Production Of Ecosystem Services Research Articles

Ecosystem services-based planning and management of multifamily residential areas: bridging practitioners' approaches and residents' preferences

This paper addresses the realm of planning and managing greenery in multifamily residential areas. We uncover parallels between practitioners' approaches, residents' preferences, and the spatial attributes of residential areas that influence the supply of ecosystem services (ES). We focus on cultural ecosystem services (CES), the most directly experienced by urban inhabitants. Employing a multi-method approach encompassing a workshop for practitioners, a discrete choice experiment (DCE)-based survey of urban residents, and mapping of greenery attributes in Poznań (Poland). Our study underscores the importance of shaping conditions that facilitate bundled regulating and cultural ES. Practitioners recognise the role of greenery in the production of ES. This resonates with residents' preferences for predominantly green neighbourhoods, with the dominance of trees and some facilities for active recreation. Mismatches between opting for well-maintained greenery with some benches while neither the level of maintenance nor facilities for passive recreation are crucial for residents. Ultimately, we identify four types of multifamily residential areas reflecting varying degrees of resident preferences. These findings offer valuable information for the future development of multifamily residential areas, helping to design urban green spaces that respond to values and needs and, consequently, to increase the provision of cultural ecosystem services and support the regulating ones.

Ecosystem service indicators on military-managed drylands in the Western United States.

Lands devoted to military use are globally important for the production of ecosystem services and for the conservation of biodiversity. The United States has one of the largest military land estates in the world, and most of these areas occur in water-limited landscapes. Despite many of these areas receiving intense or sustained disturbance from military training activities, the structure and function of ecosystems contained within their boundaries continue to provide critical benefits to people across spatial scales. The land owned and managed by the Department of Defense is subject to regulation across local, state, and federal governing bodies, constraining and shaping both how land management is conducted and how ecosystem services are prioritized. Here, we explored the supply of ecosystem services from military lands in dryland areas of the United States using key indicators of ecosystem services: biodiversity estimates derived from range maps, ecosystem productivity estimates from satellite observations, and spatially explicit, hierarchical ecosystem classifications. Additionally, we utilized content analysis of the environmental management plans of these areas to describe the unique set of demands and regulatory constraints on these areas. We found that the US military land estate in drylands contains many types of ecosystems and provides a large and diverse supply of ecosystem services, comparable to the sum of services from public lands in these areas. Additionally, the degree to which the ecosystem services concept is captured in environmental management plans is strongly shaped by the language of the governing legislation that mandated the use of environmental management plans in these areas, although these plans do not explicitly address land management using the concept of ecosystem services. Collectively, our findings suggest that military use and management of land represents an important source of ecosystem services, that military land use can be considered a cultural ecosystem service unto itself, and that top-down regulation can affect how these services are identified and valued. Our work highlights the need for the research and conservation communities to quantify ecosystem services from individual military installations so that both services and biodiversity can be safeguarded in an era of military conflict across the globe.

Humans versus models: a comparative assessment of ecosystem services models and stakeholders’ perceptions

Mapping the production of Ecosystem Services (ES) is imperative for sustainable ecosystem management. Likewise, incorporating expert knowledge enhances ES research. Here, we calculate eight multi-temporal ES indicators for mainland Portugal using a spatial modelling approach. These indicators are then integrated into the novel ASEBIO index—Assessment of Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity—which depicts a combined ES potential based on CORINE Land Cover, using a multi-criteria evaluation method with weights defined by stakeholders through an Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Outputs from the modelling show how ES have changed in Portugal in relation to land use changes, including trade-offs between 1990 and 2018. The composed ASEBIO index is compared against the stakeholders’ valuation of ES potential for the year 2018. The results reveal a significant mismatch between the ES potential perceived by stakeholders and the models, with stakeholder estimates being 32.8% higher on average. All the selected ES were overestimated by the stakeholders. Drought regulation and erosion prevention have the highest contrasts, while water purification, food production and recreation are the most closely aligned among both approaches. Providing the first national overview about the status of multiple ES over a 28 year-period, our findings highlight potential disparities between data-driven and stakeholder-based evaluations. Therefore, we suggest the need for integrative strategies that consider scientific models with expert knowledge for more effective ES assessments and land-use planning. This approach could help bridge the gap between data-driven models and human perspectives, resulting in more balanced and inclusive decision-making.

