The provision of ecosystem services in response to global change: Evidences and applications

Emergy benefit and radiation effect of multi-dimensional service function of vegetation ecosystem

Vegetation, as a multi-type and multi-functional green energy, plays an important role in regional carbon emission reduction and carbon neutrality. This study carried out the concept of green and sustainable development in depth and constructed an emergy quantification methodology system for the multidimensional service functions of vegetation ecosystems consisting of forests and grasslands based on the theory of emergy analysis and multidisciplinary integration methods. Using the theory of spatial correlation and breakpoints, we delineated the major ecological zones and investigated the radiation effects of typical regulating functions. Taking Luoyang, China, as an example, the results showed that the annual sequence of vegetation ecosystem service function (VES) emergy in Luoyang City showed a decreasing and then increasing trend with 2015 as the cut-off point. Early-stage Forest exploitation had profound effects, while increasing cultural benefits in later stages demonstrated national emphasis on forest research and conservation. The forest's high-quality ecological zone in Luoyang City could be found in the three southern counties of Luoning (LN), Luanchuan (LC), and Song (S). The radiation effect encompassed the entire city, resulting in an obvious impact with a total radiation of approximately 4.10E+20 sej. The high-quality ecological zone of the grassland did not appear until 2020 and is located in Yiyang (YY) county in central Luoyang. It benefited only the surrounding counties and had a total radiation of 1.32E+18sej. However, the development trend is optimistic. The spatial pattern of vegetation should be suitable for natural conditions, and the development strategy of localization as the driving force of the whole should be realized through the establishment of high-quality ecological zones, so as to promote harmonious coexistence between human and nature through green development.

Quantifying multi-dimensional services of water ecosystems and breakpoint-based spatial radiation of typical regulating services considering the hierarchical clustering-based classification

This study proposes a set of water ecosystem services (WES) research system, including classification, benefit quantification and spatial radiation effect, with the goal of promoting harmonious coexistence between humans and nature, as well as providing a theoretical foundation for optimizing water resources management. Hierarchical cluster analysis was applied to categorize WES taking in to account the four nature constraints of product nature, energy flow relationships, circularity, and human social utility. A multi-dimensional benefit quantification methodology system for WES was constructed by combining the emergy theory with multidisciplinary methods of ecology, economics, and sociology. Based on the theories of spatial autocorrelation and breaking point, we investigated the spatial radiation effects of typical services in the cyclic regulation category. The proposed methodology has been applied to Luoyang, China. The results show that the Resource Provisioning (RP) and Cultural Addition (CA) services change greatly over time, and drive the overall WES to increase and then decrease. The spatial and temporal distribution of water resources is uneven, with WES being slightly better in the southern region than the northern region. Additionally, spatial radiation effects of typical regulating services are most prominent in S County. This finding suggests the establishment of scientific and rational intra-basin or inter-basin water management systems to expand the beneficial impacts of water-rich areas on neighboring regions.

Going toward Resilience? Town Planning, Peri-Urban Landscapes, and the Expansion of Athens, Greece

The long-term expansion and the evolution of town planning of a contemporary European metropolis (Athens, Greece) has been analysed in this study in order to evaluate how sustainable urban growth has been taken into account in sequential strategic master plans. During the last decades, the mostly unplanned urban growth and massive housing construction have favoured a slow evolution towards a less compact and mono-centric spatial asset, typical of several Mediterranean cities. Despite efforts to guide urban growth, a series of structural challenges have remained: (i) a gap between planning and implementation; (ii) a gap between spatial planning and socio-economic planning; (iii) a relevant pressure on natural environment; (iv) a lack of participatory planning. In order to face these problems, current strategies for the city of Athens try to foster city resilience providing guidelines for more sustainable management of the built and natural landscape. In particular, the Resilience Strategy for 2030 proposes a list of actions to improve the well-being of citizens and to increase sustainability at the urban and territorial levels. A major role was given to the enhancement of the environmental quality of the metropolitan area and to the involvement of inhabitants in the various phases of decision-making.

