Agroforestry trade-offs between biomass provision and aboveground carbon sequestration in the alpine Eisenwurzen region, Austria

AbstractMountain agroecosystems deliver essential ecosystem services to society but are prone to climate change as well as socio-economic pressures, making multi-functional land systems increasingly central to sustainable mountain land use policy. Agroforestry, the combination of woody vegetation with crops and/or livestock, is expected to simultaneously increase provisioning and regulating ecosystem services, but knowledge gaps concerning trade-offs exist especially in temperate industrialized and alpine regions. Here, we quantify the aboveground carbon (C) dynamics of a hypothetical agroforestry implementation in the Austrian long-term socio-ecological research region Eisenwurzen from 2020 to 2050. We develop three land use scenarios to differentiate conventional agriculture from an immediate and a gradual agroforestry implementation, integrate data from three distinct models (Yield-SAFE, SECLAND, MIAMI), and advance the socio-ecological indicator framework Human Appropriation of Net Primary Production (HANPP) to assess trade-offs between biomass provision and carbon sequestration. Results indicate that agroforestry strongly decreases HANPP because of a reduction in biomass harvest by up to − 47% and a simultaneous increase in actual net primary production by up to 31%, with a large amount of carbon sequestered in perennial biomass by up to 3.4 t C ha-1 yr-1. This shows that a hypothetical transition to agroforestry in the Eisenwurzen relieves the agroecosystem from human-induced pressure but results in significant trade-offs between biomass provision and carbon sequestration. We thus conclude that while harvest losses inhibit large-scale implementation in intensively used agricultural regions, agroforestry constitutes a valuable addition to sustainable land use policy, in particular when affecting extensive pastures and meadows in alpine landscapes.

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Soil carbon management in large-scale Earth system modelling: implications for crop yields and nitrogen leaching

Earth System Dynamics ◽

10.5194/esd-6-745-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 745-768 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

S. Olin ◽

M. Lindeskog ◽

T. A. M. Pugh ◽

G. Schurgers ◽

D. Wårlind ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Soil Carbon ◽

Carbon Storage ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Nitrogen Leaching ◽

Future Climate Change ◽

Climate Change Scenarios ◽

Trade Offs

Abstract. Croplands are vital ecosystems for human well-being and provide important ecosystem services such as crop yields, retention of nitrogen and carbon storage. On large (regional to global)-scale levels, assessment of how these different services will vary in space and time, especially in response to cropland management, are scarce. We explore cropland management alternatives and the effect these can have on future C and N pools and fluxes using the land-use-enabled dynamic vegetation model LPJ-GUESS (Lund–Potsdam–Jena General Ecosystem Simulator). Simulated crop production, cropland carbon storage, carbon sequestration and nitrogen leaching from croplands are evaluated and discussed. Compared to the version of LPJ-GUESS that does not include land-use dynamics, estimates of soil carbon stocks and nitrogen leaching from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems were improved. Our model experiments allow us to investigate trade-offs between these ecosystem services that can be provided from agricultural fields. These trade-offs are evaluated for current land use and climate and further explored for future conditions within the two future climate change scenarios, RCP (Representative Concentration Pathway) 2.6 and 8.5. Our results show that the potential for carbon sequestration due to typical cropland management practices such as no-till management and cover crops proposed in previous studies is not realised, globally or over larger climatic regions. Our results highlight important considerations to be made when modelling C–N interactions in agricultural ecosystems under future environmental change and the effects these have on terrestrial biogeochemical cycles.

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Mapping Cultural Ecosystem Services (CESs) and key urban landscape features: a pilot study for land use policy and planning review

International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development ◽

10.1080/19463138.2021.1941050 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-15

Author(s):

Laura Bachi ◽

Diomira M. C. P. Faria ◽

Marise Barreiros Horta ◽

Sónia Carvalho-Ribeiro

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Pilot Study ◽

Urban Landscape ◽

Land Use Policy ◽

Cultural Ecosystem Services ◽

Landscape Features ◽

Policy And Planning

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Assessing Matching Characteristics and Spatial Differences between Supply and Demand of Ecosystem Services: A Case Study in Hangzhou, China

Land ◽

10.3390/land10060582 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 582

Author(s):

Peng Tian ◽

Jialin Li ◽

Luodan Cao ◽

Ruiliang Pu ◽

Hongbo Gong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Urban Area ◽

Food Supply ◽

Soil Conservation ◽

Supply And Demand ◽

Water Yield ◽

Western Region ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Carbon Retention

