Managing the Supply–Demand Mismatches and Potential Flows of Ecosystem Services in Jilin Province, China, from a Regional Integration Perspective

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

There remain some aspects which necessitate further refinement.

（1）It is recommended to add “China” in the title, as foreign readers may not be familiar with this.

（2）The sentences in Line 14-15 “while...underdeveloped” lack fluency or exhibit evident language issues.

（3）The inclusion of numerical labels is recommended to improve the clarity of your research findings in the abstract.

（4）You used “supply and demand of ESs” in lines 41-42, but used “'supply and demand of ESs” in line 44. Please ensure consistency in the usage and conduct a comprehensive review throughout the entire text.

（5）The third paragraph of the introduction should provide a more comprehensive explanation of the connotations associated with ESF and ES clusters, as well as their significance within the research field. Additionally, The two research flaws also raised quite abruptly. Currently, there seems to be a lack of thoroughness in reviewing previous studies, failing to adequately explore current research progress and core research questions. It remains unclear which methods and models were employed in prior studies, along with their respective advantages and limitations, as well as the innovative aspects and improvements implemented in this study.

（6）The captions for Figure 1 and Figure 2 should be positioned beneath their respective figures. Furthermore, kindly omit the sentence (Sources...) following Figure 2.

（7）What is the typicality of the region, why was Jilin Province chosen for this study, and what are the prominent issues in this area? These aspects can also be appropriately expanded upon in the introduction.

（8）The arrangement of subgraphs in Figure 1 appears cluttered, which may benefit from a more organized presentation. It is suggested that a complete graph of China be depicted instead. Additionally, several fonts used in the figure are too small to be clearly identified. Lastly, could there be a misspelling of "Basie" in the title?

（9）It is advisable to include a concise textual description of the spatial disparities in topography, land utilization, and economic development across different regions as depicted in Figure 1.

（10）The arrangement of subgraphs in Figure 1 appears cluttered, which may benefit from a more organized presentation. It is suggested that a complete graph of China be depicted instead. Additionally, several fonts used in the figure are too small to be clearly identified. Lastly, could there be a misspelling of "Basie" in the title?

（11）The method introduction lacks necessary explanations on principles and parameter settings for each method, which should be addressed in more detail. For instance, it fails to provide an explanation as to why the ratio calculation of NDVI is suitable for calculating grain supply in agricultural production, and no references are provided to support this claim. Additionally, there is a lack of clarity regarding the required parameters for each component in carbon sequestration services, and again no references are provided. The data description section does not adequately correspond with the methods section; specifically, it fails to specify which service utilizes the root depth data for calculation.

（12）In the results section, it is essential to succinctly present the fundamental findings of this article, refraining from excessive background exposition or causal analysis. Generally speaking, these aspects in Line 250-256 (“Between ... outcomes”) and Line 272-277  (“Following ... overall”) are better suited for inclusion in either the introduction or discussion sections.

（13）The font size in Figure 4 is insufficient for discernibility. Moreover, it is recommended to exclude the phrase “Schematic representation of” from the title.

（14）The differences and connections between Figure 5 and Figure 6 need to be elucidated. Please provide an explanation.

（15） The arrangement of subgraphs in Figure 1 appears cluttered, which may benefit from a more organized presentation. It is suggested that a complete graph of China be depicted instead. Additionally, several fonts used in the figure are too small to be clearly identified. Lastly, could there be a misspelling of "Basie" in the title?

（16）The discussion of 4.2 reveals spatial gaps among different clusters, necessitating a specialized approach to ecological management in this province.

（17）The discussion section could be enhanced by incorporating a more comprehensive discussion and elucidation of the key findings presented in this article.

（18）Please exercise caution and thoroughly review the formatting of the references, as there are several issues that need attention. For instance, it appears that the order of first and last names for all second authors in the references is reversed.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Extensive editing of English language required.

Author Response

Please check the attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The manuscript dwells on opportunities and challenges of regional integration by focusing on analyzing Ecosystem Services supply, demand and flow and possible trade-offs between those ES dimensions. The study area is a province in China, thus has a local spatial scale.

