Soil Conservation of National Key Ecological Function Areas

Soil erosion is a significant factor in the deterioration of the ecological environment and soil conservation is an important ecological service of National Key Ecological Function Areas in China. Here, climate, terrain, soil and vegetation cover, soil erosion and soil conservation spatial data in 25 National Key Ecological Function Areas in 2010 were analyzed using the Universal Soil Loss Equation by Arc GIS tool. We found that soil conservation effects due to vegetation cover and soil conservation measures are obvious and that micro and slight erosion areas in National Key Ecological Function Areas have increased by 26.2%. The area of intensive erosion decreased by 25.1%, and the soil conservation amount in southern National Key Ecological Function Areas is high. The conservation amount of soil nutrients within National Key Ecological Function Areas is related to amount of soil conservation and content of each nutrient element in soil. The sequence of nutrient conservation amounts from high to low is soil organic carbon, total K, total N and total P in soil. The conservation amount of various soil nutrient elements in the Alkin Grassland function area and Yunnan and Sichuan function area was highest. Based on our findings, we recommend the strengthening of vegetation protection and management in the areas with high per unit area soil erosion, enhancement of vegetation cover and improvement of soil conservation measures in order to improve soil conservation functions and reduce soil nutrient losses. Vegetation protection and soil conservation measures should be consolidated in the areas with high potential erosion to prevent further deterioration.

Areas Benefiting from Water Conservation in Key Ecological Function Areas in China

Ecosystem services are transferred from the service-providing area to the service-benefiting area to satisfy human needs through some substance, energy or information. Most studies focus on the provision of ecosystem services and few focus on the demands on ecosystem services and their spatial distribution. Here, on the basis of the flow of water conservation services from the providing area to the benefiting area, the benefits produced by water conservation service are investigated and the benefiting areas are identified. The results indicate that in 2010 the water conservation service of key ecological function areas provided irrigation water for 1.67×105 km2 of paddy fields and 1.01×105 km2 irrigated fields, domestic water to urban residents and industrial water to factories, mines and enterprises of 2.64×104 km2 urban construction land and domestic water to rural residents across 3.73×104 km2 of rural settlements and formed 6.64×104 km2 of inland water which can be used for freshwater aquaculture, downstream regions comprise 1.31×104 km of navigable river, which can be used for inland shipping. The benefit areas of the key function areas located in the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River are greater and more influential benefit areas. To protect these key function areas, more attention should be paid to the maintenance and improvement of water conservation. Some benefit areas have access to the benefits produced by water conservation of nine key ecological function areas and cover 17% of the overall benefit area and the length of their channels benefited accounts for 7%. Multiple key ecological function areas should be taken into account equally in the formulation of ecological compensation policies. These research findings can serve as a scientific basis for the compensated use of and ecological compensation for ecosystem services provided by key ecological function areas.

Major Problems and Countermeasures for the Establishment of Ecological Compensation Systems for National Key Ecological Function Areas

At the end of the 1990 s China started to construct an ecological compensation system for national key ecological function areas. An eco-compensation system focusing on the ＂Transfer Payment of National Key Ecological Function Areas＂ has been established. The current eco-compensation system has played a positive role in improving the ecological environment of national key ecological function areas; but the ecological effect is weakening due to existing problems in the eco-compensation system such as unreasonable calculation of compensation standards, poor expression of rights and interests of stakeholders, simple sources of capital and modes of compensation. For better development, the eco-compensation system should be improved by（i） adhering to the combination of vertical compensation（oriented） and horizontal compensation（auxiliary） on the whole and establishing a transfer payment system of eco-compensation at national scale;（ii） defining the compensation standard according to ecological protection costs, development opportunity costs and ecological service values and adding indicators that reflect economic green transformation to evaluate compensation effects;（iii） gradually building a utilization system of eco-compensation funds in which multi-stakeholders participate and establishing a green development-oriented system to evaluate the performance of local governments; and（iv） cultivating a new business pattern where ecological services are the product, to grow the ecological service industry.