Shady business: the darkening of estuaries constrains benthic ecosystem function

Coastal intertidal soft-sediment habitats provide ecosystem services to millions of people worldwide, yet are under intense pressure from land-use change and sea-level rise (SLR). Both pressures interact to reduce light reaching the seafloor, thereby disrupting benthic primary producers and the ecosystem functions and services they provide. This study considers the implications of altered light climate on microphytobenthic (MPB) production in shallow estuaries. Continuous measurements of seafloor photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) were made over 9 mo on intertidal sandflats in 14 New Zealand estuaries spanning a turbidity gradient. A literature summary of benthic photosynthesis-irradiance curves was used to predict PAR limitation at sampling sites. Estimates of the proportion of time MPB would be light limited during emersion ranged from a median of 32-64% compared to a median of 55-100% during immersion. For estuaries close to 100% PAR limitation during immersion, emerged intertidal areas represent a refuge for MPB production which is vulnerable to SLR. Based on hypsometric curves (a representation of estuary bathymetry), the intertidal area of our study estuaries is predicted to decrease by 27-94% in response to SLR of 1.4 m. The combination of high PAR limitation during immersion and large losses of intertidal area will increase vulnerability to the loss of MPB production and the associated ecosystem services, which will push these ecosystems towards tipping points. The research highlights how the interplay between local and global scale stressors may ultimately trigger ecological collapse under future global change.

Download Full-text

A review of regulation ecosystem services and disservices from faunal populations and potential impacts of agriculturalisation on their provision, globally

Nature Conservation ◽

10.3897/natureconservation.30.26989 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 30 ◽

pp. 1-39 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Claudia Gutierrez-Arellano ◽

Mark Mulligan

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Service Provision ◽

Service Use ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Biodiversity Loss ◽

Ecosystem Functions ◽

Natural Ecosystem ◽

Structure Degradation ◽

Animal Populations

Land use and cover change (LUCC) is the main cause of natural ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss and can cause a decrease in ecosystem service provision. Animal populations are providers of some key regulation services: pollination, pest and disease control and seed dispersal, the so-called faunal ecosystem services (FES). Here we aim to give an overview on the current and future status of regulation FES in response to change from original habitat to agricultural land globally. FES are much more tightly linked to wildlife populations and biodiversity than are most ecosystem services, whose determinants are largely climatic and related to vegetation structure. Degradation of ecosystems by land use change thus has much more potential to affect FES. In this scoping review, we summarise the main findings showing the importance of animal populations as FES providers and as a source of ecosystem disservices; underlying causes of agriculturalisation impacts on FES and the potential condition of FES under future LUCC in relation to the expected demand for FES globally. Overall, studies support a positive relationship between FES provision and animal species richness and abundance. Agriculturalisation has negative effects on FES providers due to landscape homogenisation, habitat fragmentation and loss, microclimatic changes and development of population imbalance, causing species and population losses of key fauna, reducing services whilst enhancing disservices. Since evidence suggests an increase in FES demand worldwide is required to support increased farming, it is imperative to improve the understanding of agriculturalisation on FES supply and distribution. Spatial conservation prioritisation must factor in faunal ecosystem functions as the most biodiversity-relevant of all ecosystem services and that which most closely links sites of service provision of conservation value with nearby sites of service use to provide ecosystem services of agricultural and economic value.

Download Full-text

Mapping ecosystem functions to the valuation of ecosystem services: implications of species–habitat associations for coastal land-use decisions

Theoretical Ecology ◽

10.1007/s12080-008-0034-0 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 67-77 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

James N. Sanchirico ◽

Peter Mumby

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Habitat Associations ◽

Ecosystem Functions ◽

Land Use Decisions ◽

Coastal Land Use ◽

Valuation Of Ecosystem Services ◽

Coastal Land

Download Full-text

Land-use intensity alters networks between biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and services

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.2016210117 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 117 (45) ◽

pp. 28140-28149

Author(s):

María R. Felipe-Lucia ◽

Santiago Soliveres ◽

Caterina Penone ◽

Markus Fischer ◽

Christian Ammer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Biodiversity Loss ◽

