Trade-off Model Research Articles

Range Resolution and Sampling Frequency Trade-Off for GPS Passive Radar

In a global positioning system (GPS) passive radar, a high resolution requires a high sampling frequency, which increases the computational load. Balancing the computational load and the range resolution is challenging. This paper presents a method to trade off the range resolution and the computational load by experimentally determining the optimal sampling frequency through an analysis of multiple sets of GPS satellite data at different sampling frequencies. The test data are used to construct a range resolution-sampling frequency trade-off model using least-squares estimation. The theoretical analysis shows that the experimental data are the best fit using smoothing and nth-order derivative splines. Using field GPS C/A code signal-based GPS radar, the trade-off between the optimal sampling frequency is determined to be in the 20 461.25 -24 553.5 kHz range, which supports a resolution of 43–48 m. Compared with the conventional method, the CPU time is reduced by approxi-mately 50%.

Spatial scaling of land use/land cover and ecosystem services across urban hierarchical levels: patterns and relationships

Land use/land cover (LULC) patterns seriously affect ecosystem services (ESs), especially in highly developed urban agglomerations. Exploring how LULC and ESs change spatially across urban hierarchical levels and understanding the possible mechanisms can promote the sustainable planning of urban landscapes. By mapping the spatial patterns of LULC and ESs in the three largest urban agglomerations of China, this study aimed to (1) identify the scaling relations of LULC and ESs across different urban hierarchical levels, (2) explore the possible mechanisms of these two types of spatial scaling, and (3) examine how the scaling relations of ESs relate to LULC and the policy implications. Based on LULC, we used the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model and other biophysical models to quantify ES indicators. Then, scalograms were used to quantify the scaling relations of LULC and ESs with respect to changing spatial extent. Developed land and cropland exhibited the most predictable responses with changing spatial extent. Compared to other ESs, provisioning services were the most predictable. The predictable scaling relations of ESs at different urban hierarchical levels fell into two general types: power laws at the city proper level and exponential relationships at the metropolitan region and urban agglomeration levels. The scaling relations of both LULC and ESs varied across urban hierarchical levels. The spatial scaling of ESs was closely related to LULC patterns. Integrating the scaling relations of ESs into land use planning can help decision-makers formulate multi-scale landscape conservation strategies.

A sustainable conservation strategy of wildlife in urban ecosystems: Case of Gallinula chloropus in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region

In the context of urbanization, due to lack of the unified planning of land use for representative ecological indicators, the sustainable wildlife existence in urban ecosystems is emerging as a burning issue. A new descriptive method is proposed to establish the sustainable conservation strategy of protected wildlife in the current urbanization scenario. We use the Habitat Quality module in the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs model (InVEST-HQ), straightforward construction package of complex ecological niche Ecological Niche Modeling at The MetaLand EcologyLab (ENMTML) and ecological corridors construction model Species Distribution Model toolbox (SDMtoolbox) to distinguish the priority protected areas (PAs) and construct the ecological corridors of Gallinula chloropus (G. chloropus) in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region, China in 2018. The results show that the PAs are fragmented and only occupy 0.05% of total area in BTH region, which indicate an urgent conservation issue in highly urbanization area. For the sustainable conservation strategy of protected G. chloropus, 25 ecological corridors comprised 2790.8 km are required to construct, mainly distributed in Beijing and Tianjin city. Ecological corridors are also distributed close to the border of southeast, southwest and eastern coastal areas of the BTH region. In order to optimize the ecological corridors, 9 important ecological corridors comprised 813.4 km are suggested to build firstly, which are mainly distributed in the central and eastern coastal areas of the BTH region. Our combined modeling (ENMTML-InVEST-HQ) indicate that based on actual species occurrence data and land uses, it can successfully generate the PAs which should be paid more attention. Furthermore, concrete measures to build ecological corridors which connect PAs in BTH region are proposed. In order to well-targeted organized planning in highly urbanized areas, measures to protect key habitats of wildlife need to be defined and this research provides a reference for sustainable protection and management of wildlife.

