Linking biodiversity indicators,ecosystem functioning,provision of services and human well-being in estuarine systems: Application of a conceptual framework

Assuming that human well-being strongly relies on the services provided by well-functioning ecosystems, changes in the ecological functioning of any system can have direct and indirect effects on human welfare. Intensive land use and tourism have expanded in recent decades along coastal ecosystems, together with increasing demands for water, food and energy; all of these factors intensify the exploitation of natural resources. Many of the interrelations between ecosystem functioning and the provision of ecosystem services (ES) still require quantification in estuarine systems. A conceptual framework to assess such links in a spatially and temporally explicit manner is proposed and applied to the Mondego estuary (Portugal). This framework relies on three consecutive steps and discriminates among biodiversity structural components, ecosystem functioning and stability and the services provided by the ecosystem.Disturbances in abiotic factors were found to have a direct effect on biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and the provision of ES. The observed changes in the species composition of communities had a positive effect on the ecosystem's productivity and stability. Moreover, the observed changes in the estuarine ES provision are likely to arise from changing structural and abiotic factors and in the present case from the loss or decline of locally abundant species. This study also indicates that linear relationships between biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and services provision are unlikely to occur in estuarine systems. Instead, cumulative and complex relations are observed between factors on both temporal and spatial scales. In this context, the results suggest several additional conclusions: (1) biodiversity and ecosystem functioning interaction with human well-being need to be incorporated into decision-making processes aimed at the conservative management of systems; (2) the institutional use of research results must be part of the design and implementation of sustainable management activities; and (3) more integrative tools/studies are required to account for the interactions of estuarine ecosystems with surrounding socio-economic activities. Therefore, when performing integrated assessments of ecosystem dynamics, it becomes essential to consider not only the effects of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning on services provision but also the effects that human well-being and ES provision may have on estuarine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.The proposed framework implies taking into account both the functional and the commodities points of view upon natural ecosystems and by this representing a line of thought which will deserve further research to explore more in detail the conceptual links between biodiversity–ecosystem functioning–services provided.     

Attitudes toward forest diversity and forest ecosystem services—a cross-cultural comparison between China and Switzerland

Aims Despite the current interest in services provided by ecosystems and the role of biodiversity, the relationship among human attitudes, biodiversity and ecosystem services has hardly been investigated. Moreover, few studies have examined attitudes toward nature in cross-cultural comparisons. This study investigates the attitudes of Chinese and Swiss people, both environmental experts and laypersons, toward forest biodiversity and ecosystem services.Methods Overall, 640 people in China and Switzerland were interviewed with the help of a standardized questionnaire. In each country, the study population was equally divided into an urban (80 city dwellers and 80 environmental science students) and a rural (80 forest visitors and 80 farmers) study group. The 15-minute interviews took place in the cities of Beijing and Zurich and in the rural forested areas of Dujiangyan, Sichuan Province and Lake Sempach, canton Lucerne. Attitudes toward forest biodiversity were investigated with the help of color photographs that depicted both monocultures and species-rich forests typical for China and Switzerland. Attitudes toward ecosystem services were investigated with the help of 13 statements on provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services of forests.Important findings On average, Chinese participants showed no strong preferences for biodiversity, whereas the Swiss clearly preferred species-rich forests over monocultures. However, Chinese environmental science students did prefer species-rich forests and attributed to them a higher conservation value because of their higher biodiversity. Although there were no strong preferences for Chinese versus Swiss forests, all participants correctly answered that Chinese forests are more species rich in terms of plants and animals and thus found them less boring and more interesting, but also less managed, than Swiss forests. All participants highly valued the ecosystem services provided by forests; especially the regulating and supporting ones. Environmental science students and farmers placed more importance on the provisioning services, whereas city dwellers and forest visitors emphasized more on the regulating services. The disjuncture between the high ecological quality of species-rich forests and their low attractiveness to Chinese study participants points to a potential conflict between conservation policies and the public's preferences. A better communication of ecosystem services provided by forest biodiversity to the public might change these preferences in favor of ecological quality, as already observed among Chinese environmental science students.     

