GIS-based analysis for hotspot identification of tradeoff between ecosystem services: A case study in Yanhe Basin,China

Although the quantification and valuation of ecosystem services have been studied for a long time, few studies have specifically focused on the quantification of tradeoffs between ecosystem services and tradeoff hotspots. Based on previous studies of ecosystem service assessment, we proposed a feasible method to analyze the tradeoffs between ecosystem services, including determination of their relationship, quantification of tradeoffs, and identification of tradeoff hotspots. Potential influencing factors were then further analyzed. The Yanhe Basin in the Loess Plateau was selected as an example to demonstrate the application process. Firstly, the amounts of net primary production(NPP) and water yield(WY) in 2000 and 2008 were estimated by using biophysical models. Secondly, correlation analysis was used to indicate the tradeoffs between NPP and WY. Thirdly, tradeoff index(TI_(NPP/WY)) was established to quantify the extent of tradeoffs between NPP and WY, and the average value of TI_(NPP/WY) is 24.4 g/(mm·m~2) for the Yanhe Basin between 2000 and 2008. Finally, the tradeoff hotspots were identified. The results indicated that the area of lowest tradeoff index concentrated in the middle part of the Yanhe Basin and marginal areas of the southern basin. Map overlapping was used for preliminary analysis to seek potential influencing factors, and the results showed that shrub was the best suited for growing in the Yanhe Basin, but also was a potential influencing factor for formulation of the tradeoff hotspots. The concept of tradeoff index could also be used to quantify the degree of synergy between different ecosystem services. The method to identify the tradeoff hotspots could help us to narrow the scope of study area for further research on the relationship among ecosystem services and concentrate on the potential factors for formation of tradeoff between ecosystem services, enhance the capacity to maintain the sustainability of ecosystem.     

Poverty reduction, environmental protection and ecosystem services: A prospective theory for sustainable development

Poverty reduction and environmental protection are two global tasks for sustainable development.The study perspective has changed over time,from narrowly focusing on poverty reduction to comprehensively strengthening human-welfare.We reviewed key references targeting the theoretical content and practical approach relying on poverty,environment protection and ecosystem services.We discussed the contradicting views on the relationship of poverty and environmental degradation,and then illustrated the study progress of a cutting-age topic-ecosystem services which pave a way to address poverty reduction and environmental protection together.At last,we investigated essential factors that affect the development and environmental protection.Considering the evolution of the concept of poverty,we found that the environment has occupied an increasing proportion in the cognizance of poverty.The relationship between poverty and environmental degradation is regional uniqueness.In practical aspect,projects based on the management and valuation assessment of ecosystem services draw researchers′attention all over the world.The appropriate scale,essential economic incentives,morality,law and social equality are key factors affecting individuals′decisions which directly relate to the sustainable development.     

Sensitivity and uncertainty analysis of regional marine ecosystem services value

Marine ecosystem services are the benefits which people obtain from the marine ecosystem, including provisioning ser-vices, regulating services, cultural services and supporting services. The human species, while buffered against environmental changes by culture and technology, is fundamentally dependent on the flow of ecosystem services. Marine ecosystem services be-come increasingly valuable as the terrestrial resources become scarce. The value of marine ecosystem services is the monetary flow of ecosystem services on specific temporal and spatial scales, which often changes due to the variation of the goods prices, yields and the status of marine exploitation. Sensitivity analysis is to study the relationship between the value of marine ecosystem services and the main factors which affect it. Uncertainty analysis based on varying prices, yields and status of marine exploitation was carried out. Through uncertainty analysis, a more credible value range instead of a fixed value of marine ecosystem services was obtained in this study. Moreover, sensitivity analysis of the marine ecosystem services value revealed the relative importance of different factors.     

