Distinction, quantification and mapping of potential and realized supply-demand of flow-dependent ecosystem services

Linking ecosystem service flow to water-related ecological security pattern: A methodological approach applied to a coastal province of China

Water security is a critical concern due to intensifying anthropogenic activities and climate change. Delineating a water-related ecological security pattern can help to optimize spatial configuration, which in turn can inform sustainable water management. However, the methodology remains unclear. In this study, we developed a framework linking ecosystem service flow to water-related ecological security pattern; hence, we identified the sources, sinks, key corridors, and vulnerable nodes in Fujian Province, China. Our results revealed that the sources were located inland at high altitudes with a decreasing area trend in the south and an increasing area trend in the north, whereas the sinks were spread in coastal areas and exhibited a decreasing trend with relatively stable spatial distribution. The water-related ecological security has degraded as represented by a decreasing ecological supply-demand ratio over the last 30 years. Key corridors were identified in 17.12% of the rivers, and 22.5% of the vulnerable nodes were recognized as early warning nodes. Climate variability affected source distribution, while anthropogenic activities drove sink dynamics. These findings have important implications including landscape pattern planning and sustainable water management in the context of accelerated land use/cover and climate changes.

Modeling place-based nature-based solutions to promote urban carbon neutrality

Nature-based solutions (NbS) are recognized as widely available and cost-effective mechanisms for sequestering carbon and offsetting carbon emissions. Realistic NbS implementations for carbon neutrality need to be effective at the global level and also appropriate for the socio-economic and physical conditions prevailing at the local level. This paper presents a framework that can help stakeholders identify demands, locations, and types of NbS interventions that could maximize NbS benefits at the local scale. Key processes in the framework include (1) interpolating carbon emissions data at larger spatial scales to high-resolution cells, using land use and socio-economic data; (2) assessing NbS effects on carbon reduction and their location-related suitability, through qualitative literature review, and (3) spatially allocating and coupling multiple NbS interventions to land use cells. The system was tested in Stockholm, Sweden. The findings show that the urban center should be allocated with combinations of improving access to green spaces and streetscapes, while the rural and suburban areas should prioritize preserving and utilizing natural areas. Our proposed method framework can help planners better select target locations for intended risk/hazard-mitigating interventions.

Spatiotemporal Characteristics of the Coupled Coordination Degree of Ecosystem Services Supply and Demand in Chinese National Nature Reserves

Nature reserves (NRs) are the main components of protected areas and geographic spaces, with unique natural and cultural resources. The establishment of nature reserves has not only strengthened the protection of specific species but has also played a vital role in the protection of ecosystem services (ESs). However, few studies have been conducted to systematically assess the effectiveness of nature reserves from the perspective of ecosystem services supply and demand (S&D) or make comparisons between the conservation effects of different types of nature reserves. This study analyzed the spatiotemporal characteristics of ecosystem service supply and demand in 412 Chinese national nature reserves. The results showed that both supply and demand for ecosystem services per unit area show a spatial pattern of increasing from west to east. The supply-demand matching pattern is dominated by high supply-high demand (H-H) and low supply-high demand (L-H) in the central and eastern regions, and high supply-low demand (H-L) and low supply-low demand (L-L) in the northeast, northwest, and southwest regions. The coupling coordination degree (CCD) of ecosystem services supply and demand increased from 0.53 in 2000 to 0.57 in 2020, and the number of NRs reaching the coordinated level (>0.5) increased by 15 from 2000 to 2020, representing 3.64% of the total number of protected areas. Steppe meadows, ocean coasts, forest ecosystems, wildlife, and wild plant types of nature reserves all improved more obviously. This provides a scientific basis for strengthening the ecological and environmental supervision of nature reserves, and the research methods and ideas can provide references for similar research.

Urban ecosystems and heavy rainfall – A Flood Regulating Ecosystem Service modelling approach for extreme events on the local scale

Increasing urbanisation in combination with a rise in the frequency and intensity of heavy rain events increase the risk of urban flooding. Flood Regulating Ecosystem Services (FRES) address the capacity of ecosystems to reduce the flood hazard and lower damage. FRES can be estimated by quantification of supply (provision of a service by an ecosystem) and demand (need for specific ES by society). However, FRES for pluvial floods in cities have rarely been studied and there is a gap in research and methods on FRES supply and demand quantification.

In this study, we assessed FRES of an urban district in the City of Rostock (Germany) for a one-hour heavy rainfall event using the hydrological model LEAFlood. The hydrological model delivered the FRES supply indicators of soil water retention and water retained by canopies (interception). An intersection of the potential demand (based on indicators of population density, land reference value, monuments and infrastructure) and the modelled surface water depth revealed the actual demand. Comparing the actual demand and supply indicated the budget of FRES to identify unmet demand and supply surplus.

Results show highest mean FRES supply on greened areas of forests, woodlands and green areas, resulting in a supply surplus. Whereas, sealed areas (paved surface where water cannot infiltrate into the soil), such as settlements, urban dense areas, traffic areas and industry, have an unmet demand resulting from low supply and relatively high actual demand.

With the hydrological model LEAFlood, single landscape elements on the urban scale can be evaluated regarding their FRES and interception can be considered. Both are important for FRES assessment in urban areas. In contrast to flood risk maps, the study of FRES gives the opportunity to take into account the contribution of nature to flood regulation benefits for the socio-economic system. The visualisation of FRES supply and demand balance helps urban planners to identify hotspots and reduce potential impacts of urban pluvial flooding with ecosystem-based adaptations.

Identification of Priority Implementation Areas and Configuration Types for Green Infrastructure Based on Ecosystem Service Demands in Metropolitan City

During urbanization in developing countries, fragmentation of green infrastructure due to increasing populations and the expansion of construction land leads to an extremely serious imbalance between the supply and demand for urban ecosystem services. In this study, the central city of Zhengzhou, a central city in central China, was selected as the study area and the excessive demand for six ecosystem services, namely, air purification, flood regulation, heat regulation, hydrological regulation, CO₂ sequestration and recreational services, was quantitatively evaluated. The entropy method was used to calculate the weights of various ecosystem services, and spatial overlay analysis was performed to obtain the comprehensive ecosystem service excessive demand. Finally, bivariate spatial autocorrelation analysis was used to explore the response of population density to comprehensive excessive demand for ESs. The results of this study indicate that: (1) The most prevalent need is for more CO₂ regulation service throughout the study area. (2) Except for hydrological regulation service, the spatial distribution of the remaining highly excessive ecosystem service demands are mostly concentrated in old neighborhoods. (3) Of the six excessively demanded economic services, rainwater regulation obtained the greatest weight, reflecting the poor urban infrastructure configuration for countering the rapidly increasing threat of flooding caused by climate change in the city. (4) The comprehensive ecosystem service excessive demand results show that there are eight priority green infrastructure implementation blocks in the central city of Zhengzhou. (5) There were three agglomeration types between population density and comprehensive excessive demand for ESs: high-high type, low-high type and low-low type. The spatial distribution characteristics of population density and comprehensive ES demand are positively correlated. The results of this study could help to provide information for decision making when delineating the priority areas and types of green infrastructure implementation in developing cities.

