National-scale mapping of ecosystem services in Canada to support watershed management
6 affiliations
- 1Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada; Corresponding author
- 2Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada
- 3Global Science, World Wildlife Fund, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA
- 4SPRING, Oakland, CA 94618, USA
- 5Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
- 6Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada; Bieler School of Environment, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2A7, Canada
Abstract
Canada’s ecosystems provide vital climate and water regulation services, but nationally consistent assessments integrating multiple ecosystem services (ESs) remain limited. Here, we report a national assessment of three key regulating ESs: carbon storage, sediment retention, and nutrient retention. Carbon density is highest in western mountain forests, boreal forests, and peatland-rich regions, whereas agricultural watersheds in the Prairies and southern Canada combine lower carbon storage with high nutrient inputs and export. Sediment retention is strongest where steep, erosion-prone landscapes retain forest cover, particularly in western Canada. Integrating services identifies candidate protection priorities in forested mountain watersheds that jointly support high carbon storage and sediment regulation, as well as candidate restoration priorities in intensively farmed watersheds where high nutrient export and reduced carbon storage coincide. Downstream population exposure refines these priorities toward areas where interventions may provide greater societal benefit. This assessment provides a consistent national baseline for cross-jurisdictional watershed management and environmental planning. Science for society: Decision-making increasingly demands integrated ecosystem service (ES) evidence to identify where conservation or restoration can best support human well-being. Yet national-scale synthesis remains limited because ES information is often fragmented across services, datasets, jurisdictions, and sectors. This study maps three regulating ESs across Canada—carbon storage, sediment retention, and nutrient retention—within a unified national framework. The analysis shows that different landscapes contribute to climate and water regulation in different ways. Forested mountain watersheds in western Canada combine high carbon density with strong sediment retention, making them candidate priorities for maintaining existing natural infrastructure. Agricultural watersheds, especially in the Prairies, face high nutrient inputs and export and reduced carbon storage, indicating where restoration or improved land management could reduce pressure on downstream waters. By adding downstream population exposure, the study distinguishes areas that are important because of their biophysical function from areas where ecosystem protection or degradation is more directly connected to people. The maps are not designed to replace local planning or calibrated regional models. Instead, they provide a nationally consistent baseline for comparing watersheds, identifying where more detailed assessment is needed, and aligning conservation, agriculture, water quality, and climate strategies around shared ecosystem benefits.
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BibTeX
@article{zhong2026nationalscale,
title = {{National-scale mapping of ecosystem services in Canada to support watershed management}},
author = {Yehui Zhong and Natalia Aristizábal and Rebecca Chaplin-Kramer and Richard P. Sharp and Yiyi Zhang and Elena M. Bennett},
journal = {Cell Reports Sustainability},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.crsus.2026.100795},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crsus.2026.100795},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - National-scale mapping of ecosystem services in Canada to support watershed management
AU - Yehui Zhong
AU - Natalia Aristizábal
AU - Rebecca Chaplin-Kramer
AU - Richard P. Sharp
AU - Yiyi Zhang
AU - Elena M. Bennett
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/25
JO - Cell Reports Sustainability
DO - 10.1016/j.crsus.2026.100795
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crsus.2026.100795
AB - Canada’s ecosystems provide vital climate and water regulation services, but nationally consistent assessments integrating multiple ecosystem services (ESs) remain limited. Here, we report a national assessment of three key regulating ESs: carbon storage, sediment retention, and nutrient retention. Carbon density is highest in western mountain forests, boreal forests, and peatland-rich regions, whereas agricultural watersheds in the Prairies and southern Canada combine lower carbon storage with high nutrient inputs and export. Sediment retention is strongest where steep, erosion-prone landscapes retain forest cover, particularly in western Canada. Integrating services identifies candidate protection priorities in forested mountain watersheds that jointly support high carbon storage and sediment regulation, as well as candidate restoration priorities in intensively farmed watersheds where high nutrient export and reduced carbon storage coincide. Downstream population exposure refines these priorities toward areas where interventions may provide greater societal benefit. This assessment provides a consistent national baseline for cross-jurisdictional watershed management and environmental planning. Science for society: Decision-making increasingly demands integrated ecosystem service (ES) evidence to identify where conservation or restoration can best support human well-being. Yet national-scale synthesis remains limited because ES information is often fragmented across services, datasets, jurisdictions, and sectors. This study maps three regulating ESs across Canada—carbon storage, sediment retention, and nutrient retention—within a unified national framework. The analysis shows that different landscapes contribute to climate and water regulation in different ways. Forested mountain watersheds in western Canada combine high carbon density with strong sediment retention, making them candidate priorities for maintaining existing natural infrastructure. Agricultural watersheds, especially in the Prairies, face high nutrient inputs and export and reduced carbon storage, indicating where restoration or improved land management could reduce pressure on downstream waters. By adding downstream population exposure, the study distinguishes areas that are important because of their biophysical function from areas where ecosystem protection or degradation is more directly connected to people. The maps are not designed to replace local planning or calibrated regional models. Instead, they provide a nationally consistent baseline for comparing watersheds, identifying where more detailed assessment is needed, and aligning conservation, agriculture, water quality, and climate strategies around shared ecosystem benefits.
SN - 2949-7906
ER -