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Remote Sensing Based Monitoring of Terrestrial Ecosystem Service Bundles, Trade-Offs and Synergies

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A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292). This special issue belongs to the section "Ecological Remote Sensing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2022) | Viewed by 46728

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jeroen Meersmans

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Guest Editor

TERRA Teaching and Research Centre, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, 5030 Gembloux, Belgium
Interests: soil science; ecosystem services; soil organic carbon; climate change; environmental informatics; sustainable land systems; landscape ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Toby Waine

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Guest Editor

Centre for Environment and Agricultural Informatics, Soil and Agrifood Institute, School of Water, Energy and Environment, Cranfield University, Bedford, UK
Interests: water science and engineering; natural capital; instrumentation and sensors; soil resources; digital agriculture
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Jian Peng

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Guest Editor

Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
Interests: urbanization ecological effects; ecosystem services trade-offs; landscape multifunctionality; ecological security patterns
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, remote sensing has become the most successful methodology to monitor earth surface processes and assess ecosystem service supply across a wide range of terrestrial environments. In this Special Issue, we welcome contributions from studies focusing on the use of remote sensing technology to investigate two or more terrestrial ecosystem services. These studies may consider any technology that enables stand-off collection of data (from X-ray CT scanning to satellite imagery) in order to get an improved representation of either a soil property, plant characteristic or land surface process, with the objective to assess the delivery of multiple ecosystem services. Hence, the present Special Issue will host papers considering a wide range of terrestrial ecosystem services (e.g., food security, soil conservation, climate regulation, flood protection, drinking water quantity and quality) as well as spatial (soil pore–global) and temporal scales (minutes–decades). However, particular interest will be given to research that aims to assess ecosystem service bundles, trade-offs, and synergies and obtain insights into the associated environmental feedbacks, including climate change, land use change and agromanagement. We encourage the authors to highlight the socioeconomic and/or environmental impact potentials of their scientific outcomes as well as translate these into recommendations for policy making.

Dr. Jeroen Meersmans
Dr. Toby Waine
Dr. Jian Peng
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Ecosystem service bundles
Food security
Climate regulation
Water supply
Flood control
Soil conservation

Related Special Issue

Remote Sensing Based Monitoring of Terrestrial Ecosystem Service Bundles, Trade-Offs and Synergies (Second Edition) in Remote Sensing (4 articles)

Published Papers (14 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 5746 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatio-Temporal Patterns of Ecosystem Services Provided by Urban Green Spaces and Their Equity along Urban–Rural Gradients in the Xi’an Metropolitan Area, China

by Lixian Peng, Liwei Zhang, Xupu Li, Pengtao Wang, Wudong Zhao, Zhuangzhuang Wang, Lei Jiao and Hao Wang

Remote Sens. 2022, 14(17), 4299; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14174299 - 31 Aug 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2390

Abstract

Urban green spaces (UGSs) are indispensable for providing various ecosystem services (ESs) to society and city-dwellers. The equitable allocation of ESs provided by UGSs is a prerequisite for maintaining urban sustainability and human well-being. However, empirical studies have assessed the dynamics of UGS equity from ES facets, while neglecting to strengthen integrated evaluation indicators and coupled spatially explicit models. A framework was developed in this study to assess the spatio-temporal patterns of ESs provided by UGSs and their equity based on models of the Intelligent Urban Ecosystem Management System, location entropy, and the Gini coefficient. The results indicated that with urban spatial expansion, in each concentric circle, the values of three ES averages were generally the lowest in the megacity (Xi’an), and the values of carbon sequestration and the recreation averages in the medium-sized cities (Baoji and Xianyang) were also lower than in the small-sized city (Tongchuan). The inequity of ESs provided by UGSs was exacerbated from 2000 to 2020 in the Xi’an Metropolitan Area. The ES equity was the worst in Xi’an and the best in Tongchuan. Areas with extremely low CR location entropy occupied 67.01% in 2020. As cities spatially expanded, areas with extremely low ES location entropy generally increased in 2020. Additionally, the zero-value area of the ES Gini coefficient in Xi’an was the largest from 2000 to 2020. The ES Gini values mostly increased in the same concentric circle of each city in 2020, which demonstrates that equity declined. Spatial equity could be improved by diversifying UGS structures, promoting spatial matching between the ES supply and beneficiaries’ demands, and integrating UGSs into any available space in future UGS planning. The findings of the study could offer insights for optimizing the equitable provision of UGS resources and the targeted planning of urban greening. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing Based Monitoring of Terrestrial Ecosystem Service Bundles, Trade-Offs and Synergies)

