Variety Of Ecosystem Services Research Articles

Assessing Ecosystem Services in Rubber Dominated Landscapes in South-East Asia—A Challenge for Biophysical Modeling and Transdisciplinary Valuation

The concept of ecosystem services (ESS) has been increasingly recognized for its potential in decision making processes concerning environmental policy. Multidisciplinary projects on rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) cultivation, integrating research on a variety of ESS, have been few and far between. More than three years of iterative workshops with regional stakeholders resulted in the development of future land use scenarios for our study area in Xishuangbanna, PR China. We used the InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs) modeling framework to analyze their impact on sediment retention, water yield, habitat quality, and carbon sequestration and developed a model for assessing rubber yields. We investigated the percentage deviations of integrated ESS indices in each scenario, as compared to the initial state of 2015 and as a novelty used different statistical weighting methods to include rankings for the preference of ESS from three contrasting stakeholder groups. The business-as-usual scenario (BAU, continuous rubber expansions) revealed an increase in rubber yields trading off against all other ESS analyzed. Compared to BAU, the measures introduced in the balanced-trade-offs scenario (reforestation, reduced herbicide application, riverine buffer zones, etc.) reduced the total amount of rubber yield but enhanced habitat quality and regulating ESS. The results show that the integrated indices for the provisioning of ESS would be overestimated without the inclusion of the stakeholder groups. We conclude that policy regulations, if properly assessed with spatial models and integrated stakeholder feedback, have the potential to buffer the typical trade-off between agricultural intensification and environmental protection.

Urban Development and its Implications on Wetland Ecosystem Services in Ndop, Cameroon

Wetlands provide a diversity of ecosystem services (provisioning, regulatory, supporting and cultural services) which are essential for the human society. This is particularly necessary in cases where large urban agglomerations exist. These services are increasingly coming under pressure as a result of rapid and uncontrolled urban development which remains phenomenal in the developing world. Cameroon can boast of a number of wetland environments particularly, the Waza Logone flood plain, the wetlands of the Bakassi Peninsula, Lake Barombi Mbo and the Ndop Plains. The wetland ecosystems of the Ndop Plains have increasingly come under pressure as a result of urban development which is mirrored in population growth, housing and other infrastructural developments. While significant research works have been undertaken on aspects related to wetlands, agriculture and climate variability in the Ndop plains, there is insufficiency scientific information on the implications of urban development on wetland ecosystem services. Using questionnaire (where we systematically sample 140 households) and Landsat images which were complemented by field observations, relevant data were generated. With the aid of SPSS (version 21), the correlation between wetland ecosystem services and urban development at 0.05 level of significance was analysed. Our results reveal a significant negative relationship (r = -0.551 and -0.682) between urban development and the state of wetlands and their ecosystem services. This was further buttressed by geospatial data which revealed that the Ndop urban space increased from 3.7km2 in 1999 to 11.7km2 in 2017. In this regard, we suggest that the coordination of the urban development process through land use planning and zoning is imperative in the face of unabated urban development. We equally suggest the need to implement wetland management policies in line with the Ramsar convention’s paradigm on the “wise use” of wetlands.

Aesthetic and Spiritual Ecosystem Services Provided by Urban Sacred Sites

The range and use of ecosystem services provided by urban sacred sites has hardly been considered in studies of urban ecology, sustainability and human wellbeing. This paper examines the perceived ecosystem services supplied by green spaces or gardens associated with places of religious worship and appreciated by worshippers in a mid-sized town in South Africa. A questionnaire with open, closed and Likert scale questions was administered at 30 places of worship (25 with gardens and five without). Respondents identified a wide diversity of ecosystem services provided by gardens, with social ones being more recognized than ecological, and economic services the least. Approximately two-thirds of respondents visited a sacred site garden weekly or more often. The majority of respondents (96%) felt that a garden was necessary because it added to their feelings of connection with God, or helped them relax and so be better able to concentrate, and 54% stated that a garden enhanced their overall spiritual experience. Regression analysis revealed that aesthetic appreciation of a garden was significantly related to woody plant species richness, number and basal area in the garden. On the other hand, spiritual experience was positively related to woody plant basal area, but not species richness nor tree number. Neither size of the garden, nor number of years the respondents had been vising a particular sacred site had any influence on the rated spiritual or aesthetic experiences. These results reveal the widely appreciated ecosystem services provided by urban sacred spaces and their centrality in enhancing spiritual satisfaction for some.

