Impact of pine wilt disease infection on multiple ecosystem services and their trade-offs in subtropical Masson pine forests

Abstract

Pine wilt disease (PWD) severely damages the health, stability, and functions of pine forests. However, empirical evidence regarding the impact of PWD on multiple ecosystem services in these forest ecosystems remains limited. This study investigated five ecosystem services, namely carbon sequestration, water conservation, soil nutrient accumulation, biomass nutrient accumulation and understory plant diversity in subtropical Masson pine (Pinus massoniana) forests, and quantified their trade-offs along varying ages of PWD infection (uninfected (0 years), 6, 10, and 16 years). The results showed that PWD infection significantly affected ecosystem services in Masson pine forests, with decreased carbon sequestration, water conservation, and biomass nutrient accumulation in 6 years of PWD infection forests. As the duration of PWD infection increased, the composite score of ecosystem services initially decreased, then increased, and finally decreased again. In contrast, soil conservation and understory plant diversity showed an initial increase, followed by a decline. Moreover, PWD infection increased the trade-offs among ecosystem services, with the highest trade-offs for 10 years of infected forests. PWD infection altered the trade-offs between understory plant diversity and other ecosystem services from low to high levels. Our results suggest that forest management should be strengthened to accelerate the recovery of ecosystem services while controlling PWD infection in these disturbed forests.