Abstract
Identifying the balance and dynamic changes in supply and demand of ecosystem services (ES) can help maintain the sustainability of the regional ecosystem and improve human well-being. To achieve a sustainable ecological management regime in Zhengzhou City, this study presented a comprehensive framework for identifying dynamic changes of ES supply and demand and managing ES. Using land use data of Zhengzhou City in 1995, 2005, and 2015 and incorporating expert knowledge and the ES evaluation matrix, we evaluated the spatiotemporal changes in the ES supply and demand in Zhengzhou. Gradient analysis was conducted to identify urban–rural patterns in the budgets of ES supply and demand. Spatial autocorrelation analysis was employed to identify the hotspot areas of ES surpluses or deficits. The research results show the following: (1) In the past 20 years, the supply-and-demand relationship of ES in Zhengzhou has gradually evolved in a direction where supply falls short of demand. The average budget index of Zhengzhou’s ES supply and demand decreased from 7.30 in 1995 to −4.89 in 2015. Changes in the supply and demand status of ES in Zhengzhou corresponded to the background of rapid urbanization. (2) Urban–rural gradient differences exist in the budgets of ES supply and demand in Zhengzhou. Core development areas, such as the Zhengzhou urban areas, are in deficit, whereas a balance or surplus can be observed in rural areas far from urban centers. (3) The surplus hotspots of ES budgets were mainly distributed in the western and southern mountainous areas of Zhengzhou, and they were scattered and the scope shrank, with a decrease of 2.73 times in 20 years, whereas the deficit hotspots expanded outward with each urban area as the center, with an increase of 5.77%. Ecological management zoning (ecological conservation area, ecological improvement area, and ecological reconstruction area) with the effective guidance of ecological and economic policies could comprehensively improve ES management and achieve urban sustainability. The framework in this study can easily and quickly assess the supply and demand status of ES and provide scientific support for the ecological management in rapidly urbanizing areas.
Highlights
Ecosystem services (ES) are directly or indirectly related to human well-being [1,2], and mainly reflected by the supply-and-demand relationship between ecosystems and human society [3].The supply of ES is spatially subject to changes in land use and land cover derived from biophysical conditions and human activities [4] and quantitatively subject to natural capital supply capacity and human welfare goals [5]
(2) Urban–rural gradient differences exist in the budgets of ES supply and demand in Zhengzhou
Core development areas, such as the Zhengzhou urban areas, are in deficit, whereas a balance or surplus can be observed in rural areas far from urban centers
Summary
The supply of ES is spatially subject to changes in land use and land cover derived from biophysical conditions and human activities [4] and quantitatively subject to natural capital supply capacity and human welfare goals [5]. The supply and demand of ES are spatially heterogeneous and regionally different [13,14], and they often appear mismatched in space, thereby leading to the contradiction between supply and demand of ES. The drastic changes in land use have led to changes in the structure and function of regional ecosystems, causing spatial imbalances in the supply-and-demand relationship of regional ES, which is the root cause of the ecological and environmental problems in many regions, especially in China [15,16]. Research on the relationship between supply and demand of regional ES has become a hotspot of ES research [17,18,19]
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