Using InVEST to evaluate water yield services in Shangri-La, Northwestern Yunnan, China.

Water yield is an ecosystem service that is vital to not only human life, but also sustainable development of the social economy and ecosystem. This study used annual average precipitation, potential evapotranspiration, plant available water content, soil depth, biophysical parameters, Zhang parameter, and land use/land cover (LULC) as input data for the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Service Tradeoffs (InVEST) model to estimate the water yield of Shangri-La City from 1974 to 2015. The spatiotemporal variations and associated factors (precipitation, evapotranspiration, LULC, and topographic factors) in water yield ecosystem services were then analyzed. The result showed that: (1) The water yield of Shangri-La City decreases from north and south to the center and showed a temporal trend from 1974 to 2015 of an initial decrease followed by an increase. Areas of higher average water yield were mainly in Hutiaoxia Town, Jinjiang Town, and Shangjiang Township. (2) Areas of importance for water yield in the study area which need to be assigned priority protection were mainly concentrated in the west of Jiantang Town, in central Xiaozhongdian Town, in central Gezan Township, in northwestern Dongwang Township, and in Hutiaoxia Town. (3) Water yield was affected by precipitation, evapotranspiration, vegetation type, and topographic factors. Water yield was positively and negatively correlated with precipitation and potential evapotranspiration, respectively. The average water yield of shrubs exceeded that of meadows and forests. Terrain factors indirectly affected the ecosystem service functions of water yield by affecting precipitation and vegetation types. The model used in this study can provide references for relevant research in similar climatic conditions.

Signaling of earlier-born Children's endowments, intra-household allocation, and birth-order effects

This paper provides a new explanation for birth-order effects by considering the genetic similarity between siblings. We develop a quantity–quality trade-off model in which parents form their expectations of possible future children's endowments by observing the performance of their existing children. Our model shows that having a talented first child may weaken parents' incentive to have additional children due to the substitution effect. However, it also may encourage a second birth due to the signaling effect. Without assuming that children of a specific birth order have a biological advantage or more parental attention, this model predicts a birth-order gap in parents' human capital investment, the magnitude of which depends on the endowments of the first child and its predictive power as a signal of the potential endowment of a possible second child.

A Trade-Off Task-Offloading Scheme in Multi-User Multi-Task Mobile Edge Computing

Mobile edge computing is a novel technique that can reduce computational burden of local terminal devices by tasks offloading, which emerges as a promising paradigm to provide computing capabilities near mobile users. In this paper, the task offloading decision to solve the queuing problem of tasks to be processed in the local terminals was being considered, with an application of Lyapunov theory to ensure the queue stability. Then, a trade-off model was formulated to minimize the delay and energy consumption to achieve a minimum execution cost. Moreover, an improved Dynamic Niche-based Self-organizing Learning Algorithm was presented to accelerate the speed of the search process to gain an optimal task offloading scheme. The simulation results provided supporting evidence that the proposed optimal scheme IDO could achieve a lower average energy consumption than LFO and a lower average execution delay than EFO under the scenarios of the waiting queue length varies within [10, 50], the number of users varies within [4, 20], and the number of tasks varies within [20, 100].

