Operationalizing the ecosystems approach: Assessing the environmental impact of major infrastructure development

The ecosystem services approach is increasingly applied in the context of environmental resources management and impact assessment. Assessments often involve analysis of alternative scenarios for which potential changes in ecosystem services are quantified. For such assessments to be effective there is a requirement to represent changes in ecosystem services supply in a clear and informative manner. Here we compute Ecosystem Services Ratio (ESR), a simple index that quantifies the relative change in ecosystem service provision under altered conditions given the baseline, and the Modified Ecosystem Services State Index, which averages the ESR scores obtained for each ecosystem service assessed, to provide an overall measure of the change. Given that modelling approaches to quantification of ecosystem services often result in production of maps of ecosystem supply, the proposed metrics can be visualized as maps in support to decision making processes. We use these indices to investigate potential changes in the supply of seven modelled ecosystem services resulting from the introduction of a major road development – a highway with associated green infrastructure – into a predominantly agricultural landscape in the UK. We find that the planted woodland, scrubland and grassland can increase the supply of multiple ecosystem services not accounted for in previous green infrastructure studies, although the magnitude of change differs with the type of vegetation, initial conditions and timeframes of the assessment.     

Uncovering ecosystem service bundles through social preferences

Ecosystem service assessments have increasingly been used to support environmental management policies, mainly based on biophysical and economic indicators. However, few studies have coped with the social-cultural dimension of ecosystem services, despite being considered a research priority. We examined how ecosystem service bundles and trade-offs emerge from diverging social preferences toward ecosystem services delivered by various types of ecosystems in Spain. We conducted 3,379 direct face-to-face questionnaires in eight different case study sites from 2007 to 2011. Overall, 90.5% of the sampled population recognized the ecosystem's capacity to deliver services. Formal studies, environmental behavior, and gender variables influenced the probability of people recognizing the ecosystem's capacity to provide services. The ecosystem services most frequently perceived by people were regulating services; of those, air purification held the greatest importance. However, statistical analysis showed that socio-cultural factors and the conservation management strategy of ecosystems (i.e., National Park, Natural Park, or a non-protected area) have an effect on social preferences toward ecosystem services. Ecosystem service trade-offs and bundles were identified by analyzing social preferences through multivariate analysis (redundancy analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis). We found a clear trade-off among provisioning services (and recreational hunting) versus regulating services and almost all cultural services. We identified three ecosystem service bundles associated with the conservation management strategy and the rural-urban gradient. We conclude that socio-cultural preferences toward ecosystem services can serve as a tool to identify relevant services for people, the factors underlying these social preferences, and emerging ecosystem service bundles and trade-offs.     

国家公园生态系统完整性的内涵及评价框架: 以东北虎豹国家公园为例

保护自然生态系统的完整性是我国建立国家公园的主要目标之一, 《国家公园设立规范》(GB/T 39737-2021)已将生态系统完整性作为国家公园的准入条件生态重要性的认定指标之一, 但目前对国家公园生态系统完整性的内涵还没有统一定义, 并缺乏具体的评价体系。本文在国内外相关研究的基础上, 结合我国国家公园体制试点成果及第一批国家公园设立实践, 提出了国家公园生态系统完整性的基本内涵及评价指标体系, 以期为今后设立国家公园时划定边界范围或评估国家公园管理成效提供理论依据。作者提出, 应从生态系统结构和过程完整性、功能完整性、空间格局完整性3个维度对我国国家公园生态系统完整性进行综合评价。以东北虎豹国家公园为例, 体制试点以来, 东北虎(Panthera tigris altaica)和东北豹(P. pardus orientalis)等顶级食肉动物的食物链相对完整, 虎、豹野生种群从俄罗斯进入、定居、繁衍、扩散的路径清晰, 种群稳定增长、栖息地质量持续改善, 生物多样性日益丰富, 国家公园正式设立范围划定时充分考虑了生态系统完整性保护, 生态系统完整性评级为优秀, 为国家公园可持续发展奠定了良好基础。     

A conceptual framework to assess the effects of environmental change on ecosystem services

