Spatio-temporal changes in water-related ecosystem services provision and trade-offs with food production

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.

Download Full-text

Spatio-temporal quantification of patterns, trade-offs and synergies among multiple hydrological ecosystem services in different topographic basins

Journal of Cleaner Production ◽

10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122338 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 268 ◽

pp. 122338

Author(s):

Xiaoyin Sun ◽

Ruifeng Shan ◽

Fei Liu

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Spatio Temporal

Download Full-text

Modeling the spatio-temporal changes in land uses and its impacts on ecosystem services in Northeast China over 2000–2050

Journal of Geographical Sciences ◽

10.1007/s11442-018-1532-7 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 28 (11) ◽

pp. 1611-1625 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Tian Xia ◽

Wenbin Wu ◽

Qingbo Zhou ◽

Wenxia Tan ◽

Peter H. Verburg ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Northeast China ◽

Temporal Changes ◽

Land Uses ◽

Spatio Temporal

Download Full-text

Assessing Changes in Ecosystem Service Values in Response to Land Cover Dynamics in Jiangxi Province, China

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17093018 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (9) ◽

pp. 3018 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Xinmin Zhang ◽

Hualin Xie ◽

Jiaying Shi ◽

Tiangui Lv ◽

Caihua Zhou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Land Cover ◽

Ecosystem Service ◽

Food Production ◽

Waste Treatment ◽

Jiangxi Province ◽

Trade Off ◽

Ecosystem Services Value ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Land Cover Dynamics

This paper examines the ecosystem service values of Jiangxi province, China using the benefit transfer approach. The land cover dynamics results show that cropland and forest are the main land cover types in Jiangxi province. Urban land drastically increased after 2000, expanding from 846.54 km2 in 2000 to 2317.48 km2 in 2015. Forest and water obviously decreased across the study periods. Consequently, the total ecosystem service values decreased from 37.91 × 1010 Yuan in 1995 to 35.27 × 1010 Yuan in 2015. The values showed a declining trend, especially during the 1995–2000 period. The largest declines in ecosystem service values were caused by decreases in forest and water cover. Regulating services experienced the largest declines in ecosystem services value. Moreover, water supply showed the largest decline in ecosystem service value between 1995 and 2015. Not surprisingly, food production increased in the whole period, especially in the 1995–2000 period. Forest and cropland played the most important roles in the total ecosystem service values of Jiangxi province. We then discussed the relationship among ecosystem services based on the ecosystem service trade-off degree. The results show that the dominant relationship among ecosystem services in Jiangxi province was synergy; thus synergy mostly occurred in all ecosystem services except for food production from 1995 to 2015. However, during the 1995–2000 period, trade-offs mainly existed in both food production and waste treatment. The proportion of synergy greatly increased in the 2000–2015 period, and the synergistic relationship between waste treatment and other ecosystem services increased. However, the trade-off relationship between food production and other ecosystem services still has not improved, which should be concerned in the future. Changes in the percentage share of cropland showed a declining trend; thus, the potential risk of cropland loss should be monitored.

Download Full-text

An Impact Assessment of Beach Wrack and Litter on Beach Ecosystem Services to Support Coastal Management at the Baltic Sea

Environmental Management ◽

10.1007/s00267-021-01533-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Esther Robbe ◽

Jana Woelfel ◽

Arūnas Balčiūnas ◽

Gerald Schernewski

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Baltic Sea ◽

Coastal Management ◽

Online Survey ◽

Sandy Beaches ◽

Coastal Protection ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Assessment Approach ◽

Spatio Temporal ◽

The Baltic

AbstractAs accumulation zones, sandy beaches are temporal sinks for beach wrack and litter, both often seen as nuisances to tourists. Consequently, there is a need for beach management and an enhanced political interest to evaluate their ecosystem services. We applied a new online multidisciplinary assessment approach differentiating between the provision, potential, and flow at German and Lithuanian beaches (Southern Baltic Sea). We selected a set of services and assessed four beach scenarios developed accordingly to common management measures (different beach wrack and litter accumulations). We conducted comparative assessments involving 39 external experts using spread-sheets and workshops, an online survey as well as a combined data-based approach. Results indicated the relative importance of cultural (52.2%), regulating and maintenance (37.4%), and provisioning services (10.4%). Assessed impact scores showed that the removal of beach wrack is not favorable with regard to the overall ecosystem service provision. Contrarily, the removal of litter can increase the service flow significantly. When removing beach wrack, synergies between services should be used, i.e., use of biomass as material or further processing. However, trade-offs prevail between cultural services and the overall provision of beach ecosystem services (i.e., coastal protection and biodiversity). We recommend developing new and innovative beach cleaning techniques and procedures, i.e., different spatio-temporal patterns, e.g., mechanical vs. manually, daily vs. on-demand, whole beach width vs. patches. Our fast and easy-to-apply assessment approach can support decision-making processes within sustainable coastal management allowing us to show and compare the impacts of measures from a holistic ecosystem services perspective.

