Highest Ecosystem Service Value Research Articles

Indonesia's globally significant seagrass meadows are under widespread threat

Indonesia's marine ecosystems form a fundamental part of the world's natural heritage, representing a global maxima of marine biodiversity and supporting the world's second largest production of seafood. Seagrasses are a key part of that support. In the absence of empirical data we present evidence from expert opinions as to the state of Indonesia's seagrass ecosystems, their support for ecosystem services, with a focus on fisheries, and the damaging activities that threaten their existence. We further draw on expert opinion to elicit potential solutions to prevent further loss. Seagrasses and the ecosystem services they support across the Indonesian archipelago are in a critical state of decline. Declining seagrass health is the result of shifting environmental conditions due largely to coastal development, land reclamation, and deforestation, as well as seaweed farming, overfishing and garbage dumping. In particular, we also describe the declining state of the fisheries resources that seagrass meadows support. The perilous state of Indonesia's seagrasses will compromise their resilience to climate change and result in a loss of their high ecosystem service value. Community supported management initiatives provide one mechanism for seagrass protection. Exemplars highlight the need for increased local level autonomy for the management of marine resources, opening up opportunities for incentive type conservation schemes.

Clonal diversity and genetic structure of Enhalus acoroides populations along Hainan Island, China.

Seagrasses are monocotyledons that grow in intertidal and subtidal zones. Seagrass beds are among ecosystems with the highest ecosystem service value. However, seagrass beds are rapidly decline due to anthropogenic disturbances and global climate change. Enhalus acoroides, a monoecious perennial species, is the largest seagrass in stature. It distributes in tropical regions, with Hainan Island as its northern limits. Clonal diversity and genetic structure of E. acoroides populations in Hainan Island were studied to facilitate its conservation and restoration. We used four polymorphic microsatellites to genotype samples collected from four extant populations. We found low clonal and genetic diversities within populations, consistent with the expectations of genetic structure in edge populations. A large range of genetic differentiation was found between these four populations, probably due to the large range of geographic distances between them and genetic drift by local extinction and recolonization. We found no sign of recent bottlenecks in all the populations, probably due to the within-population genetic diversity being too low to show obvious reduction even after bottlenecks. We proposed suggestions on population conservation for those with high priority. Given that seagrass bed had experienced rapid decline in recent years, strengthened conservation and ecological restoration are urgently needed.

Land Use and Land Cover Change in the Qinghai Lake Region of the Tibetan Plateau and Its Impact on Ecosystem Services.

Exploration of land use and land cover change (LULCC) and its impacts on ecosystem services in Tibetan plateau is valuable for landscape and environmental conservation. In this study, we conduct spatial analysis on empirical land use and land cover data in the Qinghai Lake region for 1990, 2000, and 2010 and simulate land cover patterns for 2020. We then evaluate the impacts of LULCC on ecosystem service value (ESV), and analyze the sensitivity of ESV to LULCC to identify the ecologically sensitive area. Our results indicate that, from 1990 to 2010, the area of forest and grassland increased while the area of unused land decreased. Simulation results suggest that the area of grassland and forest will continue to increase and the area of cropland and unused land will decrease for 2010–2020. The ESV in the study area increased from 694.50 billion Yuan in 1990 to 714.28 billion Yuan in 2000, and to 696.72 billion Yuan in 2020. Hydrology regulation and waste treatment are the top two ecosystem services in this region. The towns surrounding the Qinghai Lake have high ESVs, especially in the north of the Qinghai Lake. The towns with high ESV sensitivity to LULCC are located in the northwest, while the towns in the north of the Qinghai Lake experienced substantial increase in sensitivity index from 2000–2010 to 2010–2020, especially for three regulation services and aesthetic landscape provision services.

Spatial-temporal evolvement of ecosystem service value of Dongting Lake area influenced by changes of land use

With the technology of geographic information system (GIS), the ecosystem service va-lue (ESV) coefficient of different types of land use in Dongting Lake area was estimated in this paper by interpreting the remote-sensing image for years and combining its economic development statistics. Meanwhile, the temporal-spatial evolvement characteristics of the ESV were investigated by employing the methods of spatial statistics analysis such as spatial autocorrelation, highland clustering analysis and hotspot analysis. The results showed that the ESV of Dongting Lake area increased slightly during 2000-2013, from 3868.39 billion yuan to 3886.62 billion yuan due to the increase of wetland in the area. The areas with high ESV and low ESV were infiltrated into each other, while the areas with second high ESV embraced those areas with high and low ESV. The characteristics of ESV and its dynamic evolvement in Dongting Lake area were obviously of spatial autocorrelation and high and low value clustering, but the trend was weakened. The focus of ESV hotspot of Dongting Lake area moved to northwest slightly with a "S" track in a obviously phased manner of "quick-slow-quick".

