生态系统服务功能管理研究进展

生态系统给人类提供了自然资源和生存环境两个方面的多种服务功能,这些服务功能的可持续供给是经济社会可持续发展的基础。然而,生态系统服务功能从认知走向管理实践面临着严峻挑战,包括:定量测度、多种服务功能权衡、生态系统服务功能多尺度关联、生态系统服务功能与政策设计的结合。针对这些难点,近年来生态系统服务功能管理研究主要集中在以下领域:生态系统服务功能度量;生态系统服务功能与人类福祉的关系;多种生态系统服务功能权衡;生态系统服务功能保护规划;基于生态系统服务功能的生态补偿机制。为了进一步推动生态系统服务功能管理实践,应该进一步加强生态系统服务功能供给的理论研究;增加生态系统服务研究结果表达的多样性;增加与社会学、经济学、人口统计学等领域跨学科研究;进一步探索生态系统服务功能研究的结果如何运用到管理决策中,促进在管理实践中的应用。

生态系统服务流概念内涵与量化方法

生态系统服务流指示实际被使用的服务,是连接生态系统服务供给与需求的纽带。理解生态系统服务流的概念内涵、厘清其量化方法是推动生态系统服务流有效实践应用的基本前提。近年来生态系统服务流概念愈发受到重视,但仍然缺乏连接概念内涵、量化方法和实践应用的系统性梳理。因此,为强化生态系统服务供需评估的实践性意义,本文基于过程、数量和空间3种视角梳理生态系统服务流的概念内涵,据此明晰生态系统服务流的量化方法,探讨生态系统服务流系统研究框架。研究认为,应该建立“生态系统服务供需评估—生态系统服务管理行动—人类福祉提升愿景”系统性研究框架,聚焦生态学意义与地理空间过程、利益相关者角色和面向人类福祉提升的可持续决策系统,将生态系统服务流研究推向更广阔的发展前景与实践空间。

Optimizing Hotspot Areas for Ecological Planning and Management Based on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

The significance of biodiversity and ecosystem services are gradually recognized by human as an approach towards sustainability, so it is important to understand relationships and congruence between them to support conservation planning, especially in the hotspot areas with a prominent role in conservation. However, the management of most conservation hotspots mainly focused on biodiversity, and rarely concerned with ecosystem services. With the aim of proposing criteria for conservation strategies that contribute to the optimization of biodiversity and ecosystem services, in this study, a Geographic Information System(GIS)-based approach was designed to estimate and map the biodiversity and ecosystem services in Chongqing Municipality of China. Furthermore, the distributions of hotspot areas for biodiversity and ecosystem services were mapped based on the relationship between cumulative ecosystem services and areas. Finally the statistical analysis was processed focused on specific conservation objectives. The results showed that hotspot areas can conserve the most biodiversity but with the least ecosystem services under the conservation plans target to biodiversity conservation. In contrast, depending on the ecosystem services of interest, hotspot areas can conserve the largest ecosystem services but with the least biodiversity. By integrating biodiversity and ecosystem services into conservation plan, we found that the conservation and regeneration of these small areas, would contribute to a conservation of 44% of the biodiversity hotspot and 14%–42% of the ecosystem services hotspot. Moreover, the current nature reserve selection was not maximize the biodiversity and ecosystem services compared to integration strategy, indicating that hotspot areas conservation and selection is vital for optimization protection of biodiversity and ecosystem services, and has practical significance for natural resources and ecosystem management.

A review on trade-off analysis of ecosystem services for sustainable land-use management

Ecosystem services are substantial elements for human society. The central challenge to meet the human needs from ecosystems while sustain the Earth's life support systems makes it urgent to enhance efficient natural resource management for sustainable ecological and socioeconomic development. Trade-off analysis of ecosystem services can help to identify optimal decision points to balance the costs and benefits of the diverse human uses of ecosystems. In this sense, the aim of this paper is to provide key insights into ecosystem services trade-off analysis at different scales from a land use perspective, by comprehensively reviewing the trade-offs analysis tools and approaches that addressed in ecology, economics and other fields. The review will significantly contribute to future research on trade-off analysis to avoid inferior management options and offer a win-win solution based on comprehensive and efficient planning for interacting multiple ecosystem services.