Ecosystem services in urban ecological infrastructure of Latin America and the Caribbean: How do they contribute to urban planning?

We developed a conceptual framework that describes the key role of ecosystem services in urban ecological infrastructure. From this framework we analyze how research on ecosystem services has been addressed in cities of Latin America and the Caribbean, in order to discuss their incorporation into policies of urban planning, in the context of nature-based solutions and sustainable development goals. Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Argentina represent 90% of research in urban ecosystem services, all of them except Colombia had carried out studies considering green, blue and gray-hybrid infrastructures. However, green-hybrid infrastructure clustered most of the studies. Ecosystem service supply component and intermediate beneficiaries are the most studied. Our results show that most studies have not been developed from the perspective of the biophysical, sociocultural or economic assessment of ecosystem services, on the contrary we recognized or deduced them from proxy variables found within the studies. Our findings suggest that the study of urban ecosystem services in Latin America and the Caribbean is in development and has begun to increase in the last decade. However, we found that the incorporation of urban ecosystem services in urban planning is low, but at the same time, it is in a promising development related to the application of innovative actions such as nature-based solutions and in support of the new global urban agenda.

Evaluation and Tradeoff Analysis of Ecosystem Service for Typical Land-Use Patterns in the Karst Region of Southwest China

Although many land-use patterns have been established to restore vegetation and eliminate poverty in the karst area in southwest China, the ecosystem services (ESs) of these patterns are still not fully understood. To compare the differences in seven typical monoculture patterns and three agroforestry patterns, their ESs and tradeoffs were analyzed within the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Framework. Compared with the local traditional corn pattern, the marigold pattern improved provisioning, regulating, and cultural services by >100%. The pomegranate pattern provided far more provisioning services than the other patterns. The apple + soybean intercropping pattern reduced regulating services, and eventually, its Total ESs (TES) and ecosystem multifunctionality index (EMF) also decreased. Cultural services will be enhanced by the introduction of fruit trees, as well as intercropping. Orange + peach had the greatest negative tradeoffs between provisioning and regulating services (P-R), provisioning and supporting services (P-S), and provisioning and cultural services (P-C), which indicates that the provisioning services urgently require improvement. Peach + pumpkin intercropping decreased the negative tradeoffs of P-R, P-S, and P-C (all > 10%), while pomegranate + grass intercropping increased the negative tradeoffs of R-S and R-C (all > 100%). Our results suggest that all six of these patterns are worthy of promotion but the pomegranate pattern should be given priority. Among the three intercropping patterns studied herein, the apple + soybean pattern should be redesigned to improve performance.

Human Health-Environment Interaction Science: An emerging research paradigm

During recent decades, the growing interactions between human well-being and the environment have led to the development of new research paradigms. A number of disciplines have recognized the importance of the human-environment relationship in all aspects of human life from an economic, ecological, social and political perspective. In conformity with this trend, we conducted a bibliometric review of scientific publications on the interactions between two main research domains: human-centered and environmental-centered sciences. The aim is to provide a temporal and spatial perspective on how these research domains have paired up and co-evolved along a common pathway towards a new research paradigm, named Human Health-Environment Interaction Science (HHEIS). Our results revealed a constant growth over time in the scientific production concerning HHEIS. The network and cluster analyses showed a progressive overlapping of keywords among studies published in environmental and human health journals to a match of principal keywords. As a statistical indicator of this trend, the similarity index showed an increase in the number of keywords for both research domains. In terms of country productivity, the US, UK and China are in the lead, while EU countries are the most interconnected. Our review demonstrates the existence of HEIS as a comprehensive paradigm encompassing research findings with implications for human and environmental interaction. An overview of the history of HHEIS and the implications of current EU research-funding initiatives have been provided.