Download Full-text

Potential Bioenergy Production from Miscanthus × giganteus in Brandenburg: Producing Bioenergy and Fostering Other Ecosystem Services while Ensuring Food Self-Sufficiency in the Berlin-Brandenburg Region

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12187731 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (18) ◽

pp. 7731

Author(s):

Ehsan Tavakoli-Hashjini ◽

Annette Piorr ◽

Klaus Müller ◽

José Luis Vicente-Vicente

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Food Production ◽

The State ◽

Soil Restoration ◽

Marginal Land ◽

Perennial Crop ◽

Bioenergy Production ◽

Miscanthus Giganteus ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Self Sufficiency

Miscanthus × giganteus (hereafter Miscanthus) is a perennial crop characterized by its high biomass production, low nutrient requirements, its ability for soil restoration, and its cultivation potential on marginal land. The development of the bioenergy sector in the state of Brandenburg (Germany), with maize as the dominant crop, has recently drawn attention to its negative environmental impacts, competition with food production, and uncertainties regarding its further development toward the state’s bioenergy targets. This study aimed to estimate the potential bioenergy production in Brandenburg by cultivating Miscanthus only on marginal land, thereby avoiding competition with food production in the Berlin-Brandenburg city-region (i.e., foodshed), after using the Metropolitan Foodshed and Self-sufficiency Scenario (MFSS) model. We estimated that by 2030, the Berlin-Brandenburg foodshed would require around 1.13 million hectares to achieve 100% food self-sufficiency under the business as usual (BAU) scenario, and hence there would be around 390,000 ha land left for bioenergy production. Our results suggest that the region would require about 569,000 ha of land of maize to generate 58 PJ—the bioenergy target of the state of Brandenburg for 2030—which is almost 179,000 ha more than the available area for bioenergy production. However, under Miscanthus plantation, the required area would be reduced by 2.5 times to 232,000 ha. Therefore, Miscanthus could enable Brandenburg to meet its bioenergy target by 2030, while at the same time avoiding the trade-offs with food production, and also providing a potential for soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration of around 255,200 t C yr-1, leading to an improvement in the soil fertility and other ecosystem services (e.g., biodiversity), compared with bioenergy generated from maize.

Download Full-text

Trade-Offs and Synergies of Ecosystem Services in the Pearl River Delta Urban Agglomeration

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13169155 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (16) ◽

pp. 9155

Author(s):

Qiongrui Zhang ◽

Xuechao Sun ◽

Kebin Zhang ◽

Zhenni Liao ◽

Songjun Xu

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Habitat Quality ◽

Pearl River Delta ◽

Food Production ◽

Urban Agglomeration ◽

Pearl River ◽

Water Yield ◽

The Pearl River Delta ◽

Trade Offs ◽

The Pearl River

Since ecosystem services (ESs) have become effective tools for urban planning, spatiotemporal analysis of regional ESs and a deep understanding of the trade-offs among ESs are of great significance to regional governance. In this study, the spatial and temporal changes of four basic ESs were analyzed by combining statistical data with the InVEST model across the Pearl River Delta (PRD) urban agglomeration, China. The trade-offs among the related ESs were analyzed at the urban agglomeration scale and the city scale by correlation analysis. The results showed that: (1) Construction land increased by 6.78% from 2000 to 2018, while cultivated land and forest decreased. (2) Water yield showed an increasing trend, while carbon storage, food production, and habitat quality showed a downward trend from 2000 to 2018. (3) The four ecosystem services were significantly correlated, with synergies existing between water yield and food production, and between habitat quality and carbon storage, while other relationships are trade-offs. What is more, the scale has little influence on the direction of ES trade-off or synergy but influences the degree of the relationship. This empirical evidence on ES relationships in urban agglomerations can provide a reference for the sustainable development of ESs and efficient management of urban agglomerations.

Download Full-text

Spatio-Temporal Variation of Ecosystem Services and Its Trade-off Relationships in Southwest Guangxi

10.5772/intechopen.101755 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yichao Tian ◽

Yongwei Yang

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Water Conservation ◽

Soil Conservation ◽

Well Being ◽

Mutual Relationship ◽

Invest Model ◽

The Past ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Integrated Valuation ◽

Spatio Temporal

Identifying the mutual relationship between ecosystem services in southwest Guangxi can jointly optimize a variety of services to avoid damaging others while improving one service, which is of great significance for promoting the sustainable management of regional ecosystem, guiding the rational development of natural resources and improving human well-being. Based on remote sensing data, land use data, meteorological data and DEM data, with the support of Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach (CASA) model, Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) model and Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model, this paper studies the changing characteristics of typical ecosystem services in southwest Guangxi and explores the mutual relationship between different ecosystem services. The results showed that the mean change trend of the whole vegetation net primary productivity (NPP) has been increasing in the study area over the past 19 years. In the past 19 years, water conservation in southwest Guangxi has shown a fluctuating upward trend, with the growth rate of water conservation quality 255.88 mm/hm−2·a−1. During the study period, the range of soil retention variation to the total of 65.38–96.88 t/hm−2·a−1 increased 22.73 t/hm−2·a−1, with a mean of 79.19 t/hm−2·a−1. Vegetation NPP in the study area is synergistic with soil conservation and water conservation, and soil conservation with water conservation as well.

Download Full-text