Evaluation of ecosystem services from 2000 to 2020 and their trade-offs/synergies in a coalfield: a case study in the Pingshuo mining area of the Loess Plateau, China.

Abstract

Determining the spatiotemporal dynamics in land use and ecosystem service value (ESV) and understanding the trade-offs/synergy relationships between ecosystem services (ESs) are crucial for ecosystem management and achieving sustainable development in mining areas. However, existing research on ESV and ESs has not paid sufficient attention to the special coalfield in arid/semiarid areas. In this study, we investigated the Pingshuo mining area and used the standard equivalent factor to evaluate ESV variations resulting from the spatiotemporal changes of land use based on remote sensing and land use data (2000, 2010, and 2020). Simultaneously, the trade-offs/synergies between ESs were further explored using the ESs trade-offs/synergies degree (ESTD) model. We found that (1) the land use changed considerably in this area, which was mainly reflected in farmland decrease and built-up land increase by 3580.60 hm2 and by 5103.44 hm2, respectively, from 2000 to 2020. (2) ESV in our study area declined by 7116.53 × 104 RMB yuan over the investigated period. High ESV mainly appeared in the north/south of the study area, while the low ESV was concentrated in the middle and northeast/southeast of the mining area. (3) The interactions between paired ESs were mainly the synergies that generally appeared among eight ESs except soil conservation, while trade-offs mainly existed between soil conservation and other paired ESs in the study region. To achieve socio-economic and ecological benefits, the local government should take effective measures to improve the environment of the coalfield and reverse the falling tendency of ESV.