Ecosystem Services Perspective Research Articles

Ecological space management and control zoning of Giant Panda National Park from the perspective of ecosystem services and land use.

Since China proposed building a national park system in 2017, the establishment of a planning system for nature reserves, with national parks as the main body, is being actively promoted around the country. Among them, scientific ecological space management and control zoning (ESMCZ) is an important link in maintaining the ecological stability of national parks. How to zone national parks and how to improve the precision of zoning has become a new task for national parks. Therefore, this study takes the Giant Panda National Park as the study area, takes ecosystem services and land use/cover change as the research perspective, integrates the InVEST model, PLUS model and bayes belief network (BBN) model, and builds a set of ecological space management and control zoning (ESMCZ) spatial zoning framework based on raster scale, dividing the study area into strictly protected zone, ecological buffer zone, ecological control zone and controlled development zone. The results showed that: (1) The study area showed an increasing trend in water conservation, soil conservation and carbon storage from 2005 to 2020, and the habitat quality index was generally high. The spatial heterogeneity of ecosystem services in the study area was significant, and the effect of a single factor on ecosystem services was most pronounced. (2) Large variation in area for different land uses under natural development scenarios and ecological protection scenarios. In both scenarios, the area of cultivated land, the area of grassland and the area of unused land decrease relative to 2020, and the area of forested land, the area of water and the area of constructed land increase relative to 2020. (3) The Giant Panda National Park is divided into strictly protected zone, ecological buffer zone, ecological control zone and control development zone, of which the strictly protected zone have the largest area and the best ecosystem background condition, and the control development zone have the smallest area and the worst ecosystem background condition. (4) The ecological space management and control zoning (ESMCZ) framework provides a more refined method for the secondary zoning of nature reserves such as the Giant Panda National Park, which is valuable for the implementation of zoning and categorization management for ecological conservation in the Giant Panda National Park.

Assessing ecosystem services of mountain lakes

From global to local scales, human-induced environmental changes can impact mountain lakes by, for example, altering species composition, trophic state, and thermal dynamics, thereby affecting ecosystem functions and processes. However, the consequences of these changes on ecosystem services (ES) of mountain lakes are unclear due to a lack of integrative assessments. Therefore, this dissertation adopts an interdisciplinary ES perspective to improve insight into human interactions with mountain lakes and the potential social and ecological impacts of anthropogenic pressures on them. Stakeholder consultations highlighted the importance of regulating, cultural, and provisioning ES of natural mountain lakes, emphasizing habitat, aesthetics, recreation, education and research, and surface water, with nature-based experiences as being a key aspect of human interaction with mountain lakes. Multiple indicators were proposed to quantify potential supply of these ES, revealing variations among case study lakes in the European Alps. These results informed an integrative valuation approach and exposure assessment to anthropogenic pressures, suggesting that ES by mountain lakes are sensitive to climate change-related and human use pressures. Overall, the findings advance a social-ecological understanding of mountain lakes and indicate towards the need for adaptive lake management to maintain ES under potential anthropogenic pressure.

Spatio-temporal correlation analysis of tourism urbanization patterns and high quality ecological services

Abstract Exploring the development of tourism-based urbanization and improving the overall competitiveness of regional tourism is a major initiative to promote the development of tourism in countries in China. In this paper, we take the urbanization pattern of tourism as the background, water yield, soil retention, and habitat quality as the factors, and use a bivariate spatial correlation model to explore the spatiotemporal association between the urbanization pattern of tourism and ecosystem services, so as to provide a reasonable reference for the development of the urbanization pattern of tourism from the perspective of ecosystem services. It was found that the construction of tourism urbanization pattern increased water production and soil retention by 17.07% and 23.08%, respectively, compared with 2000. In addition, habitat quality contained the highest ecological service value of woodland, which provided 81% of water production and 470.79 g·m−2 of carbon storage. Throughout the period, the spatial distribution pattern of soil conservation and habitat quality remained largely unchanged, and the synergistic trade-off relationship between ecosystem services demonstrated spatial heterogeneity. The interaction relationship was dominated by synergistic relationships, with a small number of districts and counties existing as a trade-off. The study measures how ecosystem services change over time and space in Province A. It also explains how trade-offs and synergistic relationships between ecosystem services work. Finally, it gives a good scientific basis for the growth of high-quality ecological services and tourism in a region that is rapidly urbanizing.

