High-Resolution Mapping of Ecosystem Services in Canada to Support Integrated Watershed Management
Date & Time
Date: Nov 21, Friday
Time: 2:00-3:00PM
Venue: IB 3106& Zoom
Zoom ID: 715 337 7467 (Password: DNAS)
Speaker
Dr. Yehui Zhong
Postdoctoral Researcher, McGill University
Abstract
Canada’s ecosystems provide services essential to climate stability and clean water, yet fine-scale data to guide evidence-based management remain limited. In this talk, we present the first national, high-resolution spatial assessment of three key ecosystem services—carbon storage, sediment retention, and nutrient retention. Using process-based models and harmonized high-resolution datasets, our analysis reveals where Canada’s landscapes act as vital carbon sinks and water quality regulators, and where these services are under pressure from land conversion and intensive agriculture. By weighting service supply with downstream population exposure, we identify priority watersheds where targeted interventions can simultaneously enhance climate mitigation, improve water quality, and support community well-being. Beyond Canada, this work highlights gaps between the supply of and demand for ecosystem services and shows how ecosystem service information can be integrated into cross-sector land-use planning to align with multiple Sustainable Development Goals.
BIO
Dr. Yehui Zhong is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Natural Resource Sciences at McGill University, where he leads the development of ESOS-C, an open ecosystem service data and decision-support platform that links high-resolution maps with local stories to guide evidence-based landscape planning. His research also evaluates climate-driven agricultural development and its trade-offs with ecosystem services to build sustainable food systems in northern Canada. Before McGill, he was a Duke–DKU Global Fellow. Dr. Zhong holds a Ph.D. in physical geography from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, with joint doctoral work at Harvard University. He serves as Chair of the Human Ecology Section of the Ecological Society of America.
