Unpacking Pandora’s Box: Understanding and Categorising Ecosystem Disservices for Environmental Management and Human Wellbeing

Research into the benefits that ecosystems contribute to human wellbeing has multiplied over the last few years following from the seminal contributions of the international Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. In comparison, the fact that some ecosystem goods and services undermine or harm human wellbeing has been seriously overlooked. These negative impacts have become known as ecosystem disservices. The neglect of ecosystem disservices is problematic because investments into the management or reduction of ecosystem disservices may yield better outcomes for human wellbeing, or at a lower investment, than management of ecosystem services. Additionally, management to optimise specific ecosystem services may simultaneously exacerbate associated disservices. We posit that one reason for the neglect of ecosystem disservices from the discourse and policy debates around ecosystems and human wellbeing is because there is no widely accepted definition or typology of ecosystem disservices. Here, we briefly examine current understandings of the term ecosystem disservices and offer a definition and a working typology to help generate debate, policy and management options around ecosystem disservices. We differentiate ecosystem disservices from natural hazards and social hazards, consider some of their inherent properties and then classify them into six categories. A variety of examples are used to illustrate the different types of, and management strategies to, ecosystem disservices.     

Multiple ecosystem services and disservices of the urban forest establishing their connections with landscape structure and sociodemographics

The promotion of sustainable cities is critical under future environmental change and population growth. Cities in the present and future can ensure the provision of ecosystem services to their urban inhabitants. The urban forest is one of the main suppliers of ecosystem services in urban areas, and can provide the base information to quantify ecosystem services and disservices, detecting the areas were low provision of those occur. In this study multiple ecosystem services and disservices were quantified using transferable indicators in order to detect areas for environmental improvement. The set of spatially explicit indicators enables the detection of areas of low and high provision of ecosystem services. The analysis showed synergies existing among regulating, provisioning and supporting services, while trade-offs were found with cultural services and regulating, provisioning and supporting services. Ecosystem services provision was positively related to the amount of vegetation and negatively related to its degree of fragmentation. A high provision of ecosystem services was found in less populated areas, with more educated and affluent people, highlighting the strong relations existing between social vulnerabilities and areas of low provision of services. Results from this research provide insights on the role of policy makers on better distributed supply of ecosystem services and on how the landscape structure can be modified to plan for sustainable cities.     

Alien plants as mediators of ecosystem services and disservices in urban systems: a global review

Urban areas have unique assemblages of species which are governed by novel ecological processes. People living in these environments have specific needs and demands in terms of ecosystem services (ES). Urban ecosystems are transformed in many ways by human activities and their floras comprise a high proportion of alien plant species, many of which were intentionally introduced to provide, augment or restore ES. Urban environments also have novel disturbance regimes and provide colonization sites for the establishment, dispersal and proliferation of alien plant species; such conditions often generate biological invasions which may cause marked changes to ES. We review the roles that alien plants play in providing urban ES and ecosystem disservices (EDS) globally. We identify the main ES and EDS associated with alien plants, and highlight the key species involved. A literature search revealed 335 papers, representing studies in 58 cities or urban areas in 27 countries. These studies recorded 337 alien plant species, contributing to 39 different ES and 27 EDS–310 species were recorded as contributing to ES and 53 species to EDS. A small number of alien plant taxa were frequently recorded as providing multiple ES in many urban ecosystems; the 10 most recorded species accounted for 21% of the ES recorded. Some of these species also result in significant EDS; three species accounted for 30% of the EDS recorded. Cultural services (notably aesthetics) are the most reported ES provided by alien plants in urban areas of developed countries, while provisioning services (notably food production) are most reported in developing countries. The most commonly studied EDS provided by alien plants is the impact on human health (notably allergic reactions). Eighty percent of studies on alien plants and ES and EDS have been done in developed countries. To elucidate the full range of effects of alien plants, more work is needed in developing countries. Urban planners and managers need to be mindful of both the positive and negative impacts of alien plant species to maximise the provision of ES.     