 

The approach of the paper is interesting, despite the limitation of the fact that it is among those papers that considers ecosystem services as "units" that could be managed in a predictable way.

 

The text is slightly redundant in some areas while lacking crucial details necessary for reproducibility.

I therefore kindly suggest the following revisions.

Title and Abstract

1.  

L. 14 check the use of “is” in this sentence

L. 19 “All the 4 categories”, but you did not mention before which ES you chose to consider. I understand you want to refer to provisioning, regulating, supporting and cultural ES categories, but clarifying it would help the readers who are not so familiar with the literature on ESS.

L. 21 the other types: what do you mean? Please increase clarity of this sentence.

Introduction

The introduction is lacking appropriate citations to support the concepts that are mentioned and proposed to contextualize the study.

Some acronyms are used (ESs, ESFs): please introduce them a first time in the text with the full wording before to use them. E.g., 

“Ecosystem Services Flows (ESFs)”

 

L. 62 please use a more rigorous language. “Mature” is not the better word to use here.

 

L. 88 ecosystem integration Or regional integration? Be careful in using “ecological integration” because it has a specific meaning in Ecology, which is not the same of regional integration as a management strategy.

Materials and Methods 

• where did you find the data to be provided as inputs for the Carbon sequestration module of InVEST? And for Habitat quality, which species did you consider? Are data coming from field surveys or are statistical data collected from other sources?

• Line 125, notes for Table.1: Please explicit the datasets are referring to China nation

• L. 133: delete “types of”

• L. 137: can you please explain what the “cluster scale” refers to?

• Fig. 1: the caption has a typo (Basie instead of Basic) and need to have a space added between each ; and (

• Fig. 2 since you used the INVEST model, these are not measurement of ES demand and flow, but “estimates” or “evaluations”

• Clarify you are referring to Normalized Difference Vegetation Index before using the acronym NDVI. A brief description of what NDVI is, and which time frame is representative of the NDVI rasters you used, would be helpful.

•  

• L. 185: which statistical data? Citation is needed here.

 

Results

• Ls.251-259: political measures adopted in China may not be known elsewhere, and are confounding if their meanings and rationales are not explained.

• Ls. 259-277: this part would be better placed into the Introduction Section 

• Ls. 301-303: is this observation coming from your assessment or is it reported from other scientific works?

• Figure 3: correct “(c) Budgcet” with “Budget”

Discussion - Conclusion

• L. 399: What is meant here with “physical quality”?

• L. 445-447: have you ever considered that, by spreading urban development on a larger area and “decentralizing” population density, as you suggest, would have risky feedback on the areas that today are still natural or seminatural? Please discuss this potential negative feedback.

• Ls. 486 - 489 are too similar to Ls. 505-506.

 

Additional comment: citations within the text appear attached to the previous word. Please correct all of them by adding a blank space between the word and the number in square brackets (e.g.  not “internationally[30, 31].” but “internationally [30, 31].”

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Some typos are present in the text, in captions, and figures.

Author Response

Please check the attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

LAND-3180734

Managing the supply-demand mismatches and potential flows of ecosystem services in Jilin Province from a regional integration perspective

This is a very well written article on ecosystem service supply-demand and flow. However, this reviewer has several suggestions for improvement of the manuscript.

 

Abstract – is a bit long-could be shortened a bit and should only include major questions, methods, and expected results.

 

Introduction

Line 58- please spell out ES here for the first time

Line 74- please spell out ESF for the first time

Lines 86-92- these research objectives are very positivist and prescriptive. They could be rephrased as research questions or hypotheses. What do the authors expect to find?

 

Materials and Methods

This reviewer notices that the four major ecosystem services chosen are easier to quantify with the methods used except maybe habitat quality. There should be a discussion of why specific ecosystem services were chosen and some were not e.g., cultural ecosystem services.

Lines 206-215 Please supply reasoning behind each of the four major assumptions. Such may affect the validity of the research approach.