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24 pages, 2403 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of Ecosystem Services Supply and Demand (Mis)matches for Urban Ecological Management: A Case Study in the Zhengzhou–Kaifeng–Luoyang Cities

by Dong Xue, Zhaojun Wang, Yuan Li, Mengxue Liu and Hejie Wei

Remote Sens. 2022, 14(7), 1703; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14071703 - 1 Apr 2022

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3073

Abstract

Accurate supply and demand matching of ecosystem services (ESs) is important for managing regional ecosystems. On the basis of remote-sensing, meteorological, and socio-economic data, we mapped the supply, demand, and matching status of four ESs (i.e., water production, carbon sequestration, food supply, and soil conservation) using biophysical models and the ArcGIS spatial analysis module within the Zhengzhou–Kaifeng–Luoyang (ZKL) urban agglomeration in 2018. Four-quadrant analysis was employed to identify the spatial matching types of supply-demand relationships within the study region. The results are as follows. The supply-demand ratios of different ESs in the cell scale exhibit different spatial characteristics because of major influencing factors, including the natural environment (e.g., precipitation and temperature) and social development (e.g., urbanization level). Analysis of the supply-demand imbalances of the four ESs indicates that water production is deficient across the entire research area, whereas the whole research area’s carbon sequestration, food supply, and soil conversation are in the surplus state. Regarding the spatial matching types for supply and demand of the four ecosystem services, water production is dominated by the “low–low (low supply and low demand)” type. Carbon sequestration is dominated by the “low–low” and “high–low (high supply and low demand)” types. The “low–low” type dominates food supply and soil conservation. Due to the severity of the deficit in water production, all districts and counties in the ZKL urban agglomeration are identified as areas requiring ecological conservation, ecological restoration, or ecological improvement. Development guidance strategies and planning suggestions are proposed in different ecological areas. These policies could also be applied in other similar urban agglomerations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing Based Monitoring of Terrestrial Ecosystem Service Bundles, Trade-Offs and Synergies)

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17 pages, 4433 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Integrating Remotely Sensed Leaf Area Index with Biome-BGC to Quantify the Impact of Land Use/Land Cover Change on Water Retention in Beijing

by Binbin Huang, Yanzheng Yang, Ruonan Li, Hua Zheng, Xiaoke Wang, Xuming Wang and Yan Zhang

Remote Sens. 2022, 14(3), 743; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14030743 - 5 Feb 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2892

Abstract

Maintaining or increasing water retention in ecosystems (WRE) can reduce floods and increase water resource provision. However, few studies have taken the effect of the spatial information of vegetation structure into consideration when assessing the effects of land use/land cover (LULC) change on WRE. In this study, we integrated the remotely sensed leaf area index (LAI) into the ecosystem process-based Biome-BGC model to analyse the impact of LULC change on the WRE of Beijing between 2000 and 2015. Our results show that the volume of WRE increased by approximately 8.58 million m³ in 2015 as compared with 2000. The volume of WRE in forests increased by approximately 26.74 million m³, while urbanization, cropland expansion and deforestation caused the volume of WRE to decline by 11.96 million m³, 5.86 million m³ and 3.20 million m³, respectively. The increased WRE contributed by unchanged forests (14.46 million m³) was much greater than that of new-planted forests (12.28 million m³), but the increase in WRE capacity per unit area in new-planted forests (124.69 ± 14.30 m³/ha) was almost tenfold greater than that of unchanged forests (15.60 ± 7.85 m³/ha). The greater increase in WRE capacity in increased forests than that of unchanged forests was mostly due to the fact that the higher LAI in unchanged forests induced more evapotranspiration to exhaust more water. Meanwhile, the inverted U-shape relationship that existed between the forest LAI and WRE implied that continued increased LAI in forests probably caused the WRE decline. This study demonstrates that integrating remotely sensed LAI with the Biome-BGC model is feasible for capturing the impact of LULC change with the spatial information of vegetation structure on WRE and reduces uncertainty. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing Based Monitoring of Terrestrial Ecosystem Service Bundles, Trade-Offs and Synergies)

