Benefits for multiple ecosystem services in Peruvian coffee agroforestry systems without reducing yield

Agroforestry offers multiple ecosystem services in degraded lateritic soils

明确多重生态系统服务与生态系统服务簇的空间格局对于维持区域生态安全格局与可持续发展至关重要。在评估四川盆地2015年6种生态系统服务的基础上，计算了表征综合水平的多重生态系统服务景观指数；进而分析了生态系统服务间权衡与协同关系；并基于K-均值聚类法识别了研究区内生态系统服务簇的空间格局。研究结果表明：（1）研究区的多重生态系统服务景观指数平均值达到3.12，同时具有明显的空间分异性，整体上呈现出东南高西北低的空间分布格局，高值区主要分布于川东平行岭谷区，以林、草地为主的区域最高，城市建成区及其邻近地区最低。（2）6种生态系统服务空间异质性显著，且不同服务间协同与权衡关系并存，其中碳汇、生境质量和水土保持服务三者间的协同关系显著，碳汇、生境质量和水土保持服务与娱乐和粮食供给服务间的权衡关系均较强；产水服务与其他各项服务间的权衡与协同关系均较弱。（3）四川盆地可划分为文化旅游、食物供给、生态保育和多功能复合均衡型4种服务簇，其空间布局与内部结构分异明显。文化旅游型服务簇面积最小，面积占比为3.11%，主要分布于成都和重庆城镇及其周边地区，其提供多重生态系统服务功能的能力最弱；食物供给型服务簇主要位于成都平原、浅丘及部分河谷区域，面积约占36.23%；生态保育型服务簇主要分布于盆周山地，以林地为主导，其提供多重生态系统服务功能的能力最强，面积占比达22.61%；多功能复合均衡型服务簇分布最广，面积占比为38.04%，集中于川中、川东丘陵及平行岭谷槽谷区域。采取差异化优化措施有利于整体提升四川盆地生态系统服务能力，维护区域生态安全格局。;Understanding the spatial pattern of multiple ecosystem services and ecosystem services bundles is crucial for maintaining the regional ecological security pattern and sustainable development. Based on the assessment of six ecosystem services in Sichuan Basin in 2015, this paper evaluated multiple ecosystem services landscape index (MESLI) representing the comprehensive level of ecosystem services, and analyzed the trade-offs and synergies between ecosystem services in the Sichuan Basin. Then, K-means clustering method was applied to explore the spatial pattern of ecosystem service bundles, which was helpful to reveal the local characteristics of the ecological pattern of the Sichuan Basin. The results demonstrated that:(1) the average value of multiple ecosystem services landscape index in Sichuan Basin reached 3.12, and it had obviously spatial differentiation. The overall ability of the study area to provide multiple ecosystem services at the same time was high. It presented a spatial distribution pattern that high in the southeast and low in the northwest. The high value areas were mainly distributed in the parallel ridge valley area of eastern Sichuan, with the highest values area dominated by woodland and grassland, and the lowest values in the urban area and its adjacent areas. (2) Six ecosystem services in Sichuan Basin had significantly spatial heterogeneity. The synergy and trade-off relationships between ecosystem services existed simultaneously. Carbon storage, habitat quality, and soil conservation services showed a spatial distribution pattern of high around the basin and low in the central of the basin. Water yield service was higher in the southeast than in the northwest, and the highest in urban areas. High-value areas for food production service were concentrated in the Chengdu Plain and middle hilly area of Sichuan. High-value areas for entertainment service were mainly distributed in the main urban areas of Chengdu and Chongqing. There were significant synergies between carbon storage, habitat quality and soil conservation services, and prominent tradeoffs between the three services mentioned above and food production and entertainment services. The tradeoffs and synergies between water production service and other services were weak. (3) The Sichuan Basin could be divided into four service bundles:cultural tourism, food production, ecological conservation, and multi-functional balance with distinctly spatial distribution and internal structure. The cultural tourism bundle had the smallest area accounting for about 3.11% of the study area, which mainly distributed in the towns and surrounding areas of Chengdu and Chongqing, and its ability to provide multiple ecosystem services was the weakest. Food production service bundle accounted for about 36.23% of the study area which mainly located in the Chengdu Plain, shallow hills and some river valleys, with the cultivated land as the dominant type. The ecological conservation bundle was mainly distributed in the mountains around the basin, with forest land as the dominant type, which had the strongest ability to provide multiple ecosystem services. It covered 22.61% of the study area. Multi-functional balance bundle was the most widely distributed, accounting for about 38.04% of the study area. It mainly located in the valleys of the hills and parallel valleys in the central and eastern Sichuan, and was still dominated by cultivated land. Adopting differentiated optimization measures will be conducive to improving the overall ecosystem service level of the Sichuan Basin and maintaining the regional ecological security pattern.

