scholarly journals Effect of plateau pika presence on the ecosystem services of alpine meadows

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yingying Chen ◽  
Huan Yang ◽  
Gensheng Bao ◽  
Xiaopan Pang ◽  
Zhenggang Guo
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Soil Nutrient ◽  
Grassland Ecosystem ◽  
Plateau Pika ◽  
Mammalian Herbivores ◽  
Forage Availability ◽  
Disturbance Intensity ◽  
Alpine Regions

Abstract. The activity of small mammalian herbivores influences grassland ecosystem services in arid and semi-arid regions. This study took plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) as example animal to investigate the effect of small mammalian herbivores on meadow ecosystem services in alpine regions. In this study, a home-range scale was used measure the forage availability, water conservation, carbon sequestration and soil nutrient maintenance services (total nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) of topsoil layer; and a quadrat scale was used to assess the biodiversity conservation service of alpine meadows. This study showed that plateau pika presence led to lower forage availability and water conservation services, and led to higher biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration, soil nitrogen and phosphorus maintenance services of meadow ecosystem, whereas it had no impact on soil potassium maintenance service of meadow ecosystem in alpine regions. This study further found that the forage availability, biodiversity conservation, and soil nutrient maintenance services of meadow ecosystem in alpine regions firstly increased, and later decreased as the disturbance intensity of plateau pikas increased, whereas the water conservation service tended to decrease with the increasing disturbance intensity of plateau pikas. These results not only present a possible pattern of plateau pikas influencing the ecosystem services of meadow ecosystem in alpine regions, and consummate the small mammalian herbivores in relation to grassland ecosystem services.

Economic valuation and the commodification of ecosystem services

2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 613-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Gómez-Baggethun ◽  
Manuel Ruiz-Pérez
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Environmental Policy ◽  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Economic Valuation ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Valuation Of Ecosystem Services ◽  
Equity Of Access ◽  
The Way

In the last decade a growing number of environmental scientists have advocated economic valuation of ecosystem services as a pragmatic short-term strategy to communicate the value of biodiversity in a language that reflects dominant political and economic views. This paper revisits the controversy on economic valuation of ecosystem services in the light of two aspects that are often neglected in ongoing debates. First, the role of the particular institutional setup in which environmental policy and governance is currently embedded in shaping valuation outcomes. Second, the broader economic and sociopolitical processes that have governed the expansion of pricing into previously non-marketed areas of the environment. Our analysis suggests that within the institutional setup and broader sociopolitical processes that have become prominent since the late 1980s economic valuation is likely to pave the way for the commodification of ecosystem services with potentially counterproductive effects in the long term for biodiversity conservation and equity of access to ecosystem services benefits.

scholarly journals Research on a Biodiversity Conservation Value Assessment Method Based on Habitat Suitability of Species: A Case Study in Gansu Province, China

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3007
Author(s):  
Xiaojiong Zhao ◽  
Jian Wang ◽  
Junde Su ◽  
Wei Sun ◽  
Haoxian Meng
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Endangered Species ◽  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Gansu Province ◽  
Distribution Area ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Conservation Value ◽  
Value Assessment ◽  
Rare And Endangered Species ◽  
Rare And Endangered

Quantitative assessment and evaluation of ecological parameters and biodiversity conservation are prime concerns for long-term conservation of rare and endangered species and their associated habitats in any ecological region. In this study, Gansu Province, a biodiversity hotspot, was chosen as the research area. We predicted the distribution patterns of suitable habitats for rare and endangered species. The replacement cost method was adopted to calculate the conservation value of rare and endangered species. The suitable habitat distribution area of rare and endangered wild animals reached 351,607.76 km2 (without overlapping area), while that of plants reached 72,988.12 km2 (without overlapping area). The conservation value of rare and endangered wildlife is US $1670.00 million. The high-value areas are mostly concentrated in the south and north of Gansu Province. The conservation value of rare and endangered wild plants is US $56,920.00 million. The high-value areas are mostly concentrated south of Gansu Province. The conservation value is US $58,590.00 million a year, and its distribution trend is gradually decreasing from northeast to southwest, with the highest in the forest area south of Gansu Province, followed by the Qilian Mountain area in the north. These results are of great significance for future improvement of the evaluation index system of ecosystem services and the development of ecosystem services and management strategies.

scholarly journals A multitiered approach for grassland ecosystem services mapping and assessment: The Viva Grass tool

One Ecosystem ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Villoslada ◽  
Ivo Vinogradovs ◽  
Anda Ruskule ◽  
Kristina Veidemane ◽  
Olgerts Nikodemus ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Spatially Explicit ◽  
Grassland Ecosystem ◽  
Integrated Planning ◽  
Planning Tool ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
Tiered Approach ◽  
Natural Grasslands ◽  
Tier System ◽  
The Baltic

Throughout the second half of the 20th Century, the area of semi-natural grasslands in the Baltic States decreased substantially, due to agricultural abandonment in some areas and intensification in more productive soil types. In order to halt the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services provided by grasslands, the LIFE+ programme funded project, LIFE Viva Grass, aims at developing an integrated planning tool that will support ecosystem-based planning and sustainable grassland management. LIFE Viva Grass integrated planning tool is spatially explicit and allows the user to assess the provision and trade-offs of grassland ecosystem services within eight project case study areas in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In order to ensure methodological adaptability, the structure of the LIFE Viva Grass integrated planning tool follows the framework of the tiered approach. In a multi-tier system, each consecutive tier entails an increase in data requirements, methodological complexity or both. The present paper outlines the adaptation of the tiered approach for mapping and assessing ecosystem services provided by grasslands in the Baltic States. The first tier corresponds to a deliberative decision process: The matrix approach is used to assess the potential supply of grassland ecosystem services based on expert estimations. Expert values are subsequently transferred to grassland units and therefore made spatially explicit. The data collected in the first tier was further enhanced through a Principal Components Analysis (PCA) in order to explore ES bundles in tier 2. In the third tier, Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis is used to target specific policy questions.

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