The progress in ecosystem services mapping:a review

Abstract

Ecosystem services mapping has been becoming one of the forefronts in the field of ecosystem services researches.Ecosystems deliver bunches of vital services for human society, such as food, water provision and water purification, carbon sequestration, soil protection, and entertainment. The sustainable capability of ecosystems to provide these services is influenced by changes of biophysical condition ( e. g. The changes in land use and land cover, biodiversity, atmospheric composition and climate) and human society ( e.g. The changes of socio鄄economic characteristics, demand and consumptive patterns of human beings) , which alter the correlation of demand and supply in ecosystem services through impacting the composition, structure, and processes of ecosystems.Ecosystem services mapping is a process that assesses the component, spatial distribution and mutual relationships of ecosystem services in specific spatial鄄temporal scales by using multiple mapping methods and multi鄄sources data. These series of spatially explicit maps not only reveal the quantitative characteristics of the current regional ecosystem service, but also exposit the potential changes caused by different environmental scenarios. These visualized mapping result can facilitate decision makers to integrate ecosystem services into environmental protection planning and implementing, and assist them to weigh the pros and cons of the possible environmental variable scenarios and the consequences of likely decisions, in addition, to make an informed decision which benefits the sustainable developmental of natural鄄human systems.In the past few years, the widespread use of GIS and availability of the high spatial and temporal resolution RS data sets have prominently promoted the capability of ecosystem services mapping. After reviewing the researches published recently, we identified and summarized that ecosystem services mapping is primarily focusing on: ( 1) the mapping of http: / / www.ecologica.cn ecosystem services supply which refers to the capacity of an given area to provide a specific bundle of ecosystem services within a particular time scale; (2) the mapping of ecosystem services demand which is the sum of all ecosystem services consumed by people in a particular area and specific time period; (3) and the mapping of the ecosystem services trade鄄offs and synergies, the former refers to the increment of one ecosystem service which is at the cost of the other ecosystem service, the latter means the synchronous variations among many different ecosystem services. Although there are lots of practical cases, ecosystem services mapping is still at its early stage. The core of ecosystem services mapping is a process about how to meet the needs of policy makers by using appropriate mapping methods, however, cautions must be mentioned in the broad use of mapping methods or models because they are scale鄄dependent and context鄄specific, and the mapping results need to be validated and verified against the observational data.

Spatial Heterogeneity analysis of urban forest ecosystem services in Zhengzhou City

“…Selection of driving factors. Urban forest ecosystem services are influenced by naturalsocial factors [76], among which natural factors include temperature, precipitation, and topography. However, since the five districts of Zhengzhou are located in the same plain, the latitude span is small, and the temperature and precipitation are basically the same, the influence of natural factors on urban forest ecosystem services was not considered.…”

Quantifying the supply-demand relationship of ecosystem services to identify ecological management zoning: A case study in mountainous areas of northwest Yunnan, China

“…Furthermore, ESs demand is perceived as the total of all ecosystem goods and services consumed or utilized within a specific region and period [ 5 , 6 ]. The ESs supply and demand constitute the dynamic process of ESs transitioning from natural ecosystems to human social systems [ 7 ]. With industrialization and urbanization, unreasonable human activities cause ecological and environmental issues and ecological space reduction [ 8 ].…”

Investigation of the Relationship between Supply and Demand of Ecosystem Services and the Influencing Factors in Resource-Based Cities in China

“…Ecosystem service supply refers to the natural resources and services that are physically available for use within a given spatial and temporal context, while the ecosystem service demand is the consumption and use of goods and services produced from such ecosystems by humans [8,9]. The supply and demand together constitute the dynamic flow of ecosystem services from natural ecosystems to human social systems, and the supply-demand relationship reveals the intricate and dynamic linkages between ecosystems and human society [10,11]. Under the influence of both resource exploitation and urbanization, resource-based cities are facing a prominent ecological crisis and enormous pressure on socioeconomic development.…”