Evaluation of wetland ecosystem services in green core of Changzhutan urban agglomeration, Hunan

Abstract

Wetland in Changzhutan green core area of Hunan Province provides a number of ecosystem services for local urban construction and economic development. The evaluation of wetland ecosystem services may provide the wetland value data for the construction of Changzhutan urban agglomeration, and provide the basis for the creation of ecological compensation for wetland ecological protection. In this study, 8 service functions: water conservation, pollution degradation, carbon fixation & oxygen release, soil fixation & fertilizer preservation, nutrient accumulation, microclimate improvement, habitat provision provision, and scientific research & culture recreation were selected to evaluate the ecological service functions of wetlands in the green core area. The results showed that: (1) The total value of wetland ecological services in the green core area was 748 million yuan/a, among which the water conservation function was the dominant service function, with the highest value (319 million yuan), followed by the carbon fixation & oxygen release function and the pollution degradation function (156 million yuan and 125 million yuan, respectively). (2) From the perspective of the three prefecture-level cities, the total annual ecological value of Changsha wetland (353,007,600 yuan/a) was the highest, followed by Xiangtan (268,140,900 yuan/a), and Zhuzhou (126,749,900 yuan/a) was the lowest. (3) From the perspective of each district and county, both the total value and individual value of wetland service functions are the highest in Yuetang District, followed by Yuhua District and Tianxin District, and the lowest in Xiangtan County. The research results may provide a reference for the construction of wetland ecosystem service evaluation index system, strengthen the protection and utilization of wetland resources, and provide data support for the improvement of ecological civilization in Changzhutan urban agglomeration.