An integrated approach through controlled experiment and LCIA to evaluate water quality and ecological impacts of irrigated paddy rice.

This study used an integrated approach to mainly assess the water quality of paddy field during cultivation and quantify its equivalent ecological damages. Accordingly, an isolated pilot area with 0.6 ha and subsurface drainage pipes was prepared for flow measurement and multiple pollutant examination (DO, EC, pH, COD, TKN, TN, TP, NO3, butachlor) under controlled condition during 94 days of rice cultivation. Based on life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) database, the indices of ReCiPe (2016) were used to convert the examined nutrient and herbicide pollution. Results showed that TKN and TP were significant pollutants and reached the maximum concentrations of 7.2 and 4.9 mg/L in pilot outflow, respectively. Here, their average discharged loads were 56.2 gN/day and 45.3 gP/day. These loads equal leaching 8.5% and 9.4% of applied urea and phosphate fertilizers, respectively. The nutrient export coefficients were 8.4 kgN/ha and 6.8 kgP/ha. Nevertheless, the majority of this pollution was transferred by inflow. The net export coefficients were 0.3 kgN/ha and 2.6 kgP/ha while net leaching rates were 0.3%TN and 3.3%TP. The trend of combined ecological damages also showed that the 11-17th day of cultivation imposed the highest ecological risks. The state-of-the-art index of ecological footprint per food production estimates the equivalent ratio of lost lives by impaired ecosystem against lives saved from starvation. This index showed that 7% of the potential of produced paddy rice in this area for saving lives would be spoiled by releasing pollution to the terrestrial ecosystem in the long term. Yet, it can be enhanced as a matter of direct discharge to the freshwater. Therefore, using suitable agricultural operations or improving farm management practices for pollution abatement or assimilation potential is highly recommended.

Modelling enhancement of Ecosystem Services provision through integrated agri-environment and forestry measures.

Agri-environment and forest schemes can support landowners to conserve and enhance agricultural and forest ecosystems. The effectiveness of these schemes is often debated due to discrepancies that occur between the application of such measures and the delivery of Ecosystem Services (ES). We simulated the application of a suite of farmland and forest measures within a range of biophysical contexts in known High Nature Value landscapes across the Republic of Ireland. Three high resolution geospatial scenarios simulated the anticipated effects of the measures: i) a Baseline Scenario of current conditions, ii) an Enhanced Scenario simulated the application of measures, and iii) using the new 'Restoration Planner' freeware, an Enhanced + Connectivity Scenario simulated the application of additional targeted measures for ecosystem connectivity. Across all scenarios, we modelled and compared the responses of a range of ES including: habitat quality, carbon storage, production income and ecosystem connectivity. Multivariate analyses were used to ordinate and determine eight bundles of measures and their associated effect on ES and connectivity. These Bundles were subsequently contextualised by examining unique landscape characteristics in which they occurred. The results show that measures applied under the Enhanced Scenario resulted in weak gains to carbon storage (2 %), strong gains to habitat quality (28 %), and weak losses to production income (-7 %) and ecosystem connectivity (-2 %). Similarities were observed under the Enhanced + Connectivity Scenario, though with comparably stronger gains to ecosystem connectivity (15 %). This study is the first to demonstrate the potential synergies and trade-offs to ES that can result from the integrated and targeted application of both farmland and forest measures within a variety of landscape characteristics.

Ecotourism and mangrove conservation in Southeast Asia: Current trends and perspectives.