 

Results

Line 252- how did this specific policy negatively impact the quality and quantity of arable land?

Lines 248-277 When mentioning National Chinese policies authors need to relate the degree to which they are locally implemented.

 

Discussion

Lines 480-483 It should be acknowledged that national government policies are not always adopted by local government or implemented totally.

 

Conclusion

The authors should mention the potential generalizability of their approach to other regions of China and elsewhere.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

English usage is fine- just minor editing needed.

Author Response

Please check the attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

In comparison to its previous iteration, we are pleased to observe that the author has implemented modifications and enhancements across the majority of the content. Nevertheless, there remain some aspects which necessitate further refinement.

(1) The Keywords in your text is "matching supply and demand." However, upon conducting a search on Web of Science, it predominantly appears as "supply-demand matching" or "supply and demand matching." Please consider whether any modification is necessary.

(2) The sentences in Lines 118-119 "With...perspective" lack fluency or exhibit evident language issues.

(3) In Figure 1(b), it is recommended to delineate boundaries for each prefecture-level city. To enhance recognition of (b) and (c), the map range of Figure 1(a) can be appropriately reduced.

(4) The sentence in Lines 163-165 is excessively complex and should be divided into multiple sentences for improved clarity and readability.

(5) It is recommended to incorporate relevant literature on statistical yearbooks in Line 200.

(6) The sentences in Lines 457-459 could be improved by splitting it into two separate sentences.

(7) For non-native readers who may not be familiar with geographical names such as "Yao Nan","Yao Bei" and "Zhenlai" in Lines 476, it is recommended to either omit them directly or elaborate them in the overview of the study area and Figure 1.

(8) The readers' understanding of the "Li shu model" in Line 558 is ambiguous, thus an explanation is needed.

(9) The opening quotation mark in Line 594 is not followed by a closing one. Additionally, it is advisable to align the statement "beautiful mountains and clear water are valuable assets" in this instance with the assertion made in Line 652 that emphasizes "clear waters and green mountains as invaluable assets."

Comments on the Quality of English Language

We have identified numerous language issues in the article, including unreadable sentences and deviations from English expression conventions. Therefore, it is advisable to enhance the English Language refinement of the article.Extensive editing of English language required.

Author Response

Dear Reviewers,

Thank you very much for the time you took to review the manuscript.

On behalf of all the contributing authors, I would like to express our sincere appreciation for your letter and the reviewers' constructive comments concerning our article (Manuscript ID: land- 3180734).

As far as you are concerned, several problems need to be addressed. According to your nice suggestions, we have made some corrections to our previous draft, in this revised version, changes to our manuscript were all highlighted within the document by using red-colored text, the detailed corrections are listed below.

 

Point 1: The Keywords in your text is "matching supply and demand." However, upon conducting a search on Web of Science, it predominantly appears as "supply-demand matching" or "supply and demand matching." Please consider whether any modification is necessary.

 

Response 1: Thank you for your careful review. We reconsider the keywords. Based on your suggestion, we have modified the original “matching supply and demand” to “supply and demand matching”.

Please see updates to lines 25-26 of the revised manuscript.

The details are as follows:

Keywords: regional integration; ecosystem services; supply and demand matching; potential flows; Jilin Province

 

Point 2: The sentences in Lines 118-119 "With...perspective" lack fluency or exhibit evident language issues.

 

Response 2:

Thank you for highlighting this issue. The original sentence did indeed lack fluency. We have revised it to ensure better clarity and flow. The updated sentence emphasizes the objective of offering practical guidance on ecological governance while making the connection to the regional integration perspective more straightforward and natural.

Please see the update to lines 119-120 of the revised abstract.

The details are as follows:

Our goal is to offer comprehensive, practical guidance on ecological governance, framed within the context of regional integration.

 

Point 3: In Figure 1(b), it is recommended to delineate boundaries for each prefecture-level city. To enhance recognition of (b) and (c), the map range of Figure 1(a) can be appropriately reduced.

