Search

Farmland ecosystems can provide both economic products and ecosystem services that are important in maintaining food security and ecological safety. However, the ecological functions of farmland ecosystems have not been adequately evaluated in China, especially from the perspective of ecological efficiency for three staple food crops (wheat, maize and rice). Moreover, the contribution of ecosystem services value (ESV) to agricultural eco-efficiency (AEE), and the factors that influence AEE for the three staple food crops in different regions are still unclear. In this study, data envelopment analysis (DEA) was applied to calculate the AEE using group-frontier and meta-frontier methods based on regional heterogeneity. We measured AEE for wheat, maize and rice production with and without ESV and compared the gap between ecological inefficiency resulting from management inefficiency and technology gap inefficiency. The research results showed that, first, the involvement of ESV could effectively promote AEE. In particular, water conservation, soil conservation and the nutrient cycle contributed to the promotion of eco-efficiency. The mean ΔAEE (the difference in AEE with or without ESV) of wheat, maize and rice increased by 15 %, 10 % and 13 % with group-frontier and by 20 %, 10 % and 11 % with meta-frontier, respectively. Second, the improvement of AEE was higher in ecologically sensitive areas than that in other areas, especially for wheat and rice. Third, although the involvement of ESV reduced ecological inefficiency, specifically for management inefficiency, its contribution differed significantly across regions. We provide suggestions on improving AEE and reducing inter-regional differences in China. In brief, these findings suggest that, except for grain yields, ecosystem services need to be recognized in the production of three staple food crops, especially in ecologically sensitive areas. This is helpful for crop planning and planting division in terms of sustainable development., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Predictive modelling tools can be used to support the design of agricultural landscapes to promote pollinator biodiversity and pollination services. Despite the proliferation of such modelling tools in recent decades, there remains a gap in synthesising their main characteristics and representation capacities. Here, we reviewed 42 studies that developed non-correlative models to explore the impact of land use and land cover changes on bee populations, and synthesised information about the modelled systems, modelling approaches, and key model characteristics like spatiotemporal extent and resolution. Various modelling approaches are employed to predict the biodiversity of bees and the pollination services they provide, with a prevalence of models focusing on wild populations compared to managed ones. Of these models, landscape indicators and distance decay models are relatively simple, with few parameters. They allow mapping bee visitation probabilities using basic land cover data and considering bee foraging ranges. Conversely, mechanistic or agent-based models delineate, with varying degrees of complexity, a multitude of processes that characterise, among others, the foraging behaviour and population dynamics of bees. The reviewed models collectively encompass 38 ecological, agronomic, and economic processes, producing various outputs including bee abundance, habitat visitation rate, and crop yield. To advance the development of predictive modelling tools aimed at fostering pollinator biodiversity and pollination services in agricultural landscapes, we highlight future avenues for increasing biophysical realism in models predicting the impact of land use and land cover changes on bees. Additionally, we address the challenges associated with balancing model complexity and practical usability., (© 2024 Cambridge Philosophical Society.)

Land use change, anthropogenic exploitation and climate change have impacted the flow of services in the Himalayan region. The dominant land uses in the region including natural forest, degraded forest, rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) plantations, Areca catechu plantations, Areca agroforestry and Piper agroforestry were considered for the study. A progressive shift in land use was defined as the conversion and restoration of a less productive system like degraded land to plantations or agroforestry systems. A land use shift was considered retrogressive when it entails the establishment of plantations after clearing natural forests or anthropogenic disturbance of natural forests resulting in forest degradation. The objectives of the current study were to estimate changes in soil properties, stand structure, tree biomass, fine root production and carbon storage following a progressive and retrogressive shift in land usage. The aboveground biomass (105.9 Mg ha -1 ) was highest in the natural forest, followed by Areca agroforestry (100.2 Mg ha -1 ) and least in the degraded forest (55.3 Mg ha -1 ). The aboveground biomass carbon (47.1 Mg ha -1 ) of Areca agroforestry was comparable with that of natural forest (51.3 Mg ha -1 ). The highest proportion of passive carbon concentrations was observed under Areca agroforestry, whereas the lowest (4.13 g kg -1 ) was found under Areca plantations in the 0-25 cm soil depth. With the progressive shift in land use from degraded forest to agroforestry, SOC stocks increased by 27.6 % and 3 % under Piper and Areca agroforests, respectively. SOC stocks decreased by 8.5 % with a shift in land use from natural forests to Areca plantations. The production of fine roots was maximum in the Areca agroforest (13.2 Mg ha -1 ) and lowest under rubber plantations (4.2 Mg ha -1 ). The results show that progressive shifts from degraded forest to agroforestry can considerably increase carbon stocks, plant species diversity and multifunctionality than shifts to monoculture plantations thereby supporting improved biodiversity and mitigation of climate change., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

To balance trade-offs between livestock's negative environmental impacts and their positive contributions (e.g. maintaining semi-natural grasslands, varied agricultural landscapes and crop rotations), a better understanding is needed of how the supply of ecosystem services differs across farms. We analysed a suite of indicators for non-provisioning ecosystem services on a large subset of Swedish farms (71% of farms, covering 82% of agricultural land) and related these to farm type, farm size and livestock density. The analysed indicators exhibited clear geographical patterns with hotspots especially in less productive regions. Controlling for this spatial variation we still found that small-scale and ruminant farms were associated with more varied landscapes, small-scale habitats, semi-natural grasslands and better crop sequences compared to nearby farms specialised in crop production, while farms specialising in monogastric livestock were associated with less varied landscapes and inferior crop sequences. Results for cultural ecosystem services indicated that farms with more semi-natural grassland were associated with more visitors and more likely located within designated recreation or nature conservation areas., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

It's well known that regional agricultural landscape pattern can significantly regulate the relationship between plants, herbivorous insects and natural enemies. The improvement of the ecosystem services of regional agricultural landscape pattern has profound impacts on pest control, which has received much interests in current landscape ecology and pest control studies. This review systematically summarized the impacts of agricultural landscape pattern, as well as its succession on the diversity and ecological pests control of important natural enemies. From the perspective of different natural enemies, the impacts of agricultural landscape pattern on natural predators, parasi-toids, beneficial microorganisms and its ecological pests control functions were all recapped. We outlined crop spatial distribution and vegetation habitat management strategies. This review could provide useful insights in improving the ecosystem services of natural enemies in agricultural landscape based on the vegetation habitat management, and offer theoretical support for regional ecological agriculture in response to the strategy of 'chemical pesticide reduction application'.

Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution produced by human activities in rural areas has induced excessive nutrient input into surface waters and the decline of water quality. The essence of NPS pollution is the transport of nutrients between soil and water. Traditional NPS pollution control strategies, however, are mainly based on the solid and liquid phases, with little focus on the bio-phase between water and soil. The pollutants produced from NPS can be regarded as a resource if recycled or reused in an appropriate way in the agricultural ecosystem. This mini review proposes novel strategies for NPS pollution control based on three phases (liquid, solid and bio-phase) and highlights the regulating services of an agricultural ecosystem by optimizing land use/cover types., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Swans, geese and some ducks (Anatidae) are obligate herbivores, many are important quarry species and all contribute to a variety of ecosystem services. Population growth and shifting ranges have led to increasing proximity to man and thus increasing conflicts. We review and synthesize the role of these birds as herbivores on agricultural land (cropland, rotational grassland and pasture) and other terrestrial habitats where conflict with human interests may occur. A bibliographic analysis of peer-reviewed papers (N = 359) shows that publication activity peaked in 1991-2000 in North America and 2000-2010 in Europe, and has decreased since. Taxonomic and geographical biases are obvious in research to date: Snow Goose Chen caerulescens was the most studied species (N = 98), and Canada Branta canadensis, Barnacle B. leucopsis and Brent geese B. bernicla all featured in more than 40 studies; most studies originated in northwest Europe or North America, very few have been carried out in Asia and European Russia. On the basis of nutrient/energy budgets of herbivorous waterfowl, it is evident that dense single-species crops (such as rotational grassland, early-growth cereals and root crops) and spilled grain in agricultural landscapes offer elevated energetic and nutritional intake rates of food of higher quality compared to natural or semi-natural vegetation. Hence, although affected by seasonal nutritional demands, proximity to roost, field size, disturbance levels, access to water, food depletion and snow cover, agricultural landscapes tend to offer superior foraging opportunities over natural habitats, creating potential conflict with agriculture. Herbivorous waterfowl select for high protein, soluble carbohydrate and water content, high digestibility as well as low fibre and phenolic compounds, but intake rates from grazing varied with goose body and bill morphology, creating species-specific loci for conflict. Crop damage by trampling and puddling has not been demonstrated convincingly, nor do waterfowl faeces deter grazing stock, but where consumption of crops evidently reduces yields this causes conflict with farmers. Studies show that it is difficult and expensive to assess the precise impacts of waterfowl feeding on yield loss because of other sources of variation. However, less damage has been documented from winter grazing compared to spring grazing and yield loss after spring grazing on grassland appears more pronounced than losses on cereal fields. Although yield losses at national scales are trivial, individual farmers in areas of greatest waterfowl feeding concentrations suffer disproportionately, necessitating improved solutions to conflict. Accordingly, we review the efficacy of population management, disturbance, provision of alternative feeding areas, compensation and large-scale stakeholder involvement and co-management as options for resolving conflict based on the existing literature and present a framework of management advice for the future. We conclude with an assessment of the research needs for the immediate future to inform policy development, improve management of waterfowl populations and reduce conflict with agriculture., (© 2016 Cambridge Philosophical Society.)

Policy makers and farmers need to know the status of farmland biodiversity in order to meet conservation goals and evaluate management options. Based on a review of 11 monitoring programs in Europe and North America and on related literature, we identify the design choices or attributes of a program that balance monitoring costs and usefulness for stakeholders. A useful program monitors habitats, vascular plants, and possibly faunal groups (ecosystem service providers, charismatic species) using a stratified random sample of the agricultural landscape, including marginal and intensive regions. The size of landscape samples varies with the grain of the agricultural landscape; for example, samples are smaller in Europe and larger in North America. Raw data are collected in a rolling survey, which distributes sampling over several years. Sufficient practical experience is now available to implement broad monitoring schemes on both continents. Technological developments in remote sensing, metagenomics, and social media may offer new opportunities for affordable farmland biodiversity monitoring and help to lower the overall costs of monitoring programs.

Increasing pressures for food, fiber, and fuel continue to drive global land-use changes. Efforts to optimize ecosystem services under alternative land uses are often hampered by the complex interactions and trade-offs among them. We examined the effects of land-use changes on ecosystem carbon storage and groundwater recharge in grasslands of Argentina and the United States to (1) understand the relationships between both services, (2) predict their responses to vegetation shifts across environmental gradients, and (3) explore how market or policy incentives for ecosystem services could affect land-use changes. A trade-off of ecosystem services was evident in most cases, with woody encroachment increasing carbon storage (+29 Mg C/ha) but decreasing groundwater recharge (-7.3 mm/yr) and conversions to rain-fed cultivation driving opposite changes (-32 Mg C/ha vs. +13 mm/yr). In contrast, crops irrigated with ground water tended to reduce both services compared to the natural grasslands they replaced. Combining economic values of the agricultural products together with the services, we highlight potentials for relatively modest financial incentives for ecosystem services to abate land-use changes and for incentives for carbon to drive land-use decisions over those of water. Our findings also identify key opportunities and caveats for some win-win and lose-lose land-use changes for more integrative and sustainable strategies for land management., (© 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.)

Natural ecosystems provide society with important goods and services. With rapidly increasing populations and excessive utilization of natural resources, humans have been enhancing the production of some services at the expense of others. Although the need for certain trade-offs between conservation and development is urgent, having only a small number of efficient methods to assess such trade-offs has impeded progress. This study focuses on the evaluation of ecosystem services under different land use schemes. It reveals the spatial and temporal distributions of and changes in ecosystem services. Based on a correlation rate model and distribution mapping, the trade-offs and synergies of these ecosystem services can be found. Here, we also describe a new simple approach to quantify the relationships of every trade-off and synergy. The results show that all ecosystem services possess trade-offs and synergies in the study area. The trend of improving carbon sequestration and water interception indicate that these key ecosystem services have the strongest synergy. And the decrease in regional agricultural production and other services, except water yield, may be considered as trade-offs. The synergy between water yield and agricultural production was the most significant, while the trade-off between water interception and carbon sequestration was the most apparent, according to our interaction quantification model. The results of this study have implications for planning and monitoring the future management of natural capital and ecosystem services, and can be integrated into land use decision-making.

Finding more sustainable ways to produce food is a major challenge for humanity in the face of biodiversity extinction and climate change. Consequently, research on the ability of agroecosystems to provide multiple functions is growing. In this regard, the relative importance of organic farming and landscape‐scale measures for improving multifunctionality has recently been debated. We investigated the effects of farming system (conventional vs. organic) at field scale, total length of hedgerows in the landscape and their interaction on the multifunctionality of 40 winter cereal fields in Brittany (France). Our multifunctionality assessment integrated 21 indicators of five agroecosystem goods: biodiversity conservation, nutrient cycling and soil structure, pest and disease regulation, food production and socio‐economic performance. Many indicators of biodiversity conservation, pest and disease regulation, and socio‐economic performance were higher in organic than in conventional systems. However, indicators of nutrient cycling and soil structure did not improve and food production was much lower in organic systems. Total hedgerow length in the landscape had less influence than organic farming on indicators, although we observed positive interactions. Granivorous carabid abundance and semi‐net margin were highest in organic fields located in well‐preserved hedgerow landscapes. Synthesis and applications. Our study suggests that field‐scale organic farming is necessary to promote biodiversity conservation and associated ecological functioning in crop fields, whereas landscape‐scale preservation of semi‐natural habitats alone is likely insufficient. Preservation of hedgerows in the landscape brings additional ecological and socio‐economic benefits for organic systems without compromising agricultural production. More broadly, our results call for more ambitious research into the myriad possible combinations of farming practices and agri‐environmental measures at both field and landscape scales, to improve both below‐ground and above‐ground functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the use of artificial sentinel prey in studying predation rates and predator-prey interactions in ecosystems. It highlights the challenges in quantifying predation and the benefits of using artificial sentinels for biological control and ecosystem service assessments. The authors critique a study by Rodriguez-Campbell et al. that found inconsistencies in predation rates measured with artificial sentinel prey compared to real prey, suggesting that artificial sentinel prey may not be suitable for biogeographical studies. The article emphasizes the importance of relative comparisons in ecological research and provides recommendations for improving the use of artificial sentinel prey in experiments. [Extracted from the article]

