Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Trade-offs Among Ecosystem Services After Vegetation Restoration in China’s Loess Plateau

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Natural Resources Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A large-scale vegetation restoration program that was implemented in China’s Loess Plateau has significantly changed ecosystem patterns, resulting in variations in ecosystem services. However, trade-offs among multiple ecosystem services were rarely considered after land-use changes have occurred. To understand the impact of vegetation restoration on those ecosystem services, 139 soil samples were collected from forestland, shrubland, grassland, and sloping cropland across the Wangmaogou watershed to assess soil organic carbon storage (SOCS), soil water content (SWC), soil total nitrogen storage (STNS), and soil conservation service (SCS) changes. Values of SOCS in shrubland (6.91 kg m−2), grassland (7.18 kg m−2), and forestland (7.31 kg m−2) were higher than in sloping cropland (6.02 kg m−2). Likewise, SCS and STNS were higher in vegetation land-use than in sloping cropland. However, SWC decreased in grassland, shrubland, and forestland compared to sloping cropland. The trends in SWC and other ecosystem services showed high trade-offs. Grassland had higher effects for SWC–SOCS and SWC–STNS than did forest- or shrubland. To coordinate ecosystem services and maintain regional sustainable development, grassland was suggested as a more effective land-use type in the water limited areas. In addition, reasonable planting density should be considered in future vegetation restoration.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2

modified from Lu et al. (2014)

Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bi, Z., Zhang, Y., Shi, P., Zhang, X., Shan, Z., & Ren, L. (2021). The impact of land use and socio-economic factors on ammonia nitrogen pollution in Weihe River watershed. China: Environmental Science and Pollution Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11960-0.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bradford, J. B., & D’Amato, A. W. (2012). Recognizing trade-offs in multi-objective land management. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 10, 210–216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, H., Shao, M., & Li, Y. (2008). Soil desiccation in the Loess Plateau of China. Geoderma, 143, 91–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, L., Wang, J., Wei, W., Fu, B., & Wu, D. (2010). Effects of landscape restoration on soil water storage and water use in the Loess Plateau Region, China. Forest Ecology and Management, 259, 1291–1298.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng, Y., Li, P., Xu, G., Li, Z., Gao, H., Zhao, B., et al. (2018). Effects of soil erosion and land use on spatial distribution of soil total phosphorus in a small watershed on the Loess Plateau, China. Soil and Tillage Research, 184, 142–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dang, X., Gao, S., Tao, R., Liu, G., Xia, Z., Fan, L., et al. (2020). Do environmental conservation programs contribute to sustainable livelihoods? Evidence from China’s grain-for-green program in northern Shaanxi province. Science of the Total Environment, 719, 137436.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feng, X., Fu, B., Piao, S., Wang, S., Ciais, P., Zeng, Z., et al. (2016). Revegetation in China’s Loess Plateau is approaching sustainable water resource limits. Nature Climate Change, 6, 1019.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feng, Q., Zhao, W., Fu, B., Ding, J., & Wang, S. (2017). Ecosystem service trade-offs and their influencing factors: A case study in the Loess Plateau of China. Science of the Total Environment, 607–608, 1250–1263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fu, B., Wang, S., Liu, Y., Liang, W., & Miao, C. (2017). Hydrogeomorphic ecosystem responses to natural and anthropogenic changes in the Loess Plateau of China. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 45, 223–243.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gabet, E. J., & Sternberg, P. (2008). The effects of vegetative ash on infiltration capacity, sediment transport, and the generation of progressively bulked debris flows. Geomorphology, 101, 666–673.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haigh, M., Desai, M., Cullis, M., D’Aucourt, M., Sansom, B., Wilding, G., et al. (2019). Composted municipal green waste enhances tree success in opencast coal land reclamation in Wales. Air, Soil and Water Research, 12, 117862211987783.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jia, X., Fu, B., Feng, X., Hou, G., Liu, Y., & Wang, X. (2014). The tradeoff and synergy between ecosystem services in the Grain-for-Green areas in Northern Shaanxi, China. Ecological Indicators, 43, 103–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, J., Pregitzer, K., Zak, D., Sober, J., Isebrands, J., Dickson, R., et al. (2001). Fine-root biomass and fluxes of soil carbon in young stands of paper birch and trembling aspen as affected by elevated atmospheric CO2 and tropospheric O3. Oecologia, 128, 237–250.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lü, Y., Fu, B., Feng, X., Zeng, Y., Liu, Y., Chang, R., et al. (2012). A policy-driven large scale ecological restoration: quantifying ecosystem services changes in the Loess Plateau of China. PLoS ONE, 7, e31782.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu, N., Fu, B., Jin, T., & Chang, R. (2014). Trade-off analyses of multiple ecosystem services by plantations along a precipitation gradient across Loess Plateau landscapes. Landscape Ecology, 29, 1697–1708.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mark, A. F., & Dickinson, K. J. M. (2008). Maximizing water yield with indigenous non-forest vegetation: A New Zealand perspective. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 6, 25–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maron, M., & Cockfield, G. (2008). Managing trade-offs in landscape restoration and revegetation projects. Ecological Applications, 18, 2041–2049.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maskell, L. C., Crowe, A., Dunbar, M. J., Emmett, B., Henrys, P., Keith, A. M., et al. (2013). Exploring the ecological constraints to multiple ecosystem service delivery and biodiversity. Journal of Applied Ecology, 50, 561–571.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osunbitan, J. A., Oyedele, D. J., & Adekalu, K. O. (2005). Tillage effects on bulk density, hydraulic conductivity and strength of a loamy sand soil in southwestern Nigeria. Soil & Tillage Research, 82, 57–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raudsepp-Hearnea, C., Peterson, G. D., & Bennett, E. M. (2010). Ecosystem service bundles for analyzing trade-offs in diverse landscapes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107, 5242–5247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodrigo-Comino, J., Senciales, J. M., Sillero-Medina, J. A., Gyasi-Agyei, Y., Ruiz-Sinoga, J. D., & Ries, J. B. (2019). Analysis of weather-type-induced soil erosion in cultivated and poorly managed abandoned sloping vineyards in the Axarquía region (Málaga, Spain). Air, Soil and Water Research, 12, 1178622119839403.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shi, P., Zhang, Y., Li, P., Li, Z., Yu, K., Ren, Z., et al. (2019). Distribution of soil organic carbon impacted by land-use changes in a hilly watershed of the Loess Plateau, China. Science of the Total Environment, 652, 505–512.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shi, P., Qin, Y., Liu, Q., Zhu, T., Li, Z., Li, P., et al. (2020a). Soil respiration and response of carbon source changes to vegetation restoration in the Loess Plateau, China. Science of the Total Environment, 707, 135507.