The ecosystem service value of maintaining and expanding terrestrial protected areas in China

The effectiveness of natural reserves from the perspective of habitat quality in the southern section of the Hengduan Mountains, Southwestern China

Natural reserves (NRs) play key roles in habitat integrity conservation and biodiversity loss mitigation, and the assessment of the conservation effectiveness of NRs is needed to better manage them. Habitat quality (HQ) comprehensively reflects habitat integrity and biodiversity, but the conservation effectiveness of NRs from the perspective of HQ has rarely been determined at high spatial resolution. Taking the southern section of the Hengduan Mountains (SSHM) in Southwest China as an example, combining an InVEST-HQ model and spatiotemporal change detection methods, the effectiveness of NRs from the perspective of HQ at 30-m spatial resolution was assessed in this study. The effectiveness disparities of NRs across different properties (i.e., management level, conservation target, size, and establishment age) was analyzed and the human pressures on NRs was investigated. The results showed that the HQ of the NRs is good in the SSHM, with the area ratio of the Higher and Highest HQ ≥ 93%. Most of the NR area (94.11%) was effective at improving or maintaining a good HQ. With regard to NR properties, county NRs, NRs designated to conserving wild animals, middle NRs, and younger NRs were more effective, corresponding to management level, conservation target, size, and establishment age, respectively. The human footprint for an effective area is significantly lower than that for an ineffective area, consistent with higher HQ in the effective area and lower HQ in the ineffective area. These findings support the management and zoning of NRs in the SSHM to ensure their effectiveness.

Mapping ecosystem services in protected areas. A systematic review

Protected areas (PAs) supply ecosystem services (ES) essential for human wellbeing. Mapping is a critical exercise that allows an understanding of the spatial distribution of the different ES in PAs. This work aims to conduct a systematic literature review on mapping ES in PAs. In order to carry out this systematic review, the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses method was applied. The results showed an increase in the number of works between 2012 and 2023, and they were especially conducted in Europe and Asia and less in North America, South America, and Oceania. Most studies were developed in terrestrial areas, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature classified them into types II and IV. Most of the works followed the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment classification and were mainly focused on the supply dimension. Regulating and maintenance and cultural ES were the most mapped dimensions in PAs. The most frequent provisioning ES mapped in PAs were Animals reared for nutritional purposes and Cultivated terrestrial plants grown for nutritional purposes. In regulating and maintenance, Maintaining nursery populations and habitats and Regulation of the chemical composition of the atmosphere and oceans were the most analysed. For cultural ES, Characteristics of living systems that enable activities promoting health, recuperation, or enjoyment through active or immersive interactions and Characteristics of living systems that enable aesthetic experiences were the most mapped ES in PAs. Most works followed a quantitative approach, although the number of qualitative studies is high. Finally, most of the works needed to be validated, which may hamper the credibility of mapping ES in PAs. Overall, this systematic review contributed to a global picture of studies distribution, the areas where they are needed, and the most popular dimensions and sections as the methodologies were applied.

Integrating online deliberation into ecosystem service valuation

Stated preference valuation of ecosystem services involves participants answering hypothetical questions to express preferences. Participants tend to respond to the hypothetical questions separately, without any deliberation (the process of considering and discussing within a group). However, a relatively recent development in deliberation research involves asking participants to state preferences via deliberation. Deliberation is historically conducted in-person but can now also be done online. This paper covers the strengths and limitations of integrating online deliberation into stated preference valuation, including: (1) comparison between stated preference valuation with and without deliberation, (2) comparison between in-person and online deliberation, and (3) comparison between online deliberation media, such as typing, video meetings, and voice calls. Conducting deliberation can broaden participants' understanding of the target ecosystem services and others' preferences. However, this requires participants' willingness to deliberate and increases time investment. Online deliberation has lower costs and travel restrictions and higher time efficiency and confidentiality of personal information than in-person deliberation. However, people with low abilities or willingness to use online media are disadvantaged. Differences in the online deliberation media may reduce or improve the inclusiveness, engagement, and openness of deliberations in ways that affect valuation results. We also provide suggestions for selecting deliberation media and mitigating deliberation bias derived from the choice of deliberation media. Further research should explore how to improve time efficiency and affordability of online deliberation, how to promote inclusiveness, engagement, and openness of online deliberation, and how different deliberation media affect deliberation quality and valuation results.