Ambrosia artemisiifolia has turned into a noxious weed species in agricultural fields and landscapes in Europe. Durable control options are still needed to limit the abundance of this species. Weed seed consumption by naturally occurring seed predators is a key ecosystem service in agricultural areas. Seed predation levels of common ragweed were examined in wheat and maize fields and adjacent semi-natural habitats (SNHs). To evaluate the weed seeds' exposure to invertebrate seed predators, 20 cards each were set on the soil surface inside the crop field and in SNHs with four replications. Twenty seeds of ragweed were attached to sandpaper. Seed removal was assessed every 24 h of exposure for 5 days in June and November 2019, October 2020, and June 2021. The seed consumption level was measured according to the number of removed seeds from the seed cards. High consumption rates of ragweed seeds were found in all sampling rounds in both seasons and habitats. The seed predation rates in 2019 were stronger within crop fields in summer than in autumn with a slight difference between SNHs and inside fields. Our results demonstrate the possibility of seed predation contributing to Integrated Plant Protection (IPM) of common ragweed in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Influenced by climate change and human activities, plain terminal lake basins (PTLB) in arid regions experience significant shrinkage, resulting in a decline in ecosystem services (ESs) such as windbreak and sand fixation (SF) and habitat quality (HQ). However, systematic assessments of these services in such basins are limited. A key research challenge is to define and enhance the contribution of plain terminal lakes within the ESs framework of their respective basins. Therefore, this study focused on the Ebinur Lake Basin (ELB), Manas River Basin (MRB), and Tarim River Basin (TRB) in Xinjiang. We adopted both the InVEST and RWEQ models to assess ESs in these regions, by employing the production possibility frontier (PPF) to optimize various ESs, including carbon storage (CS), water yield (WY), HQ, and SF. The results indicated a general upward trend in ESs across these key basins, with a particularly significant increase in the CS. Spatial analysis revealed that regions with improved ESs were mainly concentrated in the mountainous and oasis areas of the basins, with the most pronounced improvement observed in the TRB. Within these basins, the interactions between the different ESs mainly exhibited synergistic relationships. However, notable concave trade‐off relationships existed between WY and CS, WY and HQ, and HQ and SF, particularly in the TRB. This was largely attributed to increased trade‐offs between WY and other ESs, resulting from the widespread agricultural expansion in the TRB. We plotted the optimal Pareto efficiency curves for ESs across the three basins to obtain the corresponding optimization results, and made recommendations for the enhancement of ESs. In summary, this study lays a solid scientific foundation for establishing ecological protection boundaries and promoting high‐quality sustainable development in the PTLB of arid areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social wasps play an important role in controlling agricultural pests. The present study aimed to investigate the differences in abundance, species richness and composition of social wasps (Vespidae: Polistinae) between a Cerrado legal reserve, edge and agricultural matrix in an agricultural farm in Mato Grosso, Brazil. We delimited three transects and used Malaise traps which remained active for 48 hours, and were distributed equidistant over five distances from the edge to the legal reserve and agricultural matrix. In total, we collected 618 individuals and 31 species of social wasps. Our results showed that social wasp abundance was similar between the legal reserve and agricultural matrix during three stages and species richness only non-cropping stage. A similar pattern was observed for composition similarity, which presented a lower value between the legal reserve and agricultural matrix during the non-cropping stage. Our results indicate that although monoculture areas can offer food resources and be attractive to social wasps during the active cropping stages, these areas cannot host and conserve the diversity of social wasps. Legal reserve areas, for maintaining the diversity and ecosystem services provided by social wasps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop pollinator dependence (PD) values are key when assessing a pollinator's contribution to agriculture, guiding management plans and policies for sustainable crop production. However, the available global compilations of crops PD are outdated and neglect variability between related crops and accessions (variety/cultivar), as well as pollen limitation (PL), that is the production lost due to inadequate pollen receipt.Here, we obtained quantitative PD values for animal‐pollinated crops and their accessions, using data from available pollination experiments worldwide. We also tested pollination methodologies to assess their impact on PD values and to define suitable methodological guidelines for future pollination studies.We provide a list of continuous PD values for 141 crops, including 317 accessions and 37 crops not listed in previous assessments. We found that, globally, 74% of animal‐pollinated crops are highly dependent on pollinators, and more than 40% of their production is associated with animal pollination. Pollen limitation was detected in 51% of the dataset entries, indicating that estimates calculated with open pollination studies underestimate crop pollinator dependence and, therefore, do not represent the true contribution of pollinators to food production.Synthesis and applications: Commonly applied methods for assessing PD values can lead to underestimations. Future studies evaluating pollinator dependence levels of crops and their accessions (i.e. potential pollinator contribution) should consider the possibility of pollen limitation in the study site, incorporating hand pollen supplementation (to open flower), open pollination, and pollinator exclusion treatments, preferably using the whole plant or branch as the unit of assessment. The PD values provided here, from studies that allow the incorporation of the concept of pollen limitation, enable more accurate quantifications of pollinator contribution to crop production. These PD values are an invaluable baseline and a requirement for future accurate evaluations of the value of pollinators for food security, supporting pollinator‐friendly practices in agroecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the product service type and multi-level ecosystem of upgrading agriculture-forestry-animal husbandry composite system in Dibei Zagana, China. we conducted a study on ecosystem services to explore the coupling relationship between the matching characteristics of ecosystem service supply and demand and ecological resilience. Using multi-source data, we developed various models to assess the supply and demand of five ecosystem services: agriculture-forestry-animal husbandry composite system services, water production, upgrading agriculture-forestry-animal Husbandry composite system, soil conservation, and recreation and leisure. Additionally, we established an ecological resilience index system to quantify ecological resilience. Based on the "ecosystem service supply and demand + ecological resilience" concept, we defined ecological restoration zones. Subsequently, optimization strategies were proposed considering the natural and socio-economic status and development characteristics of these zones. Moreover, differentiated ecological restoration strategies were suggested for various sub-areas. These strategies provide valuable guidelines for the systematic design of ecological restoration projects and serve as methodological references for the scientific preparation of the future comprehensive management plan for the Zagana district. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Park of Hainan Tropical Rainforest (NPHTR) plays the crucial role of an ecological barrier for Hainan Island. It also serves as a valuable repository of tropical biological heritage for the world. The scientific establishment of an ecological security pattern (ESP) for the NPHTR is therefore essential for ensuring the robustness and stability of this regional ecosystem, safeguarding tropical biodiversity, and promoting sustainable development. This study integrates ecosystem service functions (ESFs) and ecological sensitivity to identify ecological sources (ESs) so that regional integrity is promoted and ecological security is ensured. Ecological corridors (ECs) are established on the basis of a minimum cumulative resistance (MCR) model and circuit theory. We integrate ESs, nodes, and corridors to construct the ESP of the NPHTR. The areas of extreme importance and sensitivity in the NPHTR account for 25.17% and 25.47% of its overall area, respectively, and are predominantly situated in the higher elevations of its eastern and central regions. Further, the ESs are mainly distributed in its western region, specifically Ba Wangling (BWL), Jian Fengling (JFL), and Ying Geling (YGL), covering an area of 1624.67 km2 (38.06% of the total area) of the NPHTR. After correction, 47 ECs with a distance of 870.9 km have been established, with BWL and YGL serving as the core areas. The ecological pinch- and barrier points in the NPHTR cover areas of 11.49 km2 and 16.35 km2, respectively, primarily consisting of man-made landscapes such as farmlands and buildings. These areas are significantly disturbed by human activities. The NPHTR has an ESP of “one screen, one district, three belts, multiple points, and multiple corridors”. BWL and YGL, which contain numerous sources and corridors, are crucial ecological functional zones. To ensure the horizontal connectivity of rare wildlife, such as of Nomascus hainanus and Cervus eldii hainanus, the NPHTR should establish buffer or development zones. These findings offer valuable insights for the development and planning of ecological civilization on Hainan Island, as well as for the establishment and management of the ESP of other national parks and nature reserves.

Ecosystems and their services to society have exhibited dramatic degradation all over the world, and landscape planning based on ecosystem service (ES) science is a promising way to mitigate ES loss and improve human well-being. However, ecosystem health, which is crucial for intrinsic ecosystem values, may be overlooked in ES-based landscape planning. Therefore, we proposed a landscape functional zoning method by combining the ES and EH using the Jinan Southern Mountainous Area as a case study. Specifically, we first quantified and mapped six ESs (including regulating, cultural, and provisioning services) and three EH properties (ecosystem vigor, organization, and resilience). Then, we used coupling coordination analysis to determine the coordination of the ES and EH, and adopted bundle analysis to reveal ES-EH compositions. Finally, landscape functional zones were delineated by spatially overlapping the maps of ES-EH bundle types and coupling coordination degrees. The results show that the different ESs and EH properties exhibited uneven spatial distributions. In terms of the ES-EH coupling coordination degree, high values were located along the mountains and aggregated in the eastern part of the study area, and the Caishi town had the highest coupling coordination degree on the town scale. Furthermore, five ES-EH bundle types were identified, i.e., bundles of multifunctionality, subordinate multifunctionality, the highest crop production, ESs and EH properties of medium levels, and ESs and EH properties of low levels. Finally, nine landscape functional zones based on the ES-EH bundle and coupling coordination were identified, and the grids within one zone were homogeneous in terms of their ES-EH compositions and coupling coordination. This study can contribute to the integration of ES and EH into landscape planning and provides a zoning method as a spatial instrument to achieve synergic ES-EH management.