A new conceptual framework is presented for the assessment of the impacts of environmental change drivers on ecosystem service provision and the policy and management responses that would derive from the valuation of these impacts. The Framework for Ecosystem Service Provision (FESP), is based on an interpretation of the widely-used Drivers-Pressures-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework. FESP differs from the DPSIR by offering clarity in the definitions of the various DPSIR components as well as introducing novel elements of relevance to the ecosystem service approach. The value of a common framework lies in making the comparison across competing services accessible and clear as well as highlighting the conflicts and trade-offs between not only multiple ecosystem services, but also multiple service beneficiaries. The framework is explicit, for example, in recognising as state variables not only the attributes of the Ecosystem Service Providers (ESPs), but also the attributes of the Ecosystem Service Beneficiaries (ESBs). That a service depends as much on the attributes of the people whose well-being benefits from the service as on the attributes of the biology providing the service is an important step in integrated social-ecological thinking. FESP also identifies the mechanisms of either mitigation or adaptation to the environmental change problem through the effect of these response strategies on specific pressure or state variables. In this way, FESP can contribute to the policies and strategies that are used to support conservation management. This paper describes the principles of FESP and presents some indicative examples of its practical implementation.     

Urban ecosystem services assessment along a rural–urban gradient: A cross-analysis of European cities

The main objective of this paper is to present an assessment approach for ecosystem services in an urban context covering the local and the regional scale. It was applied to different European cities. A set of indicators representing important urban ecosystem goods and services – local climate regulation, air cooling and recreation – was tested using spatial data along an urban–rural gradient. The results show that there is neither a typical rural–urban gradient in terms of urban ecosystem service provisioning nor a uniform urban spatial pattern of service provisioning that can serve as a generic model for cities. The results demonstrate that (1) core cities do not necessarily provide fewer ecosystem services compared to their regions and (2) there were no patches found within the four case study cities where all of the indicators report very high performance values. The analysis further shows that a high degree of imperviousness does not necessarily entail low ecosystem service provisioning if an urban structure contains a considerable amount of mature trees which support carbon storage and biodiversity. The results of the present paper provide insights into potentials and trade-offs between different urban ecosystem services that should be considered during urban planning when setting targets and establishing thresholds to protect environmental resources, ecosystem services and biodiversity for residents.     

生态系统综合评价的内容与方法

生态系统综合评价是系统分析生态系统的生产及服务能力,对生态系统进行健康诊断,做出综合的生态分析和经济分析,评价其当前状态,并预测生态系统今后的发展趋势,为生态系统管理提供科学依据。从总体上讲,综合评价更强调生态系统一系列产品与服务功能之间的权衡,具有很强的实践意义。许多学者对不同的生态系统服务功能进行了经济价值评估,但缺乏对生态系统的产品、服务、健康与管理之间关系的进一步探讨。对生态系统服务功能评价、健康评价的生态管理与预测进行了系统论述,目的是提出生态系统综合评价的框架,指导生态系统评价行动及生态系统管理。     

面向生态系统评估的多源数据融合体系

基于生态系统服务功能的生态系统评估是识别生态环境问题、开展生态系统恢复和生物多样性保护、建立生态补偿机制的重要基础,也是保障国家生态安全、推进生态文明建设的重要环节。生态系统评估涉及生态系统多个方面,需要多要素、多类型、多尺度的生态系统观测数据作为支撑。地面观测数据和遥感数据是生态系统评估的两大数据源,但是其在使用时常存在观测标准不一、观测要素不全面、时间连续性不足、尺度不匹配等问题,给生态系统评估增加了极大的不确定性。如何融合不同尺度的观测数据量化生态系统服务功能是实现生态系统准确评估的关键。为此,从观测尺度出发,阐述了地面观测数据、近地面遥感数据、机载遥感数据和卫星遥感数据的特点及其在问题,并综述了这几类数据源进行融合的常用方法,并以生产力、固碳能力、生物多样性几个关键生态参数为例介绍了“基于多源数据融合的生态系统评估技术及其应用研究”项目的多源数据融合体系。最后,总结面向生态系统评估的多源数据融合体系,并指出了该研究的未来发展方向。     

滨海湿地生态系统服务及其价值评估研究进展

滨海湿地是介于海陆之间的过渡地带,具有丰富的生物多样性和很高的生产力,能为人类提供诸多生态系统服务,但它又是对人类活动极为敏感的生态脆弱区。沿海经济的发展使湿地资源的有限性与人类需求的无限性之间的矛盾日益突出,导致湿地多样性丧失、服务功能退化等。在阐述滨海湿地特征及其服务产生机理的基础上,介绍了运用经济学方法对生态系统服务进行评价的进展,分析了各方法的优缺点及应用情况,最后对滨海湿地生态系统服务价值评估中存在的问题进行了总结归纳,评估所面临的困难一方面来自生态系统本身的复杂性;另一方面来自经济学方法的局限性。因此今后的研究应从生态系统服务的形成机制入手,注重生态学及经济学理论的结合,改善评估方法,提高评估结果的有效性和可信度,为湿地资源管理及生态补偿机制制定提供有力支持。     