Ecosystem services (ESs) is a term used to describe the foundations of the well-being of human society, and several relevant studies have been carried out in this area. However, given the fact that the complex trade-offs/synergy relationships of ESs are a challenging area, studies on matching mechanisms for ES supply and demand are still rare. In this study, using the InVEST model, ArcGIS, and other professional tools, we first mapped and quantitatively evaluated the supply and demand of five ES types (water yield, soil conservation, carbon retention, food supply, and leisure and entertainment) in Hangzhou, China, based on land use, meteorology, soil, and socio-economic data. Then, we analyzed the matching characteristics between the supply and demand of these ESs and analyzed the complex trade-offs and synergy between the supply and demand of ESs and factors affecting ESs. The results of this analysis indicate that although the ES supply and demand of carbon retention tended to be out of balance (supply was less than demand), the supply and demand of the other four ES types (i.e., water yield, soil conservation, food supply, and leisure and entertainment) were in balance (supply exceeded demand). Finally, the spatial heterogeneity of the supply and demand of ESs in Hangzhou was significant, especially in urban areas in the northeast and mountainous areas in the southwest. The supply of ESs was based on trade-offs, whereas the demand of ESs was based on synergy. Our results further show that the supply and demand of ESs in the urban area in Hangzhou were out of balance, whereas the supply and demand of ESs in the western region were coordinated. Therefore, the linkage of ES flows between this urban area and the western region should be strengthened. This innovative study could provide useful information for regional land use planning and environmental protection.

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Short-term Effects of Grazing Exclusion on Net Ecosystem CO2 Exchange and Net Primary Production in a Pannonian Sandy Grassland

Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca ◽

10.15835/nbha4028300 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 40 (2) ◽

pp. 67 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Szilard CZOBEL ◽

Orsolya SZIRMAI ◽

Zoltan NEMETH ◽

Csaba GYURICZA ◽

Judit GAZI ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Primary Production ◽

Net Primary Production ◽

Plant Productivity ◽

Co2 Exchange ◽

Co2 Uptake ◽

Aboveground Phytomass ◽

Grazing Exclusion ◽

Sequestration Potential ◽

Sandy Grassland

Using portable, non-destructive own developed chambers (d=60 cm) and infrared gas analyses, the in situ field investigation was performed to study the seasonal and inter-annual dynamics of the stand level CO2-flux and production of sandy grassland that has been extensively grazed for decades. Furthermore, NEE measurements and biomass samples were used to identify the initial effects of grazing exclusion on CO2 exchange, aboveground phytomass and potential plant productivity in years of significantly different precipitation levels. A considerable inter-annual variation in all of the studied parameters was found both in the non-grazed and grazed stands. As a result of the grazing exclusion the CO2 uptake potential of the non-grazed stand increased by 13% compared to the grazed stand. It was more significant in the extreme dry year (220%), however, in wet year slightly lower average carbon sequestration was detected at the non-grazed stand (-13%), than that of the grazed area. Significant carbon sequestration potential was only detected during wet periods in both stands. The rate of CO2 uptake was found to be nearly six times higher in the non-grazed stand in the wet year than in the previous extremely dry year. The drought in 2003 significantly reduced the CO2 uptake of both stands, leading to lower annual net primary production and potential plant productivity. The annual net primary production dropped by almost 40% in the extremely dry year but then it rose by nearly two and a half times in the subsequent year with adequate rainfall.

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Reviews and syntheses: Hidden forests, the role of vegetated coastal habitats in the ocean carbon budget

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-14-301-2017 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 301-310 ◽

Cited By ~ 80

Author(s):

Carlos M. Duarte

Keyword(s):

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Primary Production ◽

Deep Sea ◽

Carbon Budget ◽

Net Primary Production ◽

Global Ocean ◽

Coastal Habitats ◽

Global Carbon Budget ◽

Global Carbon

Abstract. Vegetated coastal habitats, including seagrass and macroalgal beds, mangrove forests and salt marshes, form highly productive ecosystems, but their contribution to the global carbon budget remains overlooked, and these forests remain hidden in representations of the global carbon budget. Despite being confined to a narrow belt around the shoreline of the world's oceans, where they cover less than 7 million km2, vegetated coastal habitats support about 1 to 10 % of the global marine net primary production and generate a large organic carbon surplus of about 40 % of their net primary production (NPP), which is either buried in sediments within these habitats or exported away. Large, 10-fold uncertainties in the area covered by vegetated coastal habitats, along with variability about carbon flux estimates, result in a 10-fold bracket around the estimates of their contribution to organic carbon sequestration in sediments and the deep sea from 73 to 866 Tg C yr−1, representing between 3 % and 1∕3 of oceanic CO2 uptake. Up to 1∕2 of this carbon sequestration occurs in sink reservoirs (sediments or the deep sea) beyond these habitats. The organic carbon exported that does not reach depositional sites subsidizes the metabolism of heterotrophic organisms. In addition to a significant contribution to organic carbon production and sequestration, vegetated coastal habitats contribute as much to carbonate accumulation as coral reefs do. While globally relevant, the magnitude of global carbon fluxes supported by salt-marsh, mangrove, seagrass and macroalgal habitats is declining due to rapid habitat loss, contributing to loss of CO2 sequestration, storage capacity and carbon subsidies. Incorporating the carbon fluxes' vegetated coastal habitats' support into depictions of the carbon budget of the global ocean and its perturbations will improve current representations of the carbon budget of the global ocean.