基于地理探测器的喀斯特山区生态系统服务关系分异特征及驱动力解析——以贵州省为例

PDF HTML阅读 XML下载 导出引用 引用提醒 基于地理探测器的喀斯特山区生态系统服务关系分异特征及驱动力解析——以贵州省为例 DOI: 10.5846/stxb202109012470 作者: 作者单位: 作者简介: 通讯作者: 中图分类号: 基金项目: 国家自然科学青年基金项目（42001090）；重庆市教委科学技术研究项目（KJQN202000512） Differentiation characteristics and driving factors of ecosystem services relationships in karst mountainous area based on geographic detector modeling:A case study of Guizhou Province Author: Affiliation: Fund Project: 摘要 | 图/表 | 访问统计 | 参考文献 | 相似文献 | 引证文献 | 资源附件 | 文章评论 摘要:生态系统服务关系的空间异质性及其驱动机制分析一直都是喀斯特生态系统服务研究的关键问题。以典型喀斯特山区--贵州省为例，选取植被净初级生产力(NPP)，土壤保持(SC)和产水(WY)3类生态系统服务，在对其进行准确估算的基础上，采用相关分析法、均方根误差法从多角度剖析生态系统服务关系变化及其空间分异规律，借助地理探测器对生态系统服务关系变化的驱动机理进行解析。结果表明：①2000-2015年贵州省NPP、土壤保持、产水服务均值均呈增长趋势，其中，NPP和土壤保持服务在研究区东北部及西北角增长最显著，产水服务在研究区东南部增加最明显。②研究时段内，区域生态系统服务关系以协同为主，只是协同关系在减弱并有向权衡发展的趋势。③不同背景条件下区域生态系统服务关系具有明显的分异特征。相较于白云岩，NPP与土壤保持的权衡度在石灰岩上更大；土壤保持与NPP的权衡度在地势平缓的岩溶盆地上较大，产水服务与NPP、土壤保持间的权衡度在陡峭的岩溶槽谷(峡谷)上更大；产水服务与土壤保持间的权衡度随着植被覆盖度的增加而逐渐增大。④地理探测器结果表明：造林总面积是影响NPP与土壤保持间权衡关系变化的主导因子，降水总量已成为制约NPP与产水服务间协同的最主要因子，高程和人均国内生产总值(GDP)是影响土壤保持与产水服务间关系的最主要因子；因子间的交互影响均高于单因子的影响。研究深化了喀斯特地区生态系统服务权衡/协同关系变化的机理解析研究，为喀斯特生态系统有效保护和管理提供了科学参考。 Abstract:The spatial heterogeneity of ecosystem services relationships and their driving mechanisms have always been the research focus regarding karst ecosystem services. Taking Guizhou Province, a typical karst mountainous area, as an example, this study selected three ecosystem services:net primary productivity (NPP), soil conservation (SC), and water yield (WY). Based on the accurate estimation of three ecosystem services through the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford approach (CASA) model, the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) model and the water balance formula, the spatio-temporal change and differentiation characteristics of ecosystem services relationships were analyzed using correlation analysis and root mean square error (RMSE). The driving mechanisms of changes in ecosystem services relationships were then analyzed using a geographic detector modeling. The results showed that:① from 2000 to 2015, the average values of NPP, SC, and WY in Guizhou Province showed an increasing trend. In terms of spatial distribution, NPP and SC presented an increasing trend in the northeast and northwest corner of the study area. The WY increased in the southeastern study area. ② During the study period, the relationships of regional ecosystem services were mainly synergistic, but the synergistic relationship was weakening, accompanied by a trade-off trend. So, due attention should be given to the coordination of ecosystem services relationships. ③ The relationship of regional ecosystem services under different conditions had obvious differentiation characteristics. Compared with dolomite, the trade-off intensity between NPP and SC was greater on limestone; the trade-off intensity between SC and NPP was greater on flat karst basins, and the trade-off intensity between WY and NPP, WY and SC was greater on steep karst slot valley (canyons). The trade-off intensity between WY and SC gradually increased with the increase in vegetation coverage. ④ The results of the geographic detector modeling showed that the total afforestation area was the leading factor affecting the trade-off change between NPP and SC. The total precipitation was the main factor restricting the collaboration between NPP and WY. The elevation and per capita gross domestic product (GDP) were the main factors affecting the relationship between SC and WY. Meantime, the explanatory power of the interaction of any two factors was higher than that of the single factor, indicating the influence intensity of the factor was obviously increased after the interaction. In the future, attention should be paid to multi-factors and their interactions. This study provided deeper insights into the mechanisms of the trade-off/synergy changes among ecosystem services in the karst area, and a scientific reference for the effective protection and management of the karst ecosystem. 参考文献 相似文献 引证文献

Parameter assignment for InVEST habitat quality module based on principal component analysis and grey coefficient analysis.

The Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model is a concise approach to evaluate the status of habitat quality for supporting ecosystem management and decision making. Assigning parameters accurately in the InVEST model is the premise for effectively simulating habitat quality. The purpose of this study is to propose an available method for assigning the important parameters in the Habitat Quality module of InVEST. Herein, the methods of principal component analysis (PCA) and grey relational analysis (GRA) were utilized to assign the weights of threat factors and the sensitivity of each habitat type to each threat factor, respectively. Through a case study of the habitat quality of Fuzhou City, we find that using PCA and GRA methods to assign parameters is feasible. Generally, the habitat quality of Fuzhou City in 2015 and 2018 was above the fair suitable level, and the proportion of fair suitable and good suitable habitats was about 83%. The areas with higher habitat quality were mainly concentrated in forest, wetland and grassland ecosystems. The spots with lower habitat quality were scattered all over the main urban areas of districts and counties, and their periphery. GDP per capita and population density were the main factors that affect the habitat quality of Fuzhou City. Narrowing the economic imbalance gap is an important way to reduce population shift and relieve the pressure of the urban environment in economically developed areas. This study is expected to provide an effective method for assigning parameters in the InVEST Habitat Quality Module and support regional ecosystem conservation.

An analysis of the economic growth of population mobility and rent-seeking behavior

Since the 1990s, China’s massive wave of population shift has become a unique landscape in the reform of China’s social and economic structure. As a reallocation of labor and human capital, this shift of population has on one hand emerged with the great transformation of social and economic structure. In the meantime, over the past 30 years, rent-seeking activities were rampant and in the traditional theory of rent-seeking, it is believed that rent-seeking will reduce the growth of economic. In this case, it is as if rent-seeking activities is going hand in hand with the economic growth. This article aims at studying from the angle of rent-seeking and the flow of talents, hence building an endogenous career choice model for trade-offs between producers and rent-seekers. Meanwhile assuming talent flows only emerge in economically developed regions and economically less developed regions, then bind them together to study the growth of economic.

AEHO: Apriori-Based Optimized Model for Building Construction to Time-Cost Tradeoff Modeling

The operations involved in building a structure interact and depend on one another. The model is developed using an Apriori-based swarm intelligence method, with the non-dominated solutions to the separation of elephant herding optimization technique as the swarm intelligence method. Also, population initialization, selection, and fitness evaluation for input parameters are used. This strategy optimizes construction time, cost, & environmental effects in an actual construction project. Compared to the original simulation-optimization integration, the suggested machine learning-based solution dramatically reduces computing time. A case study of a building construction project has been employed to show the usability of the proposed method. Similarly, the usefulness of the proposed AEHO model in optimal design is demonstrated by measuring many performance measures and a comparison with an already existing PSO optimization model. In addition, a coefficient value plot is established for visualizing the provided objectives, and an apriori method is presented for selecting one solution from the Pareto-optimal front that has been generated. This study intends to minimize time and cost for construction projects that include repetitive project activities by using the learning curve phenomenon, which reduces time and cost savings when considering the project’s start and finish dates.

Equilibrium Defaultable Corporate Debt and Investment

In dynamic capital structure models with an investor break-even condition, the firm's Bellman equation may not generate a contraction mapping, so the standard existence and uniqueness conditions do not apply. First, we provide an example showing the problem in a classical trade-off model. The firm can issue one-period defaultable debt, invest in capital and pay a dividend. If the firm cannot meet the required debt payment, it is liquidated. Second, we show how to use a dual to the original problem and a change of measure, such that existence and uniqueness can be proved. In the unique Markov-perfect equilibrium, firm decisions reflect state-dependent capital and debt targets. Our approach may be useful for other dynamic firm models that have an investor break-even condition.

