scholarly journals Spatial Trade-Offs and Temporal Evolution of Multiple Ecosystem Services in a Marine-Terrestrial Urban-Agglomeration Zone

Author(s):  
Huaxiang Chen ◽  
Lina Tang ◽  
Quanyi Qiu ◽  
Baosheng Wang ◽  
Weixiang Hu

It takes some time for changes to come in ecosystem services, and trade-offs occur in the process of changes. As opposed to a point in time, we use data spanning the years 2000–2005, 2005–2010, and 2010–2015 to study this research. After quantifying types of ecosystem services, this paper uses spatial correlation analysis and root-mean square deviation (RMSD) method to explore the relationships among ecosystem services and calculate the degree of spatial trade-offs (DT). Results show that the construction land increased substantially albeit at a declining rate of growth, and the degree of trade-offs (DT) increased with nontrivial differences in space. The hotspots for trade-offs are spatially aggregated in some areas but have varying patterns between ecosystem service pairs. The increasing area (IA) of construction land does not promote increased DT until the former reaches a certain threshold. With the exception of land use changes, type of industrial development is one of the key factors that influence the trade-offs of ecosystem services in the research region. We apply the models and methods used in this research to practice and discuss the practical value of our results for planners and decision makers vis-à-vis the design and instigation of appropriate development strategies.

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zuzheng Li ◽  
Xiaoqin Cheng ◽  
Hairong Han

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.


2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 3259-3277 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. P. Hurford ◽  
J. J. Harou

Abstract. Competition for water between key economic sectors and the environment means agreeing allocations is challenging. Managing releases from the three major dams in Kenya's Tana River basin with its 4.4 million inhabitants, 567 MW of installed hydropower capacity, 33 000 ha of irrigation and ecologically important wetlands and forests is a pertinent example. This research seeks firstly to identify and help decision-makers visualise reservoir management strategies which result in the best possible (Pareto-optimal) allocation of benefits between sectors. Secondly, it seeks to show how trade-offs between achievable benefits shift with the implementation of proposed new rice, cotton and biofuel irrigation projects. To approximate the Pareto-optimal trade-offs we link a water resources management simulation model to a multi-criteria search algorithm. The decisions or "levers" of the management problem are volume-dependent release rules for the three major dams and extent of investment in new irrigation schemes. These decisions are optimised for eight objectives covering the provision of water supply and irrigation, energy generation and maintenance of ecosystem services. Trade-off plots allow decision-makers to assess multi-reservoir rule-sets and irrigation investment options by visualising their impacts on different beneficiaries. Results quantify how economic gains from proposed irrigation schemes trade-off against the disturbance of ecosystems and local livelihoods that depend on them. Full implementation of the proposed schemes is shown to come at a high environmental and social cost. The clarity and comprehensiveness of "best-case" trade-off analysis is a useful vantage point from which to tackle the interdependence and complexity of "water-energy-food nexus" resource security issues.


2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1633-1644 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Kim ◽  
Esteban G. Jobbágy ◽  
Robert B. Jackson

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (10) ◽  
pp. 1247-1254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Nijnik ◽  
Albert Nijnik ◽  
Iain Brown

This paper explores the ecosystem services associated with woodlands, as they are viewed by individuals in Scotland, with the idea to reconcile objectives for multifunctionality with the legacy of past forestry systems that were not designed with multifunctionality in mind. Research follows a semi-qualitative route and applies the Q method to identify and explain a range of attitudes among the general public and forestry-associated stakeholders regarding the functional future of forestry in Scotland. Four distinctive groups of attitudes were identified and key factors influencing the attitudinal diversity were explained. Despite the uncovered attitudinal heterogeneity, all groups of attitudes have strong emphasis on native woodland regeneration and on improvement of aesthetic values of woodlands but differ concerning afforestation. An improved understanding of what people think provided an indication of their recognition of ecosystem services types and the trade-offs between these, opportunities available, and factors that can hamper forestry development (e.g., concerning the aspiration of increasing Scotland’s forest cover to 25%). Findings suggest that the productivists’ position (for which the economic objectives are important) remains strong in Scotland. Results (compared with those in several other countries) demonstrate comparability between public and stakeholder perspectives in support of the multifunctional forestry, and this has distinct policy relevance and implications for decision-making.


2020 ◽  
Vol 165 ◽  
pp. 02024
Author(s):  
Min Liu ◽  
Shimin Wen ◽  
Chuanjiang Zhang

In order to evaluate the impact of land use change on ecosystem service value in Dujiangyan City, through equivalent factor method, qualitative and quantitative analysis is carried out on the dynamic change of land use change and its caused ecosystem service value in Dujiangyan City from 2010 to 2016. The results show that: (1) Dujiangyan city land use changes a large extent, with the extension of construction land expansion as the main increase part, and at the cost of the reduction of arable land and grassland area. (2) Over the past 7 years, the total value of ecosystem services in Dujiangyan city followed a law of first rising and then falling, showing an overall rising trend, with a total increase of 19.2244 million yuan. (3) The accuracy of the ecological value coefficient of woodland and grassland will greatly affect the value assessment of ecosystem services in Dujiangyan city. (4) From the relationship between land use type and ecosystem service value, cultivated land and construction land are negatively correlated with ecosystem service value, on the contrary, forest land, grassland, water area and construction land are positively correlated with ecosystem service value. In general, the land use of Dujiangyan City did not cause obvious damage to the ecological environment, but also cannot ignore the impact of land use changes on the environment in the process of economic development. It is necessary to control the growth of construction land area, promote the conservation and rational development of Eco-tourism area in Dujiangyan City, maintain the stability of ecosystem services in Dujiangyan City, and realize the strategy of sustainable development of Social-Economic-Ecological benefits.