Suitability of regional development based on ecosystem service benefits and losses: A case study of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, China

This study quantitatively evaluated ecosystem services of carbon storage （CS）, water yield （WY）, soil conservation （SC）, and food supply （FS） in northern Shaanxi and assesses the implementation areas and types of the Grain for Green Program （GFGP）. It examined the impact of GFGP on ecosystem services in northern Shaanxi from the perspectives of spatio-temporal patterns, hot spot distribution, trade-offs and synergies. The results indicated： ① From 2000 to 2020, CS, WY, SC, and FS in northern Shaanxi increased by 19.16 million t （2.63%）, 1 156.11 million m3 （51.35%）, 344.21 million t （26.31%）, and 5.10 million t （60.48%）, respectively. The cumulative implementation area of GFGP reached 4 538.25 km2, with cropland-to-forest, cropland-to-grassland, and barren-to-forest/grassland accounting for 22.71%, 73.46%, and 3.83% of the total, respectively. ② In the project implementation areas, the increases in CS and SC were significant, while the increase in WY was relatively small, and FS showed a declining trend. Distinct differences were observed in ecosystem service changes among different types of implementation areas of GFGP. ③A trade-off relationship was observed between most ecosystem services in northern Shaanxi, which gradually weakened from 2000 to 2020, with relatively weaker trade-off relationships observed within the project implementation areas of GFGP. ④ The areas providing multiple ecosystem services in northern Shaanxi significantly increased, with cropland-to-forest playing a prominent role in promoting the emergence of multiple-hot-spots, while barren-to-forest/grassland effectively eliminated zero-hot-spot. ⑤ Future efforts in northern Shaanxi should focus on enhancing the sustainability of food provisioning and alleviating water resource shortages. Strategies should be classified based on the actual situation of ecosystem services, utilizing barren-to-forest/grassland to reduce areas lacking ecosystem services and promoting the synergistic development of multiple ecosystem services through cropland-to-forest.

The essential role of phosphorus (P) for agriculture and its impact on water quality has received decades of research attention. However, the benefits of sustainable P use and management for society due to its downstream impacts on multiple ecosystem services are rarely acknowledged. We propose a conceptual framework—the “phosphorus‐ecosystem services cascade” ()—to integrate the key ecosystem processes and functions that moderate the relationship between P released to the environment from human actions and ecosystem services at distinct spatial and temporal scales. Indirect pathways in the cascade via soil and aquatic processes link anthropogenic P to biodiversity and multiple services, including recreation, drinking water provision, and fisheries. As anthropogenic P cascades through catchments, it often shifts from a subsidy to a stressor of ecosystem services. Phosphorus stewardship can have emergent ecosystem service co‐benefits due to synergies with other societal or management goals (e.g., recycling of livestock manures and organic wastes could impact soil carbon storage). Applying the framework, we identify key research priorities to align P stewardship with the management of multiple ecosystem services, such as incorporating additional services into agri‐environmental P indices, assessing how widespread recycling of organic P sources could differentially impact agricultural yields and water quality, and accounting for shifting baselines in P stewardship due to climate change. Ultimately, P impacts depend on site‐specific agricultural and biogeophysical contexts, so greater precision in targeting stewardship strategies to specific locations would help to optimize for ecosystem services and to more effectively internalize the downstream costs of farm nutrient management.