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20 pages, 5143 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Enhanced Ecosystem Services in China’s Xilingol Steppe during 2000–2015: Towards Sustainable Agropastoralism Management

by Huashun Dou, Xiaobing Li, Jirui Gong, Hong Wang, Yuqiang Tian, Xiaojing Xuan and Kai Wang

Remote Sens. 2022, 14(3), 738; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14030738 - 4 Feb 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2185

Abstract

Ecosystem services (ESs) provided by dryland regions are very vulnerable to environmental dynamics and management transformation, and it is still unclear how these services will be affected by the combined effects of accelerated climate variability and land-use changes at a regional macro level. In this study, the status, patterns and trends of ESs provided by the Xilingol steppe were quantitatively evaluated, and the impact of climate and land-use change on ESs were discussed. The results showed that favorable climatic conditions and the implementation of ecological policies had a substantial positive impact on regional vegetation restoration during 2000–2015. As a result of the vegetation greening, water retention and carbon sequestration increased significantly at rates of 16.01 m³ ha⁻¹ and 1.75 g C m⁻² yr⁻¹, respectively. Soil loss caused by wind erosion, an ecosystem disservice, decreased significantly at a rate of −0.57 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. Although several environmental factors had differing impacts on the ESs changes in the subregions, including the meadow, typical and desert steppes, the main factors that contributed to the enhancement of overall ESs benefits were the climatic humidification and the reduced grazing pressure in the entire study area. The above conclusion shows that, in the era of climate change, the implementation of sustainable farming–pastoral strategies can realize a “win-win” situation between ecological restoration and socioeconomic development in arid and semi-arid steppes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing Based Monitoring of Terrestrial Ecosystem Service Bundles, Trade-Offs and Synergies)

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24 pages, 8460 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Regulated Ecosystem Services Trade-Offs: Synergy Research and Driver Identification in the Vegetation Restoration Area of the Middle Stream of the Yellow River

by Ge Wang, Depeng Yue, Teng Niu and Qiang Yu

Remote Sens. 2022, 14(3), 718; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14030718 - 3 Feb 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2078

Abstract

In arid and semi-arid regions, vegetation restoration will have a significant impact on ecosystem services (ESs). Accurate assessment of the relationship and driving mechanism between ESs will play an important role in the implementation of subsequent vegetation restoration projects and ecosystem management. The purpose of this study is to evaluate and identify the relationship between ESs, and explore the impact and driving mechanism of ecological restoration on the relationship between ESs. Taking the middle reaches of the Yellow River as the study area, this study analyzed three ESs including: Net Primary Productivity (NPP), soil conservation (SC), and water yield (WY), in the vegetation restoration area (VRA) in the middle reaches of the Yellow River for 20 years (2000–2010 and 2010–2020 years(a)). Taking the ecological restoration unit (ERU) as the evaluation unit, we evaluated the impact of three vegetation restoration models on ESs. Using geo-detectors to identify the economic, social and natural drivers that affect the relationship between ESS. The results showed the following: (1) Different vegetation restoration models will lead to significant differences in the restoration rate for ESs. They will lead to an increase in the recovery rate of NPP and SC. The first vegetation restoration mode and the third planting restoration mode will reduce the restoration rate for the WY. (2) The three vegetation restoration models will enhance the synergistic relationship between NPP and SC. They will weaken the trade-off relationship between NPP and WY, SC and WY. (3) Temperature, precipitation, and NDVI will affect the changes in ESs in VRAs. The ESs trade-off-synergy relationship will be affected by precipitation, NDVI, and GDP. This study showed that, with the implementation of vegetation restoration projects, ESs in time and space and the complex heterogeneity of ESs will affect ecosystem management. The results of this study will be helpful for the implementation of subsequent vegetation restoration projects and provide scientific advice for ecosystem management. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing Based Monitoring of Terrestrial Ecosystem Service Bundles, Trade-Offs and Synergies)

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28 pages, 23438 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Quantitative Assessment for the Spatiotemporal Changes of Ecosystem Services, Tradeoff–Synergy Relationships and Drivers in the Semi-Arid Regions of China

by Yongge Li, Wei Liu, Qi Feng, Meng Zhu, Linshan Yang and Jutao Zhang

Remote Sens. 2022, 14(1), 239; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14010239 - 5 Jan 2022

