Analysis of the tradeoffs between provisioning and regulating services from the perspective of varied share of net primary production in an alpine grassland ecosystem

Because ecosystems are complex, tradeoffs exist among supplies of multiple ecosystem services, especially between the provisioning and regulating services. In ecosystem processes, net primary production (NPP) is connected with many other processes such as respiration and evapotranspiration. As one key supporting service, NPP is also related to other provisioning and regulating services. This study introduces an analysis framework of ecosystem services tradeoffs from the perspective of varied share of NPP, in the alpine grassland ecosystem of Damxung County on the Tibetan plateau, China. Total NPP was divided into the share of NPP spent on supplying provisioning services and the share used in supporting regulating services. Tradeoffs between provisioning and regulating services were analyzed by quantifying the change of meat provisioning service and the remaining share of NPP used in other ways; the corresponding change in the share of NPP used to support regulating services was also analyzed and compared with other changes in regulating services, such as carbon sequestration and water conservation services. The results show, from 2000 to 2010, the meat provisioning service increased by 199%, but this was at a cost of additional livestock feeding, which used more NPP of the alpine grassland ecosystem. As a result, by 2010 the remaining NPP used for supporting regulating services shrank to 77% of the 2000 level, which was accompanied by a decrease in carbon sequestration and water conservation services by 90% and 67%, respectively. The analysis of tradeoffs from the perspective of variations in the share of NPP used for various services will contribute to the study of mechanisms involved in providing ecosystem services, interactions between the provisioning of various services, and will also help land managers improve the management of ecosystems. Published by Elsevier B.V