Ecosystems services (ES) assessment is a significant scientific topic recognized for its potential to address sustainability issues. However, there is an absence of science-policy frameworks in land ...use planning that lead to the ES science being used in policy. China's Ecological Redline Policy (ERP) is one of the first national policies utilizing multiple ES, but there is no standardized approach for working across the science-policy interface. We propose a transdisciplinary framework to determine ecological redline areas (ERAs) in Shanghai using: ES, biodiversity and ecologically fragile hotspots, landscape structure, and stakeholder opinions. We determine the five criteria to identify ERAs for Shanghai using multi-temporal, high resolution images (0.5 m) and biophysical models. We examine ERP effectiveness by comparing land use scenarios for 2040. Compared to alternative land uses, ES increase significantly under the ERP. The inclusion of ES in spatial planning led stakeholders to increase terrestrial habitat protection by 174% in Shanghai. Our analysis suggests that strategic planning for ES could reduce tradeoffs between environmental quality and development.
Interleukin-22 (IL-22) is highly induced in response to infections with a variety of pathogens, and its main functions are considered to be tissue repair and host defense at mucosal surfaces. Here we ...showed that IL-22 has a unique role during infection in that its expression suppressed the intestinal microbiota and enhanced the colonization of a pathogen. IL-22 induced the expression of antimicrobial proteins, including lipocalin-2 and calprotectin, which sequester essential metal ions from microbes. Because Salmonella enterica ser. Typhimurium can overcome metal ion starvation mediated by lipocalin-2 and calprotectin via alternative pathways, IL-22 boosted its colonization of the inflamed intestine by suppressing commensal Enterobacteriaceae, which are susceptible to the antimicrobial proteins. Thus, IL-22 tipped the balance between pathogenic and commensal bacteria in favor of a pathogen. Taken together, IL-22 induction can be exploited by pathogens to suppress the growth of their closest competitors, thereby enhancing pathogen colonization of mucosal surfaces.
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•IL-22 does not prevent Salmonella dissemination•IL-22 enhances the growth of Salmonella in the inflamed gut•IL-22 controls the growth of commensal E. coli, Salmonella’s closest competitor•IL-22-induced antimicrobial proteins enhance Salmonella competition with E. coli
China is one of the first countries to explicitly attempt to institute coordinated, ecosystem-based management across local, regional, and national scales. Chinese scientists have been urging ...policymakers to manage landscapes using the ecosystem services (ESs) approach. However, substantive progress remains elusive due to lack of coordination, weak monitoring, and poor enforcement. China’s new ecological redline policy (ERP) requires policymakers and scientists to address urgent challenges in China that have global implications. This work can advance international understanding of the institutional reforms and scientific capacities needed to move from theory to practice on sustainable development.
We begin this paper by providing an overview of the concepts, major reforms, timeline, and guidelines on drawing ecological conservation redlines (ECRs) and ERP processes in China. We then summarize and comment on the scientific challenges in ESs assessments for spatial land planning and discuss the need for a framework grounded in a policy context that relates ecosystem area to ESs, stressors, and biodiversity indicators. Based on this, we draw insights into creating such a framework to offer strategic support for scientists and policymakers in improving the measurement and valuation of ESs for effective implementation of ERP for sustainable development. We also identify a need for more studies on ecological production functions to provide relevant information for managers and economists in evaluating ERP efforts and tracking ESs trends.
Governments worldwide are recognising ecosystem services as an approach to address sustainability challenges. Decision‐makers need credible and legitimate measurements of ecosystem services to ...evaluate decisions for trade‐offs to make wise choices. Managers lack these measurements because of a data gap linking ecosystem characteristics to final ecosystem services. The dominant method to address the data gap is benefit transfer using ecological data from one location to estimate ecosystem services at other locations with similar land cover. However, benefit transfer is only valid once the data gap is adequately resolved. Disciplinary frames separating ecology from economics and policy have resulted in confusion on concepts and methods preventing progress on the data gap. In this study, we present a 10‐step approach to unify concepts, methods and data from the disparate disciplines to offer guidance on overcoming the data gap. We suggest: (1) estimate ecosystem characteristics using biophysical models, (2) identify final ecosystem services using endpoints and (3) connect them using ecological production functions to quantify biophysical trade‐offs. The guidance is strategic for public policy because analysts need to be: (1) realistic when setting priorities, (2) attentive to timelines to acquire relevant data, given resources and (3) responsive to the needs of decision‐makers.
Objectives
Prevention complements the curative management of oral diseases. Effective preventive interventions involve the adoption of oral health promoting behaviours. Little is known about the ...awareness of oral disease and its prevention among Singaporean adults as well as their prevailing oral health attitudes and behaviours. The aim of the study was to describe the oral health knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of adults in Singapore.