Assessing Technical Inefficiency in Ecosystem Service Provision from an Input Perspective in the Cross Timbers region, United States.

We modeled the efficiency of ecosystem service provision-specifically timber production, carbon sequestration, and water yield-in the Cross Timbers region of the United States using stochastic frontier analysis from an input perspective. Inputs considered included natural capital and control variables such as temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, and natural disturbances, among others, that impact ecosystem service production. Inefficiency was modeled as a function of factors such as ownership, forest productivity, and natural disturbances. We utilized forest plot-level data obtained from the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program between 2008 and 2019. Our results indicated that ecosystem service production increased with higher levels of natural capital, higher temperatures, mesic soils, the presence of oaks, and damage caused by abiotic factors. We found evidence of technical inefficiency in the simultaneous provision of ecosystem services. From an input perspective, our findings revealed that, on average, 15.9% more input is used due to technical inefficiency in the Cross Timbers region. Specifically, private ownership and damage caused by abiotic factors resulted in excess input use of 16.4% and 14.3%, respectively, due to technical inefficiency. Managing the encroachment of invasive species like eastern redcedar can enhance ecosystem service production in the region, despite the high implementation costs. Collaboration among multidisciplinary extension professionals can help create comprehensive land management plans for the Cross Timbers, while landowners can also utilize cost-share programs to lower management expenses.

Tree mortality by ecological groups in the amazon region: Influence of forest structure, soil characteristics, and extreme climatic events after logging

Mortality of remaining trees tends to increase after logging, and adapting forest management to climate change is another significant challenge to ensure the sustainability of forests, timber production, and provision of ecosystem services. This study investigated mortality in remaining trees (DBH ≥ 20 cm) in different ecological groups (pioneer, light-demanding, and shade-tolerant) during different phases of forest monitoring (initial, intermediate, and final), as well as their relationship with structural, climatic, and environmental characteristics. The research was conducted in five managed areas in the Brazilian Amazon (Jari, Km114, Km67, Peteco, and Moju) with continuous monitoring over six to 33 years. We analyzed a total of 212 permanent plots containing 62 pioneer species, 250 light-demanding species, and 304 shade-tolerant species. The mortality rate for the three monitoring phases in logged forests was 1.27 %, 1.49 %, and 0.75 % year−1, respectively, while the rate in unlogged forests was 1.04 %, 1.33 %, and 0.50 % year−1. In post-logging forests, mortality was high for pioneer and light-demanding species, especially in the initial phase. For shade-tolerant species, mortality rate was influenced by soil silt and sand content, presence of phosphorus, and total carbon content. In unlogged forests, forest structure variables such as average height and total basal area, soil characteristics like phosphorus content, and climate factors such as intensity of dry months were most important for pioneer and light-demanding species. In the intermediate and final monitoring phases in logged forests, tree mortality was related to soil characteristics like sand and clay content, total carbon, and cation exchange capacity. Extreme climatic events such as severe drought, El Niño, and extreme temperatures also influenced tree mortality, along with time elapsed after logging. These findings highlight the complex interaction between soil characteristics, climate, and forest structure and tree mortality and ecology. These correlations are crucial to understand mortality processes in logged and unlogged forests, underscoring the importance of these factors for managing and conserving these ecosystems in the face of extreme climatic events and forest management practices.

