Effects of Harvesting Forest Biomass on Water and Climate Regulation Services: A Synthesis of Long-Term Ecosystem Experiments in Eastern North America

Demand for woody biomass fuels is increasing amidst concerns about global energy security and climate change, but there may be negative implications of increased harvesting for forest ecosystem functions and their benefits to society (ecosystem services). Using new methods for assessing ecosystem services based on long-term experimental research, post-harvest changes in ten potential benefits were assessed for ten first-order northern hardwood forest watersheds at three long-term experimental research sites in northeastern North America. As expected, we observed near-term tradeoffs between biomass provision and greenhouse gas regulation, as well as tradeoffs between intensive harvest and the capacity of the forest to remediate nutrient pollution. In both cases, service provision began to recover along with the regeneration of forest vegetation; in the case of pollution remediation, the service recovered to pre-harvest levels within 10 years. By contrast to these two services, biomass harvesting had relatively nominal and transient impacts on other ecosystem services. Our results are sensitive to empirical definitions of societal demand, including methods for scaling societal demand to ecosystem units, which are often poorly resolved. Reducing uncertainty around these parameters can improve confidence in our results and increase their relevance for decision-making. Our synthesis of long-term experimental studies provides insights on the social-ecological resilience of managed forest ecosystems to multiple drivers of change.     

生态系统服务竞争与协同研究进展

生态系统服务作为生态系统评估的核心领域,是生态学的研究热点。生态系统提供服务的形式与能力受人类活动强烈影响,反之,生态系统服务的变化又影响着人类相关决策的制定。不同生态系统服务之间很难甚至不可能同时达到利益最大化,即存在着不同程度此消彼长的竞争关系。此外,不同生态系统服务之间也可能形成相互促进或抑制的协同作用。探讨不同生态系统服务的相互关系(竞争与协同作用),有利于揭示不同尺度利益相关方与生态系统服务之间的作用与反馈机制,避免生态系统服务的重复估算;同时可为制定与实施生态补偿、提高人类福祉提供科学依据,优化生态系统服务管理。综合研究了近期国外生态系统服务竞争关系与协同作用的相关文献,在简述当前生态系统服务研究若干问题的基础上,以生态系统服务竞争与协同为视角,厘清了生态系统服务竞争与协同的基本内涵,总结了生态系统服务竞争与协同的主要类型,探讨了生态系统服务竞争与协同的空间与时间尺度效应;介绍并总结了生态系统服务竞争与协同两种主要研究方法(生态-经济综合模型方法、基于土地利用的情景分析法)的特点与适应范围。     

Methodological and empirical considerations when assessing freshwater ecosystem service provision in a developing city context: Making the best of what we have

This study contributes to both the methodological and empirical literature by developing an integrative approach to assessing temporal and spatial change in riparian ecosystem service delivery by drawing on available and diverse data sets. These data sets act as multiple lines of evidence in supporting comparisons between data sets to test the validity of developed methods and the application of such methods. In order to synthesise these data as well as to determine the fluctuations in riparian ecosystem service provision a scoring system was developed. Methodologically, the scoring system proved informative across the majority of ecosystem services categories, showing close to 80% similarity in outcomes when comparing the scoring method to trends in long-term water quality measurements. Other benefits of the scoring system included its design simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and applicability and replicability across various urban settings. Empirically, the data sets used support the findings of the ecosystem services scoring exercise and suggests that fluctuations in ecosystem service delivery through time and across the river reaches are linked to land-use change and other human activities. Findings suggest that as water leaves an urban protected area and travels across transformed and impacted landscapes, the results are poor water quality and diminished ability of rivers to yield ecosystem services the further the river flows into the urban setting. Urbanisation and changes in land-uses in developing city contexts is therefore shown to affect potential ecosystem services benefits, necessitating increasing management interventions.     

