Introduction: Existing studies on ecosystem service relationships are mainly qualitative or semi-quantitative assessments, but lack of quantitative exploration of aggregated ecosystem services and their influencing factors. We mapped the distributions of 12 ecosystem services of Zhejiang Province in 2000 and 2015 at the district and county level, analyzed their relationships using Spearman's correlation analysis, constructed ecosystem service bundle index (ESBI) for each district and county by structural equation model, and then through multiple linear regression, we explored factors associated with ESBI variations. Outcomes: Our results showed that (1) most ecosystem services were spatially clustered. There were synergies between individual ecosystem services in categories of provisioning and regulating services, respectively; (2) our proposed ESBI index system consists of overall index and sub-indices of provisioning, regulating, and cultural services. The higher the ESBI value, the more important the corresponding place for multiple aggregated ecosystem service provision. Compared to 2000, ESBI in 2015 distributed more unevenly, and the average dropped by 3.10%; and (3) the increase of ESBI was associated with its initial value, and four socioeconomic and natural factors; the decrease of ESBI was influenced by the initial value and six key socioeconomic factors. Discussion and Conclusion: Our proposed ESBI system has several advantages (e.g., scale free, flexible weighting, quantitative and continuous indices for further analyses, and alternative non-monetary solution) in understanding and managing relationships among multiple ecosystem services.
China is the biggest provider of aquaculture products, and the industry is still growing rapidly. Further development of the sector will affect the provision of ecosystem services that maintain the livelihood of local populations. In particular, the current size and growth rate of China’s mariculture has raised many environmental concerns, but very few studies of this sector have been conducted to date. Here, we report the resource use in the production of six main Chinese mariculture products (Larimichthys crocea, Apostichopus japonicus, Haliotis spp., Laminaria japonica, Gracilaria spp., Porphyra spp.), taking the city of Ningde as a case study. We used the life cycle assessment framework and the Cumulated Exergy Demand indicator to quantify resource use, and implemented a Monte Carlo simulation where model uncertainty was included using various methods. The mean exergy demand values of the production of one live-weight ton of large yellow croaker, sea cucumber, abalone, laminaria, gracilaria, and porphyra are 106 GJ eq., 65 GJ eq., 126 GJ eq., 0.25 GJ eq., 1.55 GJ eq., and 0.98 GJ eq., respectively. For animal products, 45–90% of the impacts come from the feed requirements, while in seaweed production, 83–99% of the impacts are linked to the fuel used in operation and maintenance activities. Policies oriented toward efficient resource management in the mariculture sector thus should take the farm design, input management, and spatial planning of marine areas as the main targets to guide current practices into more sustainable ones in the future. Improvements in all those aspects can effectively increase resource efficiency in local mariculture production and additionally reduce other environmental impacts both locally and globally.
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