Applying the ecosystem services framework to pasture-based livestock farming systems in Europe

The concept of ‘Ecosystem Services’ (ES) focuses on the linkages between ecosystems, including agroecosystems, and human well-being, referring to all the benefits, direct and indirect, that people obtain from ecosystems. In this paper, we review the application of the ES framework to pasture-based livestock farming systems, which allows (1) regulating, supporting and cultural ES to be integrated at the same level with provisioning ES, and (2) the multiple trade-offs and synergies that exist among ES to be considered. Research on livestock farming has focused mostly on provisioning ES (meat, milk and fibre production), despite the fact that provisioning ES strongly depends on regulating and supporting ES for their existence. We first present an inventory of the non-provisioning ES (regulating, supporting and cultural) provided by pasture-based livestock systems in Europe. Next, we review the trade-offs between provisioning and non-provisioning ES at multiple scales and present an overview of the methodologies for assessing biophysical trade-offs. Third, we present non-biophysical (economical and socio-cultural) methodologies and applications for ES valuation. We conclude with some recommendations for policy design.     

陇中黄土丘陵区土地利用强度-生态系统服务-人类福祉时空关系研究——以安定区为例

基于土地利用和社会统计数据,构建了"土地利用强度-生态系统服务-人类福祉"多尺度分析框架,从县区和乡镇尺度探讨了定西市安定区1990—2015年土地利用强度-生态系统服务-人类福祉的时空权衡/协同关系。结果表明:1990—2015年安定区土地利用强度-生态系统服务-人类福祉关系变化存在区域整体相似性和乡镇局部差异性;土地利用强度的增加,提高了供给服务和生产资料供给福祉,但弱化了调节和支持服务;供给与支持服务权衡主要集中于安定区北部和西南部。该区生态系统服务间的权衡程度较高,不利于生态系统服务保育和居民福祉的持续提升。区域的脱贫致富因立足于提高居民福祉,退耕还林还草、发展特色高效产业、劳务输出等是实现该区社会生态系统的经济收益与生态效益共赢的有效途径。     

江苏近海生态系统服务价值评估

海洋生态系统服务是人类从海洋生态系统中获得的效益,对沿海地区社会经济具有重要的支撑作用。采用国家标准《海洋生态资本评估技术导则》的方法,评估了江苏省管辖海域的生态系统服务价值,并揭示了其空间分布特征。江苏近海海域面积1.18万km2,2008年提供的生态系统服务总价值为426.02亿元,供给服务、文化服务、调节服务和支持服务价值分别为226.38亿元,186.61亿元,12.68亿元和0.34亿元;3个沿海地市比较,盐城近海生态系统服务价值最高,为184.55亿元;其次是连云港近海,为155.58亿元;南通近海最低,为85.89亿元。江苏近海生态系统服务价值空间分布密度平均为361.91万元/km2,从近岸到远海总体呈逐渐降低趋势,高值区主要分布在滨海旅游区和海洋保护区,中值区出现在养殖区,其它海域的服务价值则较低。江苏近海生态系统服务利用属于供给服务和文化服务共同主导的综合开发利用型,连云港近海属于文化服务主导的开发利用型,盐城近海属于供给服务和文化服务共同主导的综合开发利用型,南通近海则属于供给服务主导的开发利用型。建议在江苏近海开展离岸养殖工程,以提高近海供给服务价值;在盐城,特别是南通近岸海域开发海洋公园、渔家乐和其他亲水性旅游活动以提高文化服务价值。     

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。     

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。     

Exploring the links between functional traits and cultural ecosystem services to enhance urban ecosystem management

Functional traits have been proposed as a more mechanistic way than species data alone to connect biodiversity to ecosystem processes and function in ecological research. Recently, this framework has also been broadened to include connections of traits to ecosystem services. While many links between traits and ecosystem processes/functions are easily and logically extended to regulating, supporting, and provisioning services, connections to cultural services have not yet been dealt with in depth. We argue that addressing this gap may involve a renegotiation of what have traditionally been considered traits, and a targeted effort to include and expand upon efforts to address traits-cultural ecosystem services links in traits research. Traits may also offer a better way to explore the recognition and appreciation of biodiversity. Drawing upon examples from outside the explicit traits literature, we present a number of potential connections between functional traits and cultural ecosystem services for attention in future research. Finally, we explore considerations and implications of employing a traits approach in urban areas, and examine how connections between traits and ecosystem services could be developed as indicators in a research and management context to generate a robust and resilient supply of ecosystem services.     

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.     