 

Response 3: Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your review. Based on your suggestions, we have again adjusted the administrative division level and map size of Figure 1. We hope that such modifications will meet with your approval.

Please see updates to lines 148-149 of the revised manuscript.

The details are as follows:

Figure 1. Basic information of Jilin Province.

Point 4: The sentence in Lines 163-165 is excessively complex and should be divided into multiple sentences for improved clarity and readability.

Response 4: Thank you for your valuable feedback. I have revised the sentence to improve clarity and readability by breaking it into multiple, concise sentences.

Please see updates to lines 165-168 of the revised manuscript.

The details are as follows:

With increasing levels of urbanization and industrialization, the ecological environment faces more severe challenges. We have developed a research framework to address these challenges and enhance the regional ecological governance system and its capacity. This framework aims to support the sustainable development of Jilin Province (Fig 2.).

 

Point 5: It is recommended to incorporate relevant literature on statistical yearbooks in Line 200.

 

Response 5: Thank you for your careful review. Based on your suggestions, we have added relevant references to all statistical data in the manuscript, including the China Statistical Yearbook.

They are expressed in lines 156-163, and 197-203 of the revised manuscript, respectively.

The details are as follows:

Lines 156-163:

Table 1. Summary of the primary data.

Data type	Year of Data	Data format	Data source	Application module
Administrative boundaries	2000/2010/2020	Vector data	RESDC1	CP/CS/WY/HQ
Land use	2000/2010/2020	raster(30m)	RESDC1	CP/CS/WY/HQ
Normalized difference vegetation index	2000/2010/2020	raster(30m)	RESDC1	CP/HQ
Digital elevation model	-	raster(30m)	RESDC1	CP/CS/WY
Precipitation	2000/2010/2020	raster(1km)	NESSDC2	WY
Evapotranspiration	2000/2010/2020	raster(1km)	NESSDC2	WY
Soil data	-	raster (30˝)	China soil map based harmonized world soil da-tabase (HWSD)(v1.1) (hup://data.tpde.ae.cn/zh-hans/data) [35]	WY
Root depth	-	raster(1km)	Depth-to-bedrock map of China at a spatial resolu-tion of 100 m [36]	WY
Population density (pop)	2000/2010/2020	raster(1km)	World Pop (https://hub.worldpop.org/) [37]	CP/CS/WY
Food production	2000/2010/2020	statistics data	Jilin Statistical Yearbook (http://tjj.jl.gov.cn/zwgk/) [38]	CP
Food demand	2000/2010/2020	statistics data	Jilin Statistical Yearbook (http://tjj.jl.gov.cn/zwgk/) [38]	CP
Standard coal consumption	2000/2010/2020	statistics data	Jilin Statistical Yearbook (http://tjj.jl.gov.cn/zwgk/) [38]	CS
Water demand	2000/2010/2020	statistics data	Jilin Water Resources Bulletin (http://slt.jl.gov.cn/zwgk/szygb/index.html) [39]	WY

CP: crop production; CS: carbon storage; WY: water yield; HQ: habitat quality.

¹RESDC: The Resource and Environment Science and Data Center (RESDC) of China provides extensive datasets related to China's resources and environmental sciences (https://www.resde.cn/) [40].

²NESSDC: The National Earth System Science Data Center (NESSDC) is a key data repository in China, offering comprehensive datasets related to China's earth system sciences (http://www.geodata.cn) [41].

 

where citations are added：

35. China soil map based harmonized world soil database (HWSD)(v1.1) (2009). Available online: https://poles.tpdc.ac.cn/zh-hans/. (accessed on 13 August 2024).
36. Yan, F., Wei, S., et al., Depth-to-bedrock map of China at a spatial resolution of 100 meters. Scientific Data, 2020. 7.DOI: 10.1038/s41597-019-0345-6.
37. World Pop Hub. Available online: https://hub.worldpop.org/. (accessed on 13 August 2024).
38. Jilin Statistical Yearbook. Available online: http://tjj.jl.gov.cn/zwgk/. (accessed on 13 August 2024).
39. Jilin Water Resources Bulletin. Available online: http://slt.jl.gov.cn/zwgk/szygb/. (accessed on 13 August 2024).
40. Resource and Environment Science Data Center of the Chinese Academy of Science. Available online: https://www.resde.cn/. (accessed on 13 August 2024).
41. National Earth System Science Data Center, National Science & Technology Infrastructure of China. Available online: http://www.geodata.cn. (accessed on 13 August 2024).