Valuation of lake and marsh wetlands ecosystem services in China

Wetlands are highly productive natural ecosystems, providing valuable goods and services. There is growing interest in transferring ecosystem service value from the existing wetlands studied to other wetlands ecosystems at a large geographic scale. The benefit transfer method uses the known values from wetlands to predict the value of other wetland sites. This methodology requires only limited time and resources. The present study calculated the value of the ecological services provided by lake and marsh wetlands in China in terms of biodiversity indices, water quality indices and economic indices. Basic data on wetlands were obtained through remote sensing images. The results show that: 1) The total ecosystem service value of the lake and marsh wetlands in 2008 was calculated to be 8.1841 × 1010 United States Dollars(USD), with the marsh and lake wetlands contributing 5.6329 × 1010 and 2.5512 × 1010 USD, respectively. Values of marsh ecosystem service were concentrated in Heilongjiang Province(2.5516 × 1010 USD), Qinghai Province(1.2014 × 1010 USD), and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region(1.1884 × 1010 USD). The value of the lakes were concentrated in Tibet Autonomous Region(6.223 × 109 USD), Heilongjiang(5.810 × 109 USD), and Qinghai(5.500 × 109 USD). 2) Waste treatment and climate regulation services contributed to 26.29% and 24.74% respectively, of the total ecosystem service value of the marsh wetlands. Hydrological regulation and waste treatment contributed to 41.39% and 32.75%, respectively, of the total ecosystem service value of the lake wetlands. 3) The total ecological service value of the lake and marsh wetlands was 54.64% of the total service value of natural grassland ecosystems and 30.34% of the total service value of forests ecosystems in China.     

Remote sensing of ecosystem services: An opportunity for spatially explicit assessment

Ecosystem service is an emerging concept that grows to be a hot research area in ecology. Spatially explicit ecosystem service values are important for ecosystem service management. However, it is difficult to quantify ecosystem services. Remote sensing provides images covering Earth surface, which by nature are spatially explicit. Thus, remote sensing can be useful for quantitative assessment of ecosystem services. This paper reviews spatially explicit ecosystem service studies conducted in ecology and remote sensing in order to find out how remote sensing can be used for ecosystem service assessment. Several important areas considered include land cover, biodiversity, and carbon, water and soil related ecosystem services. We found that remote sensing can be used for ecosystem service assessment in three different ways: direct monitoring, indirect monitoring, and combined use with ecosystem models. Some plant and water related ecosystem services can be directly monitored by remote sensing. Most commonly, remote sensing can provide surrogate information on plant and soil characteristics in an ecosystem. For ecosystem process related ecosystem services, remote sensing can help measure spatially explicit parameters. We conclude that acquiring good in-situ measurements and selecting appropriate remote sensor data in terms of resolution are critical for accurate assessment of ecosystem services.     

Rocky Desertification Risk Zone Delineation in Karst Plateau Area： A Case Study in Puding County, Guizhou Province

Karst rocky desertification is a geo-ecological problem in Southwest China. The rocky desertification risk zone delineation could be used as a guide for the regional and hierarchical rocky desertification management and prevention. We chose the middle and lower reaches of the Houzhai underground basin on the karst plateau in Puding County, Guizhou Province, China as the study area and selected land use type, elevation, slope, aspect, lithology and settlement buffer as the main driving factors of the rocky desertification. The potential risk of rocky desertification was quantified with the factor-weights union method and statistical analysis method. Five grades of rocky desertification risk were delineated based on Geographic Information System. The extremely low, low, moderate, high and extremely high rocky desertification risk zones accounted for 5.01%, 44.17%, 33.92%, 15.59% and 1.30%, respectively. As a whole, the rocky desertification risk level was moderate because the area of low and moderate rocky desertification risk zones occupied 78.09% of the study area. However, more than half of the area (about 50.81%) was predicted to have moderate rocky desertification risk and above, indicating that the study area was subject to rocky desertification. Rocky desertification risk was higher in the southeast and lower in the northwest of the study area. Distinct differences in the distribution of rocky desertification risk zones corresponding to different factors have been found.     

Identifying the priority areas for enhancing the ecosystem services in hilly and mountainous areas of southern China

Ecosystem services can be enhanced through ecological restoration,industrial structure adjustment,land-use optimization,and agricultural and forestry ecosystem ...     

Effect of the Grain for Green Project on freshwater ecosystem services under drought stress

The Grain for Green Project(GGP) is an important measure for the prevention of sloping farmland and the restoration of natural vegetation.This project has been critical to the restoration of ecological environments in western China. However,the effect of the GGP on freshwater ecosystem services under extreme climates remains unclear. Thus, taking the middle and upper reaches of the Wujiang River Basin in western China as an example, this study assessed the variation of three freshwater ecosystem...     