Demand for Ecosystem Services Drive Large-Scale Shifts in Land-Use in Tropical Mountainous Watersheds Prone to Landslides

An increasing frequency of extreme atmospheric events is challenging our basic knowledge about the resilience mechanisms that mediate the response of small mountainous watersheds (SMW) to landslides, including production of water-derived ecosystem services (WES). We hypothesized that the demand for WES increases the connectivity between lowland and upland regions, and decreases the heterogeneity of SMW. Focusing on four watersheds in the Central Andes of Colombia and combining “site-specific knowledge”, historic land cover maps (1970s and 1980s), and open, analysis-ready remotely sensed data (GLAD Landsat ARD; 1990–2000), we addressed three questions. Over roughly 120 years, the site-specific data revealed an increasing demand for diverse WES, as well as variation among the watersheds in the supply of WES. At watershed-scales, variation in the water balances—a surrogate for water-derived ES flows—exhibited complex relationships with forest cover. Fractional forest cover (pi) and forest aggregation (AIi) varied between the historic and current data sets, but in general showed non-linear relationships with elevation and slope. In the current data set (1990–2000), differences in the number of significant, linear models explaining variation in pi with time, suggest that slope may play a more important role than elevation in land cover change. We found ample evidence for a combined effect of slope and elevation on the two land cover metrics, which would be consistent with strategies directed to mitigate site-specific landslide-associated risks. Overall, our work shows strong feedbacks between lowland and upland areas, raising questions about the sustainable production of WES.

Monitoring ecosystem services in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area based on multi-temporal deep learning

Assessment of ecosystem service supply and demand, as well as the budgets of ecosystem service supply and demand, is the basis of scientific urban planning. In the 20 years between the proposal and formation of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), the natural ecosystem has been degraded and the ecological balance has been destroyed. In this paper, in order to assess the changes in ecosystem services in the GBA, a deep learning method composed of deep change vector analysis and the ResUnet model is proposed to achieve land use/land cover (LULC) mapping for 2000 and 2020. An index-based non-monetary evaluation method is then employed to quantify the value of the ecosystem services, and the spatial and temporal characteristics of the ecosystem service changes are analyzed. The results reveal that: (1) the proposed deep learning approach that combines deep change vector analysis (CVA) and model fine-tuning is able to achieve rapid and efficient LULC mapping in a large-scale area with multi-temporal image sequences. The overall accuracy of LULC mapping is 86.06% for 2000 and 86.67% for 2020. (2) The impervious surface area of all the cities in the GBA has increased significantly between 2000 and 2020, with an overall increase of 11.95%. (3) The mismatch between supply and demand for ecosystem services in the GBA has intensified, especially for provisioning, regulation, and cultural services. (4) The spatial distribution of the ecosystem service budget changes in the GBA shows aggregation characteristics and spatially positive correlation. These findings will provide important insights for promoting the coordinated development of the regional ecosystems and social economy in the GBA.

Integrating Water Quality Restoration Cost with Ecosystem Service Flow to Quantify an Ecological Compensation Standard: A Case Study of the Taoxi Creek Watershed

Watershed ecological compensation is an important economic tool for solving the protection–development conflict. However, establishing a sound ecological compensation plan for rational water resource use at the watershed scale remains challenging. Monthly water samples were collected between April 2019 and July 2020 at 28 points to analyze the spatiotemporal variation in water quality in the Taoxi Creek watershed, which is important for local water security. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool was used to simulate water supply, demand, and spatial flow at the watershed scale. Water quality restoration cost was integrated with ecosystem service flow to quantify the watershed ecological compensation. The ecological compensation using water quality restoration cost based on pollutant treatment cost and water quality target level was CNY 11.9 million (USD 188 million). Taoxi Creek was identified as the major supplier of water ecosystem services for downstream residents, and the ecological compensation based on ecosystem service flow was CNY 18.9–47.2 million (USD 3.0–7.5 million). Combining both calculations, the watershed should annually receive CNY 30.8–59.1 million (USD 4.9–9.3 million) of economic compensation from downstream ecosystem beneficiaries. This study provides a scientific basis for improving the ecological compensation scheme in the Taoxi Creek watershed and a reference for ecological compensation formulation in other watersheds.

An ecological perspective for understanding regional integration based on ecosystem service budgets, bundles, and flows: A case study of the Jinan metropolitan area in China

Regional integration can contribute to co-occurring benefits of different parts of an urban agglomeration by managing these parts as a whole. However, current regional integration mainly focuses on the socioeconomic rather than the ecological dimension. To interpret regional ecological integration, we firstly selected six typical ecosystem services (ESs) to represent ecological benefits that potentially need to be improved by ecological integration for further analysis. Then we used ES budgets, bundles, and flows to investigate the potential, basic analysis unit, and occurring manners of ecological integration, respectively. Our results show that supply-demand mismatches were observed in all the ES types. Meanwhile, coexisting ES surpluses and deficits on the town scale were found in supporting biodiversity, soil retention, water yield, green space recreation, and crop yield, which indicates that their supply-demand mismatches can be mitigated with ecological integration. Furthermore, all the towns were classified into five spatial clusters with distinct ES budget bundles, which acted as the basic analysis unit of ecological integration. ES flows with three flow characteristic types were observed between different clusters, and all the clusters had ES provider-beneficiary relationships with each other. Based on the ES approach, we provided an ecological perspective for understanding regional integration, which has the potential to promote regional ecological sustainability.

Stakeholders’ Perceptions on the Role of Urban Green Infrastructure in Providing Ecosystem Services for Human Well-Being

The perception of linkages between ecosystem services (ES) and the urban green infrastructure (UGI) is evaluated, and their impact on human well-being (WB) is defined. Using a theoretical approach, the UGI’s specific contribution to WB is calculated as the sum of the products of (a) the number of perceived ES per ES group and the WB weight factor divided by the product of (b) the number of respondents and (c) the sum of the products of ES and the WB weight factor. Stakeholders demand more ES than the perceived ES supply from all types of UGI, especially for the social relations component of WB. The highest number of perceived ES and greatest impact on all WB components is provided by urban forests. This method could be helpful in acknowledging ES and involving stakeholders not previously familiar with the ES concept with the aim of introducing ES into UGI governance.

Spatial Heterogeneity of Driving Factors of Wind Erosion Prevention Services in Northern China by Large-Scale Human Land-Use Management

Large-scale human land-use management is an effective method for ecosystem restoration and wind erosion prevention service (WEPS) improvement. However, the spatial differences of driving factors and the feedback in subsequent management have received less attention. This study analysed the temporal and spatial changes in the WEPS in northern China from 2000 to 2015, classified the driving modes between the WEPS and environmental factors, distinguished the main driving factors, and proposed suggestions for successive projects. The results showed that, compared with 2000, the amount of WEPSs in 2015 increased by 12.60%, and forest and grassland in the WEPS-increased area was 1.34 times that in the declining area. There were east–west differences in the driving mechanism of WEPS improvement. In addition to climatic and topographic factors, the western division was mainly affected by changes in vegetation quality, whereas the eastern division was affected by the combined influence of vegetation quality and quantity. This study shows the necessity of land-use management and project zoning policies, and provides a reference for policy formulation and management of large-scale ecological projects.

Biodiversity and ecosystem services mapping: Can it reconcile urban and protected area planning?