The adoption of biomass crops grown for energy is a likely source of major landscape change in coming decades during the transition from fossil fuels. There are a wide range of cropping systems that have not been widely deployed yet but could become commonplace, and our knowledge of their ecological attributes and biodiversity impacts is limited. Ants are prominent and functionally important components of grassland and agricultural ecosystems. Given their outsized influences on ecosystem structure and function, we sought to understand how ant communities are likely to be shaped by a range of bioenergy cropping systems. We characterized ant communities in a longterm experimental array in Michigan, USA containing ten dedicated bioenergy crops including annual monocultures, simple monoculture or near-monoculture perennial grasses, and complex polyculture systems. Community composition differed strongly among cropping systems, and ants were more abundant, species-rich, and functionally diverse in complex systems than in simpler systems, particularly annual crops. Our results illustrate the divergent effects that bioenergy crop adoption could have for ant communities and the important functions they carry out in agroecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Hexi Corridor plays a pivotal role in safeguarding China’s ecological security, functioning as a crucial conduit between economic and ecological systems. This study employs a multidisciplinary approach, integrating climate, evapotranspiration, and other variables, to analyze the trend in factors influencing ecological function and to evaluate the import of ecological service functions in the Hexi Corridor from 2000 to 2020. The findings reveal a distinctive spatial distribution pattern for regulating functions, with higher concentrations observed in the southern regions and lower concentrations in the northern regions. These functions include the storage of carbon, quality of habitat, the conservation of water, and soil and water conservation. It can be observed that the areas of general importance for ecosystem services are predominantly distributed across the northern and western sections of the Hexi Corridor, collectively representing 76.96% of the total area. Conversely, areas of general importance for ecosystem services are situated in regions characterized by a high altitude, intricate topography, and extensive glaciers as well as permafrost.

Ecosystem services assessment is vital for sustainable land management decision-making. However, ecosystem service responses to land ownership and forest fragmentation have rarely been incorporated into landscape management decision-making contexts. Such knowledge gaps pose a challenging conservation issue: how to incentivize landowners to ensure the sustainability of ecosystem services provision? This study provides new insights into integrating ecosystem services into landscape planning by illustrating the significant changes in ecosystem service value among different landowner types. The net ecological and economic consequences of forest land cover transition in Kentucky, USA, were assessed, as were the details of how each landowner type was affected, and the driving factors were analyzed. The results showed that the total value of water-related ecosystem services was USD 745.83 million in 2011, which had decreased by USD 19.38 million compared to the value in 2001. Forestland owned by family landowners contributed 75% of the total loss. Public landowners lost USD 0.08 million, corporate landowners lost USD 0.19 million and family landowners lost USD 0.55 million in terms of water retention value. In terms of nitrogen retention value, there was a loss of USD 1.57 million, USD 7.65 million and USD 1.69 million for public, family and corporate landowners, respectively. Family-owned forestland presented the highest mean value of water retention and the lowest mean value of soil, nitrogen and phosphorus retention. All landowners experienced a noticeable loss in water-related ecosystem services value. Land ownership and forest fragmentation exerted significant impacts on ecosystem services provision and change. Integrating land ownership into ecosystem service assessment may improve the landscape and regional planning, through which scientifically sound decision-making can be promoted by natural resource management agencies.

Understanding the response of the mechanisms driving ecosystem services (ESs) to socioecological factors is imperative for regional sustainable ecosystem management. However, previous studies of the mechanisms driving ESs have focused more on the degree and direction (positive and negative) of effects on ES supply or the supply–demand balance, while their nonlinear response processes have not been fully considered. In this study, a theoretical framework was developed through integrating land use/land cover data and supply and demand matrices with random forest models to assess response processes, including the relative importance and marginal effects, of essential factors that drive ES demand, supply, and supply–demand balance. Using the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) as an example, our results indicated that the ES deficit regions (332 of 1070 counties or 14.45% of the area) of the YREB were located mainly in the three national urban agglomerations. Moreover, this study indicated that natural environmental factors (such as slope and precipitation) significantly influence the supply and supply–demand balance of ESs, while socioeconomic factors (such as cropland ratios and population density) profoundly influence the demand for ESs. However, cropland ratios were the most important drivers of ES supply, demand, and supply–demand balance in the YREB. Moreover, three types of response processes were identified in this study: logarithmic increase, logarithmic decrease, and volatility increase. Specific driving factors (e.g., proportion of cropland area, precipitation, population density, and slope) had significant threshold effects on the supply–demand balance of ESs. The turning points that can be extracted from these response processes should be recommended for ecosystem restoration projects to maintain regional sustainable ecosystem management.

Considering that land use and land cover (LULC) change is one of the most important challenges to biodiversity today, we used Copernicus products to analyze LULC changes at the level of the “Nordul Gorjului de Vest” Natura 2000 site (Romania) from 1990 to 2018. The interpretation of the impact of these changes on areas with very high potential for three regulating ecosystem services (ESs) (local climate regulation, regulation of waste, and water purification) was performed. Forest habitats are the major LULC class category in the “Nordul Gorjului de Vest” Natura 2000 site, with broad-leaved forest as the dominant forest class. In terms of areas lost or gained by the different LULC classes for each analyzed time interval, most transformations took place in the period 2000–2006, changes which were also reflected in the overall study period (1990–2018). During this time frame, the conversion of transitional forest shrubs into broad-leaved forest, which is the second largest transition in terms of absolute area changed, led, in terms of contribution rates, to an increase in the areas with very high potential for two of the three analyzed ESs. The conversion of transitional woodland shrub into broad-leaved forest was conductive only to synergy for all the pairwise interactions between the three ESs.

Currently, impacts of rapid cropland reclamation and its intense structural changes in internal paddy-upland on ecosystem service are insufficient in Sanjiang Plain, China. Further, land management systems of Sanjiang Plain consist of state-owned and private farms; however, exploring the impact of different land management systems on “land use–landscape–ecosystem service” is still lacking. To reveal this issue, the integrated methodology of “land dynamic tracking–landscape index–improved ecosystem service assessment” was established. Results are displayed below: From 1990 to 2020, land use was featured by decreases in forest (−3308.62 km2), grassland (−6030.86 km2), waters (−475.81 km2), and unused land (−3037.27 km2), with a slight increase in constructed land (+403.25 km2) and a rapid increase in cropland (+12,447.56 km2). Although nearly equal increments of cropland on state-owned and private farms (i.e., 6156.70 km2 vs. 6290.86 km2) were monitored, different cropland structure changes were still revealed, namely a drastic expansion of paddy fields (13,788.32 km2) and an acute decrease in upland crops (−7631.62 km2) on state-owned farms, but both a slight increments in paddy fields (5920.08 km2) and upland crops (370.78 km2) on private farms. For landscape, private farms were more fragmented (SHDI = +0.63%), causing a decrease in aggregation (AI = −0.56%) and a more complex shape (LSI = +23.3%), by contrast, state-owned farms displayed an increased integrity (SHDI = −9.88%), along with an increase in aggregation (AI = +0.43%) and simplified shape (LSI = −13.30%). Evaluated ecosystem service value changed from 338.62 to 296.25 billion yuan from 1990 to 2020, a loss rate of 12.58% in Sanjiang Plain. Then, a new finding showed a higher loss rate on state-owned than private farms (i.e., 30.15% vs. only 6.18%). This study revealed differentiated processes of “land use–landscape–ecosystem service” in different land management system regions in China, providing new findings in the fields of land management system, ecological landscape, and environment.