Ecosystem Services Justice: The Emergence of a Critical Research Field

Ecosystem services justice is an emergent research field. Over the past decade, research on ecosystem services has increasingly developed a justice perspective and incorporated it into its conceptual and empirical frameworks. This perspective aims at providing a review of the emergent strands of research addressing ecosystem services justice, and at creating an outlook on future research needs and frontiers. The review departs from central critiques to the ecosystem service approach, which have been foundational for the research field of ecosystem services justice. To be precise, we address three different research strands on which justice issues arise. First, ecosystem services production, considering the (increasing) commodification of ecosystem services, the concentration of ecosystem services production assets and the role of trade-offs in production capacities. Second, the distribution of ecosystem services benefits under the aspects of unequal vulnerabilities, the consideration of accessibility and individual’s capabilities to obtain ecosystem services. Third, the recognition of ecosystem services pluralisms, including socially differentiated forms of wellbeing, plural values and knowledge concerning ecosystem services. While ES justice has strongly advanced from a scientific perspective, we are still lacking a stronger reflection of these advances in practice. Future research, we argue, needs to develop holistic procedural frameworks for integrating the complexity of ecosystem services justice, addressing the ecosystem services production under consideration of historic inequalities, the distribution of ecosystem services benefits with respect to people’s diverse needs, vulnerabilities, and capabilities, as well as diverse wellbeing-, value-, and knowledge-systems. The social-ecological understanding of ecosystem services co-production, which recognizes the dynamic and reciprocal relationship between humans and ecosystems, is identified as a crucial framing for this endeavor.

Rare rather than abundant taxa of soil bacteria and fungi regulate soil multifunctionality in Eucalyptus plantations

Soil multifunctionality not only contributes to the production of ecosystem services (e.g., nutrient cycling, boosts in plant production, and provision of biological processes), but also supports the survival of species (protecting biodiversity) in an ecosystem. Multi-generational planting (sprouting from logging stumps) of Eucalyptus is widely adopted for timber production in southern China, which distinctly induces the decline of soil properties and destroys soil microbial communities. However, research on various Eucalyptus management practices has predominantly concentrated on soil nutrients and microbial populations. The effects of these practices on soil multifunctionality remain unexplored. Furthermore, the underlying mechanisms influencing the abundant and rare microorganisms have not been fully understood. Here, an 18-year Eucalyptus plantation experiment, including single-generation continuous planting (Y18), multiple-generation felling of the same years (D4), and evergreen broadleaf forest control (CK), was designed. Twenty-three parameters associated with soil nutrient cycling were obtained to quantify soil multifunctionality, and partial least squares path modeling (PLS-PM) was used to reveal the main driving force regulating soil multifunctionality. Our results demonstrated that multi-generational Eucalyptus planting significantly reduced soil multifunctionality, microbial diversity, and network stability. Comparatively, single-generational planting showed slight effects on soil multifunctionality and microbial communities. Stochastic processes dominated the assembly of abundant taxa in Eucalyptus plantations, whereas deterministic processes dominated rare taxa. PLS-PM results revealed that soil organic carbon (SOC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) directly regulated soil multifunctionality or indirectly through modifying the diversity and networks of rare taxa. The total effect analysis showed that the diversity and network of rare taxa had a greater impact on soil multifunctionality than abundant taxa. SOC and DOC played a crucial role in driving changes in soil multifunctionality. Our findings highlight the need to decrease rotation intensity and conserve rare taxa to mitigate soil quality degradation in artificial Eucalyptus plantations.

Agroecological Yards, Food Sovereignty and Production of Ecosystem Services in South Bahia, Brazil

Objective: This study aims to characterize productive backyards, in the identity territory of the Far South of Bahia, highlighting the challenges, potential, characteristics, productive arrangements and ecosystem services perceived by families. Theoretical Framework: In this article, we will discuss the concepts of ecosystem services, productive backyards and agroecosystems. Method: The study was carried out in 18 agrarian reform settlement lots in the municipalities of Teixeira de Freitas and Prado/BA. Data were collected through interviews, semi-structured questionnaires, transversal walks, soil collection for chemical analysis and plant collection for identification. Results and Discussion: Productive backyards stood out for being a biodiverse space, important in generating income, especially non-financial income, promoting food sovereignty, improving soils and promoting quality of life for the families surveyed. The backyards ranged from 0.54 to 3.1 hectares and 94.4% have predominantly agroecological management. 230 special species were found, such as fruit, native, medicinal, horticultural and spiritual, and 15 ecosystem services were evaluated. We conclude that backyards are a powerful tool in promoting food sovereignty, generating income, environmental and biodiversity restoration and promoting of ecosystem services. Research Implications: Assess whether ecosystem services resulting from productive backyards are important for the construction of public policies and socio-biodiverse productive strategies for the family farming segment. Originality/Value: It is unprecedented research on settlement projects, presenting a research method, data and important information for evaluating productive backyards.

