Effects of ecological restoration projects on ecosystem services flows

Conserving and managing natural capital require an in-depth understanding of the complex flow dynamics of an ecosystem service (ES) under different policy contexts. However, little is known about how ecological restoration projects affect ES flows, impairing the identification of sustainable management and decision choices. Here, we addressed this knowledge gap and reported on the effects of Natural Forest Conservation Project (NFCP) and Grain to Green Project (GTGP), two of the largest restoration projects worldwide, by taking the Blank River Basin of Shaanxi province, China, as a case study. We found that the inter-regional ES flows under the joint implementation of these two projects increased by 10.1 % (water retention), 5.9 % (flood mitigation) and 7.7 % (soil retention), in relation to the sum of benefits produced by the two projects separately. Higher flow intensity was observed for the three services between June and September compared to those in other months. The effects of different projects showed a spatial heterogeneity across the basin, with major increases of intra-regional ES flows observed in the southern region. Quantitative analyses revealed higher intra-regional ES flows with more synergistic areas for all services when GTGP and NFCP were jointly implemented in relation to their separate enforcement. Our findings highlight the importance of considering the integrated effects of multiple projects in systematic conservation planning aiming to improve ecosystem benefits to people both locally and across distances.