Ecosystem Services最新文献

Human society in the Anthropocene is globally connected and relies on flows of goods and services for its prosperity and wellbeing. However, quantitative understanding of the flows of ecosystem services (ES) embedded in trade (virtual ES flow) across multiple human-natural systems remains limited. Here, we develop a framework to quantify virtual ES flows by integrating multi-region input–output modeling and ES mapping, and apply it to examine water provisioning and climate regulation services, using China and its major urban agglomeration as a case study. Our results showed that virtual flows of ES were substantially greater than the direct utilization of water and carbon resources, confirming the dependency on virtual flows of ES in highly urbanized regions. Interestingly, the virtual flows were mainly connected to distant rather than adjacent regions, highlighting the importance of considering cross-scale dynamics and managing long-distance flows in policy-making. Our framework holds the potential for broader applications, including the exploration of various types of ES and sustainability-related issues.

Despite growing evidence that climate-related environmental changes impact cultural ecosystem services (CES), a profound and nuanced understanding of such changes remains limited. This study aims to identify and characterize how climate-related changes affect human-nature interactions and related non-material benefits. Through a systematic literature review, we synthesize an interdisciplinary body of research by (1) characterizing the types of human-nature interactions affected, (2) recording the assessment approaches used, (3) relating environmental changes to changes in human-nature interactions and (4) categorizing climate-related impacts on non-material benefits. The 192 articles addressed mostly recreation (65%), cultural identity (30%), and aesthetic value (18%), assessing environmental changes influencing the opportunities for human-nature interactions (38%), socio-cultural aspects such as demand, benefits, values, practices, and goods (31%), and both environmental and socio-cultural aspects (31%). Most studies mentioned multiple environmental changes (57%), such as changes in species, populations and communities, weather patterns and climatic conditions, and changes in habitat and environmental quality. These changes had predominantly negative effects on non-material benefits (74% of 302 interactions across the studies), as well as neutral/undefined impacts (5.6%), positive (4.6%), or not significant impacts (4.3%). Mixed impacts were reported in 12% of the interactions, mostly mentioning negative impacts (97%). The impacts include changes in natural capacities, access and security, cultural practices and interactions, as well as spatial and temporal patterns, often resulting in a decline or even complete loss of benefits. To overcome conceptual and methodological limitations as well as to improve the consideration of climate-related impacts on non-material benefits in decision-making, greater efforts are required in adopting interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches to co-produce knowledge that reflects specific perceptions and understandings of change.

Realized ecosystem services (ES) are the actual use of ES by societies, which is more directly linked to human well-being than potential ES. However, a general analysis framework is lacking to understand how much ES was realized. In this study, we first proposed a Supply-Demand-Flow-Use (SDFU) framework that integrates the supply, demand, flow, and use of ES and differentiates these concepts into different aspects (e.g., potential vs. actual ES demand, export and import flows of supply, etc.). Then, we applied the framework to two examples of ES that can be found in typical urban green parks (i.e., pollination and recreation). We showed how the framework could assess the actual use of ES and identify the supply-limited, demand-limited, and supply–demand-balanced types of realized ES. We also explained the scaling features, discussed the temporal dynamics and spatial characteristics of realized ES, and asked several critical questions for future studies. Although facing challenges, we believe that the applications of the SDFU framework can provide a systematic way to accurately assess the actual use of ES and better inform policy-making for the sustainable use of nature’s benefits. Therefore, we hope our study will stimulate more research on realized ES and contribute to a deeper understanding of their roles in enhancing human well-being.