The response of ecosystem service value to land-use change in the upper Zhang River region from 2001 to 2013

Purpose This study aims to analyze the changes in the ecosystem service value (ESV) in response to land use and contribute significantly to ecological construction and sustainable development. Design/methodology/approach The present study was conducted in the upper Zhanghe River region based on the moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer Land Cover Type product MCD12Q1 by using geographic information system (GIS) methods to process and re-classify the land-use data and using the Chinese ESV equivalent weight factors to investigate changes in land use and resulting changes in ESV between 2001 and 2013. Findings The results showed significant fluctuations in ESV between 2001 and 2013: there was a decline in ESV from 2001 to 2004, followed by a gradual rise after 2004, and the overall ESV exceeded 2001 levels by the end of 2013. However, the pattern of ESV change differed across geographic locations, and each administrative region contributed differently to the overall trend. The analysis confirmed that the land-use change was closely related to the change in its ESV, and the coefficients of sensitivity of ESV for all types of land use were less than one, indicating that the coefficient value of ESV lacked elasticity. Research limitations/implications Therefore, to promote sustainable development in the upper Zhanghe River region, ESV should be taken into consideration when planning land use, especially for land types with high ESV, such as water bodies and forestlands. Originality/value The results can provide scientific support for the sustainable development of the ecological, economic and societal aspects of the upper Zhanghe River region. In addition, county-level administrative divisions were set as the basic research unit for the analysis and discussion of ESV changes in each unit within the research period and its impact on the overall ESV of the entire area to lay down a foundation for the analysis of the ESV spatial dynamic distribution in the entire research site.

Non-use value assessment for wetland ecosystem service of Hongxing National Nature Reserve in northeast China

By the contingent value method, we studied the non-use value of wetland ecosystem service of Hongxing National Nature Reserve (HNNR) in Heilongjiang Province, northeast China. The proportion of respondents willing to pay (WTP) for protection of HNNR was 63 %. The WTP ratio was affected by geographical area, contact nature, personal preferences, and familiar degree of the respondents. The WTP value was affected by age, education level and career of the respondents. The mainly reasons for people rejecting to pay for protecting HNNR were “I am not familiar to HNNR” and “I had no capacity for additional spending because of low income”. Weighted average individual WTP value was CNY 59.26 Yuan ind.−1 year−1 for all the respondents with WTP. The total non-use ecosystem service value of HNNR was CNY 1430 million Yuan in 2013. The heritage value was highest followed by existence value and option value. From the high ecosystem service value in HNNR, it is very important to construct nature reserve for protecting natural ecosystems and human sustainable use of natural resources.

The influences of land use changes on the value of ecosystem services in Chaohu Lake Basin, China

The loss of ecosystem services is mainly caused by the land use changes around the world. This study examined the influence of land use changes on the value of ecosystem services in Chaohu Lake Basin, China. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of land use changes on ecosystem services. An analysis of the land use changes was conducted based on Landsat images from 1985, 1995, 2000 and 2007. The method used to estimate the ecosystem service values (ESV) in this study extracted the equivalent weight factors of ecosystem services per hectare of terrestrial ecosystems and modified the value coefficients, and then the ESV were estimated by multiplying the area of a given land use type by the corresponding value coefficient. With the help of a sensitivity analysis, the effect of manipulating these coefficients on the estimated values was detected. This study analyzed the spatial and temporal changes in Chaohu Lake Basin’s ESV using GIS-RS technology during the study period. The results indicated that: (1) the total ESV of the Chaohu Lake Basin was 10.16 billion Yuan in 1985, 10.13 billion Yuan in 1995, 10.03 billion Yuan in 2000 and 11.44 billion Yuan in 2007. There was an increase of approximately 12.61 % over the period between 1985 and 2007, primarily because of increases in woodland and water body, (2) the area with increase in the ESV in study periods declined sharply. Where the areas were 44.24 % of total area from 1985 to 1995, 27.52 % from 1995 to 2000, 18.94 % from 2000 to 2007 and 17.34 % from 1985 to 2007, (3) the change rate of ESV in Chaohu Lake Basin was positive from 1985 to 2007. Generally, it should be emphasized on protecting woodland, water body and farmland as they have high ecosystem service value coefficients and large areas. In this way, a balance between economic development and ecosystem health will be maintained in the future. It is hoped that the results will be helpful for the management of Chaohu Lake Basin’s terrestrial ecosystems.

Valuation of ecosystem services based on multi-source remote sensing data：A case study of Hebei Province

In this paper,the ecosystem services valuation system and methods were developed and Landsat TM and MODIS NDVI were used as the main dataset to calculate the ecosystem services value of 2009 in Hebei Province. The total value of ecosystem services of Hebei Province was 180. 38 million in 2009. The value of the service that maintained soil fertility accounted for 59. 15% of the total value,which was the biggest one of the eight services, followed by the values of released O 2,fixed CO 2,nutrients accumulation,soil conservation,water volume regulation,organic matter production and water purification. The spatiotemporal pattern of ecosystem services values of Hebei Province in 2009 was remarkable,the values were much higher in northern and northwestern parts and mountain areas than the values in southern and southeastern parts and plain areas. The values of ecosystem services of various kinds of land- use categories were different significantly. Forest land offers the highest ecosystem service value per hectare,and farmland,because of its huge area,offers the highest total value.

