Grassland Ecosystem Services Research Articles

Environmental assessment of mountain grassland farms with mixed cattle systems: use of bioeconomic simulations

Management practices of cattle farming systems must be improved, particularly to increase the systems’ feed self-sufficiency, food production and environmental performances. In mountain areas of the Massif Central (central France), mixed dairy/suckler cattle systems enable farmers to use grassland resources better and cope with economic fluctuations. Our objective was to estimate levels of ecosystem services provided by mixed dairy/suckler cattle systems as a function of the degree of mixing, along with their greenhouse gas emissions and energy use when their operation is optimized on an economic basis. The hypothesis was that mixed dairy/suckler cattle systems allow for controlled use of biomass, with better environmental performances than specialized systems (pure dairy or suckler herd) by maintaining grassland ecosystem services. Five herd-distribution scenarios were simulated using the Orfee bioeconomic optimization model. Environmental performances of the five systems were assessed according to three functional units (i.e., per farm, ha and kg protein produced). Mixed dairy/suckler cattle systems, which enabled larger herds, had higher greenhouse gas emissions per ha than specialized systems. However, because dairy cows produce more protein (milk and beef) than suckler cows, specialized dairy systems had the lowest greenhouse gas emissions and energy use per kg of protein. Specialized dairy systems had less advantage when dairy cows had less access to grassland. For the production of both milk and beef, mixed dairy/suckler cattle systems favour more sustainable use of biomass and tend to maintain a better combination of levels of ecosystem services for livestock production than specialized cattle farming systems.

Grazing intensity, duration, and grassland type determine the relationship between soil microbial diversity and ecosystem multifunctionality in Chinese grasslands: A meta-analysis

Grazing can alter soil microbial diversity and ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) through feeding, trampling, and excreta deposition. However, it remains unclear how grazing intensity and grazing duration across Chinese grasslands affect the relationship between soil microbial diversity and EMF. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis to analyze the responses of soil microbial diversity and EMF to grazing disturbance using 54 publications with 62 sample sites from alpine grasslands and temperate grasslands in China. The results showed that EMF tended to decrease with increasing grazing duration and grazing intensity. Bacterial diversity was significantly and negatively correlated with EMF under moderate grazing, whereas fungal diversity was significantly and positively correlated with EMF under heavy grazing. Both fungal and bacterial diversity regulated the effects of grazing on EMF with grazing durations of up to 5 years. Furthermore, bacterial diversity was negatively correlated with EMF in typical steppe but positively in alpine grassland, and fungal diversity was positively correlated with EMF in typical steppe. Our results highlight the importance of microbial diversity in maintaining the multifunctionality of grassland ecosystem. We suggest that both grazing intensity, duration and grassland type should be seriously considered in the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainability of grassland ecosystem services and functions.

Seasonality and bacterial community assembly processes dominate prairie ecosystem service disruption during invasion

Invasive plants alter soil microbial communities and ecosystem services reducing the Earth's carrying capacity for humans. Many ecosystem services are underpinned by soil microbial communities, and these communities arise from assembly processes that are likely altered by invasion. We evaluated the hypothesis that invasive effects on grassland ecosystem services arise from changes in microbial community assembly processes caused by invasion. We sampled 515 plots at a native Rough Fescue prairie undergoing invasion by nine invasive species of which smooth brome (Bromus inermis) is a dominant member. Each week, for 26 weeks, we monitored invasion effects on vascular plant communities, ecosystem services, as well as bacterial and fungal community structures. Invasive effects on ecosystem services interacted with seasonal (plant green-up, peak biomass, and plant senescence) effects and consistently disrupted ecosystem service provision. Invasion increased heterogenous selection in fungal communities but otherwise had minor effects on assembly process. Only ∼20% of community composition could be ascribed to deterministic filters which hindered our ability to conclusively link invasion to assembly processes. Assembly processes explained changes in ecosystem services with bacterial assembly accounting for 2.5% of food, 4% of climate, 9% of conservation and 5.5% of fertility services. Fungal communities were less consistent in their effects on ecosystem services with only food (3%) and water (4%) services influenced by fungal assembly. After seasonality (27%), bacterial assembly processes (4%) accounted for the largest effect on ecosystem services, overshadowing invasion (2%) and fungal assembly (2%). At this 130-ha site, after seasonal effects, bacterial assembly processes had the largest effect on ecosystem services with plant invasion placing a distant third.