Spatial mismatch and the attribution analysis of carbon storage demand and supply in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China

Regional carbon storage disparity between demand side and supply side is a noteworthy issue for achieving carbon neutrality. For better effective carbon budget management and ecological protection, it is imperative to clarify the mismatch patterns of carbon storage demand and supply as well as the underlying key drivers. From the perspective of ecosystem services, this study conducted in-depth analysis on the spatial mismatch and drivers of carbon storage demand and supply in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. The hot spot analysis results visually showed a distinct spatial mismatch characteristic between carbon storage service demand and supply both in 2000 and 2017. This characteristic was further quantified by a spatial mismatch index, suggesting an increasing spatial heterogeneity in the mismatch patterns. Additionally, the factor detection result from Geodetector model indicated that land use and socio-economic factors were the dominant drivers affecting the spatial mismatch patterns of carbon storage demand and supply. To determine the specific contribution of the drivers, K-means++ algorithm was used for zoning and a spatial decomposition analysis was further applied. The results suggested the county-level differences of spatial mismatch were mostly due to the between-group differences, which were primarily promoted by urban expansion and partly restrained by population agglomeration. As for the attribution analysis for the within-group differences, the drivers basically performed differently in each group. Based on these results, this study proposed to break down administrative divisions and implement hierarchical carbon budget control strategies.

Quantifying the ecological carrying capacity of grasslands in Inner Mongolia.

Quantifying the ecological carrying capacity has emerged as a crucial factor for maintaining ecosystem stability for sustainable development in vulnerable eco-regions. Here, we propose a new framework for ecological carrying capacity quantification suitable for vulnerable eco-regions. We applied this framework to calculate the ecological carrying capacity of Inner Mongolia from 1987-2015 and used a geographical detector to identify the driving factors behind spatial heterogeneity. Our results revealed the following. (1) The above-ground net primary production (ANPP) required to support the ecosystem service of soil conservation (ANPPSC) decreased from northeast to southwest, whereas the distribution pattern of ANPP required to support the ecosystem service of sand fixation (ANPPSF) exhibited a contrary trend. The average annual ANPP required to support the ecosystem service of natural regeneration (ANPPNR) in Inner Mongolia from 1987 to 2015 was 101.27 gCm-2year-1, revealing a similar spatial distribution with ANPP. (2) The total ecological carrying capacity of Inner Mongolian grassland was 78.52 million sheep unit hm-2. The regions with insufficient provisioning service capability accounted for 4.18% of the total area, primarily concentrated in the east and northwest. (3) The average optimal livestock number for grasslands in Inner Mongolia was 1.59 sheep unit hm-2 from 1987-2015, ranging from 0.77 to 1.69 sheep unit hm-2 across different zones. The average ecological carrying capacity of the cold temperate humid, medium-temperate arid, and warm temperate semi-humid regions was less than 1.08 sheep unit m-2, suggesting a need to prohibit grazing in these areas. (4) The primary influencing factors affecting ecological carrying capacity distribution were normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), precipitation, and soil type. The framework developed herein can help identify sustainable development potential from the ecosystem service perspective and effectively contribute to decision-making in grassland ecosystem management.

Assessing a Tourism City from an Ecosystem Services Perspective: The Evaluation of Tourism Service in Liyang, China

Tourism is an important industry that promotes national economic and social progress. All-for-one tourism is a new concept of regionally coordinated development that uses the tourism industry as an engine to boost resource integration, industrial integration, and social sharing. Tourism service is the main embodiment of cultural ecosystem services for all-for-one tourism cities. Taking the city of Liyang in China as an example, this paper used a combination of GIS spatial analysis and big data text mining to evaluate tourism service from three aspects: the quality of tourism resources, the comprehensiveness of tourism service facilities, and the satisfaction of tourists. The results show that (1) tourism service is better in the northwestern and eastern areas of the city, while it is lower in the northeastern and southwestern parts; (2) the hotspot areas should focus on improving tour routes, transport capacity, and excessive charges; the cold spot areas should work on ecological restoration and creating new tourism attractions by combining the local industries; and (3) rural tourism integrating agriculture and visitation should be highlighted as a key growth point to improve the city’s tourism service function.