生态系统文化服务研究进展——基于Web of Science分析

随着社会经济的发展,人类对精神层面产品的需求越来越多。生态系统具有文化服务功能,因此近年来学者对文化服务的研究和关注越来越多,发表的文献数量也在持续增加。通过收集与生态系统文化服务相关的文献资料,运用统计分析方法,试图理清国际生态系统文化服务研究脉络。利用Web of Science核心合集数据库,共析出样本文献1530篇,分别对文化服务的研究趋势、时段特征、作者分布、机构分布和文献期刊分布等进行分析。研究发现,生态系统文化服务研究逐渐从以生态学为主,演变为融合生态学、地理学、管理学、社会学等众多学科的综合研究。未来文化服务的研究将集中在文化服务价值的货币化评估、文化服务管理与应用、文化服务指标体系构建、文化服务价值制图、游憩功能和美学功能6大方向。     

生态系统服务流研究进展

生态系统服务流是实现生态系统服务供给与人类需求耦合的重要桥梁,是当前生态系统服务研究的热点与前沿。科学理解生态系统服务从产生、传递到使用的全过程,明确区域生态系统服务供给与需求的平衡状况,对于实现区域可持续发展与提高人类福祉具有重要意义。在综合分析国内外相关研究的基础上,阐述了生态系统服务流的概念内涵,归纳总结了生态系统服务流的定量研究方法,并系统梳理了国内外生态系统服务流研究在理论探索与应用案例方面的研究进展;探讨了当前生态系统服务流研究中存在的问题和不足,包括:生态系统服务从供给区传递至需求区的空间转移规律尚不明晰、定量评估生态系统服务流的方法不成熟、面向应用的生态系统服务流的研究较为缺乏,以及人与自然耦合系统中生态系统服务流研究框架有待进一步完善。未来的研究需要重点关注复杂系统中生态系统服务流跨尺度、跨区域的传递过程,加强生态系统服务的空间流动过程与传递路径的定量分析与模拟,重视生态系统服务流的应用性研究,尤其是在生态恢复、生态补偿、城市规划等方面的应用,并完善人与自然耦合系统中生态系统服务流的研究框架,以期促进生态系统服务流研究的发展。     

新安江流域生态系统服务演化过程及权衡协同关系

新安江流域作为长三角一体化发展的战略水源地与水源涵养区,其生态系统服务变化与权衡协同关系研究对于推进流域生态文明体制建设,促进人地关系协调发展具有重要意义。基于生态系统服务变化指数、相关系数及空间自相关等方法,对新安江流域1999-2019年生态系统服务价值及权衡协同关系进行定量分析。结果表明：（1）新安江流域生态系统服务价值整体呈波动下降态势,改善趋势渐显,生态补偿工作的系统实施强化了河流、湖泊的生态保护效应与地位;（2）新安江流域地均生态系统服务价值空间分布较为稳定,空间相关类型以正相关为主,生态系统服务价值增益相对明显地区多分布在上游安徽省境内;（3）协同关系是新安江流域生态系统服务间相关关系的主体,生态补偿试点工作实施后,水文调节服务与其他服务之间的相关关系发生明显转化,各乡镇单元生态系统服务的相关关系以协同关系为主。     

厦门岛生态系统服务对土地利用变化的响应

土地利用变化是对生态系统服务产生胁迫的主要驱动力之一。论文以厦门岛为例,分析生态系统服务对土地利用变化的响应,基于对2007年中国陆地生态系统服务价值当量修正的两种方法,对厦门岛生态系统服务价值(ESV)变化作出评估。研究表明:1950～2007年间,两种方法得出的厦门岛ESV变化趋势一致,随岛内土地利用强度逐年增加均呈减少态势,1987年前厦门岛ESV因水域和湿地增加12.87 km²,而提高了1 076 655元;1984年厦门岛设立经济特区后快速城市化导致ESV急剧降低,1987年后年均损失达619 773元。随着厦门岛内各土地类型利用趋于饱和,及2006年厦门环东海域综合整治工程等生态措施的实施,预计未来ESV降低的趋势将得以缓解。从生态系统服务价值全面修正的方法解决了仅从供给服务方面修正造成结果偏高的问题。     

Limitations of Protected Areas Zoning in Mediterranean Cultural Landscapes Under the Ecosystem Services Approach

Protected areas have been created worldwide to set apart certain areas from land-use transformation. The biodiversity and ecosystems protected by these areas deliver several ecosystem services. Recently, besides increasing global protected coverage, there has been a growing demand to assess the adequacy of protected areas management. In this study, we assessed how the management of protected areas can deal with ecosystem services taking as example the Doñana and Sierra Nevada protected areas (Spain). For that aim we analyzed the protected area management plans, mapped seven ecosystem services, and assessed how they are affected by protected area zoning and land-use intensity. We found that although provisioning and cultural services are included in the management plans of the protected areas under a different terminology, regulating services are barely addressed. Ecosystem service delivery varies depending on several factors including the protection category of the protected areas (protection intensity), land-use intensity and geomorphological factors, among others. Therefore, we discuss that integrating ecosystem services in protected area management requires dealing with complexity, necessitating the establishment of specific goals for ecosystem service delivery, which include ecosystem service synergies and trade-offs.     

