Exploring the Impact of Grain-for-Green Program on Trade-Offs and Synergies among Ecosystem Services in West Liao River Basin, China

Abstract

Natural ecosystems of the West Liao River basin (WLRB) in northeast China have been damaged by both natural and human factors from the 1990s. Since 2000, China’s Grain-for-Green Program (GFGP) has been widely adopted with the aim of improving ecosystem services. An accurate evaluation of the eco-hydrological effects for policy implementation is essential to provide references for further restoration of ecosystem services. This study quantified and characterized the ecosystem services and their trade-offs/synergies using models and statistical methods in the WLRB from 1990 to 2020. Moreover, the impact of key drivers on ecosystem services was evaluated by the difference-in-differences model. Among them, the study mainly investigated how GFGP affects ecosystem services. The results confirmed that the water yield, carbon sequestration, habitat quality, and total ecosystem service of the WLRB decreased in the pre-GFGP period (1990–2000). However, this tendency was reversed in the regions where the GFGP was implemented during the period of 2001–2020. Furthermore, a synergistic relationship was shown among carbon sequestration, soil conservation, and habitat quality. Additionally, there were tradeoffs between water yield and the other three ecosystem services, especially in mountain areas. The GFGP could restore carbon sequestration, habitat quality, and total ecosystem services by 1.3%, 2.1%, and 0.6%, respectively. Nevertheless, GFCP may enlarge the tradeoff and imbalance between water yield and habitat quality. Results highlight the need for the governance of ecosystem protection and suggest natural restoration in the mountain area for maintaining water yield and helping ecosystem restoration. Timely adjustment of the policy implementation areas is the key to improving and balancing multiple ecosystem services in the future.

Spatiotemporal Variation in Water-Related Ecosystem Services during 2000–2020 and Ecological Management Zoning in the Xiangjiang River Basin, China

“…Then, the WESs gradually increased during 2005-2015, as is consistent with the findings of existing research [12,53]. The increased precipitation, the execution of the Grain for Green program, and the development of high-quality farmland were the main driving forces in this period [86,87]. However, from 2015 to 2020, the accelerated urbanization in China triggered the transformation of woodland and cultivated land into construction areas, consequently causing a swift decline in water ecosystem services [88].…”

Evaluation of ecological carrying capacity and construction of ecological security pattern in West Liaohe River Basin of China

“…For example, many cultivated lands within WLRB were retired for tree plantations, but these introduced trees were often inappropriate for areas that likely were more suitable for grasses or shrubs (Chen et al, 2018). These trees consumed more water and aggravated regional water deficit (Xu et al, 2023), which damaged long-term vegetation growth (Cao et al, 2011;Yang et al, 2014;Su and Shangguan, 2019). This may explain the decline in ECC during 2005-2010.…”

“…As the important part of ecological security barrier in northern China, the basin has a full range of ecological elements of "mountain, water, forest, field, lake, grass and sand". In the past decades, with the over-exploitation and irrational utilization of natural resources, the basin occurs a series of ecological problems such as grassland degradation, land desertification and salinization, groundwater table decline, and shrinkage of water area, having brought serious challenges to regional ecological carrying capacity, ecological security and sustainable development (Hu et al, 2023;Xu et al, 2023). As the typical ecologically fragile area in the agro-pastoral zone of Northern China, the WLRB has been the main implementation area of ecological projects since 2000s, such as the Grain for Green Program, the Three-North Shelterbelt Program, and the Beijing-Tianjin Sandstorm Source Control Project (Tian et al, 2015;Jiang et al, 2020).…”

Regional NDVI Attribution Analysis and Trend Prediction Based on the Informer Model: A Case Study of the Maowusu Sandland

“…Precipitation and air temperature are currently the primary parameters used by many researchers, which are relatively varied concerning vegetation in space due to the effect of climate change on vegetation change [13]. The two areas where human activity has the greatest impact on vegetation change are: (1) implementing ecological initiatives, such as converting farms to forests and shutting down mountains to grow grass [14]; (2) human production and living activities, together with the urbanization process, have the potential to upset the ecosystem's delicate balance, preventing plants from growing normally [15]. We can gain a deeper understanding by thoroughly analyzing the effects of climate change and human activities on vegetation change.…”