Analysis of the tradeoffs between provisioning and regulating services from the perspective of varied share of net primary production in an alpine grassland ecosystem

Because ecosystems are complex, tradeoffs exist among supplies of multiple ecosystem services, especially between the provisioning and regulating services. In ecosystem processes, net primary production (NPP) is connected with many other processes such as respiration and evapotranspiration. As one key supporting service, NPP is also related to other provisioning and regulating services. This study introduces an analysis framework of ecosystem services tradeoffs from the perspective of varied share of NPP, in the alpine grassland ecosystem of Damxung County on the Tibetan plateau, China. Total NPP was divided into the share of NPP spent on supplying provisioning services and the share used in supporting regulating services. Tradeoffs between provisioning and regulating services were analyzed by quantifying the change of meat provisioning service and the remaining share of NPP used in other ways; the corresponding change in the share of NPP used to support regulating services was also analyzed and compared with other changes in regulating services, such as carbon sequestration and water conservation services. The results show, from 2000 to 2010, the meat provisioning service increased by 199%, but this was at a cost of additional livestock feeding, which used more NPP of the alpine grassland ecosystem. As a result, by 2010 the remaining NPP used for supporting regulating services shrank to 77% of the 2000 level, which was accompanied by a decrease in carbon sequestration and water conservation services by 90% and 67%, respectively. The analysis of tradeoffs from the perspective of variations in the share of NPP used for various services will contribute to the study of mechanisms involved in providing ecosystem services, interactions between the provisioning of various services, and will also help land managers improve the management of ecosystems.     

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.     

Using assessment of net ecosystem services to promote sustainability of golf course in China

Golf courses have been shown to have a positive impact on local biodiversity, quality of life and the economy. However, the impacts of golf courses on local environment, including ecosystem services and dis-services are not clearly understood. To explore this relationship, we took two golf courses in Beijing (a links course and a parkland course) to develop an assessment framework and present estimates of economic values of net ecosystem services, in aspects of ecosystem goods, carbon fixation, soil retention, flood storage, recreation, water consumption and nonpoint-source pollution. The results showed that the two golf courses have provided remarkable net ecosystem services values (links 51.58 × 10⁴ yuan/ha/yr, parkland 42.60 × 10⁴ yuan/ha/yr, 6.19 yuan = 1 US$ in 2013). Over 95% of this value is generated by three services: recreation, ecosystem goods and flood storage. Our results indicate that the parkland course has better performance in sustainable supply of ecosystem services than the links course. In addition, this study provides useful improvements for golf course design and management concerning positive environmental externalities optimizing, including the scaling of non-playing areas to maximize golf course ecosystem services supply capacity, appropriate grass species selecting and irrigation with recycled water. Moreover, a policy analysis suggests that the development of public golf course in China is a necessary complement to resolve the mismatch between private and public benefits and let more people enjoy the ecosystem services.     

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.     

贵州草海湿地生态系统服务价值评估

贵州草海是中国三大高原淡水湖泊之一,其湿地生态系统能给人类提供产品和服务,为社会可持续发展提供基础,由于其价值没有被量化,人们对其重要性缺乏直观认识,导致了湿地的不合理开发及利用。根据草海湿地的特征,运用市场价值法、影子工程法、问卷调查法等定量评估了2010年草海湿地生态系统最终服务价值,包括供给服务、调节服务和文化服务。结果表明,草海湿地生态系统服务总价值为4.39×108元,其中供给服务价值为0.74×108元,调节服务价值为1.14×108元,文化服务价值为2.51×108元;所计算的10项服务按其价值大小排序为:休闲娱乐生物多样性与景观资源保护水资源供给调蓄洪水气候调节补给地下水大气组分调节原材料生产水质净化食物生产;单位面积服务价值为16.40×104元/hm2,是2010年贵州省威宁县单位面积GDP产值的16.91倍。从研究结果来看,草海湿地生态系统服务价值较大,为草海湿地的管理及保护提供了一定参考依据。     

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。     

卧龙自然保护区生态系统服务福祉贡献评估:当地居民的视角

福祉贡献是生态系统服务的核心,也是生态系统管理和恢复的目标之一。从当地居民的角度,以卧龙自然保护区为例,调查了生态系统服务的福祉贡献,研究了生态系统服务、福祉贡献和受益者之间的联系。研究表明,从福祉角度看,24种生态系统服务的福祉贡献存在差异,表现为社会福祉高于个人福祉。从生态系统服务类型来看,调节服务的福祉贡献高于文化服务和供应服务,特别是净化空气、预防自然灾害和淡水供应这3项生态系统服务的福祉贡献最高。从生态系统服务的变化趋势和福祉贡献来看,由于生物多样性保护和生态恢复政策的实施,采集、传统农作物、牲畜和土壤肥力等生态系统服务呈下降趋势,其中土壤肥力是下降趋势明显且对受访者福祉贡献较大的生态系统服务类型,可确定为关键的生态系统服务。多元方差分析和逻辑斯蒂回归分析表明,生态系统服务的福祉贡献与受访者的性别、年龄、职业、收入构成等因素显著相关。研究分析了影响生态系统服务福祉贡献差异性的原因并提出了相应的管理对策。     