Variation in plant functional groups indicates land degradation on the Tibetan Plateau

Plant functional groups (PFGs) have been increasingly introduced in land degradation (LD) studies; however, it is unclear whether PFGs can indicate LD. Here, we selected five different degraded lands (i.e., pristine and, lightly, moderately, seriously and extremely degraded) higher than 4650 m on the Tibetan Plateau. In addition, we investigated floristic metrics (i.e., composition, height, cover, biomass and abundance) and soil conditions (e.g., moisture, temperature and gravel ratio) by sampling 225 subplots. We found 75 vascular plants that consist of sedges (Cyperaceae), grasses (Gramineae), legumes, forbs, cushion plants and shrubs PFGs. LD dramatically deteriorated soil conditions, vegetation cover and productivity, however, improved species diversity. Moreover, cover and productivity showed a hump-shaped relationship with LD intensification in legumes, grasses and forbs and decreased mainly in sedges. Productivity increased considerably in cushion plants and shrubs on the extremely degraded land. Major characteristics of the LD process were the replacement of Kobresia spp. by Carex spp. in sedges; cushion plants significantly expanded, and shrubs appeared on the extremely degraded land. We, thus, confirm that the PFG variations are likely to indicate a LD process and demonstrate ways of using PFGs to assess LD status on the Tibetan Plateau.

Nature-based solutions for resilient landscapes and cities

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are increasingly applied to guide the design of resilient landscapes and cities to enable them to reach economic development goals with beneficial outcomes for the environment and society. The NBS concept is closely related to other concepts including sustainability, resilience, ecosystem services, coupled human and environment, and green (blue) infrastructure; however, NBS represent a more efficient and cost-effective approach to development than traditional approaches. The European Commission is actively engaged in investing in NBS as a driver in developing ecosystem services-based approaches throughout Europe and the world. The pool of knowledge and expertise presented in this Special Issue of Environmental Research highlights the applications of NBS as 'living' and adaptable tools to boost the capacity of landscapes and cities to face today's critical environmental, economic and societal challenges. Based on the literature and papers of this Special Issue, we propose five specific challenges for the future of NBS.

Performance of biomarkers metallothionein and ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase in aquatic environments: A meta-analytic approach

The preservation of natural environments guarantees the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem processes. Biomonitoring programs in preserved sites can be carried out using molecular biomarkers, which reflect possible stresses that exist in the monitored location. The metallothionein (MT) proteins and isoenzyme Cytochrome P4501A (CYP4501A) are among the most used biomarkers and reflect the detoxification of metal and organic xenobiotics, respectively. This study aimed to assess the performance of these biomarkers in natural aquatic environments using a meta-analytic approach. The data search was conducted in ISI Web of Science™, considering papers published until August 2016. Studies included in this research needed to compare reference or control sites and sites under stress and be conducted in situ. In general, both biomarkers were useful when comparing control sites with sites under stress. Moreover, when the data were categorized into groups of organisms, mainly bivalves and fishes, there were differences between the groups and between the monitored environments, marine or freshwater. The use of these biomarkers in fish is suitable for freshwater environments, and bivalves are suitable for marine environments. We concluded that the concomitant use of vertebrate and invertebrate bioindicators is useful to develop an effective biomonitoring program and to avoid biases due the physiology of the selected bioindicator.

Modeling ozone uptake by urban and peri-urban forest: a case study in the Metropolitan City of Rome

Urban and peri-urban forests are green infrastructures (GI) that play a substantial role in delivering ecosystem services such as the amelioration of air quality by the removal of air pollutants, among which is ozone (O₃), which is the most harmful pollutant in Mediterranean metropolitan areas. Models may provide a reliable estimate of gas exchanges between vegetation and atmosphere and are thus a powerful tool to quantify and compare O₃ removal in different contexts. The present study modeled the O₃ stomatal uptake at canopy level of an urban and a peri-urban forest in the Metropolitan City of Rome in two different years. Results show different rates of O₃ fluxes between the two forests, due to different exposure to the pollutant, management practice effects on forest structure and functionality, and environmental conditions, namely, different stressors affecting the gas exchange rates of the two GIs. The periodic components of the time series calculated by means of the spectral analysis show that seasonal variation of modeled canopy transpiration is driven by precipitation in peri-urban forests, whereas in the urban forest seasonal variations are driven by vapor pressure deficit of ambient air. Moreover, in the urban forest high water availability during summer months, owing to irrigation practice, leads to an increase in O₃ uptake, thus suggesting that irrigation may enhance air phytoremediation in urban areas.

