Ecosystem threats and management strategies for wetlands in China

2020 ◽  
Vol 71 (12) ◽  
pp. 1557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nasreen Jeelani ◽  
Wen Yang ◽  
Lu Xia ◽  
Hai Liang Zhu ◽  
Shuqing An

Wetlands provide a wide range of ecosystem services, and so their conservation and wise use are receiving increasingly greater attention globally. China has a wealth of wetland ecosystems that are well known as hot spots of biological diversity. China has experienced a serious loss of wetlands owing to rapid urbanisation, population growth and industrialisation. Some of the major threats and challenges to wetlands are related to habitat degradation, loss of biodiversity and weaknesses in their protection and management. In this paper we review the distribution of wetlands in China and discuss the key factors that degrade these wetlands. We further discuss management strategies and make recommendations to strengthen the network of wetlands in China.

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 4537-4562 ◽  
Author(s):  
HyeJin Kim ◽  
Isabel M. D. Rosa ◽  
Rob Alkemade ◽  
Paul Leadley ◽  
George Hurtt ◽  
...  

Abstract. To support the assessments of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the IPBES Expert Group on Scenarios and Models is carrying out an intercomparison of biodiversity and ecosystem services models using harmonized scenarios (BES-SIM). The goals of BES-SIM are (1) to project the global impacts of land-use and climate change on biodiversity and ecosystem services (i.e., nature's contributions to people) over the coming decades, compared to the 20th century, using a set of common metrics at multiple scales, and (2) to identify model uncertainties and research gaps through the comparisons of projected biodiversity and ecosystem services across models. BES-SIM uses three scenarios combining specific Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs) and Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) – SSP1xRCP2.6, SSP3xRCP6.0, SSP5xRCP8.6 – to explore a wide range of land-use change and climate change futures. This paper describes the rationale for scenario selection, the process of harmonizing input data for land use, based on the second phase of the Land Use Harmonization Project (LUH2), and climate, the biodiversity and ecosystem services models used, the core simulations carried out, the harmonization of the model output metrics, and the treatment of uncertainty. The results of this collaborative modeling project will support the ongoing global assessment of IPBES, strengthen ties between IPBES and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scenarios and modeling processes, advise the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on its development of a post-2020 strategic plans and conservation goals, and inform the development of a new generation of nature-centred scenarios.


Author(s):  
Oswald J. Schmitz

This chapter reflects on the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Drawing connections between ecosystem functions and ecosystem services can make the concept of sustainability less nebulous. It offers tangible ways to translate science into practice by revealing the intricacies of nature and the many threads that link humans to nature through such intricacies. Establishing such connections illustrates why it is important to ensure that ecosystem functions endure. The chapter shows how the New Ecology is helping us appreciate how and why the complex ways that species that have evolved and forged interdependencies with each other matter to sustainability. It argues that maintaining diversity within ecosystems ensures that a wide range of options is available for adapting to environmental change.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
HyeJin Kim ◽  
Isabel M. D. Rosa ◽  
Rob Alkemade ◽  
Paul Leadley ◽  
George Hurtt ◽  
...  

Abstract. To support the assessments of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the IPBES Expert Group on Scenarios and Models is carrying out an intercomparison of biodiversity and ecosystem services models using harmonized scenarios (BES-SIM). The goals of BES-SIM are (1) to project the global impacts of land use and climate change on biodiversity and ecosystem services (i.e. nature’s contributions to people) over the coming decades, compared to the 20th century, using a set of common metrics at multiple scales, and (2) to identify model uncertainties and research gaps through the comparisons of projected biodiversity and ecosystem services across models. BES-SIM uses three scenarios combining specific Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs) and Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) to explore a wide range of land-use change and climate change futures. This paper describes the rationale for scenarios selection, the process of harmonizing input data for land use, based on the second phase of the Land Use Harmonization Project (LUH2), and climate, the biodiversity and ecosystem service models used, the core simulations carried out, the harmonization of the model output metrics, and the treatment of uncertainty. The results of this collaborative modelling project will support the ongoing global assessment of IPBES, strengthen ties between IPBES and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scenarios and modelling processes, advise the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on its development of a post-2020 strategic plans and conservation goals, and inform the development of a new generation of nature-centred scenarios.


