Spatiotemporal changes in human footprints and vegetation coverage and their impacts on the ecosystem services value in the Yangtze River Basin, China

Intermediate human activities maximize dryland ecosystem services in the long-term land-use change: Evidence from the Sangong River watershed, northwest China

The Three Gorges Dam project and other human activities, including regional urbanization and industrialization, have had a substantial influence on the biological environment of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA). They have changed the surface land use pattern, disrupted ecosystem structure and function, and influenced changes in the value of ecosystem services. The human activity intensity (HAI) assessment model, the ecosystem services value (ESV) assessment model, and the bivariate spatial autocorrelation model were used based on the spatiotemporal evolution data of towns along the Yangtze River in the TGRA in 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020. At the same time, the spatiotemporal impact of the HAI on land use patterns was evaluated and the magnitude of the spatiotemporal influences on the ESV was investigated. The findings demonstrate the following: (1) The TGRA’s higher reaches are occupied by forested land, while the middle and lower portions are characterized by agricultural land. Land change in the reservoir region has mostly featured transitions between wooded land, agricultural land, grassland, and building land during the last 25 years. Because of differences in natural geography and administrative divisions, the intensity of human activity in the TGRA changes throughout the Yangtze River, with higher intensity in Chongqing and lower intensity in Hubei. By comparing the ESV and the HAI and validating with Moran scatter plots, it was determined that there is a negative relationship between the value of ecosystem services and the intensity of human activities. (2) The ESV rose from CNY 1017.16 × 108 in 1995 to CNY 1052.73 × 108 in 2020, suggesting that the policies of converting farmland back into forests, eliminating outdated production capacity, and developing green industries, among other ecological conservation measures, are effective. (3) In the research area, the effect coefficient of HAI on ESV ranges from −0.02 to −0.032 to −0.031. This coefficient represents the correlation between the HAI and ESV and can preliminarily judge the change in the degree of correlation between the HAI and ESV. The increase in HAI leads to a decrease in the value of ecosystem services, and there is a clear negative spatial correlation between the two. The low human activity area and low ecosystem service value area in the Chongqing section have been transformed into a high ecosystem service value area through years of returning farmland to forest and ecological management measures for sustainable development.

Investigating the intricate relationship between human activities and ecosystem service value (ESV) amid rapid urbanization is essential for advancing urban ecological sustainability and development. While previous research has extensively documented the broad impacts of human activities on ESV, several critical gaps remain in our understanding. Specifically, the mechanisms through which human activities affect ecosystem services with varying functions remain unclear. Additionally, the identification of local anomalies in the spatiotemporal association between human activities and ESV is still lacking. These gaps hinder our ability to develop targeted strategies for maintaining ESV equilibrium in the face of ongoing urbanization. To address these gaps, this research employed Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) data from Hefei spanning 2000 to 2020. An equivalent factor corrected ESV assessment model, an ESV flow matrix, a human activity intensity (HAI) measurement model, and a GeoDetector model were utilized to conduct a comprehensive analysis. The objective was to elucidate the driving mechanisms of HAI on ESV, establish clear thresholds for HAI’s impact on various functional components of ESV, and accurately identify localized ranges of anomalous impact. The results indicate that: (1) The ESV of Hefei declined continuously from 47.012 billion yuan in 2000 to 45.534 billion yuan in 2020. (2) This decline was attributed to increased losses and decreased gains. Losses primarily stemmed from the conversion of cropland to built-up land and the transformation of water area into cropland, while gains mainly originated from the reversion of built-up land to cropland and the conversion of cropland to water area. (3) HAI demonstrated a negative correlation with overall ESV, as well as with regulating and cultural service value, and displayed a transition from positive to negative effects on supporting and provisioning service, with the transition threshold range locked between 0.176 and 0.262. HAI exhibited three abnormal impact ranges on ESV, suggesting that strategic land management could sustain ESV equilibrium under both low and high intensities of human activity. This study fills a significant gap in our understanding of the threshold effects of HAI on different functional components of ESV and the identification of local anomalous information. These findings provide a scientific basis for urban ecological environment management and decision-making in the process of rapid urbanization.