Short-term legacy effects of long-term nitrogen and water addition on soil chemical properties and micro-bial characteristics in a temperate grassland.

Nitrogen deposition and summer precipitation in eastern Inner Mongolia are predicted to increase in recent decades. However, such increases in nitrogen inputs and precipitation may not be continuous under the future new patterns of global change, with the direction and magnitude of which may change or weaken. The legacy effects of nitrogen and water addition after cessation on ecosystems are still unclear. Based on a 13-year nitrogen and water addition experiment in temperate grassland of northern China, we examined the short-term (2 years) legacy effects of historical nitrogen and water addition on soil physicochemical properties and microbial properties after the cessation of nitrogen and water addition in the 14th year. The results showed that the positive effects of historical nitrogen addition on most of soil nutrient variables diminished after two years of cessation, including ammonium nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen, and Olsen-P concentrations. In contrast, there were legacy effects on soil microbial characteristics. For example, the historical nitrogen input of 15 g N·m-2·a-1 reduced microbial biomass carbon, respiration, and alkaline phosphomonoesterase activity by 73.3%, 81.9%, and 70.3% respectively. It implied that microbial parameters restored slowly in comparison with soil nutrients, showing a hysteresis effect. Results of Pearson's correlation and redundancy analysis showed that the legacy effects of historical nitrogen addition on microbial parameters could be attributed to the negative effects of nitrogen addition on soil pH. Historical water addition showed significant legacy effects on soil pH, ammonium nitrogen, dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen, respiration, and soil enzyme activities, which significantly interacted with historical nitrogen addition. These results are of great significance to predict the changes in grassland ecosystem functions and services under the local environmental improvement conditions, and to reveal the restoration mechanism of degraded grassland.

Farmers' perception and choice preference of grassland ecosystem services: Evidence from the northeastern region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has the largest natural grassland area in China. The grassland ecosystem is the material basis for the development of animal husbandry in this region, providing ecosystem services such as biodiversity protection, soil erosion prevention and local climate regulation. Grassland ecosystem services (GES) play an important role in maintaining the livelihood of local farmers and protecting the ecological environment. Based on household survey data, this paper analyzed farmers' perception and choice preference of GES in the northeastern region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and studied the influence of farmers' perception on their choice preference. The results showed that farmers in the northeastern region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau had the strongest perceptions of importance, manageability, vulnerability and damage degree of provisioning GES. We found that farmers had a strong choice preference for provisioning GES directly used in production and life, but a lower preference for regulating, cultural and supporting GES. Farmers' perceived importance, manageability and damage degree all affected their choice preference, but the perceived vulnerability has no significant impact. This paper studied farmers' evaluation of GES through qualitative methods. This provides a new insight for the study of ecosystem service preference, and a reference for the formulation of scientific and rational ecological protection policies in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

How to effectively improve the ecosystem provisioning services in traditional agricultural and pastoral areas in China?

The provisioning services of ecosystems are fundamental for people's livelihoods, health, and survival, yet provisioning services are highly dependent on land use/cover change (LUCC), especially in fragile alpine ecosystems. In the Qilian Mountains, one of China's traditional farming and pastoral areas, changes in provisioning services are related to regional well-being. This study focuses on the multi-scale evolution, driving factors, and sustainable development strategies for providing farmland and grassland ecosystem services from 2000 to 2020. The results showed an overall upward trend in the value of providing services by grassland and cropland ecosystems over the past 20 years, increasing by US $249 million and US $67.35 million, respectively. The economic benefits of livestock products provided by grassland and agricultural products from farmland accounted for 70.5% and 29.5% of the total income of farmers and herdsmen, respectively. However, in the past 10 years, the contribution of grassland and farmland ecosystems to provisioning services has decreased by 0.2% and 1.7% respectively. The reduction of contribution will directly affect the capacity to provisioning services, which is not conducive to regional development. It is found that human factors such as policy system change, urbanization process and ideological change are the main driving factors for the change of supply services in traditional agricultural and pastoral areas, and climate change has played a certain role in promoting. In order to effectively improve the ability of traditional agricultural and pastoral areas to provide services, we put forward the development strategy of “Ecological Husbandry + Precision Agriculture (EHPA)”. and promote the “Production, Learning, Scientific research and Practical application” of ecosystem services from the five aspects of ecological space, industrial layout, ecological industrial development, ecological technology and ecological policy system, so as to improve the ability of ecosystem provisioning services.

