Progress and Prospects of Ecosystem Disservices: An Updated Literature Review

Abstract

Natural ecosystems may influence human well-being not only positively (i.e., ecosystem services), but also negatively (i.e., ecosystem disservices). As ecosystem services have become among the most important and active research domains of ecology, ecosystem disservices have been receiving more and more attention from ecologists. In this paper, the progress of ecosystem disservices research was reviewed based on the peer-reviewed literatures using the bibliometric method and knowledge graph visualization technology. Particularly, we focused on topic distribution and ecosystem types of ecosystem disservices, the balance and synergy between ecosystem services and disservices, the management and application of ecosystem disservices, and the indicator system in ecosystem disservices research. Furthermore, we discussed the limitations and shortcomings of the current ecosystem disservice research. We recommend that future research needs to be further deepened in establishing a comprehensive assessment of ecosystem services and disservices, promoting interdisciplinary participatory socio-ecological methods, and transforming research methods from static to dynamic.