Top‐down suppression of herbivores is a fundamental ecological process and a critical service in agricultural landscapes. Adoption of bioenergy cropping systems is likely to become an increasingly important driver causing loss or gain of this service in coming decades. We measured natural pest suppression potential in ten model bioenergy crops in a long‐term experimental array by deploying plasticine sentinel caterpillar mimics, which record imprints from predator attacks. Cropping systems included three intensive annual row crop systems and a range of simple perennial monocultures and more complex polycultures. We compared attack rates across the ten cropping systems and assessed differences over time within a growing season and between the ground level and canopy. We found strong differences in attack rates across cropping systems, usually with more attacks in perennial crops than annuals. However, outcomes varied in space and time, both within and among cropping systems. Birds and small mammals were responsible for most, and sometimes all, attacks in annual crops and were most important early in the season. Chewing arthropod attacks increased over the course of the growing season and were responsible for most attack events in perennial systems. In late summer there were almost no attacks in annual crop canopies, while attack rates in perennial canopies at the same time were quite high and were carried out almost entirely by chewing arthropods. Our results underscore the lack of trophic complexity in annual bioenergy cropping systems relative to perennials. They also illustrate the dramatic changes in predator activity and predation intensity that occur both seasonally and between the ground and plant canopy. Policies and practices that increase the footprint of annual crops for bioenergy are likely to cause a deficit in pest suppression services at local and landscape scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the relationship between the supply and demand for ecosystem services (ESs) is critical for ecological management and decision-making. However, it is unknown whether demand and supply for ESs vary in terms of time and space. In this study, the InVEST model was used to spatially quantify the supply and demand for ESs in the Taihu Lake Basin (TLB) between 2010 and 2020. We compared the difference in supply and demand for ESs at four spatial scales. We found that: (1) The high deficit areas are mainly located in densely populated towns in the eastern and central regions, while the high surplus areas are mainly located in forested areas in the southwest. From 2010 to 2020, the surplus area shrank while the deficit area expanded. (2) The comprehensive supply-demand ratio of ESs in the TLB decreased from −0.03 to −0.05, especially the contradiction between carbon sequestration service and heat regulation service. (3) The mismatch between supply and demand on a small scale will have an impact on the overall supply and demand, and expanding the scope can also help to alleviate the contradiction between supply and demand on a small scale. Therefore, we recommend that decision-makers and managers incorporate scale analysis into ecosystem management decisions, realize the balance between supply and demand through reasonable ecological protection and ecological restoration and strengthen the analysis of ecosystem service flows and stakeholders.

Kemampuan lingkungan hidup untuk mendukung perikehidupan manusia perlu untuk terus diawasi guna menjamin keseimbangan antara aktivitas manusia dengan lingkungan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji sebaran kemampuan lingkungan dalam mendukung penyediaan pangan di Kabupaten Banyuwangi. Metode yang dilakukan adalah dengan cara pembobotan dan tumpang susun dari data spasial dan data tabular tata guna lahan, bentang alam, dan tutupan vegetasi alami. Hasil penelitian dikelompokkan kedalam lima kelas kategori mulai dari sangat rendah hingga sangat tinggi. Hasil perhitungan menunjukkan bahwa daya dukung jasa ekosistem penyedia pangan Kabupaten Banyuwangi masih didominasi oleh kategori tinggi seluas 2,269.34 km2 atau 63% sedangkan kategori sedang seluas 1,216.84 km2 atau 34% dari total luasan.

More sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural practices, including ecological intensification, are needed to reduce biodiversity loss and environmental degradation.We evaluated the potential of ecological intensification through the enhancement of pollination services in an intensively managed and insect‐pollinated crop, Macadamia integrifolia. We compared the effects and importance of agronomic practices that include agronomic input (i.e. irrigation and managed honeybees), orchard design requiring no external inputs (i.e. spatial orchard structure) and landscape factors in 10 South African macadamia orchards.In comparison to experimental pollinator exclusion, insect pollination increased the initial and final nut set by 304% and 23%, respectively. However, nut set was pollination limited as hand pollination further improved nut set.Flower visitation rates increased with the cover of semi‐natural habitats in the surrounding landscape (1 km radius). This effect was outperforming the effect of the number of managed honeybee colonies, as agronomic practice.Initial nut set increased with orchard design and flower visitation rates. Perpendicular orientation of the planted macadamia rows towards the semi‐natural habitats increased initial nut set more than threefold compared to parallel row orientation. The initial nut set was 80% higher at the edge to semi‐natural habitats than in the orchard centre. In contrast, agronomic practices, such as irrigation, did not increase initial nut set. Final nut set depended on the preconditions of the initial nut set, additionally, high altitudes and the position in the centre of the orchard had positive effects.Synthesis and applications: Pollination services were prerequisites for high yields in macadamia and could be improved without further agronomic input. Especially, the orchard design, that is, spatial arrangement of tree rows and semi‐natural habitats at local and landscape scales, was more important to boost insect pollination and the initial development of macadamia nuts than agronomic practices, such as high levels of irrigation. Considering the urgency to reduce the environmental impacts of agricultural production, we highlight the high potential of ecological intensification by a smart orchard design and the restoration and conservation of semi‐natural habitats in the orchards and their surrounding landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Recent agricultural policies require the complementary use of area-based and product-based environmental indicators to assess agricultural system transitions because both alleviating productivity-environment trade-offs and increasing food value chain sustainability are crucial in successful policy decisions. However, there is a dilemma due to the exclusiveness between representing trade-offs in the transition paths and connecting the calculated results to the assessment of downstream food products. Here, this paper proposes a procedure to resolve the dilemma. Methods: The dilemma-resolving procedure is to partition product footprint changes into yield and environmental improvement effects in the same unit as the product footprint. After specifying a typology of transition toward agricultural sustainability, the partitioning procedure was developed on the basis of mapping from a two-dimensional space (area-based indicators) to a one-dimensional space (product-based indicators). To demonstrate the effectiveness and performance of the partitioning procedure, this paper applied it to the three categories of agricultural system transitions, including those to organic agriculture, integrated production, and production systems involving new agricultural inputs such as microbial inoculants and biostimulants, using the cases of the impact category of global warming (carbon footprint). The transition dataset (matched pairs) was constructed using a bibliographical survey. Results and discussion: The results indicate that the partitioning procedure is effective and has good performance: (1) it was able to apply to all the cases in the dataset and to classify all the cases into six specified transition types; (2) it was differentiable between the three transition categories; and (3) it was able to explain the features of each transition category. These results imply that the perspective on agricultural system transitions can be integrated with the perspective on food value chains. Therefore, productivity-environment trade-offs during the research and development phase of agricultural technologies can be linked to environmental mitigation practices along the food value chains. Conclusions: The results imply that, by applying the partitioning procedure, the recent agricultural policy framework contained two exclusive perspectives can be explained consistently. Every stakeholder related to agricultural policy making should be explicit about product-environment trade-offs during agricultural system transitions, as well as about food value chain sustainability. The partitioning procedure facilitates such stakeholder practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities must overcome their limitations on quantitative growth by pursuing sustainable development. Road-centered development leads to social problems, including inequality, during urban expansion. This study focuses on quantifying the ecosystem services provided by street trees in the Gangnam and Gangbuk Districts of Seoul, South Korea. This research utilized public data and field surveys conducted between April and August 2023, which is the best time to grow coniferous and deciduous trees. The results helped quantify the improvement in the air quality and ecological economic value from the perspective of plant species structure and carbon storage. The street trees in Gangnam stored 3691.61 t (metric tons) and sequestered 359.45 t of carbon; removed 2.28 t of air pollutants; and reduced 3977.46 m3 of rainwater runoff annually. In contrast, the street trees in Gangbuk stored 831.61 t and sequestered 74.97 t of carbon; removed 0.4 t of air pollutants; and annually reduced rainwater runoff by 1491.74 m3. By quantifying the ecosystem services of street trees, this study showed a gap in the supply of ecosystem services, which are relatively poor in economically poor areas, thus contributing to a more holistic understanding of urban growth and advocating for inclusive and socially equitable development strategies and management policies in Seoul.