The spatial distribution and temporal variation of desert riparian forests and their influencing factors in the downstream Heihe River basin, China

Abstract. Desert riparian forests are the main restored vegetation community in Heihe River basin. They provide critical habitats and a variety of ecosystem services in this arid environment. Since desert riparian forests are also sensitive to disturbance, examining the spatial distribution and temporal variation of these forests and their influencing factors is important to determine the limiting factors of vegetation recovery after long-term restoration. In this study, field experiment and remote sensing data were used to determine the spatial distribution and temporal variation of desert riparian forests and their relationship with the environmental factors. We classified five types of vegetation communities at different distances from the river channel. Community coverage and diversity formed a bimodal pattern, peaking at the distances of 1000 and 3000 m from the river channel. In general, the temporal normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) trend from 2000 to 2014 was positive at different distances from the river channel, except for the region closest to the river bank (i.e. within 500 m from the river channel), which had been undergoing degradation since 2011. The spatial distribution of desert riparian forests was mainly influenced by the spatial heterogeneity of soil properties (e.g. soil moisture, bulk density and soil particle composition). Meanwhile, while the temporal variation of vegetation was affected by both the spatial heterogeneity of soil properties (e.g. soil moisture and soil particle composition) and to a lesser extent, the temporal variation of water availability (e.g. annual average and variability of groundwater, soil moisture and runoff). Since surface (0–30 cm) and deep (100–200 cm) soil moisture, bulk density and the annual average of soil moisture at 100 cm obtained from the remote sensing data were regarded as major determining factors of community distribution and temporal variation, conservation measures that protect the soil structure and prevent soil moisture depletion (e.g. artificial soil cover and water conveyance channels) were suggested to better protect desert riparian forests under climate change and intensive human disturbance.

Valuation of provisional and cultural services of a Ramsar site: A preliminary study on Rudrasagar lake, India

<p>Rudrasagar lake, a Ramsar site in India offers a variety of ecosystem services. The contribution of Rudrasagar lake to the society has not been estimated so far. The preliminary study aims to provide an economic valuation of the provisional and cultural services of the Rudrasagar lake. Official records of revenue collected by the Tourism Department of Tripura and a socio- economic survey was the source of information used in the economic valuation of the lake. The main provisional services provided by the lake are food (aquatic plants and fishes), fuel wood and timber whereas, the cultural services provided were boat raiding and tourism due to its historical importance. The provisioning and cultural services provided by the Rudrasagar lake are 40810 US$ and 33929.33 US$ per year respectively during the period of 2010-2015. The main threats to the wetland identified are increasing silt loads due to deforestation, expansion of agricultural land and land conversion due to population pressure. To alleviate the anthropogenic stress on the lake, better monitoring, planning and management are essential. By proper conservation and management it will be possible to enjoy the provisional and cultural services of the lake in a sustainable way.</p>

Effects of biodiversity loss and restoration scenarios on tree-related ecosystem services

ABSTRACTIn landscapes worldwide, trees in forests and agricultural lands have important ecological functions. Their loss may have important consequences for the delivery of ecosystem services (ES) to local communities, even if individual trees have low conservation values. This study explores the effect of land use and land use change on the provisioning of tree-related ES in a mixed Afromontane landscape in Ethiopia. First, we mapped the current distribution of tree-related ES using indicator ES, which represent the most characteristic ES for different land use types. More ES were characteristic for indigenous forest and agroforest, compared to exotic forest, cropland, and rangeland. A scenario analysis was conducted on the effect of tree species loss and restoration (RES) on ES. Two ES indices, ES diversity and ES multifunctionality, were used to evaluate the ES supply. The different behavior of the two ES indices in the species loss scenarios suggests that rare species have distinct traits that provide specific ES, which could not be compensated by the remaining common species. In tree species-poor landscapes, local communities prefer multifunctional tree species and these keep the diversity of ES supply high. Overall, our findings demonstrate that future conservation and restoration programs in mixed landscapes should both protect a large diversity of tree species, including rare tree species, and promote multifunctional keyston species to ensure a long-term and diverse ES supply.EDITED BY Edmundo Barrios