生态系统健康与生物多样性*

生态系统健康学是一门研究人类活动、社会组织、自然系统及人类健康的整合性学科,主要探讨资源环境管理对策,以及生态系统健康与人类健康的关系。生态系统健康是人类健康的基础,是人类可持续发展的重要前提,维护生态系统健康,保护生物多样性,也就是维护人类生存的机会。人类健康依附于健康的生态系统功能和服务日益为人们所认识,关注和理解生物多样性、生态系统健康、人类健康之间的相互联系已成为全球可持续发展的必要条件。本文着重综述了生态系统健康的研究内容及全球环境变化背景下生物多样性的变化对生态系统健康的影响效应。     

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。     

生态系统服务多样性与景观多功能性——从科学理念到综合评估

生态系统和景观是构成地球表层系统的基本功能单元。从对人类生存和发展支撑作用以及人类对环境合理利用和保护的角度,逐渐形成了生态系统服务和多功能景观的科学概念,相关的理论和应用研究也很快成为学术热点。但是从国内外主要进展上看,生态系统服务和景观多功能性的定量化研究都还比较薄弱。生态系统与景观具有等级关联性,前者是构成后者的基本要素,生态系统服务和景观功能具有同源性。因此,将生态系统服务与景观多功能性研究紧密结合既有现实基础又能够深化彼此研究的定量化水平,并进一步提出了生态系统服务与景观多功能性综合定量研究的整体性框架。从当前国内外研究文献看,该框架具有可行性,可以作为进一步深化生态系统服务和景观多功能性研究的现实途径。     

基于生态系统服务的城市生态基础设施:现状、问题与展望

城市生态基础设施是城市可持续发展的重要基础,也是建设生态城市的重要保证。生态系统服务是城市生态基础设施建设的核心与关键。在快速城市化的背景下,保障生态基础设施的结构完整性和功能完善性尤为重要。在阐述生态系统服务的基础上,对生态基础设施的概念与类型进行了概述;从城市湿地生态基础设施、绿地生态基础设施以及城市地表硬化的生态工程改造3个方面对城市生态基础设施研究现状进行综述;对生态基础设施结构与功能评估方法进行了总结,对基于生态系统服务的城市生态基础设施研究进行了综合评述,首次提出了城市表面生态学的概念与研究展望,为城市生态系统服务的强化与调控提供了方法论指导。城市生态基础设施与表面生态学的整合研究将对城市水文效应(内涝)、灰霾效应(PM2.5)、热岛效应、水体污染与富营养化等备受关注的重大问题提供新的解决思路与科学方法。     

Insect effects on ecosystem services—Introduction

Natural ecosystems provide a variety of services on which humans, and other organisms, depend for survival and well-being. These ecosystem services can be categorized as provisioning (production of food, fiber, water and other resources), cultural (non-material benefits, such as recreation, spiritual and other aesthetic values), supporting (primary production, pollination, decomposition and soil formation necessary for resource production) and regulating (biological control and other feedback mechanisms that maintain relatively consistent delivery of services). Ecosystems also have been viewed as producing “disservices”, such as pests, litter, biological hazards such as diseases, animal attacks, allergenic and poisonous organisms, and geophysical hazards such as floods and storms. Many of these disservices are induced by management practices such as deforestation and concentration of agricultural crops. Insects affect ecosystem services in a variety of ways, positively and negatively. The papers in this special issue are focused on managing insects and ecosystems, and their interactions, in ways that ensure sustainability of ecosystem services and that minimize induction of disservices.     

