Water resource management and climate change adaptation: a holistic and multiple criteria perspective

Anthropogenic climate change is likely to significantly increase human exposure to droughts and floods. It will also alter seasonal patterns of water availability and affect water quality and the health of aquatic ecosystems with various implications for social and economic wellbeing. Policy development for water resource adaptation needs to allow for a holistic and transparent analysis of the probable consequences of policy options for the wide variety of water uses and users, and the existing ecosystem services associated with any stream basin. This paper puts forward an innovative methodological framework for planning development-compatible climate policies drawing on multi-criteria decision analysis and an implicit risk-management approach to the economics of climate change. Its objectives are to describe how the generic methodology could be tailored for analysis of long-range water planning and policy options in developing countries, and to describe the place of climate change considerations in water governance and planning processes. An experimental thought-exercise applying the methodology to water policy development in Yemen provides further insights on the complexity of water adaptation planning. It also highlights the value of conducting sensitivity analysis to explore the implications of multiple climate scenarios, and the importance of accounting for policy portfolios rather than individual policy options. Rather than constituting a tool that can generate clear measures of optimal solutions in the context of adaptation to uncertain climate futures, we find that this approach is best suited to supporting comprehensive and inclusive planning processes, where the focus is on finding socially acceptable paths forward.     

Policy strategies to foster the resilience of mountain social-ecological systems under uncertain global change

Globalization and climate change threaten the sustained provision of essential ecosystem services (ES) for people living in and downstream of mountain regions. The increasing evidence of the many vulnerabilities of mountain social-ecological systems has highlighted the urgent need for policy-relevant research into ways of coping with these trends. In this context, resilience has been emerging as a concept for both understanding and managing the complex social-ecological systems in which ES are provided and consumed. Yet, literature on resilience of social-ecological systems is mainly theoretical with limited application in real-world mountain case studies. In this paper, we present a comprehensive quantitative assessment of the social-ecological resilience of a case study in the Swiss Alps under global change. We model and evaluate an indicator for resilience that shows the capacity of the mountain social-ecological system to provide a set of demanded ES. In a first step, we model the development of this indicator in different scenarios of global change. In a second step, we test the effect of a rich set of policy strategies under all these scenarios to identify types and timing of interventions that are robust under multiple global change settings. Results indicate that the resilience of the mountain social-ecological system is endangered in all scenarios, especially if strong globalization is assumed. Robust strategies that buffer the system against these pressures require early spatial planning action in combination with more targeted direct payments to support the current regional structure and traditional mountain farming practices. Such information is crucial to guide decision-making processes in the era of highly uncertain future global change.     

永定河(北京段)河流生态系统服务价值评估

借鉴《千年生态系统评估》中对生态系统服务的划分（供给、调节、文化与支持四项服务）,建立生态服务价值评价指标体系,开展永定河（北京段）供水、调蓄洪水、气候调节、休闲娱乐、生物多样性等功能的调查研究,明确永定河（北京段）生态系统主要功能与服务.研究结果如下：永定河（北京段）生态服务总价值432.82亿元.其中供给功能价值为...     

Identifying robust response options to manage environmental change using an Ecosystem Approach: A stress-testing case study for the UK XXX

A diverse range of response options was evaluated in terms of their utility for sustaining ecosystem services in the UK. Robustness of response options was investigated by applying a ‘stress-testing’ method which evaluated expected performance against combined scenarios of socioeconomic and climate change. Based upon stakeholder feedback, a reference scenario representing current trends in climate and socioeconomic drivers (‘business-as-usual’) was used as a dynamic baseline against which to compare results of other scenarios. The robustness of response options was evaluated by their utility in different environmental and social contexts as represented by the scenarios, and linked to their adaptability to adjust to changing conditions. Key findings demonstrate that adaptability becomes increasingly valuable as the magnitude and rate of future change diverges from current trends. Stress-testing also revealed that individual responses in isolation are unlikely to be robust meaning there are advantages from integrating cohesive combinations (bundles) of response options to maximise their individual strengths and compensate for weaknesses. This identifies a role for both top-down and bottom-up responses, including regulation, spatial targeting, incentives and partnership initiatives, and their use in combination through integrated assessment and planning consistent with the adoption of an Ecosystem Approach. Stress-testing approaches can have an important role in future-proofing policy appraisals but important knowledge gaps remain, especially for cultural and supporting ecosystem services. Finally, barriers and enablers to the implementation of more integrated long-term adaptive responses were identified drawing on the ‘4 Is’ (Institutions, Information, Incentives, Identity) conceptual framework. This highlighted the crucial but usually understated role of identity in promoting ownership and uptake of responses.     