Legacy of past exposure to hypoxia and warming regulates an ecosystem service provided by oysters

Climate change is having substantial impacts on organism fitness and ability to deliver critical ecosystem services, but these effects are often examined only in response to current environments. Past exposure to stress can also affect individuals via carryover effects, and whether these effects scale from individuals to influence ecosystem function and services is unknown. We explored within-generation carryover effects of two coastal climate change stressors—hypoxia and warming—on oyster (Crassostrea virginica) growth and nitrogen bioassimilation, an important ecosystem service. Oysters were exposed to a factorial combination of two temperature and two diel-cycling dissolved oxygen treatments at 3-months-old and again 1 year later. Carryover effects of hypoxia and warming influenced oyster growth and nitrogen storage in complex and context-dependent ways. When operating, carryover effects of single stressors generally reduced oyster nitrogen bioassimilation and relative investment in tissue versus shell growth, particularly in warm environments, while early life exposure to multiple stressors generally allowed oysters to perform as well as control oysters. When extrapolated to the reef scale, carryover effects decreased nitrogen stored by modeled oyster reefs in most conditions, with reductions as large as 41%, a substantial decline in a critical ecosystem service. In some scenarios, however, carryover effects increased nitrogen storage by modeled oyster reefs, again highlighting the complexity of these effects. Hence, even brief exposure to climate change stressors early in life may have persistent effects on an ecosystem service 1 year later. Our results show for the first time that within-generation carryover effects on individual phenotypes can impact processes at the ecosystem scale and may therefore be an overlooked factor determining ecosystem service delivery in response to anthropogenic change.     

Spatial Covariance between Aesthetic Value & Other Ecosystem Services

Mapping the spatial distribution of ecosystem goods and services represents a burgeoning field of research, although how different services covary with one another remains poorly understood. This is particularly true for the covariation of supporting, provisioning and regulating services with cultural services (the non-material benefits people gain from nature). This is largely because of challenges associated with the spatially specific quantification of cultural ecosystem services. We propose an innovative approach for evaluating a cultural service, the perceived aesthetic value of ecosystems, by quantifying geo-tagged digital photographs uploaded to social media resources. Our analysis proceeds from the premise that images will be captured by greater numbers of people in areas that are more highly valued for their aesthetic attributes. This approach was applied in Cornwall, UK, to carry out a spatial analysis of the covariation between ecosystem services: soil carbon stocks, agricultural production, and aesthetic value. Our findings suggest that online geo-tagged images provide an effective metric for mapping a key component of cultural ecosystem services. They also highlight the non-stationarity in the spatial relationships between patterns of ecosystem services.     

Introducing accessibility analysis in mapping cultural ecosystem services

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the study of the spatial link between service providing areas (SPA) and service benefiting areas (SBA). Understanding the spatial link between SPAs and SBAs is essential when studying the ecosystem service delivery and the fulfilment of ecosystem service demand. However, far too little attention has been paid to the user movement related ecosystem services and where people should be geographically situated in order to benefit from these services. In the movement related services, benefiting areas are equal to providing areas and the spatial link from residential area to SPA is important. The spatial link is addressed through the concept of accessibility which determines the opportunity to move from the area where beneficiaries are located to areas where ecosystem services are produced.This study presents an accessibility approach to the ecosystem services research. Accessibility analyses offer an opportunity to identify the gap between the ecosystems’ potential to produce services and the actual usage possibilities of such services. We demonstrate the suitability of the method by using outdoor recreation and cultural heritage as examples of cultural ecosystem services that people actively want to reach. Accessibility was calculated using a geographical information system-based least-cost path analysis, which measures travel time by car between residential location and the nearest SPA via road network.The examples highlight that accessibility varies according to the ecosystem service and depends mostly on population distribution and travel possibilities. Our results demonstrate that the density of the analysed ecosystem service opportunities is higher near urban areas than elsewhere. The accessibility of different ecosystem services also depends on how much time people are willing to spend for reaching these services. Our study emphasised that, from a population perspective, accessibility analyses provide a powerful tool for illustrating the utilisation possibilities of spatially distributed ecosystem services. The accessibility approach offers great potential to assess the potential use of SPAs and respond to the need to develop a practical tool for ecosystem service research. It effectively shows, for example, the areas where the risk of overuse of ecosystem services is increased. Knowing about the regional differences in ecosystem service usage also gives background information for the decision-makers for drawing conclusions about how much and where it is sensible to invest in the maintenance of ecosystem services.     