Determining the payment for ecosystem services of mangrove forests: The approach combining ecosystem services and social-economic level and application in Shankou National Nature Reserve, Guangxi, China

The Bench-Sheko zone, parts of the Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot, is characterized by its rich biodiversity. However, recent reductions in vegetation cover have drawn concern, highlighting the critical role of remote sensing in monitoring these alterations is critical. Furthermore, this study evaluates the economic value of the ecosystem services rendered by the diverse types of vegetation cover class in the area. The classification of vegetation types and measuring their ecosystem benefits are crucial for monitoring vegetation and analyzing land cover changes. estimating the value of ecosystem services is vital for environmental impact assessments, cost-benefit analyses, and creating payment schemes for these natural services. For the vegetation cover map, it uses Sentinel-2 satellite data and a Random Forest classifier using Google Earth Engine. Based on a properly chosen reference, ecosystem service assessment approaches include benefit transfer, direct market value, and the social cost of carbon. The results highlight the vegetation classes’ enormous value and the services they offer. The largest value for Supporting Services (2829.3 USD ha⁻1yr⁻1) is found in the Remnant Forest, which makes up 30.98% of the total area. With the highest value for both cultural services (2847.7 USD ha⁻1yr⁻1) and regulatory services (5063.9 USD ha⁻1yr⁻1), the wetlands, which make up 4.35% of the total area, stand out. The total annual value of all ecosystem services provided by all vegetation classes is estimated to be 2.089 billion USD. When paired with methods for tracking and assessing changes in vegetation cover over time, high-resolution satellite images and precise classification algorithms can offer insightful information on the condition of the environment and support informed decision-making. In order to evaluate and convey to society and policymakers the advantages of vegetation cover, the value of ecosystem services is essential.

The Bench-Sheko zone, parts of the Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot, is characterized by its rich biodiversity. However, recent reductions in vegetation cover have drawn concern, highlighting the critical role of remote sensing in monitoring these alterations is critical. Furthermore, this study evaluates the economic value of the ecosystem services rendered by the diverse types of vegetation cover class in the area. The classification of vegetation types and measuring their ecosystem benefits are crucial for monitoring vegetation and analyzing land cover changes. estimating the value of ecosystem services is vital for environmental impact assessments, cost-benefit analyses, and creating payment schemes for these natural services. For the vegetation cover map, it uses Sentinel-2 satellite data and a Random Forest classifier using Google Earth Engine. Based on a properly chosen reference, ecosystem service assessment approaches include benefit transfer, direct market value, and the social cost of carbon. The results highlight the vegetation classes' enormous value and the services they offer. The largest value for Supporting Services (2829.3 USD ha⁻1yr⁻1) is found in the Remnant Forest, which makes up 30.98% of the total area. With the highest value for both cultural services (2847.7 USD ha⁻1yr⁻1) and regulatory services (5063.9 USD ha⁻1yr⁻1), the wetlands, which make up 4.35% of the total area, stand out. The total annual value of all ecosystem services provided by all vegetation classes is estimated to be 2.089 billion USD. When paired with methods for tracking and assessing changes in vegetation cover over time, high-resolution satellite images and precise classification algorithms can offer insightful information on the condition of the environment and support informed decision-making. In order to evaluate and convey to society and policymakers the advantages of vegetation cover, the value of ecosystem services is essential.

Taihu Lake is the third largest freshwater lake in China. Water ecosystems play an important role in the survival and development of human society. The evaluation of water ecosystem services is helpful to understand and grasp the changing rules of Taihu Lake’s ecosystem services value in recent years. First, we used the Water Environment Qualities Index (WQI) to evaluate the water ecological quality of Taihu Lake; second, on the basis of the survey data from 2010 to 2018, we combined economic and ecological methods to evaluate the water ecosystem of Taihu Lake. The evaluation system includes four major service functions, 11 second-class evaluation indicators and 19 index factor. Research indicates that, (1) in the past 8 years, the WQI of Taihu Lake increased year by year and Taihu Lake changed from moderate pollution to light pollution; (2) provisioning services are the main service of Taihu Lake’s water ecosystem and the order of various service values was provisioning service value > regulation service value > cultural service value > support service value, with water supply as the core function of provisioning services; and (3) the total values in 2010, 2014, and 2018 were 115.39 billion yuan, 113.31 billion yuan, and 119.96 billion yuan, respectively, showing a trend of first decreasing and then increasing. To a certain extent, the improvement in Taihu Lake’s water ecological quality has led to an increase in the value of regulation services.

Spatiotemporal coupling analysis between human footprint and ecosystem service value in the highly urbanized Pearl River Delta urban Agglomeration, China

