IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0058432.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Effect of Degradation Intensity on Grassland Ecosystem Services in the Alpine Region of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China

Author

Listed:
  • Lu Wen
  • Shikui Dong
  • Yuanyuan Li
  • Xiaoyan Li
  • Jianjun Shi
  • Yanlong Wang
  • Demei Liu
  • Yushou Ma

Abstract

The deterioration of alpine grassland has great impact on ecosystem services in the alpine region of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. However, the effect of grassland degradation on ecosystem services and the consequence of grassland deterioration on economic loss still remains a mystery. So, in this study, we assessed four types of ecosystem services following the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment classification, along a degradation gradient. Five sites of alpine grassland at different levels of degradation were investigated in Guoluo Prefecture of Qinghai Province, China. The species composition, aboveground biomass, soil total organic carbon (TOC), and soil total nitrogen (TN) were tested to evaluate major ecological services of the alpine grassland. We estimated the value of primary production, carbon storage, nitrogen recycling, and plant diversity. The results show the ecosystem services of alpine grassland varied along the degradation gradient. The ecosystem services of degraded grassland (moderate, heavy and severe) were all significantly lower than non-degraded grassland. Interestingly, the lightly degraded grassland provided more economic benefit from carbon maintenance and nutrient sequestration compared to non-degraded. Due to the destruction of the alpine grassland, the economic loss associated with decrease of biomass in 2008 was $198/ha. Until 2008, the economic loss caused by carbon emissions and nitrogen loss on severely degraded grassland was up to $8 033/ha and $13 315/ha, respectively. Urgent actions are required to maintain or promote the ecosystem services of alpine grassland in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

