Contributions of Hedgerows to People: A Global Meta-Analysis

Hedgerows are linear landscape features of woody vegetation usually located around agricultural fields. An increasing number of studies have addressed the effects of hedgerows on biodiversity and ecosystem services. This study is aimed to synthesize these effects and compare the levels of biodiversity and ecosystem services in farmland with hedgerows and (1) farmland without hedgerows and (2) nearby natural habitat at the global scale. We hypothesized that farmland with hedgerows (1) enhances biodiversity and ecosystem services as compared to farmland without hedgerows but (2) supports lower levels of biodiversity and ecosystem services than natural habitat. Our systematic literature review retained 835 observations from 170 primary studies, which were analyzed following the standard methodology in meta-analyses. Our results partially support both hypotheses. Farmland with hedgerows exhibited higher levels of biodiversity and provisioning services than farmland without hedgerows (H1). Farmland with hedgerows provided similar levels of biodiversity (edge effects) but lower levels of ecosystem services than natural habitat (H2). The effects of hedgerows on biodiversity and ecosystem services depended on control ecosystem type (grassland/meadow or forest/woodland) but were largely independent of climate type (temperate or tropical) and the focus of spatial scale (field or landscape). In conclusion, conservation and restoration of hedgerows contribute to people in several ways by enhancing biodiversity and multifunctionality in agricultural landscapes.

Evaluation of Regulating and Provisioning Services Provided by a Park Designed to Be Resilient to Climate Change in Bangkok, Thailand

Understanding the ecosystem services provided by urban green spaces, in terms of their environmental, economic, and social benefits, is essential for a better management of area. Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park (CU 100) was established to mitigate the effects of climate change, especially flood prevention. This study focused on quantifying the ecosystem services provided by the trees in the park in terms of regulating and provisioning services. A publicly available tool, the i-Tree Eco international software, was used with data obtained from a local weather station as proxies to determine the accuracy of the analysis. Services, quantified in terms of monetary value, included avoided runoff, carbon storage, carbon sequestration, pollution removal, and timber price. The total monetary benefits, obtained from 697 trees (56 species, 49 genera, and 22 families), were estimated at USD 101,400. Of the total services, provisioning services contributed 75% to the total monetary value. Among all regulating services, the avoided runoff contributed about 60%, which was considered as the goal achieved by the park design. Azadirachta indica A. Juss (USD 518.75/tree−1/year−1), Shorea roxburghii G. Don (USD 417.17/tree−1/year−1) and Millettia leucantha Kurz (USD 414.87/tree−1/year−1) provided the greatest benefit, as indicated by a high value of provisioning services in terms of a high timber quality. These results can be used when planning the composition of trees to be planted in urban areas to increase both green spaces and maximize ecosystem services to improve the vitality of human well-being.

The Loss of Ecosystem Services in Women’s Forest at Youtefa Bay, Jayapura, Papua, Indonesia

The uniqueness of mangrove protection in Papua is found in the Enggros Tribe, Youtefa Bay, Jayapura, Indonesia, a Women’s Forest. Women’s Forest is a mangrove forest managed under the Tonotwiyat customary law of Enggros Tribe, where men are prohibited from entering and foraging in this forest. However, the function of women’s forest ecosystem services began to decline by decreasing water quality, waste accumulation, and land conversion. The loss of ecosystem services must be analyzed to identify and quantify the loss of indigenous peoples. Based on the four frameworks of ecosystem service functions of TEEB (2011), the provisioning services, regulating services, habitat services, and cultural services, then carried out by desk study and in-depth interviews, it is shown that the most perceived loss by the community was the reduction in provisioning services by the declining the number of fish and bia noor. There is also a decline in cultural services satisfaction from women’s forests, where it is a place to talk and tell stories for Enggros Women. Further research in economic losses is needed. Local management by the Enggros Tribe itself must be increased, followed by the support from external stakeholders for the sustainability of women’s forests.

A Framework for the Heterogeneity and Ecosystem Services of Farmland Landscapes: An Integrative Review

It is essential for the sustainable development of farmland landscapes to balance ecosystem service trade-offs and improve resource use efficiency during crop production. Thus, an integrative and concept-centric qualitative approach was applied by combining the patch–corridor–matrix model of landscape ecology and the crop layout theory of farming systems into a theoretical framework. The thesis concludes that a farmland landscape comprises three compositions: the crop (the main crop and the service crop), the non-crop, and the non-vegetation, leading to heterogeneous composition and configuration. The main crop, typically displayed as large patches with a high distribution ratio, provides most of the provisioning services, while the service crop performs many regulation services. The non-crop and non-vegetation compositions often appear as strips that can connect different patches as corridors and support the provisioning services of crops. Non-crop compositions mainly focus on support and regulation services, while non-vegetation compositions support farming operations. Further research is needed in several respects, including the ecological impact and ecosystem service trade-offs of the composition and configuration heterogeneity, and strategies for the adoption of cropping systems and agronomic measures at the landscape scale, which are essential to the evaluation, improvement, and redesign of farmland landscapes.