海洋生态系统服务价值评估研究综述

海洋生态系统服务是通过海洋生态系统的功能结构和生态过程,以物品和服务等方式直接或间接地给人类提供的效益。海洋生态系统服务价值衡量了海洋生态系统对人类经济社会的贡献度,加快海洋强国建设,急需加强海洋生态系统服务价值评价。通过对市场价值法、替代市场法和假想市场法三大类海洋生态系统服务价值评估方法进行比较分析后可知,各类方法各有利弊,但是,存在不同方法耦合和方法优化选择的空间。通过海岸带、近海、远洋等典型海洋生态系统服务价值评估的研究案例展现了海洋生态系统服务价值评估在海洋资源开发与保护的政策选择、海洋生态补偿与环境损害赔偿的价格决定中的重要作用。海洋生态系统服务价值评估研究前景广阔,在内涵认知深入化、评估方法科学化、评估指标体系化、结果应用广泛化等方面仍有进一步拓展空间。     

A multi-indicator framework for mapping cultural ecosystem services: The case of freshwater recreational fishing

Despite recent interest, ecosystem services are not yet fully incorporated into private and public decisions about natural resource management. Cultural ecosystem services (CES) are among the most challenging of services to include because they comprise complex ecological and social properties and processes that make them difficult to measure, map or monetize. Like others, CES are vulnerable to landscape changes and unsustainable use. To date, the sustainability of services has not been adequately addressed and few studies have considered measures of service capacity and demand simultaneously. To facilitate sustainability assessments and management of CES, our study objectives were to (1) develop a spatially explicit framework for mapping the capacity of ecosystems to provide freshwater recreational fishing, an important cultural service, (2) map societal demand for freshwater recreational fishing based on license data and identify areas of potential overuse, and (3) demonstrate how maps of relative capacity and relative demand could be interfaced to estimate sustainability of a CES. We mapped freshwater recreational fishing capacity at the 12-digit hydrologic unit-scale in North Carolina and Virginia using a multi-indicator service framework incorporating biophysical and social landscape metrics and mapped demand based on fishing license data. Mapping of capacity revealed a gradual decrease in capacity eastward from the mountains to the coastal plain and that fishing demand was greatest in urban areas. When comparing standardized relative measures of capacity and demand for freshwater recreational fishing, we found that ranks of capacity exceeded ranks of demand in most hydrologic units, except in 17% of North Carolina and 5% of Virginia. Our GIS-based approach to view freshwater recreational fishing through an ecosystem service lens will enable scientists and managers to examine (1) biophysical and social factors that foster or diminish cultural ecosystem services delivery, (2) demand for cultural ecosystem services relative to their capacity, and (3) ecological pressures like potential overuse that affect service sustainability. Ultimately, we expect such analyses to inform decision-making for freshwater recreational fisheries and other cultural ecosystem services.     