Using local knowledge and sustainable transport to promote a greener city: The case of Bucharest, Romania

Cities undergoing climate change and rapid urbanization are faced with significant transformational processes that affect the environment and society, challenging them to become more sustainable and resilient. The promotion of nature-based solutions represents an efficient approach to meet sustainability targets in cities and improve the quality of life of citizens. The association of large components of green infrastructure, such as urban parks, with physical activity can counteract the sedentary lifestyle endemic to cities and improve the overall health and well-being of individuals (Carrus et al., 2013; Scopelliti et al., 2016). By promoting a sustainable means of transport and connecting green spaces within a highly urbanized city, bicycle lanes represent an effective tool for associating physical activity with nature in cities allowing bicycle users to benefit from the positive health effects of nature-based solutions. Our study focuses on the potential of bicycle lanes to improve functional connectivity among green spaces. We administered 820 questionnaires in 34 green spaces (i.e., urban parks) in Bucharest, Romania, to identify the factors influencing the use of bicycle lanes connecting urban parks and to understand which planning criteria for bicycle lanes are considered as the most important by park visitors. We applied binary and ordinal logistic regressions and found that the factors affecting bicycle lane use are illegally parked cars and lack of accessibility to urban parks. The criteria preferred by park visitors for bicycle lane planning are determined by experience level and frequency of bicycle use. To develop a functional and integrated bicycle lane network that can make cities healthier and more sustainable, policy makers are advised to engage in a public participatory process and focus on the needs of bicycle users.

Grassland productivity and carbon sequestration in Mongolian grasslands: The underlying mechanisms and nomadic implications

BACKGROUND

Quantifying carbon (C) dioxide exchanges between ecosystems and the atmosphere and the underlying mechanism of biophysical regulations under similar environmental conditions is critical for an accurate understanding of C budgets and ecosystem functions.

METHODS

For the first time, a cluster of four eddy covariance towers were set up to answer how C fluxes shift among four dominant ecosystems in Mongolia - meadow steppe (MDW), typical steppe (TPL), dry typical steppe (DRT) and shrubland (SHB) during two growing seasons (2014 and 2015).

RESULTS

Large variations were observed for the annual net ecosystem exchange (NEE) from 59 to 193gCm^-2, though all four sites acted as a C source. During the two growing seasons, MDW acted as a C sink, TPL and DRT were C neutral, while SHB acted as a C source. MDW to SHB and TPL conversions resulted in a 2.6- and 2.2-fold increase in C release, respectively, whereas the TPL to SHB conversion resulted in a 1.1-fold increase at the annual scale. C assimilation was higher at MDW than those at the other three ecosystems due to its greater C assimilation ability and longer C assimilation times during the day and growing period. On the other hand, C release was highest at SHB due to significantly lower photosynthetic production and relatively higher ecosystem respiration (ER). A stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that the seasonal variations in NEE, ER and gross ecosystem production (GEP) were controlled by air temperature at MDW, while they were controlled mainly by soil moisture at TPL, DRT and SHB. When air temperature increased, the NEE at MDW and TPL changed more dramatically than at DRT and SHB, suggesting not only a stronger C release ability but also a higher temperature sensitivity at MDW and TPL.

CONCLUSIONS

The ongoing and predicted global changes in Mongolia likely impact the C exchange at MDW and TPL more than at DRT and SHB in Mongolia. Our results suggest that, with increasing drought and vegetation type succession, a clear trend for greater CO₂ emissions may result in further global warming in the future. This study implies that diverse grassland ecosystems will respond differently to climate change in the future and can be seen as nature-based solutions (NBS) supporting climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies.