1998 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 397-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbra H. Mullin

Purple loosestrife is an invasive, introduced plant that is usually associated with wetland, marshy, or riparian sites. It is found across the northern tier states and provinces in North America. Purple loosestrife affects the diversity of native wetland ecosystems. Infestations lead to severe wildlife habitat degradation, loss of species diversity, and displacement of wildlife-supporting native vegetation, such as cattails and bulrushes. The plant spreads effectively along waterways, and the thick, matted root system can rapidly clog irrigation ditches, resulting in decreased water flow and increased maintenance. Effective management of purple loosestrife along waterways and in riparian areas requires integrating management strategies to prevent further introductions, detecting and eradicating new infestations, and containing and controlling large-scale infestations. Management practices that aid in the control of purple loosestrife include herbicide, physical, and biological practices. Each infestation site should be individually evaluated to determine the appropriate control measure. Factors to be considered include the proximity and type of vegetation on the site, whether the water is flowing or still, and the utilization of the site and the water (domestic, irrigation, recreation, or scenic value).


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Kleijn ◽  
Rachael Winfree ◽  
Ignasi Bartomeus ◽  
Luísa G Carvalheiro ◽  
Mickaël Henry ◽  
...  

Abstract There is compelling evidence that more diverse ecosystems deliver greater benefits to people, and these ecosystem services have become a key argument for biodiversity conservation. However, it is unclear how much biodiversity is needed to deliver ecosystem services in a cost-effective way. Here we show that, while the contribution of wild bees to crop production is significant, service delivery is restricted to a limited subset of all known bee species. Across crops, years and biogeographical regions, crop-visiting wild bee communities are dominated by a small number of common species, and threatened species are rarely observed on crops. Dominant crop pollinators persist under agricultural expansion and many are easily enhanced by simple conservation measures, suggesting that cost-effective management strategies to promote crop pollination should target a different set of species than management strategies to promote threatened bees. Conserving the biological diversity of bees therefore requires more than just ecosystem-service-based arguments.


Author(s):  
Maija Ušča ◽  
Ivo Vinogradovs ◽  
Agnese Reķe ◽  
Dāvis Valters Immurs ◽  
Anita Zariņa

Ecosystem services (ES) are defined as the benefits that human beings derive from ecosystem functions. Assessment and mapping of these benefits are crucial for sustainable environmental planning and future natural capital. Green infrastructure (GI) is natural or semi-natural territories that provide wide range of ES. Human affected ecosystems tend to fail to provide certain sets of ES due to the trade-offs among those services, which could be mitigated through implementation of GI. Mapping of ES, as well as assessing the interactions among various ES and analysing their supply potential’s cold/hot spots considerably enhances and substantiates the planning process of GI, particularly at the regional scale and for the territories with diverse landscape potential. The aim of this paper is to discuss the assessment of ES supply potential and analyse its spatial distribution to reveal cold/hot spots of ecosystem capacity to provide wide range services and functions for GI. The study presents GIS based assessment of ES in a case study of Zemgale Planning Region. ES supply potential was assessed for 27 Corine land use classes (CLC2018) together with 10 regulatory, 12 provisioning and 6 cultural ES. An expert-based ranking approach using a two-dimensional ES matrix and a geospatial analysis was applied to determine total ES supply potential, spatial patterns and relations among multiple ES. Additional statistical analysis (Getis-Ord Gi*) was performed on spatial distribution of regulatory ES to disclose statistically significant capacity of ecosystems to function as GI in given surroundings. Preliminary results show uneven distribution of ES, trade-offs between regulatory and provisioning ES and landscape dependent spatial clustering of these trade-offs supported by result of Getis-Ord Gi* analysis, thus laying a foundation for further planning of GI at the regional scale.


