Sustainable Ecosystem Services Framework for Tropical Catchment Management: A Review

The monsoon season is a natural phenomenon that occurs over the Asian continent, bringing extra precipitation which causes significant impact on most tropical watersheds. The tropical region’s countries are rich with natural rainforests and the economies of the countries situated within the regio...

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Main Authors: N., Zafirah, N. A., Nurin, M. S., Samsurijan, M. H., Zuknik, M., Rafatullah, M. I., Syakir
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:http://eprints.usm.my/37235/
http://eprints.usm.my/37235/1/%28Sustainable_Ecosystem_Services%29_-09-00546-v2.pdf
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author N., Zafirah
N. A., Nurin
M. S., Samsurijan
M. H., Zuknik
M., Rafatullah
M. I., Syakir
author_facet N., Zafirah
N. A., Nurin
M. S., Samsurijan
M. H., Zuknik
M., Rafatullah
M. I., Syakir
author_sort N., Zafirah
building USM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The monsoon season is a natural phenomenon that occurs over the Asian continent, bringing extra precipitation which causes significant impact on most tropical watersheds. The tropical region’s countries are rich with natural rainforests and the economies of the countries situated within the region are mainly driven by the agricultural industry. In order to fulfill the agricultural demand, land clearing has worsened the situation by degrading the land surface areas. Rampant land use activities have led to land degradation and soil erosion, resulting in implications on water quality and sedimentation of the river networks. This affects the ecosystem services, especially the hydrological cycles. Intensification of the sedimentation process has resulted in shallower river systems, thus increasing their vulnerability to natural hazards (i.e., climate change, floods). Tropical forests which are essential in servicing their benefits have been depleted due to the increase in human exploitation. This paper provides an overview of the impact of land erosion caused by land use activities within tropical rainforest catchments, which lead to massive sedimentation in tropical rivers, as well as the effects of monsoon on fragile watersheds which can result in catastrophic floods. Forest ecosystems are very important in giving services to regional biogeochemical processes. Balanced ecosystems therefore, play a significant role in servicing humanity and ultimately, may create a new way of environmental management in a cost-effective manner. Essentially, such an understanding will help stakeholders to come up with better strategies in restoring the ecosystem services of tropical watersheds.
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spelling usm-372352018-01-05T07:29:04Z http://eprints.usm.my/37235/ Sustainable Ecosystem Services Framework for Tropical Catchment Management: A Review N., Zafirah N. A., Nurin M. S., Samsurijan M. H., Zuknik M., Rafatullah M. I., Syakir H1-99 Social sciences (General) T1-995 Technology(General) The monsoon season is a natural phenomenon that occurs over the Asian continent, bringing extra precipitation which causes significant impact on most tropical watersheds. The tropical region’s countries are rich with natural rainforests and the economies of the countries situated within the region are mainly driven by the agricultural industry. In order to fulfill the agricultural demand, land clearing has worsened the situation by degrading the land surface areas. Rampant land use activities have led to land degradation and soil erosion, resulting in implications on water quality and sedimentation of the river networks. This affects the ecosystem services, especially the hydrological cycles. Intensification of the sedimentation process has resulted in shallower river systems, thus increasing their vulnerability to natural hazards (i.e., climate change, floods). Tropical forests which are essential in servicing their benefits have been depleted due to the increase in human exploitation. This paper provides an overview of the impact of land erosion caused by land use activities within tropical rainforest catchments, which lead to massive sedimentation in tropical rivers, as well as the effects of monsoon on fragile watersheds which can result in catastrophic floods. Forest ecosystems are very important in giving services to regional biogeochemical processes. Balanced ecosystems therefore, play a significant role in servicing humanity and ultimately, may create a new way of environmental management in a cost-effective manner. Essentially, such an understanding will help stakeholders to come up with better strategies in restoring the ecosystem services of tropical watersheds. MDPI 2017 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://eprints.usm.my/37235/1/%28Sustainable_Ecosystem_Services%29_-09-00546-v2.pdf N., Zafirah and N. A., Nurin and M. S., Samsurijan and M. H., Zuknik and M., Rafatullah and M. I., Syakir (2017) Sustainable Ecosystem Services Framework for Tropical Catchment Management: A Review. Sustainability, 9 (4). pp. 1-25. ISSN 2071-1050 http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/4/546
spellingShingle H1-99 Social sciences (General)
T1-995 Technology(General)
N., Zafirah
N. A., Nurin
M. S., Samsurijan
M. H., Zuknik
M., Rafatullah
M. I., Syakir
Sustainable Ecosystem Services Framework for Tropical Catchment Management: A Review
title Sustainable Ecosystem Services Framework for Tropical Catchment Management: A Review
title_full Sustainable Ecosystem Services Framework for Tropical Catchment Management: A Review
title_fullStr Sustainable Ecosystem Services Framework for Tropical Catchment Management: A Review
title_full_unstemmed Sustainable Ecosystem Services Framework for Tropical Catchment Management: A Review
title_short Sustainable Ecosystem Services Framework for Tropical Catchment Management: A Review
title_sort sustainable ecosystem services framework for tropical catchment management: a review
topic H1-99 Social sciences (General)
T1-995 Technology(General)
url http://eprints.usm.my/37235/
http://eprints.usm.my/37235/
http://eprints.usm.my/37235/1/%28Sustainable_Ecosystem_Services%29_-09-00546-v2.pdf