Advancing urban ecological studies: Frameworks,concepts, and results from the Baltimore Ecosystem Study

Abstract Urban ecological studies have had a long history, but they have not been a component of mainstream ecology until recently. The growing interest of ecologists in urban systems provides an opportunity to articulate integrative frameworks, and identify research tools and approaches that can help achieve a broader ecological understanding of urban systems. Based on our experience in the Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES), Long‐term Ecological Research project, located in metropolitan Baltimore, Maryland, USA, we identify several frameworks that may be useful in comparative urban studies, and may be worthy of consideration in other integrative urban ecosystem studies: (i) spatial patch dynamics of biophysical and social factors; (ii) the watershed as an integrative tool; and (iii) the human ecosystem framework. These frameworks build on empirical research investigating urban biota, nutrient and energy budgets, ecological footprints of cities, as well as biotic classifications aimed at urban planning. These frameworks bring together perspectives, measurements, and models from biophysical and social sciences. We illustrate their application in the BES, which is designed to investigate (i) the structure and change of the urban ecosystem; (ii) the fluxes of matter, energy, capital, and population in the metropolis; and (iii) how ecological information affects the quality of the local and regional environments. Exemplary results concerning urban stream nutrient flux, the ability of riparian zones to process nitrate pollution, and the lags in the relationships between vegetation structure and socio‐economic factors in specific neighbourhoods are presented. The current advances in urban ecological studies have profited greatly from the variety of integrative frameworks and tools that have been tested and applied in urban areas over the last decade. The field is poised to make significant progress as a result of ongoing conceptual and empirical consolidation.     

长江中游城市群生态系统健康时空演变特征分析

城市群地区生态系统健康状况关乎城市群的可持续发展,科学测度城市群地区生态系统健康水平对城市群地区生态系统健康宏观调控政策制定具有重要的实践意义,然而当前生态系统健康评价仍存在不足之处。生态系统服务是反映生态系统健康状况的重要组成部分,如何把生态系统服务纳入生态系统健康评估框架中,成为了当前研究讨论的热点话题。拟把基于InVEST模型评估的生态系统服务纳入生态系统健康评估框架中,构建了基于"生态系统活力-生态系统组织力-生态系统弹性-生态系统服务"的评估框架,结合多源数据对1995—2015年长江中游城市群生态系统健康水平时空特征进行测度。结果显示:(1)研究期间长江中游城市群地区生态系统健康状况总体有所恶化,恶化区域主要分布在城市群的核心地区;(2)研究期间长江中游城市群地区生态系统健康存在显著的空间依赖性,生态系统健康高值区主要分布在周边山区以及中部的罗霄山脉,生态系统健康低值区主要分布在平原地区、大城市周边地区以及主要的交通线路沿线地区。本研究结果可以为其他地区生态系统健康评估以及长江中游城市群地区生态系统健康保护政策制定提供科学借鉴。     

生态环境保护与福祉

结合能力框架探讨了福祉的内涵,界定了生态系统服务及其功能对人类福祉的内涵,指人类在生态系统生产和利用中的自由选择和能力,而贫穷指能力和发展的受限即福祉的下降.生态系统的退化和破坏将严重威胁人类福祉(尤其是穷人的福祉),生物多样性作为生态系统的核心,生物多样性的保护将促进生态系统服务的保护,进而提高人类福祉.关注强烈依赖于生态系统服务的贫困人群的福祉,并科学有效地实施生态补偿将可能实现生态保护和人类福祉改善的双赢.     

内蒙古草原人类福祉与生态系统服务及其动态变化——以锡林郭勒草原为例

以锡林郭勒盟为研究区域,建立人类福祉评价指标体系,通过牧户问卷调查了解牧户对草原生态系统服务和福祉变化的认识,结合当地的自然环境、生态环境和社会经济等多方面的多年统计数据,采用专家打分法对牧民各福祉指标打分,对2001年和2010年牧民福祉变化进行了评估和分析。结果表明:收入、道路覆盖率、农村合作医疗保险和文化教育方面对牧民福祉变化贡献最大;生产资料持续供给能力下降是导致收入减少的主要方面;旗县的犯罪率,环境空气质量,饮食结构,离婚率等是导致牧民福祉下降的主要方面。有关研究结果为提高锡林郭勒盟人类福祉、生态保护和区域可持续发展政策制定提供科学依据。     