Suggested Citation

  • Lu Wen & Shikui Dong & Yuanyuan Li & Xiaoyan Li & Jianjun Shi & Yanlong Wang & Demei Liu & Yushou Ma, 2013. "Effect of Degradation Intensity on Grassland Ecosystem Services in the Alpine Region of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(3), pages 1-8, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0058432
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0058432
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0058432
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0058432&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0058432?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ingraham, Molly W. & Foster, Shonda Gilliland, 2008. "The value of ecosystem services provided by the U.S. National Wildlife Refuge System in the contiguous U.S," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(4), pages 608-618, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Das, Amartya & Samanta, G.P., 2021. "Influence of environmental noises on a prey–predator species with predator-dependent carrying capacity in alpine meadow ecosystem," Mathematics and Computers in Simulation (MATCOM), Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 1294-1316.
    2. Xie, Yuqi & Wang, Shu & Xiang, Shujiang & Wang, Zifang & Li, Yanyun & Wang, Zhongshu & Zhou, Mi & Wang, Ying & Gao, Ming, 2024. "Ecological zoning and dynamic assessment of effectiveness in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, China," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 487(C).
    3. Li, Dongqing & Hou, Lingling & Zuo, Alec, 2021. "Informal institutions and grassland protection: Empirical evidence from pastoral regions in China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    4. Yin, Yantin & Hou, Yulu & Langford, Colin & Bai, Haihua & Hou, Xianyang, 2019. "Herder stocking rate and household income under the Grassland Ecological Protection Award Policy in northern China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 120-129.
    5. Shaswati Chowdhury & Jaan-Henrik Kain & Marco Adelfio & Yevheniya Volchko & Jenny Norrman, 2020. "Greening the Browns: A Bio-Based Land Use Framework for Analysing the Potential of Urban Brownfields in an Urban Circular Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-30, August.
    6. Raju Rai & Yili Zhang & Basanta Paudel & Bipin Kumar Acharya & Laxmi Basnet, 2018. "Land Use and Land Cover Dynamics and Assessing the Ecosystem Service Values in the Trans-Boundary Gandaki River Basin, Central Himalayas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-22, August.
    7. Mudassar Iqbal & Jun Wen & Muhammad Masood & Muhammad Umer Masood & Muhammad Adnan, 2022. "Impacts of Climate and Land-Use Changes on Hydrological Processes of the Source Region of Yellow River, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-21, November.
    8. Gang Li & Zhi Zhang & Linlu Shi & Yan Zhou & Meng Yang & Jiaxi Cao & Shuhong Wu & Guangchun Lei, 2018. "Effects of Different Grazing Intensities on Soil C, N, and P in an Alpine Meadow on the Qinghai—Tibetan Plateau, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-16, November.
    9. Jiang, Wei, 2017. "Ecosystem services research in China: A critical review," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 26(PA), pages 10-16.
    10. Hameeda Sultan & Wajid Rashid & Jianbin Shi & Inam ur Rahim & Mohammad Nafees & Eve Bohnett & Sajid Rashid & Muhammad Tariq Khan & Izaz Ali Shah & Heesup Han & Antonio Ariza-Montes, 2022. "Horizon Scan of Transboundary Concerns Impacting Snow Leopard Landscapes in Asia," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-22, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Schägner, Jan Philipp & Brander, Luke & Maes, Joachim & Hartje, Volkmar, 2013. "Mapping ecosystem services' values: Current practice and future prospects," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 4(C), pages 33-46.
    2. Jan Philipp Schägner & Luke Brander & Joachim Maes & Volkmar Hartje, 2012. "Mapping Ecosystem Services’ Values: Current Practice and Future Prospects," Working Papers 2012.59, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    3. Villamagna, Amy M. & Angermeier, Paul L. & Niazi, Nicholas, 2014. "Evaluating opportunities to enhance ecosystem services in public use areas," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 7(C), pages 167-176.
    4. Foody, G.M., 2015. "Valuing map validation: The need for rigorous land cover map accuracy assessment in economic valuations of ecosystem services," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 23-28.
    5. Pei, Sha & Zhang, Chunxiao & Liu, Chunlan & Liu, Xiaona & Xie, Gaodi, 2019. "Forest ecological compensation standard based on spatial flowing of water services in the upper reaches of Miyun Reservoir, China," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    6. Jing Ning & Jianjun Jin & Foyuan Kuang & Xinyu Wan & Chenyang Zhang & Tong Guan, 2019. "The Valuation of Grassland Ecosystem Services in Inner Mongolia of China and Its Spatial Differences," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-14, December.
    7. Ralf Buckley, 2009. "Parks and Tourism," PLOS Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(6), pages 1-2, June.
    8. Kontogianni, Areti & Luck, Gary W. & Skourtos, Michalis, 2010. "Valuing ecosystem services on the basis of service-providing units: A potential approach to address the 'endpoint problem' and improve stated preference methods," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(7), pages 1479-1487, May.
    9. Yi, Hoonchong & Güneralp, Burak & Filippi, Anthony M. & Kreuter, Urs P. & Güneralp, İnci, 2017. "Impacts of Land Change on Ecosystem Services in the San Antonio River Basin, Texas, from 1984 to 2010," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 125-135.
    10. Liu, Xiangping & Taylor, Laura O. & Hamilton, Timothy L. & Grigelis, Peter E., 2013. "Amenity values of proximity to National Wildlife Refuges: An analysis of urban residential property values," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 37-43.
    11. Eugenio Figueroa & Roberto Pasten, 2014. "Economically valuing nature resources to promote conservation: An empirical application to Chile's national system of protected areas," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(4), pages 865-888, November.
    12. Campbell, Elliott T., 2018. "Revealed social preference for ecosystem services using the eco-price," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 30(PB), pages 267-275.
    13. Patton, Douglas & Bergstrom, John C. & Moore, Rebecca & Covich, Alan P., 2015. "Economic value of carbon storage in U.S. National Wildlife Refuge wetland ecosystems," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 16(C), pages 94-104.
    14. Sha Pei & Gaodi Xie & Chunlan Liu & Changshun Zhang & Shimei Li & Long Chen, 2015. "Dynamic Changes of Water Conservation Service of Typical Ecosystems in China within a Year Based on Data from CERN," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(12), pages 1-19, December.
    15. Han Li & Radmila Petric & Zinah Alazzawi & Jake Kauzlarich & Rania H. Mahmoud & Rasheed McFadden & Niklas Perslow & Andrea Rodriguez Flores & Hadi Soufi & Kristina Morales & Matina C. Kalcounis-Rueppe, 2021. "Four Years Continuous Monitoring Reveals Different Effects of Urban Constructed Wetlands on Bats," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-18, October.
    16. Armatas, Christopher A. & Venn, Tyron J. & Watson, Alan E., 2014. "Applying Q-methodology to select and define attributes for non-market valuation: A case study from Northwest Wyoming, United States," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 447-456.
    17. Campbell, Elliott & Marks, Rachel & Conn, Christine, 2020. "Spatial modeling of the biophysical and economic values of ecosystem services in Maryland, USA," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    18. Pindilli, Emily & Sleeter, Rachel & Hogan, Dianna, 2018. "Estimating the Societal Benefits of Carbon Dioxide Sequestration Through Peatland Restoration," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 145-155.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0058432. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.