The health benefits of nature-based solutions to urbanization challenges for children and the elderly - A systematic review

Urban green and blue spaces promote health by offering areas for physical activity, stress relief, and social interaction, which may be considered as cultural ecosystem services. They also provide a number of regulating ecosystem services that can be regarded as nature-based solutions to mitigate impacts from urbanization-induced challenges. Urban trees and other vegetation provide cooling through shade and evapotranspiration, which reduce the impact of the urban heat island on hot summer days. Urban vegetation may improve air quality by removing air pollutants. Open areas in cities, such as parks, gardens, playgrounds and cemeteries, are unsealed spaces that also improve infiltration during extreme precipitation events providing water regulating functions. All these services have the potential to improve the health of urban residents, particularly of specific vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the current state of evidence on the relationship between the health of children and the elderly and urban green and blue spaces that can account as nature-based solutions to urbanization-induced challenges. We discuss potential confounding factors and refer to the different green space metrics used to identify associations to health. From the results, we cannot conclude on a universal protective health effect of urban green and blue spaces for children and the elderly. While the association trend is positive, the results remain inconclusive, context dependent and are partly overridden by socioeconomic confounders. However, the research area is consistently increasing, and we advance important prospects for future research on urban green and blue spaces in the face of global challenges such as urbanization.

Urban natural environments as nature-based solutions for improved public health - A systematic review of reviews

Increasing urbanisation, changing disease scenarios, and current predictions of climate change impacts require innovative strategies for providing healthy and sustainable cities, now and in the future. The recently coined concept, Nature-based solutions (NBS), is one such strategy referring to actions that are inspired by, supported by, or copied from nature, designed to address a range of environmental challenges. The objective with this article is to evaluate the evidence on public health benefits of exposure to natural environments and explore how this knowledge could be framed within the NBS concept. We conducted a systematic review of reviews following established methodology, including keyword search in several databases, predefined inclusion criteria, and a data extraction in accordance with the PICOS structure. We reviewed literature on associations between public health and natural environments in relation to pathways - sociobehavioural/cultural ecosystem services (e.g. stress and physical activity) and regulating ecosystem services (e.g. heat reduction) - or defined health outcomes (e.g. cardiovascular mortality). The results show that there is strong evidence for improved affect as well as on heat reduction from urban natural environments. These conditions may mediate the effect seen on cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related mortality by exposure to natural environments. By also reviewing existing literature on NBS and health, we phrase the results within the NBS context, providing guidelines on how public health and well-being could be integrated into implementation of NBS for resilient and liveable urban landscapes and health in a changing climate.

Challenges for tree officers to enhance the provision of regulating ecosystem services from urban forests

Urbanisation and a changing climate are leading to more frequent and severe flood, heat and air pollution episodes in Britain's cities. Interest in nature-based solutions to these urban problems is growing, with urban forests potentially able to provide a range of regulating ecosystem services such as stormwater attenuation, heat amelioration and air purification. The extent to which these benefits are realized is largely dependent on urban forest management objectives, the availability of funding, and the understanding of ecosystem service concepts within local governments, the primary delivery agents of urban forests. This study aims to establish the extent to which British local authorities actively manage their urban forests for regulating ecosystem services, and identify which resources local authorities most need in order to enhance provision of ecosystem services by Britain's urban forests. Interviews were carried out with staff responsible for tree management decisions in fifteen major local authorities from across Britain, selected on the basis of their urban nature and high population density. Local authorities have a reactive approach to urban forest management, driven by human health and safety concerns and complaints about tree disservices. There is relatively little focus on ensuring provision of regulating ecosystem services, despite awareness by tree officers of the key role that urban forests can play in alleviating chronic air pollution, flood risk and urban heat anomalies. However, this is expected to become a greater focus in future provided that existing constraints - lack of understanding of ecosystem services amongst key stakeholders, limited political support, funding constraints - can be overcome. Our findings suggest that the adoption of a proactive urban forest strategy, underpinned by quantified and valued urban forest-based ecosystem services provision data, and innovative private sector funding mechanisms, can facilitate a change to a proactive, ecosystem services approach to urban forest management.