Mangroves in Southeast Asia provide numerous supporting, provisioning, regulating, and cultural services that are crucial to the environment and local livelihoods since they support biodiversity conservation and climate change resilience. However, Southeast Asia mangroves face deforestation threats from the expansion of commercial aquaculture, agriculture, and urban development, along with climate change-related natural processes. Ecotourism has gained prominence as a financial incentive tool to support mangrove conservation and restoration. Through a systematic literature review approach, we examined the relationships between ecotourism and mangrove conservation in Southeast Asia based on scientific papers published from 2010 to 2022. Most of the studies were reported in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, respectively, which were associated with the highest number of vibrant mangrove ecotourism sites and largest mangrove areas compared to the other countries of Southeast Asia. Mangrove-related ecotourism activities in the above countries mainly include boat tours, bird and wildlife watching, mangrove planting, kayaking, eating seafood, and snorkeling. The economic benefits, such as an increase in income associated with mangrove ecotourism, have stimulated infrastructural development in ecotourism destinations. Local communities benefited from increased access to social amenities such as clean water, electricity, transportation networks, schools, and health services that are intended to make destinations more attractive to tourists. Economic benefits from mangrove ecotourism motivated the implementation of several community-based mangrove conservation and restoration initiatives, which attracted international financial incentives and public-private partnerships. Since mangroves are mostly located on the land occupied by indigenous people and local communities, ensuring respect for their land rights and equity in economic benefit sharing may increase their intrinsic motivation and participation in mangrove restoration and conservation initiatives. Remote sensing tools for mangrove monitoring, evaluation, and reporting, and integrated education and awareness campaigns can ensure the long-term conservation of mangroves while sustaining ecotourism's economic infrastructure and social amenities benefits.

The impact of China's urbanization on ecosystem service value from the perspective of gross ecosystem product: a case study of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

Gross ecosystem product (GEP) is an aggregate measure of the monetary value of final ecosystem services, or the direct benefits that people derive from nature. GEP can provide decision makers with clear and competing evidence of the monetary value of ecosystem services. However, the relationship between GEP and urbanization has not been clarified which is not conducive to the decision-making role of GEP in the process of urban sustainable development. This work focused on the 'Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei' (BTH) urban agglomeration as a case study of the dynamics of ecological production amidst rapid economic and urban development, and coupled a spatial-temporal analysis of regional ecological change based on GIS (Geographic Information System) with economic valuation methods using official statistics and survey data. Results showed that from 2000 to 2020, the GEP increased from 1.55 trillion to 2.36 trillion, the value of provisioning services and cultural services increased from 0.51 to 0.71 trillion to 0.10-0.65 trillion. The value of regulation services showed an upward and downward trend (0.94-1.03-0.98) due to the rapid economic development in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. There were obvious spatial differences in the distribution of the GEP, in which Beijing, Tianjin, Tangshan, Cangzhou GEP accounted for 15%, 14%, 16% and 11%, respectively. During 2000-2020, there is a significant correlation between urbanization index (UI) and GEP in BTH, but the correlation between GEP and UI shows a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. The correlation between UI and EPS and ERS gradually decreases, and the impact of UI on ETS shows a significant positive correlation. In the future, it can be foreseen that urbanization will suppress the increase of GEP.

Simulation dataset of annual crop growth, GHG emission and SOC stock dynamics under current and projected climate conditions for major crops with current and reduced fertiliser inputs in Southwest, England.

For mitigating the unintended environmental impacts associated with intensive farming across the world, it is crucial to understand the complex impacts of potential reductions in fertiliser use on multiple ecosystem services, including crop production, GHG emissions and changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. Using site specific spatial data and information, a novel integrated modelling approach using established agroecosystem models (SPACSYS and RothC) was implemented to evaluate the impacts of various fertiliser reductions (10 %, 30 % and 50 %) under current / baseline and projected (RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) climate scenarios in a study catchment in southwest England. 48 unique combinations of soil types, climate conditions and fertiliser inputs were evaluated for five major arable crops (winter wheat, maize, winter barley, spring barley, winter oilseed rape) plus ryegrass. Modelled annual estimates of crop yields and biomass, emissions of gases with warming potentials (nitrous oxide, methane, carbon) and SOC stocks in the topsoil (0-30 cm) were tabulated for all combinations considered. These simulated data series could be further analysed to evaluate inter-annual variations and their implications for climate resilience and combined with additional data to quantify nutrient use efficiency and undertake cost- benefit analysis, and to contribute to inter-regional comparisons of fertiliser management at broad scale.

Mapping the natural disturbance risk to protective forests across the European Alps.