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4023

Abstract

Ecosystem services in arid inland regions are significantly affected by climate change and land use/land cover change associated with agricultural activity. However, the dynamics and relationships of ecosystem services affected by natural and anthropogenic drivers in inland regions are still less understood. In this study, the spatiotemporal patterns of ecosystem services in the Hexi Region were quantified based on multiple high-resolution datasets, the InVEST model and the Revised Wind Erosion Equation (RWEQ) model. In addition, the trade-offs and synergistic relationships among multiple ecosystem services were also explored by Pearson correlation analysis and bivariate spatial autocorrelation, and redundancy analysis (RDA) was also employed to determine the environmental drivers of these services and interactions. The results showed that most ecosystem services had a similar spatial distribution pattern with an increasing trend from northwest to southeast. Over the past 40 years, ecosystem services in the Hexi Region have improved significantly, with the water retention and soil retention increasing by 87.17 × 10⁸ m³ and 287.84 × 10⁸ t, respectively, and the sand fixation decreasing by 369.17 × 10⁴ t. Among these ecosystem services, strong synergistic relationships were detected, while the trade-offs were found to be weak, and showed significant spatial heterogeneity in the Hexi Region. The spatial synergies and trade-offs in the Qilian Mountains were 1.02 and 1.37 times higher than those in the Hexi Corridor, respectively. Human activities were found to exacerbate the trade-offs between ecosystem services by increasing water consumption in the Hexi Corridor, with the exception of carbon storage. In particular, there were significant tradeoffs between food production and water retention, and between soil retention and habitat quality in the oases of the Hexi Corridor, which is affected by rapid population growth and cropland expansion. Additionally, precipitation, temperature and vegetation cover in the Qilian Mountains have increased significantly over the past four decades, and these increases significantly contributed to the enhancements in water retention, carbon storage, habitat quality, soil retention and food production. Nevertheless, the amount of sand fixation significantly decreased, and this was probably associated with the reduction in wind speed over the past four decades. Our results highlighted the importance of climate wetting and water resource management in the enhancement of ecosystem services and the mitigation of food production trade-offs for arid inland regions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing Based Monitoring of Terrestrial Ecosystem Service Bundles, Trade-Offs and Synergies)

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29 pages, 7698 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Detecting the Complex Relationships and Driving Mechanisms of Key Ecosystem Services in the Central Urban Area Chongqing Municipality, China

by Fang Wang, Xingzhong Yuan, Lilei Zhou, Shuangshuang Liu, Mengjie Zhang and Dan Zhang

Remote Sens. 2021, 13(21), 4248; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13214248 - 22 Oct 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2302

Abstract

Ecosystem services (ESs) are highly vulnerable to human activities. Understanding the relationships among multiple ESs and driving mechanisms are crucial for multi-objective management in complex social-ecological systems. The goals of this study are to quantitatively evaluate and identify ESs hotspots, explore the relationships among ESs and elucidate the driving mechanisms. Taking central urban area Chongqing municipality as the study area, biodiversity (BI), carbon fixation (CF), soil conservation (SC) and water conservation (WC) were evaluated based on the InVEST model and ESs hotspots were identified. The complex interactions among multiple ESs were determined by utilizing multiple methods: spearman correlation analysis, bivariate local spatial autocorrelation and K-means clustering. The linear or nonlinear relationships between ESs and drivers were discussed by generalized additive models (GAMs). The results showed that during 2000–2018, except for CF that exhibited no obvious change, all other ESs showed a decrease tendency. High ESs were clustered in mountains, while ESs in urban areas were lowest. At administrative districts scale, ESs were relatively higher in Beibei, Banan and Yubei, and drastically decreased in Jiangbei. Multiple ES hotspots demonstrated clear spatial heterogeneity, which were mainly composed of forestland and distributed in mountainous areas with high altitude and steep slope. The relationships between ES pairs were synergistic at the entire scale. However, at grid scale, the synergies were mainly concentrated in the high-high and low-low clusters, i.e., mountainous areas and urban central areas. Five ESs bundles presented the interactions among multiple ESs, which showed well correspondence with social-ecological conditions. GAMs indicated that forestland and grassland had positive impact on BI and CF. Additionally, SC was mainly determined by geomorphological factors, while WC were mainly influenced by precipitation. Furthermore, policy factors were confirmed to have a certain positive effect on ESs. This study provides credible references for ecosystem management and urban planning. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing Based Monitoring of Terrestrial Ecosystem Service Bundles, Trade-Offs and Synergies)

