Institute of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 5, EE-51014 Tartu, Estonia.
Institute of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 5, EE-51014 Tartu, Estonia; Centre for Aquatic Environments, University of Brighton, Cockcroft Building, Moulsecoomb, Brighton BN2 4GJ, UK.
Sci Total Environ. 2019 Apr 15;661:212-225. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.01.174. Epub 2019 Jan 16.
Semi-natural grasslands harbour high biodiversity and play a key role in the supply of ecosystem services (ES). However, abandonment, changes in traditional management practices and agricultural intensification constitute a major threat to these grasslands worldwide and these practices have led to declines in species diversity. In this paper the multi-functionality of semi natural-grasslands is assessed from the ES perspective, within a range of common semi-natural grassland types throughout Estonia. The analysis follows a stepwise approach based on the ES cascade model. Firstly, analyses of the relationships between plant species distribution patterns and environmental factors are described. Secondly, the effect of grassland abandonment on plant species diversity, as well as on the presence of rare and protected plant species is tested. In order to overcome the lack of data on ES at the national scale, plant species diversity and soil organic carbon are tested as surrogate indicators for five ESS: pollination, herbs for traditional medicinal use, nutrient cycling, nutrient retention and biomass production. In the final step, the spatial distribution of ES is assessed, based on an ES hotspots map obtained by detecting areas where high levels of plant species diversity and soil organic carbon overlap. The results show that the majority of ES hotspots are present in wooded meadows and pastures. However, there is an important threat to these hotspots because 45% are not eligible for agri-environmental support.
半自然草地拥有丰富的生物多样性，在提供生态系统服务（ES）方面发挥着关键作用。然而，废弃、传统管理实践的改变和农业集约化是对这些草地的主要威胁，这些做法导致了物种多样性的下降。本文从生态系统服务的角度评估了半自然草地的多功能性，涵盖了爱沙尼亚一系列常见的半自然草地类型。该分析遵循基于生态系统级联模型的逐步方法。首先，描述了植物物种分布模式与环境因素之间关系的分析。其次，测试了草地废弃对植物物种多样性以及稀有和受保护植物物种存在的影响。为了克服国家尺度上缺乏生态系统服务数据的问题，测试了植物物种多样性和土壤有机碳作为五种 ESS 的替代指标：授粉、传统药用草本植物、养分循环、养分保持和生物量生产。在最后一步，根据检测到植物物种多样性和土壤有机碳水平高的区域重叠的 ES 热点地图，评估了 ES 的空间分布。结果表明，大多数 ES 热点存在于林地草地和牧场中。然而，这些热点面临着重要的威胁，因为 45%的热点不符合农业环境支持的条件。