Mountain forests play an essential role in protecting people and infrastructure from natural hazards. However, forests are currently experiencing an increasing rate of natural disturbances (including windthrows, bark beetle outbreaks and forest fires) that may jeopardize their capacity to provide this ecosystem service in the future. Here, we mapped the risk to forests' protective service across the European Alps by integrating the risk components of hazard (in this case, the probability of a disturbance occurring), exposure (the proportion of forests that protect people or infrastructure), and vulnerability (the probability that the forests lose their protective structure after a disturbance). We combined satellite-based data on forest disturbances from 1986 to 2020 with data on key forest structural characteristics (cover and height) from spaceborne lidar (GEDI), and used ensemble models to predict disturbance probabilities and post-disturbance forest structure based on topographic and climatic predictors. Wind and bark beetles are dominant natural disturbance agents in the Alps, with a mean annual probability of occurrence of 0.05%, while forest fires were less likely (mean annual probability <0.01%), except in the south-western Alps. After a disturbance, over 40% of forests maintained their protective structure, highlighting the important role of residual living or dead trees. Within 30 years after wind and bark beetle disturbance, 61% of forests were likely to either maintain or recover their protective structure. Vulnerability to fires was higher, with 51% of forest still lacking sufficient protective structure 30 years after fire. Fire vulnerability was especially pronounced at dry sites, which also had a high fire hazard. Combining hazard and vulnerability with the exposure of protective forests we identified 186 Alpine municipalities with a high risk to protective forests due to wind and bark beetles, and 117 with a high fire risk. Mapping the disturbance risk to ecosystem services can help identify priority areas for increasing preparedness and managing forests towards lower susceptibility under an intensifying disturbance regime.

Non-pathogenic microbiome associated to aquatic plants and anthropogenic impacts on this interaction.

The microbiota associated with aquatic plants plays a crucial role in promoting plant growth and development. The structure of the plant microbiome is shaped by intricate interactions among hosts, microbes, and environmental factors. Consequently, anthropogenic pressures that disrupt these interactions can indirectly impact the ecosystem services provided by aquatic plants, such as CO2 fixation, provision of food resources, shelter to animals, nutrient cycling, and water purification. Presently, studies on plant-microbiota interactions primarily focus on terrestrial hosts and overlook aquatic environments with their unique microbiomes. Therefore, there is a pressing need for a comprehensive understanding of plant microbiomes in aquatic ecosystems. This review delves into the overall composition of the microbiota associated with aquatic plant, with a particular emphasis on bacterial communities, which have been more extensively studied. Subsequently, the functions provided by the microbiota to their aquatic plants hosts are explored, including the acquisition and mobilization of nutrients, production of auxin and related compounds, enhancement of photosynthesis, and protection against biotic and abiotic stresses. Additionally, the influence of anthropogenic stressors, such as climate change and aquatic contamination, on the interaction between microbiota and aquatic plants is discussed. Finally, knowledge gaps are highlighted and future directions in this field are suggested.

An ecohydrological approach to assess water provisioning and supporting ecosystem services in the Budhabalanga River Basin, India.

Rivers are vital and complex natural systems that provide a wide range of ecosystem services. This study presents a methodology for assessing the riverine provisioning and supporting ecosystem services, whose applicability has been demonstrated over the Budhabalanga River Basin of India. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is used to generate streamflow time series at various ungauged sites, and then the streamflow is characterized for the evaluation of provisioning services. Further, the diversity and abundance of macroinvertebrates, along with the Lotic-invertebrate Index for Flow Evaluation (LIFE), is used to study the riverine supporting ecosystem services. The streams show intermittent behavior and strong seasonality for low flows, which limits the water availability, particularly during pre-monsoon season. The Baseflow Index (BFI) is greater than 0.6, indicating that groundwater contributes more than 60% of the total streamflow. Interestingly, despite the high BFI, the streams did not conform to the prevailing opinion that a greater baseflow contribution results in a later commencement of the low-flow period in the hydrological year. Furthermore, the study depicts significant variations in the diversity and abundance of the macroinvertebrates across the various sampling sites. However, the LIFE score across the sites remained consistent within a narrow range, i.e., 8 to 9, suggesting a steady supply of supporting ecosystem services. The results of the study can help the policymakers towards an informed decision making and the simplistic methodology proposed in this study can be replicated in other river basins for identifying vulnerable watersheds and prioritizing management actions.