Quantifying the impact of Great Green Wall and Corporate plantations on tree density and biomass in Sahelian Senegal

The Great Green Wall (GGW) is an international initiative to combat land degradation and restore native plant life in the Sahel, but due to a lack of monitoring tools, it remains unknown to be considered as success or failure. Here, we quantify the impact of GGW plantations and Corporate plantations (privately owned) in Sahelian Senegal based on remote sensing data and deep learning by mapping individual trees and their biomass across the Sahel region. Tree features (cover, density and above-ground biomass) have been computed in every hectare of 42 plantations (of both, corporate and GGW) and their surrounding non-planted areas, subsequently used for a comparative analysis of tree features. Results showed that gains in tree features varied substantially between plantations. At plot scale, among Corporate plantations, the average gain in tree density was 61.16±42.12 trees/ha while it was 5.7 ± 5.8 trees/ha for GGW plantations. In regards to tree cover, the average gain was 618.5 ± 588.5 m2/ha for Corporate plantations and 71.72±108.89 m2/ha for GGW plantations. For the above-ground biomass, the average gain was 3.36±3.29 tons/ha in the Corporate plantations and 0.46±0.67 tons/ha in the GGW plantations. The average gain in foliar biomass in the Corporate plantations was 0.15±0.13 tons/ha and in the GGW plantations, it was 0.02±0.03 tons/ha. The average gain in wood biomass was 3.21±3.12 tons/ha among the Corporate plantations and was 0.43±0.64 tons/ha among the GGW plantations. Notably, regarding the relative benefit in terms of ecosystem services per unit of density, each tree in GGW plantations contribute more to ecosystem services per unit of density compared to Corporate plantations. In GGW, each gained tree contributes 18 m2 of cover, 116.1 kg of above-ground biomass, 5.6 kg of foliar biomass, and 114.2 kg of woody biomass, while in corporate plantations, on the other hand, each gained tree adds 9 m2 of cover, 48.4 kg of above-ground biomass, 2.3 kg of foliar biomass, and 46.3 kg of woody biomass. These findings are opposed to conventional paradigms, suggesting that the Great Green Wall, while perhaps missing its tree density targets, has succeeded in its mission to produce ecosystem services per tree. This raises important questions about the redefinition of objectives in reforestation projects, focusing on quality rather than quantity, a perspective that could transform our understanding of the successes and failures of these essential ecological restoration initiatives. However, the assessment primarily relies on indicators such as cover and biomass, potentially overlooking other crucial ecosystem services. Therefore, while our conclusions underscore the effectiveness of reforestation initiatives, future research should aim to establish a more comprehensive understanding of ecosystem services by incorporating additional indicators beyond cover and biomass, such as species diversity, soil health, water retention, and habitat quality.

Seminatural areas act as reservoirs of genetic diversity for crop pollinators and natural enemies across Europe