近30年来中美生态系统服务研究热点对比分析——基于文献计量研究

近年来生态系统服务研究已经成为了生态学、地理学及环境科学领域的热点和核心议题。基于SCI-E和CNKI数据库,运用文献计量和文本分析法对比了中美两国生态系统服务研究现状和热点。结果表明:(1)近30年来中美两国生态系统服务领域的发文量分别是9327篇和9468篇,均呈现快速增长趋势。(2)就中美两国发文篇均被引频次和总被引频次而言,中国科学院生态环境研究中心和斯坦福大学分别位列第1。美国刊发生态系统服务研究文稿最多的期刊是Ecological Economics,PNAS刊发的文章引用率最高;生态学报刊发的中文文章最多且被引用率最高。研究成果影响力最大的中美两国学者分别是欧阳志云、傅伯杰、Kremen C和Polasky S等。(3)不同时期中美两国所关注的研究热点不同。美国作为生态系统服务研究的主要发源地,在理论研究和方法上都相对领先于中国。(4)美国的研究侧重于理论与模型构建,中国的基础应用研究成果丰富。近年来两国越来越关注人类福祉、生态安全等全球性问题,生态系统服务与人类福祉及科学决策正成为新的热点。在全球可持续发展的背景下,两国在生态系统服务研究方面具有良好的交流与合作前景。     

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。     

人类福祉研究进展——基于可持续科学视角

人类福祉的研究兴起于20世纪50年代。在过去的十几年中,人类福祉与生态系统服务一并成为可持续科学的核心概念,发展迅速。不同学科背景的研究者逐渐认识到仅仅依靠经济指标无法恰当地评估人类福祉,经济发展只是实现可持续发展目标的手段,而提高人类福祉才是其核心所在。人类福祉研究为评估个人福祉和国家社会的群体福祉提供概念框架和测量方法,服务于政府决策。自2005年联合国组织的《千年生态系统评估》报告明确提出生态系统服务与人类福祉的关系以来,人类福祉的研究进入了快速发展的新阶段。近年来,国内外越来越多的学者从可持续科学的视角对人类福祉开展研究。与国际同行的工作相比,我国人类福祉研究集中于可持续科学视角下对福祉的定量化评估,而各学科之间,尤其是自然科学和人文与社会科学之间的交流合作相对较少。回顾了人类福祉研究的历史发展,及其在可持续科学视角下的新进展,具体包括:客观福祉,主观福祉,生态系统服务与人类福祉关系。最后,讨论了人类福祉研究的主要议题,以及我国人类福祉研究未来的发展方向。     

Interactions of ecosystem properties,ecosystem integrity and ecosystem service indicators—A theoretical matrix exercise

The ecosystem service concept is becoming more and more acknowledged in science and decision-making, resulting in several applications in different case studies and in environmental management, but still it is developing in terms of definitions, typologies and understanding its complexity. By examining the interrelations between ecosystem properties, ecosystem integrity, biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being qualitatively, the mutual influences on each constituent of the ‘ecosystem service cascade’ are illuminated, giving an impulse for further discussions and improvements for a better understanding of the complexity of human–environmental systems. Results of the theoretical interactions are among others the assumption that provisioning services exclude or compete with each other, while the role of biodiversity was found to be supporting for regulating services and cultural services. Ecosystem services meet the criteria of being adequate human–environmental system indicators and therefore, they are an appropriate instrument for decision-making and management.     

