Assessment of soil- and water-related ecosystem services with coupling the factors of climate and land-use change (Example of the Nitra region, Slovakia)

Abstract

Climate and land use change can profoundly impact the provision of ecosystem services (ES) over time, particularly in the landscape of open fields along with growing urbanization and rising demand for space, food and energy. Policymakers are keen on knowing the combined effects of climate and land use change on ESs as a critical issue in human well-being. However, deep knowledge of how to identify these relationships is still lacking. This research aims to undertake a comprehensive assessment of soil- and water-related ES, and improvement in understanding how they are affected by climate and land use change. We applied the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs model for four ES (soil retention, nutrient delivery ratio, carbon storage, and water yield) for the years 2000 and 2018 in the Nitra region, Slovakia. We investigated the spatial and temporal changes in ES provision and determined the hotspots and coldspots of multiple ES. We found that soil retention, water yield, and carbon storage display a rising trend while the nutrient delivery ratio showed a decreasing trend over the past 18 years. Although all the mentioned services mainly attributed to land use change, the relative contribution of climate change was not deniable. Forests in the north and east and distributed urbanization and agriculture are the hotspots and coldspots for all ESs, respectively. Our results, in terms of determining the relative importance of land use and climate change and identifying the sensitive areas of ES provision, provide a scientific basis for ecosystem conservation and management priority setting at the local and regional levels.

Phenolic Compounds of the Medicinal Plants in an Anthropogenically Transformed Environment

“…at different sites, it did not have significant differences compared with the control. In the leaves of woody plants, the accumulation of polyphenols was multidirectional: in Tilia cordata Mill., and Acer platanoides L., a decrease in the content of phenolic compounds by 1.8-2.4 times was observed; in the leaves of Betula pendula Roth and Populus nigra L., their level increased by 1.7-2.8 times [5].…”

“…An analysis of literary sources shows that most researchers note the accumulation of anthocyanins in the leaves of plants growing under conditions of technogenic pollution. Under conditions of oil pollution, an increase in the content of anthocyanins was detected in the leaves of Leymus arenarius L. Hochst, Ammophila arenaria L. Link, Lathyrus maritimus Bigel., Petasites spurious (Retz) Reishb., Salix daphnoides Will., Salix caprea L., and Salix aurita L. [5,52]. Under conditions of pollution with railway pollutants (petroleum and transmission oils), an increase in the concentration of anthocyanins was found in the leaves of Geum urbanum L., Anthriscus sylvestris L., Glechoma hederacea L., Taraxacum officinalis L., Dactylis glomerata L., and Achillea millefolium L. (by an average of 5.2 times).…”

“…The example of transgenic plants Solanum tuberosum L. showed that an increase in the antioxidant potential correlates with an increase in the content of phenolic compounds, such as anthocyanins, flavonoids, and phenolic acids [8]. The activity of the multicomponent antioxidant system largely determines the resistance of plants to technogenic stress [5]; however, the polyfunctionality of phenolic compounds does not allow us to reduce their participation in the formation of plant tolerance only to their antioxidant activity. They are also cofactors for polyphenol oxidase and monooxygenases, and therefore take part in the functioning of the plant cell microsomal system responsible for the detoxification of xenobiotics [5].…”

“…Under conditions of pollution with railway pollutants (petroleum and transmission oils), an increase in the concentration of anthocyanins was found in the leaves of Geum urbanum L., Anthriscus sylvestris L., Glechoma hederacea L., Taraxacum officinalis L., Dactylis glomerata L., and Achillea millefolium L. (by an average of 5.2 times). Cultivation of Cassia grandis L. plants on a mining waste substrate for 4 months led to an increase in the The biosynthesis of anthocyanins is a nonspecific response to stressful growing conditions (low temperatures, drought, HM pollution, oil pollution, and ionizing radiation), and can be explained by the expression of genes associated with their synthesis [5,50,51]. The content of anthocyanins is proposed to be used to assess the physiological state of plants [5].…”

“…Many of these metabolites play a significant role in the formation of the ecological stability of plants, and therefore their concentration can vary significantly under the conditions of the technogenic environment. First of all, this concerns phenolic compounds, whose important function is to protect plants from adverse factors, which causes their biosynthesis to be more sensitive to technogenic pollution [3][4][5][6].…”