Temporal variation and spatial scale dependency of ecosystem service interactions: a case study on the central Loess Plateau of China

Hou, Ying; Lü, Yihe; Chen, Weiping; Fu, Bojie

doi:10.1007/s10980-017-0497-8

Cited by 119 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 51 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Several studies have shown that interactions among ecosystem services can be dependent of the scale of observation (e.g. Anderson et al 2009;Raudsepp-Hearne and Peterson 2016;Hou et al 2017). Likewise, we found that the severity of the trade-off between timber production and carbon storage, as indicated by the steepness of the production possibility curves, was affected by the spatial scale of the planning region.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

More is more? Forest management allocation at different spatial scales to mitigate conflicts between ecosystem services

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Context. Multi-objective management can mitigate conflicts among land-use objectives. However, the effectiveness of a multi-objective solution depends on the spatial scale at which land-use is optimized. This is because the ecological variation within the planning region influences the potential for site-specific prioritization according to the different objectives. Objectives. We optimized the allocation of forest management strategies to maximize the joint production of two conflicting objectives, timber production and carbon storage, at increasing spatial scales. We examined the impacts of the extent of the planning region on the severity of the conflict, the potential for its mitigation, and the strategies that were identified as optimal. Methods. Using forecasted data from a forest simulator, we constructed Pareto frontiers optimizing the joint provision of the objectives in production forests in Finland. Optimization was conducted within increasing hierarchical spatial scales and outcomes were compared in terms of the severity of the conflict and the solution to mitigate it. Results. The trade-offs between timber production and carbon storage appeared less severe and could be mitigated more effectively the larger the planning regions were, but the improvements became minor beyond the scale of 'large forest holding'. The results thus indicate that this scale, approximately 100 stands or 200 ha, is large enough to effectively mitigate the conflict between timber production and carbon storage. Conclusions. Management planning over relatively small forest areas (200 ha) can mitigate ecosystem service trade-offs effectively. Thus the effective use of multi-objective optimization tools may be feasible even in small-scale forestry.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

More is more? Forest management allocation at different spatial scales to mitigate conflicts between ecosystem services

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This finding highlights the likely need for ecological monitoring beyond forest cover changes when considering positive co-benefits and ecological outcomes from PES programs. The recognition that CFC may not serve as a robust proxy for ecological metrics is important as GTGP has been suggested to increase biodiversity based on habitat quality models driven by land use and land cover (Hou et al 2017). Our analyses in FNNR demonstrate that higher forest cover may not translate into higher plant or wildlife species biodiversity gains.…”

Section: Forest Cover: An Unreliable Biodiversity Proxymentioning

confidence: 79%

Assessing the effects of payments for ecosystem services programs on forest structure and species biodiversity

Chen

Lewison

et al. 2020

Biodivers Conserv

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Globally, biodiversity has declined at an unprecedented rate, challenging the viability of ecosystems, species, and ecological functions and their corresponding services. Payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs have been established and implemented worldwide to combat the degradation or loss of essential ecosystems and ecosystem services without sacrificing the well-being of people. With an overarching goal of reducing soil erosion, China's Grain-to-Green program (GTGP) converts cropland to forest or grassland. As one of the largest PES programs in the world, GTGP has great potential to offer biodiversity conservation co-benefits. To consider how GTGP may influence biodiversity, we measured forest structure and plant and wildlife species diversity at both GTGP forest and natural forest sites in Fangjingshan National Nature Reserve, China. We also evaluated the relationship between canopy cover and biodiversity measures to test whether forest cover, the most commonly measured and reported ecological metric of PES programs, might act as a good proxy for other biodiversity related parameters. We found that forest cover and species diversity increased after GTGP implementation as understory and overstory plant cover, and understory and midstory plant diversity at GTGP sites were similar to natural forest. Our results suggest that GTGP may also have been associated with increased habitat for protected and vulnerable wildlife species including Elliot's pheasant (Syrmaticus ellioti), hog badger (Arctonyx collaris), and wild boar (Sus scrofa). Nevertheless, we identified key differences between GTGP forest and natural forest, particularly variation in forest types and heterogeneity of overstory vegetation. As a result, plant overstory diversity and wildlife species richness at GTGP forest were significantly lower than at natural forest. Our findings suggest, while forest cover may be a good proxy for some metrics of forest structure, it does not serve as a robust proxy for many biodiversity parameters. These findings highlight the need for and importance of robust and representative indicators or proxy variables for measuring ecological effects of PES programs on compositional and structural diversity. We demonstrate that PES may lead to biodiversity co-benefits, but changes in This article belongs to the Topical Collection: Forest and plantation biodiversity.

show abstract

“…In fact, they provide many ecological, sociocultural, and economic benefits for society that include the following: regulating services, such as water cycling regulation or control and mitigation of extreme climatic events; provisioning services, such as grazing, wood-fuel or medicinal plants; and cultural services, zsuch as traditional knowledge or cultural identity (Körner et al 2005;Foggin 2016). Over time, ecosystem processes that support ecosystem services may be affected by land use changes and the associated land cover changes (Reyers et al 2009) ultimately impacting on benefits for society and human well-being (Ciftcioglu 2017;Hou et al 2017;Sonter et al 2017). Each particular land cover change might lead to a variation in the potential supply (i.e., the hypothetical maximum yield of a service that can be provided by natural components of the ecosystem without the intervention of stakeholders; Geijzendorffer et al 2015) of multiple ecosystem services (Vallet et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of land cover change on ecosystem service supply in mountain systems: a case study in the Cantabrian Mountains (NW of Spain)

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Land abandonment and the loss of traditional farming practices are thought to control land cover dynamics, and hence the ecosystem service supply in traditionally managed mountain landscapes. We evaluate the impact of land cover changes in Cantabrian Mountains (NW Spain), over 1990-2012, on the potential supply capacity of ecosystem services (regulating, provisioning, and cultural) at both regional and local scales. We also analyze trends in the use of ecosystem services at the local scale. Land cover changes were estimated from CORINE Land Cover database. Patterns of potential ecosystem service supply were assessed by applying an ecosystem service supply capacity matrix and trends in their actual use by using field data. Main trajectories of land cover change encompassed woody vegetation spread in semi-natural open systems and agricultural expansion in the most suitable areas. The capacity of landscape to provide ecosystem services improved during 1990-2012 at both scales. We detected trade-offs between the potential supply of ecosystem services associated to natural systems and those linked to traditional land uses, at both regional and local scales. Changes in the potential supply of ecosystem services matched trends in ecosystem service use. This study could help develop future scenarios to address upcoming challenges in ecosystem service supply.

show abstract

Temporal variation and spatial scale dependency of ecosystem service interactions: a case study on the central Loess Plateau of China

Cited by 119 publications

References 51 publications

More is more? Forest management allocation at different spatial scales to mitigate conflicts between ecosystem services

More is more? Forest management allocation at different spatial scales to mitigate conflicts between ecosystem services

Assessing the effects of payments for ecosystem services programs on forest structure and species biodiversity

Impact of land cover change on ecosystem service supply in mountain systems: a case study in the Cantabrian Mountains (NW of Spain)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About