Divergent responses of ecosystem services to afforestation and grassland restoration in the Tibetan Plateau

Xiaoxing Liu; Jingyi Ding; Wenwu Zhao

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118471

Divergent responses of ecosystem services to afforestation and grassland restoration in the Tibetan Plateau

J Environ Manage. 2023 Oct 15:344:118471. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118471. Epub 2023 Jun 24.

Authors

Xiaoxing Liu¹, Jingyi Ding², Wenwu Zhao¹

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China; Institute of Land Surface System and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China; Institute of Land Surface System and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China. Electronic address: jingyiding@bnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37364488
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118471

Abstract

Afforestation and grassland restoration have been proposed as important pathways for nature-based solutions. However, the effects of different ecological restoration projects on multiple ecosystem services are poorly understood, inhibiting our ability to maximize ecosystem services for further restoration. Here, we provide a comprehensive assessment of the impact of different ecological projects on ecosystem services (carbon storage, water conservation, soil retention), using a pairwise comparative study of samples from 90 project-control pairs in the Tibetan Plateau. Our results found that afforestation increased carbon storage (31.3%) and soil retention (37.6%), but the effects of grassland restoration on services were mixed, while the overall changes in water conservation were negligible. Prior land use/measures and the age of project implementation were key factors in regulating ecosystem service responses. For example, afforestation on bare land increased carbon storage and soil retention but indirectly decreased water conservation by influencing vegetation cover, while cropland afforestation increased water and soil retention. Ecosystem services increased with project age after afforestation. For grassland restoration, short-term recovery increased carbon storage but was not effective in improving water and soil retention. Climate and topography also directly or indirectly controlled the response of ecosystem services by affecting the changes in total nitrogen, total porosity, clay and fractional vegetation cover following the projects. This study improves our current understanding of the mechanisms underlying the responses of ecosystem services to afforestation and grassland restoration. Our results suggest that sustainable restoration management taking into account prior land use/measures, implementation age, climate, topography and other resources is critical for optimizing ecosystem services.

Keywords: Afforestation; Ecological restoration; Ecosystem services; Grassland restoration; Tibetan plateau.

MeSH terms

Carbon / analysis
China
Ecosystem*
Grassland*
Soil
Tibet
Water

Substances

Soil
Carbon
Water