Plant fire-adaptive traits mediate long-term fire recurrence impact on the potential supply capacity of ecosystem services and their resilience.

Fire-induced changes in vegetation composition due to fire-regime intensification are leading to alterations in ecosystem services that might threaten their future sustainability. Fire recurrence, in particular, could be a key driver shaping ecosystem service resilience in fire-prone ecosystems. This study evaluates the impact of fire recurrence, over twenty-four years, on the potential supply capacity of ten regulating, provisioning, and cultural services selected as critical services by stakeholders and experts. We assessed fire effects in four fire-prone landscapes dominated by species with different functional-traits response to fire (i.e., obligate seeder vs resprouter species). Trends in the potential supply capacity linked to fire recurrence were estimated by applying a supervised classification of Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) classes performed using Landsat imagery, associated to an ecosystem service capacity matrix adapted to the local socio-ecological context. In landscapes dominated by seeders, fire recurrence broke off the potential supply capacity of services traditionally associated to mature forest cover (i.e., the predicted probability of a decrease in the potential supply capacity of climate regulation, timber, wood fuel, mushroom production, tourism, landscape aesthetic, and cultural heritage occurred with high fire recurrence). In landscapes dominated by resprouter species, the effect of fire recurrence was partially buffered in the short-term after fire and no substantial differences in trends of change were found (i.e., equal predicted probability in the potential supply capacity of ecosystem services regardless of fire recurrence). We detected two new opportunities for ecosystems service supply associated to fire recurrence: livestock and honey production, especially in sites dominated by seeders. These findings provide valuable information aiming at recovering post-fire ecosystem service potential supply to partially counterbalance the loss in the socio-ecological system. When the main post-fire restoration goal is preserving ecosystem service resilience in fire-prone ecosystems, establishing management strategies focused on promoting resprouter species could aid mitigating the fire-driven loss of their supply capacity.

The shift in the spatiotemporal relationship between supply and demand of ecosystem services and its drivers in China.

In China, over 65% of human activities are concentrated in cities, resulting in a conflict between the supply and demand of ecosystem services (ESs). To alleviate this problem, many cities have adopted eco-friendly development modes, however, the effectiveness of these models in reducing ESs supply-demand conflicts has not been comprehensively reviewed, and the human and natural drivers behind these relationship shifts remain unclear. To bridge this gap, this study analyzed the shifts in the relationships between supply and demand of ESs across China from 2010 to 2020 at a city level, as well as identified the human and natural drivers behind them. Firstly, the InVEST models were integrated with socioeconomic data to evaluate the supply and demand distribution for three pivotal ESs: water yield (WY), habitat quality (HQ), and soil retention (SR). Then, a four-quadrant diagram approach was proposed to enhance the analysis of their spatiotemporal relationships. Furthermore, random forest models were employed to examine the drivers of the shifts in these relationships. The results showed that WY and SR services witnessed growth until 2015, and then receded, while HQ saw a modest decline from 2010 to 2020. Spatial synergies in the supply and demand of ESs were primarily observed in the southern cities, with a significant northward extension by 2020. From a temporal perspective, the percentage of cities achieving coordination in WY and SR services increased from 32.6% to 57.3%, respectively, in the 2010-2015 period to 42.4% and 63.3% between 2015 and 2020, meanwhile, HQ service conflicts diminished from 58.7% to 53.5%. The changes in socioeconomic and land use factors contributed to 64.3%, 36.1%, and 33.3% of the shifts in the supply-demand relationship for HQ, WY, and SR services, respectively. Our analysis highlights the potential of human-driven ecological management to enhance the balance of this relationship. It can support the design of city-specific policies that foster a balance between ecological processes and socio-economic development.

