nitrogen microbial biomass. Here, we measured soil water-stable aggregates, particulate and associated organic carbon, soil microbial biomass, microbial activity, service crop aerial biomass, and cash crop yield in bulk soils during the 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 agricultural cycles. Soil samples from depths of 0–10 cm from five management treatments (annual service crop/common bean) were analyzed under no-tillage: 1) Oat (O) = Avena sativa/common bean; 2) Wheat (W) = Triticale/common bean; 3) Vetch (V) = Vicia villosa/common bean; 4) Melilotus (Me) = Melilotus alba/common bean; 5) common bean monoculture (M) = common bean without service crop. Additionally, two controls were analyzed: 6) Brachiaria perennial (BP) = Brachiaria brizantha perennial; 7) Native vegetation (NV). Service crops significantly increased aggregate stability, mean weight diameter, particulate matter and associated organic carbon, promoting the formation of large macroaggregates (0.25–2 mm and > 2 mm). This led to an increase in carbon stocks. Microbial activity expressed as hydrolysis of fluorescein diacetate and acid phosphatase activity, increased in the largest fraction for all service crops. Vicia improved surface residues; on average all service crops increased the common bean yield by 107.25 %. In summary, Vicia represents the best alternative as a service crop to improve the quality and health of degraded monoculture soils.