Abstract
Conflicts between ecological conservation and socio-economic development persisted over many decades in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei urban agglomeration (BTH). Ecosystem services were affected drastically by rapid urbanization and ecological restoration programs in the BTH since 2000. This study aims to identify the spatial patterns of the four types of ecosystem services (net primary productivity (NPP), crop production, water retention, and soil conservation) in 2000 and 2010, and to make clear the impacts of urbanization and associated factors on the spatial patterns of ecosystem services. Based on the quantification of ecosystem services, we assessed the spatial patterns and changes, and identified the relationships between the type diversity of ecosystem services and land-use change. We also analyzed the effect of the spatial differentiation of influencing factors on ecosystem services, using the geographical detector model. The results showed that the average value of crop production increased substantially between 2000 and 2010, whereas the net primary productivity decreased significantly, and the water retention and soil conservation decreased slightly. The ecosystem services exhibited a spatial similar to that of influencing factors, and the combination of any two factors strengthened the spatial effect more than a single factor. The geomorphic factors (elevation and slope) were found to control the distribution of NPP, water retention, and soil conservation. The population density was responsible for crop production. We also found that the urbanization rate plays a major indirect role in crop production and water retention when interacting with population density and slope, respectively. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) indirectly influences the spatial distribution of NPP when interacting with geomorphic factors. These findings highlight the need to promote new strategies of land-use management in the BTH. On the one hand, it is necessary to carefully select where new urban land should be located in order to relieve the pressure on ecosystem services in dense urban areas. On the other hand, the maintenance of ecological restoration programs is needed for improving vegetation coverage in the ecological functional zones in the medium and long term.
Highlights
Ecosystem services (ESs) are defined as the direct and indirect products and services that the ecosystem provides for human survival, health, and welfare [1,2]
Beijing and the neighboring areas are in the sandstorm source area in northern China, which resulted in a strong focus on regulating services by decision-makers, such as services around water retention and soil conservation that are related to the implementation of ecological restoration programs
Water retention showed a tendency of high value in the northwest and low value in the southeast
Summary
Ecosystem services (ESs) are defined as the direct and indirect products and services that the ecosystem provides for human survival, health, and welfare [1,2]. As an important link between human and natural systems, ESs became one of the core issues in the field of sustainable development [3,4]. In the context of global urbanization, ecosystems are substantially transformed, degraded, or destroyed due to population growth and economic development caused by urbanization [5]. Non-urban areas were gradually replaced by increasing urban areas, and this was accompanied by undesirable landscape fragmentation and declines in ESs [6,7]. In China, rapid urbanization, population growth, and economic development put enormous pressure on ESs in urban agglomerations from 2000 to 2010, based on the tremendous land-use and land-cover changes (LUCC) that occurred in this time period. Increasing urbanization most likely altered the pattern and the quality of the ESs during this period. Exploring the impact of urbanization and its associated influencing factors on ESs is regarded as an important tool to promote the effective management of ESs [8,9], especially in urban agglomerations
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