The Trade-Offs and Constraints of Watershed Ecosystem Services: A Case Study of the West Liao River Basin in China
, Meng Yuan 1,2, Xiao Fu 1,*, Mingfang Tang 1, Laiye Qu 1, Zheng Yin 1 and Gang Wu 1,2
Monika Konatowska
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe paper “Trade-offs and Constraints of Watershed Ecosystem Services: A Case Study of the West Liao River Basin in China” raises an important issue concerning the Xiliao River Basin, an important ecological barrier in Inner Mongolia, as an example, to quantify the supply and demand of ecosystem services. Unfortunately, the paper refers more to macroeconomics than to ecosystem services.
Title:
The paper refers more to macroeconomics than to ecosystem services
Abstract:
Does not fully reflect the content of the paper.
Introduction
The introduction pays little attention to ecosystem services provided by river basins, focusing more on the presentation of methods. For example, the important issue of protecting river valleys and entire river basins, as well as the problem of managing entire basins, is omitted.
Method
The division of the Methods into sections is incomprehensible. The section is numbered as 4. Then it is divided into subsections 4.1-4.5. If section 5 is a further part of the methods, why is it not numbered as 4.6 (and consequently chapters 6 and 7).
The section also does not fully explain the used methods. For example, why NDVI was referred only to grassland and agricultural land and not, for example, to forests?
The GTWR Model is also not described in a sufficient manner.
Results
The result recorded as “The NDVI coefficients are all greater than 0, indicating that NDVI has a positive influence on the 466 coupling coordination degree” is incomprehensible. Why were all values > 0 treated the same, if there is a significant environemntal difference in interpretation between values close to 0 and close to 1? There was no reference to this in the Discussion section.
Discussion
The Discussion section refers to 3 literature items (28-30) only. This is definitely not enough to interpret the results. There is no reference to many important natural aspects of river basin management.
Conclusions
There are no clearly separated conclusions. The conclusions section contains mainly recommendations
References
The list of literature contains only 30 items, mainly by Chinese authors. A more international research context and a broader reference to the natural aspects of river basin management would be advisable.
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThis manuscript examines the spatiotemporal dynamics of ecosystem service supply and demand relationships in the Xiliao River Basin, China, utilizing coupling coordination models and geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) analysis. The study provides valuable insights into the interplay between ecosystem services and socio-economic development, offering theoretical support for sustainable regional development and ecological restoration policies. However, there are several methodological and interpretative issues that require clarification and improvement. Therefore, major revisions are necessary before this manuscript can be considered for publication in Land.
1. iThenticate shows a Percent Match of 34%. I suggest revising the text to reduce the repetition rate.
2. Line 40: Should "Ecological System (ES) supply" be changed to "ecosystem service supply"?
3. Line 105: Could you add more specific descriptions of the current ecological issues in the study area, rather than using the vague phrase "the ES supply and demand are imbalanced"?
4. Figure 1 lacks unit information.
5. All formulas need to be corrected, as variables should be italicized.
6. When introducing methods, references should be added. For example: "The Carbon module in the InVEST model is adopted to evaluate and calculate the supply of carbon storage[1], including above-ground biochar, below-ground biochar, soil organic carbon, and dead organic matter[2]. The supply calculation formula is as follows:"
[1] Natural Capital Project, 2022. InVEST 3.14.1 User’s Guide. Stanford (America): Stanford University, University of Minnesota, Chinese Academy of Sciences, The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, and Stockholm Resilience Centre.
[2] Yao, S.; Li, Y.; Quan, X.; Xu, J. Applying the driver-pressure-state-impact-response model to ecological restoration: A case study of comprehensive zoning and benefit assessment in Zhejiang Province, China. *Glob. Ecol. Conserv.* 2024, 24, 55.
7. Please specify the version of the model used, such as the InVEST model, and include key parameters like carbon density.
8. I suggest improving the clarity and presentation of the figures, such as Figures 3–7.
9. Carefully review Figure 8, as the font in the legend is inconsistent, and there are unit errors in annotations, such as the units for water yield.