Land-use changes, especially urbanization, have largely impacted the capacity of ecosystems to deliver ecosystem services (ES) on which human wellbeing depends. The current sectorial landscape and territorial planning approaches that separately address protected areas and urban areas have proven ineffective in conserving biodiversity. To address this important challenge, integrated territorial planning has been claimed to be able to better reconcile interests between nature conservation and urban planning, and ES supply and demand mapping may be a useful tool for such purposes. In this study, we quantitatively mapped biodiversity and the supply and demand of eight ES along an urban-rural gradient in the region of Madrid (Spain). Then, we clustered the municipalities in this gradient into four groups based on their common biodiversity and ES supply and demand characteristics. Additionally, we reviewed the urban plans from these municipalities and the management plans of three protected areas, analysed the references to ES in the plans, and searched for potential conflicts between urban and protected area planning aims. We found that municipalities with highly coupled ES supply and demand are in high altitude areas, coinciding with protected areas, while in urban areas, the ES demand exceeds the supply. Municipalities exhibiting a high demand for regulating ES usually include them in their plans, while municipalities with a high supply of regulating ES do not. Given the several conflicts between protected areas and urban planning that we detected, we discuss the utility of mapping biodiversity and ES supply and demand beyond administrative boundaries to overcome the challenge of integrating spatial planning approaches, especially in the context of urban-rural gradients and megacities. We also explore the utility of these methods for coordinating urban planning tools to achieve integrated territorial planning.

The tradeoffs between food supply and demand from the perspective of ecosystem service flows: A case study in the Pearl River Delta, China

Ecosystem service flows are a research topic of significant interest, and exploring this topic may mitigate the shortcomings related to the spatial mismatches between supply and demand in the current ecosystem services studies. The Pearl River Delta (PRD) experiences a serious spatial mismatch in ecosystem services in particular the food supply, between the supply areas (hilly areas) and demand areas (central areas). Therefore, this study focused on the PRD as a case study to analyze change trends of food supply-demand ratio (FSDR) at city level, and depict the spatial flow path within and between cities from the perspective of ecosystem service flow with different threshold distance, using an enhanced two-step floating catchment area accessibility method. The results showed that the food demand significantly exceeded the supply, the budget was 3.58 million tons and FSDR was 0.49 in 2015. There were large discrepancies in the FSDR at the city level before and after when considering the ecosystem service flows. The FSDR of cities in the central areas increased 0.1%-30%, due to the ecosystem service flow from the low hilly areas. As delivery distances increased, the size of food flow decreased within cities and increased among cities. This led to a significant decline in the population living in severe undersupplied areas (FSDR＜0.1) and oversupplied areas (FSDR＞1), and an increase in undersupplied areas (0.1＜FSDR＜0.9). Our findings indicate that local governments would benefit from enhancing connections between supply and demand areas to meet the food demand of big cities. This study offers a comprehensive and realistic understanding of the physical situation of ecosystem service consumption by human beings, and provides decision-making information for optimize land use allocation.

Comparative quantification of local climate regulation by green and blue urban areas in cities across Europe

Urban growth alters environmental conditions with major consequences for climate regulation and the exposure of population to heat. Nature-based solutions may be used to alleviate the increasing urban climate pressures, but the climate regulation services that these solutions can supply for and across different urban conditions remains understudied. We comparatively investigate the urban ecosystem service realization (considering the ecosystem service supply and demand spatial interactions) of local climate regulation by vegetated (green) and water-covered (blue) areas across 660 European cities. Results show relatively robust power-law relationships with city population density (average R² of 0.34) of main indicators of ecosystem service realization. Country-wise fitting for city-average indicators strengthens these relationships, in particular for western European cities (average R² of 0.66). Cross-city results also show strong power-law relationship of effectiveness in ecosystem service realization with socio-economic measures like Human Development Index and GPD per capita, in particular for the area fraction of city parts with high ecosystem service realization (R² of 0.77). The quantified relationships are useful for comparative understanding of differences in ecosystem services realization between cities and city parts, and quantitative projection of possible change trends under different types of city growth so that relevant measures can be taken to counteract undesirable trends.

Conceptualising the demand for ecosystem services – an adapted spatial-structural approach

People require multiple ecosystem services (ES) to meet their basic needs and improve or maintain their quality of life. In order to meet these needs, natural resources are exploited, threatening biodiversity and increasing the pressure on the Earth's ecosystems.

Spatial-structural approaches are used to explain and visualise the spatial relationships and connections between areas that provide and benefit from ES. However, areas where the demand for these ES occurs are rarely considered in existing spatial approaches or equated with areas where people can use the benefits.

In order to highlight the differences between these two areas, we would like to introduce the 'Service Demanding Area' (SDA) in an adapted spatial-structural approach.

This approach relates SDA to already familiar ES provision and use units, namely Service Providing Areas (SPA), Service Connecting Areas (SCA) and Service Benefitting Areas (SBA) and can be used to schematically illustrate, understand and analyse the different forms of demand that can emerge.

A literature review was conducted to provide an overview of the spatial mapping of ES demand. Three issues arose that should be addressed to improve the assessment of ES demand: 1) The term ES demand is not used consistently. To avoid confusion, it is important to clarify how ES demand is understood and how it differs from the other components of the ES concept (e.g. ES supply, ES potential, ES flow); 2) It is important to consider that ES demand is multi-faceted and is generated on different geographical scales, including the full range of stakeholders' perceptions, needs and desires which broadens the picture of societal demand for ES; 3) Meaningful interpretations between ES supply and demand need to be available to inform decision-makers about interventions for reducing ES trade-offs and mismatches.

Allocating and mapping ecosystem service demands with spatial flow from built-up areas to natural spaces

Co-urbanized areas around large cities in developing countries face the problem of spatial disconnection between supply and demand areas of ecosystem services (ES). To explore the reflection of human needs in the nonadjacent surrounding natural spaces and identify the response of the existing natural space system to the ES demand in terms of total amount and spatial distribution, a new method for ES demand mapping in co-urbanized areas was proposed. Based on the theory of the ES delivery chain, urban built-up areas are identified as service benefiting areas (SBAs) and the sources where demands are generated, natural spaces are regarded as service provision areas (SPAs) and the sinks and destinations where demands are satisfied, and ES spatial flow is considered as the delivery mechanism and ecological process that promotes the demand flow from sources to sinks. An indicator cluster composed of four multidimensional indicators, including flow quantity, flow boundary, flow direction and allocation mode along the distance, was used to characterize the spatial flow and represent the four key links in the technical path of allocating ES demand from built-up areas to natural spaces with spatial flow to intuitively reflect the spatial characteristics of human social demands projected in them. We quantified and mapped the distribution of three ES demands in built-up areas and surrounding natural spaces. In the former, the high-demand spaces are concentrated in the areas with high population density or high aging degree; while in the latter, the high-demand spaces are mainly adjacent to the built-up areas or the large-scale natural spaces. By controlling the flow quantity, expanding the flow area, increasing the flow directions and improving the ES supply capacity of SPAs within a given distance, the high ES demands in the above spaces can be effectively regulated.

Identifying the spatial disparities and determinants of ecosystem service balance and their implications on land use optimization

Ecosystem services (ESs) are increasingly affected by human interventions, and the ES balance between supply and demand plays a vital role in guaranteeing the expected efficacy of ecosystem restoration projects. However, the spatial disparities of ES balance, along with its determinants and spillover effects, remain unclear, constraining effective ES management and landscape planning. The aim of this study was to fill these gaps by quantifying the ES balance in the restoring Loess Plateau using an expert-based ES matrix approach and by examining the spatial associations between ES balance and driving factors via an integrated regression approach. The results showed that the county-scale ES balance was closely related to the land-use composition and population density. Geographic locations of counties with ES surplus were mainly concentrated in mountainous areas with high proportions of woodland and grassland, while urbanized land and a high population density resulted in an ES deficit. Forest and grass regeneration, due to revegetation practices, alleviated ES deficits, while rapid urbanization and population growth aggravated ES imbalance. The integrated regression approach demonstrated that the ES balance and its dependencies (i.e., landscape metrics and population density) had remarkable spatial heterogeneity and spillover effects, which should be practically considered in localized ES management and landscape optimization. Excessive agricultural reclamation and urban expansion improved grain productivity and economic profits but deteriorated landscape fragmentation, further aggravating the ES deficit. In contrast, excessive revegetation practices promoted ecosystem restoration and improved ES surplus but threatened food security. Therefore, an appropriate balanced state should be maintained for sustainable ecosystem restoration through timely and efficient policy interventions and landscape optimization.