Vulnerability of land systems to fire: Interactions among humans,climate, the atmosphere,and ecosystems

Fires are critical elements in the Earth System, linking climate, humans, and vegetation. With 200–500 Mha burnt annually, fire disturbs a greater area over a wider variety of biomes than any other natural disturbance. Fire ignition, propagation, and impacts depend on the interactions among climate, vegetation structure, and land use on local to regional scales. Therefore, fires and their effects on terrestrial ecosystems are highly sensitive to global change. Fires can cause dramatic changes in the structure and functioning of ecosystems. They have significant impacts on the atmosphere and biogeochemical cycles. By contributing significantly to greenhouse gas (e.g., with the release of 1.7–4.1 Pg of carbon per year) and aerosol emissions, and modifying surface properties, they affect not only vegetation but also climate. Fires also modify the provision of a variety of ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, soil fertility, grazing value, biodiversity, and tourism, and can hence trigger land use change. Fires must therefore be included in global and regional assessments of vulnerability to global change. Fundamental understanding of vulnerability of land systems to fire is required to advise management and policy. Assessing regional vulnerabilities resulting from biophysical and human consequences of changed fire regimes under global change scenarios requires an integrated approach. Here we present a generic conceptual framework for such integrated, multidisciplinary studies. The framework is structured around three interacting (partially nested) subsystems whose contribute to vulnerability. The first subsystem describes the controls on fire regimes (exposure). A first feedback subsystem links fire regimes to atmospheric and climate dynamics within the Earth System (sensitivity), while the second feedback subsystem links changes in fire regimes to changes in the provision of ecological services and to their consequences for human systems (adaptability). We then briefly illustrate how the framework can be applied to two regional cases with contrasting ecological and human context: boreal forests of northern America and African savannahs.     

The value of urban ecosystem services in New York City: A spatially explicit multicriteria analysis of landscape scale valuation scenarios

Mapping, modeling, and valuing urban ecosystem services are important for integrating the ecosystem services concept in urban planning and decision-making. However, decision-support tools able to consider multiple ecosystem services in the urban setting using complex and heterogeneous data are still in early development. Here, we use New York City (NYC) as a case study to evaluate and analyze how the value of multiple ecosystem services of urban green infrastructure shifts with shifting governance priorities. We first examined the spatial distribution of five ecosystem services – storm water absorption, carbon storage, air pollution removal, local climate regulation, and recreation – to create the first multiple ecosystem services evaluation of all green infrastructure in NYC. Then, combining an urban ecosystem services landscape approach with spatial multicriteria analysis weighting scenarios, we examine the distribution of these ecosystem services in the city. We contrast the current NYC policy preference – which is focused on heavy investment in stormwater absorption – with a valuation approach that also accounts for other ecosystem services. We find substantial differences in the spatial distribution of priority areas for green infrastructure for the valuation scenarios. Among the scenarios we examined for NYC, we find that a scenario in which only stormwater absorption is prioritized leads to the most unevenly distributed ES values. By contrast, we find least variation in ES values where stormwater absorption, local climate regulation, carbon storage, air pollution removal, and recreational potential are all weighted equally.We suggest that green infrastructure planning strategies should include all landscape components that contribute to the production of ecosystem services and consider how planning priority alternatives generate different ecosystem services values.     

区域规划环评中生态系统服务功能影响评价方法初探研究

生态系统服务功能是维系区域生态系统安全的重要保障,从生态系统服务功能角度评价区域规划对生态系统的影响具有重要意义。目前在规划环评中应用生态系统服务功能评价的案例仍然较少,本文基于目标导向性影响评价理念,构建生态系统服务功能影响指标体系,以及基于RS与GIS技术的空间评价方法,旨在探索建立一套适用于区域尺度规划环境影响评价的可行的生态系统服务功能影响评价模式。针对区域主要的生态系统服务功能类型,选择能够准确衡量功能强弱且对人类干扰敏感的因子作为主要评价指标．通过指标的变化趋势和规划建设空间分析,评价规划实施对区域主要生态系统服务功能造成的影响,根据评价结果提出相应的避让、减缓、补偿、优化等对策措施,保障区域生态系统服务功能不降低。     

A social assessment of urban parkland: Analyzing park use and meaning to inform management and resilience planning

