Abstract
Urbanisation has been a main cause of land use land cover (LULC) change worldwide, often with irreparable consequences to the provision of ecosystem services. Despite an increase in quantitative assessments of ecosystem service values (ESV) related to LULC changes, data are scarce for ecotones, such as the agreste in northeast Brazil (a transitional area between the Atlantic Forest and the Caatinga biomes). The benefit transfer method was used to quantify changes in ESV between 1989, 2007 and 2014 due to urbanisation in the microwatershed Riacho das Piabas (3660 ha) in the agreste of Paraíba. Remote sensing techniques and a geographic information system were used to quantify LULC changes. Loss of arboreal vegetation (covering 46% of the study area in 1989 and 5% in 2014) was the key factor driving the 73.2% decline in the total ESV (from US$ 13.7 million to US$ 3.7 million in 2017 values). LULC changes resulted in losses of 89% in the estimated value of eight ecosystem services, including climate regulation, water flow regulation, moderation of disturbance, nutrient cycling and biological control, which are critical locally when considering the regional trend towards aridification and the existing pressures on water resources. Ecosystem functions loss and climate change impacts may lead to a shift in ecotone boundaries favouring the semiarid Caatinga vegetation. These results urge the implementation of ecosystem-based spatial planning, focusing on urban green infrastructure and restoration of natural habitats and their connectivity, to prevent further ecosystem service losses. Local estimates of ESV required to inform the suggested policy actions are identified.
Highlights
Ecosystem dynamics are influenced by land use land cover (LULC), especially in the ecological functions that reflect into ecosystem services (Kindu and others 2016; Tolessa and others 2017)
This study adds to the current knowledge of impacts from LULC changes on the provision of ecosystem services by providing the first assessment of temporal changes in total ecosystem service values (ESV) in an area of the Brazilian agreste, a tropical ecotone between the Atlantic Forest and the Caatinga biomes
Considering the lack of local data, the benefit transfer method proved useful to identify: (a) the ecosystem services that were most affected by urbanisation; and (b) the local valuations that could contribute the most to support policy development and management decisions
Summary
Ecosystem dynamics are influenced by land use land cover (LULC), especially in the ecological functions that reflect into ecosystem services (Kindu and others 2016; Tolessa and others 2017). It is estimated that between 2000 and 2030 urban areas will expand by around 200% and approximately 5 billion people will be living in cities at the end of the period (Fragkias and others 2013). In this context, Groffman and others (2017) highlighted two challenges for the science of urban ecosystems: (1) the ability to predict and explain structural and functional patterns of ecosystems under altered conditions (for example, urbanisation); and (2) assimilating the understanding of an integrated socio-ecological system, in which humans are an inseparable part of ecosystems
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