Assessing Ecosystem Services Supply-Demand (Mis)Matches for Differential City Management in the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration

With the global increase in population and urban expansion, the simultaneous rise of social demand and degradation of ecosystems is omnipresent, especially in the urban agglomerations of China. In order to manage environmental problems and match ecosystem supply and social demand, these urban agglomerations promoted regional socio-ecological integration but ignored differential city management during the process of integration. Therefore, it is necessary to design a general framework linking ecosystem supply and social demand to differential city management. In addition, in previous studies, ecosystem services supply–demand amount (mis)match assessment was emphasized, but ecosystem services supply–demand type (mis)match assessment was ignored, which may lead to biased decisions. To deal with these problems, this study presented a general ecosystem services framework with six core steps for differential city management and developed a double-indices (amount and type) method to identify ecosystem services supply–demand (mis)matches in an urban agglomeration. This framework and the double-indices method were applied in the case study of the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration. Ecosystem supply–demand amount and type (mis)match levels and spatial pattern of twenty-six cities were identified. Twenty-six cities in the YRDUA were classified into five kinds of cities with different levels of ES supply–demand (mis)matches for RS, three kinds of cities for PS, and four kinds of cities for CS. Differential city management strategies were designed. Despite its limitations, this study can be a reference to giving insights into ES supply–demand (mis)match assessment and management.

Soil Diversity (Pedodiversity) and Ecosystem Services

Soil ecosystem services (ES) (e.g., provisioning, regulation/maintenance, and cultural) and ecosystem disservices (ED) are dependent on soil diversity/pedodiversity (variability of soils), which needs to be accounted for in the economic analysis and business decision-making. The concept of pedodiversity (biotic + abiotic) is highly complex and can be broadly interpreted because it is formed from the interaction of atmospheric diversity (abiotic + biotic), biodiversity (biotic), hydrodiversity (abiotic + biotic), and lithodiversity (abiotic) within ecosphere and anthroposphere. Pedodiversity is influenced by intrinsic (within the soil) and extrinsic (outside soil) factors, which are also relevant to ES/ED. Pedodiversity concepts and measures may need to be adapted to the ES framework and business applications. Currently, there are four main approaches to analyze pedodiversity: taxonomic (diversity of soil classes), genetic (diversity of genetic horizons), parametric (diversity of soil properties), and functional (soil behavior under different uses). The objective of this article is to illustrate the application of pedodiversity concepts and measures to value ES/ED with examples based on the contiguous United States (U.S.), its administrative units, and the systems of soil classification (e.g., U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Soil Taxonomy, Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) Database). This study is based on a combination of original research and literature review examples. Taxonomic pedodiversity in the contiguous U.S. exhibits high soil diversity, with 11 soil orders, 65 suborders, 317 great groups, 2026 subgroups, and 19,602 series. The ranking of “soil order abundance” (area of each soil order within the U.S.) expressed as the proportion of the total area is: (1) Mollisols (27%), (2) Alfisols (17%), (3) Entisols (14%), (4) Inceptisols and Aridisols (11% each), (5) Spodosols (3%), (6) Vertisols (2%), and (7) Histosols and Andisols (1% each). Taxonomic, genetic, parametric, and functional pedodiversity are an essential context for analyzing, interpreting, and reporting ES/ED within the ES framework. Although each approach can be used separately, three of these approaches (genetic, parametric, and functional) fall within the “umbrella” of taxonomic pedodiversity, which separates soils based on properties important to potential use. Extrinsic factors play a major role in pedodiversity and should be accounted for in ES/ED valuation based on various databases (e.g., National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) databases). Pedodiversity is crucial in identifying soil capacity (pedocapacity) and “hotspots” of ES/ED as part of business decision making to provide more sustainable use of soil resources. Pedodiversity is not a static construct but is highly dynamic, and various human activities (e.g., agriculture, urbanization) can lead to soil degradation and even soil extinction.

Comparison between Demand and Supply of Some Ecosystem Services in National Parks: A Spatial Analysis Conducted Using Italian Case Studies

In recent decades, modeling approaches of ecosystem services (ES) have been used extensively at the international level, providing useful tools during the decision-making process by integrating both physical and economic information, thus improving its management. The relationship between supply and demand may impact social welfare: for example, a deficit in ES could negatively influence demand (either potential or effective). For this reason, the relational study between supply and demand is necessary for the sustainable management of natural resources; particularly since the demand for some ES must be fulfilled not only on a local scale but also globally (as in the case of regulatory ES). This paper proposes an ES analysis framework that links the flow of services (supply) generated by the interaction between natural, human and social capital with consumption (demand) connected to potential beneficiaries. Specifically, we analyze three ES: Forage production, regulation of local climate (PM10), and carbon sequestration in three national parks (Aspromonte National Park, Circeo National Park, and Appennino Tosco Emiliano National Park). The use of synthetic (biophysical) indicators, on a spatial basis, made it possible to quantify the supply and demand of specific catchments with the aim of accounting for the surplus/deficit through the calculation of the ES supply and demand ratio (ESDR). In fact, sustainable land management requires a balance between supply and demand in relation to the different needs of the stakeholders and local community. The relationship between supply and demand of ES can help identify resource use trade-offs, thus rendering the achievement of management and protection objectives more efficient. Lastly, through the use of monetary coefficients, it was possible to calculate the benefits of increasing the awareness of public decision-makers of ES’s value and the importance of implementing integrated strategies for environmental protection and enhancement.

Ecosystem service potential, flow, demand and their spatial associations: a comparison of the nutrient retention service between a human- and a nature-dominated watershed

Nutrient regulation is an important ecosystem regulating service in watersheds. However, systematic investigations of the spatial associations between the potential, flow, and demand of the nutrient regulation service are still lacking. Therefore, we performed a case study comparing the total phosphorus (TP) retention in the Dianchi Lake (DL) watershed (human-dominated) with that in the Lower Reach of the Zi River (LRZR) watershed (nature-dominated). We used four indicators-TP retention potential, TP retention, TP load, and TP export-to represent the potential, flow, demand, and flow-demand budget of the TP retention service, respectively. We estimated the TP retention and export using the InVEST tool, mapped the four TP indicators and calculated their correlations, and estimated the contributions of different ecosystem types and terrain ranges to TP retention and export. We determined the following: (1) the incongruity between the spatial distribution of the TP retention potential and the other three TP indicators was smaller in the LRZR watershed than in the DL watershed; (2) the TP retention potentials generally increased-while the other three TP indicators decreased-with increases in the elevation gradient in the DL watershed and the slope gradients in both study areas; and (3) paddy fields exhibited the highest TP retention intensity and residential areas exhibited the highest TP export intensity among the major ecosystem types in both study areas. Moreover, the TP retention intensities of dryland crops and residential areas in the DL watershed were much higher than they were in the LRZR watershed. Our findings imply that the flow of the nutrient retention service is influenced more by the service demand than by the service potential and that it is influenced by both landscape composition and pattern. Because of the limitations and uncertainties in the modeling outputs, our results should be carefully used in other studies or in decision-making.

