Land-planning management based on multiple ecosystem services and simulation in tropical forests.

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Environmental Science
• Forestry

Background:

• Tropical forest ecosystems provide critical ecosystem services (ESs) threatened by human activities, such as the rubber boom in Xishuangbanna, China.
• Systematic forest simulation studies for land-use planning are lacking for tropical regions experiencing significant land-use change.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the spatio-temporal characteristics of four key ecosystem services (soil retention, water yield, carbon fixation, habitat quality) in Xishuangbanna.
• To evaluate three future land-use scenarios (natural development, rubber development, ecological protection) based on their impact on ecosystem services.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a future land-use simulation model to project changes in ecosystem services.
• Quantified the changes in soil retention, water yield, carbon fixation, and habitat quality from 2000 to 2020.
• Assessed the synergistic relationships and trade-offs among different ecosystem services under various scenarios.

Main Results:

• Between 2000 and 2020, average ecosystem services declined: soil retention by 449.1 t, water yield by 13.4 mm, habitat quality by 0.1, and carbon fixation by 0.1 kg C/m².
• Synergistic relationships were observed among most ecosystem services, with trade-offs occurring at their margins.
• The ecological protection scenario demonstrated superior effectiveness in conserving nature reserves and mitigating habitat fragmentation compared to natural development and rubber development scenarios.

Conclusions:

• Intensified land-use change accelerates the decline of ecosystem services, highlighting the need for enhanced environmental protection in nature reserves and northern Xishuangbanna.
• The findings provide valuable insights for land-use planning and forest sustainability, emphasizing the importance of scenario evaluation for ecosystem service management.
• This research contributes to a better understanding of the ecological impacts of land-use change and offers practical planning perspectives for tropical forest conservation.