Coupling eco-environmental quality and ecosystem services to delineate priority ecological reserves-A case study in the Yellow River Basin.

Priority ecological reserves (PER) aim to protect areas with significant ecological value and crucial ecological functions, optimizing resource allocation to maximize the benefits of ecological conservation. However, most previous studies have considered only ecosystem services (ESs) in delineating PER, neglecting eco-environmental quality (EEQ). This study used the Remote Sensing-based Ecological Index (RSEI) to represent EEQ and combined it with ESs to delineate PER at the county scale in the Yellow River Basin (YRB). Additionally, it employed Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression to identify the driving factors influencing the ESs and EEQ of PER. The results showed that: (1) From 2000 to 2020, both RSEI and the Comprehensive ESs (CES) in the YRB exhibited a fluctuating upward trend; (2) Three types of PER were extracted, with ESs reserve mainly distributed in the upstream region, EEQ reserve primarily in the middle and lower reaches, and integrated ecological reserve mainly in the midstream region, all dominated by vegetation land-use types; (3) Within the extracted PER, RSEI was mainly influenced by soil, aspect, population (pop), PM2.5, temperature (tmp), and potential evapotranspiration (pet), while CES was affected by soil, pop, PM2.5, slope, tmp, precipitation, and pet. To enhance the EEQ and ESs of the YRB, it was recommended to incorporate at least 105,379 km2 into the existing protected areas in the YRB. These areas should be subdivided based on their ecological status, with specific management measures for different types of PER. This study provides recommendations for environmental protection and land planning in the YRB, actively responding to current policies on high-quality development and ecological environmental protection in the YRB.

Exposure of water purification deficit network in response to nitrogen application intensity.

Ecosystem services are strongly responsive to changes in land use intensity, especially water purification, which is highly sensitive to water pollutant emission. Increased nitrogen (N) application to cropland has potential impacts on the supply and demand for water purification through changes in land use intensity. However, there has been a lack of research focusing on the impacts of cropland N application on population exposure to water purification deficits and their cross-regional delivery network. Taking the Dongting Lake (DTL) Basin as an example, this study explored the spatial pattern of N exposure in the DTL Basin from 1990 to 2015 by integrating water purification deficit and population density. Changes in potential N exposure in 2050 were simulated based on population projection data from the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP1-5). N export pathways in the DTL Basin were clarified by constructing the N delivery network. The results showed that (1) N exposure increased significantly with increasing N application in DTL Basin. (2) The DTL surrounding area and lower reaches of the Xiangjiang River Basin had high increases of N exposure (50.2 % and 71.6 %) and high increases in N exposure due to increases in N application per unit (N influence coefficients exceeding 0.5). (3) The lower reaches of the Xiangjiang River Basin with the highest population density had the smallest decrease in N exposure (1.4 %-11.1 %) in the SSP1-5 scenarios. (4) During 1990-2015, the increase of N export to the DTL surrounding area was higher in the lower reaches sub-basins of DTL Basin. N application had a stronger impact on N delivery processes in the lower reaches of DTL Basin. Managers should distribute N applications to basins with high N retention and whose N export to the DTL surrounding area is weak. This study confirmed the strong response of water purification deficits and their population exposures to N application, and provided decision-making guidelines for water quality enhancement programs in DTL Basin from a spatial planning perspective.

Impacts of a herring gull colony on runoff water quality from an urban green roof.

Green infrastructure (GI) strategies, including green roofs, have become a common, decentralized, nature-based strategy for reducing urban runoff and restoring ecosystem services to the urban environment. In this study, we examined the water quality of incident rainfall and runoff from a green roof installed on top of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. Since the 2014 installation of this green roof, one of the largest in North America, a colony of nesting herring gulls grew to approximately 100 nesting pairs in 2018 and 150 nesting pairs in 2019. Water quality monitoring took place between September 2018 and October 2019. Except for phosphorus on some occasions, we found concentrations of nitrate, nitrite, chlorine, sulfate to be below federal drinking water standards. Levels of the fecal indicator bacteria (FIB), total coliform, E. coli, and Enterococcus, were consistently higher in runoff samples than rainwater, ranging from 150 to over 20,000 CFU/100 mL for E. coli and 100 to over 140,000 CFU/100 mL for total coliform. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) methods were used to search for potential opportunistic pathogens, including Legionella spp., Mycobacterium spp., Campylobacter spp., and Salmonella spp. Discovery of the presence of Catellicoccus marimammalium, a gull-associated marker in runoff water indicates that herring gulls are the likely source of contamination. Due to habitat loss, herring gulls, and other Larus gull species are increasingly nesting on urban roofs, both green (such as at the Javits Center) and conventional (such as on Rikers and Governors Islands). Habitat creation is one of the target ecosystem services desired from GI systems. Although the discharge from the green roof of the Javits Center is directed to the city's sewer system, this study demonstrates the need to treat runoff from green roofs with nesting gull populations if its intended use involves reuse or human contact.

Nature-based solutions for monitoring the impact of vehicular particulate matter and for the preventive conservation of the Palatine Hill archaeological site in Rome, Italy.

Magnetic and chemical biomonitoring methodologies were applied to the southern slopes of the Palatine Hill archaeological area in Rome, Italy. Plant leaves and lichen transplants were respectively sampled and exposed between July 2022 and June 2023 to assess the impact of vehicular particulate matter from Via dei Cerchi, a trafficked road coasting Circus Maximus, towards the archaeological area upon the Palatine Hill. The magnetic properties of leaves and lichens, inferred from magnetic susceptibility, hysteresis loops and first order reversal curves, were combined with the concentration of trace elements. It was demonstrated that the bioaccumulation of magnetite-like particles, associated with tracers of vehicular emissions, such as Ba and Sb, decreased with longitudinal distance from the road, without any important influence of elevation from the ground. Lichens demonstrated to be more efficient biomonitors of airborne PM than leaves, irrespective of the plant species. Conversely, leaves intercepted and accumulated all PM fractions, including road dusts and resuspended soil particles. Thus, plant leaves are suitable for providing preventive conservation services that limit the impact of particulate pollution on cultural heritage sites within busy metropolitan contexts.

[Trade-off and Synergy of Ecosystem Services in the Yangtze River Economic Belt and Its Driving Factors].

Ecosystem services (ESs) and their changes are complex processes driven by multiple factors. Understanding the trade-off and synergy between ESs and their driving factors is essential for achieving effective management of ESs and human well-being. Taking the Yangtze River Economic Belt as the research area, this study analyzed the temporal and spatial variation characteristics of four ESs including water yield, soil conservation, carbon sequestration, and food supply from 2000 to 2020. Correlation analysis and geographically weighted regression were used to identify and quantify the trade-off and synergy between ESs. On this basis, the partial least squares structural equation model was used to explore the impact of natural and human activities on ESs, and then the driving mechanism of ESs relationship change was analyzed via GeoDetector. The results showed that:① During the 20 years, the average annual carbon sequestration increased from 946.14 t·km-2 to 1 202.73 t·km-2, and the average food supply increased from 32.73×104 Yuan·km-2 to 127.22×104 Yuan·km-2. Water yield and soil conservation increased to a lesser degree. ② On the whole, carbon sequestration and soil conservation and food supply and water yield showed synergy, and other ESs were trade-offs. The relationship between ESs varied in different regions. ③ Terrain and climate were important driving factors for ESs and the trade-off and synergy of multiple ESs. Among them, structural equation model results showed that climate had a positive impact on water yield (S=0.73), and terrain had a negative impact on food supply (S=-0.57). GeoDetector results revealed that the main driving factors affecting the spatial relationship between carbon sequestration and water yield were elevation (q=0.38) and precipitation (q=0.19). The results of this study can provide a scientific reference for the sustainable management of ESs in the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the realization of the coordinated development of ecological environment protection and social economy in the region.

