A Quantitative Study on the Identification of Ecosystem Services: Providing and Connecting Areas and Their Impact on Ecosystem Service Assessment

Abstract

The spatial location relations between service-providing areas and service-demand areas determine the effective provision level of ecosystem services. Some scholars use the term ecological service flow to conceptualize the transmission path, transmission characteristics, and service benefits of the provision-oriented service type between service-providing areas and service-demand areas. A few scholars have characterized the transmission range and spatial unit characteristics of single or several ecosystem service types, such as production services and regulation services between the providing area and demand area based on landscape, region and global scale. The current literature lacks quantitative studies on the spatial location relations between providing areas and demand areas of ecosystem services and the actual level of ecosystem service provision at the municipal scale based on the demand for ecosystem services faced by cities. This study takes Jinan, China, as the research area, quantifies the providing areas, connecting areas and demand areas of seven services—namely, the air purification service, climate regulation service, flood prevention service, water pollution prevention service, water supply service, soil erosion prevention service, and habitat supply service—and analyzes the spatial relation characteristics of each element. On this basis, the Hellwig model is used to quantitatively analyze the impact of service-providing area and service-connecting area on regional overall ecosystem service assessment. The results prove that service-providing areas and service-connecting areas are the key units that affect the level of regional ecosystem service provision. The evaluation of regional ecosystem service provision level is inseparable from the identification of service-providing areas and service-connecting areas and the study of their attributes, characteristics, and spatial relations. Service-providing areas and service-connecting areas should be differentiated when developing strategies to optimize and improve the level of regional ecosystem service provision. Different optimization measures should be formulated according to the differences in unit attributes and service barriers in different areas. The results provide guidance for the optimization of ecosystem services to ensure the efficient and sustainable provision of regional ecosystem services and improve the actual benefits of service-demand groups or service-demand areas.