Assessment of Coastal Ecosystem Services for Conservation Strategies in South Korea.

Despite the fact that scientific and political consideration for ecosystem services has dramatically increased over the past decade, few studies have focused on marine and coastal ecosystem services for conservation strategies. We used an ecosystem services approach to assess spatial distributions o...

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Main Authors: Min Gon Chung, Hojeong Kang, Sung-Uk Choi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2015-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4519238?pdf=render
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spelling doaj-75b5b3e2adeb48c5b87392208d0be3ec2020-11-24T21:24:38ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032015-01-01107e013385610.1371/journal.pone.0133856Assessment of Coastal Ecosystem Services for Conservation Strategies in South Korea.Min Gon ChungHojeong KangSung-Uk ChoiDespite the fact that scientific and political consideration for ecosystem services has dramatically increased over the past decade, few studies have focused on marine and coastal ecosystem services for conservation strategies. We used an ecosystem services approach to assess spatial distributions of habitat risks and four ecosystem services (coastal protection, carbon storage, recreation, and aesthetic quality), and explored the tradeoffs among them in coastal areas of South Korea. Additionally, we analyzed how the social and ecological characteristics in coastal areas interact with conservation and development policies by using this approach. We found strong negative associations between the habitat risks and ecosystem services (aquaculture, carbon storage, recreation, and aesthetic quality) across the coastal counties. Our results showed that the intensity of the habitat risks and the provision of ecosystem services were significantly different between reclamation-dominated and conservation-dominated counties, except for coastal vulnerability. A generalized linear model suggested that reclamation projects were dependent on economic efficiency, whereas demographic pressures and habitat conditions influenced the designation of protected areas at a county level. The ecosystem services approach provided guidelines to achieve both sustainable development and environment conservation. By using the approach, we can select the priority areas for developments while we can minimize the degradation of biodiversity and ecosystem services. As cultural ecosystem services are evenly distributed throughout coastal areas of South Korea, decision makers may employ them to improve the conditions of coastal wetlands outside of protected areas.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4519238?pdf=render
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Min Gon Chung
Hojeong Kang
Sung-Uk Choi
spellingShingle Min Gon Chung
Hojeong Kang
Sung-Uk Choi
Assessment of Coastal Ecosystem Services for Conservation Strategies in South Korea.
PLoS ONE
author_facet Min Gon Chung
Hojeong Kang
Sung-Uk Choi
author_sort Min Gon Chung
title Assessment of Coastal Ecosystem Services for Conservation Strategies in South Korea.
title_short Assessment of Coastal Ecosystem Services for Conservation Strategies in South Korea.
title_full Assessment of Coastal Ecosystem Services for Conservation Strategies in South Korea.
title_fullStr Assessment of Coastal Ecosystem Services for Conservation Strategies in South Korea.
title_full_unstemmed Assessment of Coastal Ecosystem Services for Conservation Strategies in South Korea.
title_sort assessment of coastal ecosystem services for conservation strategies in south korea.
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
series PLoS ONE
issn 1932-6203
publishDate 2015-01-01
description Despite the fact that scientific and political consideration for ecosystem services has dramatically increased over the past decade, few studies have focused on marine and coastal ecosystem services for conservation strategies. We used an ecosystem services approach to assess spatial distributions of habitat risks and four ecosystem services (coastal protection, carbon storage, recreation, and aesthetic quality), and explored the tradeoffs among them in coastal areas of South Korea. Additionally, we analyzed how the social and ecological characteristics in coastal areas interact with conservation and development policies by using this approach. We found strong negative associations between the habitat risks and ecosystem services (aquaculture, carbon storage, recreation, and aesthetic quality) across the coastal counties. Our results showed that the intensity of the habitat risks and the provision of ecosystem services were significantly different between reclamation-dominated and conservation-dominated counties, except for coastal vulnerability. A generalized linear model suggested that reclamation projects were dependent on economic efficiency, whereas demographic pressures and habitat conditions influenced the designation of protected areas at a county level. The ecosystem services approach provided guidelines to achieve both sustainable development and environment conservation. By using the approach, we can select the priority areas for developments while we can minimize the degradation of biodiversity and ecosystem services. As cultural ecosystem services are evenly distributed throughout coastal areas of South Korea, decision makers may employ them to improve the conditions of coastal wetlands outside of protected areas.
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4519238?pdf=render
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AT hojeongkang assessmentofcoastalecosystemservicesforconservationstrategiesinsouthkorea
AT sungukchoi assessmentofcoastalecosystemservicesforconservationstrategiesinsouthkorea
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