Pengelolaan Mangrove di Madura: Analisis Awal Land Use dan Land Tenure

Mangroves almost grow evenly across the coastal areas of Madura Island and its groups of islands, although the conditions vary (bad and good) based on the land cover of each location. From an ecosystem services perspective, mangroves have an important function for humans and nature in terms of provisioning, regulating and maintaining, and culture. The aim of this study is to describe the forms of land use for mangrove in district spatial planning and the practices of land tenure for mangrove in four districts on Madura Island. By relying on literature review methods and being complemented by observations and interviews, the data was elucidated analytical descriptive. The result of the study shows that the use of mangrove ecosystems tends to be emphasized in regulating and maintaining services (disaster prevention) and less in cultural services (tourism); however, the restraining implementation of space use did not work adequately to control the land conversion threat. In terms of land tenure, mangrove-covered land was controlled by parties depending on location, namely individuals, communities, companies, and government agencies that manage natural resources. Mangroves have great opportunities based on ecosystem services whose development needs to be increased while preventing and stopping threats to the existence and sustainability of mangroves.

Constructing a multi-functional small urban green space network for green space equity in urban built-up areas: A case study of Harbin, China

Ensuring equitable access to green spaces in urban built-up areas is not only vital for fostering environmental justice but also aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, there is a noticeable gap in the current body of research regarding the role of small urban green spaces, especially their multifunctionality from an ecosystem services perspective. Taking the urban built-up area of Harbin as an example, this study first applied the Analytic Hierarchy Process to classify the supply and demand of green space into three types. Then, the article further analyzes the potential functional positioning of the newly added green spaces, including ecological and social functions, using Minimum Cumulative Resistance and Point of Interest. Finally, multi-criteria decision models are used to explore the priority and functional positioning of green space and construct a multi-functional and highly-efficient small urban green space network. The results indicate a significant imbalance in green space supply and demand, with severe and medium mismatch areas accounting for 30.17 % and 48.50 %, respectively. By assessing the multifunctionality of small green spaces, we propose guidelines that include five types of areas: Concentrated Development (85.85 km2, 16.94 %), Backup Development (70.74 km2, 14.31 %), Maintenance (304.49 km2, 61.51 %), Protection (14.94 km2, 3.02 %), and Optimization (20.89 km2, 4.22 %). Finally, the article proposes a 277.60 km multifunctional small urban green space network. By examining small urban green spaces, this study crafts a pivotal framework for enhancing green space equity in urban built-up environments, providing valuable insights for policymakers and urban planners. The approach has significant implications for developing multifunctional green networks in varied urban contexts and offers a model for wider application, serving as a reference for achieving green space equity in developing countries globally.

Linking ecological and social systems to promote regional security management: A perspective of ecosystem services supply-flow-demand

The ecosystem services (ESs) are the extremely important basis for the identification and optimization of ecological security patterns (ESPs). Nonetheless, the great majority of existing research on ESPs has concentrated on the ESs supply, ignoring the ESs demand and flow from social systems, which hinders the connection between ecological and social systems. Consequently, using remote sensing products, meteorological observations and statistical yearbooks and other multisource data, this study analysed supply–demand matching characteristics of ESs in the West Liaohe River Basin in China based on assessment of six key ESs from 2010 to 2020, including water yield, food production, livestock breeding, soil loss by water, soil loss by wind, and net primary production, identified the ESPs in combination with the perspective of ESs supply–demand, and discussed the ecological compensation scheme for ESPs construction based on the ESs flow. The research results indicated that the supply and demand of ESs within the study area was mismatched. Therefore, identifying ecological sources solely through the high supply areas of ESs might not effectively meet the needs of human society. By expanding the scope of alternative ecological sources and taking into account the distance between alternative sources and high demand areas, it was helpful to improve the rationality and scientificity of the identification of ESPs. There was a threshold effect in identification of ecological sources and extraction of ecological corridors, but there was no significant impact on overall spatial distribution of ESPs. The results of this research will help to promote the realization of the relationship between ESs and ESPs and better guide the development of regional socio-ecological coupling systems.

