scholarly journals What Is Left for Our Next Generation? Integrating Ecosystem Services into Regional Policy Planning in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area of China

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Xiao ◽  
Qinli Xiong ◽  
Kaiwen Pan
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Soil Conservation ◽  
Three Gorges Reservoir ◽  
Three Gorges Reservoir Area ◽  
Three Gorges ◽  
Policy Planning ◽  
Reservoir Area ◽  
Ecological Policy ◽  
The Three Gorges Reservoir ◽  
The Three Gorges

Land use/Land cover (LULC) changes as a result of policy planning influence ecosystem structures, processes, and functions, which are the basis for providing a wide range of ecosystem services (ES). There is an increasing consensus about the importance of integrating ES into ecological policy but quantifying the potential impacts of different policy on ES has proven difficult. We designed a remote sensing, geographic information system and scenario analysis-based approach to estimate and analyze the relationship between ES (soil conservation and carbon sequestration) and ecological policy designed to improve human welfare in the Chongqing municipality in the upper reaches of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, China; a densely populated, highly modified watershed with serious soil erosion and flood hazard. Three alternative scenarios in 2050 were modeled for the Three Gorges Reservoir Area watershed. The model GEOMOD was used to predict future LULC changes due to policy planning. The ES models (Universal Soil Loss Equation model and Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach model) were designed to inform decisions, with an aim to align economic forces with conservation. We examine policy effectiveness by comparing scenarios for 2050 (Scenario1: Maintain current policy with no considerations of ES; Scenario2: Integrate ES into policy planning; Scenario3: Integrate ES into policy planning in view of the need of local people). Scenario-based LULC change analysis revealed that if the current afforestation policy continues (scenario 1), total ES would be further increased in 2050 due to expansion of forest cover. However, by targeting policy to improve ES provision (scenarios 2 and 3), ecological risks of soil loss can be significantly reduced and carbon sequestration enhanced. Scenario 3, thus, provided the best future environmental development scenario considering the need of local people in each region for ES. This scenario will theoretically help the Three Gorges Dam to harvest more ecological benefits through improvements in soil conservation and carbon sequestration. This study highlights the observation that including ES in policy planning and has a great potential to generate opportunities to maximize ES. This study highlights that including ES in policy planning has a great potential to generate opportunities to maximize ES. Hence, there is a need to encourage proper implementation of ecological policy to maintain and improve ES.

scholarly journals Effects of Landscape Positions and Landscape Types on Soil Properties and Chlorophyll Content of Citrus in a Sloping Orchard in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, China

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4288
Author(s):  
Siyue Sun ◽  
Guolin Zhang ◽  
Tieguang He ◽  
Shufang Song ◽  
Xingbiao Chu
Keyword(s):  
Soil Properties ◽  
Chlorophyll Content ◽  
Three Gorges Reservoir ◽  
Slope Position ◽  
Three Gorges Reservoir Area ◽  
Three Gorges ◽  
Reservoir Area ◽  
The Three Gorges Reservoir ◽  
The Three Gorges ◽  
Landscape Types

In recent years, soil degradation and decreasing orchard productivity in the sloping orchards of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area of China have received considerable attention both inside and outside the country. More studies pay attention to the effects of topography on soil property changes, but less research is conducted from the landscape. Therefore, understanding the effects of landscape positions and landscape types on soil properties and chlorophyll content of citrus in a sloping orchard is of great significance in this area. Our results showed that landscape positions and types had a significant effect on the soil properties and chlorophyll content of citrus. The lowest soil nutrient content was detected in the upper slope position and sloping land, while the highest exists at the footslope and terraces. The chlorophyll content of citrus in the middle and upper landscape position was significantly higher than the footslope. The redundancy analysis showed that the first two ordination axes together accounted for 81.32% of the total variation, which could be explained by the changes of soil total nitrogen, total phosphorus, total potassium, available nitrogen, available potassium, organic matter, pH, and chlorophyll content of the citrus. Overall, this study indicates the significant influence of landscape positions and types on soil properties and chlorophyll content of citrus. Further, this study provides a reference for the determination of targeted land management measures and orchard landscape design so that the soil quality and orchard yield can be improved, and finally, the sustainable development of agriculture and ecology can be realized.

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