Auction theory has made major contributions to overcoming allocation problems involving asymmetric information and common-pool resources, leading to multiple Nobel Prizes and serving as a foundation for multi-billion-dollar markets. Despite evidence that related mechanisms could enhance the performance of payments for ecosystem services (PES), adoption has been sporadic and inconsistent. One possibility is that the relevant peer reviewed literature has low visibility or consensus design elements are not sufficiently accessible to interested experts. To overcome this barrier, we adopt a straightforward approach: we asked the PES auction subfield to describe itself. In collaboration with an expert panel (n = 32) whose affiliations span more than two dozen universities and research bodies across three continents—including top-ranked economists, ecosystem services theorists, and practitioners with experience designing and implementing PES programs with and without auctions—we synthesize a birds-eye view of ecosystem services auctions for an interdisciplinary audience. Through an iterative, mixed-method Delphi consultation, we identify broad consensus about fundamental elements of theory and practice, including what functions auctions tend to perform well, common challenges, and key factors influencing their performance. By selecting topics that panelists appeared to disagree about for further discussion, we also highlight open questions and potential research frontiers. We conclude with a reflection on using the Delphi method to foster exchange between time-constrained experts.

Accounting for the tradeoffs and importance urban, disadvantaged communities place on ecosystem services has implications for the management of nearby forests. Although stated preference valuation approaches are often used, they are based on an individual’s perspective and rarely account for collective or societal values. Thus, alternative methods are needed to capture this dichotomy from urban communities who may not even be aware of these benefits to themselves or society at-large. We explored individual and collective importance of, and tradeoffs for, ecosystem services (ES) and ecosystem disservices (ED) by urban residents living near montane forests in greater Los Angeles, California, USA. Using an online panel survey, individual (I-rationality) versus collective (We-rationality) scenarios, best-worst scaling (BWS) choice experiments, and latent class analyses, we ranked the importance and tradeoffs among ES-ED attributes to nearby residents based on the frequency of visits to montane forests as well as Hispanic ethnicity. Results show statistically significant tradeoffs and differences in importance rankings between individual versus collective valuation scenarios. Under the individual valuation scenario, non-Hispanics highly ranked the high forest density indicator, which has implications for wildfire EDs to montane forests and communities. Gender and income were more influential sociodemographic factors affecting importance for water and recreation-related ES than was education. Our BWS and econometric methods, attributes, and importance rankings can facilitate participatory processes with diverse urban communities and designing more effective policies and management guidelines. This approach can also more inclusively, and equitably, account for the tradeoffs and values that nearby urban communities place on ES/ED from Wildland-Urban Interface forests.

World dairy production is growing rapidly having increased by 339 million tons over the last twenty years. However, it remains unclear how anthropic activities in the milk sector can impact the Ecosystem Services (ES) supply to society. The aim of this study was to propose and determine the Net Environmental Performance (NEP) of different milk production systems. For this purpose, a case study on a confined compost barn farm, located in southeastern Brazil was selected as reference scenario and compared with three other systems. The mapping of ES benefits was carried out using the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services, while environmental impacts were calculated using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The LCA results and ecosystem benefits were combined and converted into monetary units to calculate the NEP per 1 kg of milk. The results indicated that semi-confined systems had the worst environmental performance (90 % more impacts) compared to the compost barn milk system. On the other hand, confined systems generate few ES benefits, but their environmental impacts were lower for most LCA impact categories (up to 87 % minimized impacts) compared to semi-confined systems. Finally, we concluded the confined systems in SP and PR showed the best NEP (1.07 and 1.48) aiming for both environmental impacts and ES benefits to fit the win–win situation.

Upland regions in the UK are increasingly under consideration as potential areas for the creation of woodlands. This is driven by a combination of factors, including the aims of UK forestry policy to increase woodland cover, changes in current upland land-use and management, agri-environment schemes in national and international policy and an increasing public awareness of the ecosystem service benefits landscapes can deliver for society. Creating new woodlands in upland areas is challenging, partly due to concerns of potential impacts from a change in land use and stakeholder interests. This study considers a 250 km² Cumbrian (England) upland landscape dominated by sheep grazing and, using an established ecosystem service assessment tool (TESSA), estimates the provision of ecosystem services under plausible alternative woodland creation scenarios. The assessment focuses on key ecosystem goods and services, which are identified by stakeholders to be of high importance to the study area, and the potential changes to those under the scenarios. The results indicate that, under lower woodland percentage scenarios (10 %), minor benefits are expected. However, a more complex outcome would be expected from the higher percentage woodland scenarios (75 %) with the woodland cover of 50 % identified as providing the highest overall benefit to society.