乌蒙山地区岩溶地下水流系统结构及其找水应用

为推动乌蒙山贫困缺水区生态环境建设、地下水资源合理利用,以昭通市作为重点调查区,基于地质调查、泉流量统计、水质检测,展开岩溶地下水富集规律及物探找水方法的研究。结果表明：(1)研究区岩溶地下水系统以条带岭谷型、埋藏型为主。条带岭谷型岩溶地下水系统以现代岩溶为主,目标含水层多、发育深度有限、岩溶发育及富水程度差异大,富水块段为背斜核部及两翼、向斜核部、断层影响带;埋藏型岩溶地下水系统以古岩溶为主,目标含水层单一、发育深度较深且极不均匀,富水块段为断陷谷盆埋藏的古岩溶。(2)地下水化学类型以HCO₃型、HCO₃·SO₄型为主,条带岭谷型、埋藏型岩溶水分别占96.73%,92.93%,水质总体较好,综合水质评价Ⅰ～Ⅲ类水占比分别为80.84%,64.41%。(3)建议对>50 L/s大泉进行提引、丰储冬用,对富水块段进行综合物探探测和钻探验证的方法找水。(4)综合物探找水方法：先通过高密度电法、联合剖面法查明岩溶破碎带及断层,再激电测深确定极化率高的含水层,最后综合测井和钻孔揭露确定具体出水段及涌水量,找水成功率为86....     

Land cover change in different altitudes of Guizhou-Guangxi karst mountain area,China: patterns and drivers

Topography, especially altitude, will influence the way, process and characteristics of land cover changes in mountainous area, simultaneously, the vertical difference of land cover changes will affect soil quality and regional ecological environment. Therefore, the gradient relationship analysis between land cover changes and altitude is very important for regional sustainability. This study investigated land cover dynamics based on land cover data from a typical mountainous area in the Guizhou-Guangxi karst mountain area, China, in 2000 and 2010, then explored the relationship between altitude and land cover change and analyzed different drivers of land cover change at different altitudes. Our findings are as follows. 1) From 2000 to 2010, the total area of land cover transition was 7167.04 km~2 or 2.8% of the region. The increasing area of build-up land(926.23 km~2) was larger than that of forest(859.38 km~2), suggesting that the urban construction speed was higher than that of reforestation. 2) Intensity of land cover transition in northwestern Guizhou-Guangxi karst mountain area was much larger than that of southeast part and their transition trend was also significantly different, which was consistent with regional population and economy. 3) Human activity was the most dramatic at altitudes between 0–500 m. For 500–1000 m, grassland mainly converted to forest and build-up land. Area of land cover transition was the greatest between 1000–1500 m, while above 1500 m, the transition of grassland was the most obvious. 4) The drivers of land cover change varied. Land cover change was positively correlated with gross domestic product and population density but was inversely related to relief amplitude. There were correlations between land cover change and distance to roads and rivers, and their correlations varied with altitude. By revealing patterns and causes of land cover changes in different altitudes, we hope to understand the vertical dependence of land cover changes, so as to improve land productivity and protect land ecological environment scientifically.     

沂蒙山区典型断陷盆地岩溶地下水系统特征:以莱芜盆地为例

2011年以来,中国地质调查局在沂蒙山区组织实施了1∶5万标准图幅水文地质调查4万余km²,并在严重缺水村镇开展了大量的找水打井示范工作,获得了较为丰富的地质数据,对断陷盆地地下水流系统取得了新认识。受中新生代构造影响,沂蒙山区发生断裂褶皱、伸展滑脱及岩浆侵入活动,形成一系列“南超覆北断陷”的地堑—半地堑盆地,并最终形成现今典型的“盆—山”岩溶水文地质结构,及以盆地为单元的相对独立的岩溶地下水流系统。为研究沂蒙山区地下水流系统发育特征,选择莱芜盆地为典型研究区,基于野外地质调查,通过综合分析盆地南北两侧地貌单元、含水岩组立体空间分布及地下水水位、水化学及同位素结果等,探讨了沂蒙山区典型“盆—山”结构塑造的多级岩溶地下水流系统特征。结果表明,莱芜盆地岩溶地下水由盆地外围向盆地中心呈“向心式”径流;受人类活动影响、地质构造控制和含水层分布制约,盆地南北两侧地下水流系统特征存在差异：盆地南部发育中间和局部两级地下水流系统;盆地北部则仅发育单一的局部地下水流系统,但占有已勘查论证的近1/2的地下水水源地。此外,研究发现在大汶河最低侵蚀基准面,区域滑脱构造及热液混合作用拆离...     

