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• A widely used hydrological model is applied at the national scale to Spain. • Hydrological ecosystem services are evaluated under a business-as-usual land abandonment scenario. • Land abandonment increases water levels in wetter regions and decreases them in drier areas. • The tool can be easily applied to other countries or basins. This research demonstrates the opportunities and challenges for decision-makers in the use of satellite data driven hydrological model such as WaterWorld to assess current hydrological ecosystem services at the national scale and evaluate the impact of land use scenarios for the future. Spain has been selected as a case study in view of the negative consequences for hydrological ecosystem services caused by land abandonment over the last few decades, which, if action is not taken soon, will make Spain the European Union country most affected by this problem in the coming years. The results show that continued land abandonment will exacerbate the already geographically polarised situation of land abandonment of agricultural areas in the north of the country due to their low economic viability, in contrast to intensification of irrigated area in the most arid regions of Spain, leading to an increase in water balances in the already wet areas and a decrease in the arid areas. However, there is much to be gained from restoration of nature in Spain. Beyond the obvious benefits for biodiversity, climate change mitigation and recreation, abandonment of current agricultural land and its return to natural cover will lead to improvements in water quality ecosystem services. This model used, which is easily replicable to other countries given the availability of a user-friendly interface and embedded global data, can help analyse hydrological ecosystem services in any other country in the world. Like all models and measurements, WaterWorld has limitations so results should be viewed critically, but can still contribute to discussions on land management for sustainability, alongside other source of information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Leaf C, N, P, and leaf N/P ratio were the main contributors to above-ground biomass. • Leaf N, P, and leaf N/P were the contributors to below-ground processes. • Soil properties explained 60% variation in aboveground biomass. Plant-soil interactions are a major determinant of changes in forest ecosystem processes and functioning. We conducted a trait-based study to quantify the contribution of plant traits and soil properties to above- and below-ground ecosystem properties in temperate forest in the Indian Himalayas. Nine plant traits (leaf area, specific leaf area, leaf water content, leaf dry matter content, leaf carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), leaf C/N, and leaf N/P) and eight soil properties (pH, moisture, available N, P, potassium (K), total C, N, P) were selected for determination of their contribution to major ecosystem processes (above-ground biomass C, soil organic C, soil microbial C, soil microbial N, soil microbial P, and soil respiration) in temperate forest. Among the plant traits leaf C, N, P, and leaf N/P ratio proved to be the main contributors to above-ground biomass, explaining 20–27% of variation. Leaf N, P, and leaf N/P were the main contributors to below-ground soil organic C, soil microbial C, soil microbial N, soil microbial P, and soil respiration (explaining 33% of variation). Together, the soil properties, pH, available P, total N and C explained 60% of variation in above-ground biomass, while pH and total C explained 56% of variation in soil organic C. Other soil properties (available P, total C and N) also explained much of the variation in soil microbial C (52%) and soil microbial N (67%), while soil pH explained some of variation in soil microbial N (14%). Available P, total N, and pH explained soil microbial P (81%), while soil respiration was only explained by soil total C (70%). Thus, leaf traits and soil characteristics significantly explaining variations in above- and below-ground ecosystem processes and functioning in temperate forest in the Indian Himalayas. Consequently, tree species for afforestation, restoration, and commercial forestry should be carefully selected, as they can influence the climate change mitigation potential of forest in terms of C stocks in biomass and soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]