The Gaoligong Mountains are a transboundary biodiversity hotspot straddling China and Myanmar, and play a vital role in maintaining regional ecological balance. Researchers from Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences revealed the complex spatiotemporal relationships among multiple ecosystem services (ESs) in the Gaoligong Mountains. The study was published in Journal of Environmental Management.

Researchers assessed the distribution patterns of four key ESs, i.e., water yield, net primary productivity (NPP), carbon storage, and habitat quality. They examined the variations in services across different altitudinal gradients and explored the natural and human factors influencing the relationships among services based on data from 2001 to 2020. Combining field surveys with remote sensing techniques, they obtained data on land use, vegetation cover, and environmental conditions.

Researchers found that the ESs in the Gaoligong Mountains were significantly spatially heterogeneous and temporally dynamic when considering both the impacts of climate change and human activities. On the southern slopes, water yield and NPP exhibited strong trade-offs due to climatic constraints and monoculture plantation expansion. Single-species plantations boosted NPP and reduced soil permeability, undermining water retention capacity.

Furthermore, researchers found that mid-elevation forests demonstrated strong synergies between carbon storage and habitat quality. Pristine mid-montane evergreen broadleaf forests supported carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation. However, high-intensity human activities (e.g., cropland fragmentation, and invasive species) shifted the relationship to a trade-off, highlighting the conflicts between short-term provisioning and long-term regulatory services.

The study underscores the urgency of prioritizing ecological restoration in trade-off-prone areas. “To achieve sustainable mountain management, it is necessary to prioritize constructing mid-altitude ecological corridors and promote adaptive agroforestry systems to balance the need for short-term provisioning and long-term regulating services,” said XU Guorui from XTBG.