太原地区中奥陶世上马家沟组岩溶储层成岩作用及孔隙演化

通过岩心、野外露头观察,采用薄片、扫描电镜和地球化学分析等方法,研究太原地区中奥陶世上马家沟组岩溶储层岩石类型、储集空间类型、成岩作用类型及特征,以及成岩演化阶段和成岩作用对岩溶储层孔隙的影响及控制作用。结果表明:上马家沟组主要包括含石膏角砾灰岩、砂屑灰岩、细晶灰岩、泥晶含生屑白云质灰岩、粉晶灰质白云岩、灰质角砾白云岩、中晶白云岩、粉晶白云岩等8种岩性,孔隙和溶洞为主要储集空间;储层受到不同期次的压实—压溶、胶结充填、交代、构造破裂、溶蚀和重结晶等6种成岩作用的复合叠加;成岩演化划分为沉积—准同生成孔阶段(中奥陶世)→风化淋滤阶段(晚奥陶世—泥盆纪)→沉积充填阶段(石炭纪—早白垩世)→溶蚀改造阶段(晚白垩世—古近纪)等4个成岩阶段;储层主要受白云石化、构造破裂、溶蚀等3个成岩作用控制,不同成岩作用影响优质储层的分布和发育。该研究结果为太原地区优质储层的勘探提供有利参考。     

Effects of rainfall and rocky desertification on soil erosion in karst area of Southwest China

Monitoring and evaluating the evolution of rocky desertification timely and studying the characteristics of soil erosion under different rainfall patterns are of great scientific significance for regional soil and water conservation, rocky desertification control and ecological environment construction. Four periods of remote sensing image data from 2005 to 2020 were selected to study the evolution characteristics of rocky desertification and its impact on soil erosion in the controlled boundary...     

隔档式构造区岩溶地下水流系统多级次嵌套结构的水化学识别

川东隔档式构造区岩溶地下水流系统表现出多级次嵌套结构的特征,之前主要是定性的水文地质条件分析,缺乏来自水化学方面的量化依据。利用41个浅层和19个深层岩溶水样的水化学资料开展分析,发现浅层岩溶水为HCO₃-Ca·Mg型,ρ(Mg²⁺)较低,深层岩溶水为SO₄-Ca·Mg型且ρ(Mg²⁺)明显偏高,说明地下水在岩溶含水层中的滞留时间与ρ(Mg²⁺)具有正变关系。对典型剖面地下水流系统的分析表明,优先采用ρ(Mg²⁺)来评价地下水滞留时间,将地下水排泄点ρ(Mg²⁺)小于20,50 mg/L分别作为划分局部-中间、中间-区域水流系统的依据。浅层岩溶水受地貌作用控制明显,其中浅切沟谷泉点为局部地下水流系统的排泄点,深切沟谷泉点一般属于中间或区域流动系统的排泄点。ρ(Mg²⁺)反映了泉水循环的滞留时间,也能够反映钻孔所揭露的深循环特征。这种水化学识别方法可为相似岩溶区识别地下水流系统的多级次嵌套结构提供参考。     

Inland-coastal demographic transformations in a karst area:a case study of the surroundings of Krka National Park (Croatia)

According to geographic possibilism,environment does not determine socio-economic development.However,the environment sets certain constraints and limitations f...     

Integrating multisource RS data and GIS techniques to assist the evaluation of resource-environment carrying capacity in karst mountainous area

The karst mountainous area is an ecologically fragile region with prominent humanland contradictions. The resource-environment carrying capacity(RECC) of this region needs to be further clarified. The development of remote sensing(RS) and geographic information system(GIS) provides data sources and processing platform for RECC monitoring. This study analyzed and established the evaluation index system of RECC by considering particularity in the karst mountainous area of Southwest China; processed multisource RS data(Sentinel-2, Aster-DEM and Landsat-8) to extract the spatial distributions of nine key indexes by GIS techniques(information classification, overlay analysis and raster calculation); proposed the methods of index integration and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation of the RECC by GIS; and took a typical area, Guangnan County in Yunnan Province of China, as an experimental area to explore the effectiveness of the indexes and methods. The results showed that:(1) The important indexes affecting the RECC of karst mountainous area are water resources, tourism resources, position resources, geographical environment and soil erosion environment.(2) Data on cultivated land, construction land, minerals, transportation, water conservancy, ecosystem services, topography, soil erosion and rocky desertification can be obtained from RS data. GIS techniques integrate the information into the RECC results. The data extraction and processing methods are feasible on evaluating RECC.(3) The RECC of Guangnan County was in the mid-carrying level in 2018. The midcarrying and low-carrying levels were the main types, accounting for more than 80.00% of the total study area. The areas with high carrying capacity were mainly distributed in the northern regions of the northwest-southeast line of the county, and other areas have a low carrying capacity comparatively. The coordination between regional resource-environment status and socioeconomic development is the key to improve RECC. This study explores the evaluation index system of RECC in karst mountainous area and the application of multisource RS data and GIS techniques in the comprehensive evaluation. The methods can be applied in related fields to provide suggestions for data/information extraction and integration, and sustainable development.     