Environmental services in home gardens of la Chontalpa, Tabasco, Mexico

Objective: To identify the environmental services provided by home gardens in nine communities of La Chontalpa region in Tabasco, Mexico. Design/methodology/approach: Having previously identified home gardens, a visit route to nine communities was drawn using cartographic and demographic information. Three home gardens per community were randomly selected. Interviews about the use of home gardens were conducted. Physical environmental factors were measured inside and outside the gardens and soil samples were taken to determine organic matter and carbon contents in the soil. According to their category, the environmental services provided by the home gardens in each community were identified and classified into four types: provisioning, supporting, cultural, and regulating services. Results: Thirteen environmental services were identified as being provided by home gardens. Provisioning and cultural services are present in all localities. The most frequent category is the provision of food, followed by the provision of raw materials and education. Supporting and regulating services were observed in most communities —except for climate regulation, since the environmental conditions only allow gardens to provide the said service in four of the evaluated communities. Limitations on study/implications: Knowledge about the benefits of building home gardens suggests that these agrosystems provide environmental services. Categorizing the environmental services provided by home gardens is therefore important. Findings/conclusions: Home gardens in La Chontalpa, Tabasco, do not only provide provisioning services, but also cultural, supporting, and —to a lesser extent— regulating services.

A Review of the Trade-Offs across Different Cocoa Production Systems in Ghana

Cocoa production is one of the leading causes of deforestation in West Africa. Agroforestry cocoa systems are increasingly promoted as a possible solution to deforestation. This study seeks to understand the trade-offs within agroforestry cocoa in full-sun and high-tech plantation cocoa systems in Ghana. It uses secondary data collected from an extensive literature search. The results established various trade-offs between cocoa yields and other provisioning services derived from the agroforestry services. While the cocoa yields in high-tech systems are almost thrice those in agroforestry systems, the total value of all the provisioning services is highest within the shaded systems. The economic value of per hectarage yield is estimated at USD 8140, USD 5320 and USD 5050 for shaded, full-sun and high-tech systems, respectively. Agroforestry systems also have higher ecosystem services compared to full-sun cocoa and high-tech cocoa systems. The high pesticide use in Ghana′s high-tech cocoa systems is also strongly linked to water and soil pollution, as well as adverse effects on human health. The study concludes that different cocoa production systems in Ghana yield different types of ecosystem provision and are associated with externalities such as the effect of pesticides on soils, water and human health, thus there is a need for the careful consideration of the system from policy and practice perspectives.

Community Based Assessment of the Changes of Provisioning Ecosystem Services of Aral Haor of Sylhet District

Haor is a well-known wetland feature in Bangladesh because of its dynamic ecosystem which is changeable with the seasonal variation. The majority people of the community are critically dependent on the haor. This paper attempts to analyse the provisioning ecosystem services of Aral Haor of Sylhet District, their changes and why the changes occurred during the last 30 years since 1990 to 2020 through community assessment. The papers argues that the community based approach integrates the local people to reveal the actual scenario of the livelihood dependency on the provision ecosystem services as they are the main user of the provisioning services. Thus the primary data were collected through observation, FGD, Community Mapping and interview with experts. The study found that community the service providing area of the Aral haor have not been changed in mentionable level over the 30 years, however the shape of the haor have been changed slightly due to high sedimentation. Along with rice cultivation during dry season, natural irrigation, fishing and bird nesting were most important to provisoing services to the community which have been changes due to both natural and anthropogenic activities. The study concludes that even having importance of the Aral hoar, not any measurer has been taken by local authority to conserve the Aral hoar ecosystem services those are very vital for the livelihood of the thousands of community people living nearby.

Multidimensional Assessment of Lake Water Ecosystem Services Using Remote Sensing

Freshwater is becoming scarce worldwide with the rapidly growing population, developing industries, burgeoning agriculture, and increasing consumption. Assessment of ecosystem services has been regarded as a promising way to reconcile the increasing demand and depleting natural resources. In this paper, we proposed a multidimensional assessment framework for evaluating water provisioning ecosystem services by integrating multi-source remote sensing products. We applied the multidimensional framework to assess lake water ecosystem services in the state of Minnesota, US. We found that: (1) the water provisioning ecosystem services degraded during 1998–2018 from three assessment perspectives; (2) the output, efficiency, and trend indices have stable distribution and various spatial clustering patterns from 1998 to 2018; (3) high-level efficiency depends on high-level output, and low-level output relates to low-level efficiency; (4) Western Minnesota, including Northwest, West Central, and Southwest, degraded more severely than other zones in water provisioning services; (5) human activities impact water provisioning services in Minnesota more than climate changes. These findings can benefit policymakers by identifying the priorities for better protection, conservation, and restoration of lake ecosystems. Our multidimensional assessment framework can be adapted to evaluate ecosystem services in other regions.