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24 pages, 4931 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Coupling Analysis of Ecosystem Services Value and Economic Development in the Yangtze River Economic Belt: A Case Study in Hunan Province, China

by Wanxu Chen, Jie Zeng, Mingxing Zhong and Sipei Pan

Remote Sens. 2021, 13(8), 1552; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13081552 - 16 Apr 2021

Cited by 60 | Viewed by 3177

Abstract

Sound ecosystems are a precondition for the sustainable survival and development of human society. However, ecological deterioration caused by socioeconomic activities can result in increasing pressure on ecosystems. Exploration of the spatial interaction between ecosystem and economic development under the background of high-quality and green development is, therefore, necessary. In this study, we analyzed the spatial interaction between the ecosystem services value (ESV) and economic development with the economic and ecological coupling index method based on high-resolution remote-sensing land-use data and socioeconomic statistical data in Hunan Province from 2000 to 2018. The results revealed that the ESV provided by the ecosystems in Hunan Province decreased by US$1256.166 million from 2000 to 2018. The areas with high ESV per unit area were distributed in the mountainous areas, while the areas with low ESV per unit area were distributed in the major cities and their surroundings. The bivariate spatial autocorrelation analysis showed that the ESV had significant spatial dependence on the economic development. In addition, the coupling analysis documented that the relationship between the ESV and economic density was mostly in the low conflict and potential crisis states. These results provide important guidance for the coordinated development of the regional economy and ecosystem conservation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing Based Monitoring of Terrestrial Ecosystem Service Bundles, Trade-Offs and Synergies)

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17 pages, 5375 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatiotemporal Variation in Ecosystem Services and Their Drivers among Different Landscape Heterogeneity Units and Terrain Gradients in the Southern Hill and Mountain Belt, China

by Liang-Jie Wang, Shuai Ma, Jiang Jiang, Yu-Guo Zhao and Jin-Chi Zhang

Remote Sens. 2021, 13(7), 1375; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13071375 - 2 Apr 2021

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 2945

Abstract

Understanding the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of ecosystem services (ESs) and their drivers in mountainous areas is important for sustainable ecosystem management. However, the effective construction of landscape heterogeneous units (LHUs) to reflect the spatial characteristics of ESs remains to be studied. The southern hill and mountain belt (SHMB) is a typical mountainous region in China, with undulating terrain and obvious spatial heterogeneity of ESs, and was selected as the study area. In this study, we used the fuzzy k-means (FKM) algorithm to establish LHUs. Three major ESs (water yield, net primary productivity (NPP), and soil conservation) in 2000 and 2015 were quantified using the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model and Carnegie Ames-Stanford approach (CASA) model. Then, we explored the spatial variation in ESs along terrain gradients and LHUs. Correlation analysis was used to analyze the driving factors of ESs in each terrain region and LHU. The results showed that altitude and terrain niche increased along LHUs. Water yield and soil conservation increased from 696.86 mm and 3920.19 t/km² to 1061.12 mm and 5117.90 t/km², respectively, while NPP decreased from 666.95 gC/m² to 648.86 gC/m². The ESs in different LHUs differed greatly. ESs increased first and then decreased along LHUs in 2000. In 2015, water yield decreased along LHUs, while NPP and soil conservation showed a fluctuating trend. Water yield was mainly affected by precipitation, temperature and NDVI were the main drivers of NPP, and soil conservation was greatly affected by precipitation and slope. The driving factors of the same ES were different in different terrain areas and LHUs. The variation and driving factors of ESs in LHUs were similar to some terrain gradients. To some extent, LHUs can represent multiple terrain features. This study can provide important support for mountain ecosystem zoning management and decision-making. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing Based Monitoring of Terrestrial Ecosystem Service Bundles, Trade-Offs and Synergies)