Understanding the balance between soil conservation and soil water storage capacity during the process of vegetation restoration in semi‐arid watersheds in the Loess Plateau, China

AbstractIn the Loess Plateau, gaining insights into the water storage and soil retention functions of diverse vegetation types, especially, in the semi‐arid watersheds is crucial for identifying the key factors necessary to ensure sustainable development and achieve land degradation neutrality. In this study, five different land use types such as forest, shrub, artificial grass, and natural grasslands were surveyed from 2014 to 2020. Meanwhile, bare land was also used as a control plot. The trade‐off between erosion mitigation and water consumption indicator was quantified based on the ecosystem services perspective benefits. Our results showed that there are significant differences among different land use types (p < 0.05): natural grassland > shrubs > artificial grassland > forests. Vegetation restoration was able to change the soil particle size distribution, increasing clay and silt content, and decreasing sand particles. During the growing season, surface soil water storage decreased in all land use types coinciding with the higher decrease in the control plot. The change in surface water storage in the forest was the most stable, with a decrease of 0.13 mm. The trade‐off between erosion mitigation and water consumption indicator was less than 0 for all vegetation types, which indicates a synergistic effect on soil conservation and water storage benefit. Our results demonstrated that shrubs can register the most balanced benefit of water storage and soil preservation. This is a solid basis for the selection of specific vegetation types and the optimization of the watershed landscape in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, characterized by vulnerable areas due to aridification.

Coupling effects of soil and vegetation from an ecosystem service perspective

Soil provides diverse ecosystem services (ESs) to people, yet anthropogenic activities result in the degradation and loss of soil ESs. Therefore, there is an urgent need to take effective measures to protect and manage soils for sustainable development. However, the differences in ESs across soil types are not well understood, and the coupling effects of soil and vegetation on ESs at different altitudes remain unclear. In this study, the composition of soil and vegetation types under different altitude gradients were analyzed and the differences/similarities of ESs (in terms of water yield, carbon storage, and soil conservation) among different soil types were identified. Following this, the optimal soil and vegetation combinations under different altitude gradients were determined from an ES perspective. The results revealed that soil types and ESs differed markedly at each altitude gradient. ESs in the high-altitude zone were significantly higher than those in the low-altitude zone (p < 0.01). There was an obvious difference in the ES supply capacity of soil types, with brown earths and dark felty soils exhibiting higher ESs compared to purplish soils, paddy soils, red earths, and yellow earths. The felty soils and alpine steppe combination, brown coniferous forest soils and evergreen needleleaf forest combination, and brown earths and evergreen broadleaf forest combination provided the highest water yield, carbon storage, and soil conservation, respectively. Vegetation can promote or inhibitat soil ESs, depending on the vegetation and soil types. Based on the results, detailed soil and vegetation management measures were proposed for different altitudes. Dark-brown earths and dark felty soils were identified as priority soil types for protection. This study provides an important reference for soil management and landscape restoration.

Impact of protected area management on local communities: A perspective of recreational ecosystem services

The environmental effects of protected area (PA) management have been widely examined; however, the socioeconomic impact of PAs on local communities is not understood well. This study used the Three-River-Source National Park as a case study area to examine how changes in recreational ecosystem services (RES) affect local communities due to PA management by applying a mixed method, including comprehensive indices, spatial statistics, and the Q method. The results indicate that certain local communities have lost advantages in RES utilization owing to changes in RES delivery caused by facilities and spatial restriction policies. Some of these communities are at a high risk of becoming impoverished again. Communities that have experienced the disappearance or decline of advantages in RES utilization present pessimistic attitudes toward ecotourism development, government support, and sustainable livelihood. This study provides theoretical contributions and practical implications for PAs managers.