青藏高原国家公园群生态系统完整性与原真性评估框架

青藏高原具有全球独特的自然生态和人文生态系统,生态系统完整性与原真性极高,建设国家公园群是青藏高原整体性保护重要生态系统完整性与原真性的重要手段。遵循"内涵界定-框架梳理-框架构建"的研究思路,科学界定国家公园生态系统完整性和原真性内涵并建立概念模型,通过梳理国家公园生态系统完整性评估的主要框架,在对区域自然生态和社会人文系统科学考察的基础上,分析区域生态系统完整性与原真性保护与监管需求,从生境质量、生物群落、生态系统服务、自然条件与灾害、人类活动、人文景观6个方面构建青藏高原国家公园群潜在建设区生态系统完整性与原真性评估框架,以期为未来国家公园群建设与管理提供基础支撑。针对目前国家公园管理存在的主要问题,提出未来评估应用需充分体现国家公园复合生态系统和"群"的特征,并建立生态系统完整性与原真性监测体系,从而更全面的服务于青藏高原国家公园群生态系统完整性与原真性保护。     

Ecosystem services classification: A systems ecology perspective of the cascade framework

Ecosystem services research faces several challenges stemming from the plurality of interpretations of classifications and terminologies. In this paper we identify two main challenges with current ecosystem services classification systems: i) the inconsistency across concepts, terminology and definitions, and; ii) the mix up of processes and end-state benefits, or flows and assets. Although different ecosystem service definitions and interpretations can be valuable for enriching the research landscape, it is necessary to address the existing ambiguity to improve comparability among ecosystem-service-based approaches. Using the cascade framework as a reference, and Systems Ecology as a theoretical underpinning, we aim to address the ambiguity across typologies. The cascade framework links ecological processes with elements of human well-being following a pattern similar to a production chain. Systems Ecology is a long-established discipline which provides insight into complex relationships between people and the environment. We present a refreshed conceptualization of ecosystem services which can support ecosystem service assessment techniques and measurement. We combine the notions of biomass, information and interaction from system ecology, with the ecosystem services conceptualization to improve definitions and clarify terminology. We argue that ecosystem services should be defined as the interactions (i.e. processes) of the ecosystem that produce a change in human well-being, while ecosystem components or goods, i.e. countable as biomass units, are only proxies in the assessment of such changes. Furthermore, Systems Ecology can support a re-interpretation of the ecosystem services conceptualization and related applied research, where more emphasis is needed on the underpinning complexity of the ecological system.     

Assessing regulating and provisioning ecosystem services in a contrasting tropical forest landscape

Ecosystem services are the bridge between nature and society, and are essential elements of community well-being. The Wet Tropics Australia, is environmentally and biologically diverse, and supplies numerous ecosystem services. It contributes to the community well-being of this region, Australian national economy and global climate change mitigation efforts. However, the ecosystem services in the region have rarely been assessed undermining strategic landscape planning to sustain their future flow. In this study, we attempted to: (i) assess the quantity of five regulating ecosystem services – global climate regulation, air quality regulation, erosion regulation, nutrient regulation, and cyclone protection, and three provisioning ecosystem services – habitat provision, energy provision and timber provision across rainforests, sclerophyll forests and rehabilitated plantation forests; (ii) evaluate the variation of supply of those regulating and provisioning ecosystem services across environmental gradients, such as rainfall, temperature, and elevation; (iii) show the relationships among those ecosystem services; and (iv) identify the hotspots of single and multiple ecosystem services supply across the landscape. The results showed that rainforests possess a very high capacity to supply single and multiple ecosystem services, and the hotspots for most of the regulating and provisioning ecosystem services are found in upland rainforest followed by lowland rainforest, and upland sclerophyll forest. Elevation, rainfall and temperature gradients along with forest structure are the main determinant factors for the quantity of ecosystem services supplied across the three forest types. The correlation among ecosystem services may be positive or negative depending on the ecosystem service category and vegetation type. The rehabilitated plantation forests may provide some ecosystem services comparable to the rainforest. The results demonstrated disturbance regimes (such as tropical cyclones) may have influenced the usual spatial trend of ecosystem service values. This study will assist decision makers in incorporating ecosystem services into their natural resource management planning, and for practitioners to identify the areas with higher values of specific and multiple ecosystem services.     

