Integrating ecosystem services and human well-being into management practices: Insights from a mountain-basin area, China

- We integrated ecosystem services and human well-being in a mountain-basin area.
- The mountainous area showed high regulating services (carbon sequestration and soil retention), habitat quality and forest recreation, but a low level of well-being.
- High provisioning services generally coincided with high well-being.
- We developed a framework for integrating ecosystem services and human well-being into management practices.

The integration of ecosystem services and human well-being into local management and planning remains a challenge in mountain-basin areas. We described the spatial distribution of 8 ecosystem services and analyzed tradeoffs and synergies among them in 2005-2015 based on spatial data and statistical data. Using data from a questionnaire survey, we identified the perception of ecosystem services and assessed subjective well-being. We integrated ecosystem services and subjective well-being using a cluster analysis across townships in the Huailai mountain-basin area, located in a farming-pastoral area of China. Within the mountain-basin area, regulating services (carbon sequestration and soil retention), habitat quality and forest recreation were most represented in mountain areas, which had low levels of well-being. High provisioning services generally coincided with high well-being. From the perspectives of stakeholders, two provisioning services (crop and fruit) were perceived as important to well-being but not vulnerable, and four services (soil fertility, nature appreciation, carbon sequestration and fresh water) were critical. Five indicators in well-being (housing conditions, the public health system, natural hazard control, educational freedom and job freedom) were identified as important but not satisfied. Based on our findings, we developed a framework for integrating ecosystem services and human well-being into management practices.