Useful indicators and models for assessing erosion control ecosystem service in a semi-arid forest landscape.

Forests provide a large array of ecosystem services (ESs) such as wood supply, extreme natural event prevention, and ecotourism opportunities. The quantitative characterization of ESs is a crucial but costly task for environmental managers. The aim of this study was to develop easily applicable models and indicators for assessing erosion control ES in a semi-arid landscape. In order to accomplish this, 107 randomly selected plots were visited for field measurements and topsoil sampling. Several parametric tests were then used to analyze the field data. The findings revealed that (i) normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), (ii) cover management (C) factor of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), (iii) soil organic matter content, (iv) canopy cover ratio, and (v) land use/land cover (LULC) types could be used as useful performance indicators of erosion control ES. Two regression models were developed based on these indicators and compared to RUSLE results for the study area. Using the first model, we were able to estimate the soil protection performance of different LULC types by NDVI at the pixel level (R2adj = 0.90, p < 0.05). The second model estimated annual potential soil loss using NDVI and ground slope values (R2adj = 0.57, p < 0.05). Based on the ES indicators framework, a practical approach was proposed in this study for rapid assessment of the soil erosion problem without running RUSLE. Thus, environmental managers are expected to make well-informed landscape planning decisions and improve their ES provision application capabilities at a reduced cost.

Ecosystem services studies in Turkey: A national-scale review.

The concept of "Ecosystem Services (ES)" has gained global importance since the 1990s. Today its link to sustainable development and human welfare is well documented. However, the level of know-how and the scale and effectiveness of practices differ significantly around the globe. The Ecosystem Services Partnership (ESP) National Network of Turkey aims to fill gaps in ES research and foster collaboration among experts in the public and academic sectors and non-governmental organizations. Therefore, a comprehensive review of ES studies was carried out with rigorous literature research. The review of 247 publications showed that ES research has advanced in the last two decades principally as a result of academia's impetus but increasing efforts in the science-policy interface have also supported its integration into diverse policy sectors. Among all ES, regulating ES were studied more intensely due to the growing effects of climate change on leading economic sectors such as agriculture, forestry, and water management. Monetary valuation and trade-off knowledge have remained low, based on the difficulties in data availability and assessment methods. Although protected areas are critical to biodiversity conservation, the ES concept has not been integrated into protected area management. Therefore, the ES knowledge in Turkey needs to be scaled up to cover the national level, with higher stakeholder engagement and more focused implementation driven by political will.

Spatial assessment of ecosystem services provisioning changes in a forest-dominated protected area in NE Turkey.

Forested landscapes offer high provisioning capacities for many ecosystem services (ES), yet their capabilities may change in time due to multifaceted ES drivers. Therefore, assessing the changes in individual ES is critical for ecosystem-based management. This study analyzes the spatio-temporal changes in ES provided by a forest-dominated protected area in NE, Turkey. To this end, 18 ES were quantified and mapped using the ES matrix approach for 1985 and 2021. Then, the status of the ES and potential drivers of landscape changes were revealed through the assessment of demographic and management structure changes. The results showed that the multiple ES provisioning capacity of the landscape increased by 7% over 35 years. The capacities for "crops" and "livestock" ES decreased for the same period. The most prominent ES were "wild foods," "erosion regulation," and "knowledge systems." Spatially, ES hotspots accumulated in the northern parts and the core zone of the protected area. The most significant changes occurred in the lowlands, mostly composed of degraded forests and coppices as of 1985 after their transformation into productive forests. The spatio-temporal changes in many ES can be attributed to the declaration of the landscape as a protected area in 1994. The removal of anthropogenic pressure and the impact of conservation management can be evaluated as the main drivers for the positive changes in the total ES capacity. Thus, sound policy structures and effective conservation strategies should be further encouraged for increasing protected areas' capacities to provide the large array of ES.