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In the context of rapid urbanization, metropolitan areas are facing the risk of supply-demand mismatches among ecosystem services. Investigating the patterns, relationships, and driving factors of multiple supply-demand risks is of great significance to support the efficient management of regional ecological risks. We quantified the single/comprehensive supply-demand risk rates of six ecosystem services in Wuhan Metropolitan Area at the township scale in 2000, 2010, and 2020. By applying the self-organizing feature map network and optimal parameter geo-detector, we identified supply-demand risks bundles of ecosystem services and influencing factors of comprehensive risks. The results showed significant spatial variations in the supply-demand risks of typical ecosystem services from 2000 to 2020. The supply-demand risk associated with grain production, water yield, carbon sequestration, and green space recreation increased, while soil conservation and water purification risks decreased. The comprehensive ecosystem services supply-demand risk increased from 0.41 to 0.45, indicating a 'core area increase and periphery decrease' trend. Throughout the study period, the area exhibited bundles of comprehensive extremely high-risk bundles (B1), comprehensive high-risk bundles (B2), water purification high-risk bundles (B3), and grain production-soil conservation risk bundles (B4). The transition of risk types from B3 to B2 and from B2 to B1 suggested an increase in the combination and intensity of supply-demand risk. Vegetation cover, nighttime light index, and population density were the main driving factors for spatial variations in comprehensive supply-demand risk. Ecologi-cal risk assessment based on ecosystem services supply-demand bundles could provide an effective and reliable way to regulate multiple regional risk issues.

Tree of life metabarcoding can serve as a biotic benchmark for shifting baselines in urbanized estuaries.

Urbanization of estuaries drastically changed existing shorelines and bathymetric contours, in turn modifying habitat for marine foundational species that host critical biodiversity. And yet we lack approaches to characterize a significant fraction of the biota that inhabit these ecosystems on time scales that align with rates of urbanization. Environmental DNA (or eDNA) metabarcoding that combines multiple assays targeting a broad range of taxonomic groups can provide a solution, but we need to determine whether the biological communities it detects ally with different habitats in these changing aquatic environments. In this study, we tested whether tree of life metabarcoding (ToL-metabarcoding) data extracted from filtered seawater samples correlated with four known geomorphic habitat zones across a heavily urbanized estuary (Sydney Harbour, Australia). Using this method, we substantially expanded our knowledge on the composition and spatial distribution of marine biodiversity across the tree of life in Sydney Harbour, particularly for organisms where existing records are sparse. Excluding terrestrial DNA inputs, we identified significant effects of both distance from the mouth of Sydney Harbour and geomorphic zone on biological community structure in the ToL-metabarcoding dataset (entire community), as well as in each of the taxonomic subgroups that we considered (fish, macroinvertebrates, algae and aquatic plants, bacteria). This effect appeared to be driven by taxa as a collective versus a few individual taxa, with each taxon explaining no more than 0.62% of the variation between geomorphic zones. Similarly, taxonomic richness was significantly higher within geomorphic zones with large sample sizes, but also decreased by 1% with each additional kilometer from the estuary mouth, a result consistent with a reduction in tidal inputs and available habitat in upper catchments. Based on these results, we suggest that ToL-metabarcoding can be used to benchmark biological monitoring in other urbanized estuaries globally, and in Sydney Harbour at future time points based on detection of bioindicators across the tree of life. We also suggest that robust biotic snapshots can be archived following extensive curation of taxonomic assignments that incorporates ecological affinities, supported by records from relevant and regional biodiversity repositories.

Squamate scavenging services: Heath goannas (Varanus rosenbergi) support carcass removal and may suppress agriculturally damaging blowflies.