Boundary of ecosystem services: Guiding future development and application of the ecosystem service concepts

Ecosystem Services (ESs) are either material or non-material benefits humans receive from ecosystems. Definitions, classifications, and typologies of ESs can vary to address different research and policy purposes. However, a boundary that distinguishes ESs from other ecosystem-related benefits (e.g., industrial products that consume raw materials, fossil fuels that used to be a part of ecosystems) is needed to avoid the risk of using ESs as an all-encompassing metaphor that captures any benefit. The boundary also maintains a common ground for communication and comparison of ESs across studies. To guide future development and application of the ES concepts, we suggest five criteria. ESs are (1) primary contributions of ecosystems, (2) flows assessed during a period or per time unit (not stock existing at a time point), (3) renewable (having the potential to be reproduced with a conceivable timeframe relevant to human use), (4) affected by biotic parts of ecosystems to occur. ESs include both biotic and some abiotic flows (e.g., water provisioning) but exclude abiotic flows (e.g., wind and solar energy) whose occurrence is unaffected by ecosystem functions, processes, or characteristics; and (5) inclusive to the benefits humans actually and potentially receive from ecosystems. These criteria link ESs with conservation of life-supporting and culturally important ecosystems, recognize use, option, and non-use values of ESs, and highlight ESs' sustainability.

Upgrading protected areas can improve or reverse the decline in conservation effectiveness: Evidence from the Tibetan Plateau, China

Protected areas (PAs) are considered essential for maintaining biodiversity. Several governments would like to strengthen the management levels of their PAs (as shorthand for a hierarchy in PA administrative governance) to consolidate their conservation effectiveness. This upgrade (e.g., from provincial- to national-level PAs) means stricter protection and increased funds for PA management. However, confirming whether such an upgrade can produce the expected positive outcomes is key given limited conservation funds. Here, we used the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) method to quantify the impacts of upgrading PAs (i.e., from provincial to national) on vegetation growth on the Tibetan Plateau (TP). We found that the impacts of PA's upgrading can be divided into two impact types: 1) curbed or reversed declines in conservation effectiveness and 2) rapidly increased conservation effectiveness before the upgrade. These results indicate that the PA's upgrading process (including the pre-upgrade operations) can improve PA effectiveness. Nevertheless, the gains did not always occur after the official upgrade. This study demonstrated that in comparison to other PAs, those with more resources or stronger management policies were more effective.

A critical review of Gross ecosystem product accounting in China: Status quo, problems and future directions

As a measure of ecosystems' contribution to human well-being, the concept of Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) is an integrated monetary index for the evaluation of final ecosystem services, which has attracted widespread attention around the world. In China, both national and local governments have launched a series of GEP accounting pilot projects, with the aim to incorporate this new concept into real world decision-making. However, a critical review of these practices remains lacking, especially regarding their current status and problems. In this study, by performing a systematic review and data integration of current literature and government documents, we comprehensively described the GEP accounting practices in China, including pilot project's coverage, accounting methods, and policy application. Then, we identified five major problems in current GEP accounting practices in China, which prevent GEP from being accurately measured in the short term. We proposed that GEP accounting should be a constantly evolving process with both long-term and short-term improvement goals. More in detail, the accuracy issues in GEP accounting require longer periods of time to resolve; while its repeatability, comparability, and applicability should be improved in the short term, so that it can be incorporated into decision-making. In response to these challenges, we suggested the adaptation of GEP accounting index screening principles as a possible future direction, which can help to apply GEP results in the current stages of decision making. By improving GEP concept and accounting, it will be possible to establish a unified comparable GEP accounting system and reduce the gap between the GEP and decision-making.

