Abstract
Mankind’s quest for well-being results in continuous pressure to transform landscapes, with said transformation driven by land use changes, urbanization, production activity, and protective measures in addition to climate variability and other environmental drivers. The relationship between anthropogenic landscape changes and the provision of ecosystem services (ES) is a topic of increasing interest in Latin America. In Chile, land cover changes due to increased urbanization and forestry, and expansion of agricultural land, in addition to conservation initiatives as a part of land planning, have been intensive in the last few decades. In this study, the effects of anthropogenic landscape changes on the supply of ES were analyzed for the urban region of Santiago-Valparaiso (Chile) using a method based on expert consultation and land cover change assessment. A pool of experts scored the potential of specific land covers to provide certain ES. The results enabled calculation and mapping of changes in the potential of the landscape to supply ES. The aforementioned changes over a period of 15 years were evaluated. The results indicate a tenuous balance between positive and negative changes to the supply of ES derived from land cover changes. Understanding and reporting how these processes occur in urban regions contributes to the conservation of valuable landscapes through spatial planning tools, especially in areas close to housing developments and sensitive ecosystems.
Highlights
Ecosystem services (ES), defined as “the benefits that people obtain from ecosystems” ([1]: p.630, [2]: p.40), are fundamental for society [3, 4]
The biggest changes occurred in three structural land cover types
This research presented an adapted method based on the use of official land cover datasets and expert consultation to assess the potential supply of ES in an urban region
Summary
Ecosystem services (ES), defined as “the benefits that people obtain from ecosystems” ([1]: p.630, [2]: p.40), are fundamental for society [3, 4]. ES improve human well-being and environmental quality in several ways, for example, by capturing air pollutants and/or providing fresh water (regulating ES), as well as through economic benefits such as those obtained. Effects of land cover change on the ecosystem services in Santiago-Valparaıso, Chile
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
