Threatened Status Assessment of Multiple Grassland Ecosystems and Conservation Strategies in the Xilin River Basin, NE China

Xia Meng, Huasheng Huang, Luo Guo, Dan Wang, Rui Han and Kexin Zhou
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Xia Meng: College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, China
Huasheng Huang: Department of Ecosystem & Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Luo Guo: College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, China
Dan Wang: College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, China
Rui Han: College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, China
Kexin Zhou: Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042, China

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 3, 1-17

Abstract: The Red List of Ecosystems, proposed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature can determine the status of ecosystems for biodiversity conservation. In this study, we applied the Red List of Ecosystems Categories and Criteria 2.0 with its four major criteria (A, B, C, and D) to assess twelve dominant ecosystems in the Xilin River Basin, a representative grassland-dominating area in China. We employed Geographical Information Systems and remote sensing to process the obtained satellite products from the years 2000 to 2015, and generated indicators for biological processes and degradation of environment with boreal ecosystem productivity simulator. The results show that all twelve ecosystems in the Xilin River Basin confront varying threats: Artemisia frigida grassland and Festuca ovina grassland face the highest risk of collapse, sharing an endangered status; Filifolium sibiricum meadow grassland and Leymus chinensis grassland have a least concern status, while the remaining eight ecosystems display a vulnerable status. This study overcomes the limits of data deficiency by introducing the boreal ecosystem productivity simulator to simulate biological processes and the plant–environment interaction. It sheds light on further application of the Red List of Ecosystems, and bridges the research gap and promote local ecosystems conservation in China.

Keywords: ecosystem assessment; boreal ecosystem productivity simulator; geographical information systems; IUCN Red List of Ecosystems; biodiversity conservation; threats; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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