Application Research on the Maintainability Allocation Method of a Certain Shooter Seat

In view of the traditional maintainability allocation method for a certain shooter seat for maintainability allocation did not consider the lifecycle expense problem, the improved NSGA-II algorithm (iNSGA-II, for short) is adopted to establish a multiobjective comprehensive trade-off model for a certain shooter seat product lifecycle maintenance-related expenses and mean time to repair (MTTR, for short) and construct multiobjective optimization problem. The experimental results show that the Pareto optimal solution effectively solves the limitation of the traditional maintainability allocation method and then provides a basis for a certain shooter seat to obtain a reasonable maintainability allocation scheme. The superiority of the iNSGA-II algorithm to optimize the maintainability allocation of a certain shooter seat was verified by comparing it with the traditional maintainability allocation method.

Dynamic simulation of land use change and assessment of carbon storage based on climate change scenarios at the city level: A case study of Bortala, China

Exploring future changes in land use and carbon storage (CS) under different climate scenarios is important for optimizing regional ecosystem service functions and formulating sustainable socioeconomic development policies. We proposed a framework that integrates the system dynamics (SD) model, patch-generating land use simulation (PLUS) model, and Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Service and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model to dynamically simulate changes in land use/cover change (LUCC) and CS at the city level based on SSP-RCP scenarios provided by the CMIP6. The simulations were applied to Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang. Changes in LUCC were similar under the SSP126 and SSP245 scenarios, but woodland expansion was more rapid under the SSP126 scenario. Changes in LUCC under the SSP585 scenario were different from those under the other two scenarios, and this was mainly caused by the continuous reduction in woodland area and the rapid expansion of construction land and cultivated land. By 2050, the simulation results revealed that CS was highest under the SSP126 scenario (193.20 Tg), followed by the SSP245 scenario (192.75 Tg) and SSP585 scenario (185.17 Tg). Overall, the results of this study suggest that increases in CS could be achieved by controlling economic growth and population growth, promoting an energy transition, and expanding woodland in the study area.

Supplemental Material for A Trade-Off Model of Intentional Thinking for Pleasure

Supplemental Material for A Trade-Off Model of Intentional Thinking for Pleasure

Profitability and Financial Leverage: Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment

The relationship between profitability and leverage is controversial in the capital structure literature. We revisit this relation in light of a novel quasi-natural experiment that increases market power for a subset of firms. We find that treated firms increase their profitability throughout the treatment period. However, they only transiently reduce financial leverage, gradually reverting to their preshock level. Firms respond differently according to size with large firms gradually adjusting their leverage toward a new target and small firms reducing it. The patterns are broadly consistent with dynamic trade-off models with both fixed and variable adjustment costs. This paper was accepted by Gustavo Manso, finance. Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2021.4235 .

615 Characterization of actionable bleeding and thrombotic trade-offs in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention

Abstract Aims Patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) are at risk of developing bleeding and/or thrombotic complications. Bleeding and thrombotic risk characteristics may overlap in some patients, which makes decision-making for dual antiplatelet therapy duration a clinical challenge. The actual proportion of PCI patients who have an increased bleeding risk and/or an increased thrombotic risk is unclear. The aim of this study is to identify sizeable and actionable proportions of patients at high bleeding risk (HBR) and/or at high thrombotic risk (HTR) in a contemporary cohort of PCI patients. Methods and results We retrospectively included all patients undergoing PCI at our Institution from November 2019 to April 2020 and identified those at HBR or HTR based on criteria from the Academic Research Consortium for High Bleeding Risk (ARC-HBR) or criteria from Giustino et al., respectively. Since belonging to the HBR and HTR groups was non-mutually exclusive, patients were further stratified into four mutually exclusive subgroups: (1) HBR/HTR; (2) HBR, non-HTR; (3) non-HBR, HTR; and (4) non-HBR, non-HTR. In addition, the new ARC-HBR trade-off model (integrating patients’ characteristics to define the individual risks of bleeding and thrombotic events) was applied to rank patients based on their computed risk scores for bleeding and thrombosis. Patients were categorized based on the ratio between the ARC-HBR thrombotic and the bleeding risk scores [i.e. high (1.5), intermediate (0.75–1.5), and low (<0.75)]. A total of 312 patients (mean age 68 ± 11 years, female 29%) were included, of which 93 (30%) presented with HBR and 116 (37%) presented with HTR. Among patients with HBR, 41% presented with HTR. Among patients with HTR, 33% presented with HBR. Overall, 12.2% of patients had HBR/HTR, 17.6% had HBR, non-HTR, 25.0% had non-HBR, HTR, and 45.2% had non-HBR, non-HTR. Based on the ARC-HBR trade off score, 16.3% of patients had a higher risk of thrombosis than the risk of bleeding, 45.9% had similar risks, and 37.8% had a higher risk of bleeding than the risk of thrombosis. Among patients who had HBR/HTR, the trade-off model identified 8% as having a higher risk of thrombosis than the risk of bleeding and 18.4% as having a higher risk of bleeding than the risk of thrombosis. Conclusions Characterizing the risk of bleeding and thrombotic complications is an important prerequisite for tailoring strategies to individual patients, hence minimizing the risks and improving the outcome of PCI. More than half of patients undergoing PCI presented with HBR, HTR, or both. About 40% of patients present with characteristic of high risk, which make them actionable (e.g. by using shorter durations of dual antiplatelet therapy in patients at HBR and non-HTR or using longer durations in patients at non-HBR and HTR). The ARC-HBR trade off model score is an additional useful tool that may be used to identify an additional quarter of actionable patients in the HBR/HTR category.

Sustainable performance in manufacturing operations: The cumulative approach vs. trade-offs approach

Sustainability improvement has become a priority for manufacturing companies due to increasing pressures from stakeholders. However, companies often struggle to find sustainability frameworks for their day-to-day decision-making processes, which leads to failed adoptions of sustainability practices, or sub-performance in certain sustainability dimensions. The triple bottom-line approach has been adopted by companies to measure and manage sustainable performance, but many have concerns on how to address each sustainability pillar and strike a balance among them. This paper proposes two different models: the cumulative model which follows a “sand-cone” approach, with operational performance at the base, and environmental and social on top, and the “trade-offs” model which suggests that improvements in one dimension come at the expense of another. The two models were tested using structural equations modelling, with data collected from Colombian manufacturing companies. Results suggest that sustainable performance follows the cumulative approach, in which operational performance has a positive impact on both environmental and social performance. Environmental performance also has a positive effect on social performance, and there is an indirect effect of operational performance on social performance. Regarding the trade-offs model, the results do not provide sufficient evidence to support this approach. This paper presents a significant contribution as it extends two common operations management approaches (the sand-cone and trade-offs) to sustainable manufacturing, giving light on the complex interactions between sustainability dimensions, and providing empirical evidence for the proposed models. The results are helpful for managers and practitioners to implement and pursue sustainable manufacturing models in their organizations.

Distinguishing Stoichiometric Homeostasis of Soil Microbial Biomass in Alpine Grassland Ecosystems: Evidence From 5,000 km Belt Transect Across Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

The biogeographic characteristics of soil microbial biomass stoichiometry homeostasis and also its mechanisms are commonly thought to be key factors for the survival strategies and resource utilization of soil microbes under extreme habitat. In this work, we conducted a 5,000-km transect filed survey in alpine grassland across Qinghai–Tibet Plateau in 2015 to measure soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN) across alpine steppe and meadow. Based on the differences of climate and soil conditions between alpine steppe and meadow, the variation coefficient was calculated to investigate the homeostatic degree of MBC to MBN. Furthermore, the “trade-off” model was utilized to deeply distinguish the homeostasis degree of MBC/MBN between alpine steppe and meadow, and the regression analysis was used to explore the variability of trade-off in response to environmental factors in the alpine grassland. The results showed that the coefficient of variation (CV) of MBC/MBN in alpine meadow (CV = 0.4) was lower than alpine steppe (CV = 0.7). According to the trade-off model, microbial turnover activity of soil N relative to soil C increased rapidly and then decreased slightly with soil organic carbon (SOC), soil total nitrogen (STN), and soil water content across alpine meadow. Nevertheless, in alpine steppe, SOC/STN had a positive effect on microbial turnover of soil N. These results suggested that water, heat, and soil nutrients availability were the key factors affecting the C:N stoichiometry homeostasis of soil microbial biomass in Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP)’s alpine grassland. Since the difference of survival strategy of the trade-off demands between soil C and N resulting in different patterns and mechanism, the stoichiometry homeostasis of soil microbial biomass was more stable in alpine meadow than in alpine steppe.