The quantitative and spatial–temporal variations in the characteristics of ecosystem value can be helpful to improve environmental protection and climate adaptation measures and adjust the balance between economic development and the ecological environment. The arid and semi-arid regions of China are undergoing the effects of climate change across the entire northern hemisphere. Their ecological environments are fragile and in conflict with anthropogenic activities, which significantly altered more ecosystems services in these regions. Therefore, estimating the effects of anthropogenic activities on ecosystem services is important for formulating ecological policy and regional environmental mitigation plans of these regions. This study employed the model of ecosystem service value (ESV) assessment and the bivariate spatial autocorrelation method to reveal the spatiotemporal variations in the characteristics of ecosystem value in the arid and semi-arid ecological regions of China and its interaction with human activities. Results showed that (1) the total value of ES of the study area increased from USD 487,807 billion in 2000 to USD 67,831,150 billion 2020; (2) the ES value provided by forest land first increased by 5.60% from 2000 to 2020; (3) the ESV provided by grassland showed an overall decline over the 20 years. Food and raw material production showed the lowest ES value, and climate regulation and soil conservation decreased from 2000 to 2020; (4) the index of human footprint patches decreased from 45.80% in 2000 to 17.63% in 2020, while the high and very high human footprint index areas increased significantly, mainly due to the rapid urbanization and improvement of railway networks in these areas. Spatially, the regions with high human footprint were mostly dispersed in the northeastern of China such as Shanxi and Gansu, whereas the regions with a low human footprint remained mainly located in the central and southwestern parts of China; (5) significant spatial dependencies between changes in ESV and the human footprint index were recorded. Our study could provide a scientific basis for ecosystem functions regulation and land development security in arid and semi-arid ecological regions.

Landsat TM images of Mt. Qinling in 1984, 2000, 2005, and 2014 were used to extract land use and land cover type by a supervised classification method in ERDAS software. Equivalent factor of ecosystem service value per unit area was revised regionally in temporal and spatial dimensions, and then was modified pixel by pixel using the vegetation coverage. Forest ecosystem service values from 1984 to 2014 were calculated with RS and GIS techniques, and the results were tested by the sensitivity index. The results showed that from 1984 to 2014, forest area accounted for 77% of the study area, and the area changes in cultivated land and construction land were the most obvious. The total ecosystem service value of Mt. Qinling increased annually and by a total of 1.68×1017 yuan during the study period. The forest ecosystem service value (its growth rate was the biggest) contributed 93.8% of the overall ecosystem service value, while water and grass ecosystem service value contributed 1.6% and 1.3%, respectively. The ecosystem service value tended to increase with increasing distance from the study area boundary, which was consistent with the spatial distribution and per-unit ecosystem service value of land use types in Mt. Qinling. The annual rate of change of each ecosystem service value was insignificant. Among the four ecosystem functions, the service value of regulation accounted for 62.7%-65.8% of the total ecosystem service value, and the service value of climate regulation showed the most dramatic increase by 4.91×1016 yuan over the study period. The sensitivity index was <1, which indicated that the modified service value index was stable and the calculated results were reliable. Overall, the forest ecosystem service value in Mt. Qinling was very large, and strengthening forest protection would be an effective measure for maintaining the stability of the Mt. Qinling ecosystem.

In previous studies the value of ecosystem services was evaluated microscopically by ecological indicators such as soil properties, biomass, carbon storage, oxygen release, water quality, and others. In this paper, the spatial heterogeneity of ecosystem services in Liuyang River basin was studied from the perspective of Geographic Information System (GIS) based spatial relationships by using a combination of geographic data and spatial analysis technologies. The Liuyang River basin was divided into grids with a resolution of 1km×1km. The weights of factors that affect the value of ecosystem services (such as topography, geological disasters, roads, scenic spots, vegetation coverage, and plant net primary productivity) were evaluated using the entropy method and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) in order to investigate the influence of natural and social factors on the value of ecosystem services in a quantitative manner. The results demonstrate that the value of ecosystem services is mainly affected by vegetation coverage, plant net primary productivity, and road network density. The value of ecosystem services grows with the increase in either vegetation coverage, plant net primary productivity, or road network density. Different types of land play different roles in ecosystem services. Cultivated land, grassland, and water each have significant supply and regulating functions while forest has significant regulating and supporting functions. The value of ecosystem services of cultivated land and water that are closely related to human activity is significantly influenced by spatial heterogeneity. In contrast, the effect of spatial heterogeneity on the value of ecosystem services of forest land and grassland that are located in mountains and hills, far away from the human accumulation zone, is insignificant.