The effects of crop type, landscape composition and agroecological practices on biodiversity and ecosystem services in tropical smallholder farms

Abstract In the tropics, smallholder farming characterizes some of the world's most biodiverse landscapes. Agroecology as a pathway to sustainable agriculture has been proposed and implemented in sub‐Saharan Africa, but the effects of agricultural practices in smallholder agriculture on biodiversity and ecosystem services are understudied. Similarly, the contribution of different landscape elements, such as shrubland or grassland cover, on biodiversity and ecosystem services to fields remains unknown. We selected 24 villages situated in landscapes with varying shrubland and grassland cover in Malawi. In each village, we assessed biodiversity of eight taxa and ecosystem services in relation to crop type, shrubland and grassland cover and the number of agroecological pest and soil management practices on smallholder's fields of different crop types (bean monoculture, maize‐bean intercrop and maize monoculture). Increasing shrubland cover altered carabid and soil bacteria communities. Carabid abundance increased in maize but decreased in intercrop and bean fields with increasing shrubland cover. Carabid abundance and richness and wasp abundance increased with soil management practices. Carabid, spider and parasitoid abundances were higher in bean monocultures, but this was modulated by surrounding shrubland cover. Natural enemy abundances in beans were especially high in landscapes with little shrubland, possibly leading to lower bean damage in monocultures compared to intercropped fields, whereas maize monocultures had higher damage. In maize, grassland cover and pest management practices were positively related to damage. Carabid abundance was higher fields with high bean damage, and increased carabid richness in fields with high maize damage. Parasitoid abundance was negatively associated with bean damage. Synthesis and application. Our results suggest that maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services on smallholder farms is not achievable with a ‘one size fits all’ approach but should instead be adapted to the landscape context and the priorities of smallholders. Shrubland is important to maintain carabid and soil bacterial diversity, but legume cultivation beneficial to natural enemies could complement pest management in landscapes with a low shrubland cover. An increased number of agroecological soil management practices can lead to improved pest control while the effectiveness of agroecological pest management practices needs to be re‐evaluated.

Integrated response of carbon sequestration along co-varying gradients of climate and grazing intensity in a desert steppe ecosystem

The interactive effects of grazing and climate on carbon (C) storage are important for the global C budget and regional C management. In a regional-scale field experiment based on multiple grazing gradients, we examined how changes in grazing intensity and climate affected the C sequestration rate and C storage at five desert steppe sites. The mean total ecosystem C storage at each site ranged from 1502 to 3728 g C m−2 and averaged 2341 g C m−2. The peak value of the C sequestration rate (290 g C m−2 yr−1) occurred in the light grazing intensity. The light grazing and fencing management were more beneficial to C sequestration. The rising temperature would decrease C storage in desert steppe, while rising precipitation would promote C sequestration. Soil nitrogen content plays an important role in the driving mechanism of C sequestration in desert steppe. The soil C pool, which dominated the C dynamics in desert steppe, was influenced by the changes of precipitation and grazing intensity. Grazing affects soil nitrogen content by changing the aboveground C pool. Precipitation changes may change soil C storage by influencing the aboveground C pool to change soil nitrogen content and microbial biomass. Such information improves understanding of the dynamics of C storage and sequestration in desert steppe, and is critical for improving the sustainability of grassland ecosystem services and C management.