AbstractDespite increasing recognition of the importance of the multiple dimensions of biodiversity, including functional or genetic diversity as well as species diversity, most conservation studies on ecosystem service‐providing insects focus on simple diversity measures such as species richness and abundance. In contrast, relatively little is known about the genetic diversity and resilience of pollinators or natural enemies of crop pests to population fragmentation and local extinction. The genetic diversity and demographic dynamics of remnant populations of beneficial insects in agricultural areas can be a useful indicator proving additional insights into their conservation status, but this is rarely evaluated. Although gene flow between agricultural and seminatural areas is key to maintaining genetic diversity, its extent and directionality remain largely unexplored. Here, we apply a pan‐European sampling protocol to quantify genetic diversity and structure and assess gene flow between agricultural and nearby seminatural landscapes in populations of two key ecosystem service‐providing insect species, the lady beetle Coccinella septempunctata, an important predator of aphids and other crop pests, and the bee pollinator Andrena flavipes. We show that A. flavipes populations are genetically structured at the European level, whereas populations of C. septempunctata experience widespread gene flow across the continent and lack any defined genetic structure. In both species, we found that there is high genetic connectivity between populations established in croplands and nearby seminatural areas and, as a consequence, they harbor similar levels of genetic diversity. Interestingly, demographic models for some regions support asymmetric gene flow from seminatural areas to nearby agricultural landscapes. Collectively, our study demonstrates how seminatural areas can serve as genetic reservoirs of both pollinators and natural enemies for nearby agricultural landscapes, acting as sources for recurrent recolonization and, potentially, contributing to enhancing ecosystem service and crop production resilience in the longer term.

Navigating EU-Sweden forestry disputes

This meta-empirical study delves into the conflicts between Sweden and its forestry industry in response to the EU-commission's demands for sustainable forest management. Combining theoretical foundations with empirical analysis of existing research, this study grounds itself in a clear definition of forests as intricate, adaptive, and ever-evolving systems. The central research question revolves around the efficacy of Sweden's guiding principle, "freedom under responsibility," in shaping forest policy and fostering long-term sustainability.To dissect the core of this conflict, two fundamental hypotheses are explored. The first centers on the clash of interests between the Swedish government and forest industry stakeholders, while the second delves into the tension between monetarily valued ecosystem services and those without a market value, a natural market being absent. These questions are scrutinized using a novel method tailored for conflict analysis. A model article and two specific analysis articles are developed, each focusing on distinct facets of forest management, and are subsequently compared to reveal insightful contrasts.This contrasting approach unveils a comprehensive socio-economic framework underlying these conflicts—a framework that often remains concealed due to deeply ingrained patterns of thought and behavior within homogeneous groups. The method's greatest strength lies in its ability to render the invisible visible and the "silent" audible. It clarifies what might be obscured in the model article, bringing the contours of the conflict into sharp relief.The study findings affirm the value and democratic nature of the "freedom under responsibility" principle. However, for it to yield the intended outcomes, substantial and continuous educational efforts directed at relevant forest management stakeholders are imperative. This meta-empirical study highlights the necessity of a robust educational campaign to ensure the principle's success.Moreover, this study contributes theoretical insights that could serve as a foundation for conflict resolution:•Forests are complex, adaptive, and dynamic systems.•Human intervention prompts responses and adaptations within this system.•The choice of management strategies plays a pivotal role in achieving specific outcomes, whether biomass production or the preservation of natural forest characteristics.•The production of forest ecosystem services necessitates active management and does not occur automatically.

ESMAX for spatial agroecology: A conceptual spatial model for the quantification and visualisation of ES performance from different configurations of landscape

AbstractIntroductionAgriculture is confronted by the dual challenges of increasing global demand for food production while reducing negative impacts on the environment. One suggested solution is transitioning modern industrial agriculture to more agroecologically‐informed practices, thus realigning increased food production with the carrying capacity of Earth Systems. The transition to multifunctional agroecological systems, that promote the production of multiple ecosystem services (ES) as well as food production, requires an adaptive management process that addresses climate‐change, market complexity, practical implementation and knowledge transfer.Materials & MethodsThis work proposes a spatially explicit methodology to support this process. Spatial agroecology, in this context, combines a new Geographic Information Systems (GIS)‐based model (ESMAX) with development of a ‘solution space’ to assist stakeholders identify configurations of agroecological components (in this case, trees on farm) at the scale of a 1 ha paddock to supply a targeted range of regulating ES (cooling effect, flood mitigation and habitat). ESMAX uses distance‐decay characteristics specific to each type of regulating ES to quantify and visualise the influence of spatial configuration of ES‐supplying tree clumps on overall ES performance.ResultsThe results from this application of spatial agroecology suggest regulating ES production at farm and paddock scale is influenced by the arrangement of trees on farm. ESMAX's results show paddocks with large tree clumps return the best cooling effect, while small clumps deliver the best flood mitigation and most suitable habitat. Evenly dispersed arrangements of small tree clumps provide the best multifunctional performance across all three ES modelled in this work.ConclusionDesigned spatial agroecological interventions can affect landscape multifunctionality at paddock scale, where practical decisions are made and implemented. This provides spatially explicit support of an adaptive management process. Utilising agroecological systems as spatial mechanisms for supplying critical regulating ES also highlights a new function for agriculture in the Anthropocene epoch.