长三角地区土地利用时空变化对生态系统服务价值的影响

Land use changes (LUC) have exacerbated the evolution of ecosystem structure in the urban agglomeration of the Yangtze River Delta (YRDUA), significantly affecting ecosystem service functions and values. Although the impact of land use on ecosystem service value (ESV) has received significant attention, most existing studies explore the relationship between LUC and ESV at the national, provincial, or regional scales. Few studies focus on urban agglomerations, particularly in the YRDUA. Additionally, while many studies analyze the driving factors of ecosystem services and the trade-offs and synergies among them, there is a relative scarcity of research on the coupling coordination relationship between LUC and ESV. In this study, we used the ecosystem service assessment model to dynamically analyze the spatio-temporal changes of land use and ESV in the YRDUA from 2000 to 2020 and evaluated the dynamic relationship between the two using the coupled coordination model system. The results show the following: (1) Land use types within the YRDUA underwent significant changes during the study period, with a notable decrease in farmland and a substantial increase in construction land being the dominant trends. (2) ESV showed upward and downward trends over different periods, with water bodies having the highest value, followed by forested land and farmland, respectively. The ESV of water bodies showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. Higher ESVs were mainly concentrated around lakes such as Taihu Lake and coastal areas along the Yangtze River, radiating outward from these central points. (3) Currently, the coupling coordination degree (CCD) between land use intensity and ESV in the YRDUA is mostly reluctant coordinated or in the state of primary coordination. However, with time, the CCD trend has increased. In addition, variations between cities were more pronounced, showing a spatial pattern characterized by higher coupling levels in eastern/northern regions compared to western/southern regions. Our study can provide policy references for improving land planning, optimizing land use structures, and realizing high-quality, sustainable, green, and coordinated development in the YRDUA.

The Yangtze River is the third largest river in the world and the longest and largest river in China. China has adopted a national strategy to protect the Yangtze River. A better understanding of the ecosystem services value along the Yangtze River would provide support for the Yangtze River protection strategy. Using Costanza’s method to estimate the ecosystem services value, the value of 10 ecosystem services was estimated within 1 km and 2 km from the Yangtze River in 2017. These 10 services were derived from the four established groupings of provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural services. This study compared and analyzed the changes in the ecosystem services value in the upper, middle, and lower reaches of the river, and in provinces, cities, and villages along the Yangtze River. The total ecosystem services value within 1 km and 2 km from the river was 37.208 and 43.769 billion yuan, respectively. Within 1 km, the ecosystem services value in the middle reaches was 12.93 billion yuan, while the next highest value was in the upper reaches at 12.45 billion yuan, and the downstream area had the smallest value of 11.855 billion yuan. Within 2 km, the value of upstream ecosystem services was the highest at 16.31 billion yuan, while the second highest value was in the middle reaches at 14.376 billion yuan, and the smallest value was in the downstream area at 13.083 billion yuan. In the Yangtze River Basin, regulating services played a leading role, accounting for 81.6% and 78.9% of the ecosystem services value within 1 km and 2 km from the river, respectively. Among the 10 ecosystem services, hydrological regulation was the most important, while the value of raw material production made the smallest contribution. Among the provinces and cities along the Yangtze River, the highest ecosystem services value was in Hubei Province, while the lowest values were in Shanghai and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. If villages within 1 km and 2 km from the river were to be relocated, the total regional ecological value would increase by 527 and 975 million yuan, respectively.

Healthy ecosystems provide us with fertile soil, clean water, timber, and food. They reduce the spread of diseases. They protect against flooding. Worldwide, they regulate atmospheric concentrations of oxygen and carbon dioxide. They moderate climate. Without these and other “ecosystem services,” we’d all perish.1 One hallmark of the history of civilization is an ever-increasing exploitation of ecosystem services coupled with substitution of technology for these services, particularly where ecosystems have been exploited beyond their ability to provide.2 Agriculture is a hybrid of exploitation and substitution that enabled people to live in greater, denser populations that drove further exploitation and substitution. Modern plumbing made close quarters far less noxious but led to exploitation of ecosystems’ ability to break down sewage, and to substitution with expensive sewage treatment technologies. Exploitation of fossil fuels led to a slew of modern conveniences, including fishing fleets that are so effective at catching their prey that they threaten fisheries globally.3,4 All this exploitation strained ecosystems, but in the past, when the population was a fraction of what it is now, these strains were local rather than global phenomena. In 2005 the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA),5 a sweeping survey conducted under the auspices of the United Nations, found that approximately 60% of 24 ecosystem services examined were being degraded or used unsustainably.6 “Every year we lose three to five trillion dollars’ worth of natural capital, roughly equivalent to the amount of money we lost in the financial crisis of 2008–2009,” says Dolf de Groot, leader of the Research Program on Integrated Ecosystem Assessment and Management at Wageningen University, the Netherlands. The value of ecosystem services typically goes unaccounted for in business and policy decisions and in market prices. For commercial purposes, if ecosystem services are recognized at all, they are perceived as free goods, like clean air and water. So it’s not surprising that much of the degradation of ecosystems is rooted in what the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), an independent group of U.S. scientists and engineers, describes as “widespread under-appreciation of the importance of environmental capital for human well-being and . . . the absence of the value of its services from the economic balance sheets of producers and consumers.”7 PCAST and other groups are working to build recognition of ecosystem services and, importantly, to valuate them—that is, calculate values for these services to help policy makers and resource managers make rational decisions that factor important environmental and human health outcomes into the bottom line.