Ecosystem Functions ◽

Land Use Intensity ◽

Trophic Groups ◽

Human Wellbeing ◽

Multiple Components ◽

Provisioning Ecosystem Services ◽

Positive Correlations

Land-use intensification can increase provisioning ecosystem services, such as food and timber production, but it also drives changes in ecosystem functioning and biodiversity loss, which may ultimately compromise human wellbeing. To understand how changes in land-use intensity affect the relationships between biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and services, we built networks from correlations between the species richness of 16 trophic groups, 10 ecosystem functions, and 15 ecosystem services. We evaluated how the properties of these networks varied across land-use intensity gradients for 150 forests and 150 grasslands. Land-use intensity significantly affected network structure in both habitats. Changes in connectance were larger in forests, while changes in modularity and evenness were more evident in grasslands. Our results show that increasing land-use intensity leads to more homogeneous networks with less integration within modules in both habitats, driven by the belowground compartment in grasslands, while forest responses to land management were more complex. Land-use intensity strongly altered hub identity and module composition in both habitats, showing that the positive correlations of provisioning services with biodiversity and ecosystem functions found at low land-use intensity levels, decline at higher intensity levels. Our approach provides a comprehensive view of the relationships between multiple components of biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and ecosystem services and how they respond to land use. This can be used to identify overall changes in the ecosystem, to derive mechanistic hypotheses, and it can be readily applied to further global change drivers.

Download Full-text

Spatiotemporal Evolution of Land-Use and Ecosystem Services Valuation in the Belt and Road Initiative

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12166583 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (16) ◽

pp. 6583

Author(s):

Qiting Zuo ◽

Xing Li ◽

Lingang Hao ◽

Minghui Hao

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Land Use Planning ◽

Public Awareness ◽

Land Use Changes ◽

Ecosystem Functions ◽

Belt And Road Initiative ◽

Spatiotemporal Evolution ◽

Belt And Road ◽

The Belt And Road

Land-use changes can significantly affect both the ecosystem services value (ESV) and ecosystem functions. Estimating the impacts of land-use changes in ESV in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is indispensable to provide public awareness about the status of ESV, and to help in policy-making processes. To understand the spatiotemporal evolution of land-use its impact on ESV in the BRI, this study investigated the main water-resource areas of BRI. Using GLCNMO data (2003, 2008, 2013), the land-use dynamic degree, comprehensive index of land-use degree, land-use transfer matrix, and method of ESV valuation were adopted to analyze the changes in land-use and ESV. The results showed that forest and cropland area increased markedly between 2003 and 2013, whereas grassland and shrubland area notably decreased. Forest, shrubland, grassland, cropland, and bare land occupied a relatively large proportion and changed frequently. The total ESV of the study area has increased from US $74.98 million in 2003 to US $82.12 million in 2013, which was primarily caused by the transition from cropland and grassland to forest. The impacts of land-use changes on the specific ecosystem services are also tremendous. The presented results can be valuable for the government for future land-use planning activities.

Download Full-text

A global synthesis reveals biodiversity-mediated benefits for crop production

Science Advances ◽

10.1126/sciadv.aax0121 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 5 (10) ◽

pp. eaax0121 ◽

Cited By ~ 79

Author(s):

Matteo Dainese ◽

Emily A. Martin ◽

Marcelo A. Aizen ◽

Matthias Albrecht ◽

Ignasi Bartomeus ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Crop Production ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Service Providers ◽

Ecosystem Functions ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Biological Pest Control ◽

Global Database

Human land use threatens global biodiversity and compromises multiple ecosystem functions critical to food production. Whether crop yield–related ecosystem services can be maintained by a few dominant species or rely on high richness remains unclear. Using a global database from 89 studies (with 1475 locations), we partition the relative importance of species richness, abundance, and dominance for pollination; biological pest control; and final yields in the context of ongoing land-use change. Pollinator and enemy richness directly supported ecosystem services in addition to and independent of abundance and dominance. Up to 50% of the negative effects of landscape simplification on ecosystem services was due to richness losses of service-providing organisms, with negative consequences for crop yields. Maintaining the biodiversity of ecosystem service providers is therefore vital to sustain the flow of key agroecosystem benefits to society.

