Enhancing Ecosystem Services in the Agro-Pastoral Transitional Zone Based on Local Sustainable Management: Insights from Duolun County in Northern China

Abstract

Ecosystem and associated ecosystem services (ESs) in the agro-pastoral transitional zone of northern China (APTZNC) are sensitive to climate change and human activities. Essential to designing targeted policy interventions toward achieving sustainability in the APTZNC is a comprehensive understanding of the spatiotemporal changes in ESs and their drivers. This study identified the spatiotemporal changes in six ESs in Duolun County from 2000 to 2017. The impacts of drivers—temperature, precipitation, wind speed, vegetation cover (FVC), land use/cover (LULC), soil type, altitude, and slope—on the changes in the ESs in the county and its ecological production zones were then explored. The results indicated that the six ESs improved during the study period. The drivers influencing changes in ESs over time exhibited similarities across regions. Although FVC contributed to improvements in the food supply, grass production, carbon sequestration, and soil wind erosion (SLwind), it also reduced water yield, which may exacerbate the water shortage in arid and semi-arid areas. In regions where the ecology was in the recovery phase, especially in slope farmland, the inhibition of soil water erosion (SLwater) by FVC was easily offset by the higher SLwater potential from increased precipitation. The decrease in wind speed improved the regional ESs, whereas the increase in temperature posed a threat to SLwind. The drivers affecting the spatial patterns of ESs varied among zones. Across the three zones, the greater influential drivers of ESs were FVC and LULC. The impacts of topographic drivers and soil type on the distribution of ESs should also be noted in the agro-zone and agro-pastoral zone, respectively. Our study advocated that ES management should be adjusted to local conditions, and differentiated planning policies should be implemented in line with the ecological characteristics in the APTZNC, which will contribute to regional ecological sustainable development.