丹江口水源区生态系统服务时空变化及权衡协同关系

研究区域多种生态系统服务之间的权衡协同关系特征,对不同生态系统服务、不同区域之间的协调发展,实现利益相关方效益最大化,达到区域发展与生态保护"双赢"具有重要意义。针对目前权衡协同定性分析、长时间动态变化研究不足的现状,以丹江口水源区为例,在采用"当量因子法"求得研究区生态系统服务价值的基础上,使用长时间整体分析占优的相关性分析方法和短时期动态变化分析占优的生态系统服务权衡协同度(ESTD)模型对研究区1990—2015年10种生态系统服务的权衡协同关系展开研究。结果表明:1990—1995年,丹江口水源区生态系统服务价值呈负增长,之后则呈不断上涨的时序变化趋势,增幅最大的生态系统服务为水资源供给。生态服务价值最高的用地类型为林地,其次为草地和水域。空间上,生态系统服务价值呈东南高西北低特征。在丹江口水源区生态系统服务之间相互关系中,协同关系占64%,是丹江口水源区生态系统服务之间的主导关系,权衡关系较少,且大多存在于供给服务与调节服务、文化服务、支持服务之间。丹江口大坝加高后,即2005年之后,水源区内生态系统服务之间的权衡协同方向有所改变,改变明显的生态服务有净化环境、水文调节和水资源供给。这3种生态系统服务与生态系统服务之间的权衡关系增多,除这3种生态系统服务外,其余几种单项生态系统服务与生态系统服务之间的权衡关系减少。     

两种生态系统服务价值评估方法比较研究——以四川省金堂县三星镇土地整治工程为例

乡镇土地整治是建设中国美丽乡村的重要途径,对当地生态环境带来正面和负面影响,如何准确评价其生态效益是国家开展土地整治和美丽乡村建设需要面临的重要科学问题。以中国西南部丘陵地区典型乡镇——四川省金堂县三星镇的土地整治工程为例,对比分析了生态系统服务价值当量修正法和单项服务评价法评估土地整治生态效益的异同,以期确定适合我国西南部丘陵地区乡镇土地整治生态效益评估的合理方法。研究结果表明:单项服务评价法的评估结果(生态系统服务价值约300万元)比当量修正法(生态系统服务价值约290万元)高3.5%。当量修正法评估的各项生态系统服务价值增量由高到低依次为:调节服务价值支持服务价值供给服务价值文化服务价值;单项服务评价法评估的生态系统服务价值增量大小排序为:调节服务价值支持服务价值文化服务价值供给服务价值。方法依据和参数的选取不同,导致评估结果具有显著差异,主要表现在单项服务评价法测算的维持养分循环价值、美学景观价值分别是当量修正法的46.90倍和6.94倍,当量修正法测算的水文调节价值是单项服务评价法的5.93倍。单项服务评价法针对各项生态系统服务特征,灵活地选取差异化评估方法,因而其评估结果更准确、真实地反映了生态效益价值。建议运用单项服务评价法评估我国西南部丘陵地区乡镇土地整治的生态效益。     

生态系统服务流研究进展

随着社会经济的发展,人类对生态系统的干扰导致多种生态服务退化或消失.生态系统服务流对生态系统服务的输送、转化和维持有重要作用,并成为相关研究的新兴方向之一.本文在对生态系统服务流进行分类的基础上,分析了生态系统服务传递的载体,初步探讨生态系统服务流的形成机制,包括服务流的形成、属性、尺度特征、定量化及其制图等.同时,对生态系统服务流的成本效应,如输送成本、转化成本、使用成本和成本相对性等进行尝试性分析,旨在分析生态系统服务流传递过程中的成本耗散.生态系统服务流研究一定程度上解决了生态系统服务价值评估的“双重核算”问题,使人类准确识别生态系统服务供给和消费热点区域,有利于生态系统服务在传递过程中达到效益最大化,对提出科学合理的生态补偿有重要意义.     

