Synergy between ecosystem services and ecosystem health in the forest area of Northeast China

After the launch of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, in recent years a major issue that concerns researchers internationally is the relationship of ecosystem and human well-being, including the correlation of ecosystem services and other indicators of human well-being. With regard to forest management, an effective method of identifying the links between forest ecosystem and human well-being is to examine synergies between ecosystem services and ecosystem health of the forest. Based on the assessment of five ecosystem services(material synthesis, soil retention, water conservation, air purification, and biodiversity maintenance of the forest) and three integrated indices of forest structure(vitality, organization, and resilience), this study evaluates the ecosystem services and ecosystem health of a state-owned forest of the forestry bureau in Wangqing County, Jilin Province. The result shows that with the change of specific vegetation community, spatial distribution of dominant ecosystem services and ecosystem health indicators also vary. However, hotspots of both strong ecosystem services and ecosystem health are found more in the south, east, and west than in the north and central parts of the region. Langxi Forest Farm in the north and Jincang Forest Farm in the central region have the weakest ecosystem functions and the lowest ecosystem health, whereas Jingouling Forest Farm—a demonstration site of cutting, planting, and managing, and Xinancha Forest Farm that lies mostly within a national-level nature reserve have the most optimal ecosystem functions and the highest ecosystem health. This research has shown that synergy is the primary relationship of different categories of samples. The improvement of most indicators of ecosystem services and ecosystem health will not result in the decline of other indicators. In view of the similarity of hydrothermal conditions in the study area, it is possible for the forest to become a multi-functional landscape without considering timber supply. The result of these calculations can provide more case support for follow-up studies. Future adaptive management of the social-ecological system in this forest area after natural forest cutting has ceased is to focus on finding solutions to manage the forest ecosystem and implement the measures based on the local context that differs across space, thus contribute to the well-being of the human system in the region.