Evaluation of natural landscape aesthetic value and its spatial differentiation in Tibet from the perspective of ecosystem services

Evaluation of natural landscape aesthetic value and its spatial differentiation in Tibet from the perspective of ecosystem services

Food Plant Diversity in Cultural Ecosystem Services Perspective: Edible Plants as a Driver for Improving the Offer of Gastro-Tourism

Food Plant Diversity in Cultural Ecosystem Services Perspective: Edible Plants as a Driver for Improving the Offer of Gastro-Tourism

Quantitative assessment of sediment delivery and retention in four watersheds in the Godavari River Basin, India, using InVESTmodel - an aquatic ecosystem services perspective.

Sediment export and retention are important ecosystem processes in any landscape causing soil erosion and sediment loading in waterways consequently affecting the health of aquatic habitats downstream. The present study quantifies sediment export and retention in four watersheds, viz., Hivra, Satrapur, Konta, and Jagdalpur in the Godavari River Basin, India, using Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) ecosystem service modelling tool. The results revealed that thesediment export yields ranged from 0.75 (Hivra) to 2.77 t/ha/year (Jagdalpur). The mean deviation between modelled values and observed sediment export yield was - 11.11%, which indicated good prediction by the model. The sediment retention ranged from 16.04 (Hivra) to 101.52 t/ha/year (Konta). Most sediment export and retention occurred on cropland or shrubland land use land cover types in all four watersheds. For decision making on soil conservation, soil loss tolerance limits have been established for these watersheds. For aquatic habitats, sediment concentration is consideredmore important than the total annual sediment export, since water turbidity is an important determinant of water quality, and the aquatic lives therein. Therefore, the temporal distribution of rainfall and corresponding sediment export becomes important, since these two factors determine the sediment concentration as well as turbidity in the waterbody. In current study, "Precipitation Concentration Index adjusted Sediment Export Yield Index" was developedto account for the effects of the temporal rainfall distribution and its impact on sediment export. The index for four watersheds was quantified (Hivra > Satrapur > Konta > Jagdalpur), which is concordant to the turbidity values reported by respective gauge stations. Thus, the proposed index can efficiently capture the impact of temporal rainfall distribution on sediment export, and consequently its effect on water turbidity. The study revealed the potential of InVEST model to quantify the sediment export and retention in the watersheds studied. Together with the proposed index, it would help the policy makersin making informed decisions for planning conservation strategiesfor aquatic biodiversity.

Flower Margins: Attractiveness over Time for Different Pollinator Groups

Supporting biodiversity in agricultural landscapes is key from both a conservation and ecosystem services perspective. Planting flower margins along crop field edges is one of the most established approaches to try and improve habitat and resources for insect pollinators on farms. Whilst there is growing evidence that these margins can result in increased pollinator abundance and diversity on farms in the short-term, there is little data looking at how these margins perform over longer periods. This study looked at the utilization of pollinator-friendly margins over time in an agricultural landscape in Hungary. ‘Operation Pollinator’ seed mixes with 12 species, were used at 96 farms in Hungary from 2010 to 2018. Insect pollinators were recorded on the sown flower margins and control margins (with naturally occurring vegetation) using walked transects. Repeated sampling of the margins was done over several years so that data was collected on margins from 0 (planted that season) to 7 years old. The abundance of pollinators in the Operation Pollinator flower margins was greater than in control margins for all groups recorded (honey bees, bumble bees, mining bees, trap-nesting bees, hoverflies and Lepidoptera). The biggest relative increase in abundance was in honey bees (768% increase in average abundance in the flower margin compared to the control across all observations), with mining (566%) and bumble bees (414%) showing the next largest increases. The abundance of bumble bees, trap-nesting bees and Lepidoptera in the margins did not vary with the age of the margin. Honey bees, mining bees and hoverflies all decreased in abundance with increasing margin age, as did flower abundance. The results suggest that for some pollinator groups, regardless of age, flower margins provide important resources in the agricultural landscape. However, this is not universally true and for certain pollinator groups, some re-sowing of the margins may be needed to sustain longer-term benefits.