2005 ◽  
Vol 360 (1454) ◽  
pp. 221-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Balmford ◽  
Peter Crane ◽  
Andy Dobson ◽  
Rhys E Green ◽  
Georgina M Mace

At the 2002 Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development, 190 countries endorsed a commitment to achieve, by 2010, a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national levels. A wide range of approaches is available to the monitoring of progress towards this objective. The strengths and weaknesses of many of these approaches are considered, with special attention being given to the proposed and existing indicators described in the other papers in this issue. Recommendations are made about the development of indicators. Most existing and proposed indicators use data collected for other purposes, which may be unrepresentative. In the short term, much remains to be done in expanding the databases and improving the statistical techniques that underpin these indicators to minimize potential biases. In the longer term, indicators based on unrepresentative data should be replaced with equivalents based on carefully designed sampling programmes. Many proposed and existing indicators do not connect clearly with human welfare and they are unlikely to engage the interest of governments, businesses and the public until they do so. The extent to which the indicators already proposed by parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity are sufficient is explored by reference to the advice an imaginary scientific consultant from another planet might give. This exercise reveals that the range of taxa and biomes covered by existing indicators is incomplete compared with the knowledge we need to protect our interests. More fundamentally, our understanding of the mechanisms linking together the status of biodiversity, Earth system processes, human decisions and actions, and ecosystem services impacting human welfare is still too crude to allow us to infer reliably that actions taken to conserve biodiversity and protect ecosystem services are well chosen and effectively implemented. The involvement of social and Earth system scientists, as well as biologists, in collaborative research programmes to build and parameterize models of the Earth system to elucidate these mechanisms is a high priority.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
HyeJin Kim ◽  
Isabel M.D. Rosa ◽  
Rob Alkemade ◽  
Paul Leadley ◽  
George Hurtt ◽  
...  

AbstractTo support the assessments of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the IPBES Expert Group on Scenarios and Models is carrying out an intercomparison of biodiversity and ecosystem services models using harmonized scenarios (BES-SIM). The goals of BES-SIM are (1) to project the global impacts of land use and climate change on biodiversity and ecosystem services (i.e. nature’s contributions to people) over the coming decades, compared to the 20th century, using a set of common metrics at multiple scales, and (2) to identify model uncertainties and research gaps through the comparisons of projected biodiversity and ecosystem services across models. BES-SIM uses three scenarios combining specific Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs) and Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) to explore a wide range of land-use change and climate change futures. This paper describes the rationale for scenarios selection, the process of harmonizing input data for land use, based on the second phase of the Land Use Harmonization Project (LUH2), and climate, the biodiversity and ecosystem service models used, the core simulations carried out, the harmonization of the model output metrics, and the treatment of uncertainty. The results of this collaborative modelling project will support the ongoing global assessment of IPBES, strengthen ties between IPBES and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scenarios and modelling processes, advise the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on its development of a post-2020 strategic plans and conservation goals, and inform the development of a new generation of nature-centred scenarios.


2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan W. McCreery ◽  
Elizabeth A. Walker ◽  
Meredith Spratford

The effectiveness of amplification for infants and children can be mediated by how much the child uses the device. Existing research suggests that establishing hearing aid use can be challenging. A wide range of factors can influence hearing aid use in children, including the child's age, degree of hearing loss, and socioeconomic status. Audiological interventions, including using validated prescriptive approaches and verification, performing on-going training and orientation, and communicating with caregivers about hearing aid use can also increase hearing aid use by infants and children. Case examples are used to highlight the factors that influence hearing aid use. Potential management strategies and future research needs are also discussed.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Isobel Elliff

Coral reefs provide important ecosystem services to coastal communities. The Archipelago of Tinhar?e andBoipeba, Bahia, Brazil, are mostly surrounded by fringing reefs, which have undergone several chronichuman impacts. The objective of the present study was to apply an ecosystem-based approach byanalyzing the ecosystem services provided by the coral reefs of the Archipelago of Tinhar?e and Boipeba inorder to support management actions and serve as a tool for coastal management. Ecosystem serviceswere assessed through the observation of environmental indicators of their occurrence and by using asuite of models from the Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) softwarecombined with data from the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) protocol database. Theservices of greatest occurrence were food provision, habitat maintenance, shoreline protection andrecreation. While the main stressful factors were tourism activities, the absence of a sewage system andfisheries. The coral reefs presented potential for shoreline protection along 50.5% of the islands. Moreover,46.8% of the shoreline would present moderate to high vulnerability in case of coral reef disappearance.The coincidence of areas with high risk of loss in the capacity to provide services and highvulnerability in the scenario of absence of reefs is concerning. Thus, the current model for tourism usedin the area should be altered, as should new management strategies be implemented, which can bringbenefits and avoid reef decline.


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