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Nitrogen-induced new net primary production and carbon sequestration in global forests

Environmental Pollution ◽

10.1016/j.envpol.2018.08.041 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 242 ◽

pp. 1476-1487 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Enzai Du ◽

Wim de Vries

Keyword(s):

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Primary Production ◽

Net Primary Production

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Response and Simulation of Trade-offs/synergies Among Ecosystem Services to Ecological Restoration Program: a Case Study of the Chengdu-Chongqing Urban Agglomeration, China

10.21203/rs.3.rs-571046/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Tiantian Chen ◽

Li Peng ◽

Qiang Wang

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Habitat Quality ◽

Soil Conservation ◽

Food Production ◽

Water Yield ◽

Ecological Security ◽

Trade Off ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Synergistic Relationships

Abstract The Grain to Green Program (GTGP), as a policy tool for advancing ecological progress, has been operating for 20 years and has played an important role in improving ecosystem service values. However, there are few studies on the trade-off/synergy changes in ecosystem services during the implementation of the GTGP and how to select the optimal scheme for regional ecological security based on the trade-off relationship. Thus, we took the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration (CCUA) in southwestern China as the study area; we used multisource data and the corresponding models and methods to estimate the regional food production, carbon sequestration, water yield, soil conservation and habitat quality services. Then, we clarified the trade-off/synergy relationships among ecosystem services from 2000 to 2015 by spatial analysis and statistical methods and evaluated the influential mechanism of the GTGP on trade-offs between ecosystem services. Finally, different risk scenarios were constructed by the ordered weighted average algorithm (OWA), and the regional ecological security pattern was simulated under the principle of the best protection efficiency and the highest trade-off degree. We found that (1) the trade-offs/synergies of regional ecosystem services changed significantly from 2000 to 2015. Among them, food production, water yield and soil conservation have always had trade-off relationships, while carbon sequestration, soil conservation and habitat quality have all had synergistic relationships. The relationships between carbon sequestration and water yield and food production changed from non-correlated to trade-off/synergistic, and the relationship between habitat quality and food production and water yield was not obvious. (2) Except for carbon sequestration service, the trade-off intensity between other ecosystem services decreased, indicating that the change trend of ecosystem services in the same direction was obvious. (3) The GTGP has been an important factor affecting the trade-off intensity of regional ecosystem services. On the one hand, it has strengthened the synergistic relationships among carbon sequestration, soil conservation and habitat quality; on the other hand, it has increased the constraints of water resources on soil conservation and vegetation restoration. (4) The decision risk coefficient α = 1.6 was the most suitable scenario, the total amount of regional ecosystem services was high, and the allocation was balanced under this scenario. The ecological security area corresponding to this scenario was also the area with high carbon sequestration and habitat quality services. The purpose of this study was to provide a scientific reference for the precise implementation of the GTGP.

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Future Impacts of Land Use Change on Ecosystem Services under Different Scenarios in the Ecological Conservation Area, Beijing, China

Forests ◽

10.3390/f11050584 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (5) ◽

pp. 584 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Zuzheng Li ◽

Xiaoqin Cheng ◽

Hairong Han

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Land Use Change ◽

Carbon Storage ◽

Soil Conservation ◽

Land Use Changes ◽

Conservation Area ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Ecological Conservation ◽

Flood Regulation

Ecosystem services (ES), defined as benefits provided by the ecosystem to society, are essential to human well-being. However, it remains unclear how they will be affected by land-use changes due to lack of knowledge and data gaps. Therefore, understanding the response mechanism of ecosystem services to land-use change is critical for developing systematic and sound land planning. In this study, we aimed to explore the impacts of land-use change on the three ecosystem services, carbon storage (CS), flood regulation (FR), and soil conservation (SC), in the ecological conservation area of Beijing, China. We first projected land-use changes from 2015 to 2030, under three scenarios, i.e., Business as Usual (BAU), Ecological Land Protection (ELP), and Rapid Economic Development (RED), by interactively integrating the Markov model (Quantitative simulation) with the GeoSOS-FLUS model (Spatial arrangement), and then quantified the three ecosystem services by using a spatially explicit InVEST model. The results showed that built-up land would have the most remarkable growth during 2015–2030 under the RED scenario (2.52% increase) at the expense of cultivated and water body, while forest land is predicted to increase by 152.38 km2 (1.36% increase) under the ELP scenario. The ELP scenario would have the highest amount of carbon storage, flood regulation, and soil conservation, due to the strict protection policy on ecological land. The RED scenario, in which a certain amount of cultivated land, water body, and forest land is converted to built-up land, promotes soil conservation but triggers greater loss of carbon storage and flood regulation capacity. The conversion between land-use types will affect trade-offs and synergies among ecosystem services, in which carbon storage would show significant positive correlation with soil conservation through the period of 2015 to 2030, under all scenarios. Together, our results provide a quantitative scientific report that policymakers and land managers can use to identify and prioritize the best practices to sustain ecosystem services, by balancing the trade-offs among services.

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