Residents’ valuation of ecosystem services in a Mediterranean coastal dune ecosystem: The case of the Ritoque dunes in central Chile

Coastal dunes provide a variety of cultural and ecological ecosystem services to local communities. However, most of these ecosystems are globally threatened by anthropic factors. Chile is home to important dune ecosystems such as the emblematic Ritoque coastal dunes located in the hotspot for biodiversity conservation in central Chile where there is a delicate relationship between conservation and human development interests, among local communities and authorities. Here, we performed a choice experiment study to determined willingness to implement conservation measures in the Ritoque dunes. In particular, we assessed residents’ preferences for improvements of the current state of local ecosystem services such as scenic beauty, biodiversity and archaeological sites. Residents showed preferences for improvements in Ritoque coastal dunes’ ecosystem services, and a high willingness to pay for protecting biodiversity and archeological sites, rather than for recreational infrastructure. Our study highlights the importance of place-based research that specifically addresses residents and stakeholders’ conservation priorities, which could be used to design and implement effective conservation management strategies for coastal ecosystems and coastal cities near them.     

Shifting states,shifting services: Linking regime shifts to changes in ecosystem services of shallow lakes

1. Shallow lakes can shift between stable states as a result of anthropogenic or natural drivers. Four common stable states differ in dominant groups of primary producers: submerged, floating, or emergent macrophytes or phytoplankton. Shifts in primary producer dominance affect key supporting, provisioning, regulating, and cultural ecosystem services supplied by lakes. However, links between states and services are often neglected or unknown in lake management, resulting in conflicts and additional costs.
2. Here, we identify major shallow lake ecosystem services and their links to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), compare service provisioning among the four ecosystem states and discuss potential trade‐offs.
3. We identified 39 ecosystem services potentially provided by shallow lakes. Submerged macrophytes facilitate most of the supporting (86%) and cultural (63%) services, emergent macrophytes facilitate most regulating services (60%), and both emergent and floating macrophytes facilitate most provisioning services (63%). Phytoplankton dominance supports fewer ecosystem services, and contributes most to provisioning services (42%).
4. The shallow lake ecosystem services we identified could be linked to 10 different SDGs, notably zero hunger (SDG 2), clean water and sanitation (SDG 6), sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11), and climate action (SDG13).
5. We highlighted several trade‐offs (1) among ecosystem services, (2) within ecosystem services, and (3) between ecosystem services across ecosystems. These trade‐offs can have significant ecological and economic consequences that may be prevented by early identification in water quality management.
6. In conclusion, common stable states in shallow lakes provide a different and diverse set of ecosystem services with numerous links to the majority of SDGs. Conserving and restoring ecosystem states should account for potential trade‐offs between ecosystem services and preserving the natural value of shallow lakes.

     

水生态服务功能分析及其间接价值评价

水生态系统服务功能是指水生态系统及其生态过程所形成及所维持的人类赖以生存的自然环境条件与效用。它不仅是人类社会经济的基础资源 ,还维持了人类赖以生存与发展的生态环境条件。根据水生态系统提供服务的机制、类型和效用 ,把水生态系统的服务功能划分为提供产品、调节功能、文化功能和生命支持功能四大类。水生态系统提供的产品主要包括人类生活及生产用水、水力发电、内陆航运、水产品生产、基因资源等 ;调节功能主要包括水文调节、河流输送、侵蚀控制、水质净化、空气净化、区域气候调节等 ;文化功能主要包括文化多样性、教育价值、灵感启发、美学价值、文化遗产价值、娱乐和生态旅游价值等 ;支持功能是上述服务功能产生的基础 ,其对人类的影响是间接的并且需要经过很长时间才能显现出来。评价中 ,将我国陆地水生态系统分为河流、水库、湖泊、沼泽四个类型 ,结合基础数据的可获得性 ,建立了由调蓄洪水、疏通河道、水资源蓄积、土壤持留、净化环境、固定碳、提供生境、休闲娱乐 8项功能构成的水生态系统间接价值评价指标体系并进行了初步的评价与估算 ,结果表明其总的价值为 6 0 38.78× 10 8元 ,相当于供水、发电、航运、水产品生产等水生态系统提供的直接使用价值的 1.6倍