ABSTRACT
Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) has been widely accepted as a policy tool for promoting ecological and social progress. However, PES development and implementation in traditional agricultural and pastoral areas are often more challenging than in other areas. The contradiction between ecological protection and people's livelihood development in traditional agricultural and pastoral areas is related to developing country's sustainable development strategy. Based on this, we evaluate the PES (ERCCP: the Ecological Relocation and Capital Compensation Program) program in Tianzhu County, as a case study to investigated the impact of ERCCP on the local natural and social ecosystems on a 20-year scale. The results of indicated that ERCCP has achieved "win-win" gains of restoring environment and promoting socioeconomic development: in the 10 years since ERCCP was implemented, the area of forest land and grassland increased significantly, increasing by 1135.6 ha and 919.62 ha, respectively. 57.5% of farmland was converted to grassland and 30.8% to forest, respectively. In addition, 92.2% and 7.5% of bare land were replaced by grassland and forest, respectively, indicating a gradual recovery of green land during this period. We also analyzed the effects of ERCCP on social systems, and found that the change of agro-pastoralists' attitude towards ERCCP promoted the transfer of labor force from the primary industry to the tertiary industry, accelerated the development of urbanization, and made the poor population completely out of poverty by 2020. In addition, we predict that the income level of households, the PES return on investment of local governments, and the value of regional ecosystem services will increase significantly after 2025. In this context, We establish a theoretical model to explain the win-win plan for the coordinated development of ecosystem services and regional well-being to explore the sustainability of PES and provided a typical case for the similar research area in the world, especially in the areas with the ecological fragility and poverty problems.
Subject(s)
Conservation of Natural Resources , Ecosystem , Agriculture , China , Farms , Forests , HumansABSTRACT
Tree-rings of Picea crassifolia from high (3000 m), middle (2750 m) and low (2500 m) altitudes were collected from the Xiying River basin in the eastern Qilian Mountains, with the standard chronology being established using dendrochronological methods. Results of the correlation analysis between tree-ring width index and temperature and precipitation during different periods showed that radial growth of P. crassifolia at different altitudes responded differently to climate warming in the eastern Qilian Mountains. Water and heat availability were the main limiting factors for the radial growth of P. crassifolia in the eastern part of Qilian Mountains. The growth limiting factors at different altitudes were generally the same. Before the prominent warming (1961-1986), radial growth of P. crassifolia at the three sampling altitudes was significantly negatively correlated with mean maximum temperature in July-August of the previous year and August of the current year, and significantly positively correlated with the relative humidity in June of the current year. After the prominent warming period (1986-2014), tree growth at high, middle, and low altitudes remained significantly negatively correlated with air temperature, changed from non-significantly negative to significantly positive correlation with relative humidity in February of the current year, and changed from significantly positive to non-significantly negative correlation with precipitation and relative humidity in June. Warming caused a slowing growth of P. crassifolia tree-ring at all altitudes, with the highest altitude being the most sensitive. Drought stress caused by climate warming might be the main reason for the changes of radial growth of P. crassifolia.
Subject(s)
Picea , Altitude , China , Climate , TreesABSTRACT
Based on dendrochronological methods, we established residual chronologies (RES) of Abies georgei at low, middle and high altitudes with ring width data on the eastern slope of Yulong Snow Mountain. We examined the relationship between the radial growth and climate factors (temperature and precipitation) by response function analysis and redundancy analysis (RDA) to identify the key climatic factors driving the radial growth of A. georgei. The results showed that the responses of radial growth of A. georgei to climates were consistent at three altitudes, which was jointly controlled by temperature and precipitation. This consistency was related to the steep terrain of Yulong Snow Mountain, the high-altitude distribution, and shallow root characteristics of A. georgei. At all three altitudes, tree growth showed significantly positive correlation with mean temperature of the current July, mean temperature of the previous November, and precipitation of the current January, but negative correlation with precipitation of the current June. The comprehensive application of response function analysis and redundancy analysis could accurately reveal the relationship between tree growth and climatic factors along environmental gradients. Our results provided a scientific basis for climatic reconstruction and forest management in the area.