Globally, municipalities are tackling climate adaptation and resilience planning. Urban green space has crucial biophysical buffering capacities, but also affects social interactions and human well-being. This paper considers the social dimension of urban green space, through an assessment focused on park use, function, and meanings, and compares results to categories of cultural ecosystem services. We develop a mixed-method approach for assessment of uses and social meanings of parkland and pilot this method in 2140 acres of parkland in waterfront neighborhoods surrounding New York City’s Jamaica Bay, an area heavily affected by Hurricane Sandy. This method combines observation of human activities and signs of prior human use with structured interviews of park users. We find that urban parkland is a crucial form of ‘nearby nature’ that provides space for recreation, activities, socialization, and environmental engagement and supports place attachment and social ties. We show that parks, through their use by and interactions with humans, are producing vital cultural ecosystem services that may help to strengthen social resilience. Certain services were more easily detectable than others via our assessment technique, including recreation, social relations, and sense of place. The assessment method was designed to be spatially explicit, scalable, and replicable; natural resource managers engaged in park management and/or resilience planning could apply this method across individual sites, in particular districts—such as vulnerable waterfront areas, and citywide. This study demonstrates a way in which cultural ecosystem services and an understanding of social meaning could be incorporated into park management and resilience planning.     

我国典型陆地生态系统固碳重要区范围界定

全球变暖已成为当今最主要的全球性环境问题之一,建立固碳重要区也是应对全球气候变化的重要途径之一.根据我国陆地生态系统现状以及固碳相关的最新研究结果和政府文件,以森林、草地生态系统为主要研究对象,采用GIS空间叠置分析方法,界定我国典型陆地生态系统固碳重要区(注:涉及“全国”的各要素范围均未包含港澳台地区)的空间范围.研究结果:固碳重要区评价指标体系包括生态系统碳储量、碳汇和固碳潜力3个核心因子,界定过程包括界定范围选择、固碳高值区识别、固碳重要区范围确定和分区命名等步骤.在全国尺度界定了森林、草地两大类共计20个固碳重要区,总面积285.6×104 km2.其中,森林生态系统固碳重要区主要分布在我国东北部、西南部的深山区和东南部的山地丘陵,草地生态系统固碳重要区主要分布在内蒙古高原中东部、新疆西北部山地和青藏高原东南部.固碳重要区面积占全国国土总面积的29.8%,所提供的NPP(净初级生产力)量占全国NPP总量的40.7%,固碳能力是全国平均水平的1.37倍.固碳重要区范围界定结果符合“以较小面积获取较大服务”原则,适于作为我国实现碳减排目标的优先保护区域.      

水电开发对河流生态系统服务的效应评估与时空变化特征分析——以武江干流为例

水电开发对河流生态系统的影响不容忽视,科学评估其影响有助于建立更可持续的水电开发模式。以武江干流为例,利用当量因子法和功能价值评估法,分析了武江干流梯级水电开发对受淹没影响的河岸带陆地生态系统和河流生态系统服务的效益及损失,并就其对河流生态系统服务的综合效应进行了评估。结果显示：武江干流水电开发使受淹没影响的河岸带生态系统和河流生态系统本身的服务价值均出现增加,价值增量主要体现在水文调节、水资源供给等服务方面;武江干流水电开发对河流生态系统服务的正效应大于负效应,正效应主要体现在发电、水文调节、气体调节等方面,负效应主要体现在维持生物多样性、土壤保持等支持服务方面。研究认为不同规模水电站的正负效应侧重点不同,不同流域单位电能的生态损失难以直接横向比较。结合多年来武江鱼类资源跟踪调查数据,分析了鱼类生物损失指数的变化趋势,探讨了水电开发在时间上的累积生态效应及水电服务的空间格局差异。由于生物多样性等服务的影响难以用货币直接衡量,加上水域的单位面积服务价值远高于其他生态用地类型,导致负效应的价值评估偏保守,武江干流水电开发的正负效应之比偏大。     

黄河三角洲自然保护区湿地生态服务功能价值评估

黄河三角洲自然保护区是世界上暖温带保存最完整、最年轻的湿地生态系统之一,具有多种重要的生态服务功能。通过山东省第二次湿地资源调查（2011-2013年）及其它统计数据,结合保护区湿地生态系统的特征、结构及过程,构建了生态系统服务功能价值评估体系,应用生态经济学的理论和研究方法,对保护区湿地生态系统的供给、调节、支持和文化四大类功能进行了全面评估。结果表明:保护区湿地生态系统提供的生态系统服务总价值为123.113×108元,单位面积服务价值为5.93万元/hm2,其中调节服务功能价值最大,为85.773×108元,占总价值的69.78%;其次供给服务功能价值为19.018×108元,占15.45%;文化服务功能和支持服务功能价值分别为11.992×108元和6.330×108元,占9.74%和5.14%。具体提供的15项服务功能价值大小依次为消浪护岸>调蓄洪水>食物>科教>固碳>生物多样性维持>气候调节>供水>保持土壤>大气组分调节>水质净化>原材料>旅游>航运>促淤造陆。货币价值的直观性突显了保护区湿地对当地经济及生态环境的重要性,可提高人们对保护区湿地生态系统的正确认识,为湿地生态系统的保护和管理提供科学的理论依据。     

典型海岛生态系统服务及价值评估

海洋生态系统服务评估相关研究主要集中在特殊海洋生态系统的评估方面.海岛生态系统兼有陆地和海洋的生态系统特征,生态系统组成、结构复杂,很多的服务表现为岛陆互相交错,难以分别计量.选择庙岛群岛南五岛作为研究区域,研究了其生态系统服务,并进行了价值评估.结果表明:2003年庙岛群岛南五岛生态系统服务总价值为3.08×108元.其中,市场价值占到总服务价值的50.99%,与非市场价值基本持平.对于非市场生态系统服务,如气候调节、废弃物处理等,我们仅计算了目前人们已经认识到和容易计算的生态系统服务部分.因此,该研究仅为对庙岛群岛南五岛生态系统服务价值的保守估算.     

A nexus perspective on competing land demands: Wider lessons from a UK policy case study

As nations develop policies for low-carbon transitions, conflicts with existing policies and planning tools are leading to competing demands for land and other resources. This raises fundamental questions over how multiple demands can best be managed. Taking the UK as an empirical example, this paper critiques current policies and practices to explore the interdependencies at the water-energy-food nexus. It considers how current land uses and related policies affect the UK’s resilience to climate change, setting out an agenda for research and practice relevant to stakeholders in land-use management, policy and modelling. Despite recent progress in recognising such nexus challenges, most UK land-related policies and associated science continue to be compartmentalised by both scale and sector and seldom acknowledge nexus interconnections. On a temporal level, the absence of an over-arching strategy leaves inter-generational trade-offs poorly considered. Given the system lock-in and the lengthy policy-making process, it is essential to develop alternative ways of providing dynamic, flexible, practical and scientifically robust decision support for policy-makers. A range of ecosystem services need to be valued and integrated into a resilient land-use strategy, including the introduction of non-monetary, physical-unit constraints on the use of particular services.     

西藏森林生态系统服务价值

森林生态系统作为可再生的自然资源,具有公共物品的属性,随着环境污染和资源危机的加剧,具有可持续意义的森林生态服务价值受到人类的重视。论文采用产量-价格法、直接市场法、影子工程法、机会成本法等主要研究方法,核算了西藏森林生态系统价值,结果表明:西藏森林生态系统服务价值中碳库、木材和生物多样性存量价值为44543.5×10⁸元,其中生态价值是直接经济价值的2.24倍;在流量中,年流量价值1738.3×10⁸元,其中年生态价值为1565.9×10⁸元,是直接经济价值172.4×10⁸元的9倍,社会价值只有9.5×10⁸元。论文旨在强调森林的生态功能,为西藏的生态补偿、绿色GDP核算奠定良好的基础。     

遥感技术与陆地生态系统碳循环研究

在人类社会日益关注全球环境问题的今天,大气中CO2和CH4等温室气体浓度升高诱发的全球气候变化已成为可持续发展的最严峻挑战。因此,针对各个陆地生态系统的碳循环研究成为气候变化和区域发展研究的重点和关键。陆地生态系统中土地利用方式、植被种类等的变化,通过时间和空间的尺度来影响着全球碳循环,而遥感技术具有宏观、速度快、周期短、信息量大、多时相等特点,因此在植被覆盖和土地利用分类、碳循环遥感模型等方面都有着重要的应用。     

生态系统固碳特征及其研究进展

生态系统固碳是人类应对气候变化以及全球系统变化过程的研究热点。论文结合生态系统固碳和碳汇概念,探讨生态系统自然固碳、人为工程固碳措施对生态系统功能的影响并分析生态系统固碳特征及风险。研究得出如下结论:陆地生态系统对CO₂的自然吸收与封存是相对安全有效的固碳措施,对人类与生态系统健康的影响要小于地质层与海洋层固碳。海洋生态系统固碳容易导致海水酸化以及生态系统不可逆的损害;由于地壳运动很难预测,所以地质层固碳可能面临不可预知的风险。因此,利用生态系统自然固碳能力、发展绿色固碳技术是降低人为工程固碳生态风险和减少CO₂排放到大气中的最佳选择。     