Non-linear effects of natural and anthropogenic drivers on ecosystem services: Integrating thresholds into conservation planning

Ecosystem services (ESs) have been widely used for ecological protection and land spatial planning. Natural and anthropogenic drivers exhibit a strong dynamic coupling relationship with ESs. However, current ESs-related research focused on mapping the ESs spatially or investing the trade-offs and synergies relationship between ES, ignoring the nonlinear response of ESs to natural and anthropogenic drivers. Here we aimed to investigate the nonlinear effect of 14 potential drivers (8 natural and 6 anthropogenic) on the total value of six typical ESs (ESV). Taking Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration (BTH) in China as an example, we established 14 constrain lines and identified critical thresholds through the restricted cubic splines (RCS) regression. We found strong non-linear impacts of natural and anthropogenic drivers on ESV and critical thresholds existed among all the 14 constrain lines. The RCS plots showed that the overall ESV was kept at a high level before or after certain thresholds (e.g., altitude >687 m, slope >13.4°, NDVI >0.7, distance from water <31.2 km, etc.). We categorized these threshold combinations and found the potentially high ES delivery areas were mainly distributed in the Yanshan Mountian, accounting for approximately 5% of the total BTH region. These critical thresholds offer a new method to delineate conservation and restoration priority areas.

Spatial evaluation of the ecological value importance of national park in Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon

The Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon (YTGC) region is one of China's vital gene banks of mountain biological species resources. It is also an experimental site for biologists worldwide to study how organisms differentiate in the exceptional environment of the plateau. Evaluating the importance of the ecological value and identifying extremely important regions to national parks to implement the strictest conservation is significant to protecting and preserving global biodiversity. YTGC as the study area, and a comprehensive evaluation model conformed to ecological value attributes was established: (i) evaluation of ecosystem service function, including water retention, soil and water conservation and biodiversity maintenance; (ii) evaluation of ecological vulnerability, including soil erosion and geological disasters; (iii) evaluation of ecological conservation, including Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs), Global 200 Ecoregions (G200), Biodiversity Hotspots (BH), Endemic Bird Areas (EBAs) and Priority Areas for Biodiversity Conservation in China (PABCC). Identifying as extremely important, important, and general important regions, then mosaicked with the maximum value. The results show: first, the extremely important regions of ecosystem service are about 30,242.90 km² (45.64%), distributed in most regions flowing southwest along the Yarlung Zangbo River. Second, the ecological vulnerability regions are about 26,561.65 km² (40.06%), concentrated and contiguously distributed in the valley regions along the Yarlung Zangbo River and the high-altitude glacier-covered regions. Third, the extremely important regions for ecological conservation are mainly distributed in Milin County (39.86%) and Medog County (36.33%), which also presents a clustered distribution in the highly high mountains with apparent differentiation along the Yarlung Zangbo River valley in Milin County and the vertical natural belt centered on the Namjagbarwa and the Galabai Leifeng. Finally, we proposed that the integrated extremely important regions of ecological value should be divided into national parks for strict conservation; at the same time, it is also a reference for considering the construction of biodiversity conservation corridors when roads pass through the extremely important regions. This study presents a reliable and integrative method for effectively identifying conservation priority areas at small-medium scales, which can be applied to other PAs planning and management.

Multi-Scenario Simulation of Land Use Changes with Ecosystem Service Value in the Yellow River Basin

Land use change plays a crucial role in global environmental change. Understanding the mode and land use change procedure is conducive to improving the quality of the global eco-environment and promoting the harmonized development of human–land relationships. Large river basins play an important role in areal socioeconomic development. The Yellow River Basin (YRB) is an important ecological protective screen, economic zone, and major grain producing area in China, which faces challenges with respect to ecological degradation and water and sediment management. Simulating the alterations in ecosystem service value (ESV) owing to land use change in the YRB under multiple scenarios is of great importance to guaranteeing the ecological security of the basin and improve the regional ESV. According to the land use data of 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2018, the alterations in the land use and ESV in the YRB over the past 30 years were calculated and analyzed on the basis of six land use types: cultivated land, forestland, grassland, water area, built-up land, and unused land. The patch-generating land use simulation (PLUS) model was used to simulate the land use change in the study area under three scenarios (natural development, cultivated land protection, and ecological protection in 2026); estimate the ESV under each scenario; and conduct a comparative analysis. We found that the land use area in the YRB changed significantly during the study period. The ESV of the YRB has slowly increased by ~USD 15 billion over the past 30 years. The ESV obtained under the ecological protection scenario is the highest. The simulation of the YRB’s future land use change, and comparison and analysis of the ESV under different scenarios, provide guidance and a scientific basis for promoting ecological conservation and high-quality development of river basins worldwide.