A Guide to Public Green Space Planning for Urban Ecosystem Services

Street trees, native plantings, bioswales, and other forms of green infrastructure alleviate urban air and water pollution, diminish flooding vulnerability, support pollinators, and provide other benefits critical to human well-being. Urban planners increasingly value such urban ecosystem services (ES), and effective methods for deciding among alternative planting regimes using urban ES criteria are under active development. In this effort, integrating stakeholder values and concerns with quantitative urban ES assessments is a central challenge; although it is widely recommended, specific approaches have yet to be explored. Here, we develop, apply, and evaluate such a method in the Friendly Area Neighborhood of Eugene, Oregon by investigating the potential for increased urban ES through the conversion of public lawn to alternative planting regimes that align with expressed stakeholder priorities. We first estimated current urban ES from green space mapping and published supply rates, finding lawn cover and associated ES to be dominant. Resident and expert priorities were then revealed through surveys and Delphi analyses; top priorities included air quality, stormwater quality, native plantings, and pollinator habitat, while concerns focused on cost and safety. Unexpectedly, most residents expressed a willingness to support urban ES improvements financially. This evidence then informed the development of planting regime alternatives among which we compared achievable future urban ES delivery, revealing clear differences among those that maximized stakeholder priorities, those that maximized quantitative urban ES delivery, and their integration. The resulting contribution is a straightforward method for identifying planting regimes with a high likelihood of success in delivering desired urban ES in specific local contexts.

Understanding interactions between urban development policies and GHG emissions: A case study in Stockholm Region

Human-induced urban growth and sprawl have implications for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that may not be included in conventional GHG accounting methods. Improved understanding of this issue requires use of interactive, spatial-explicit social-ecological systems modeling. This paper develops a comprehensive approach to modeling GHG emissions from urban developments, considering Stockholm County, Sweden as a case study. GHG projections to 2040 with a social-ecological system model yield overall greater emissions than simple extrapolations in official climate action planning. The most pronounced difference in emissions (39% higher) from energy use single-residence buildings resulting from urban sprawl. And this difference is not accounted for in the simple extrapolations. Scenario results indicate that a zoning policy, restricting urban development in certain areas, can mitigate 72% of the total emission effects of the model-projected urban sprawl. The study outcomes include a decision support interface for communicating results and policy implications with policymakers.

Integrating Ecosystem Services Supply–Demand and Spatial Relationships for Intercity Cooperation: A Case Study of the Yangtze River Delta

Transboundary environmental problems caused by urban expansion and economic growth cannot be solved by individual cities. Successful intercity environmental cooperation relies on the clear identification and definition of the rights and obligations of each city. An Ecosystem services (ES) approach not only budgets the ES supply and demand of a city, but also defines the spatial relationships between Services Provisioning Areas (SPA) and Services Benefiting Areas (SBA). However, to date, quantitative studies integrating ES budgets and spatial relations have been scarce. This study integrates ecosystem services supply–demand budgeting with flow direction analysis to identify intercity environmental cooperation in the highly urbanized Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region of China for water-related ecosystem services (flood protection, erosion regulation and water purification). The results demonstrated that there were significant spatial mismatches in the supply and demand of three water-related ES among 16 core cities in the YRD region: five to six cities in the southern part of the region had significant service surpluses, while ten to 11 cities in the north–central part had significant service deficits. We then went on to offer definitions for Ecosystem Services Surplus City, Ecosystem Services Deficit City and Ecosystem Services Balance City, as well as Service Provisioning City, Service Benefiting City and Service Connecting City in which to categorize cities in the YRD Region. Furthermore, we identified two intercity cooperation types and two non-cooperation types. This framework can be used to promote ecological integration in highly urbanized regions to advance sustainable development.

Ten years of ecosystem services matrix: Review of a (r)evolution

With the Ecosystem Service (ES) concept's popularisation, the need for robust and practical methodologies for ES assessments has increased. The ES matrix approach, linking ecosystem types or other geospatial units with ES in easy-to-apply lookup tables, was first developed ten years ago and, since then, has been broadly used. Whereas detailed methodological guidelines can be found in literature, the ES matrix approach seems to be often used in a quick (and maybe even "quick and dirty”) way. Based on a review of scientific publications, in which the ES matrix approach was used, we present the diversity of application contexts, highlight trends of uses and propose future recommendations for improved applications of the ES matrix.

A total of 109 studies applying the ES matrix approach and one methodological study without concrete applications were considered for the review. Amongst the main patterns observed, the ES matrix approach allows the assessment of a higher number of ES than other ES assessment methods. ES can be jointly assessed with indicators for ecosystem condition and biodiversity in the ES matrix. Although the ES matrix allows us consider many data sources to achieve the assessment scores for the individual ES, in the reviewed studies, these were mainly used together with expert-based scoring (73%) and/or ES scores that were based on an already-published ES matrix or deduced by information found in related scientific publications (51%). We must acknowledge that 27% of the studies did not clearly explain their methodology. This points out a lack of method elucidation on how the data had been used and where the scores came from. Although some studies addressed the need to consider variabilities and uncertainties in ES assessments, only a minority of studies (15%) did so. Our review shows that, in 29% of the studies, an already-existing matrix was used as an initial matrix for the assessment (mainly the same matrix from one of the Burkhard et al. papers). In 16% of the reviewed studies, no other data were used for the matrix scores or no adaptation of the existing matrix used was made. However, the actual idea of the ES scores, included in the Burkhard et al.'s matrices published 10 years ago, was to provide some examples and give inspiration for one's own studies. Therefore, we recommend to use only scores assessed for a specific study or, if one wishes to use pre-existing scores from another study, to revise them in depth, taking into account the local context of the new assessment. We also recommend to systematically report and consider variabilities and uncertainties in each ES assessment. We emphasise the need for all scientific studies to describe clearly and extensively the whole methodology used to score or evaluate ES in order to be able to rate the quality of the scores obtained. In conclusion, the application of the ES matrix has to become more transparent and integrate more variability analyses. The increasing number of studies that use the ES matrix approach confirms its success, appropriability, flexibility and utility for decision-making, as well as its ability to increase awareness of ES.

Identifying Dynamic Changes in Ecosystem Services Supply and Demand for Urban Sustainability: Insights from a Rapidly Urbanizing City in Central China

Identifying the balance and dynamic changes in supply and demand of ecosystem services (ES) can help maintain the sustainability of the regional ecosystem and improve human well-being. To achieve a sustainable ecological management regime in Zhengzhou City, this study presented a comprehensive framework for identifying dynamic changes of ES supply and demand and managing ES. Using land use data of Zhengzhou City in 1995, 2005, and 2015 and incorporating expert knowledge and the ES evaluation matrix, we evaluated the spatiotemporal changes in the ES supply and demand in Zhengzhou. Gradient analysis was conducted to identify urban–rural patterns in the budgets of ES supply and demand. Spatial autocorrelation analysis was employed to identify the hotspot areas of ES surpluses or deficits. The research results show the following: (1) In the past 20 years, the supply-and-demand relationship of ES in Zhengzhou has gradually evolved in a direction where supply falls short of demand. The average budget index of Zhengzhou’s ES supply and demand decreased from 7.30 in 1995 to −4.89 in 2015. Changes in the supply and demand status of ES in Zhengzhou corresponded to the background of rapid urbanization. (2) Urban–rural gradient differences exist in the budgets of ES supply and demand in Zhengzhou. Core development areas, such as the Zhengzhou urban areas, are in deficit, whereas a balance or surplus can be observed in rural areas far from urban centers. (3) The surplus hotspots of ES budgets were mainly distributed in the western and southern mountainous areas of Zhengzhou, and they were scattered and the scope shrank, with a decrease of 2.73 times in 20 years, whereas the deficit hotspots expanded outward with each urban area as the center, with an increase of 5.77%. Ecological management zoning (ecological conservation area, ecological improvement area, and ecological reconstruction area) with the effective guidance of ecological and economic policies could comprehensively improve ES management and achieve urban sustainability. The framework in this study can easily and quickly assess the supply and demand status of ES and provide scientific support for the ecological management in rapidly urbanizing areas.

