How socioeconomic factors affect ecosystem service value: Evidence from China

Abstract

The impact of social and economic development on local ecological patterns should not be ignored. Because human beings cannot change the natural environment quickly, it is only by paying attention to the research on social and economic factors that we can promote the implementation of policies. From the perspective of ecological economics, this paper selects panel data for 31 provinces in China during 2000–2020 to explore the differences in influencing factors in different socioeconomic development stages by using the spatial Durbin model and piecewise regression method. We found that the distribution of ecosystem service value per unit area in China is uneven, being high in the east and low in the west, high in the south, and low in the north. At different stages of social and economic development, per capita GDP, the proportion of the primary industry, the proportion of the tertiary industry, industrial pollution control investment, population density, construction land area, total investment in key forestry projects, education infrastructure and per capita road length have different impacts on ecosystem service value, and even different spatial spillover effects on local and adjacent areas. Therefore, when formulating policies to improve the value of ecosystem services, the impact of socioeconomic factors in different regions and at different times must be carefully considered.