Mapping and analysing historical indicators of ecosystem services in Germany

In recent ecosystem service studies, historical data have gained importance as basis for analysing temporal trends and for adapted land management strategies; however, the total number of such studies remains small. Contributing to recent efforts, the primary objective of this study was to assess local ecosystem service products historically used in Germany and to link their distribution patterns to environmental gradients and traditional land-use systems. From maps and detailed regional descriptions of regionally distinct historic farmsteads, building materials used and village types we extracted information on ecosystem service products appropriated in 1950 and before. A spatial model was used to test the derived ecosystem service diversity against topo-climatic conditions. Regional service richness was further compared to the type of traditional land-use system (i.e. focus on crops, focus on livestock or mixed systems). We were able to identify hot spots of historical ecosystem service provisioning in Northern and Southern Germany, whereas significantly lower service numbers were recorded in Eastern Germany. The strong spatial differences in the diversity of historical service products could be explained best by (high) precipitation during the vegetation period. Furthermore, traditional livestock keeping, which relied on various fodder sources and fertilisation techniques to improve poor soil quality, and mixed systems mostly co-occurred with higher regional ecosystem service richness. The baseline of historical ecosystem service provisioning analysed here aids our understanding of current land-use patterns in Germany. Furthermore, a change of perception for specific landscape elements became apparent from our analyses. For example, hedges planted to separate livestock and to provide fuel in the past are today appreciated as important elements for biodiversity conservation. Furthermore, our study helps to preserve knowledge about locally sourced ecosystem services thereby increasing the understanding of cultural landscapes which may help to maintain their remnants.

The Biodiversity of Urban and Peri-Urban Forests and the Diverse Ecosystem Services They Provide as Socio-Ecological Systems

Urban and peri-urban forests provide a variety of ecosystem service benefits for urban society. Recognising and understanding the many human–tree interactions that urban forests provide may be more complex but probably just as important to our urbanised society. This paper introduces four themes that link the studies from across the globe presented in this Special Issue: (1) human–tree interactions; (2) urban tree inequity; (3) carbon sequestration in our own neighbourhoods; and (4) biodiversity of urban forests themselves and the fauna they support. Urban forests can help tackle many of the “wicked problems” that confront our towns and cities and the people that live in them. For urban forests to be accepted as an effective element of any urban adaptation strategy, we need to improve the communication of these ecosystem services and disservices and provide evidence of the benefits provided to urban society and individuals, as well as the biodiversity with which we share our town and cities.

Using Ecological Site Information to Improve Landscape Management for Ecosystem Services

On the Ground Ecological sites and their component state-and-transition models are valuable tools for predicting the effects of climatic and management changes on a variety of ecosystem services. Site-specific information must be able to be both refined to finer scales to account for spatiotemporal variability within a mapped site and expanded to include interactions with other sites in the landscape to identify priorities and account for integrative disturbances and ecosystem services such as wildlife habitat, hydrology, fire, insect outbreak and invasive species. Ecological site groups, spatially contiguous and behaviorally similar, are an important level in the land hierarchy to organize and interpret information.

Estimating marginal abatement costs for industrial water pollution in Colombo

This paper estimates the cost of effluent discharge regulations for firms located in the lower Kelani River catchment in Sri Lanka. The river provides water for many economic purposes including drinking water to the capital city, Colombo and a variety of ecosystem services. Employing multi-input and multi-output translog production technology, we estimate shadow prices of effluents and technical efficiency of firms belonging to eight industries. With the given level of compliance, we extend our analysis to compute total abatement cost for firms under different policy scenarios, related to simultaneous reduction in concentration of three water pollutants including current regulatory standards. The evidence of poor compliance and wide variations in firm and industry specific shadow prices (marginal abatement costs) provide a strong case for a comprehensive redesign of environmental policy to control water pollution by industries in the heavily industrialized river catchment.

