Optimizing soil conservation through comprehensive benefit assessment in river basins

作者：Siqi Sun, Yihe Lü, Xiaoming Feng, Fernando T. Maestre, Bojie Fu · 发表于：Environmental Science and Ecotechnology · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1016/j.ese.2024.100496 · 被引用次数：17 · 研究领域：Soil erosion and sediment transport、Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies、Hydrology and Sediment Transport Processes

Land degradation from water erosion poses a significant threat to water security and ecosystem stability, driving global efforts in soil conservation. Quantitative assessment of soil conservation benefits—both on-site and off-site—is crucial for guiding effective conservation strategies. However, existing methodologies often fall short in quantifying the value of these combined benefits. Here, we present a comprehensive framework for quantifying soil conservation service flows in monetary terms, evaluating the effectiveness of both on-site and off-site measures. Applying this framework to the Yellow River Basin (YRB), we employ cost-avoidance algorithms related to soil fertility maintenance, dredging cost reduction, and mitigation of nonpoint source pollution. Our results reveal that while many areas contribute to both on-site and off-site benefits, over half of the YRB relies predominantly on off-site services. By strategically enhancing key regions—which constitute 30% of the basin—we demonstrate that the overall soil conservation service supply can increase by 64.2% over the multi-year average from 2001 to 2020 compared to a consideration of on-site only. These findings underscore the essential role of off-site services in fully understanding soil conservation needs, particularly in large river basins, and the identified priority areas can offer valuable insights for optimizing soil conservation efforts. • Soil conservation service flows are primarily realized through off-...