The effects of land-use change on ecosystem service value of desert oasis: a case study in Ugan-Kuqa River Delta Oasis, China

Abstract

Sawut, M., Eziz, M. and Tiyip, T. 2013. The effects of land-use change on ecosystem service value of desert oasis: a case study in Ugan-Kuqa River Delta Oasis, China. Can. J. Soil Sci. 93: 99-108. Ecosystem service valuation has been a hot topic in ecological economic research. The objective of this study was to analyze the changes in ecosystem services in response to oasis land-use change. Landsat images of September 2000 and ALOS images of September 2008 were combined with the published ecosystem service value coefficients about the world and China ecosystem to quantify land-use and ecosystem service changes. A sensitivity analysis was employed to determine the effect of manipulating these coefficients on the estimated values. The results indicate that: (1) the total value of ecosystem services in the Ugan-Kuqa River Delta Oasis increased from 8012 million Yuan in 2000 to 8323 million Yuan in 2008, mainly caused by the increasing areas of wetland and high-cover grassland. Forestland produced most of the...