Greenhouse gas emissions in an agroforestry system of the southeastern USA

Agroforestry systems may provide diverse ecosystem services and economic benefits that conventional agriculture cannot, e.g. potentially mitigating greenhouse gas emissions by enhancing nutrient cycling, since tree roots can capture nutrients not taken up by crops. However, greenhouse gas emission data from agroforestry systems are not available in the southeastern USA, thus limiting our ability to optimize agroforestry management strategies for the region. We hypothesized that tree-crop interactions could prevent excess N from being released to the atmosphere as nitrous oxide (N2O). We determined N2O and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, soil temperature, water content, and surface-soil inorganic N in an 8-year-old agroforestry site at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems in Goldsboro, North Carolina, USA. The experimental design was a factorial arrangement of soil texture (loamy sand, sandy loam, and clay loam) and canopy cover (cropped alley, margin between crops and trees, and under Pinus palustris, Pinus taeda, and Quercus pagoda) with three replications. Sampling occurred 42 times within a year using static, vented chambers exposed to the soil for 1-h periods. Soil N2O emission was lower under tree canopies than in cropped alleys, and margin areas were intermediate. Soil texture, water content, and inorganic N were key determinants of the magnitude of N2O emission. Soil CO2 emission was controlled by temperature and water content as expected, but surprisingly not by their interaction. Soil temperature was 1.8 ± 1.3 °C lower and soil water content was 0.043 ± 0.15 m3 m−3 lower under tree canopy than in cropped alleys, which helped to reduce CO2 emission under trees relative to that in cropped alleys. Our results provide a foundation for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in complex agricultural landscapes with varying soil texture by introducing timber production without abandoning agricultural operations.

Effects of shade, altitude and management on multiple ecosystem services in coffee agroecosystems

Agroforestry systems provide diverse ecosystem services that contribute to farmer livelihoods and the conservation of natural resources. Despite these known benefits, there is still limited understanding on how shade trees affect the provision of multiple ecosystem services at the same time and the potential trade-offs or synergies among them. To fill this knowledge gap, we quantified four major ecosystem services (regulation of pests and diseases; provisioning of agroforestry products; maintenance of soil fertility; and carbon sequestration) in 69 coffee agroecosystems belonging to smallholder farmers under a range of altitudes (as representative of environmental conditions) and management conditions, in the region of Turrialba, Costa Rica. We first analyzed the individual effects of altitude, types of shade and management intensity and their interactions on the provision of ecosystem services. In order to identify potential trade-offs and synergies, we then analyzed bivariate relationships between different ecosystem services, and between individual ecosystem services and plant biodiversity. We also explored which types of shade provided better levels of ecosystem services. The effectiveness of different types of shade in providing ecosystem services depended on their interactions with altitude and coffee management, with different ecosystem services responding differently to these factors. No trade-offs were found among the different ecosystem services studied or between ecosystem services and biodiversity, suggesting that it is possible to increase the provision of multiple ecosystem services at the same time. Overall, both low and highly diversified coffee agroforestry systems had better ability to provide ecosystem services than coffee monocultures in full sun. Based on our findings, we suggest that coffee agroforestry systems should be designed with diversified, productive shade canopies and managed with a medium intensity of cropping practices, with the aim of ensuring the continued provision of multiple ecosystem services.

Integrated assessment of social and environmental sustainability dynamics in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna delta, Bangladesh

Deltas provide diverse ecosystem services and benefits for their populations. At the same time, deltas are also recognised as one of the most vulnerable coastal environments, with a range of drivers operating at multiple scales, from global climate change and sea-level rise to deltaic-scale subsidence and land cover change. These drivers threaten these ecosystem services, which often provide livelihoods for the poorest communities in these regions. The imperative to maintain ecosystem services presents a development challenge: how to develop deltaic areas in ways that are sustainable and benefit all residents including the most vulnerable. Here we present an integrated framework to analyse changing ecosystem services in deltas and the implications for human well-being, focussing in particular on the provisioning ecosystem services of agriculture, inland and offshore capture fisheries, aquaculture and mangroves that directly support livelihoods. The framework is applied to the world's most populated delta, the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Delta within Bangladesh. The framework adopts a systemic perspective to represent the principal biophysical and socio-ecological components and their interaction. A range of methods are integrated within a quantitative framework, including biophysical and socio-economic modelling and analyses of governance through scenario development. The approach is iterative, with learning both within the project team and with national policy-making stakeholders. The analysis is used to explore physical and social outcomes for the delta under different scenarios and policy choices. We consider how the approach is transferable to other deltas and potentially other coastal areas.