Grassland Ecosystem Progress: A Review and Bibliometric Analysis Based on Research Publication over the Last Three Decades

Understanding the grassland ecosystem is crucial for improving grassland ecosystem functions and services such as climate regulation, water and soil conservation, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity and gene pool maintenance. However, a systematic and comprehensive review of the relevant literature is still unclear and lacking. The VOSviewer software and cluster analysis were used to visually analyze and perform dimension reduction classification on the 27,778 studies related to grassland ecosystem research based on the Web of Science database. The number of publications targeting grassland ecosystem increased rapidly from 2006 to 2021. Ecology, agronomy, and environmental science were the most popular research categories, and the top journal sources were Remote Sensing, Journal of Ecology, and Ecology and Evolution. The leading publishing countries were the United States, China, and Germany. The top three institutions were the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Colorado State University. Cooperation between different countries and institutions had increased. Keyword co-occurrence network analysis showed that Biodiversity, Vegetation and Conservation were the most popular study areas, grassland management, climate change, land use pattern, and ecosystem impact were the hot research topics. All studies could be divided into three categories by cluster analysis: grassland ecological characteristics including basic physicochemical properties, vegetation community characteristics, aboveground and belowground biomass, and soil structural quality of grassland; driving mechanisms that demonstrated effects of human activities and climate change on grassland ecosystem function; and grassland ecosystem services that focused the influences of different grassland management strategies on ecological services, animal welfare and human well-being. The three topic categories of reviewed studies were interrelated and consistent with each other, and the performances were progressive. This paper reviewed the trend evolution through keyword hotspots and analyzed the future research directions to provide an important reference for scientists to better respond to the balance of herbage and sustainable utilization of grassland and maintenance of ecological security.

Intensification differentially affects the delivery of multiple ecosystem services in subtropical and temperate grasslands

Intensification, the process of intensifying land management to enhance agricultural goods, results in “intensive” pastures that are planted with productive grasses and fertilized. These intensive pastures provide essential ecosystem services, including forage production for livestock. Understanding the synergies and tradeoffs of pasture intensification on the delivery of services across climatic regions is crucial to shape policies and incentives for better management of natural resources. Here, we investigated how grassland intensification affects key components of provisioning (forage productivity and quality), supporting (plant diversity) and regulating services (CO2 and CH4 fluxes) by comparing these services between intensive versus extensive pastures in subtropical and temperate pastures in the USDA Long-term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) Network sites in Florida and Oklahoma, USA over multiple years. Our results suggest that grassland intensification led to a decrease in measured supporting and regulating services, but increased forage productivity in temperate pastures and forage digestibility in subtropical pastures. Intensification decreased the net CO2 sink of subtropical pastures while it did not affect the sink capacity of temperate pastures; and it also increased environmental CH4 emissions from subtropical pastures and reduced CH4 uptake in temperate pastures. Intensification enhanced the global warming potential associated with C fluxes of pastures in both ecoregions. Our study demonstrates that comparisons of agroecosystems in contrasting ecoregions can reveal important drivers of ecosystem services and general or region-specific opportunities and solutions to maintaining agricultural production and reducing environmental footprints. Further LTAR network-scale comparisons of multiple ecosystem services across croplands and grazinglands intensively vs extensively managed are warranted to inform the sustainable intensification of agriculture within US and beyond. Our results highlight that achieving both food security and environmental stewardship will involve the conservation of less intensively managed pastures while adopting sustainable strategies in intensively managed pastures.

Effects of organic and inorganic fertilizers on soil properties related to the regeneration of ecosystem services in peat grasslands

Worldwide, agricultural grasslands on drained peat contribute to CO2 emission but provide also provisioning and supporting ecosystem services that are managed by farmers. This paper evaluates the performance of organic and inorganic fertilizers in relation to soil biotic and abiotic properties linked to soil ecosystem services of peat grasslands with biodiversity goals. Effects of cattle slurry, compost, farmyard manure, solid fraction of cattle slurry and inorganic nitrogen (N) fertilizer with and without added sawdust were compared to those of an unfertilized control in a three-year field experiment. Total N input was targeted at 120 kg N ha−1 year−1; total carbon (C) input was variable due to different C:N ratios of source materials. The abundance of earthworms in spring was increased with solid fraction (+35 % as compared to the control), which had the largest C input, and was reduced with inorganic N (−24 %). Combining inorganic N with sawdust did not affect earthworm abundance. Bacteria (determined by phospholipid fatty acid analysis) were increased following inorganic N fertilizer application with (+65 %) or without (+52 %) sawdust. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi were reduced by all fertilizers (−40 to −88 %), but less so by those with large C input (solid fraction) or with lignin-rich C input (sawdust + inorganic N fertilizer). Physical and chemical soil properties related to water infiltration and soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition were marginally influenced by fertilizers. The measured changes in soil pH, P availability and (micro)biology may affect SOM dynamics in the longer term. Grass dry matter yield was similarly increased by all fertilizers (+7 to 11 %) whereas grass N yield was increased by fertilizers only when the applied N was in mineral form (+16 to 20 %). From our results, we propose that the moderate use of organic fertilizers with a high and non-humified organic matter content such as solid fraction of cattle slurry can be part of a regeneration strategy in peat grasslands with biodiversity goals.