景观规划导向的绿色基础设施研究进展——基于“格局—过程—服务—可持续性”研究范式

中国目前处于新型城镇化与生态文明建设的重要时期,引入绿色基础设施（Green Infrastructure,GI）规划框架对协调城市发展与生态保护具有重要意义。基于景观生态学中“格局—过程—服务—可持续性”研究范式,对近年来中国内外GI规划进行针对性综述,利用该范式对相关研究的理论来源与进展进行梳理。研究表明：GI格局研究中,景观格局指数是应用最为广泛的方法。针对于景观连接度,形态学空间格局分析等结构连接度评价方法具有计算简单、适用性广的优势,但缺乏明确的生态学含义;图论等功能连接度则针对特定的生态过程,是GI格局与生态过程的重要联系,将是下一步研究重点。GI生态过程研究借鉴生态网络的理论与方法,其规划步骤可分为核心区选取、阻力面构建、潜在廊道识别三部分。GI生态系统服务研究中,生物物理量模型与经济计量模型广泛应用于调节、供给与支持服务评价中,而文化服务评价则将问卷调查作为基础数据获取的重要途径。另外,生态系统服务需求研究涉及到生态系统服务的实际需求与使用偏好,相关定量评价方法以及成果的实际应用有待进一步探索。GI景观可持续性研究中,在明晰GI提供的生态系统服务总量的基础上,服务间权衡与协同效应已成为GI规划中的重要考量,而情景规划可以有效模拟GI生态系统服务的动态变化。最后,GI规划应将提升景观可持续性作为规划目标,据此研究提出了重视格局与过程相互影响机制的基础研究、加深GI生态系统服务需求端研究、明晰生态系统服务间协同与权衡效应、将GI与实际规划结合四项研究展望。     

Assessing water ecosystem services for water resource management

Ecosystem service concepts can offer a valuable approach for linking human and nature, and arguments for the conservation and restoration of natural ecosystems. Despite an increasing interest in the topic, the application of these concepts for water resource management has been hampered by the lack of practical definitions and methodologies. In this study we review and analyse the current literature and propose an approach for assessing and valuing ecosystem services in the context of water management. In particular, to study the link between multiple pressures, ecological status and delivery of ecosystem services in aquatic ecosystems under different scenarios of measures or future changes. This is of interest for the development of River Basin Management Plans under the EU Water Framework Directive. We provide a list of proxies/indicators of natural capacity, actual flow and social benefit for the biophysical assessment of the ecosystem services. We advocate the use of indicators of sustainability, combining information on capacity and flow of services. We also suggest methods for economic valuation of aquatic ecosystem for each service and spatial scale of application. We argue that biophysical assessment and economic valuation should be conducted jointly to account for the different values of ecosystem services (ecologic, social and economic) and to strengthen the recognition of human dependency on nature. The proposed approach can be used for assessing the benefits of conservation and restoration of aquatic ecosystems in the implementation of the EU water policy.     

Assessing high impacts of climate change: spatial characteristics and relationships of hydrological ecosystem services in northern Japan (Teshio River watershed)

Ecosystem services (ESs) provide information on the tendency of ecosystems to reach and form a state of equilibrium. The process of ES changes is important in order to identify the climate change-related causes that occur regionally to globally. ES-based management plays an important role in mitigation strategies for the negative impact of global climate change on ecosystem. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate spatial characteristics and relationships among these multiple services from different spatial scales which could aid in multiple ES sustainable development from local to global scales. In this study, we developed a framework for analyzing the spatial characteristics and interactive relationships of multiple ESs. We analyzed the spatial distributions of six hydrological ESs that are important in the northernmost part of Japan (Teshio River watershed) by using hydrology and nutrient model (Soil and Water Assessment Tool, SWAT) under baseline climate conditions and climate change derived from the global circulation model (GCM). We then explored the spatial characteristic scales of ESs by multiscale analysis (lacunarity estimation) to reveal provision flow and spatial distribution characteristics for hydrological ESs. We observed a strong relationship between the spatial characteristics of land uses and ES provision. The spatial characteristics of individual hydrological ESs were totally different and had different spatial homogeneity and cluster (indicated by initial lacunarity index and lacunarity dimension). The results also showed trade-offs between inorganic nutrient retention (provision ESs) and organic nutrient and sediment retentions (regulating ESs), and synergies between organic nutrient retention and sediment retention under all climate change scenarios. The different stakeholders will take different mitigation programs (e.g., establishing riparian vegetation, planning nutrient management practices, and integrating climate change model into systematic conservation planning of ESs) to avoid negative impacts of climate change on ESs. Application of this proposed framework to study the spatial characteristics and relationships of hydrological ESs under climate change could provide understanding on the impact of climate change on ES changes and solutions to mitigate strategies to cope with those changes in the future.