Simulation and Analysis of Changes in Carbon Storage and Ecosystem Services Against the Backdrop of Land Transfer: A Case Study in Lvzenong Park

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report (Previous Reviewer 2)

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The observations I made led to the necessary corrections.

I think that, depending on the context, the word "apple" should be systematically accompanied by the word "orchard", otherwise the meaning of the sentences is falsified.

Green light!

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report (New Reviewer)

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This manuscript investigates the impact of land transfer on carbon storage and ecosystem services in Lvzenong Park, Yi County, Taihang Mountains, Hebei Province. The study offers a comprehensive approach to simulate the effects of land transfer on carbon flow and ecosystem services under different scenarios, contributing to sustainable land management strategies. However, there are several significant issues that need to be addressed.  Therefore, major revisions are necessary before this manuscript can be considered for publication in  Land.

 

1. I suggest adding latitude and longitude information to Figure 1. 

2. Equations 1-7 must be corrected. 

3. In Section 2.2.2, did the authors use statistical data to adjust the ESV equivalence factors? I hope the authors can provide more details, such as a table of equivalence factors.  These references provide detailed descriptive information and can be consulted (10.1016/j.gecco.2024.e03222; 10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112620). 

4. Please standardize the unit of ESV. "Yuan" is used in Section 2.2.2, while "USD" is used in Lines 371-398. 

5. In Section 3.3.1, how was the 5% value determined? I suggest adding necessary references when setting up the simulation scenarios to enhance credibility. 

6. I recommend adding comparisons with other similar studies in the discussion section, especially in Section 4.1. 

7. Section 4.3 should include a discussion on the limitations of the ESV calculation method. 

8. I suggest that the conclusion section should further highlight the study’s contributions rather than simply repeating the results.

Author Response

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Reviewer 3 Report (New Reviewer)

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

In this paper, using well-known methods, the authors have attempted to assess and predict the development directions of carbon storage and ecological systems that have emerged as a result of a modern agricultural-ecological project. Any prediction of future carbon emissions is certainly a significant scientific contribution to life in a healthy environment. What is certainly good about the paper is the methodology used, the results and the conclusion of the paper. There are shortcomings in the following chapters:

- Introduction - in the introduction, the authors refer to the works of other researchers and similar studies, so it is necessary to open the Literature Review chapter. The objectives of this paper are not clearly stated in the introduction, although they can be glimpsed through reading. In order to make it clearer for the reader, there are no broader explanations of some terms that the authors often use in the paper. In several places, literature citations are missing. Of course, the future Literature Review chapter should be supplemented with similar case studies that are not only from China.

- Methodology - Figure 1 should perhaps be improved given that the study has a small spatial coverage at the park level (I recommended that it would not be a bad idea to add a satellite image or a series of satellite images documenting changes in land use)

- Discussion - in this chapter, the authors did not compare their results with any previous research, so this is the main shortcoming that needs to be corrected in this paper. I provided detailed comments in the revised version. Some parts concerning the results of the work should be moved to the Results section.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

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Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report (New Reviewer)

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

1. This is an international journal, I don't understand why the author put Chinese pictures in coverletter.
2 How does the author set the ESV coefficient of construction land when calculating ESV?
3. I am not convinced by the author's reply on calculating ESV, and the author does not provide enough information for others to reproduce this part of the calculation. In my opinion, it is necessary to provide information that is ES equivalent value per unit area, and failure to do so would call into question the credibility of the findings.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

1. This is an international journal, I don't understand why the author put Chinese pictures in coverletter.
2 How does the author set the ESV coefficient of construction land when calculating ESV?
3. I am not convinced by the author's reply on calculating ESV, and the author does not provide enough information for others to reproduce this part of the calculation. In my opinion, it is necessary to provide information that is ES equivalent value per unit area, and failure to do so would call into question the credibility of the findings.

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.docx

This manuscript is a resubmission of an earlier submission. The following is a list of the peer review reports and author responses from that submission.

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This study employed Odum's energy system language to simulate the changes in carbon flow and storage from 2015 to 2115, and analyzed alterations in ecosystem service values using the equivalent factor method. Two scenarios were established for economic development and carbon sink protection, enabling a discussion on the evolutionary characteristics of carbon storage and ecosystem services under different scenarios.

My major concerns are (1) The Odum's energy system language may be suitable for simulating energy flow, but it may not be suitable for studying the changes in carbon flow and storage; therefore, careful calibration is suggested to ensure scientific rigor. Currently, the InVEST model is more widely used.

(2) To more accurately simulate the scenarios of EVs, GeoFLUS or PLUS models are suggested.

(3) The Figures 1 and 2, and Tables 1 and 2 are same to the article publised in 2023.

Fan, W.; Yao, W.; Chen, K. Integrating Energy Systems Language and Emergy Approach to Simulate and Analyze the Energy Flow Process of Land Transfer. Land 2023, 1070.

(4) This study lacks originality or significant findings, resembling more of a report on experimental procedures..

 

Other comments:

(1) The title should be modified to show the study area is the park, not the county.

(2) The Introduction section should be rewrite to cover the current research progress.

(3) Land transfer is repeatedly mentioned in the article, while there is no figure can reflect the transfer status of the study area.

(4) The References section has the potential for expansion as it currently encompasses only 38 references.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Moderate editing of English language required.

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The presented article completes with a new perspective the series of methodologies aimed at the prospective analysis of carbon dynamics in different ecosystems. The conclusions are congruent with the stated objective and the practical applicability of the research results is evident.

Comments:

Figure 2 needs a legend, otherwise it is illegible. To simplify the legend, for the K parameters, reference can be made to Table 1.

For international comparability, values expressed in Yuan should be converted to USD.

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

please avoid using reference lumps (for example ref. 4-5 in line 47, or 6-7 in 55, and so on..)

please elaborate the NEP and InVest models in at least one sentence. (NEP in line 84)

 

 

Author Response

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