10. In Section 10, I recommend proposing different suggestions for different regions based on your results, as the supply and demand of ecosystem services vary across regions.
11. The manuscript lacks a conclusion section, which must be added.
12. The article has too many sections. I suggest merging some sections and reorganizing the structure based on other published papers as references.
13. Additional references are needed, such as comparisons with similar studies in the discussion section.
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsDear authors,
This study sought to investigate the trade-offs and constraints of watershed ecosystem services in a study case on the China. The methodology used was very detailed allowing the replication of this research. I consider it suitable for publication in Land (ISSN 2073-445X), but with corrections.
Title
Line 3: Remove the final point of the title.
Correct the formatting of the scientific article according to the Land structure:
“Author Information, Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Materials & Methods, Results, Conclusions, Figures and Tables with Captions, Funding Information, Author Contributions, Conflict of Interest and other Ethics Statements”.
Abstract
The summary is too long (326 words!).
Read the Instructions for Authors of the Land and redo the summary containing to the total of About 200 Words Maximum.326 words!
1. Introduction
Line 130: Insert the call from figure 1 in the text “... River (Figure 1).”
Lines 265: Insert the call of figure 2 in the text "... index, thus evaluating their interrelationships (Figure 2).”
Lines 272-273: Please remove this part of the text "The Figure is as Follows."
2. Materials and Methods
Line 126: Please replace the topic "2. Overview of the Xiliao River Basin" by "2. Materials and methods"
Insert in the text the subtopic "2.1. Study Area"
Line 143: Please replace the subtopic "3. Data Source" by "2.2. Data Source"
Line 156: Please remove this topic of the text "4. Research method"
Line 157: Please replace the subtopic "4.1. Selection of ecosystem service indicators" by "2.3. Selection of ecosystem service indicators"
Line 167: Please replace the subtopic "4.2. Carbon storage and carbon emission" by "2.4. Carbon storage and carbon emission"
Line 180: Please replace the subtopic "4.3. Water yield and water use" by "2.5. Water yield and water use"
Line 194: Please replace the subtopic "4.4. Meat and grain production" by "2.6. Meat and grain production"
Line 212: Please replace the subtopic " 4.5. Soil conservation" by "2.7. Soil conservation"
Line 221: Please replace the subtopic "5. ES supply-demand ratio" by "2.8. ES supply-demand ratio"
Line 228: Please replace the subtopic "6. Construction of coupling coordination model" by “2.9. Construction of coupling coordination model”
Line 234: Please replace the subtopic "6.1. Dimensionless index" by “2.9.1. Dimensionless index”
Line 238: Please replace the subtopic "6.2. Use the entropy weight method to calculate the weight of each index" by “2.9.2. Use the entropy weight method to calculate the weight of each index”
Lines 242-243: Please replace the subtopic "6.3. Calculate the ES Supply Index (ESSI) and ES Demand Index (ESDI) by the following formula:" by “2.9.3. Calculate the ES Supply Index (ESSI) and ES Demand Index (ESDI)” and Below insert "The Calculation Method is Follows:"
Line 247: Please replace the subtopic "6.4. Construction of coupling coordination degree model" by “2.9.4. Construction of coupling coordination degree model”
Line 256: It is necessary to make the call from Table 1 within the text.
