Integrated Assessment of Ecosystem Services and One Health Dynamics in Gyeonggi-do: A Case study Focusing on Human, Food, and Environment Indicators

To address climate change and land use and land cover change (LULCc), many studies have introduced new concepts in each field. Notably, One Health and Ecosystem Service (ES) are prominent. Integrating these concepts is essential for a comprehensive evaluation of regional ecosystem health. This study defines the changes in ESs that encompass core One Health pillars (Human-Animal (food)-Environment) as Integrated One Health-Ecosystem Dynamics (IOHED).

To demonstrate this assessment’s applicability, we evaluate the 5-year dynamics (2019–2024) of ecosystem health in Gyeonggi-do, the region the most significant LULCc in South Korea. By analyzing the interrelationships among key ES indicators through the lenses of trade-off, synergy, and degradation. Goals include, 1) quantifying four key ES indicators covering One Health for 2019 and 2024, 2) identifying relationships between services, 3) analyzing the spatial aspects of service degradation, and 4) evaluating the potential of IOHED-based ecosystem health assessments.

To achieve this, the core One Health pillars were matched with the four ES categories: human wellbeing (cultural); crop production (provisioning); biodiversity (supporting); and water supply (regulating). Each ES indicator is evaluated using GeoEPIC, InVEST Annual Water Yield, Habitat Quality (HQ), and Urban Nature Access models. The results of 2019 and 2024 are compared to quantify changes, applying a three-step threshold analysis to distinguish significant signals from noise: 1) a ±5% change rate filter, 2) a 95%, and 3) a 90% confidence interval filter.

We hypothesize that changes in Gyeonggi-do environment between 2019 and 2024 will have changed the balance of IOHED. Given the region’s dynamic land-use shifts, quantifying the four ESs (human well-being, crop production, biodiversity, and water supply) that encompass the core three pillars of One Health through this analysis will reveal that land-use changes to increase crop production in certain areas will lead to degradation of biodiversity and water supply services (degradation) and deepen trade-off between services. In particular, spatial degradation hotspots, which appear mainly in areas where LULCc is severe, will clearly identify the point where existing synergy relationships collapse. The IOHED-based comprehensive health index derived from this case study is expected to provide a key scientific basis for prioritizing sustainable land management and conservation from the perspective of One Health.

This study bridges ES and One Health concepts by demonstrating their practical application in a rapidly changing landscape. The indicators identified and the case-based findings could serve as a methodological cornerstone for future ecosystem health assessments. Furthermore, the study contributes by proposing a statistical approach to integrate and interpret outputs from four disparate models with varying units. However, several limitations remain. First, this study is limited in that it serves as a case study rather than a practical evaluation of the entire country, merely demonstrating its potential. Second, the HQ and UNA models do not sufficiently reflect the unique characteristics of Korea. Therefore, future research should utilize models that incorporate Korea's distinct environmental traits to conduct a nationwide comparison.

This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education(RS-2021-NR060142)