Interactions between climate, shade canopy characteristics and cocoa production in Colombia

Properly designed agroforestry systems (AFS) can generate optimal cocoa bean (BC) yields, produce co-products and provide ecosystem services. This study analyzes the interactions between climate, AFS structure and BC yield in six climatic zones across three natural regions of Colombia. A total of 305 plots of 1,000 m2 each were established in 132 farms where the cocoa-AFS structure, BC yield and climatic variables were determined. Five typologies of cocoa-AFS were obtained based on the characteristics of the shade canopy and the abundance of cocoa trees: “Highly diversified multistratum with high biomass” (HDMHB), “Diversified multistratum with high shade and abundance of Musaceae (DMHSM),” “Diversified multistratum with high abundance of cocoa trees (DMHDC),” “Diversified monostratum with low shade (DMLS)” and “monostratum with minimal shade (MMS).” In the departments of Huila and Caquetá, Andean and Amazonia regions, respectively, the HDMHB typology predominated, while in Meta, the Orinoquia region, it was MMS. In the temperate-humid zone, the DMHDC and DMHSM typologies were not found. A high floristic diversity of the shade canopy was found: 229 species; Caquetá registered the highest number (152). The most frequent canopy companion species were Musa paradisiaca, Cariniana pyriformis, Cedrela odorata, Psidium guajava, Musa sapientum, and Cordia alliodora. The highest abundance of cocoa trees occurs in areas with lower temperature and relative humidity and in AFS with lower abundance of fruit and timber trees. Zones with higher temperature and lower precipitation had higher abundance of timber species (r = 0.23). The BC yield is higher in areas with higher precipitation and is related to the lower abundance of individuals of timber and fruit species, and to the higher abundance of Fabaceae. The BC yield depends on the typology (p < 0.0001) of the cacao systems and was higher in DMHDC (1,148 kg ha−1 yr.−1). These results are key for the design of cocoa-AFS farms that maximize the integral production of BC, co-products and ecosystem services, approaching sustainable cocoa farming.

A past–present–future lens of environmental change: blending applied paleoecology and participatory system dynamics modeling at a conservation site in the Cape Floristic Region, South Africa

Landscapes are social–ecological systems (SESs) that produce ecosystem services, which change over time in response to environmental, biotic, and social drivers. Failure to consider this variability, and the feedbacks that can stabilize or destabilize systems, can have consequences for sustainable ecosystem services provision. This study applies a conceptual meta-framework, past–present–future lens, to interpret changes in land cover and ecosystem services within the Cape Floristic Region (CFR) of South Africa. Paleoecology (fossil pollen, spores, and charcoal) and participatory system dynamics modeling were used to explore long-term variability in provisioning ecosystem services (plant biodiversity) and the drivers of this variability (fire and herbivory) at Elandsberg Private Nature Reserve (Elandsberg PNR). From ca. 1800s, the paleoecological record suggests that environmental changes, particularly a transition to unpalatable Elytropappus-dominated vegetation, were driven by grazing and that an ecological threshold was crossed in ca. 1950s due to agricultural intensification. Participatory system dynamics was used to identify feedbacks in the dynamic SES structure. The ecological model replicates the paleoecological results and, furthermore, suggests that in the future, returning the system to within historical ranges variability may require sustained reductions in both grazing and fire over decades. This innovative approach blends paleoecology and participatory system dynamics to provide an evidence-based understanding of temporal variability and feedbacks for policymakers and land-use managers to inform sustainable land management.