Line 257: Please replace the subtopic "6.5. Construction of supply and demand matching model" by “2.9.5. Construction of supply and demand matching model”
Line 261: Please replace the subtopic "6.6. Decoupling model" by “2.9.6. Decoupling model”
Line 276: Please replace the subtopic "7. Geographical and temporal weighted regression (GTWR) " by “2.10. Geographical and temporal weighted regression (GTWR)”
3. Results
Line 289: Please replace the topic "8. Results and analysis" by "3. Results"
Lines 290-291: Please replace the topic " 8.1. Characteristics of spatial and temporal variations in supply, demand and supply/demand ratios" by "3.1. Characteristics of spatial and temporal variations in supply, demand and supply/demand ratios"
Line 356: Please replace the topic "8.2. Spatial and temporal dynamics of ESSI and ESDI” by "3.2. Spatial and temporal dynamics of ESSI and ESDI"
Line 384: Please replace the topic "8.3. Spatiotemporal influence of CD and MD” by "3.3. Spatiotemporal influence of CD and MD"
Line 420: Please replace the topic "8.4. Spatial and temporal variation in decoupling indices” by "3.4. Spatial and temporal variation in decoupling indices"
Line 425: Please replace " Fig12” by "Figure 12"
Line 448: Please replace the topic " 8.5. GWTR” by "3.5. GWTR"
4. Discussion
Line 531: Please replace the topic " 9. Discussion" by "4. Discussion"
Line 532: Please remove this topic of the text “9.1. Understanding the spatial and temporal dynamics of es supply and demand relationships”
Line 561: Please remove this topic of the text “9.2. Temporal dynamics of CD and decoupling index scores”
Line 601: Please remove this topic of the text “9.3. Spatial and temporal dynamics of impact factors”
5. Conclusions
Line 620: Please replace the topic "10. Policy recommendations" by "Final Considerations" or “5. Conclusions”
Line 634: Please remove this topic of the text “11. Prospects and shortcomings”
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Reviewer 4 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsI have reviewed the manuscript and found that the manuscript has merits and interesting subject. Authors may consider improving their style and structuring the manuscript to meet journal standards. I suggest that the material should be revised, the usage of acronyms reduced, and too detailed presentation of numbers avoided. The list of references should be extended with the results from case studies in different regions of the world, not predominantly in China.
Below are my more detailed comments and suggestions:
1. The abstract should be shortened and style-improved. The second sentence is too long and should be divided into two or three. Avoid (1), (2), (3), and (4), and use normal writing. Avoid acronyms to the maximum possible extent. Mention only a few research results, e.g. points (1) and (2), and leave the rest for the section Results, or better conclusions. In keywords avoid acronyms and shorten the second keyword, for instance, ‘coupling coordination and matching models'
2. Introduction: A literature review is generally correct. However, the manuscript would benefit from inserting a few short paragraphs related to contemporary research (case studies) elsewhere in the world, not only in China.
3. Overview of the Xiliao River Basin: Reference to Fig. 1 is missing in the paragraph between lines 126-140. The caption of Fig. 1 should be corrected (what is DEM?). Avoid text ‘between longitudes 117°E and 128 123°E， latitudes 41°N and 45°N.’. This is seen in the Fig. 1.
4. Mathematics: Check all formulas and ‘equalize’ fonts in formulas and texts, especially subscripts such as after Eqs. (2) and (3), then after (6), (7), etc. After equations should be ‘where’, not ‘Where’, and not indented.
5. Results: Well presented and informative.
6. Research method: Sections 4-7 all belong to Methods. Restructure text accordingly and name it as ‘4. Research methodology and methods’. Then renumber the remaining text accordingly.
7. Results: Figures 8-11 move to the Appendix and only leave brief descriptions about what is presented in the figures.
8. Discussion. Correctly written
9. Conclusions: Sections 10 and 11 are shortened and presented as Conclusions. At the end of Conclusions add a paragraph about the future research agenda.
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsExpanding the discussion with a greater number of citations, particularly those referencing the latest research in the field, could significantly enhance the value of the work.
Author Response
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Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe manuscript still has significant formatting issues, including font formatting and citation standards.
The quality of the figures does not meet the standards of SCI papers.
The English expression must be improved, as the manuscript frequently contains tense errors and repeatedly uses the same word multiple times in the Methods section.
The English expression must be improved, as the manuscript frequently contains tense errors and repeatedly uses the same word multiple times in the Methods section.
Author Response
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Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Reviewer 4 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsAccept.
Author Response
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Author Response File: Author Response.docx