An Analysis of Public Complaints to Evaluate Ecosystem Services

Reducing the demands placed on ecosystems can maximize the benefits they provide. Therefore, this study examines public complaints about the environment to analyze the pressure placed on the ecosystem spatially and temporally. Environment-related public complaints filed in the city of Namyangju were examined. The city sources its water from the Han River and is poised to implement a payment system for ecosystem services. Many complaints were filed regarding noise and oscillation, dust scattering, wildlife, air quality management, and water quality management. The complaints indicated that the public were inconvenienced by the regulation of services and service-support: scattered dust affected the downtown area all year, while noise and oscillation, as well as problems with air quality, were prevalent mainly during the summer. Measures should be adopted to address the peculiarities of each issue. This study suggests that areas in which wild boars are active should be separated from areas of human activity and that pollutants need to be prevented from reaching the waterfront. Measures should be developed to address the negative factors and maximize ecosystem benefits. Analyzing public complaints about the environment can lead to the establishment of local plans to maximize ecosystem services.

Evaluating the ecological benefits of plantations in arid areas from the perspective of ecosystem service supply and demand-based on emergy analysis

Plantations can significantly improve the ecological environment of arid areas. However, in the arid area of Northwestern China, plantations consume several thousand cubic meters of water per hectare per year, which also has a negative effect. By evaluating the relationship between the supply and demand of ecosystem services, the positive and negative benefits of plantations can be effectively identified for regional sustainable development. This study took typical arid regions as examples and evaluated the changes in ecosystem services before and after the conversion of a desert shrub system to a plantation system based on emergy analysis. The relationship between the supply and demand of various ecosystem services from different stakeholder perspectives was investigated and combined with the degree of ecosystem service demand obtained from the participatory survey. Results showed the following. (1) The ecosystem services provided by vegetation increased, the ecosystem services provided by water resources decreased, and the total service decreased by 6.89E+17 sej. (2) The relationship between the supply and demand of ecosystem services provided by water resources was of the "low-high" type. Dust purification was of the "high-high" type, and carbon sequestration and soil conservation were of the "high-low" type. (3) From the perspective of citizens, the matching degrees of the supply and demand of dust purification and soil conservation services were 21.75% and 9.38% higher than those of farmers, respectively. From the perspective of farmers, the matching degrees of the supply and demand of water supply, water purification, power supply and sediment transport, and carbon sequestration were 9.90%, 10.96%, 3.22%, and 18.28% higher than those of citizens, respectively. In summary, attention should be given to the efficient use and conservation of water resources and the promotion of the coordinated development of ecosystem services by comparing the differences in matching degrees of supply and demand among different stakeholders when constructing plantations. Meanwhile, the distribution of water resources should be given attention to protect the water demand of citizens in a targeted manner for effectively improving the level of regional well-being.

Spatiotemporal patterns and drivers of ecosystem service supply and demand across the conterminous United States: A multiscale analysis

Land-use and land-cover changes associated with urbanization have significantly influenced biodiversity and ecosystem functions, as well as the supply and demand of ecosystem services (ESs). Assessing ESs and exploring their drivers are critical for regional land-use planning and ecological sustainability. In this study, the supply-demand matrix approach was used to quantify ES supply, demand, and their gap at multiple scales across the conterminous United States from 1940 to 2011. A new integrated measurement framework was proposed to offset ES deficits by identifying an optimal land-use conversion strategy. We focused on exploring the scale and spatial effects of the impacts of various drivers on ESs using ordination and regression analysis. The results showed that the expansion of developed land led to decreased ES supply and increased ES demand during the past seven decades, generating growing ES deficits at different scales, especially in highly urbanized metropolitan areas. To alleviate or offset ES deficits, promoting the intensive utilization of developed land and converting cropland, pasture, and barren land into forests would be the optimal land use strategies. Moreover, the drivers of ESs exhibited not only scale dependence but also spatial heterogeneity. The smaller the scale, the more diverse the drivers. The natural and socioeconomic drivers explained less variation at the metropolitan scale than at the state scale. Economic factors were key drivers for ESs at the state scale, while social factors were key drivers at the metropolitan scale. The regression coefficients for the drivers of ESs in the geographically weighted regression (GWR) model showed remarkable spatial heterogeneity. The GWR coefficients might have important implications for decision making in ES management. Localized and efficient land-use strategies and management policies are needed to reduce the ecological footprints of urban areas and thus achieve regional sustainability.

Meeting sustainable development challenges in growing cities: Coupled social-ecological systems modeling of land use and water changes

Ongoing urban expansion may degrade natural resources, ecosystems, and the services they provide to human societies, e.g., through land use and water changes and feedbacks. In order to control and minimize such negative impacts of urbanization, best practices for sustainable urban development must be identified, supported, and reinforced. To accomplish this, assessment methods and tools need to consider the couplings and feedbacks between social and ecological systems, as the basis for improving the planning and management of urban development. Collaborative efforts by academics, urban planners, and other relevant actors are also essential in this context. This will require relevant methods and tools for testing and projecting scenarios of coupled social-ecological system (CSES) behavior, changes, and feedbacks, in support of sustainable development of growing cities. This paper presents a CSES modeling approach that can provide such support, by coupling socio-economically driven land use changes and associated hydrological changes. The paper exemplifies and tests the applicability of this approach for a concrete case study with relevant data availability, the Tyresån catchment in Stockholm County, Sweden. Results show that model integration in the approach can reveal impacts of urbanization on hydrological and water resource, and the implications and feedbacks for urban societies and ecosystems. The CSES approach introduces new model challenges, but holds promise for improved model support towards sustainable urban development.

An improved method for assessing mismatches between supply and demand in urban regulating ecosystem services: A case study in Tabriz, Iran

Regulating ecosystem services provided by urban forests are of great importance for the quality of life among city dwellers. To reach a maximum contribution to well-being in cities, the urban regulating ecosystem services (URES) must match with the demands in terms of space and time. If we understand the matches or mismatches between the current urban dwellers' desired quality conditions (demand) and the supply of URES by urban forests (UF) in the cities, this will facilitate integrating the concepts of ecosystem services in urban planning and management, but such an assessment has suffered from major knowledge limitations. Since it is complex and problematic to identify the direct demands for URES and the spatiotemporal patterns therein, improving the demand indicators can help to determine the actual requirements. In this paper, a methodological approach based on indicators is presented and demonstrated for two important URES: air quality improvement and global climate change mitigation provided by urban trees and shrubs. Four air quality standards and greenhouse gas reduction targets were used and compared to supplies of the URES in Tabriz, Iran. Our results show that the mean contribution of the URES supply to air quality standards and greenhouse gas reduction targets is modest. Hence, in Tabriz, there is a strong mismatch between demand and supply. Mismatches at the city scale will have to be reduced by both a reduction in pollutant emissions and an increased provisioning of URES supply through urban greenery. The presented assessment approach and the results for Tabriz make it explicit how different the demands and supplies of the two studied URES are, and we expect similar mismatches in many other cities. Therefore, our approach, relatively simple but still realistic and easy-to-apply, can raise awareness about, and the utility of, the ecosystem services concepts for urban planning and policymaking.

