Quantifying the Landscape’s Ecological Benefits—An Analysis of the Effect of Land Cover Change on Ecosystem Services

Abstract

The increasing pressure from land cover change exacerbates the negative effect on ecosystems and ecosystem services (ES). One approach to inform holistic and sustainable management is to quantify the ES provided by the landscape. Using the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model, this study quantified the sediment retention capacity and water yield potential of different land cover in the Santee River Basin Network in South Carolina, USA. Results showed that vegetated areas provided the highest sediment retention capacity and lowest water yield potential. Also, the simulations demonstrated that keeping the offseason crop areas vegetated by planting cover crops improves the monthly ES provision of the landscape. Retaining the soil within the land area prevents possible contamination and siltation of rivers and streams. On the other hand, low water yield potential translates to low occurrence of surface runoff, which indicates better soil erosion control, regulated soil nutrient absorption and gradual infiltration. The results of this study can be used for landscape sustainability management to assess the possible tradeoffs between ecological conservation and economic development. Furthermore, the generated map of ES can be used to pinpoint the areas where ES are best provided within the landscape.

Spatiotemporal Differentiation of Territorial Space Development Intensity and Its Habitat Quality Response in Northeast China

“…The development of territorial space can cause an increase in the number and intensity of habitat threat sources, which in turn leads to the degradation of regional HQ [61][62][63]. The HQ was evaluated using the HQ module of the InVEST model.…”

Societal Implications of Forest and Water Body Area Evolution in Czechia and Selected Regions

“…Forests are closely related to water, and also to the changes in land cover locations, such as riparian areas, alluvial plains, and wetlands. Any modifications in the quality of the structure and functioning of the landscape reduces the diversity and ecological processes taking place in an ecosystem [35,60,61,121]. Forests contribute to the regulation of the water cycle.…”

“…Forests contribute to the regulation of the water cycle. Excessive rainwater is channeled along branches and trunks, reducing erosion of the soil, and the concentration of leaves in the soil facilitates the infiltration of water into the water table [35,122]. Water quality improves in the forest because there is less discharge of pollutants compared to industrial, settlement, and agricultural areas.…”

“…The results indicate the importance of promoting the role of the Czech FES in water provisioning services among the older population and lower education levels, by improving the knowledge and awareness of the role of the Czech FES. The social protection of the forests will also increase, e.g., willingness to protect the trees from extended logging activities, and providing support to mixed forests to increase the health and vitality of the forests from insect attack [35,39].…”

Governance, Values, and Conservation Processes in Multifunctional Landscapes

“…The research provides evidence of the success of MCDM and lessons learned in five iterative case studies, and the authors suggest that it is generally flexible for application in other landscapes. Ureta et al [39] use InVEST models to show, at a regional scale, how changes in land cover and the related impacts on desired ecosystem services are critical for helping decision-makers design policy. This paper complements similar modeling efforts to show how spatial models can highlight conservation priorities across multifunctional landscapes.…”