Origins of the Chicago Urban Forest: Composition and Structure in Relation to Presettlement Vegetation and Modern Land Use

Urban forests provide important ecosystem services, but species composition and canopy structure influence provisioning of these services and long-term stability of the urban canopy. Two landscape-scale data sets (presettlement land surveys and an urban tree census) were used to explore relationships among modern land use, presettlement vegetation, and urban forest canopy structure, size structure, and composition in the Chicago, Illinois, U.S., metropolitan region. Presettlement vegetation and modern land use combined to influence urban forest composition and structure. Modern forested areas with high native species dominance, canopy cover, and structural complexity were associated with forest (rather than prairie) vegetation in the presettlement landscape. Oaks (Quercus spp.), which dominated presettlement forests and provide high ecosystem service value because of their large stature and wildlife value, were strongly associated with presettlement forest areas and modern natural areas. The Chicago region is in a transitional state where composition and structure of larger size classes is heavily tied to pre-urban vegetation. In the future, this landscape is likely to experience a shift in dominance from oaks to smaller-statured, shorter-lived non-native and opportunistic species. This shift, along with climatic change and introduction of exotic pests, may result in an urban forest with reduced potential to provide important ecosystem services.

Dynamics of Ecosystem Service Value Caused by Land use Changes in Manas River of Xinjiang, China

This study aims to quantify the impacts of land use changes on ecosystem service value during large scale land development, and to provide key information for both economic development and policy makers for eco-environmental protection. The study area locates in Manas river watershed which is a typical land development region in northwest China. Landsat MSS/TM/ETM+ images in 1976, 1989, 1999 and 2008 were applied to estimate ecosystem service value based on land use, and subsequently ecosystem service value dynamics were analyzed in response to land use changes. It is found that the built-up area and cultivated land increased significantly from 1976 to 2008. The decreasing ecosystem service value (from 17362.2 million Yuan in 1976 to 16975.0 million Yuan in 2008) is mainly caused by the reduced grassland. The combined ecosystem service value of water body and grassland is over 60% of the total value. Functions of water supply, waste treatment, soil formation and retention and biodiversity protection contributed to over 70% of the total service value. The results suggest that a reasonable land use plan should emphasize protection of water body, woodland and grassland as they have the highest ecosystem service value.

Variations in ecosystem service value in response to land use changes in Shenzhen

Urban sprawl significantly impacts ecosystem services and functions. The exact impacts, however are difficult to quantify and are often neglected in policy making. The evaluation of ecosystem services is conducive to clarifying the ecological and environmental changes caused by urbanization. The objective of this study is to investigate variations in ecosystem services in response to land use changes during urbanization. The aim is to provide useful information and advice for policy makers concerned with sustainable development. Shenzhen, one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in China, is selected as the study area. A fast evaluation method for ecological service values based on land use change was proposed and applied to the city for 1996, 2000 and 2004. The total value of ecosystem services in Shenzhen was 2776.0 million Yuan in 1996, 2911.4 million Yuan in 2000 and 2544.7 million Yuan in 2004 respectively, with a decrease of 231.3 million Yuan from 1996 to 2004 mainly due to the decreasing areas of woodland, wetland and water body. The combined ecosystem service value of woodland, wetland, water body and orchard was over 90% of the total value. Water supply and waste treatment were the top two service functions with high service value, contributing about 40% of the total service value. The results suggest that a reasonable land use plan should be made with emphasis on protecting wetland, water body and woodland, which have the highest ecosystem service value.

Global Conservation of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

Habitat destruction has driven much of the current biodiversity extinction crisis, and it compromises the essential benefits, or ecosystem services, that humans derive from functioning ecosystems. Securing both species and ecosystem services might be accomplished with common solutions. Yet it is unknown whether these two major conservation objectives coincide broadly enough worldwide to enable global strategies for both goals to gain synergy. In this article, we assess the concordance between these two objectives, explore how the concordance varies across different regions, and examine the global potential for safeguarding biodiversity and ecosystem services simultaneously. We find that published global priority maps for biodiversity conservation harbor a disproportionate share of estimated terrestrial ecosystem service value (ESV). Overlap of biodiversity priorities and ESV varies among regions, and in areas that have high biodiversity priority but low ESV, specialized conservation approaches are necessary. Overall, however, our findings suggest opportunities for safeguarding both biodiversity and ecosystem services. Sensitivity analyses indicate that results are robust to known limitations of available ESV data. Capitalizing on these opportunities will require the identification of synergies at fine scales, and the development of economic and policy tools to exploit them.