Changes in land cover affect ecosystems and the services they provide. The aim of this study was to assess the spatial changes in land use from 1990 to 2018 and analyze the changes in ecosystem service value (ESV) in response to the changes in landscape structure in Lithuania. Croplands provided the majority of the ESV, followed by forests, grasslands, and wetlands. The total ESV in Lithuania was USD 29 billion year−1 in 2018, and land use had a significant impact on ESV, with a total decrease of USD 438 million year−1 between 1990 and 2018. The total ESV change was mainly influenced by the decrease in provisioning (USD 426 million year−1) and regulating (USD 208 million year−1) services. The reduction in cropland area was a major factor in the loss of ESV. The increase in the value of habitat and cultural services was not large enough to offset the reduction of the ESV. The highest elasticities were in the urban municipalities, indicating a significant change in ESV due to land use change. The results of this study provide valuable insight into the potential of the sustainable management and regeneration of ecosystems.

Properly managing the relationship between food security, ecological protection, and urbanization, and coordinating the trade-offs among these three factors for land demand are extremely important for environmental management and sustainable development. In this study, we attempt to analyze the state of land use trade-offs from a dynamic perspective in terms of both potential and efficiency. We have innovatively proposed a new land use trade-off analysis framework integrating the Estimation System for Land Productivity (ESLP) model, machine learning algorithms, ecosystem service value assessment, and spatial analysis method. By applying the framework, the potential and efficiency of the three land use functions of urban development, ecological protection, and agricultural production on the Huang-Huai-Hai (HHH) Plain were comprehensively estimated, and the trade-off relationship between the three land use functions was identified. The results showed a prominent conflict between urban development and agricultural production (around 8%) on the HHH Plain, especially in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei urban agglomeration and the southern Jiangsu urban agglomeration. In the mountainous areas, such as northern Hebei and central Shandong, there was an obvious trade-off between ecological land and agriculture land. Most cities had a trade-off between ecological land and urban land (approximately 6% of the study area), but it was relatively more relaxed in comparison. Finally, we found that on the HHH Plain, where land resources are fiercely competitive, spatial planning and land resource control depend not only on the suitability or potential of the land unit, but also on whether the efficiency of land use has reached an appropriate range. The smart way to use land resources is to scientifically trade-off different land use functions and improve the efficiency of land use to achieve maximum benefit.

Despite their importance for biodiversity and other ecosystem services, many semi-natural grasslands deteriorate or have even disappeared due to insufficient grazing and neglect. Preservation of grassland habitats depends on a good understanding of sustainable grazing management as well as effective agricultural policy measures that ensure long-term economic sustainability for the farmer. Through meta-evaluation and synthesis of previous investigations and discussion of scientific literature, we aimed to evaluate factors that determine the extent to which cattle and sheep in Sweden graze semi-natural grasslands instead of more productive land and what this means for biodiversity and sustainability. We also aimed to propose which practises and policy measures may be the most cost-effective to promote habitat quality and the sustainable use of grasslands. Results from a nationwide survey of Swedish farmers’ attitudes towards agri-environmental payment schemes are discussed in relation to farm characteristics and other factors influencing the use of cattle and sheep for sustainable grazing. This study supports recommendations by environmental economists that payments should be targeted more strongly at the most valuable grasslands, emphasising the need for a more detailed and nuanced framework for classifying grasslands in Europe. A comparison with independent estimates of the area of agricultural land from nation-wide, sample-based monitoring shows that the data from official statistics normally used for nationwide evaluations are partly biased and of insufficient quality, underscoring the need for more sophisticated and precise methods for monitoring both overall trends and detailed environmental effects related to the preservation of semi-natural grasslands.

Soil erosion exerts a profound impact on the stocks of soil organic carbon (SOC), disrupting the carbon cycle and contributing to global warming. Through its role in mitigating soil erosion, the soil retention service of ecosystems holds the potential to stabilize and safeguard the SOC reservoir. This facet has yet to be comprehensively investigated. In this study, we quantified the preservation of SOC resulting from soil retention services in China, achieved by estimating both actual SOC erosion and potential SOC erosion using the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). We find that (1) annually, SOC erosion in China amounted to 0.10 Pg C, primarily concentrated in croplands (47.8%), grasslands (21.2%), and barren lands (15.7%). Noteworthy hotspots emerged within the Soil and Water Conservation Divisions (SWCD) of key regions like the Tibetan Plateau (TP), the southwestern purple soil region (SW), and the karst region (KT). (2) The soil retention service curtailed the loss of a substantial 4.18 Pg C of SOC per year, predominantly attributed to forest ecosystems (66.1%). Hotspots of this preservation were clustered in the SWCD of the southern red soil region (SR), KT, and TP. These outcomes highlighted the critical role of soil retention services in preventing considerable carbon losses from terrestrial ecosystems. It significantly contributes to climate change mitigation and warrants recognition as an important nature-based solution in the pursuit of carbon neutrality. Forest ecosystems emerge as paramount in SOC preservation, which will be further improved with forest restoration. Beyond addressing soil erosion, future endeavors in soil and water conservation must equally address SOC erosion to comprehensively tackle carbon loss concerns.

It is vital to conduct urban ecosystem service evaluations and demarcate ecological management zoning to preserve regional ecological security and the spatial optimization of urban functions. This study assessed and examined the spatial distribution characteristics of the supply and demand of five typical ecosystem services in Zhengzhou and their matching pattern. Based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, urban ecological management zoning was demarcated to guide the spatial optimization of urban functions. The results showed that most of the ecological goods and services in Zhengzhou were generally provided in the west and south of the city. High-value areas of ecosystem service demand were mainly found in the urban center. There was a definite circle structure of total ecosystem service demand. Carbon sequestration, grain production, water yield, and habitat maintenance in the urban center area indicated an ecological deficit. Soil conservation in most regions was a surplus trend. Zhengzhou was demarcated into five groups of ecological management zoning. Different preferences had an impact on the ecosystem service supply and demand. The rise in living conditions led to an increase in the demand for high-level ecological services. This study can provide an essential theoretical basis and practical assistance for urban space optimization and ecosystem service management.

Trees in cities are vital to the health of the urban ecosystem and residents’ wellbeing. Besides providing habitats, trees provide food via fruits and young leaves, reduce temperature, and enrich landscape aesthetics with spring flowers and autumn foliage. The generation and supply of these ecosystem services are closely related to their traits, such as the size of the canopy and the sparseness of the leaves, which directly affect their ability to shade and cool. Studies focusing on ecosystem services often consider green space as a whole, and some distinguish the difference between trees and grass. Relatively fewer studies examined the influence of tree traits on the supply of ecosystem services. Understanding the association among species, traits, and ecosystem services would be helpful in generating actionable knowledge for urban tree planting. However, these studies are often scattered under different research topics. To this end, we reviewed and summarized studies on the relationship between urban tree species/traits and ecosystem services according to provision, regulation, and cultural service types. Based on 45 publications, we found that leaf area, crown size, diameter at breast height, tree height, and leaf shape may influence various ecosystem services. We presented a preliminary framework of “trait- service” and argued that with the help of such a framework, future research should generate actionable knowledge for practitioners to identify potential tree species for selection according to desired services.

Despite the acknowledged importance of terrestrial ecosystems in achieving carbon neutrality, current carbon accounting predominantly focuses on CO2 uptake, neglecting indirect contributions from ecosystem services, such as temperature regulation and air purification. We established a carbon benefit (C benefit) accounting framework that integrated these services and analyzed the drivers influencing the spatial and temporal changes in the C benefit. It was found that the average annual growth rate of C benefits in Chengdu over the past 20 years was 0.91 Tg/a, and the CO2 emissions reduction due to ecosystem services was 22.47 times that of carbon sinks. Therefore, the contribution of ecosystem regulating services to carbon neutrality cannot be ignored. In addition, the elevation, gross domestic product (GDP), and normalized differential vegetation index (NDVI) are key factors affecting C benefits. It is worth noting that the intensive management of constructed ecosystems can result in significant reductions in ecosystem C benefits. Finally, our findings underline the need for low-carbon policies to not only promote carbon sink projects but also enhance the overall capacity of ecosystem services, which could substantially mitigate global climate change.

Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) is becoming a reference tool for an increasing number of organizations transitioning towards environmental impact neutrality. However, one NCA technique applicable to all types of actors (individual, community, company, etc.) is missing because of the lack of consensus on how to quantify both their environmental impacts and dependencies on ecosystems. A coupled systematic and non-systematic review of the grey and scientific literature is performed here to (i) make an extensive review of state-of-the-art NCA methods, identifying their current utilization and limitations, and (ii) discern prospects about the challenges of integrating an Ecosystem Service Accounting in Life Cycle Assessment (ESA-LCA). While NCA methods can extensively evaluate the supply of ES, they tend to disregard the quantification of environmental impacts that imply a demand for ES. The ESA-LCA approach is identified as a robust solution to balance supply and demand of ecosystem services in NCA, allowing private and public actors to quantify their distance from impact neutrality targets. A novel definition of NC(A) in LCA is also formulated to support these future efforts, promoting a Mitigation Hierarchy-based strategy to avoid, minimize, restore, and offset impacts, and outlining a roadmap for practitioners to apply ESA-LCA across multiple economic sectors.

Intensifying agricultural landscapes by removing non-crop vegetation threatens ecosystem services like pest regulation. Non-crop areas may serve as overwintering habitat for natural enemy arthropods that disperse into and predate on insect pests in the adjacent field. However, managing this service requires greater understanding of the mechanisms driving this dispersal and the subsequent control of pests by arthropod predators. A functional trait framework, i.e., studying the traits of predators that influence their foraging behaviour and dispersal, supports generalization across cropping systems where conditions differ (e.g., which arthropod taxa are present). Predator body size, a trait known to influence both dispersal distance and prey consumption, is a plausible mechanism governing the supply and the effective delivery of pest control. We focused on ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae), common insect predators found globally in agroecosystems. We measured 27,815 beetles collected in 20 crop fields from 180 sampling stations to examine how body size changes with distance from non-crop vegetation. We tested the effect of predator body size on foraging behaviour by exposing 77 Pterostichus melanarius ground beetles to different sizes of the model pest Trichoplusia ni (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). The smallest six deciles of carabid body size increased in size with distance from non-crop vegetation, demonstrating that more smaller beetles are found closer to the field edge and that body size is a predator trait mediating the distance of dispersal. Larger P. melanarius show a trend towards predating larger prey than smaller prey, though we were unable to reject a null hypothesis of no effect (α=0.05; P=0.08). This affirms that body size is a plausible trait governing the effectiveness of pest control, and that size-based foraging behaviour requires in-field investigation. Our findings reinforce calls for more and better-protected non-crop vegetation areas in agroecosystems intended to control a diverse array of insect pests. Placing non-crop vegetation patches closer to crops (e.g., through restoration or reducing field size) is a critical lever for manipulating the body size distribution of predators in the crop, and subsequently may affect the prey that can be controlled without the use of pesticides. • Ground beetles measured from 20 field sites with 180 sampling stations (N=20 407). • Smaller beetles disperse from the edge less far into the crop than larger beetles. • Marginal areas are important for small beetles. • Proximity to field margins may support in-crop predation of a range of prey sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the five phases of land use data from Xining corresponding to 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020, we used the equivalent factor method to analyze the values of spatial-temporal variation characteristics of land use and ecosystem services in Xining. The results showed that (1) farmland and developed areas were the most active types of land, and the continuous occupation of farmland and developed areas led to the formation of a kind of “cross shape” in the spatial pattern of conversion of land use types along the Huangshui River, Beichuan River, and Nanchuan River from south to north and from northwest to southeast, respectively, with the central urban area serving as a core of the pattern; (2) the transformation between different land use types mainly occurred in the land-slope range between 0–15° and altitudes between 2000–2750 m; and (3) the ESV of Xining increased by RMB 2165.26 × 106 in the past 40 years. The period from 2000 to 2020 was the main growth period of the ecosystem service value of Xining. Urbanization had a great impact on the variation in land use types and the evolution of ecosystem service values. In the middle and late stages of urbanization, different types of land use changed significantly within each county and district. The ecosystem service values of the central districts were low, with those of the marginal districts and counties being higher, forming a “core-periphery” trend and a phenomenon of hollowing ESV. (4) The spatial agglomeration effect of the ESV per unit area was continuously enhanced in Xining. The high-high (slope-altitude) type of area was distributed in the north and west of Xining, whereas the low-low type of area was distributed in the urban area at the intersection of major rivers in the southeast of Xining.

Forests are essential for the provision of water, financial resources, food, and carbon, and offer immense ecosystem service values. The accurate, quantitative, and objective evaluation of forest ecosystem service (FES) values can help uncover methods for realizing ecological product value, which in turn supports forest conservation and ecological benefit enhancement. In China, FES valuation methods are diverse and tailored to specific objectives, encompassing matter quantity assessment, value quantity assessment, energy value analysis, and landscape ecological modeling methods. The “Forest Ecosystem Service Function Assessment Specification” guideline plays a crucial role in fostering standardized valuation. Carbon-related ecosystem services have been increasingly studied in China; however, valuation challenges remain, including data accuracy, the double counting of ecosystem services, methodological limitations, and the incomplete assessment of non-use values. Regarding value realization, the development of payment for ecosystem services (PES), ecological product benefit trading (EPBT), ecological premiums, and ecological industries has seen gradual progresses in recent years. However, realization approaches still depend on government support, and the establishment of market-oriented strategies requires further reinforcement. Enhancing FES valuation necessitates the integration of interdisciplinary and multi-method approaches, as well as the creation of an accounting and assessment mechanism. Realization approaches must not only be continuously expanded but also consistently innovated over time. It is essential to consider the impact of market development on FES valuation; establish robust realization approaches; reinforce promotional and guarantee mechanisms; and increase the efficacy of policy management.

The societal benefits of wetland conservation can outweigh the costs, and yet the financial incentive for individual landowners to conserve wetlands is often insufficient due to a mismatch between who bears the costs of wetland conservation (eg the farmer) and who benefits (eg the public) (Dias and Belcher [29]). Summary: Prairie wetland drainage impacts are numerous and widespread The current western scientific knowledge about the effects of wetland drainage in the Canadian Prairies presents a compelling case that past and future wetland drainage will have profound impacts (Table 1). Hence, drainage of one small wetland has less impact on discharge than drainage of one large wetland because there is less storage capacity in a small wetland (Shaw, van der Kamp, et al. [82]). In the typical dry climate of the Canadian Prairie, where wetlands often provide storage capacity, drainage of wetlands closer to the stream outlet results in a more rapid expansion of area contributing to the outlet than does drainage of wetlands in upper reaches. Keywords: Wetland; Canadian Prairies; drainage; ecosystem service; water; agriculture EN Wetland Canadian Prairies drainage ecosystem service water agriculture 229 241 13 11/30/21 20211201 NES 211201 Background, and goals of this synthesis Extensive wetland drainage has occurred across the Canadian Prairies, and drainage activities are ongoing in many areas (Dahl [26]; Watmough and Schmoll [103]; Bartzen et al. [11]; Dahl [25]; Prairie Habitat Joint Venture [78]; Dumanski, Pomeroy, and Westbrook [31]; Waz and Creed [104]). [Extracted from the article]

Understanding the grassland ecosystem is crucial for improving grassland ecosystem functions and services such as climate regulation, water and soil conservation, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity and gene pool maintenance. However, a systematic and comprehensive review of the relevant literature is still unclear and lacking. The VOSviewer software and cluster analysis were used to visually analyze and perform dimension reduction classification on the 27,778 studies related to grassland ecosystem research based on the Web of Science database. The number of publications targeting grassland ecosystem increased rapidly from 2006 to 2021. Ecology, agronomy, and environmental science were the most popular research categories, and the top journal sources were Remote Sensing, Journal of Ecology, and Ecology and Evolution. The leading publishing countries were the United States, China, and Germany. The top three institutions were the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Colorado State University. Cooperation between different countries and institutions had increased. Keyword co-occurrence network analysis showed that Biodiversity, Vegetation and Conservation were the most popular study areas, grassland management, climate change, land use pattern, and ecosystem impact were the hot research topics. All studies could be divided into three categories by cluster analysis: grassland ecological characteristics including basic physicochemical properties, vegetation community characteristics, aboveground and belowground biomass, and soil structural quality of grassland; driving mechanisms that demonstrated effects of human activities and climate change on grassland ecosystem function; and grassland ecosystem services that focused the influences of different grassland management strategies on ecological services, animal welfare and human well-being. The three topic categories of reviewed studies were interrelated and consistent with each other, and the performances were progressive. This paper reviewed the trend evolution through keyword hotspots and analyzed the future research directions to provide an important reference for scientists to better respond to the balance of herbage and sustainable utilization of grassland and maintenance of ecological security.

