Forest management interventions affect the trade-offs of multiple vegetation and soil ecosystem services in walnut forests in the Taihang Mountains, China

Artificial forests provide various ecosystem services (ESs) and contribute to mitigating global climate change. However, the differences and trade-offs among ESs under different interventions remain unclear. This study investigated the variations in ESs and their trade-offs in artificial walnut fore...

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Main Authors: Xin Li, Yanmei Chen, Qianyuan Liu, Yanan Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-01-01
Series:Global Ecology and Conservation
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989425000216
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author Xin Li
Yanmei Chen
Qianyuan Liu
Yanan Liu
author_facet Xin Li
Yanmei Chen
Qianyuan Liu
Yanan Liu
author_sort Xin Li
collection DOAJ
description Artificial forests provide various ecosystem services (ESs) and contribute to mitigating global climate change. However, the differences and trade-offs among ESs under different interventions remain unclear. This study investigated the variations in ESs and their trade-offs in artificial walnut forests in the Taihang Mountains under four human interventions: original shrub-grassland, long-term unmanaged walnut forests, walnut forests with clearing of shrubs and grasses, and walnut forests with clearing of shrubs and grasses and application of fertilizers. These interventions were established after a walnut plantation on shrub-grass-dominated slopes in 2003. Four ESs were evaluated using the entropy weight method: maintenance of plant diversity, carbon sequestration, soil and water conservation, and soil nutrient maintenance. Trade-offs among ESs were analyzed using the root mean square deviation (RMSD). Results showed that: (1) both the ESs composite value and the average trade-off value between ESs initially increased, then decreased, with increasing human intervention. The highest ESs composite value (ESs = 0.5655) and the lowest average trade-off value (RMSD = 0.149) were observed in walnut forests with clearing of shrubs and grasses. (2) Most paired ESs exhibited moderate or high trade-offs with each other, but differences existed between the walnut forests and the original shrub-grassland. The original shrub-grassland showed lower trade-offs between maintenance of plant diversity and carbon sequestration, and between maintenance of plant diversity and soil nutrient maintenance, while these trade-offs increased after the conversion to walnut forests. (3) Redundancy analysis and Pearson correlation analysis revealed that aboveground biomass explained 63.9 % of the variation in ESs indicators in the walnut forests, and soil phosphorus storage was significantly correlated with the trade-offs between most paired ESs, indicating significant influences of vegetation and soil factors on ESs indicators and trade-offs. Our findings suggest that shrub and grass removal is a key intervention affecting ecosystem trade-offs in artificial forests. Therefore, effective management of plantation vegetation is necessary to support the multifunctional balance of ESs and promote plantation ecosystem stability.
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spelling doaj-art-4c5baf8ff1dd4e12863030fa2e92b34c2025-01-23T05:27:06ZengElsevierGlobal Ecology and Conservation2351-98942025-01-0157e03420Forest management interventions affect the trade-offs of multiple vegetation and soil ecosystem services in walnut forests in the Taihang Mountains, ChinaXin Li0Yanmei Chen1Qianyuan Liu2Yanan Liu3School of Geographical Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050010, China; School of Forestry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, ChinaSchool of Geographical Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050010, China; Corresponding authors.School of Geographical Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050010, China; Corresponding authors.School of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, 100083, ChinaArtificial forests provide various ecosystem services (ESs) and contribute to mitigating global climate change. However, the differences and trade-offs among ESs under different interventions remain unclear. This study investigated the variations in ESs and their trade-offs in artificial walnut forests in the Taihang Mountains under four human interventions: original shrub-grassland, long-term unmanaged walnut forests, walnut forests with clearing of shrubs and grasses, and walnut forests with clearing of shrubs and grasses and application of fertilizers. These interventions were established after a walnut plantation on shrub-grass-dominated slopes in 2003. Four ESs were evaluated using the entropy weight method: maintenance of plant diversity, carbon sequestration, soil and water conservation, and soil nutrient maintenance. Trade-offs among ESs were analyzed using the root mean square deviation (RMSD). Results showed that: (1) both the ESs composite value and the average trade-off value between ESs initially increased, then decreased, with increasing human intervention. The highest ESs composite value (ESs = 0.5655) and the lowest average trade-off value (RMSD = 0.149) were observed in walnut forests with clearing of shrubs and grasses. (2) Most paired ESs exhibited moderate or high trade-offs with each other, but differences existed between the walnut forests and the original shrub-grassland. The original shrub-grassland showed lower trade-offs between maintenance of plant diversity and carbon sequestration, and between maintenance of plant diversity and soil nutrient maintenance, while these trade-offs increased after the conversion to walnut forests. (3) Redundancy analysis and Pearson correlation analysis revealed that aboveground biomass explained 63.9 % of the variation in ESs indicators in the walnut forests, and soil phosphorus storage was significantly correlated with the trade-offs between most paired ESs, indicating significant influences of vegetation and soil factors on ESs indicators and trade-offs. Our findings suggest that shrub and grass removal is a key intervention affecting ecosystem trade-offs in artificial forests. Therefore, effective management of plantation vegetation is necessary to support the multifunctional balance of ESs and promote plantation ecosystem stability.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989425000216Ecosystem servicesTrade-offsForest management interventionsWalnut forestsTaihang Mountain
spellingShingle Xin Li
Yanmei Chen
Qianyuan Liu
Yanan Liu
Forest management interventions affect the trade-offs of multiple vegetation and soil ecosystem services in walnut forests in the Taihang Mountains, China
Global Ecology and Conservation
Ecosystem services
Trade-offs
Forest management interventions
Walnut forests
Taihang Mountain
title Forest management interventions affect the trade-offs of multiple vegetation and soil ecosystem services in walnut forests in the Taihang Mountains, China
title_full Forest management interventions affect the trade-offs of multiple vegetation and soil ecosystem services in walnut forests in the Taihang Mountains, China
title_fullStr Forest management interventions affect the trade-offs of multiple vegetation and soil ecosystem services in walnut forests in the Taihang Mountains, China
title_full_unstemmed Forest management interventions affect the trade-offs of multiple vegetation and soil ecosystem services in walnut forests in the Taihang Mountains, China
title_short Forest management interventions affect the trade-offs of multiple vegetation and soil ecosystem services in walnut forests in the Taihang Mountains, China
title_sort forest management interventions affect the trade offs of multiple vegetation and soil ecosystem services in walnut forests in the taihang mountains china
topic Ecosystem services
Trade-offs
Forest management interventions
Walnut forests
Taihang Mountain
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989425000216
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