Human-induced environmental change has caused widespread loss of species that support important functions for ecosystems and society. For example, vertebrate scavengers contribute to the functional health of ecosystems and provide services to agricultural landscapes by removing carcasses and associated pests. Widespread extirpation of native Australian mammals since the arrival of Europeans in Australia has removed many scavenging species from landscapes, while scavenging mammals such as European red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) have been introduced. In much of Australia, squamate reptiles are the largest native terrestrial scavengers remaining, where large native mammals are extinct and conservation management is being undertaken to remove invasive mammals. The contribution of reptiles to scavenging functions is not well understood. In this study, we investigated the ecosystem functions provided by large reptiles as scavengers to better understand how populations can be managed to support ecosystem services. We investigated the ecosystem services provided by vertebrate scavengers in Australian coastal mallee ecosystems, focusing on the heath goanna (Varanus rosenbergi), the only extant native terrestrial scavenger in the region. We carried out exclosure experiments, isolating the scavenging activity of different taxonomic groups to quantify the contribution of different taxa to scavenging services, specifically the removal of rat carcasses, and its impact on the occurrence of agriculturally damaging blowflies. We compared areas with different native and invasive scavenger communities to investigate the impact of invasive species removal and native species abundance on scavenging services. Our results indicated that vertebrate scavenging significantly contributes to carcass removal and limitation of necrophagous fly breeding in carcasses and that levels of removal are higher in areas associated with high densities of heath goannas and low densities of invasive mammals. Therefore, augmentation of heath goanna populations represents a promising management strategy to restore and maximize scavenging ecosystem services.

How plant composition in margins influences the assemblage of pests and predators and its effect on biocontrol in melon fields.

Many agricultural landscapes offer few resources for maintaining natural enemy populations and floral plantings have frequently been adopted to enhance biological pest control in crops. However, restored margins may harbour both pests and natural enemies. The aim was to compare the abundance of pests and natural enemies in three types of margins (unmanaged, sown herbaceous floral strips and shrubby hedgerows) as well as in adjacent melon fields. Besides, yield was compared among melon fields as way of testing the effect of the type of margin on biocontrol. The research was carried out during 2 years in twelve melon fields from four different locations in southern Spain. Arthropods were sampled periodically in margins and melon fields by visual inspections and Berlese extraction. Hedgerow and floral strips hosted higher numbers of both pests and predators than unmanaged margins. Besides, hedgerows had a similar or higher number of natural enemies than floral strips but lower number of pests. In just a few occasions, the type of margin had a significant effect on the abundance of pests and natural enemies in melon fields, but rarely there was consistency between the two growing seasons. No differences were found in yield. We hypothesised that the lack of association in the abundances of pests and natural enemies between margins and melon fields could be attributed to the overriding effects of the landscape and/or the internal population dynamics of arthropods in melon fields. Overall, shrubby hedgerows are more recommended than herbaceous floral strips.

Water column oxygenation by Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows in coastal areas: A modelling approach.

BACKGROUND: Seagrass meadows are among the most abundant marine coastal ecosystems in the world. The wide variety of species, a worldwide distribution with overall high abundance, and especially their high productivity make them a plausible nature-based blue carbon solution to mitigate atmospheric CO2 levels. In the Mediterranean Basin, the endemic angiosperm Posidonia oceanica plays a remarkable role as a marine habitat provider in shallow waters through its vertical growth and as a carbon sink storing allochthonous carbon and biomass underneath the meadows. OBJECTIVES: Here, we assess the capacity of a pristine meadow to oxygenate the water column in the coastal area of the Balearic Islands through an evaluation of the metabolic rates in the benthic compartment as well as the resulting oxygen concentrations in the pelagic compartment. METHODS: Gross primary production (GPP), respiration (R), and net community production (NCP) are determined from dissolved oxygen (DO) measurements using two different calculation methods: a model developed for this purpose is used for data obtained from water column sensors and benthic multiparametric sensors, whereas the mass balance of measured DO is used to calculate the metabolic rates inside benthic chambers. RESULTS: The meadow at our study site was characterised as a net autotrophic ecosystem throughout the year. Oxygen productivity was significantly higher in the benthic compartment than in the water column and followed clear seasonal patterns, with enhanced productivity during spring. NOVELTY: This work shows the key role of a healthy Posidonia oceanica ecosystem as a water column oxygenator by comparing primary production using three different sampling strategies. The potential of the seagrass as climate change mitigator and its importance for the Mediterranean coasts should be considered in future coastal planning strategies.