Author(s):  
Zuzheng Li ◽  
Xiaoqin Cheng ◽  
Hairong Han

It is generally believed that land-use changes can affect a variety of ecosystem services (ES), but the relationships involved remain unclear due to a lack of systematic knowledge and gaps in data. In order to make rational decisions for land-use planning that is grounded in a systematic understanding of trade-offs between different land-use strategies, it is very important to understand the response mechanisms of various ecosystem services to changes in land-use. Therefore, the objective of our study is to assess the effects of land-use change on six ecosystem services and their trade-offs among the ecosystem services in the ecological conservation area (ECA) in Beijing, China. To do this, we projected future land-use in 2030 under three different scenarios: Business as Usual (BAU), Ecological Protection (ELP), and Rapid Urban Development (RUD), using GeoSOS-FLUS model. Then, we quantified six ecosystem services (carbon storage, soil conservation, water purification, habitat quality, flood regulation, and food production) in response to land-use changes from 2015 to 2030, using a spatially explicit InVEST model. Finally, we illustrated the trade-offs and/or synergistic relationships between each ecosystem service quantified under each of the different scenarios in 2030. Results showed that built-up land is projected to increase by 281.18 km2 at the cost of water bodies and cultivated land from 2015 to 2030 under the RUD scenario, while forest land is projected to increase by 152.38 km2 under the ELP scenario. The carbon storage, soil conservation, habitat quality, and the sum of ecosystem services (SES) would enrich the highest level under the ELP scenario. Land-use strategies that follow the ELP scenario can better maintain the ecosystem services and sustainable development of natural and social economic systems.


One Ecosystem ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Dworczyk ◽  
Benjamin Burkhard

People require multiple ecosystem services (ES) to meet their basic needs and improve or maintain their quality of life. In order to meet these needs, natural resources are exploited, threatening biodiversity and increasing the pressure on the Earth's ecosystems. Spatial-structural approaches are used to explain and visualise the spatial relationships and connections between areas that provide and benefit from ES. However, areas where the demand for these ES occurs are rarely considered in existing spatial approaches or equated with areas where people can use the benefits. In order to highlight the differences between these two areas, we would like to introduce the 'Service Demanding Area' (SDA) in an adapted spatial-structural approach. This approach relates SDA to already familiar ES provision and use units, namely Service Providing Areas (SPA), Service Connecting Areas (SCA) and Service Benefitting Areas (SBA) and can be used to schematically illustrate, understand and analyse the different forms of demand that can emerge. A literature review was conducted to provide an overview of the spatial mapping of ES demand. Three issues arose that should be addressed to improve the assessment of ES demand: 1) The term ES demand is not used consistently. To avoid confusion, it is important to clarify how ES demand is understood and how it differs from the other components of the ES concept (e.g. ES supply, ES potential, ES flow); 2) It is important to consider that ES demand is multi-faceted and is generated on different geographical scales, including the full range of stakeholders' perceptions, needs and desires which broadens the picture of societal demand for ES; 3) Meaningful interpretations between ES supply and demand need to be available to inform decision-makers about interventions for reducing ES trade-offs and mismatches.


FACETS ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 1728-1752
Author(s):  
Krishna Bahadur KC ◽  
Arthur Gill Green ◽  
Dan Wassmansdorf ◽  
Vivek Gandhi ◽  
Khurram Nadeem ◽  
...  

Climate change will create warmer temperatures, greater precipitation, and longer growing seasons in northern latitudes making agriculture increasingly possible in boreal regions. To assess the potential of any such expansion, this paper provides a first-order approximation of how much land could become suitable for four staple crops (corn, potato, soy, and wheat) in Canada by 2080. In addition, we estimate how the environmental trade-offs of northern agricultural expansion will impact critical ecosystem services. Primarily, we evaluate how the regulatory ecosystem services of carbon storage and sequestration and the habitat services supporting biodiversity would be traded for the provisioning services of food production. Here we show that under climate change projected by Canadian Earth System Model (CanESM2) Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5, ∼1.85 million km2 of land may become suitable for farming in Canada’s North, which, if utilized, would lead to the release of ∼15 gigatonnes of carbon if all forests and wetlands are cleared and plowed. These land-use changes would also have profound implications for Indigenous sovereignty and the governance of protected and conserved areas in Canada. These results highlight that research is urgently needed so that stakeholders can become aware of the scope of potential economic opportunities, cultural issues, and environmental trade-offs required for agricultural sustainability in Canada.


2015 ◽  
Vol 143 (14) ◽  
pp. 2911-2922 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. J. BROOKES ◽  
V. J. DEL RIO VILAS ◽  
M. P. WARD

SUMMARYDisease prioritization is motivated by the need to ensure that limited resources are targeted at the most important problems to achieve the greatest benefit in improving and maintaining human and animal health. Studies have prioritized a range of disease types, for example, zoonotic and foodborne diseases, using a range of criteria that describe potential disease impacts. This review describes the progression of disease prioritization methodology from ad hoc techniques to decision science methods (including multi-criteria decision analysis, conjoint analysis and probabilistic inversion), and describes how these methods aid defensible resource allocation. We discuss decision science in the context of disease prioritization to then review the development of disease prioritization studies. Structuring the prioritization and assessing decision-makers' preferences through value trade-offs between criteria within the decision context are identified as key factors that ensure transparency and reproducibility. Future directions for disease prioritization include the development of validation techniques, guidelines for model selection and neuroeconomics to gain a deeper understanding of decision-making.


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