Computing payments for wind erosion prevention service incorporating ecosystem services flow and regional disparity in Yanchi County

Simulating the flows of ecosystem services (ESs) can help understand their spatiotemporal flow paths from generation to use, thereby facilitating payments from beneficiaries to providers of ESs. In this study, an analytical framework incorporated with ES flows and regional disparity was established to compute payments for wind erosion prevention service (WEPS). The results showed that between 2010 and 2015, both the potential and actual wind erosion amounts in Yanchi County decreased considerably, and the total amount of sand fixed by WEPS decreased significantly from 3.71 × 10⁹ kg to 0.08 × 10⁹ kg; additionally, the economic value of the WEPS also decreased from CNY 479.46 million to CNY 10.22 million. Based on the spatiotemporal movements of the physical and economic value flows of the WEPS, this study revealed spatiotemporal relationships between areas providing and benefiting from the WEPS of Yanchi County and provided a direct, scientific basis for decision makers to formulate payment systems for WEPS. The total amount paid for WEPS by beneficiaries in China should theoretically be CNY 38.16 million in 2010 and CNY 1.00 million in 2015 based on the economic value flow of WEPS and the regional disparity coefficient. This framework can provide a scientific and objective basis for establishing horizontal ecological compensation policies.

Flood mitigation ecosystem service in landscapes of Argentina's Pampas: identifying winning and losing farmers

Ecosystem services are only able to make a contribution to human well-being if they reach the users or beneficiaries. Therefore, it is important to differentiate the potential contributions of ecosystems (ecosystem service supply) from the fraction of the supply that is captured or used. This is even more relevant when the supply and capture of the service occur in different locations. In this case, propagation models are needed to identify who wins and who loses when land-use policies are applied. In this study, we developed an integrated approach for the analysis of supply, propagation and capture patterns of flood-mitigation ecosystem service in rural landscapes and we illustrated how to apply it for the identification of winning and losing farmers under alternative land-use scenarios. The proposed approach allowed us to differentiate farms according to their flood mitigation capacity and to estimate how that capacity could be affected by changes in land use. It also highlights the importance of considering the propagation and capture of ecosystem services in evaluations. Reliable methodological developments are scarce. Therefore, flexible tools such as this proposal are necessary to fit the available information and the context to be analyzed.

Urban Ecosystem Services Quantification through Remote Sensing Approach: A Systematic Review

Urban ecosystem services (UES) is an essential approach to the development of sustainable cities and must be incorporated into urban planning to be able to improve humans’ life quality. This paper aimed to identify remote sensing (RS) data/techniques used in the literature in five years (2013–2017) for UES investigation and to analyze the similarity between them. For this purpose, we used the Scopus database of scientific journals, and a set of appropriate filters were applied. A total of 44 studies were selected, being 93.18% of them located in the Northern Hemisphere, mostly in Europe. The most common dataset used was the secondary data, followed by the Landsat family products. Land use and land cover (LULC) was the most common approach utilized, succeeded by radiometric indexes and band related. All four main classes (provision, regulation, supporting, and cultural) of ecosystem services (ES) were identified in the reviewed papers, wherein regulating services were the most popular modality mentioned. Seven different groups were established as having 100% of similarity between methods and ES results. Therefore, RS is identified in the literature as an important technique to reach this goal. However, we highlight the lack of studies in the southern hemisphere.

A transnational perspective of global and regional ecosystem service flows from and to mountain regions

The spatial relationships of ecosystem services are complex and poorly understood due to spatial mismatches between areas of provision and the areas that benefit. In this study, we assess the spatial flows of six key ecosystem services from and to mountain regions at the regional and global level. We identify major directions of spatial flow and illustrate different types and transfer mechanisms with detailed examples focusing on the European Alps and surrounding lowlands. Our results demonstrate that the spatial flows of ecosystem services range from local to global interactions and extend far beyond the regional level for most of the ecosystem services assessed. Transportation processes encompass passive biophysical processes and the active transportation of goods, distribution of information and traveling of people. Decision and policy-making can use this enhanced understanding to influence ecosystem service transfer and consequently manage natural resources in a sustainable way.

Analyzing Spatial Congruencies and Mismatches between Supply, Demand and Flow of Ecosystem Services and Sustainable Development

Ecosystem services (ESs) are increasingly included into decision-making to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Although both concepts consider the interactions between humans and the environment, spatial relationships between ESs and sustainability have been rarely addressed. Therefore, this study aims at analyzing spatial congruencies and mismatches between ESs and sustainability in the greater Alpine region. Using hot spot and overlap analyses, we overlaid maps of supply, demand and flow of eight key ESs with the spatial distribution of sustainability based on 24 indicators. Our results reveal that, in most cases, supply of and demand for ESs are greatly dislocated. These mismatches are reflected also in the spatial distribution of sustainability. In contrast to ES demand hot spots, supply hot spots are generally characterized by high sustainability levels, especially in relation to the environment. However, due to discrepancies in the social and economic dimensions, it cannot be assumed that ES supply hot spots always correspond to high sustainability. Hence, using ES indicators for measuring sustainability provides rather limited insights. We conclude that both concepts should be applied in a complementary way to maximize ecological, social and economic benefits in land management and planning processes.

Assessing long-term changes in potential ecosystem services of a peri-urbanizing Mediterranean catchment

Society depends on goods and services provided by ecosystems, not only for survival but also for general wellbeing. Over the last decades, peri-urban areas have been subject to the pressure of urbanization and, thus, land-use changes. These changes modify the natural ecosystems and their ability to support human security and safety, but the extent of these impacts is not well-known. This study investigates the impact of five decades of land-use changes in potential ecosystem services (ESs) supply, in the peri-urban Ribeira dos Covões catchment, located in the periphery of Coimbra one of the largest cities in central Portugal. Based on eight land-use maps from 1958 to 2012, the ESs were estimated through a quantification matrix developed by local stakeholders. The expansion of urban and forest areas from 7% to 40% and from 43% to 55%, respectively, mostly through the occupation of agriculture fields (reduced from 48% to 4%), together with changes in the type of forest area (from mixed to commercial broad-leaved), led to a 73% reduction in the ESs potential supply. This reduction was driven by major losses in regulation but also provisioning services. Catchment management and urban planning should be supported by ESs assessment in order to mitigate the negative impacts on regulation, provisioning and cultural services provided by the ecosystems, and thus maximize the benefits for society.

The Potential of Wetlands in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda

Wetlands used as cost-effective nature-based solutions provide environmental and socio-economic benefits to people locally and regionally. With significant loss of wetland areas due to expansion of forest, agriculture, and energy production industries, some countries, including Sweden, have begun providing economic support for environmental objectives for wetland conservation and restoration. Targeting such objectives and setting up relevant plans can decrease the risk of losing valuable wetland-related benefits and help achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Different ranges of wetland ecosystem services are broadly addressed by the SDGs, however, target-based assessments are required to better understand wetland functionality for sustainable development. This study investigates whether and how wetland ecosystems at local and regional scales can contribute to achieving the SDGs and their targets in Sweden. Scientific literature, policy documents, and international reports on Swedish wetland ecosystems are scrutinized to exemplify the SDGs and their targets, applying a scoring framework based on their interactions. This reveals that, overall, Swedish wetland ecosystems and implemented management plans can positively interact with 10 SDGs and 17 targets at different levels. The analysis also highlights synergies that need to be considered for integrated environmental governance and enhanced policy coherence for Swedish wetland management.