Resilient landscapes in Mediterranean urban areas: Understanding factors influencing forest trends

Urban and peri-urban forests are recognized as basic elements for Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), as they preserve and may increase environmental quality in urbanized contexts. For this reason, the amount of forest land per inhabitant is a pivotal efficiency indicator to be considered in the sustainable governance, land management, planning and design of metropolitan areas. The present study illustrates a multivariate analysis of per-capita forest area (PFA) in mainland Attica, the urban region surrounding Athens, Greece. Attica is considered a typical case of Mediterranean urbanization where planning has not regulated urban expansion and successive waves of spontaneous growth have occurred over time. In such a context, an analysis of factors that can affect landscape changes in terms of PFA may inform effective strategies for the sustainable management of socio-ecological local systems in light of the NBS perspective. A total of 26 indicators were collected per decade at the municipal scale in the study area with the aim to identify the factors most closely associated to the amount of PFA. Indicators of urban morphology and functions have been considered together with environmental and topographical variables. In Attica, PFA showed a progressive decrease between 1960 and 2010. In particular, PFA progressively declined (1980, 1990) along fringe areas surrounding Athens and in peri-urban districts experiencing dispersed expansion of residential settlements. Distance from core cities and from the seacoast, typical urban functions (e.g., multiple use of buildings and per capita built-up area) and percentage of agricultural land-use in each municipality are the variables most associated with high PFA. In recent years, some municipalities have shown an expansion of forest cover, mainly due to land abandonment and forest recolonization. Findings from this case study have allowed us to identify priorities for NBS at metropolitan level aimed at promoting more sustainable urbanization. Distinctively, proposed NBS basically focus on (i) the effective protection of crop mosaics with relict woodlots; (ii) the improvement of functionality, quality and accessibility of new forests; and (iii) the establishment of new forests in rural municipalities.

Air contaminants and litter fall decomposition in urban forest areas: The case of São Paulo - SP, Brazil

BACKGROUND

Urban forests are usually affected by several types of atmospheric contaminants and by abnormal variations in weather conditions, thus facilitating the biotic homogenization and modification of ecosystem processes, such as nutrient cycling. Peri-urban forests and even natural forests that surround metropolitan areas are also subject to anthropogenic effects generated by cities, which may compromise the dynamics of these ecosystems. Hence, this study advances the hypothesis that the forests located at the margins of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo (MRSP), Brazil, have high concentrations of atmospheric contaminants leading to adverse effects on litter fall stock.

METHODS

The production, stock and decomposition of litter fall in two forests were quantified. The first, known as Guarapiranga forest, lies closer to the urban area and is located within the MRSP, approximately 20km from the city center. The second, Curucutu forest, is located 70km from the urban center. This forest is situated exactly on the border of the largest continuum of vegetation of the Atlantic Forest. To verify the reach of atmospheric pollutants from the urban area, levels of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Ni, Cu) adsorbed on the litter fall deposited on the soil surface of the forests were also quantified.

RESULTS

The stock of litter fall and the levels of heavy metals were generally higher in the Guarapiranga forest in the samples collected during the lower rainfall season (dry season). Non-metric multidimensional scaling multivariate analysis showed a clear distinction of the sample units related to the concentrations of heavy metals in each forest. A subtle difference between the units related to the dry and rainy seasons in the Curucutu forest was also noted. Multivariate Analysis of Variance revealed that both site and season of the year (dry or rainy) were important to differentiate the quantity of heavy metals in litter fall stock, although the analysis did not show the interaction between these two factors. Precipitation appeared to be an important factor to disperse air pollutants; one method to better regulate this process is the development and integration of green infrastructure at city level, which might contribute to nature-based solutions.

CONCLUSIONS

Results suggest that although the Curucutu forest is not very far from the MRSP, which could result in heavy metal levels similar to those observed in the Guarapiranga forest, the weather conditions, geographic location and rainfall rates might act as efficient physical barriers against the dispersion of pollutants in the urban area. However, it is important to highlight that in the period studied (2012-2013), MRSP presented unusual features during the winter period marked by the highest levels of precipitation which was due to several numbers of frontal systems and also due to their permanence for a couple days in the region. Thus, it is recommended to continue this study in order to obtain a database for characterizing the seasonal variation of air pollution levels in the litter fall and their adverse effects on ecosystem processes in these remnants of the Atlantic Forest.