Is the ‘water tower’ reassuring? Viewing water security of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau from the perspective of ecosystem services ‘supply-flow-demand’

Ecosystem service flow plays a vital role in the formation, transportation, transformation, and maintenance of ecosystem services. For ecosystem services with spatiotemporal mismatch of supply and demand, ecosystem service flow explains the integrated process of ‘supply-flow-demand’ of ecosystem services. The present study evaluates the supply and demand of ecosystem water provision services in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and simulates the spatial flow pattern and transmission mechanism of water provision services. Additionally, the study establishes dynamic and static water security indices and identify water security level to quantify the water resources security of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau under the changing ecological environment. The research shows: (a) the annual total water surplus were 6.71 × 1011 m3, 8.43 × 1011 m3, 7.86 × 1011 m3 and 2.91 × 1011 m3. The supply–demand relationship of water provisioning service in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau shows an obvious oversupply condition; (b) The water security level of the plateau is high (level V and level IV), indicating that the water security status of the Qinghai- Tibet Plateau is under good condition, however, the area with low-security levels (Level I and Level II) is increasing. (c) From the perspective of ‘supply-demand-flow’ of ecosystem services, although the function of the water tower on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau has declined, it remained safe condition on the whole study area. The method of establishing spatial correlation between mismatched supply and demand of ecosystem services and evaluating regional water security based on ecosystem service flow constructed in this study presents the water security status and spatial distribution of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau more scientifically, providing a reference for water resource management in other regions.

Defining Passive Green Infrastructure: An Ecosystem Services Perspective to Make It Count.

Forum papers are thought-provoking opinion pieces or essays founded in fact, sometimes containing speculation, on a civil engineering topic of general interest and relevance to the readership of the journal. The views expressed in this Forum article do not necessarily reflect the views of ASCE or the Editorial Board of the journal.

Large Wood Debris Contributes to Beach Ecosystems but Colombian Beachgoer’s Do Not Recognize It

Large Woody Debris (LWD) accumulation serves essential ecological functions and benefits society’s coastal ecosystems (e.g., beaches). Thus far, the ecosystem services perspective has paid little attention to LWD. Therefore, we aim to contrast social perceptions on LWD and its ecological significance in Puerto Velero beach, Caribbean, Colombia. In consequence, the contribution of LWD to the conformation and creation of Puerto Velero beach was analyzed, as well as how beachgoers perceive the importance of LWD and if they were willing to pay to remove LWD in this beach. To achieve this, a quantitative convergent approach was then proposed using GIS analysis and remote sensing to understand the contributions of LWD to the Puerto Velero beach ecosystem; and in addition, a survey was performed to determine how beachgoers perceived LWD and how they valued the phenomenon. Results indicate that LWD contributed to beach maintenance; nevertheless, most people neglected LWD values because of its lack of visual attractiveness. As such, ecosystem services targets become conflicted because people positively perceived ecosystem services provided by beaches, but they did not assign importance to the beach dynamics they deemed unattractive, regardless of their vast importance.

Governance of Ecosystem Services: A Plea for a New Perspective on Ecosystem Services for Land-use Planners

Integrating the ecosystem services (ES) concept into land-use planning has been the focus of researchers in recent years. Forwarding this objective in order to foster human well-being, urban and regional planning became the focus of research efforts. Furthermore, governance research has been beneficial in studying the coupling of ecosystem services and planning processes. Thus, in this explorative case study we have analysed the governance of urban and regional planning in two case studies – Rostock and Munich – in order to gain insights about the role and value of ecosystem services among planning actors. We conducted semi-structured interviews to identify relevant parameters to facilitate integrational approaches of ecosystem services into decision-making in the context of cross-sectoral urban and regional planning. Based on our results, we argue for a change of the perspective of ES within planning practice. Instead of ecological or economic endeavours, the contribution of ES to human well-being should be in the centre of attention. Human well-being as an overarching aspiration may have the potential to shift ecosystem services from sectoral to cross-sectoral planning.