Topicality. Military conflicts significantly affect natural assets and ecosystem services, including water resources, forests and soils. The war in eastern Ukraine is leading to serious environmental impacts, including water pollution, deforestation and soil degradation. Military operations in Ukraine have caused significant damage to natural ecosystems, which has significantly affected the provision of ecosystem services. Ecosystem services are the benefits that people receive from the functioning of natural ecosystems. The loss of these services caused by war has both environmental and economic consequences. This study examines methods for economically assessing the loss of ecosystem services, including forest, water and agricultural resources, which have been destroyed by military operations. Scientists emphasize the need to integrate environmental aspects into post-war recovery processes to minimize losses and restore natural assets. Land is a natural asset, and it should be taken into account that changing landscapes from natural vegetation to any other use can lead to a loss of fertility as a source of ecosystem services. The topic of valuing the loss of ecosystem services is relevant and important for sustainable development. Aim and tasks. The purpose of our study is to study the impact of military actions on the natural assets of Ukraine and assess potential ways to restore ecosystem services after the end of the war. Materials and methods. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study is institutional, retrospective, systemic analysis and the case method, which is based on real facts and materials about the restoration of natural assets in European countries in the post-war years. The information base of the study was scientific and applied developments and information and analytical materials of Ukrainian and foreign scientists and practitioners. Research results. The topic of restoring natural assets and lost ecosystem services caused by military actions is relevant and important for sustainable development. Research in this area shows that the economic assessment of the loss of ecosystem services should include not only direct economic losses, but also environmental and social consequences. Among the services provided by ecosystems and lost due to war, supply services, regulatory services, supporting, cultural and recreational services should be mentioned. To restore Ukraine's natural assets after the end of military actions, it is necessary to develop an ecological rehabilitation strategy. Soil restoration is an important element of this strategy. Therefore, it is important to study and systematize the losses in order to further search for ways to restore natural assets. The study systematizes the loss of ecosystem services, including the loss of land fertility after military intervention, and considers ways to restore fertility. We also proposed the introduction of a fee for failure to comply with restoration measures, which leads to a decrease in fertility and a decrease in product quality. This fee should contribute to a change in priorities in the choice of crops and increase corporate responsibility of the business. We have created a decision-making algorithm for planning enterprise costs, taking into account environmental risk planning. The introduction of this algorithm should contribute to a change in priorities in decision-making and contribute to the restoration of fertility. Conclusion. Losses of natural assets and ecosystem services as a result of military actions in Ukraine are not only ecological, but also economic in nature. Valuing such losses is an important step in developing effective measures for environmental restoration and sustainable development.

Quantifying changes in multiple ecosystem services during 1992–2012 in the Sanjiang Plain of China

The impact of secondary forest restoration on multiple ecosystem services and their trade-offs

Optimizing multiple ecosystem services in Eucalyptus plantations: Dual effects of intercropping and restoration

Land‐use change is known to affect biodiversity, and there is increasing concern regarding how these changes may impact the provision of ecosystem services. Although functional composition (diversity and identity) could influence ecosystem properties and services at the community level, there is little quantitative understanding of these relationships in the field. Here, we evaluate the direct and indirect effects (through ecosystem properties) of biodiversity on the provision of multiple ecosystem services in native mixed forest in north‐west Patagonia, and how land‐use intensity influences these relationships. We used structural equation modelling to test hypotheses regarding the relationship between understorey plant functional composition, two ecosystem properties, four ecosystem services and silvopastoral use intensity (SUI). We also evaluated two alternative models to assess the mechanism behind biodiversity and ecosystem properties relationships (biomass ratio and niche complementarity). Finally, we performed pairwise correlations to identify synergies and trade‐offs between ecosystem services. SUI affected functional composition, and the provision of three out of four ecosystem services was indirectly affected by land‐use intensity through changes in ecosystem properties. We found that this indirect effect of biodiversity on ecosystem services happens mainly through changes in functional identity rather than functional diversity. Under increasing land‐use intensity, functional composition changed towards a community characterized by a resource acquisition strategy. Trade‐offs between ecosystem services (provisioning vs. regulating) were enhanced under high SUI, while synergies where enhanced under low SUI (provisioning vs. cultural). Thus, although the strength of these relationships varied between SUI, its nature (trade‐off or synergy) stayed the same. Our results expand on previous studies by simultaneously considering the effect of land‐use intensification directly on functional composition and on the ecosystem processes underpinning ecosystem services, as well as on the relationship among them. We provide evidence of an indirect effect of land‐use intensification on multiple ecosystem services through biodiversity. Moreover, we found that functional identity is more important than diversity for ecosystem functionality. Land‐use intensification affects biodiversity, and thus, ecosystem properties, but does not change the relationship among ecosystem services. A plain language summary is available for this article.

Cocoa agroforestry systems (AFS) provide multiple ecosystem services, which are influenced by features of the shade tree community. By strategically selecting and managing shade trees based on their functional traits, cocoa farmers can affect functional diversity of AFS and potentially enhance the benefits they deliver. In this research, we applied functional trait ecology to better understand the effect of functional diversity of cocoa AFS on three ecosystem services: carbon storage, soil fertility, and provisioning of cocoa and other products. To achieve this, we characterized 30 AFS across a gradient of ecological complexity and established relationships between functional diversityw indices and ecosystem services using ANOVA and multiple regression models. As a result, two contrasting ecological dynamics were observed: low-complexity AFS, dominated by resource-conservative traits (higher leaf dry matter content, higher stem specific density, and low leaf nitrogen concentration), were associated with lower carbon stocks and soil fertility, while high-complexity AFS, characterized by resource-acquisitive traits (low leaf dry matter content, low stem specific density, and high leaf nitrogen concentration), delivered greater ecosystem services. Through the multiple regression analysis, we found that AFS dominated by species with greater maximum potential height, greater leaf nitrogen concentration, lower leaf dry matter content, lower leaf mass per area, and lower leaf nitrogen-phosphorus ratio were associated with higher carbon storage (R2 = 0.84), soil fertility (R2 = 0.7 for soil nitrogen), and multiple ecosystem services (R2 = 0.78). Additionally, cocoa yields were negatively correlated with shade cover and the dominance of large-leaf shade trees, revealing a potential trade-off between maximizing yields and enhancing ecosystem services. Nevertheless, the models indicated that a win-win scenario can be achieved when shade trees are productive, generating additional benefits. Finally, our study highlights critical relationships between shade tree traits and delivery of key ecosystem services for farm sustainability and farmer livelihoods.

