A conservation decision-making framework based on ecosystem service hotspot and interaction analyses on multiple scales

摘要

Ecosystem service (ES) hotspot mapping is a promising method to spatially identify priority areas for conservation planning. Our study aims to develop a decision-making framework for ES conservation across administrative levels based on ES hotspot and interaction analyses on multiple spatial scales. To demonstrate the framework, we used the Dianchi Lake watershed and the Kunming Prefecture in Southwestern China as examples. We quantified six ES: crop productivity, water yield, habitat quality, soil conservation, total phosphorus retention, and recreation potential. In addition, we produced hotspot maps of single and multiple ES on the pixel, sub-river basin, and river basin scales and calculated the correlation coefficients between the services on these three scales. The decision-making framework was developed based on answering four questions: Who should make conservation decisions? Where should conservation be implemented? What should be conserved? How can ES be conserved?