 

Lines 197-203:

Demand for crop production services mainly consists of demand for food rations and indirect food demand, of which indirect food demand includes food for feed, food for industry, food for seeds, etc. [44, 45], which is closely related to the size and spatial distribution of the population. We define crop production demand by multiplying population density by an ideal per capita crop consumption quota. The per capita crop consumption quota for Jilin Province is derived from the per capita food consumption of households in Jilin Province as reported in the China Statistical Yearbook [46].

 

where citations are added：

46. National Bureau of Statistics. Available online: https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/ndsj/. (accessed on 13 August 2024).

 

Point 6: The sentences in Lines 457-459 could be improved by splitting it into two separate sentences.

 

Response 6: Thank you for your careful review. Following your suggestion, we have split the original sentence into two separate sentences to improve clarity and readability. The revised structure ensures that each point is made more clearly.

They are expressed in lines 460-463 of the revised manuscript, respectively.

The details are as follows:

For carbon storage services, we utilized carbon density data from comparable study areas [1, 64, 67]. Xiang et al. [64] reported the carbon sequestration potential in northeastern China, using net ecosystem productivity (NEP) as a model to quantify supply.

 

Point 7: For non-native readers who may not be familiar with geographical names such as "Yao Nan","Yao Bei" and "Zhenlai" in Lines 476, it is recommended to either omit them directly or elaborate them in the overview of the study area and Figure 1.

 

Response 7: I sincerely thank you for your careful review. As per your suggestion, we have removed the specific district names to avoid any problem of unclear expression.

They are expressed in lines 477-479 of the revised manuscript, respectively.

The details are as follows:

The results of the study indicate that from 2000 to 2020, the budget for crop production services exhibited a distinct spatial distribution, with significantly higher values in the central and western regions compared to the eastern region.

 

Point 8: The readers' understanding of the "Li shu model" in Line 558 is ambiguous, thus an explanation is needed.

 

Response 8: Thank you very much for your careful review. Based on your suggestions, we have made additional changes to the sentence. We have explained the specific meaning and function of the " Li Shu Model " to ensure that our point of view can be more clearly expressed.

They are expressed in lines 559-566 of the revised manuscript, respectively.

The details are as follows:

Conservation tillage practices, such as the “Li Shu model”, should be further expanded to capitalize on the unique characteristics of the black soil region. Widely implemented in Northeast China, this model utilizes no-tillage sowing combined with full straw cover to deliver multiple ecological and agricultural benefits. These include retaining soil moisture, preventing wind and water erosion, enhancing soil fertility, and reducing cultivation costs. By promoting these methods, the “Li Shu model” plays a crucial role in driving the sustainable transformation and modernization of agricultural production systems.

 

Point 9: The opening quotation mark in Line 594 is not followed by a closing one. Additionally, it is advisable to align the statement "beautiful mountains and clear water are valuable assets" in this instance with the assertion made in Line 652 that emphasizes "clear waters and green mountains as invaluable assets."

Response 9: Thank you for your careful review. Based on your suggestions, we have revised the format and content of the sentence. Ensure that the sentence “clear waters and green mountains as invaluable assets” is consistent throughout the manuscript.

They are expressed in lines 598-600 of the revised manuscript, respectively.

The details are as follows:

These initiatives would not only incentivize local governments to actively participate in ecological protection but also reinforce the principle that “clear waters and green mountains as invaluable assets.”

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Thanks for addressing the arisen concerns. Good job

Author Response

Thank you for your invaluable comments that have made the revised manuscript more readable and scientifically sound!