Increase In Ecosystem Services Value Research Articles

A Multi-Scenario Simulation and Dynamic Assessment of the Ecosystem Service Values in Key Ecological Functional Areas: A Case Study of the Sichuan Province, China

The ecosystem service value (ESV) is an important basis for measuring an ecological environment’s quality and the efficient management of ecosystems. It is particularly necessary to explore a proven methodology for assessing and predicting ESV dynamics coupled with policy-oriented scenarios that can provide a theoretical groundwork for macro decision, particularly in the context of implementing ecological protection and restoration projects. This study selected the land cover (LC) of Sichuan Province at five periods and the spatiotemporal dynamic equivalent factor method to assess the ESVs from 2000 to 2020. Additionally, the study coupled the Markov chain and GeoSOS-FLUS model, and predicted the future pattern of ESVs under four future development scenarios. The results show that (a) the areas of forests, shrubs, waters, wastelands, wetlands, and impervious areas showed a continuous increase from 2000 to 2020, with the most frequent interchanges occurring among croplands, forests, and grasslands. (b) The implementation of ecological protection and restoration projects led to a 13,083.32 × 108 yuan increase in ESV, and barycenter of the ESVs is located in the northeastern part of Ya’an and exhibits a tendency to move towards the northeast. (c) The ESV aggregation pattern of each city has remained unchanged, with Ganzi being the only city with a high aggregation. Overall, there are more conflict cities than coordination cities between economic development and the ecological environment. (d) The total ESV in 2025 will continue to increase under all development scenarios, reaching a maximum of 50,903.37 × 108 yuan under the EP scenario. This study can provide insights for ecological planning decisions and sustainable regional socio-economic development.

Ecosystem service valuation and multi-scenario simulation in the Ebinur Lake Basin using a coupled GMOP-PLUS model

The Ebinur Lake Basin is an ecologically sensitive area in an arid region. Investigating its land use and land cover (LULC) change and assessing and predicting its ecosystem service value (ESV) are of great importance for the stability of the basin's socioeconomic development and sustainable development of its ecological environment. Based on LULC data from 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020, we assessed the ESV of the Ebinur Lake Basin and coupled the grey multi-objective optimization model with the patch generation land use simulation model to predict ESV changes in 2035 under four scenarios: business-as-usual (BAU) development, rapid economic development (RED), ecological protection (ELP), and ecological–economic balance (EEB). The results show that from 1990 to 2020, the basin was dominated by grassland (51.23%) and unused land (27.6%), with a continuous decrease in unused land and an increase in cultivated land. In thirty years, the total ESV of the study area increased from 18.62 billion to 67.28 billion yuan, with regulation and support services being the dominant functions. By 2035, cultivated land increased while unused land decreased in all four scenarios compared with that in 2020. The total ESV in 2035 under the BAU, RED, ELP, and EEB scenarios was 68.83 billion, 64.47 billion, 67.99 billion, and 66.79 billion yuan, respectively. In the RED and EEB scenarios, ESV decreased by 2.81 billion and 0.49 billion yuan, respectively. In the BAU scenario, provisioning and regulation services increased by 6.05% and 2.93%, respectively. The ELP scenario, focusing on ecological and environmental protection, saw an increase in ESV for all services. This paper can assist policymakers in optimizing land use allocation and provide scientific support for the formulation of land use strategies and sustainable ecological and environmental development in the inland river basins of arid regions.

Effectiveness and driving mechanism of ecological restoration efforts in China from 2009 to 2019

Over the past decades, China's rapid economic growth and industrialization have led to serious ecological concerns. To combat ecological degradation and promote ecosystem sustainability, China has made substantial investments in ecological restoration in recent decades. Nevertheless, a comprehensive analysis of the effectiveness and driving mechanisms of these efforts are still lacking. Therefore, this study aims to bridge this gap by employing national land-use survey data to evaluate the effectiveness and driving mechanisms of China's ecological restoration efforts during 2009-2019, with a specific focus on ecological land preservation, land use structure, and their contribution to ecosystem services. Additionally, the Geodetector model was used to detect potential influencing factors and driving mechanisms of these efforts. The results of this study revealed that: (1) Between 2009 and 2019, a total of 585,492.61 km2 of non-ecological land was successfully transformed into ecological land through various ecological restoration efforts. Most of these areas were previously unused or cultivated land. (2) Forest and grass plantations were the major ecological restoration efforts in China, accounting for 47.35% and 41.91% of the total restored ecological land, respectively. Grassland restoration clustered northwest of the Hu Line, while forest restoration concentrated mainly to the southeast. Water and wetlands restoration were mainly distributed around China's major rivers, such as the Yangtze River and Yellow River. (3) China's ecological restoration efforts contributed to a 2.53 trillion CNY yuan increase in ecosystem service value during 2009-2019, with over 65% of the increase attributed to ecosystem regulating services. (4) China's ecological restoration efforts were mainly influenced by anthropogenic factors, such as population, land use, and urbanization, while the non-linearly enhanced interaction between natural and other factors also deserves attention. China should balance urban expansion, agricultural development, and ecological preservation, aligning restoration with socioeconomic trends while establishing effective inter-regional ecological compensation mechanisms.