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15 pages, 4204 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Rural–Urban Migration and Conservation Drive the Ecosystem Services Improvement in China Karst: A Case Study of HuanJiang County, Guangxi

by Xiangkun Qi, Qian Li, Yuemin Yue, Chujie Liao, Lu Zhai, Xuemei Zhang, Kelin Wang, Chunhua Zhang, Mingyang Zhang and Ying Xiong

Remote Sens. 2021, 13(4), 566; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13040566 - 5 Feb 2021

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3601

Abstract

Under the transformation from over-cultivation to ecological protection in China’s karst, how human activities affect ecosystem services should be studied. This study combined satellite imagery and ecosystem models (Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach (CASA), Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) and Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST)) to evaluate primary ecosystem services (net ecosystem productivity (NEP), soil conservation and water yield) in a typical karst region (Huanjiang County). The relationships between human activities and ecosystem services were also examined. NEP increased from 441.7 g C/m²/yr in 2005 to 582.19 g C/m²/yr in 2015. Soil conservation also increased from 4.7 ton/ha to 5.5 ton/ha. Vegetation recovery and the conversion of farmland to forest, driven largely by restoration programs, contributed to this change. A positive relationship between increases in NEP, soil conservation and rural-urban migration (r = 0.62 and 0.53, P < 0.01, respectively) indicated decreasing human dependence on land reclamation and naturally regenerated vegetation. However, declining water yield from 784.3 to 724.5 mm highlights the trade-off between carbon sequestration and water yield should be considered. Our study suggests that conservation is critical to vegetation recovery in this region and that easing human pressure on land will play an important role. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing Based Monitoring of Terrestrial Ecosystem Service Bundles, Trade-Offs and Synergies)

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15 pages, 4632 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Application of Ecosystem Service Bundles and Tour Experience in Land Use Management: A Case Study of Xiaohuangshan Mountain (China)

by Qiqi Zhao, Yanming Chen, Yuda Cuan, Han Zhang, Wei Li, Sida Wan and Manchun Li

Remote Sens. 2021, 13(2), 242; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13020242 - 12 Jan 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2514

Abstract

With the deterioration of human-terrestrial relations and the intensification of global warming, development in all countries is facing difficulties. Whether in highly urbanized countries or in rapidly urbanizing developing countries such as China, the research on ecosystem services (ES) and land use management has attracted increasing attention. The general management of land use unilaterally pursues economic benefits and neglects ecological benefits, which aggravates the disparity between ecological development and the economic benefits of land resources. How to strike up a balance between ecologic protection and economic development remains a difficult problem during urbanization. It may be a better choice to formulate regional development strategies by combining natural conditions with humanistic and social tendencies. Identifying regional cultural ecosystem services (CES) and other important ES while performing zoning planning for regional land use can be a viable approach in land use management. Here, our study quantitatively evaluates the tourism experience of Xiaohuangshan Mountain (XHSM) and various ES, including recreation, biodiversity, history, aesthetics, soil conservation, surface water regulation, and soil nutrition. All ES were classified into four bundles for XHSM. Different ES bundles generated are suitable for different land use management methods and development forms according to their outstanding ES. The results show that quantifying and mapping regional ES bundles can provide the necessary information to support a win-win solution and provide decision support for land and spatial planning in areas with different social and ecological characteristics. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing Based Monitoring of Terrestrial Ecosystem Service Bundles, Trade-Offs and Synergies)

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18 pages, 5752 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparison of Sentinel-2 and High-Resolution Imagery for Mapping Land Abandonment in Fragmented Areas

by Sergio Morell-Monzó, Javier Estornell and María-Teresa Sebastiá-Frasquet

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(12), 2062; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12122062 - 26 Jun 2020