A Review of Estimation Methods for Aboveground Biomass in Grasslands Using UAV

Grasslands are one of the world’s largest ecosystems, accounting for 30% of total terrestrial biomass. Considering that aboveground biomass (AGB) is one of the most essential ecosystem services in grasslands, an accurate and faster method for estimating AGB is critical for managing, protecting, and promoting ecosystem sustainability. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have emerged as a useful and practical tool for achieving this goal. Here, we review recent research studies that employ UAVs to estimate AGB in grassland ecosystems. We summarize different methods to establish a comprehensive workflow, from data collection in the field to data processing. For this purpose, 64 research articles were reviewed, focusing on several features including study site, grassland species composition, UAV platforms, flight parameters, sensors, field measurement, biomass indices, data processing, and analysis methods. The results demonstrate that there has been an increase in scientific research evaluating the use of UAVs in AGB estimation in grasslands during the period 2018–2022. Most of the studies were carried out in three countries (Germany, China, and USA), which indicates an urgent need for research in other locations where grassland ecosystems are abundant. We found RGB imaging was the most commonly used and is the most suitable for estimating AGB in grasslands at the moment, in terms of cost–benefit and data processing simplicity. In 50% of the studies, at least one vegetation index was used to estimate AGB; the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was the most common. The most popular methods for data analysis were linear regression, partial least squares regression (PLSR), and random forest. Studies that used spectral and structural data showed that models incorporating both data types outperformed models utilizing only one. We also observed that research in this field has been limited both spatially and temporally. For example, only a small number of papers conducted studies over a number of years and in multiple places, suggesting that the protocols are not transferable to other locations and time points. Despite these limitations, and in the light of the rapid advances, we anticipate that UAV methods for AGB estimation in grasslands will continue improving and may become commercialized for farming applications in the near future.

A payment scheme for the ecosystem services of mountain grasslands embedded in dairy products

Mountain pastures and meadows have been disappearing at a steady pace from the Italian Alpine and Apennine regions for the last century. Livestock farms and pastoral activities have traditionally contributed to preserving them, but they are facing increasingly adverse socio-economic and climatic trends The aim of the paper is to explore the economic feasibility of a payment scheme for grassland-based ecosystem services embedded into locally produced dairy products that can compensate farmers' effort and increase their profitability. Using the method of discrete choice experiments, we estimate Italian consumers’ willingness to pay for a set of selected attributes of mountain cheese associated with provisioning, cultural, and existence ecosystem services. Our results indicate that consumers would be willing to pay cheese 4€/kg to 6€/kg more for each increase in the level of ecosystemic attributes, thus supporting the introduction of a payment scheme as a local and scalable policy intervention.

Temporal and spatial characteristics of grassland ecosystem service value and its topographic gradient effect in the Yellow River Basin.