Spatial-Temporal Variation and Mechanisms Causing Spatial Differentiation of Ecosystem Services in Ecologically Fragile Regions Based on Value Evaluation: A Case Study of Western Jilin, China

The concept of Ecosystem Service Value (ESV) is indispensable when balancing the need for economic development and ecological protection, because it can clarify the ecological assets and values provided by a region. The study of spatio-temporal variation of ESV in ecologically fragile regions is helpful when attempting to restore regional ecological function. Taking the ecologically fragile area in Western Jilin as an example, this paper analyzes the spatial distribution and spatial-temporal evolution characteristics of the integrated ecosystem service value (IESV) in the study area by constructing an IESV model. The drivers of spatial differentiation of integrated ESV in the study area and the mechanisms controlling the interaction between various factors are examined using the geographical detector technique. The results showed that the areas of high value with integrated ecosystem services in Western Jilin were mainly distributed in protected areas, and that there has been a downward trend in the past 23 years. Moreover, the explanatory ability of NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) was strongest of any of the natural factors considered. Among the socio-economic factors, the explanatory power of the human activity index (HAI) was greatest. Additionally, the interaction between natural factors and socio-economic factors exhibits synergistic enhancement, which affects the degree of spatial differentiation of IESV. The spatio-temporal variation in IESV is the result of the joint action between human activities and natural factors. This study can provide a scientific basis for the optimization of ecosystems and the development of ecological security in Western Jilin.

Long-Term Benefits of Coastline Ecological Restoration in China

Coastline ecological restoration is a critical approach for improving the coastal ecological environment and natural disaster mitigation capacity. Zhejiang Province, with the longest coastline in China, has carried out a three-year action of coastline remediation and restoration, expecting to complete the 300-km coastline restoration by 2020 as part of China’s coastline restoration project. We developed a cost–benefit framework synthesizing the ecosystem services (ES) analysis pattern and input-output approach to evaluate Zhejiang’s coastline ecological restoration projects. The results showed that the average value of ecosystem services (VES) of coastline restoration in Zhejiang was approximately 11,829 yuan/m, which was lower than the average VES of natural coastline. Obviously, damaged natural coastline could cause VES degradation, which cannot make up for the loss in a short time. In an optimistic scenario, coastline ecological restoration projects would deliver enormous well-being to Zhejiang and even China. Our results suggested that making decisions should be based on the net value after accounting for costs (NES), because ignoring costs might mislead planners to overstate the perceived benefits. The study provided a realistic data basis and method for coastline restoration projects in terms of the design, implementation and effectiveness evaluation to achieve sustainable development.

Current Trends and Issues in Research on Biodiversity Conservation and Tourism Sustainability

The rationale of this article is the need to elicit the trending themes relevant to the latest research on biodiversity conservation and tourism sustainability. Hence, the purpose of this study: stocktaking of cutting-edge research articles in this field and eliciting the critical trends and issues shaping the knowledge, future research, and technical development perspectives on biodiversity conservation and tourism sustainability. The focus is on the trends, which are pivotal for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals until 2030. A hierarchical cluster analysis was undertaken with a KH Coder 3.0 tool to elicit topical co-occurrence networks for thematic words in academic papers from 2015 to 2020 on the topic, quarried from Google Scholar. The article’s main findings are the seven identified major trending research themes on biodiversity conservation and tourism sustainability: (1) Community-based tourism development; (2) National Park management for tourism; (3) Sustainable tourist motivation; (4) Biodiversity conservation and ecotourism; (5) Landscape and land use changes; (6) Visitor satisfaction monitoring; and (7) Ecotourism modelling. The article’s main conclusion is that the criteria and conditions for responsible low-key tourism in protected areas, both for biodiversity and local communities, are pivotal factors to consider for future research on biodiversity conservation and tourism sustainability.