Assessment of carbon emissions due to landscape fires in Ukraine during war in 2022

The russian military aggression and the related socio-economic and environmental consequences have significantly affected the climate and production of ecosystem services through damage to forests, ecosystems, landscape fires and emissions of gases into the atmosphere. The study aims to estimate carbon dioxide emissions due to landscape fires in Ukraine during the year 2022. The OroraTech wildfire monitoring technology was used to detect fires, while perimeters of burned areas were delineated with Sentinel 2 time series. The Copernicus Dynamic Land Cover map was used to extract burned land covers. Emissions were calculated based on the intensity of fires (dNBR) with the share of burned biomass in different types of land cover. Biomass models were selected considering the dominant tree species within a specific region and the species structure of the sown areas of croplands. The volume of biomass losses was estimated as a result of fires of different severities. It was estimated that during in 2022, landscape fires burned 749.5 thousand hectares thereof: croplands – 419.1 thousand hectares; other natural vegetation – 273.8 thousand hectares; conifer forests – 31.1 thousand hectares; other forests – 25.5 thousand hectares. The impact of the war on landscape fires is confirmed by the large proportion of fires in the 60-kilometre buffer zone along the frontline – 68.9% of the total area of fire. Among all fires, 42.5% of fires occurred in the occupied territory. Total CO2 emissions from all types of landscape fires reached 5.20 million tons and other greenhouse gases – 0.28 million tons. It is the first detailed mapping of landscape fires with an analysis of each polygon for the whole territory of Ukraine. The results provide important information for assessing the loss of ecosystem services and estimating carbon dioxide emissions as well as for confirming the impact of hostilities on landscape fires

Energy, Trophic Dynamics and Ecological Discounting

Ecosystems provide humanity with a wide variety and high economic value-added services, from biomass structuring to genetic information, pollutants’ decomposition, water purification and climate regulation. The foundation of ecosystem services is the Eltonian Pyramid, where via prey–predator relationships, energy metabolism and biomass building take place. In the context of existing ecosystem services classification and valuation methods (e.g., CICES, MEA, TEEB), financial investments in ecosystem services essentially address the conservation of trophic pyramids. Our work’s main target is to investigate how trophic pyramids’ dynamics (stability or instability) impact the long-run discounting of financial investments on ecosystem services’ value. Specifically, a trophic pyramid with highly fluctuating populations generates higher risks for the production of ecosystem services, hence for ecological finance instruments coupled to them, due to higher temporal uncertainty or information entropy that should be incorporated into their discount rates. As this uncertainty affects negatively the net present value (NPV) of financial capital on ecosystem services, we argue that the minimization of biomass fluctuations in trophic pyramids via population control should be among the priorities of ecosystem management practices. To substantiate our hypothesis, we construct a logistic predation model, which is consistent with the Eltonian Pyramid’s ecological energetics. As the logistic predator model’s parameters determine the tropic pyramid’s dynamics and uncertainty, we develop an adjusted Shannon entropy index (H(N)ADJ) to measure this effect as part of the discount rate. Indicatively, we perform a Monte Carlo simulation of a pyramid with intrinsic growth parameter values that yield oscillating population sizes. Finally, we discuss, from an ecological energetics standpoint, issues of competition and diversity in trophic pyramids, as special dimensions and extensions of our analytical framework.

Probabilistic typology of private forest owners: A tool to target the development of new market for ecosystem services

Understanding how and why private forest owners manage their forests is the basis for efficient policy, and improperly targeting forest owners can lead to inefficiencies. Furthermore, new markets for ecosystem services have been proposed as a way to diversity private forest owner revenues and move forest management in a more sustainable direction. Based on a survey of 220 French private forest owners, we perform a cluster analysis to identify distinct groups of forest owners according to their stated behaviors. Owners were clustered based on their rating of statements derived from existing profiles as well as their rating of the importance of new markets and social recognition. We then test if our owner classifications are sufficient predictors of the valuation of a set of ecosystem services, explicitly comparing an individual’s stated need for ecosystem services to their perceived social demand. Our results confirm previously reported forest owner typologies of European forest owners, and show that these typologies can meaningfully explain variation in ecosystem service demand. This is important as the preservation and production of ecosystem services are increasingly important components of forest management and policy.