Ecosystem assessment and protection effectiveness of a tropical rainforest region in Hainan Island, China

Ecosystem services have become one of the core elements of ecosystem management and evaluation. As a key area of ecosystem services and for maintaining national ecological security, ecosystem changes and implementation effect evaluation are important in national key ecological function zones, for promoting the main function zone strategy and for improving the construction of an ecological civilization. This article studies the ecological zone of a tropical rainforest region in the central mountain area of Hainan Island, China. Multi-source satellite data and ground observation statistics are analyzed with geo-statistics method and ecological assessment model. The core analysis of this paper includes ecosystem patterns, quality and services. By means of spatial and temporal scale expansion and multidimensional space-time correlation analysis, the trends and stability characteristics of ecosystem changes are analyzed, and implementation effect evaluation is discussed. The analysis shows a variety of results. The proportion of forest area inside the ecological zone was significantly higher than the average level in Hainan Island. During 1990–2013, settlement gradually increased inside the ecological zone. After implementation of the zone in 2010, human activity intensity increased, with the main land use being urban construction and land reclamation. Water conservation in the ecological function zone was higher than that outside the zone. In general, it increased slightly, but had obvious fluctuations. Soil conservation inside the zone was also better than that outside. However, it demonstrated dramatic fluctuations and relatively poor stability during 1990–2013. The human disturbance index inside the zone was significantly lower than that outside, and had a lower biodiversity threat level. Especially in 2010–2013, the increased range of the human disturbance index inside the zone was significantly less than that outside.

Belowground Tritrophic Food Chain Modulates Soil Respiration in Grasslands

Edaphic biota significantly affects several essential ecological functions such as C-storage, nutrient turnover, and productivity.However, it is not completely understood how belowground animal contribution to these functions changes in grasslands subject to different land use types. A microcosm experiment was carried out to test the effect of a tritrophic food chain on CO_2 release from grassland soils. Soil was collected from three differently managed grassland systems(meadow, pasture, and mown pasture) located in three distinct German regions that cover a north-south gradient of approximately 500 km. The tritrophic food chain comprised natural edaphic microflora, nematodes, and predatory gamasid mites. The experimental design involved a full factorial combination of the presence and absence of nematodes and gamasid mites. Nematodes significantly increased the CO_2 emissions in most treatments,but the extent of this effect varied with land use type. The fact that grazing by nematodes stimulated the metabolic activity of the edaphic microflora over a wide range of grassland soils highlighted the critical impact of the microfauna on ecosystem services associated with soil organic matter dynamics. Gamasids slightly amplified the effect of nematodes on microbial metabolic activity,but only in the pastures. This effect was most probably due to the control of nematode abundance. The fact that gamasid addition also augmented the impact of environmental conditions on nematode-induced modulation of soil respiration highlighted the need for including land use differences while evaluating soil fauna contribution to soil processes. To conclude, the differential response of the investigated tritrophic food chain to different grassland management systems suggests that adverse effects of land use intensification on important soil processes such as atmospheric C-release could potentially be reduced by using management methods that preserve essential features of the belowground food web.

Numerical modeling of regional groundwater flow in the Heihe River Basin,China:Advances and new insights

Numerical groundwater modeling is an effective tool to guide water resources management and explore complex groundwater-dependent ecosystems in arid regions.In the Heihe River Basin(HRB),China’s second largest inland river basin located in arid northwest China,a series of groundwater flow models have been developed for those purposes over the past 20 years.These models have elucidated the characteristics of groundwater flow systems and provided the scientific basis for a more sustainable management of groundwater resources and ecosystem services.The first part of this paper presents an overview of previous groundwater modeling studies and key lessons learned based on seven different groundwater models in the middle and lower HRB at sub-basin scales.The second part reviews the rationale for development of a regional basin-scale groundwater flow model that unifies previous sub-basin models.In addition,this paper discusses the opportunities and challenges in developing a regional groundwater flow model in an arid river basin such as the HRB.