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 5517

Abstract

Agricultural land abandonment is an important environmental issue in Europe. The proper management of agricultural areas has important implications for ecosystem services (food production, biodiversity, climate regulation and the landscape). In the coming years, an increase of abandoned areas is expected due to socio-economic changes. The identification and quantification of abandoned agricultural plots is key for monitoring this process and for applying management measures. The Valencian Region (Spain) is an important fruit and vegetable producing area in Europe, and it has the most important citrus industry. However, this agricultural sector is highly threatened by diverse factors, which have accelerated land abandonment. Landsat and MODIS satellite images have been used to map land abandonment. However, these images do not give good results in areas with high spatial fragmentation and small-sized agricultural plots. Sentinel-2 and airborne imagery shows unexplored potential to overcome this thanks to higher spatial resolutions. In this work, three models were compared for mapping abandoned plots using Sentinel-2 with 10 m bands, Sentinel-2 with 10 m and 20 m bands, and airborne imagery with 1 m visible and near-infrared bands. A pixel-based classification approach was used, applying the Random Forests algorithm. The algorithm was trained with 144 plots and 100 decision trees. The results were validated using the hold-out method with 96 independent plots. The most accurate map was obtained using airborne images, the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) and Thiam’s Transformed Vegetation Index (TTVI), with an overall accuracy of 88.5%. The map generated from Sentinel-2 images (10 m bands and the EVI and TTVI spectral indices) had an overall accuracy of 77.1%. Adding 20 m Sentinel-2 bands and the Normalized Difference Moisture Index (NDMI) did not improve the classification accuracy. According to the most accurate map, 4310 abandoned plots were detected in our study area, representing 32.5% of its agricultural surface. The proposed methodology proved to be useful for mapping citrus in highly fragmented areas, and it can be adapted to other crops. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing Based Monitoring of Terrestrial Ecosystem Service Bundles, Trade-Offs and Synergies)

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19 pages, 2547 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Do Protected Areas Improve Ecosystem Services? A Case Study of Hoh Xil Nature Reserve in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

by Jie Zeng, Tianyang Chen, Xiaowei Yao and Wanxu Chen

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(3), 471; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12030471 - 2 Feb 2020

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 3573

Abstract

Although there is a consensus that protected areas (PAs) can provide various ecosystem services, it is unclear whether protected areas effectively contribute to the preservation and enhancement of ecosystem services. We conducted a case study of the Hoh Xil Nature Reserve (HXNR) in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China, in order to examine the effectiveness of PA in the conservation of ecosystem services. First, the dynamics of land use/land cover (LULC) were analyzed based on remotely sensed data sets. Then, the ecosystem service value (ESV) in the PA and non-PA were evaluated using a modified benefit transfer method that had been adjusted using normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Finally, hotspot analysis was implemented to reveal the ESV changes for the different districts of the PA. The results of the comparison experiment indicate that: (1) The ESV of the HXNR has considerably increased after it was designated as protected, which had been in decline in the previous stage. The ESVs in a near-by non-PA showed opposite results where the values initially increased but then dropped due to urban expansion and desertification. (2) The areas in HXNR with increased ESV significantly outnumbered the areas that had declining values from 1980 to 2018. For the non-PA, the areas that had increased ESV in 1980–1995 saw a decline in value in 1995–2008; moreover, new areas with decreasing ESV emerged in 2008–2018. (3) The HXNR was found to be more effective than non-PA in improving ecosystem services. (4) The core zone of the nature reserve demonstrated better effectiveness in ecosystem service preservation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing Based Monitoring of Terrestrial Ecosystem Service Bundles, Trade-Offs and Synergies)

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21 pages, 4418 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Evolution Response of Ecosystem Cultural Services under Different Scenarios Based on System Dynamics

by Qiqi Zhao, Jing Li, Yuda Cuan and Zixiang Zhou

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(3), 418; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12030418 - 28 Jan 2020

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3171

Abstract

Cultural ecosystem services (CES) are a significant part of the ecosystem and are considered to be a core component of human welfare and ecosystem protection. CES have been historically difficult to quantitatively evaluate because of their subjectivity and intangibility. Additionally, their evolution over time has rarely been explored. Here, we quantitatively evaluated various CES and generated corresponding value index (VI) maps. We then further explored the evolution of CES characteristics over space and time. We selected Xi’an as the study area and applied the Social Values of Ecosystem Services (SolVES) model to evaluate CES and generate three specific VI maps. A system dynamics model based on socioeconomic and survey data of CES for each administrative division was established. Finally, we simulated four developmental scenarios in order to predict potential developmental changes of CES in 2030 under these different scenarios. This study provides a method for evaluating CES and explores the application of system dynamics to different fields. Additionally, our findings may provide guidance for the formulation of regional policies and support missions to improve civilizations within ecological systems, coordinate future economic growth with ecosystem services, and achieve sustainable development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing Based Monitoring of Terrestrial Ecosystem Service Bundles, Trade-Offs and Synergies)

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