国家重点生态功能区2010-2015年生态系统服务价值变化评估

国家重点生态功能区是国家重要的生态安全屏障，其生态保护价值对维护国家生态安全具有重要意义。基于单位面积价值当量因子的生态系统服务价值化方法，采用模型运算和地理信息空间分析，定量分析了25个国家重点生态功能区在实施转移支付后（2010-2015年）生态系统服务价值的时空分布格局及其变化特征。研究结果表明：（1）2015年，全国重点生态功能区生态系统服务价值呈现明显的"西北低，东南高"的分布格局。从25个重点生态功能区来看，中高值区的面积占比31.60%，个数占比60%。4类自然生态功能区的生态系统服务价值大小排序为水土保持型功能区 > 生物多样性维护型功能区 > 水源涵养型功能区 > 防风固沙型功能区。（2）2010-2015年，全国重点生态功能区的生态系统服务价值整体呈明显增加趋势，增幅为16.46%。从空间分布来看，80.14%面积的生态系统服务价值基本持衡；从分级变化特征来看，高值区、较高值区的面积增加，中值区面积减少，较低值区面积增加，低值区面积减少。（3）近5年来，25个重点生态功能区的生态系统服务价值呈增加的有21个，占比84%，而生态系统服务价值出现减少区域的变化幅度均小于1%；4类自然生态功能区生态系统服务价值均呈增加趋势，其变化幅度从高到低依次为水土保持生态功能区（1.44%） > 水源涵养生态功能区（0.22%） > 防风固沙生态功能区（0.21%） > 生物多样性生态功能区（0.08%）。生态系统服务价值整体呈上升趋势，反映出生态保护与工程建设成效明显。本文研究成果可为分类分区开展生态系统保护、改善及其效果的定量综合评估提供科学依据，为重点生态功能区管理和国家生态安全格局的构建提供有效参考依据。     

生态系统服务流研究进展

随着社会经济的发展,人类对生态系统的干扰导致多种生态服务退化或消失.生态系统服务流对生态系统服务的输送、转化和维持有重要作用,并成为相关研究的新兴方向之一.本文在对生态系统服务流进行分类的基础上,分析了生态系统服务传递的载体,初步探讨生态系统服务流的形成机制,包括服务流的形成、属性、尺度特征、定量化及其制图等.同时,对生态系统服务流的成本效应,如输送成本、转化成本、使用成本和成本相对性等进行尝试性分析,旨在分析生态系统服务流传递过程中的成本耗散.生态系统服务流研究一定程度上解决了生态系统服务价值评估的“双重核算”问题,使人类准确识别生态系统服务供给和消费热点区域,有利于生态系统服务在传递过程中达到效益最大化,对提出科学合理的生态补偿有重要意义.     

基于文献计量分析的生态系统服务研究现状及热点

生态系统服务是生态学研究的核心和热点议题。近年来,各国和各相关机构对生态系统服务的研究力度不断加大。基于SCI-E和CNKI数据库,利用文献计量方法,分析了国内外生态系统服务研究的发展特征和变化趋势。研究结果表明:(1)国内外生态系统服务研究的发文量不断增加,发展态势良好。(2)发达国家是生态系统服务领域的主要研究力量,美国占据绝对领先地位;美国的加利福尼亚大学是主要研究机构;总体来看,国家和机构间的合作正在不断增强。(3)当前该领域的8类研究热点分别是生态系统服务机理研究,保护管理及可持续性、生物多样性、脆弱性、土地利用及景观变化、评估与模型、气候变化、政策与决策分析。从各个时期国内外研究热点整体分布情况来看,国际更侧重于生态系统服务及生态系统服务与人类福祉的依存关系的研究,国内则更加关注生态系统服务评估。(4)近年来中国在生态系统服务研究领域的国际地位有所提升,科研产出量显著增加,累积发文量居世界第5位,中国科学院是全球主要研究机构之一,但论文被引频次相对偏低,国际合作亟待加强和提升。     

城市湖泊退化过程中水生态系统服务功能价值演变评估——以肇庆仙女湖为例

运用市场价值法、碳税法、造林成本法和工业制氧影子价格法、影子工程法以及价格替代等方法，以肇庆仙女湖为例，对城市湖泊水生态系统自然资产价值部分的演变进行了评估。结果得出，仙女湖水生态系统退化过程中，导致水生态系统有些服务功能的大幅度降低，如大气调节功能价值由1999年的460124元降低到2004年的8元、水质净化功能价值由1999年的11480元降到2004年的904元等;但并非各项生态系统服务功能价值都降低，有些项目的生态系统服务功能可保持不变，如水资源调节功能价值;甚至升高，如物质生产价值由1999年的152400元增加到2004年的241200元。该研究给退化生态系统的修复带来很大启示，即在退化生态系统的修复过程中要针对性的就退化生态系统的结构和功能进行修复，提高生态系统的总体服务功能价值，而并非退化生态系统的各项服务均需提高，有些项目的生态系统服务价值可以保持不变，甚至降低。