Abstract
The development of urbanization is still expanding on the earth, and the rapid expansion of cities has changed the regional landscape pattern and significantly affected the value of regional ecosystem services in developing countries such as China. Zhongmu County, as the core area of Zhengzhou-Kaifeng integration, studying the temporal and spatial transformations of its landscape pattern and ecosystem service value (ESV) is of great significance to the region’s sustainable development. Based on remote sensing images and socioeconomic data, this study aims to explore the landscape pattern of Zhongmu County from 2005 to 2018 and its impact on ESV. Research methods include an ESV equivalent factor method, landscape pattern index, spatial autocorrelation, and other methods. The results showed that: (1) During the study period, the patch density and shape complexity, landscape diversity, and fragmentation of the overall landscape in the study area continued to increase while landscape connectivity decreased. (2) The total amount of ESV increased by 10.05 million USD; ESV had certain differences in spatial distribution: high-value clusters were mainly located at the boundary of the Yellow River in the north, while low-value clusters had a significant eastward expansion trend. (3) ESV increased significantly in areas where cultivated land was transferred to waters and forests, and ESV in areas where waters transferred to construction land and cultivated land was significantly reduced. (4) ESV had a significant positive spatial correlation with patch density, edge density, mean patch fractal dimension, mean patch size, and the landscape shape index, and a spatially negative correlation with the contagion index and cohesion index. The spatial and temporal changes in landscape patterns and ESV were all mainly driven by the regional development “Zhengzhou-Kaifeng integration” policy. Therefore, the ESV can be improved, and the ecological security of the urban integration area can be guaranteed through policy measures such as optimizing the layout of construction land and adjusting the uniform distribution of green areas by the land-use policy.
Highlights
Ecosystem services (ESs) refer to life support products and services that humans obtain directly or indirectly through the structure, process, and function of ecosystems [1–3]
(2) The total amount of ecosystem service value (ESV) increased by 10.05 million USD; ESV had certain differences in spatial distribution: high-value clusters were mainly located at the boundary of the Yellow River in the north, while low-value clusters had a significant eastward expansion trend
This was more consistent with previous research conclusions: For example, Hou et al [39] found that the conversion of forest land to construction land in Xi’an had the greatest negative impact on ESV, followed by the conversion of grassland to construction land; Assefa et al [40] found that the area of Bahir Dar City and its surrounding wetlands and water bodies in Ethiopia decreased by 1618 hectares, resulting in a reduction in the total ESV of USD 8.9 million, and the reduction in ESV had a negative impact on the local climate, waste management and the livelihoods of poor communities
Summary
Ecosystem services (ESs) refer to life support products and services that humans obtain directly or indirectly through the structure, process, and function of ecosystems [1–3]. Ouyang et al [5] found that ES forms the life support system on which human beings depend, such as the generation and maintenance of biodiversity, climate regulation, nutrient storage and cycling, soil renewal, environmental purification and degradation of harmful substances, and reduction in natural disasters. Evaluating ESV is a key way to measure the effectiveness of environmental protection [7] and conducive to an in-depth understanding of the functional status of the ecosystem and the relationship between man and land. It has important reference value for regional ecological compensation, ecological security pattern construction and ecological civilization construction [8–10]
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