Biodiversity and ecosystem services: a multilayered relationship

The relationship between biodiversity and the rapidly expanding research and policy field of ecosystem services is confused and is damaging efforts to create coherent policy. Using the widely accepted Convention on Biological Diversity definition of biodiversity and work for the U.K. National Ecosystem Assessment we show that biodiversity has key roles at all levels of the ecosystem service hierarchy: as a regulator of underpinning ecosystem processes, as a final ecosystem service and as a good that is subject to valuation, whether economic or otherwise. Ecosystem science and practice has not yet absorbed the lessons of this complex relationship, which suggests an urgent need to develop the interdisciplinary science of ecosystem management bringing together ecologists, conservation biologists, resource economists and others.     

国家公园生态系统生产总值核算——以海南热带雨林国家公园为例

海南热带雨林国家公园拥有我国最具代表性、连片面积最大的热带雨林,生态产品丰富,在开展国家公园生态产品价值实现机制探索上具有得天独厚的优势。本研究基于《陆地生态系统生产总值(GEP)核算技术指南》框架,构建符合热带雨林国家公园特色的GEP核算体系,对2019年海南热带雨林国家公园GEP进行核算。结果表明: 2019年,海南热带雨林国家公园GEP为2045.13亿元,单位面积GEP为0.46亿元·km^-2。其中,物质产品价值为48.50亿元,占国家公园GEP总量的2.4%;生态系统调节服务价值为1688.91亿元,占82.6%;文化服务价值为307.72亿元,占15.0%。从不同生态系统类型来看,以山地雨林、低地雨林、落叶季雨林、热带云雾林等为代表的热带雨林生态系统的单位面积价值量远高于人工林及其他生态系统,表明热带雨林生态系统在提供生态系统服务功能方面具有显著作用。此外,本研究还基于国家公园GEP核算结果,提出进一步探索生态产品价值实现路径和实现机制的相关建议。     

生态系统服务流研究方法最新进展

生态系统服务流是生态系统服务研究的重点和难点,处于发展的起步阶段,并向着定量化和空间化的趋势发展.目前,学术界关于生态系统服务流的概念含糊不清.本文首先对生态系统服务流的两种理解及其代表性的理论和方法进行了阐述:一是生态系统服务从生态系统到人的传递过程,其代表性方法是分布式生态系统模型,二是生态系统服务实际上为人们所使用的那部分,其代表性方法论是黑/灰箱理论.在此基础上分别列举了这两种理解的最新研究方法,论述了不同的理解以及方法对于研究生态系统服务流的特点以及存在问题.最后,总结了未来生态系统服务流研究的发展机遇,特别强调最新的空间技术与信息技术(如大数据),以及对生态系统服务的全面认识(如重视城市生态系统服务流的研究、重视非生物流的整合等)在未来研究中的重要性.     

区域生态系统服务供需风险时空演变特征——以陕西省产水服务为例

生态系统服务评估是地理学与生态学研究的重要议题。目前的生态系统服务评估研究主要着眼于服务供给能力的退化风险评估,缺乏将服务的供需匹配特征、供需动态变化趋势以及服务之间的权衡协同关系综合考虑的生态系统服务风险评价框架及案例研究。首先通过系统地梳理生态系统服务供需风险评估研究进展,提出了区域尺度的生态系统服务供需风险研究框架,并以陕西省产水服务为例进行案例分析,揭示其供需风险时空格局变化特征。讨论了生态系统服务供需风险评估的影响因素、研究意义和未来研究方向。结果显示:①在产水服务供需时空格局方面,2000—2010年陕西省产水服务供给与需求总量均有所增加。陕南地区是主要的产水服务供给区,而产水服务需求量较大的地区主要分布在关中地区和汉中盆地。②在产水服务供需匹配方面,2010年陕西省产水服务供给不能满足需求的区域相对于2000年减少3.93%,供需空间匹配状况整体有所改善。③在产水服务供需风险方面,2000—2010年陕西省产水服务供需高风险区域占全省的13.37%,主要分布在关中地区和榆林市;低风险区域占全省的86.63%,主要分布在陕南地区以及延安市和宝鸡市。与2000—2005年相比,2005—2010年陕西省产水服务供需风险水平明显降低,高风险区域比重减少1.63%。研究结果以期为生态系统服务风险评估研究与管理应用提供理论支撑。     