Investigating the spatiotemporal trends and trade-off/synergy relationships among ecosystem services can provide effective support for urban planning and decision making toward sustainable development. With Nanjing city in China as a case study, this study assessed the spatiotemporal dynamics of six key ecosystem services from 2005 to 2030. Integration of Markov-cellular automata and ecosystem services models was realized to analyze the potential impacts of future urbanization on ecosystem services by simulating business-as-usual (BAU), cropland protection (CP), and ecological restoration (ER) scenarios. Furthermore, an innovative trade-off/synergy degree was developed to quantify the magnitude of the complex relationship among the multiple ecosystem services under the different scenarios. Due to the rapid expansion of built-up land, carbon storage, habitat quality, and air purification decreased 2.92%, 5.80%, and 7.91%, respectively. The CP scenario exhibited the highest crop production values, and the ER scenario was a better urban development strategy that enhanced the regulating ecosystem services at the expense of crop production. To promote urban ecosystem services and minimize trade-offs, we proposed certain future urban development strategies, including ecological corridor construction and compact development. The study could provide a scientific reference for the effective ecosystem management of Nanjing and other rapidly urbanized regions.

Forty-seven patches of termite mounds were sampled in Kakamega forest grasslands with a view to assessing forest succession, forest species diversity, tree species-area relationships and species associations of forest and grassland tree species. These grasslands have been subjected to burning and grazing by people for a long period of time. The objective was to assess forest succession of grasslands by determining regeneration strategies of both forest and grassland tree species, and the role of termite mound patches in this process. This would then explain the mechanisms of forest succession in grasslands. A total of 34 tree species occurred in patches whose areas ranged from 0.5m2 to 1880m2. Sixty-eight per cent of these species were forest tree species while the rest were grassland tree species. There was a varied response of regeneration to increasing termite mound patch size. While grassland tree species showed a strong correlation with increasing termite mound patch size, forest tree species correlated less. There was a significant variation is species richness with termite mound patch age between forest and grassland species. Termite mound patch age correlated positively with forest species richness than did grassland tree species. There was a strong positive association between the presence of forest species and established grassland tree species. This appears to imply that successful establishment of forest tree species depends largely on the presence of a grassland tree species on the termite mound. Understanding mechanisms that maintain grasslands is crucial to understanding forest succession of the Kakamega forest grasslands. This knowledge can be used as a management tool in managing forest expansion into the grasslands without artificial reforestation.

Governance of ecosystem services (ES) requires an understanding of the complex dynamics of collaboration (and contestation) of multiple stakeholders and multiple ES. However, many studies consider only a few ES or stakeholder groups. In our work, we map the co-production of multiple ES by multiple stakeholders connected through ES governance networks. Through a unique combination of Public Participatory Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS), stakeholder focus groups, surveys, and social network analysis, we reveal insights on social-ecological fit of ES co-production across an area unified by a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve designation.By overlaying relationships between stakeholders, multiple ES, and ES co-production networks, our results reveal gaps and mismatches in the ES governance system. We identified mismatches between those ES most valued by the region’s inhabitants and those managed, governed and studied by relevant institutions and stakeholders. Cultural ES were the most highly appreciated by stakeholders, but social networks of cultural ES governance were the least densely connected, with highly influential stakeholders involved in cultural ES management (e.g., farmers), not well connected to the governance network. Thus, our findings point to a weakness in cultural ES governance and the need of incorporating cultural ES more clearly into natural resource management agendas.Our results show the importance of mapping what is being discussed by whom, and that mapping environmental governance networks alone does not necessarily provide sufficient resolution to understand co-production of different ES. We confirm the difficulties of governing ES when the ES providers and/or beneficiaries operate at different or distant scales, the scale of ecological processes does not match management (e.g., in some regulating and maintenance ES), or stakeholders which are important in affecting ES provision are not involved in governance, resulting in social-ecological misfit. Lastly, our work confirms the broad array of research methods needed to capture the complexity of governing multiple ES.

Impacts of urbanization on ecosystem services in the Chengdu-Chongqing Urban Agglomeration: Changes and trade-offs