Aboveground carbon storage in a freshwater swamp forest ecosystem in the Niger Delta

ABSTRACTTropical forests are important stores of carbon but the contribution of freshwater swamp forests to this store is largely unquantified. This study provides detail on the aboveground carbon (AGC) store of freshwater swamp forests and the transition zones into mangrove forests in the Niger Delta. We present taxonomic data of tree stems ≥ 10 cm diameter at breast height (DBH) from 24 1-ha plots established across different disturbance gradients and transition zone and terrestrial forest. The AGC ranged widely around a mean value of 228 t/ha (bootstrapped 95% confidence interval (CI) 168, 288) in intact forests, to 104 t/ha (bootstrapped 95% CI: 64, 144) in disturbed freshwater forests and 100 t/ha (bootstrapped 95% CI: 60, 141) in forests transitional into mangrove characterized by decreased disturbance. Our study suggests that the variations in AGC of West African swamp forests are mainly a function of the differences in stand structure and stem sizes of the trees in each forest that relate largely to historical use and current management of the forest resources. Conserving disturbed forests alongside other intact forests will help to increase not only the carbon budget of the region but also its diverse biodiversity and other ecosystem services.

Sundarbans mangrove deltaic system – An overview of its biodiversity with special reference to fish diversity

World heritage site-Sundarbans were declared as the world’s 560th Ramsar Wetlands site in 1992. Sundarbans ecosystem supports rich fisheries diversity and also natural biodiversity hot spot, because it is natural habitat of many endangered species. The Sundarbans is a home to a variety of faunal species, the total of 1586 species has been recorded which includes 481 Vertebrate species (30%), 1104 Invertebrate species (70%). Mangroves are the nursery and breeding grounds for several commercially important species of aquatic fauna like fish, shrimps and prawns etc. Mangrove ecosystems are of great ecological significance in the tropical and sub-tropical coast. Sundarbans mangrove provides a variety of ecosystem services. However, the Sundarban mangrove forest is the most threatened habitats in the world, increased population with few alternative livelihood opportunities poses a serious threat as it is the main cause of mangrove destruction. The total value of Sundarbans is not recognized and therefore often neglected in development planning. As a result Sundarbans conservation issue is getting less importance at the national level. The study reveals that major ecosystem services of Sundarbans are timber, fuel wood, fish, ecotourism, cyclone and storm protection, biodiversity, and habitat for flora and fauna. Timber, fuel wood and fish are more economical provisioning services in Sundarbans. It is noticed that there is decreasing tendency of overall revenue collection from the mangrove over the period of 2001-02 to 2009-10. The attention from national and international communities is needed for sustainable management and conservation of the Sundarbans. The study suggests that further research on total economic value of Sundarbans is needed for providing comprehensive scientific information for policy as well as for decision makers.

Quantifying water volumes of small lakes in the inner Aral Sea Basin, Central Asia, and their potential for reaching water and food security

In the inner Aral Sea Basin of Central Asia, numerous small lakes scattered over the irrigated landscape supply diverse ecosystem services for humans and nature. This study aimed to estimate the water volumes and assess the potentials of these small lakes for instance as irrigation reserve during the ever-recurring periods of water scarcity in the ecologically endangered Amudarya Delta. Bathymetric measurements gathered in the Khorezm region, Northwest Uzbekistan, permitted developing a statistical relationship between the surface and volume of the lakes. Landsat satellite data enabled for classifying the water bodies and hence deriving lake volumes over the study area. In 2002, the lakes stored ~0.032 km3 water during the winter season, but ~0.057 km3 during the main, 5–6 months spanning irrigation period. The area-wide increase in lake volumes during the irrigation period underlined the magnitude to which the currently practiced, inefficient use of irrigation water, produces excess water that in turn contributes to the existence of the small, mesotrophic lakes. Based on crop water requirements, calculations showed that the reuse of lake water may compensate for water-scarce situations, albeit to a certain extend only. An increased share (13 % above average) of water-intensive rice fields in the vicinity of the lakes substantiated that some lakes are already used in this way. It is argued that, in case of sufficient water quality, as indicated by other studies, more targeted exploration of such lake water can help simultaneously both, increasing food and water security of the households surrounding the lakes and safeguarding a supply to maintain different ecosystem functions. Integrated management of all water resources may reduce excess irrigation water supply to the region, which in turn may lessen the dependency of Central Asian downstream countries on transboundary water and supply water resources for the ecosystems in the river deltas.