Grassland is the largest terrestrial ecosystem in the Yellow River Basin and an important ecological barrier in the basin. Scientific and accurate estimation of the service value of grassland ecosystems in the Yellow River Basin is of great significance for maintaining the ecological security of the Yellow River Basin. This study was based on Constanza, a method based on the correction of natural grassland ecosystem service value in the Yellow River Basin. This method considers grassland biomass, estimates the ecological service value of each type of grassland item by item, and analyzes their spatial distribution and topographic gradient differentiation characteristics. The results showed that the unit price of soil conservation services provided by the grassland ecosystem in the Yellow River Basin has an advantage (6.2 times) which is the lowest unit price of raw materials. The total value of grassland ecosystem services in the Yellow River Basin is 100.82 × 1010 Yuan. Among the various services, the adjustment service has the largest value, accounting for 50.56% of the total value, while the sum of the supply service, support service and cultural service amounted to 49.44%. The high-value areas of grassland ecosystem services are mainly distributed in the upper and lower reaches of the basin, as the low-value areas are located in the Ningxia and Hetao Plains and most parts of the Loess Plateau. The ESV per unit area of grassland in the Yellow River Basin showed a decreasing to increasing trend with the increase in elevation and topographic relief, as the ESV continued to increase with slope increase.

Could green infrastructure supplement ecosystem service provision from semi-natural grasslands?

Ancient semi-natural grasslands in Europe are important for ecosystem service (ES) provision. Often, the surrounding matrix contains ‘Grassland Green Infrastructure’ (GGI) that contain grassland species which have the potential to supplement grassland ES provision across the landscape. Here we investigate the potential for GGI to deliver a set of complementary ES, driven by plant composition.We surveyed 36 landscapes across three European countries comprising core grasslands and their surrounding GGI. We calculated community-level values of plant species characteristics to provide indicators for four ES: nature conservation value, pollination, carbon storage and aesthetic appeal.Inferred ES delivery for GGI was substantially lower than in core grasslands for conservation, pollination and aesthetic appeal indicators, but not for carbon storage. These differences were driven by the GGI having 17% fewer plant species, and compositional differences, with 61% of species unique to the core grasslands. In addition, connectivity to the core, the amount of GGI and inferred seed dispersal distances by livestock, were strongly positively correlated with conservation value, pollination and aesthetic indicators. All ES indicators showed similar responses to the GGI spatial structure and distance to the core, suggesting robust effects of these drivers on ES. We projected that improved landscape-wide delivery of nature conservation value and pollination could be achieved through targeted GGI management. Reductions in the distances seeds would need to disperse, more GGI, along with a diversification of the GGI elements, were predicted to enhance service credits.We conclude that for vegetation-related ES, species surveys can be employed to assess potential ES delivery. Creating and enhancing GGI is a useful landscape management strategy to supplement the ES delivered by ancient grasslands.

Valuing Ecosystem Services Provided by Pasture-Based Beef Farms in Alentejo, Portugal

This work aims to measure and value the ecosystem services of grasslands and croplands covered by pasture-based beef farms in Alentejo. It combines pixel-level data from the Portuguese Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystem Services study and farm-level data from 40 farms. Five ecosystem services were considered: soil protection, carbon sequestration, support to extensive animal production, plant food production and fiber production. Two different approaches for service quantification were used: an “average class” method and a “buffer” approach. Double counting issues were avoided by applying a specific methodology developed for this study. The results obtained were similar for both approaches in the case of grasslands, with an average value between 146 and 176 €/ha/year. For croplands, the average service value oscillated between 40 and 166 €/ha/year. Soil protection was the most valuable service, with over 90% of the total value. Extrapolating these results for the entire region, the five ecosystem services were estimated to be worth between 173 M€ (class method) and 223 M€ (buffer approach). These results suggest that pasture-based beef farms in Alentejo help to provide a significant number of ecosystem services with positive environmental effects that are currently not remunerated by the market.

Herder households' livelihood strategies as a response to payments for grassland ecosystem services in China

AbstractHerder households' response is critical in determining the effectiveness of payments for grassland ecosystem services (PGES). This study aimed to comprehensively analyze the influencing factors and processes of herder households' response to PGES using the sustainable livelihood approach. Here, we were the first to classify the ways herder households respond to PGES from the perspective of livelihood strategies, and proposed a sustainable livelihood indicator framework applicable to herder household research. According to the framework, we combined path analysis and statistical analysis to carry out empirical analysis in a typical area. The results show that the response strategies could be divided into three types, which rated by popularity from low to high, were reduction in herd counts (19.1%), livelihood diversification (27.7%) and industrial upgrading (53.1% max). Their formation was influenced by various factors, such as the PGES, vulnerability context, livelihood assets, and livelihood outcomes. In general, strict supervision (influence coefficient 0.46) helped reduce livestock headcounts, especially in small and medium households, which used to be the main bodies of overloading. Households with rising living standards tended to explore off‐farm livelihoods, but there were also some households that did so because of disagreement with PGES. Households with higher vulnerability and higher livelihood assets tended to cope with the shortage of grassland through industrial upgrading, thereby achieving a balanced utilization of grassland resources. This study not only makes an important supplement to PGES and sustainable livelihood theory but also provides an important reference for grassland ecological protection practices around the world.

