Comparison of ecosystem services provided by grasslands with different utilization patterns in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region  

不同利用模式下内蒙古自治区草地生态系统服务供给的对比分析（英文）

作　　者：杜秉贞 甄霖 胡云峰 闫慧敏 DE GROOT Rudolf LEEMANS Rik 

机构地区：[1]Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS [2]Environmental Systems Analysis Group, Wageningen University and Research [3]Resource and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences

出　　处：《Journal of Geographical Sciences》2018年第10期1399-1414,共16页地理学报（英文版）

基　　金：National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.41671517;National Key Research and Development Program of China,No.2016YFC0503700

摘　　要：Although several previous studies in Inner Mongolia examined the effects of ecological conservation on the delivery of ecosystem services, they were often limited in scope（few ecosystem services were assessed） and often suffered from confounding by spatial variation. In this study, we examined the impact of conservation measures（changes in grassland utilization patterns） on the provision of selected ecosystem services in three types of grasslands（meadow steppe in Hulun Buir, typical steppe in Xilin Gol, and semi-desert steppe in Ordos） in Inner Mongolia. We examined five utilization patterns： no use（natural grasslands）, light use, moderate use, intensive use, and recovery sites（degraded sites protected from further use）. Through household surveys and vegetation and soil surveys, we measured the differences in ecosystem services among the different grassland utilization patterns. We also identified spatial factors that confounded the quantification of ecosystem services in different types of grasslands. We found that light use generally provided high levels of ecosystem services in meadow steppe and typical steppe, with the main differences in the supporting ecosystem services. Surprisingly, we found no consistently positive impacts of strict conservation activities across the sites, since the results varied spatially and with respect to differences in the land-use patterns. Our study suggests that appropriate grassland utilization patterns can enhance the supply of ecosystem services and reduce negative effects on both household livelihoods and the environment.Although several previous studies in Inner Mongolia examined the effects of ecological conservation on the delivery of ecosystem services, they were often limited in scope（few ecosystem services were assessed） and often suffered from confounding by spatial variation. In this study, we examined the impact of conservation measures（changes in grassland utilization patterns） on the provision of selected ecosystem services in three types of grasslands（meadow steppe in Hulun Buir, typical steppe in Xilin Gol, and semi-desert steppe in Ordos） in Inner Mongolia. We examined five utilization patterns： no use（natural grasslands）, light use, moderate use, intensive use, and recovery sites（degraded sites protected from further use）. Through household surveys and vegetation and soil surveys, we measured the differences in ecosystem services among the different grassland utilization patterns. We also identified spatial factors that confounded the quantification of ecosystem services in different types of grasslands. We found that light use generally provided high levels of ecosystem services in meadow steppe and typical steppe, with the main differences in the supporting ecosystem services. Surprisingly, we found no consistently positive impacts of strict conservation activities across the sites, since the results varied spatially and with respect to differences in the land-use patterns. Our study suggests that appropriate grassland utilization patterns can enhance the supply of ecosystem services and reduce negative effects on both household livelihoods and the environment.

关 键 词：ecosystem services grasslands utilization pattern natural resource management SOIL VEGETATION household livelihoods 

分 类 号：S812[农业科学—草业科学]