Effects of Afforestation Projects on Tradeoffs between Ecosystem Services: A Case Study of the Guanting Reservoir Basin, China
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Interesting paper. Please see comments in the attached file.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Reviewer 2 Report
Effects of Afforestation Projects on tradeoffs between Ecosystem Services: a case study of the Guanting Reservoir Basin. China
This is a very interesting article that makes a balance between the ecosystem services generated under different changes in land use in Guanting China. Four ecosystem services representative of the interests of the scientific community in general and also very useful to be considered in the administration of land use were evaluated. To quantify these processes, a very adequate and highly validated tool was used, such as the SWAT model. The results obtained with this model were correctly evaluated statistically. The conclusions reached coincide with the paradigms that exist in this regard.
The structure of the article is correct, the abstract represents the content of the article well, and each of the sections contains what it should have.
The weakest points of this manuscript are determined by the short period of analysis in relation to the processes that are trying to be analyzed, which are highly dependent on climatic cycles. Then the bibliographic support should include a quantitative comparison of the results with the values reported by other researchers. This is to include in the analysis of the results the value obtained by other authors and compare it with those present in the text. Which should include different environmental conditions to support the tradeoff beyond environmental influence. Although the main direction of the processes that are triggered by the change in land use can be characterized in a short period of time, it should be mentioned and compared with what happens in the long term. As an example, you can see in Nosetto et al., (2007) the effect of afforestation and deforestation on the accumulation of salts in the soil (Also see Milione et al., 2020).
Although it is not part of the analysis, the aspect of the change in soil acidity and salinity due to the change in cover should be mentioned, since there are extensive studies in this regard and this could support some of the conclusions presented (Hong et al., 2019; Jobbágy & Jackson, 2003, 2007).
Since the model is calibrated with flows, some estimate or mention should be made of groundwater flows (net recharge of aquifers, discharge to the river).(Guevara Ochoa et al., 2020).
Finally, there are some minor comments to resolve in the attached (.pdf) file.
Guevara Ochoa, C., Medina Sierra, A., Vives, L., Zimmermann, E., & Bailey, R. (2020). Spatio-temporal patterns of the interaction between groundwater and surface water in plains. Hydrological Processes, 34(6), 1371–1392. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13615
Hong, S., Gan, P., & Chen, A. (2019). Environmental controls on soil pH in planted forest and its response to nitrogen deposition. Environmental Research, 172(January), 159–165. https://doi.org/S0013935119300933
Jobbágy, E. G., & Jackson, R. B. (2003). Patterns and Mechanisms of Soil Acidification in the Conversion of Grasslands to Forests. 64(2), 205–229.
Jobbágy, E. G., & Jackson, R. B. (2007). Groundwater and soil chemical changes under phreatophytic tree plantations. Journal of Geophysical Research, 112(G2), G02013. https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JG000246
Milione, G. M., Mujica, C. R., Daguer, D. D., Bea, S. A., Fernández, M. E., & Gyenge, J. E. (2020). Influence of soil texture, climate and vegetation cover on secondary soil salinization in pampas plains, south america. CERNE, 26(2), 212–221. https://doi.org/10.1590/01047760202026022700
Nosetto, M. D., Jobbágy, E. G., Tóth, T., & Di Bella, C. M. (2007). The effects of tree establishment on water and salt dynamics in naturally salt-affected grasslands. Oecologia, 152(4), 695–705. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-007-0694-2
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report
I consider that all the important points of my comments have been resolved correctly by the authors.