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。     

生态系统服务付费的诊断框架及案例剖析

生态系统服务付费目前已成为生态系统服务研究的热点之一。参考Ostrom的社会-生态系统诊断框架,提取并总结影响生态系统服务付费执行效率的变量,建立了适合区域特点的项目绩效评估体系,并以哥斯达黎加(PSA)项目和中国退耕还林工程为例,探讨了该评估体系在生态系统服务付费效率诊断中的适用性。研究表明,依据该评估体系,未来中国在实施生态系统服务付费项目时应注意以下问题:建立生态系统服务付费的市场机制、实施多样化的付费方式;付费标准应考虑区域特征和供给方特征;建立生态系统服务付费项目的第三方监督和绩效评估机制;加强对生态系统服务的监测。     

Defining Ecosystem Assets for Natural Capital Accounting

In natural capital accounting, ecosystems are assets that provide ecosystem services to people. Assets can be measured using both physical and monetary units. In the international System of Environmental-Economic Accounting, ecosystem assets are generally valued on the basis of the net present value of the expected flow of ecosystem services. In this paper we argue that several additional conceptualisations of ecosystem assets are needed to understand ecosystems as assets, in support of ecosystem assessments, ecosystem accounting and ecosystem management. In particular, we define ecosystems’ capacity and capability to supply ecosystem services, as well as the potential supply of ecosystem services. Capacity relates to sustainable use levels of multiple ecosystem services, capability involves prioritising the use of one ecosystem service over a basket of services, and potential supply considers the ability of ecosystems to generate services regardless of demand for these services. We ground our definitions in the ecosystem services and accounting literature, and illustrate and compare the concepts of flow, capacity, capability, and potential supply with a range of conceptual and real-world examples drawn from case studies in Europe and North America. Our paper contributes to the development of measurement frameworks for natural capital to support environmental accounting and other assessment frameworks.     

Capacity,pressure, demand,and flow: A conceptual framework for analyzing ecosystem service provision and delivery

Ecosystem services provide an instinctive way to understand the trade-offs associated with natural resource management. However, despite their apparent usefulness, several hurdles have prevented ecosystem services from becoming deeply embedded in environmental decision-making. Ecosystem service studies vary widely in focal services, geographic extent, and in methods for defining and measuring services. Dissent among scientists on basic terminology and approaches to evaluating ecosystem services create difficulties for those trying to incorporate ecosystem services into decision-making. To facilitate clearer comparison among recent studies, we provide a synthesis of common terminology and explain a rationale and framework for distinguishing among the components of ecosystem service delivery, including: an ecosystem's capacity to produce services; ecological pressures that interfere with an ecosystem's ability to provide the service; societal demand for the service; and flow of the service to people. We discuss how interpretation and measurement of these four components can differ among provisioning, regulating, and cultural services. Our flexible framework treats service capacity, ecological pressure, demand, and flow as separate but interactive entities to improve our ability to evaluate the sustainability of service provision and to help guide management decisions. We consider ecosystem service provision to be sustainable when demand is met without decreasing capacity for future provision of that service or causing undesirable declines in other services. When ecosystem service demand exceeds ecosystem capacity to provide services, society can choose to enhance natural capacity, decrease demand and/or ecological pressure, or invest in a technological substitute. Because regulating services are frequently overlooked in environmental assessments, we provide a more detailed examination of regulating services and propose a novel method for quantifying the flow of regulating services based on estimates of ecological work. We anticipate that our synthesis and framework will reduce inconsistency and facilitate coherence across analyses of ecosystem services, thereby increasing their utility in environmental decision-making.     

密云水库上游流域生态系统服务功能空间特征及其与居民福祉的关系

生态系统管理的一个重要挑战是在区域尺度上管理生态系统服务并提高当地居民福祉。以2009年土地利用数据和社会经济数据为基础,利用InVEST模型和空间制图在乡镇尺度上对密云水库上游流域水资源供给服务、土壤保持服务、水质净化服务、产品供给服务以及居民福祉进行了定量评估和空间特征刻画,并探讨了生态系统服务与居民福祉的不同关系模式。结果表明,流域内各乡镇土壤保持服务从上游到下游呈逐渐递增的趋势,水质净化服务从上游到下游整体上也呈逐渐递增的趋势,流域内水质净化服务功能与水资源供给服务、粮食供给服务、蔬菜供给服务以及畜牧产品供给服务在空间上呈显著负相关;基于生态系统服务与居民福祉在空间上的聚集特征,可将56个乡镇划分为低服务低福祉模式、供给服务依赖模式和高服务高福祉模式,针对这3种关系模式特点,可分别提出改善生态系统服务功能和居民福祉的管理措施。案例研究可为其他区域实施分区管理、协调生态系统服务功能保护与居民福祉的关系提供借鉴。