Soil erosion and its basic characteristics at karst rocky-desertified land consolidation area: A case study at Muzhe Village of Xichou County in Southeast Yunnan,China

Xichou County of Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in southeast Yunnan is one of the karst mountainous areas in southwest China showing typical rock desertification. During this study, we set up three soil erosion contrast test spots at Muzhe Village, Benggu Township, Xichou County, which was the birthplace of the Xichou rock-desertified land consolidation mode. The three spots included the terrace land spot (already consolidated land), sloping land spot (unconsolidated sloping land under rock desertification), and standard runoff spot (bare land spot). In 2007, a whole-year complete observation was conducted during the rainy season and "rainfall-erosion" data were obtained for 32 times. Our analysis showed that during the entire observation period, the number of the rainfalls that led to soil erosion accounted for 34.04% of the number of all rainfalls and the amount of the rainfalls that led to soil erosion accounted for 84.17% of the total amount of all rainfalls. The average erosive rainfall standard in the three test spots was 11.0 mm, slightly higher than the 10 mm standard that has been adopted all over China, but lower than the 12.7 mm standard of the US and the 13.0 mm standard of Japan. According to single-factor analysis, the soil loss in the sloping land spot (L2) and that in the bare land spot (L3) are correlated to certain extent to many other factors, including the single precipitation (P), rainfall intensity during the maximum ten minutes (I10), rainfall intensity during the maximum 20 minutes (I20), rainfall intensity during the maximum 30 minutes (I30), rainfall intensity during the maximum 40 minutes (I40), and rainfall intensity during the maximum 60 minutes (I60). Among these factors, they are of the highest relativity with I60. According to double-factor analysis, both L2 and L3 are of good relativity with P and I60. According to multi-factor analysis, L2 and L3 are also of good relativity with seven rainfall indexes, namely, P, Ia (average rainfall intensity), I10, I20, I30, I40, and I60, with their related coefficient R reaching 0.906 and 0.914, respectively. The annual soil losses in the three test spots are widely different: 1030.70 t/km2·a in the terrace land spot, which indicates a low-level erosion; 12913.22 t/km2·a in the sloping land spot (unconsolidated spot), some 12.5 times than that in the terrace land spot, which indicates an ultra-high-level erosion; and 19511.67 t/km2·a in the bare land spot, some 18.9 times than that in terrace land spot, indicating an acute erosion. These figures fully show that the Xichou rock-desertified land consolidation mode plays a significant role in soil conservation.     

Changes in demand and supply of ecosystem services under scenarios of future land use in Vorarlberg,Austria

Ecosystem services(ES) are highly impacted by human-induced land-use change.Progressive urbanization and agricultural land abandonment in Western Europe necessitate assessments of future land-change impacts on ES to ensure sustainable service management. The present study aims at evaluating future demand and supply of three key services(flood protection, nearby recreation and biodiversity) in the mountainous region of Vorarlberg, Austria. We mapped the ES for the referenced time step 2016 and two scenarios for 2050,assuming the continuation of current land-change trends and pressure on landscape development.Results for the referenced landscape in 2016 show the highest ES supply for intermediate levels, while ES supply was low in the lowlands and valley bottoms and in high-elevation areas. We found a high positive correlation of ES with the distribution of forested areas. In contrast, service demand was highest in lowelevation areas and decreased with increasing elevation. This indicates that densely settled and intensively used agricultural areas currently suffer from ES undersupply. The projected future development of land use showed an increase in both supply and demand of the selected ES. The overall service supply increased more than the respective demand due to some reforestation of open land. As forests were found to be important synergistic areas for overall service provision, we expect decreasing demand on related services. Locally, demand was found to exceed the supply of ES, especially in the densely populated Rhine valley-requiring further policy interventions. Such ES-related information may contribute to regional policy making and ensure the long-term provision of ESs for future generations.