Spatial imbalance and changes in supply and demand of ecosystem services in China

Human activities and regional land development have caused intense interference to ecosystems. With rapid development of economy and urgent needs of life quality improvements in China, sustainable ecosystem management is crucial for national ecological civilization construction. However, few studies have focused on supply-demand patterns of ecosystem services on a national scale in China. The aim of this study was to analyze the spatial-temporal patterns and changes in the supply-demand of ecosystem services and to explore their interactive relationship in the context of economic development and urbanization drivers. The ecosystem services provision index (ESPI) and land development index (LDI) were proposed to indicate the supply and demand for ecosystem services. The results indicated that the Low supply-High demand (L-H) pattern accounted for 3.27% of the total land area in China and was mainly concentrated in developed regions and some capital cities, where 28.95% of the total population and 51.93% of the country's GDP was generated in 2015. The spatial imbalance in the supply-demand of ecosystem services was obvious. From 2000 to 2015, the imbalance was shrinking, and regions with negative changes in supply-demand patterns were declining. During 2000-2008, there was an obvious transformation from Low supply-Low demand (L-L) to High supply-Low demand (H-L), which accounted for 12.44% of the total land area due to Grain for Green and other ecological protection policies. The proportion of ecological land to total land area, vegetation cover and elevation were significantly correlated with the supply of ecosystem services. In the meantime, ESPI was negatively correlated with LDI in most regions in China. There were also regional differences in their relationships. The rapid economic growth and the intensive land development resulted in a more significant decrease in ESPI in the developed regions than that in the undeveloped North and Northeast China. The results of this study could contribute to sustainable ecosystem management and decision-making for Chinese ecological civilization construction.

Quantifying Wildlife and Navigation Benefits of a Dredging Beneficial-Use Project in the Lower Atchafalaya River: A Demonstration of Engineering with Nature®

The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) operates and maintains numerous projects in support of its various civil works missions including flood damage risk reduction, navigation, and ecosystem restoration. Originally authorized on an economic basis, these projects may produce a broad array of unaccounted for ecosystem services (ESs) that contribute to overall human, societal, and environmental well-being. Efforts are underway to capture the full array of environmental, economic, and social impacts of these projects. Methods are needed to identify relevant ESs generated by these nature-based projects and to measure their contribution to societal well-being with an emphasis placed on use of readily available data. Performance metrics were collected to capture the benefits of strategic placement of dredged material in river systems to allow formation of islands that produce a wide array of ESs. These performance metrics can be converted to ESs with market value or combined in a decision analytical approach to demonstrate the relative gain in utility. This approach is demonstrated on a riverine island created on the Atchafalaya River, Louisiana, as a result of the strategic placement of dredged material. The outcomes foster integration of ES assessment into project design and management practices and support more comprehensive project evaluation and widespread application. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2018;14:759-768. Published 2018. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Surplus or Deficit? Spatiotemporal Variations of the Supply, Demand, and Budget of Landscape Services and Landscape Multifunctionality in Suburban Shanghai, China

Landscape services are inevitably interlinked with human wellbeing. It is essential to assess landscape services and multifunctionality from both supply and demand points of view toward sustainable landscape management. This study focused on the spatiotemporal variations of the supply, demand, and budget of landscape services in suburban Shanghai, China, including crop production, nutrient regulation, air-quality regulation, soil-erosion regulation, water purification, and recreation and aesthetical value. A new index landscape multifunctionality budget (BMFI) was developed, integrating the budget status of surplus and deficit with landscape management. Spatial autocorrelation analysis and regression analysis were conducted to identify spatial agglomeration and influencing factors of BMFI. Pronounced spatiotemporal heterogeneity of landscape services was observed. BMFI was in surplus status in 2005 and 2010, but turned to deficit in 2015. Landscape service budgets generally followed the spatial pattern of positive in the west and negative in the east. Budget deficits covered half of the villages in 2015, which were mainly situated near central Shanghai with high population density, high average income, and a fragmented and less diverse landscape pattern. Rapid urban sprawl and the following land-cover changes are the main drivers for the spatiotemporal variations. Landscape function zoning with effective economic development and ecological conservation policies can comprehensively improve the competitiveness achieving sustainable future.

Geodesign Processes and Ecological Systems Thinking in a Coupled Human-Environment Context: An Integrated Framework for Landscape Architecture

Scholars from a variety of disciplines have been working to unravel the complexities of geodesign as an approach to tackling a host of problems. We argue that a mature understanding of geodesign requires a systemic perspective to organize the interconnections between ecological, social and economic conditions at multiple spatial and temporal scales. We reviewed definitions and perspectives of geodesign and key concepts of ecological systems thinking to develop a new framework for landscape architecture. We provide the state-of-the-art in geodesign within the context of systems thinking and coupled human-environmental resilience. We show that geodesign is capable to encourage public participation and interdisciplinary collaboration through its systemic planning processes and synergetic technologies. The thrust of geodesign-related research is the emerging paradigm of landscape-based sustainability. While landscape architecture is complex in many aspects, the integrated framework promotes our understanding about its social-ecological potential, spatial-temporal association and resilience of coupled human-environment systems. Based on the findings, we outline key contributions, implications, challenges and recommendations for future research.

How to Guarantee the Sustainability of the Wind Prevention and Sand Fixation Service: An Ecosystem Service Flow Perspective

Assessing ecosystem services (ESs) is essential for sustainable development. Ecosystem service flow (ESF) emphasizes the recognition of real ESs beneficiary areas from the perspective of human welfare and establishes a spatiotemporal path between service supply areas (SSAs) and service beneficiary areas (SBAs) to better reflect the relationship between ESs and human welfare, which is conducive to recognize how to guarantee the sustainable supply of ESs. This study simulated the spatiotemporal patterns and flow trajectories of the wind prevention and sand fixation (WPSF) service in Yanchi County based on the Revised Wind Erosion Equation (RWEQ) and the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model, respectively, and constructed an analysis framework for the sustainability of WPSF service from the perspective of ESF. The results indicated that the amount of wind erosion prevented in Yanchi County was 3.71 × 109 kg in 2010 and 0.08 × 109 kg in 2015, with average retention rates of 83.40% and 78.11% and WPSF service values of 479.46 million CNY (Chinese currency; as of 18 July 2018, 6.702 RMB = US $1) and 10.22 million CNY, respectively. The flow trajectories of the WPSF service mostly extended to East Asia, and the densities decreased as the transmission distance increased. The estimated areas of the SBAs of WPSF service in Yanchi County were 1153.2 × 104 km2 in 2010 and 397.2 × 104 km2 in 2015. The grid cells through which many (≥10%) of the trajectories passed were mainly situated in the central part of northern China. The spatiotemporal distribution patterns and flow rates of the physical and value flows of the WPSF service were the same. The SBAs within China accounted for 71.11% in 2010 and 91.32% in 2015, and both maximums occurred in Shaanxi Province. In this research, we identified the actual beneficiaries according to the spatiotemporal distribution of physical and value flows. There were mismatches between the value flow and eco-compensation flow, which was unsustainable. This work can serve as an effective and valid reference for the ecological compensation standard and the formulation of ecological protection measures, which is conducive to regional sustainable development and human welfare.