Estimation of benefits from the actual use of inland water ecosystem services in the Slovak Republic

Gis-Based Assessment of Risk for Drinking Water Contamination to Children’s Health in Rural Settlements

Nitrates and heavy metals are two of the most significant groundwater pollutants that have an impact on people’s health all around the world. In order to assess their risk to children’s health, this study aims to determine the total iron, manganese, and nitrate content in drinking water sources of non-centralized water supply of the educational institutions in the rural settlements of Zhytomyr region. A total of 114 water samples from wells and bores used by the educational institutions to supply domestic and drinking water to rural residential areas were collected. The Measurement Laboratory of Polissia National University conducted analytical studies. The danger to children’s health was evaluated using the hazard quotient and following the methodology recommended by the US Environmental Protection Agency. The software ArcGIS Pro was used to identify risk zones.

The average total iron content in the drinking water of the Berdichev, Zhytomyr, and Novohrad-Volinsky districts was 1.5–2.8 times higher. In all regions, the average manganese concentration did not go above the allowable level. On average, the nitrate content was also below the threshold, but in 22.6–42.9% of the samples, it exceeded the allowable level. Children aged 6–12 years were at the highest risk, and children living in Berdichev district had the highest hazard quotient at 1.972. The fact that nitrates accounted for 67–84% of the total risk indicates the danger associated with the intake of nitrates, even in amounts below the allowable concentration.

Simulation of Freshwater Ecosystem Service Flows under Land-Use Change: A Case Study of Lianshui River Basin, China

The service function of freshwater ecosystem is of great significance for ensuring the water security and the sustainable development of the social economy. However, it is vague how land-use change can influence freshwater ecosystem service flows. In this paper, we analyzed the land-use changes in the Lianshui River Basin from 2000 to 2018, built an ecosystem service flow model, and quantified the supply, demand, and flow of freshwater ecosystems under land-use change. The most intensified shifts of land-use change were the transfer of woodland to arable land and the transfer of arable land to built-up land. Urbanization and deforestation have increased water output by 0.06 billion m3, but water demand has increased by 2.42 billion m3, resulting in a 6% reduction in the flow of freshwater ecosystem services. Our study provides detailed information on freshwater ecosystem services flow from providers to beneficiaries within a watershed, showing how land-use change and ecosystem service flows can be integrated at the watershed scale to provide information for land-use management and the availability of freshwater ecosystems. Sustained development provides a scientific basis.

Perception of Ecosystem Services in Constituting Multi-Functional Landscapes in Slovakia

Landscape provides many services for human wellbeing through its mosaic of ecosystems. Although different landscape spatial structures limit some access to these services for local residents, their demand for landscape benefits creates a crucial component in landscape planning. Herein, we evaluate the ecosystem service supply from landscape structures in four different areas of Slovakia and we identify the public preferences for these services. This evaluation was assisted by expert-based ecosystem services (ES) matrix assessment and feedback from experts and key local stakeholders. The associated land cover assessment revealed that although forests are the most important for ES delivery, followed by extensive agricultural mosaics, cultural services have the highest average supply value. In contrast, the experts and local stakeholders considered that provisioning services were the most important of all ES groups because of products available from arable land. The overall public awareness of benefits provided by nature proved relatively high, and this is a good sign for the development of multi-functional landscapes. The comparison of study sites revealed that even stakeholders living in intensively used land, with its overall low ES supply, assessed ES as very important in general. The general public could therefore be included in environmental planning to promote a more multi-functional landscape. In addition, the analysis herein will communicate gained insights to the local planners and decision-makers and confirm the importance of this ES participatory approach using top-down methodology. This may require the following measures in Slovakia: establishing an interdisciplinary group of experts for regular assessment of strategic landscape planning documents and regulatory instruments, developing key directives which establish well-balanced participatory procedures, improving open local government, and supporting down-scaled implementation of integrated landscape planning in cooperation with local action groups.

The Design of the Payments for Water-Related Ecosystem Services: What Should the Ideal Payment in Slovakia Look Like?

Water-related forest ecosystems services (WES) are vital to the functioning of the biosphere, society, and human well-being. In Slovakia, the active support of WES is provided by economic instruments of forest policy, while the market-based solution as payments for water-related services (PWS) is lacking. Starting from this point, the objective matter of the paper is to develop the payments for WES schemes in Slovakia. The study was based on document analysis and stakeholders´ opinions towards PWS. Fifteen Slovak stakeholders from forestry, water management, and nature protection were involved in the study. These stakeholders represent potential buyers, seller, intermediaries, and knowledge providers in PWS schemes. Based on the theoretical background and the results of the survey, the authors defined key aspects of the design and implementation of PWS schemes in Slovak conditions such as potential buyers and sellers, important factors for the implementation of PWS schemes, and the role of public authorities.