The urban agglomeration at the Yangtze River Delta is one of the six most developed and populated urban agglomerations in the world. In recent years, with accelerating urbanization, the land use has changed significantly. Excessive construction aggravates ecological fragility. In this context, this paper first investigates the evolutionary processes and layout of the ecological space in the Yangtze River Delta. The root causes of various problems are then analyzed. Finally, suggestions for further improvement in both detailed tasks and governance aspects are proposed. The applied methods included use of remote sensing (RS), geographic information system (GIS) and statistical analysis. Main results indicate that from 1990 to 2018, the ecological space of the Yangtze River Delta shrank, especially in the city of Shanghai. Ecological space is insufficient in the area, unevenly distributed and fragmented. The major root causes include rapid urbanization without overall planning, regional population surge and improper industrial structure. Suggestions for improvement include overall planning and integrated management, control of population size, active industry structure upgrade, land-use efficiency balanced with ecological indicators, and multiple integrated strategies encouraging application of new energy technologies.

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are becoming popular in urban planning and policy making as cost-effective solutions capable of delivering multiple ecosystem services and addressing several societal challenges. So far, however, the cost-effectiveness of urban NBS projects has not been consistently quantified by built environment professionals, who lack user-friendly tools to account for the environmental costs and benefits of NBS. This paper presents a prototype online decision support tool (NBenefit$®) that calculates the negative and positive environmental impacts, externalities, and financial values of planned urban forests over their entire life cycle. NBenefit$ relies on a modelling framework that combines system dynamics, urban ecology, and life cycle thinking approaches, and it is presented as a visual web-based interface. An online map and a grid of cells is used to map the site of intervention, to delineate the size of the urban forest, and to define variations in abiotic, biotic, and management attributes in each site. Outputs are provided by year, for the entire site and NBS life cycle. The potential value of NBenefit$ as a supporting tool was exemplified with the calculation of 48 urban forest archetypes, a few of which were used to set scenarios for a hypothetical urban forest in Madrid (Spain). The results showcase the impact that decisions taken during the planning, design, or management of an NBS project may have on its long-term performance. Future works will expand the scope of NBenefit$, including other types of urban NBS.

Abstract Smallholder farmers lead their lives using multiple ecosystem services (ESs). Understanding the contribution of these services to smallholder farmers' wellbeing is essential for addressing ecosystem‐related problems. While the economic valuation of ESs has received major emphasis, smallholder farmer perceptions of ESs, ecosystem disservices (EDs), and the importance of their wellbeing are repeatedly overlooked. We analyzed variations in ES values (ESVs) in response to land use land cover (LULC) change, perceptions of ES/ED and the importance of these ecosystems to wellbeing in contrasting agro‐ecological zones (AEZs). To obtain datasets, we used geospatial technology, focus group discussion, and face‐to‐face cross‐sectional surveys in a highly populated area of the Southeastern escarpment of the Ethiopian Rift Valley. The research was carried out between October 1 and December 30, 2018. The results revealed the following. (1) Total area of 75,246.98 ha (34%) was changed to various LULC classes across AEZs. Woodland decreased at annual rates of 5.28% while agroforestry increased at annual rates of 1.03%, respectively. (2) ESV was estimated to be approximately $164 million and declined by approximately $24 million between 1988 and 2018, owing to the expansion of cultivated land. (3) More than 55% of smallholder farmers consistently identified benefits from food‐cereal and vegetables, food‐meat, and erosion control, problems associated with human disease vectors, as of very high importance for their wellbeing. ESs are the positive benefits while ecosystem functions that are perceived as negative for human wellbeing are termed as EDs. ESs were perceived as positively contributing to wellbeing, while EDs detracted from health and material wellbeing. The assigned values varied significantly with AEZs and socioeconomic groups, highlighting the need for careful consideration of site‐specific ecosystem management strategies that improve smallholder farmers' wellbeing and sustainable development. Moreover, the cost incurred due to ESV loss may not be covered by economic gains resulting from the expansion of cultivated land and thus, implementing appropriate land‐use policies at the local level would recuperate ES values.

Mangroves are effective carbon sinks, support coastal fisheries and provide wood and non-wood resources to coastal communities. They are threatened by natural and human-induced stresses including over-exploitation, conversion pressures, pollution and climate change. Understanding changes in this important ecosystem is essential to inform the sustainable management of mangroves and assess the implications related to the loss of ecosystem services. This study used global remote sensing mangrove forest data to quantify changes in mangrove cover in Kenya between 2010 and 2016 and applied the InVEST coastal vulnerability model to assess the implications concerning the provision of natural coastal protection services in Kenya. The results indicate that the annual rates of mangrove cover loss in Kenya were 0.15% between 2010 and 2016. Currently, 16% of the Kenyan coastline is at higher levels of exposure to coastal hazards but this could increase to 41% if coastal ecosystems (mangroves, corals and seagrasses) are lost. The study further identified that higher rates of mangrove loss are observed in areas at higher risk of exposure in the southern and northern counties of Kwale and Lamu, where monitoring and management efforts should be prioritized.

Strawberry (Fragaria x ananasa Duch.) is the most economically important soft fruit worldwide. While self- and wind-pollination is possible for strawberry, without biotic pollination (animal pollinators, including artificial pollination by humans) rate of strawberry flowers rarely exceeds 60% and thus fruit production is decreased. At a time of widely recognized decline of pollinators and increasing global demand for balanced food, we need a comprehensive understanding of the worldwide valuation of these ecosystem services. In this paper, we use a transparent and systematic review process to detect gaps in the available literature. By applying multilevel meta-analytic models, we quantified the contribution of biotic pollinators and different pollinator types to strawberry fruits. Our review showed that research on strawberry pollination is clearly concentrated in European countries, with limited information for Asia – the largest strawberry producer. Additionally, we detected disproportions across research topics, stressing the need for further research on pollinator preferences between strawberry cultivars and the occurrence of managed and wild bee communities. The overall estimate of pollination benefit to strawberry crops is on average a 25% reduction in fruit weight for plants not receiving a biotic pollination treatment. This benefit is similar regardless of the pollinating species. The mean amount globally (2011–2020) receivable by producers from purchasers due to biotic pollination is $5.36 billion per year. Moreover, we demonstrated that strawberry plants that are dependent on self- or wind-pollination set on average 43% fewer seeds (fertilized achenes) than biotically pollinated plants. Such a huge reduction in seed set can cause fruit deformation and reduce the commercial value of strawberries. Together, these findings indicate the critical role of biotic pollination in strawberry production and quality. To ensure pollination services in strawberry farms and produce the best-quality fruits, growers should take action to sustain healthy pollinator communities and utilize them with the optimal cultivar. • Biotic pollination has fundamental importance to strawberry production and quality. • Besides honeybees, a huge diversity of species are involved in strawberry pollination. • Pollination benefits are comparable regardless of the pollination species. • Without biotic pollination fruits are smaller and produce fewer fertilized achenes. • Growers should take action to sustain healthy pollinator communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]