城市景观格局演变的生态环境效应研究进展

快速城市化过程剧烈影响着下垫面变化,直接带来了交通拥挤、资源短缺、环境污染、生态恶化等诸多问题,所有这些问题的出现均与景观格局演变密切相关,研究城市景观格局演变及其生态环境效应正在成为全社会关注的热点.系统总结了城市化过程对景观格局演变的影响,分析了城市景观格局演变的热环境效应、水环境效应、生态服务效应,以及城市生态用地与生态安全格局设计等方面的研究进展.指出了目前城市景观演变与生态环境效应研究中存在的问题与不足:(1)现有研究侧重于景观格局演变的量化分析和景观格局指数的计算,较少关注景观格局演变对生态环境及其区域生态安全的影响;(2)城市景观格局演变与热岛效应研究多局限于两者数理统计关系的分析,对于城市热环境形成的机理缺乏深入研究;(3)城市景观格局演变与大气环境效应方面更多研究关注绿地及其空间布局在吸收和降解大气污染物、固体颗粒物方面的作用,对城市景观格局演变的大气环境综合效应以及大气灰霾效应影响机理重视不够;(4)如何通过合理设置生态用地,有效提高城市生态服务功能和保障城市生态安全,目前仍缺乏深入而又系统的研究.下一步的研究中,需要综合多尺度的景观信息来揭示城市景观的演变机理和环境效应,构建基于城市空间扩展和生态服务效应评价的城市生态空间优化决策模型,探讨城市生态空间优化模式与安全格局.     

间套作种植提升农田生态系统服务功能

间套作是指在同一块土地上同时种植两种或两种以上的作物,能够充分利用有限资源,提升单位面积物质产出,同时还具有多重其他生态效益,是一种基于生物多样性的可持续农业发展范式.生态系统服务是评价生态系统功能的重要突破口,也是当前生态学领域研究的热点问题.从生态系统服务的角度论述间套作种植提升农田生态系统服务功能,并从物质产出、土壤肥力维持、生物多样性保护、水土保持、病虫草害和有害污染物控制等方面论述了间套作种植提升农田生态系统功能的实践及机制.在此基础上,构建了间套作农田生态系统服务功能评价的理论框架和指标体系,并提出了间套作种植农田生态系统未来应加强的研究方向.     

实现城市可持续发展的系统转型

城市在为人类提供各种生态系统服务的同时,其发展中的各类问题限制着城市生态系统本身的可持续发展。首先概述了城市发展过程中面临的挑战,主要包括城市化过程中人与自然的关系问题及社会生态问题等;其次从可持续发展的内涵、社会-经济-自然复合生态系统和驱动力-压力-状态-影响-响应(DPSIR)的理论出发,分别从城市水供给和污水处置系统、消减城市废弃物排放、城市交通和区域规划、城市发展与粮食系统供求关系、城市清洁能源系统等5个方面对如何实现城市的转型进行了系统的论述。结合我国城市可持续发展的研究进展,指出城市的可持续发展问题不仅是城市自身的问题,也是城市与周边区域的协调发展问题。为此,文章提出必须基于五个"转向"来研究和建立城市化与区域生态的耦合和协调机制。     

生态系统健康评价方法初探

生态系统是维持人类环境的最基本单元,生态系统功能主要体现在两个方面：一是生态服务功能（service);二是价值功能（goods)这两种功能是人类生态和发展的基础,生态系统健康是保证生态系统功能正常发挥的前提,结构和功能的完整性,具有抵抗干扰和恢复能力（resilience)、稳定和可持续性是生态系统健康的特征,生态系统健康评价需要基于生态系统的结构、功能过程来确定指标,包括生态系统的完整性,适应性和效率,生态系统健康评价主要有两种方法：一是指示物种评价,二是结构功能指标评价,结构功能指标评价包括单指标评价,复合指标评价和指标体系评价,指标体系评价中又包括自然指标体系评价,社会－经济－自然复合生态系统指标体系评价,本文针对生态系统健康的不同评价方法进行了对比研究,同时,针对不同的生态系统类型应选择其健康评价方法方面进行了简要的阐述。