Impacts of land management on ecosystem service delivery in the Baiyangdian river basin

As the largest freshwater lake in northern China, Lake Baiyangdian provides a diversity of ecosystem services: it guarantees water flow to a number of beneficiaries and is an important component of sustainable regional development. However, the flows of sustainable ecosystem services from Lake Baiyangdian mainly depend on upstream hydrological and nutrient retention functions. For sustainable land management, it is important to explore the implications of upstream land-use changes by humans on the ecosystem services supplied by Lake Baiyangdian. In this study, ecological assets and hydrological time series were analysed, and the InVEST model was used to investigate the implications of land management on the delivery of ecosystem services. The results showed that significant changes in ecological assets occurred in the Baiyangdian river basin during the period 1980–2007, characterised particularly by an increase in forested area and a decline in wetland area. A significant decline in the ecological status of the Baiyangdian river basin, expressed as an abrupt change in stream flow time series 1970–2011, was also noted. Water yield and surface run-off functions were mainly influenced by precipitation, but changes in land-cover patterns exacerbate the impacts of these two factors. Nutrient retention was influenced more by altered land cover than by precipitation. Due to data gaps, it was not possible to link upstream ecosystem functions to the ecosystem services contributed by Lake Baiyangdian. It will be necessary to establish a long-term ecological monitoring programme in order to gather the data needed to gain a deeper understanding of the interconnections between ecosystem function and services. The ultimate aim of such a programme must be to incorporate ecosystem services into ecosystem management and policy-making.

Perennial Grain and Oilseed Crops.

Historically, agroecosystems have been designed to produce food. Modern societies now demand more from food systems-not only food, fuel, and fiber, but also a variety of ecosystem services. And although today's farming practices are producing unprecedented yields, they are also contributing to ecosystem problems such as soil erosion, greenhouse gas emissions, and water pollution. This review highlights the potential benefits of perennial grains and oilseeds and discusses recent progress in their development. Because of perennials' extended growing season and deep root systems, they may require less fertilizer, help prevent runoff, and be more drought tolerant than annuals. Their production is expected to reduce tillage, which could positively affect biodiversity. End-use possibilities involve food, feed, fuel, and nonfood bioproducts. Fostering multidisciplinary collaborations will be essential for the successful integration of perennials into commercial cropping and food-processing systems.

Social success of in-stream habitat improvement: from fisheries enhancement to the delivery of multiple ecosystem services

Stream restoration often aims to enhance fisheries by improving stream conditions for target fish species. However, river restoration has a potential impact on a variety of ecosystem services. Among stakeholders, the emerging expectations about restoration attain different priorities. How well these expectations are met influences social perceptions of success or failure. Although public support for restoration is known to have a significant impact on the sustainability and overall success of restoration, social aspects are rarely considered in this context. To address these issues, we conducted a questionnaire study among the residents and fishermen of three recently restored rivers in Finland. Results indicate that both user groups highly supported the restoration goals, but they were not always satisfied with the restoration outcomes. The changes in landscape value and amenity and fish provisioning had the highest influence on the user groups’ attitudes. Restoration-induced changes in ecosystem services showed clear variation between the different locations, but the differences in the perceptions of the two user groups were less evident. Comparing perceptions between the user groups and locations and applying the ecosystem services approach are a novel contribution to the debate on restoration success. Our study highlights the importance of perspective, social-ecological context, and adequate communication for success.

Spatiotemporal Change Detection Analysis of Turkish Lake Water Surface Area in Response to Anthropogenic Ecosystem Disturbances Using Long-Term Landsat TM/ETM+ Data

The provision of diverse ecosystem goods and services by lakes is vital to ecosystem health and economic well-being of nations or regions. Securing ecologically safe lake water quality and quantity through sustainable uses and management practices concerns both present and future generations. The present study quantifies long-term impacts of human-induced disturbances including climate change on water surface areas of the 18 largest Turkish lakes. Spatiotemporal change detection analysis was carried out using long-term Landsat time series data between 1973 and 2014 with the aid of geographical information systems (GIS). Supervised and unsupervised classification techniques were combined to temporally differentiate and spatially delineate lake water surface areas using ancillary data. Over the period of about 40 years, lake surface area decreased for 15 lakes at a mean annual rate of 0.96 km2 but increased for three lakes at a mean annual rate of 0.17 km2. These spatiotemporal changes may be attributed to such human-induced pressures as drought, sectoral water uses/withdrawals, draining, and landfilling. These changes in turn lead to losses of or damages to both marketable and non-marketable ecosystem benefits that the lakes provide with humans at the local-to-regional spatial scales in the long-to-short-term temporal scales. The integration of remote sensing and GIS techniques adopted in this study allows for dynamic monitoring of not only lake water quality and quantity but also other natural resources, thus facilitating a timely and effective development of preventive and mitigative measures.