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shi, P., Feng, Z., Gao, H., Li, P., Zhang, X., Zhu, T., et al. (2020b). Has “Grain for Green” threaten food security on the Loess Plateau of China? Ecosystem Health and Sustainability, 6, 1709560.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, S., Fu, B., Piao, S., Lü, Y., Ciais, P., Feng, X., et al. (2016). Reduced sediment transport in the Yellow River due to anthropogenic changes. Nature Geoscience, 9, 38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, C., Wang, S., Fu, B., Li, Z., Wu, X., & Tang, Q. (2017). Precipitation gradient determines the tradeoff between soil moisture and soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and species richness in the Loess Plateau, China. Science of the Total Environment, 575, 1538–1545.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, X., Fan, J., Xing, Y., Xu, G., Wang, H., Deng, J., et al. (2019). The effects of mulch and nitrogen fertilizer on the soil environment of crop plants. Advances in Agronomy, 153, 121–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, B., Xu, G., Li, P., Li, Z., Zhang, Y., Cheng, Y., et al. (2020). Vegetation dynamics and their relationships with climatic factors in the Qinling Mountains of China. Ecological Indicators, 108, 105719.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu, X., Wang, S., Fu, B., Liu, Y., & Zhu, Y. (2018). Land use optimization based on ecosystem service assessment: A case study in the Yanhe watershed. Land Use Policy, 72, 303–312.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xiao, L., Liu, G., Li, P., Li, Q., & Xue, S. (2020). Ecoenzymatic stoichiometry and microbial nutrient limitation during secondary succession of natural grassland on the Loess Plateau China. Soil and Tillage Research, 200, 104605.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, L., Wei, W., Chen, L., Chen, W., & Wang, J. (2014). Response of temporal variation of soil moisture to vegetation restoration in semi-arid Loess Plateau, China. CATENA, 115, 123–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, L., Chen, L. D., & Wei, W. (2015). Effects of vegetation restoration on the spatial distribution of soil moisture at the hillslope scale in semi-arid regions. CATENA, 124, 138–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, S., Zhao, W., Liu, Y., Wang, S., Wang, J., & Zhai, R. (2018). Influence of land use change on the ecosystem service trade-offs in the ecological restoration area: Dynamics and scenarios in the Yanhe watershed, China. Science of the Total Environment, 644, 556–566.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, Y., Zheng, H., Kong, L., Huang, B., Xu, W., & Ouyang, Z. (2020). Mapping ecosystem services bundles to detect high- and low-value ecosystem services areas for land use management. Journal of Cleaner Production, 225, 11–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yu, Y., Zhao, W., Martinez-Murillo, J., & Pereira, P. (2020). Loess Plateau: From degradation to restoration. Science of the Total Environment, 738, 140206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Y., Li, P., Liu, X. J., Xiao, L., Shi, P., & Zhao, B. H. (2019). Effects of farmland conversion on the stoichiometry of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in soil aggregates on the Loess Plateau of China. Geoderma, 351, 188–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, X., Zhang, Y., Shi, P., Bi, Z., Shan, Z., & Ren, L. (2021). The deep challenge of nitrate pollution in river water of China. Science of the Total Environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144674.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, G., Mu, X., Wen, Z., Wang, F., & Gao, P. (2013). Soil erosion, conservation, and eco-environment changes in the Loess Plateau of China. Land Degradation Development, 24, 499–510.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, B., Li, Z., Li, P., Cheng, Y., & Gao, B. (2020). Effects of ecological construction on the transformation of different water types on Loess Plateau, China. Ecological Engineering, 144, 105642.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng, H., Wang, L., & Wu, T. (2019). Coordinating ecosystem service trade-offs to achieve win-win outcomes: A review of the approaches. Journal of Environmental Sciences-China, 82, 103–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant 42077073, 42077071); Natural Science Basic Research Plan in Shaanxi Province of China (Grant 2020JQ-621) and the Open Research Fund of State Key Laboratory of Eco-hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region (2019KFKT-2).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region of China, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an, 710048, China

    Peng Shi, Zhanbin Li, Peng Li & Yan Zhang

  2. Key Laboratory of National Forestry Administration On Ecological Hydrology and Disaster Prevention in Arid Regions, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an, 710048, China

    Peng Shi, Zhanbin Li & Peng Li

  3. College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an, 710127, China

    Yan Zhang

  4. Water and Soil Conservation Monitoring Center of Ministry of Water Resources, Beijing, 100053, China

    Binbin Li

Authors
  1. Peng Shi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Zhanbin Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Peng Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Yan Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Binbin Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yan Zhang.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 62 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Shi, P., Li, Z., Li, P. et al. Trade-offs Among Ecosystem Services After Vegetation Restoration in China’s Loess Plateau. Nat Resour Res 30, 2703–2713 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11053-021-09841-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11053-021-09841-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation