Identifying synergies and hotspots of ecosystem services for the conservation priorities in the Asian Water Tower region
File(s)Accepted Manuscript.pdf (1.24 MB)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The importance of ecosystem services (ESs) has been widely recognized and studied since 2000. However, research on the interactions (synergies and trade-offs) among ESs and hotspots of ESs is limited. This study focused on the Asian Water Tower (AWT) region (17 countries) and assessed the importance of five critical ESs by four quantitative models, analyzed the interactions among ESs, and identified hotspots of ESs using hotspot analysis. The results showed that the areas with “high importance” of the composite ESs accounted for 6.3% of the AWT region, and they were distributed mainly in mountain and coastal areas. Additionally, high synergies among the five ESs were observed in areas with “high importance” of the composite ESs, whereas poor synergies among ESs were found in areas with “relatively high importance” of the composite ESs. Furthermore, a total of 132 hotspot basins (28.4% of the AWT region) of the composite ESs were identified, and 23.2% of the hotspot basins were areas with “highly and relatively highly synergistic” ESs. The results provide evidence-based support for setting ecosystem protection goals, achieving win-win ESs, and improving ecosystem management efficiency. Overall, this study can deepen the understanding of the interactions and hotspots of ESs in the AWT region.
Date Issued
2023-12
Date Acceptance
2023-09-24
Citation
Regional Environmental Change, 2023, 23 (4)
ISSN
1436-378X
Publisher
Springer
Journal / Book Title
Regional Environmental Change
Volume
23
Issue
4
Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2023 Springer-Verlag. This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-023-02129-9
Identifier
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10113-023-02129-9
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
132
Date Publish Online
2023-10-07