Wang et al. (2025) On how ecosystem pattern changes can affect water-related ecosystem services, a case study in the Huolin River Basin, China

Identification

• Journal: Ecological Indicators
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-12-11
• Authors: Biao Wang, Yanfeng Wu, Zehua Li, Yexiang Yu, Guangxin Zhang, Guoli Qiao, Changlei Dai, Jingxuan Sun, Qingsong Zhang, Boting Hu
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.114528

Research Groups

• Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China
• University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
• Baicheng Forestry Research Institute, Baicheng, Jilin, China
• School of Hydraulic and Electric Power, Heilongjiang University, Harbin, China

Short Summary

This study quantified the hydrological impacts of ecosystem pattern changes (degradation and conservation of forests, grasslands, and wetlands) on four water-related ecosystem services (water conservation, water yield, flood regulation, and drought mitigation) in the Huolin River Basin, China, using the SWAT model. It found that ecosystem degradation generally reduced water conservation and increased water yield and the frequency of floods and droughts, while conservation measures produced opposite, beneficial effects.

Objective

• To quantify the comprehensive impacts of ecosystem pattern changes on multiple water-related ecosystem services (WESs), including water conservation, water yield, flood regulation, and drought mitigation, in the Huolin River Basin.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Huolin River Basin, China, covering a total area of 30,345.71 km². The basin was divided into 56 sub-basins and 324 hydrological response units (HRUs).
• Temporal Scale: Water-related ecosystem services were evaluated using monthly-scale data from 1980 to 2019. Model calibration and validation periods varied by station, spanning from 1968 to 2010.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model for hydrological simulations; Sequential Uncertainty Fitting version 2 (SUFI-2) for parameter sensitivity analysis, calibration, and validation; Standardized Runoff Index (SRI) for identifying and quantifying flood and drought events.
• Data sources:
  • Digital Elevation Model (DEM) (30 m resolution): Geospatial Data Cloud Platform.
  • Land use data (1980, 30 m resolution): Resource and Environment Science and Data Platform, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
  • Soil type/attribute data: Harmonized World Soil Database (HWSD V1.2) and Nanjing Institute of Soil Science.
  • Meteorological data (daily, 1978–2019): Observational data from 9 meteorological stations.
  • Hydrological data (daily runoff, 1966–1987 and 1977–2010): Observational data from 4 hydrological stations (Tuliemaodu, Baiyunhushuo, Shuanggang, and Longzhao).

Main Results

• Baseline Conditions (1980–2019): The basin had an average annual water conservation capacity of 8.98 × 10^8 m³ (29.61 mm/unit area) and a water yield of 21.79 × 10^8 m³ (71.81 mm/unit area). The average number of months with floods and droughts across 56 sub-basins was 114.34 and 152.83, respectively.
• Ecosystem Degradation Impacts:
  • Water Conservation: Complete comprehensive degradation (100% conversion of forest, grassland, and wetland to barren land) resulted in the largest reduction, decreasing water conservation capacity by 30.82% (to 6.22 × 10^8 m³).
  • Water Yield: Complete comprehensive degradation led to the largest increase in water yield, rising by 70.55% (to 37.16 × 10^8 m³).
  • Flood/Drought Regulation: Complete comprehensive degradation increased flood frequency by 17.55% (to 134.41 months) and drought frequency by 11.51% (to 170.42 months). Grassland degradation (SB100%−) showed the most dramatic local impacts on water yield (195.88% increase in Sub-basin 8) and flood frequency (59.26% increase in Sub-basin 8).
• Ecosystem Conservation Impacts:
  • Water Conservation: Complete comprehensive conservation (100% conversion of barren land to forest, grassland, and wetland) led to the largest increase in water conservation capacity, rising by 8.73% (to 9.77 × 10^8 m³).
  • Water Yield: Maximum forest conservation (SA100%+) resulted in the largest reduction in water yield, decreasing by 22.80% (to 16.82 × 10^8 m³).
  • Flood/Drought Regulation: Complete comprehensive conservation reduced flood frequency by 1.96% (to 112.10 months) and drought frequency by 6.45% (to 142.97 months). Maximum forest conservation (SA100%+) showed the largest reduction in flood months (2.84%).
• Threshold Effects: Forest ecosystems exhibited a "critical protection threshold" around 50% coverage for optimal hydrological benefits, beyond which marginal gains diminished. Grassland and wetland ecosystems showed a critical threshold at 25% degradation, where hydrological functions began to decline sharply.

Contributions

• Developed a comprehensive assessment framework integrating four critical water-related ecosystem services (water conservation, water yield, flood regulation, and drought mitigation).
• Employed systematic individual and combined ecosystem change scenarios across multiple intensity gradients (±25 %, ±50 %, ±75 %, and ±100 %), enabling the quantification of threshold effects and providing nuanced insights into ecosystem management.
• Provided critical scientific evidence for ecosystem management and landscape optimization in the Huolin River Basin, with transferability to other ecologically vulnerable regions.
• Identified distinct eco-hydrological coupling thresholds for forests (approximately 50% coverage), grasslands (25% degradation), and wetlands (25% degradation), revealing cross-ecosystem response patterns.
• Offers scientific support for the implementation and optimization of China’s Ecological Red Line (ERL) policy and the construction of Northeast China’s ecological barrier.

Funding

• Agricultural Science and Technology Major Project
• Science and Technology Development Plan Project of Jilin Province (20240101058JC)
• National Natural Science Foundation of China (42571038 and U2243230)
• National Science Plan of Inner Mongolia (2023KJHZ0033)

Citation

@article{Wang2025how,
  author = {Wang, Biao and Wu, Yanfeng and Li, Zehua and Yu, Yexiang and Zhang, Guangxin and Qiao, Guoli and Dai, Changlei and Sun, Jingxuan and Zhang, Qingsong and Hu, Boting},
  title = {On how ecosystem pattern changes can affect water-related ecosystem services, a case study in the Huolin River Basin, China},
  journal = {Ecological Indicators},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.114528},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.114528}
}