How does Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR) Improve Soil Fertility and Plant Cover in the Simiri Commune in Niger?

Aims: This study aimed to assess Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR) impacts on improving soil fertility and plant cover through the physicochemical characterization of soil samples taken from ANR fields and control fields.
 Study Design: The experimental design is made up of a vegetation observation gradient along an East-West transect and a soil sampling gradient along a North-South transect.
 Place and Duration of Study: This study was carried out in the Sahelian zone in the rural commune of Simiri in Niger between May and June 2023.
 Methodology: Data on the diversity of species predominant in the ANR system, the social categories of ANR users and farmers' perceptions of ANR were collected on a sample of 120 farmers chosen at random from three villages in the commune of Simiri.
 Results: A sandy texture was recorded in all the samples submitted for analysis, with an overall acid of soil pH (5.18 ⁃ 5.62). The proportions of the main nutrients: C(0,16), N(0,015), P(6,88), K(0,066), Mo(0,30) C/N(10,83) were relatively higher in the fields under ANR practices compared with the control fields. With regard to the dominant woody species, the results show that the stands are mainly based on Combretum glutinosum, Combretum micranthum and Guera senegalensis. The ability of woody species to withstand stressful conditions could act as a bulwark against climatic hazards. The strong dominance of these species is due, among other things, to their regenerative capacity, their rapid spread and, above all, their economic interest in the production of firewood and other ecosystem services.
 Conclusion: The Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR) adoption in farming practices has often been accompanied by the creation of village committees for the protection and management of trees and other areas of sustainable natural resource management. Despite mutilation and other illegal felling, the new agroforestry parks increase the resilience of agricultural production systems to climatic shocks and biotic stresses.

Current increment of ecosystem services in permanent sample plots within the forest stands of the Feofania park-monument

Despite the fact that forests in nature conservation areas are of mature and over-mature age, they have a leading role in the production of ecosystem services, in particular in ensuring biodiversity. In the typical sense, at the mature and over-mature age of stands, the growth of live biomass and carbon sequestration almost stops, and the death of trees leads to a negative change in the stock. The purpose of the study is to substantiate the ability of over-mature forests to accumulate live biomass under the condition of the formation of multi-tiered and different-age stands. The research was conducted on four permanent sample plots of the Feofania park-monument, which were established in 2016 and 2017. The method of approximate mensuration was used to study the current growth of ecosystem services. The method of dendrochronology was used to analyse annual rings. The age range of experimental stands is between 80 and 180 years. Experimental stands of all sample plots are characterized by high-level productivity, compared to model data on the productivity of stands in Ukraine and the European part of Eurasia. According to the results of the research, it was established that the biggest current increment of ecosystem services is formed in the uneven-aged stand with the centuries-old common oak trees of the overstory. The results of the research can be used in practice for the management of nature conservation areas and improvement of the management of over-mature forests

Profit-efficiency analysis of forest ecosystem services in the southeastern US

Technical, allocative, and profit efficiency of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris. Mill) forests in the southeastern United States, producing ecosystem services such as timber, tree biodiversity, water, and carbon sequestration, were estimated. This study employed a non-parametric two-stage approach involving data envelopment analysis (DEA) and robust linear regression. Utilizing data from the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program spanning 1977–2015 and covering 2,282 forest plots, most longleaf pine forest plots were technically and profit inefficient in ecosystem service production. The inefficiency in profit appeared more attributable to allocative rather than technical inefficiency. Furthermore, the impact of various exogenous variables on inefficiency scores was assessed through robust linear regression. The findings suggested that forest disturbances under private ownership could reduce technical inefficiency. Surprisingly, contrary to stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) results, the robust regression model, considering geographical factors, disturbance, ownership, management, and time in the presence of outliers/influential observations, indicated that disturbances often increased technical inefficiency. Therefore, forest management strategies aiming to mimic or replicate the effects of forest disturbances might compromise the efficiency of ecosystem service provision.