Structural and functional assessment of ecosystem services in tribal agroecosystems of Odisha, India

Abstract

Understanding the structural configuration and functional interlinkages of ecosystem services is essential for designing land use policies that sustain tribal livelihoods while maintaining ecological integrity. This study examines the structural composition and functional ecosystem service delivery across four tribal villages Ghaniaposi and Jagannathpur in Mayurbhanj district, and Kusumara and Bhalubahal in Sundargarh district, Odisha, India using an integrated approach combining Sentinel-2 satellite-derived Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) mapping, participatory ecological assessments, transect walks, and community interaction matrices. LULC analysis revealed distinct landscape configurations: Ghaniaposi was forest-dominated (42% forest cover, 29% agricultural land), Jagannathpur was the most agriculturally intensified (45% agriculture, 23% forest), while Kusumara and Bhalubahal exhibited balanced mosaics. Sacred groves, present at 2-3% across all villages, functioned as ecological keystones providing disproportionate biodiversity and cultural services. The functional assessment, conducted through participatory focus group discussions and matrix-based ecosystem interaction analysis, documented five landscape units: forest patches, agricultural fields, water bodies, homestead plantations, and grazing/fallow lands, each contributing simultaneously to provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural services. The multifunctionality index derived from the interaction matrix was highest for forest patches and agricultural fields, reflecting the deeply bundled service delivery characteristic of tribal agroecosystems. A pronounced structural gradient from forest-dominant to agriculture-dominant landscapes across the four villages was associated with corresponding shifts in the balance between regulating and provisioning services. These findings demonstrate the inseparability of structure and function in tribal land use systems and provide a spatially grounded evidence base for agroecological planning and conservation policy in eastern Indian tribal districts.