Download Full-text

Impacts of Land Use Changes on Wetland Ecosystem Services in the Tumen River Basin

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12239821 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (23) ◽

pp. 9821 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Yanan Zhang ◽

Ri Jin ◽

Weihong Zhu ◽

Da Zhang ◽

Xiaoxue Zhang

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Carbon Storage ◽

River Basin ◽

Habitat Quality ◽

Paddy Fields ◽

Ecosystem Functions ◽

Water Yield ◽

Wetland Ecosystem ◽

Tumen River

Climate change and global rapid agricultural expansion have drastically reduced the area of wetlands globally recently, so that the ecosystem functions of wetlands have been impacted severely. Therefore, this study integrated the land use data and the integrated valuation of ecosystem services and tradeoffs (InVEST) model to evaluate the impacts of the land-use change (LUC) on wetland ecosystem services (ES) from 1976 to 2016 in the Tumen River Basin (TRB). Results reveal that the area of wetlands in TRB had decreased by 22.39% since 1976, mainly due to the rapid conversion of wetlands to dry fields and construction lands, and the LUC had induced notable geospatial changes in wetland ES consequently. A marked decrease in carbon storage and water yield was observed, while the habitat quality was enhanced slightly. Specifically, the conversion of rivers and paddy fields to ponds and reservoirs were the main reasons for the increase in habitat quality and caused the habitat quality to increase by 0.09. The conversion of marshes to lakes, paddy fields, grasslands, dry fields, and artificial surfaces were the key points for the decline in carbon storage; the conversion of marshes to lakes (5.38 km2) and reservoir ponds (1.69 km2) were the dominant factors driving the losses of water yield. According to our results, we should center on the conservation of wetlands and rethink the construction of the land use. The findings are expected to provide a theoretical reference and basis for promoting environmental protection in TRB and the construction of ecological civilization in border areas.

Download Full-text

A global synthesis reveals biodiversity-mediated benefits for crop production

10.1101/554170 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Matteo Dainese ◽

Emily A. Martin ◽

Marcelo A. Aizen ◽

Matthias Albrecht ◽

Ignasi Bartomeus ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Crop Production ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Service Providers ◽

Abundant Species ◽

Ecosystem Functions ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Biological Pest Control ◽

Global Database

ABSTRACTHuman land use threatens global biodiversity and compromises multiple ecosystem functions critical to food production. Whether crop yield-related ecosystem services can be maintained by few abundant species or rely on high richness remains unclear. Using a global database from 89 crop systems, we partition the relative importance of abundance and species richness for pollination, biological pest control and final yields in the context of on-going land-use change. Pollinator and enemy richness directly supported ecosystem services independent of abundance. Up to 50% of the negative effects of landscape simplification on ecosystem services was due to richness losses of service-providing organisms, with negative consequences for crop yields. Maintaining the biodiversity of ecosystem service providers is therefore vital to sustain the flow of key agroecosystem benefits to society.

Download Full-text

Land use changes in Zhangjiakou from 2005 to 2025 and the importance of ecosystem services

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.12122 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

pp. e12122

Author(s):

Kaipeng Xu ◽

Yanyan Chi ◽

Rongfeng Ge ◽

Xiahui Wang ◽

Siyang Liu

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Water Conservation ◽

Land Use Changes ◽

Urban Ecosystem ◽

Development Planning ◽

Ecosystem Functions ◽

Operating Characteristics ◽

Land Use Types ◽

S Model

Changes in local land use affect regional ecological services, development planning, and optimal use of space. We analyzed the effects of changes in land use from 2000 to 2025 on the spatial distribution of ecosystem services using CLUS-S modeling to evaluate ecosystem functions in Zhangjiakou, China. We found that the urban ecosystem area in Zhangjiakou increased and farmland decreased between 2000–2025. Water conservation was relatively high and was concentrated in the nature reserves of southern Zhangjiakou. Soil conservation was mainly distributed in eastern and southern counties. The results of the CLUE-S model showed that the relative operating characteristics of the six land use types were > 0.70, and the logistic regression equation was able to successfully explain the distribution pattern of the different types of land use.

Download Full-text

SIGNIFICANCE OF ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS OF SPECIAL GREENING TERRITORIES

STATE AND DEVELOPMENT PROSPECTS OF AGRIBUSINESS. In the frame of the XXIII Agribusiness Forum of the South of Russia and the Exhibition «Interagromash» Volume 1 ◽

10.23947/interagro.2020.1.621-625 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

N.N. Krupina ◽

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Environmental Protection ◽

Ecosystem Approach ◽

Ecosystem Functions ◽

Situational Analysis ◽

Ecological Situation ◽

Barrier Potential ◽

Industrial Cities ◽

The Matrix ◽

Industrial Zones

Based on the analysis of the tense ecological situation in the industrial zones of industrial cities, the role and place of special landscaping areas in the implementation of national projects is substantiated. From the perspective of the ecosystem approach, a set of requirements and a list of priority optimization decisions regarding the planning organization of environmental protection landscaping are proposed. The matrix of situational analysis of the state and the composition of indicators for assessing the barrier potential of a territory with a special land use regime are presented.

Download Full-text