Methods
A random sample of adults (≥21 years old) in Singapore was selected to complete an interviewer‐administered questionnaire. The questionnaire gathered information about their knowledge of the aetiology, signs and symptoms as well as prevention of dental caries and periodontal disease; attitudes about the value of teeth, locus of control in maintaining oral health and oral health behaviours including toothbrushing, flossing and dental attendance.
Results
A total of 1196 adults of weighted mean age 48 years old with almost equal proportions of males and females responded to the questionnaire. Participants were more unaware about the causes of periodontal disease (25.7%) than dental caries (4%). While more than 90% of participants felt that healthy teeth were important and could affect their overall health, many (67.0%) felt it was natural to lose their teeth with old age. Among the participants, 83.5% brushed their teeth twice a day; 41.9% flossed their teeth and 53.9% visited the dentist at least once a year.
Conclusions
The study findings showed good knowledge around dental caries but some gaps around periodontal disease. It also found that participants perceived having limited control over preventing tooth loss. Irregular dental attendance and poor denture wearing habits were also noted. The findings shed light on key areas to focus on through oral health promotion to improve overall oral health.
Objectives
The aim of this study was to present key findings from the 2019 national adult oral health survey in Singapore (NAOHS).
Methods
A multi‐stage stratified sampling method was used to recruit ...participants for a representative national adult oral health survey. A total of 12 212 households were randomly selected from the National Database on Dwellings in Singapore. Within each household eligible persons aged ≥65 years were automatically invited to participate while a Kish selection method was used to invite those between 21 and 64 years old. The survey comprised a face‐to‐face interview questionnaire and a clinical examination which recorded details of tooth loss, DMFT, DMFS and prevalence of periodontal disease according to the CPITN and the US CDC‐AAP classifications. Weighted analysis was performed to adjust for oversampling, non‐response and post‐stratification. Multivariate regression with backward stepwise selection was carried out to identify predictors of chronic periodontal disease and untreated dental caries.
Results
Six hundred and sixty‐three participants completed both the questionnaires and the clinical examination. The prevalence of edentulousness was 2.7%. Of participants, 34.8% presented with untreated dental caries with a higher proportion found in those who were aged ≥60 years, of Malay ethnicity, living in 1–2‐room public housing and who only visited the dentist when there was a problem. Mean DMFS and DMFT indices were 24.7 and 7.9 respectively. Based on the CDC‐AAP classification, the prevalence of moderate–severe chronic periodontitis was 56.9% and increased with age, with a higher proportion in males. Participants with untreated dental caries were more likely to have moderate or severe periodontal disease.
Conclusions
Survey findings showed high prevalence of dental caries and periodontal disease, at 34.8% and 77.6% respectively. A clear socio‐economic gradient in the distribution of tooth loss, untreated dental caries and moderate‐to‐severe periodontitis was observed.
Developing interdisciplinary methods to measure ecosystem services is a scientific priority, however, progress remains slow in part because we lack ecological production functions (EPFs) to ...quantitatively link ecohydrological processes to human benefits. In this study, we tested a new approach, combining a process‐based model with regression models, to create EPFs to evaluate water storage and local climate regulation from a green infrastructure project on the Yongding River in Beijing, China. Seven artificial lakes and wetlands were established to improve local water storage and human comfort; evapotranspiration (ET) regulates both services. Managers want to minimize the trade‐off between water losses and cooling to sustain water supplies while lowering the heat index (HI) to improve human comfort. We selected human benefit indicators using water storage targets and Beijing's HI, and the Variable Infiltration Capacity model to determine the change in ET from the new ecosystems. We created EPFs to quantify the ecosystem services as marginal values Δfinal ecosystem service/Δecohydrological process: (1) Δwater loss (lake evaporation/volume)/Δdepth and (2) Δsummer HI/ΔET. We estimate the new ecosystems increased local ET by 0.7 mm/d (20.3 W/m2) on the Yongding River. However, ET rates are causing water storage shortfalls while producing no improvements in human comfort. The shallow lakes/wetlands are vulnerable to drying when inflow rates fluctuate, low depths lead to higher evaporative losses, causing water storage shortfalls with minimal cooling effects. We recommend managers make the lakes deeper to increase water storage, and plant shade trees to improve human comfort in the parks.