Economic development often impacts on ecosystem services. Previous studies have raised public and political awareness of the costs associated with such impacts and the benefits of ecosystem services. In cases where empirical information on the value of ecosystem services is lacking, benefit transfer (BT) approaches that use value estimates from a previously studied site to estimate the economic values of a new target area have been established. One of the most popular BT approaches is unit value transfer, where constant ecosystem service value coefficients are used to assess a given land-use/land-cover (LULC) change. In several case studies assessing LULC changes, such unit value transfers with constant value coefficients are biased when nonmarginal changes are involved. Theoretical considerations suggest that large changes in land allocation should alter the opportunity costs of gaining or losing natural capital because the marginal costs of additional losses increase as some LULC types become scarcer (e.g. natural ecosystems). In contrast, marginal benefits shrink as other LULC types become more abundant (e.g. agricultural replacement systems).

Here, we propose an improved method for assessing larger scale (i.e., at national levels and beyond) LULC changes using endogenous value coefficients that account for the size of the land cover allocated to each LULC type and derive an equation for calculating these coefficients. The extent to which the value coefficient changes with variations in the land cover area depends on the land-cover elasticity of the value coefficient. Using a hypothetical numerical example of an area of tropical forest converted into grassland, we show that the bias caused by neglecting this land-cover elasticity can be considerable. We also demonstrate how the elasticity needed to correct the value coefficient can be estimated empirically. Finally, we suggest some modifications for future studies assessing large LULC changes.

Floodplains provide a wide range of interdependent ecosystem services (ES) that more or less correlate with water quality. Any change to one component of the ecosystem can have a ripple effect on parts of or on the whole system. We tested a methodology that integrates collaborative learning and creation processes with stakeholders aimed at (1) identifying causal relationships between water quality-related ecosystem services of floodplains themselves and between ES and the pressures they encounter by using fuzzy cognitive mapping, and (2) visualizing “what-if” scenarios of the potential impact of changing pressures on selected ES, as the authors’ contribution to extending the methodology. The approach is tested on the case study of the Koviljsko-petrovaradinski rit floodplain in Serbia. Ten ES and five pressures selected as most important by stakeholders were used to create the sophisticated fuzzy cognitive model and assess the influence of pressures’ increase or decrease on given ES. Using the model, ideal (all pressures minimized) and optimal (stakeholders defined realistic level of reduction of pressures) scenarios were analyzed and mapped for the ‘Habitat provisioning’ service. The impact of maximization of each particular pressure on ES is assessed as well. The results indicate that ‘Wastewater‘ has the greatest negative influence on all ES (particularly on ‘Plant biomass grassland’); it is followed by ‘Land take’ and ‘Drought events’. If wastewater pressure is reduced to the minimum, the results obtained are similar to the optimal scenario. The proposed approach facilitates a comprehensive assessment of the floodplain’s potential to provide ES under different pressures and enhances stakeholders’ integrated understanding of the complex floodplain ecosystem and its services. This, in turn, together with the visualization of the different scenarios, enables more effective decision-making and management strategies for floodplains.

Ecosystem services (ES) are the ecosystem contribution to human well-being: they bridge ecosystems with socio-economic systems, in terms of both impacts and dependencies. So far, most of the research on ES focused on the services delivered “here and now”, i.e. where spatial location of ecosystem providers and human users can be defined and when the delivery of the needed services can be allocated to the current generations. However, especially when considering the medium- and long-term effects of climate change adaptation, there is the need to start projecting the scope of the services beyond national boundaries and to the future generations. Although formally listed and acknowledged, many ES currently miss applications able to support appropriate biophysical assessment and valuation. In this respect, it is time to start considering ES that go beyond the “here” because they serve the global society, and beyond the “now” because they consider long terms impacts. This article identifies possible streams of these “not-here, not-now” ES that requires developing applications, as it is already happening for many other ES. Such ES, in fact, contribute to identify long-term “critical ecological asset”, whose assessment can provide important environmental metrics for economic and financial analyses.