Spatially Explicit Analysis of Trade-Offs and Synergies among Multiple Ecosystem Services in Shaanxi Valley Basins

Yijie Sun,Zhiyuan Ren,Xianfeng Liu,Yifang Duan,Zixiang Zhou,Jing Li

doi:10.3390/f11020209

Yijie Sun, Zhiyuan Ren + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/f11020209

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Abstract

Understanding the spatiotemporal characteristics of trade-offs and synergies among multiple ecosystem services (ESs) is the basis of sustainable ecosystem management. The ecological environment of valley basins is very fragile, while bearing the enormous pressure of economic development and population growth, which has damaged the balance of the ecosystem structure and ecosystem services. In this study, we selected two typical valley basins—Guanzhong Basin and Hanzhong Basin—as study areas. The spatial heterogeneity of trade-offs and synergies among multiple ESs (net primary production (NPP), habitat quality (HQ), soil conservation (SC), water conservation (WC), and food supply (FS)) were quantified using the correlation analysis and spatial overlay based on the gird scale to quantitatively analyze and compare the interaction among ESs in two basins. Our results found that: (1) Trade-offs between FS and other four services NPP, HQ, SC, and WC were discovered in two basins, and there were synergistic relationships between NPP, HQ, SC, and WC. (2) From 2000 to 2018, the conflicted relationships between paired ESs gradually increased, and the synergistic relationship became weaker. Furthermore, the rate of change in Guanzhong Basin was stronger than that in Hanzhong Basin. (3) The spatial synergies and trade-offs between NPP and HQ, WC and NPP, FS and HQ, SC and FS were widespread in two basins. The strong trade-offs between pair ESs were widly distributed in the central and southwest of Guanzhong Basin and the southeast of Hanzhong Basin. (4) Multiple ecosystem service interactions were concentrated in the north of Qinling Mountain, the central of Guanzhong Basins, and the east of Hanzhong Basin. Our research highlights the importance of taking spatial perspective and accounting for multiple ecosystem service interactions, and provide a reliable basis for achieving ecological sustainable development of the valley basin.

Highlights

Ecosystem services (ESs) are the benefits that people derive from ecosystems [1,2,3] and include four categories
In Guanzhong Basin, the average of Net Primary Productivity (NPP) was 6.25 t·ha−1 ·a−1, the higher value of NPP was concentrated in the southwest, and the lowest was observed in the middle of the basin
The higher Habitat Quality (HQ) was distributed in the northern Qinling mountain, which aggregated in forestland in the Guanzhong Basin

Summary

Introduction

Ecosystem services (ESs) are the benefits that people derive from ecosystems [1,2,3] and include four categories (supporting, regulating, provisioning, and cultural services). Due to the diversity of ecosystem services, the heterogeneity of the spatial distribution and the selectivity of human use, the multiple relationships between ecosystem services show the dynamic variation under the influence of natural factors and human activities, which are characterized by different patterns such as trade-offs and synergies [5]. Trade-offs are the situations where one service increases at the cost of another services [6,7,8]. Such as, in an agricultural system, increasing fertilizer use to improve crop yields may have significant negative effects on water purification, and indirectly decrease fishery and recreational values [9]. The multiple relationships of the ecosystem service is a challenge for local ecological management [11]

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