Vegetation Restoration Patterns Influence the Supply and Interrelations of Grassland Ecosystem Services in Karst Desertification Control

Shuzhen Song, Xingyan Chen, Yuehua Song () and Yongkuan Chi ()
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Shuzhen Song: College of Tourism Management, Guizhou University of Commerce, Guiyang 550014, China
Xingyan Chen: School of Karst Science, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang 550025, China
Yuehua Song: School of Karst Science, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang 550025, China
Yongkuan Chi: School of Karst Science, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang 550025, China

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 12, 1-16

Abstract: An appropriate vegetation restoration pattern is crucial for maintaining and enhancing ecosystem functions and services in karst rocky desertification control areas. However, it is still unclear whether different vegetation restoration patterns will aggravate the trade-off of grassland ecosystem services in this area. This study focuses on grassland ecosystems in the karst desertification control area, comparing artificial restoration measures ( Dactylis glomerata single-species sowing grassland, DG; Lolium perenne single-species sowing grassland, LP; Lolium perenne + Trifolium repens mixed-species sowing grassland, LT) with natural restoration measures (NG). Seven ecosystem services (forage yield, soil retention, soil water conservation, carbon fixation and release, soil carbon storage, soil nutrient retention, and biodiversity conservation) as well as total ecosystem services were quantified using field monitoring data. The relationships between these services were evaluated through Spearman correlation analysis. The results showed that different vegetation restoration patterns significantly influenced the provisioning, regulating, and supporting services of the grassland ecosystem ( p < 0.001). Three types of relationships were observed (trade-off, synergy, and neutral), but the trade-off relationship was not significant ( p > 0.05). The total ecosystem service of LT (0.79) was significantly higher than that of NG (0.21), DG (0.36), and LP (0.41), with a significant synergy observed between soil nutrient conservation, forage yield, and carbon sequestration and oxygen release ( p < 0.05). Therefore, LT is considered the best vegetation restoration practice for the karst rocky desertification control area compared with other patterns. This study provides theoretical guidance for vegetation restoration in degraded karst ecosystems.

Keywords: grassland ecosystem service; trade-off; synergy; ecological restoration; karst desertification (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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