Effects of improved land-cover mapping on predicted ecosystem service outcomes in a lowland river catchment

Reliable quantification of ecosystem service (ES) provision in agricultural landscapes depends on accurate mapping of the spatial configuration of land-use and land cover (LULC). In this paper we explore the benefits of enhanced spatial and thematic resolution in LULC mapping in terms of predicting ecosystem services and associated natural capital-based land-use policies. Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite images were processed using Google Earth Engine (GEE) to generate a LULC map at 10 m resolution, which was compared to existing datasets at 20 m, 25 m, and 100 m resolution in the River Welland catchment (Eastern England). Spatial resolution had a significant effect on the abundance and spatial configuration of land cover types. For example, detected woodland cover in the finest resolution dataset was 2x that in the coarsest data. Finer spatial resolution also allowed small, fragmented patches of woodland and grassland to be identified. ES provision (crop yield, carbon storage and pollinator abundance) was estimated from each map using the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model. The finest resolution map resulted in 21% lower predicted wheat production (due to lower estimates of cultivated land cover), 7% higher predicted carbon stocks and 43% higher predicted wild bee abundance compared to the coarsest resolution map. The estimated monetary value of ES provision increased by 23.2% between the 10 and 100 m dataset. We recommend that a LULC resolution of at least 10 m should be employed in agricultural landscapes to accurately capture ES provision. This can be achieved using GEE and could be used as a basis for the development of future natural capital policy.

Spatiotemporal variation of essential ecosystem services and their trade-off/synergy along with rapid urbanization in the Lower Pearl River Basin, China

The Lower Pearl River Basin (LPRB) of China has witnessed the rapidest urbanization in the world, along with which there has been significant spatiotemporal heterogeneity of essential ecosystem services and their trade-off/synergy within this rapid urbanization region. This study firstly explored the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of three essential ecosystem services (i.e., the carbon sequestration service, habitat quality and water yield) in the LPRB with the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs model based on time-series data during 1990–2015. This study then categorized the study area into different urbanization areas according to the urbanization level, and thereafter separately revealed the trade-off/synergy between these ecosystem services with correlation analysis on the sub-watershed scale. Results suggested the carbon sequestration service and habitat quality in the whole study area showed a slightly decreasing trend, while the water yield in the whole study area showed significant inter-annual fluctuation. Besides, there were obvious differences in the trade-off/synergy between three essential ecosystem services in different urbanization areas, indicating urbanization had important impacts on these ecosystem services and their trade-off/synergy. Specifically, there was always a significant synergy between the carbon sequestration service and habitat quality, which tended to decline and then keep stable as urbanization proceeds. While there was a trade-off between the carbon sequestration service and water yield, which tended to be firstly stronger and significant but then weaker and insignificant as urbanization proceeds. By contrast, there tended to be a decreasing but still significant trade-off between the habitat quality and water yield as urbanization proceeds. Moreover, there was an unusual trade-off/synergy between the water yield and the other two ecosystem services in 1990 and 2015, which was primarily due to the significant spatial variation of some relatively unstable factors (e.g., precipitation). It is necessary to take proper measures (e.g., sponge city construction, water transfer projects) to cope with the effects of these relatively unstable factors on the essential ecosystem services as urbanization proceeds. The results of this study can provide valuable supporting information for land use management to guarantee sustainable provision of essential ecosystem services in these rapid urbanization areas.