Key Points
A challenge to measuring ecosystem services is creating ecological production functions linking ecohydrological processes to human benefits
Water storage and local climate regulation were evaluated from seven artificial lakes and wetlands in Beijing
Lakes and wetlands increased local evapotranspiration causing water storage reductions while providing minimal cooling for human comfort
Demands for ecosystem service assessments are growing around the world. However, management applications remain limited in part because we lack measurements linking ecosystem characteristics ...(ecosystem structure and processes) to final ecosystem services. Policymakers need marginal values, changes in final ecosystem services (direct link to human welfare) relative to additional units of ecosystem characteristics (∆final ecosystem services/∆ecosystem characteristics) to assess tradeoffs. Progress, however, has been slow due to confusion on ecological production functions (EPFs) in ecology. Here, we apply a new interdisciplinary approach to craft EPFs to evaluate four ecosystem services using the Yongding River Green Ecological Corridor as our case study. The Yongding Corridor is Beijing's largest, most expensive green infrastructure project (~ $2.5 billion USD), constructed as a network of seven artificial lakes and wetlands. The Beijing Government wants the Yongding Corridor to improve four ecosystem services: (1) water storage, (2) local climate regulation, (3) water purification, and (4) aesthetics. We first worked with stakeholders to determine final ecosystem service levels and then used the Variable Infiltration Capacity model to estimate key ecosystem processes from the designed lakes and wetlands. We coupled the modeling with ecological field data and social surveys to create EPFs. We evaluated the ecosystem services by calculating shortfalls and then determined synergies and tradeoffs to identify actions for reducing shortfalls. We found the Yongding Corridor is meeting desired levels for aesthetics, but incurred shortfalls on the remaining services. To obtain the desired services, we recommend managers: (1) maintain inflow rates and/or make the lakes deeper to reduce water loss rates; (2) improve water quality—wetlands have high nutrient retention, but nutrient loads must be reduced; and (3) plant shade trees since evaporative cooling from the lakes and wetlands is having no measurable impact on human comfort. Results indicate the absence of ecosystem functions in landscape design led to shortfalls, but solutions require coupling green and built infrastructure to obtain multi‐functionality. Managers found marginal values useful for clarifying connections, which led to adaptive policy changes for improving green infrastructure.
China’s wetlands provide valuable services to society, which are necessary for sustainable development. The Chinese government considers wetland protection a national priority, and is making progress ...on the ambitious goal of protecting more than 90 % of its natural wetlands by 2030. Despite the rapid growth in conservation actions, wetlands remain threatened because government, industry, and the public are using wetlands unsustainably, and there exists weak enforcement of wetland protection laws. Chinese policymakers in part are trying to use the ecosystem services approach to incentivize conservation to reduce wetland losses across spatial scales (local, regional, and national). However China currently lacks a systematic, scientific process for monitoring wetland ecosystem services, so scientists and managers can establish and refine ecological compensation schemes. In this paper we present a scientific framework on monitoring wetland ecosystem services aimed at improving national wetland policies in China. First we review the current status of China’s wetlands and its wetland policies. In particular we present the growing popularity of ecological compensation in China, which is driving the demand for ways to measure and value ecosystem services in China. Next we outline the major challenges threatening wetland protection and the science policy needs on wetland ecosystem services. Lastly we present a scientific framework on monitoring wetland ecosystem services aimed at helping meet China’s growing policy demands on ecosystem services.
•Streamflow significantly declined from 1980–1999 to 2000–2010 on the Yongding River.•Precipitation changes insignificantly impacted streamflow.•Upstream human activities are likely important drivers ...on streamflow decline.
In recent decades, the Yongding River in Beijing has ceased to flow due to the impact of climate and anthropogenic factors, which has led to severe environmental degradation. The Beijing government is constructing new freshwater ecosystems on the Yongding River to improve environmental conditions for ecosystem services. Clarification is needed on the influence of precipitation and anthropogenic factors on streamflow decline in Beijing. A hydrological time-series analysis was conducted on recorded streamflow at Guanting Reservoir, Yanchi, and Sanjiadian to estimate the influence of precipitation variability on the drying of the Yongding River in Beijing. From 1980 to 2010, the mean annual rates of streamflow decline were 0.44m3s−1yr−1 (Guanting), 0.42m3s−1yr−1 (Yanchi), and 0.03m3s−1yr−1 (Sanjiadian). The most probable abrupt change-point for annual streamflow was 1999 at Guanting Reservoir and Yanchi, and was 2000 at Sanjiadian. Between the pre-change (1980–1999) and post-change (2000–2010) periods, mean annual streamflow decreased by 68.56% (Guanting), 66.92% (Yanchi), and 96.78% (Sanjiadian). A multiple regression analysis using annual precipitation and streamflow at Guanting, Yanchi, and Sanjiadian showed an insignificant relationship between local precipitation and streamflow in both periods. Next we assessed the potential impact of upstream human activities on downstream flow using: (1) correlation statistics between upstream flow and downstream flow, (2) water abstracted above Sanjiadian, and (3) upstream socioeconomic data. The results suggest upstream human activities are important drivers on downstream flow decline, which could possibly explain the weak relationship between precipitation and streamflow. Further analysis is needed to clarify the influence of upstream water consumption on Guanting Reservoir to advise management on the new freshwater ecosystems along the Yongding River.
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