Impact of Land Use Intensity on Ecosystem Services: An Example from the Agro-Pastoral Ecotone of Central Inner Mongolia

Qian Li,Xuefeng Zhang,Qingfu Liu,Yong Ding,Yang Liu,Qing Zhang

doi:10.3390/su9061030

Abstract

Land use intensity is an important indicator of human activities, so we quantified the land use intensity and five ecosystem services (soil conservation, water conservation, carbon storage, net primary productivity (NPP), and crop production) in 13 subbasins of the Tabu River Basin in an agro-pastoral ecotone in central Inner Mongolia. Furthermore, we analyzed the relationships among ecosystem services and the responses of the services to the impact of land use intensity. The primary conclusions were as follows: (1) All five ecosystem services gradually diminished from the upper to the lower reaches of the Tabu River Basin; (2) Water conservation exhibited a trade-off relationship with soil conservation, NPP, and crop production, but it exhibited a synergistic relationship with carbon storage. There were also synergistic relationships between soil conservation, carbon storage, NPP, and crop production; (3) As land use intensity increased, soil conservation, NPP and crop production monotonically increased. In contrast, water conservation exhibited a monotonically decreasing trend, and carbon storage followed a unimodal curve; (4) In this region, suitable ecosystem services were sustained at a land use intensity of approximately 3.95.

Highlights

Ecosystem services refer to the natural environmental conditions and utilities formed and maintained by ecosystems and ecological processes for human survival [1]
Existing research on ecosystem services in the agro-pastoral ecotone of Inner Mongolia has primarily focused on quantifying the ecosystem services and analyzing their patterns; there is limited research available concerning the impact of land use intensity on ecosystem services [28,29,30]
The results from our study differ from the findings of previous studies in that we found a synergistic relationship between the provisioning service and three regulating services (NPP, soil conservation, and carbon storage), as well as a trade-off relationship between water conservation and two regulating services (Table 2)

Summary

Introduction

Ecosystem services refer to the natural environmental conditions and utilities formed and maintained by ecosystems and ecological processes for human survival [1]. The agro-pastoral ecotone of China is a transitional zone between arid and semi-arid agricultural areas and pasture that originates along the southeastern margin of the Inner Mongolia Plateau. This ecotone extends through the western Liaoning, northern Hebei, northern Shanxi, and Shaanxi provinces and central Ningxia. Existing research on ecosystem services in the agro-pastoral ecotone of Inner Mongolia has primarily focused on quantifying the ecosystem services and analyzing their patterns; there is limited research available concerning the impact of land use intensity on ecosystem services [28,29,30]. FFigiguurere1.1.MMaappoof fththeestsutuddyyaarereaa(a(a) )TThheeppoosistiitoionnoof fInInnneerrMMoonnggoolilaiaininCChhininaa; ;(b(b) )ththeeppoosistiitoionnoof fstsutuddyy araeraeaininInInnererMMonongogloilai;a(;c()ct)hteheddisitsrtirbiubtuitoinonofo1f 313susbubabsaisnisnsininstsutduydyaraerae.a

Methods

Spatial Pattern of Ecosystem Services

The Impact of Human Activities on Ecosystem Services Is Not Simply Linear

Recommendations for Regional Land Use