The trade-offs and synergies of the ecological-production-living functions of grassland in the Qilian mountains by ecological priority

Grassland degradation has caused increasingly prominent conflict between ecological environment conservation and socioeconomic development in the Qilian Mountains, China. How to effectively trade-offs and synergies to ecological and socioeconomic is essential to achieving the sustainable development of the grassland ecosystem. However, few studies have addressed the trade-offs and synergies of grassland ecosystem services in terms of coupling the natural ecosystem and the socioeconomic system. Therefore, we constructed an index of the analyzed trade-offs and synergies of grassland ecosystem services from the perspective of “ecological-production-living” functions (EPLFs) and analyzed the spatial-temporal characteristics of grassland EPLF trade-off and synergy relationships based on the data from the implementation of three conservation policies in the Qilian Mountains from 2003 to 2020. The results showed evident spatial and temporal differentiation of the grassland EPLFs. The ecological function was consistent with the production function, trending upward initially and then decreasing. The living function showed a trend of continuous increase. The spatial pattern of grassland EPLFs showed that the northwest and southeast were more active than the middle of the Qilian Mountains, and the regional gradient difference was apparent. The trade-off and synergy relationships of grassland EPLFs have obvious spatial correlations as well; spatial differences were evident under different conservation policies. With national park construction, the synergistic relationship gradually weakened and the trade-off relationship gradually strengthened. These results suggest that the policy of ecological priority increased trade-offs and reduced synergies among EPLFs was not conducive to coupling and coordinating grassland EPLFs for development in the Qilian Mountains. Our study also demonstrates that maintaining moderate grassland grazing pressure and the appropriate number of herdsmen is crucial to sustainably develop the grassland ecosystem in the Qilian Mountains, and further research into coupling mechanisms for grassland EPLFs is needed to reduce trade-offs and increase synergies with grassland ecosystem services.

Warm-climate, legume-grass forage mixtures versus grass-only swards: An ecosystem services comparison

Integrating warm-climate forage legumes into grass monocultures has received significant research attention during the past 70 years, but widespread adoption by end users has been elusive. The objectives of this review are to provide historical context regarding legume use in warm-climate grasslands; synthesize the current literature addressing contributions to grassland ecosystem services of warm-climate, grass-only vs. legume-grass mixed swards; and consider how to achieve more widespread adoption of legume technology in warm climates. For this review, warm-climate grasslands are [...]

Analysis of the Impact of Policy Instruments on Payment for Grasslands Ecosystem Services (PGES) Implementation: A Case Study from Northwest China

The implementation of payment for grassland ecosystem services (PGES) is the result of cooperative games between farmers and the local government. However, there are currently many studies on the willingness behavior of farmers to participate in payment for grassland ecosystem services, although there is a lack of research on the impact of the willingness behavior of local governments on the implementation of payment for grassland ecosystem services. Based on the theory of planned behavior, in this study, the impact of government policy instruments on PGES implementation outcomes was taken as the primary research objective, and the following findings were derived from the three secondary objectives of constructing a model, using structural equations to measure and quantitatively decompose the policy instruments: (1) policy instruments have a significant impact on policy implementation; (2) policy instruments play an important guiding role in farmers’ participation in PGES; and (3) the amount of ecological compensation and the degree of policy implementation have a significant impact on policy instruments. Reasonable adjustments can effectively improve the effect of policy implementation. This study incorporated the implementation willingness and interaction of farmers and local governments into the analysis model of the implementation of payment for grassland ecosystem services, providing a theoretical basis for improving the performance of payment for grassland ecosystem services from the perspective of government policy instruments.