Analysis of Spatial and Temporal Variability of Ecosystem Service Values and Their Spatial Correlation in Xinjiang, China

Xinjiang is located in arid northwest China, which is a key area for promoting the high-quality development of the regional ecological environment. In recent years, against a background of increasing human activities and rapid natural changes, Xinjiang has faced enormous ecological challenges. This paper utilizes land-use data from 2000 to 2020 to verify the region’s current state of the ecosystem. Additionally, it uses the value equivalent factor per unit area, ecosystem service value (ESV) loss and gain matrix, and double-factor spatial autocorrelation analysis to study the spatial and temporal variabilities of ESV in Xinjiang and its attribution to spatial correlation. The results show that (1) the ESV in Xinjiang exhibits an overall increasing trend during 2000–2020, with a total increase of about CNY 18.202 billion. Regulation-service ESV takes the main position in the single-service function, accounting for about 67.18% of the total ESV. In northern Xinjiang, the ESV demonstrates a decreasing trend, dropping by about CNY 16.885 billion, while in southern Xinjiang, the ESV shows an increasing trend, rising by CNY 35.086 billion. (2) For the study period, the main loss of ESV in Xinjiang is the conversion of ecological land with a high ESV into cropland or barren land with a low ESV. The conversion of bare land to grassland led to the largest increase in ESV (about CNY 209.308 billion), whereas the conversion of grassland to barren land led to the largest loss (about CNY 183.046 billion). (3) There are positive correlations among ESV, net primary productivity (NPP), and human activity intensity (HAI). However, all of the relationships weaken year by year. The spatial agglomeration of ESV ∩ NPP is significantly greater than that of ESV ∩ HAI, so NPP is the dominant factor in the spatial correlation of ESV in Xinjiang. The findings of this study provide a scientific basis for promoting high-quality regional ecological development in China’s arid northwest.

Characteristics of ecosystem service values in response to strong human activities in water sources of the South-to-North Water Diversion Middle Route in China.

A systematic grasp of the evolution of the spatial and temporal patterns of ecosystem service value (ESV) in the Central Line Project for South-to-North Water Diversion (CLPSNWD) water source area is conducive to deepening the ecological protection and promoting high-quality development of the water source area. In this paper, the dynamically adjusted equivalent factor method is used to reveal the spatial and temporal evolution of ESV in the water source area under strong human activities from 1991 to 2020. The results show that (1) during the 30-year period, urban point expansion increased the construction land area by 63.66 km2, and the degree of fragmentation increased. The water area increased the most, reaching 209.43 km2. (2) The total increase in ESV over the 30-year period was $1434 million, with forests and water accounting for the largest increase, i.e., 98% of the total increase in value. Among the individual service functions, hydrologic regulation generated the most significant service value.

Analysis and prediction of the impact of land use/cover change on ecosystem services value in Gansu province, China

The effects of land use/cover change (LUCC) on the spatial distribution and change of ecosystem service value (ESV) are still ambiguous, and cannot effectively guide the formulation of land use (LU) management policies based on the concept of harmonious development. Therefore, based on LUCC data from 1980 to 2020, this study adopted the MCE-CA-Markov model to simulate and predict the LUCC under the Business As Usual (BAU) and Ecological Development Priority (EDP) scenarios in 2030 and 2050. The historical and future ESVs as well as the effects of LUCC on ESV change were calculated in Gansu province, Northwest China. The results showed that the LU and ESV of Gansu province changed greatly between 1980 and 2020, with an increase in Forest (568.62 km2), medium- and high-coverage grassland (1517.58 km2), and Construction land (2264.58 km2), and a decrease in Farmland (-730.17 km2) and Unused land (-2858.58 km2), resulting in an increase of 8.162 billion CNY in total ESV. From 2020 to 2050, the LUCC under the EDP scenario will be more conducive to the increase in ESV, with the increment (52.765 billion CNY) being much higher than that under the BAU scenario (3.885 billion CNY). The growth of ESV will mainly result from the expansion of Forest, Water, and Grassland, accounting for 55.4%, 48.6%, and 19.1% of the total ESV increment, respectively, while the decrease in ESV will be attributed to the changes in Farmland and Unused land, accounting for −16.2% and −10.8% of the total ESV increment, respectively. The results have a certain reference for the future LU structure optimization and ecological benefit growth in northwest China.

Analysis of the gains and losses of ecosystem service value under land use change and zoning in Qiqihar

Under a background of uncoordinated economic development and the ecological environment, quantifying the ecological effect brought by land resource changes, have become research key and hotspots. To explore land use change and its impact on ecosystem service value (ESV), the land use change analysis method, ecosystem service evaluation model, flow direction analysis model and two-dimensional graph theory clustering method were used to analyze the profit and loss of ESV in Qiqihar in 2010 and 2020 and the division of ecological function areas with counties as units. The results show that: 1) The land use change in Qiqihar city is more obvious, Among them, the area of cultivated land, wetland, construction land and other increases, Woodland, grassland, water area decreased, The changed land area accounts for 30.95% of the total area; 2) The ESV in Qiqihar city increased by 869 million yuan, The sum of the value of cultivated land and wetland exceeded 70.0% of the ESV, is the main source of ESV in Qiqihar city; 3) Not all land-use shifts are conducive to ESV growth. The increase of ESV mainly comes from the flow of cultivated land and grassland to the wetland; Conversion of woodlands, water area, wetlands to other types causes ESV loss, the most loss is the conversion of wetlands to cultivated land; 4) Qiqihar city is divided into the central wetland ecological conservation area, the western characteristic agriculture and dotted wetland ecological function area, and the northeast agricultural ecological environment construction functional area. Three policies were proposed to improve ESV:(1) give play to the radiation role of wetland nature reserves; (2) popularize the black land protection technology model; and (3) prevent and control agricultural non-point source pollution and promote clean agriculture.

Multi-Scenario Simulation and Driving Force Analysis of Ecosystem Service Value in Arid Areas Based on PLUS Model: A Case Study of Jiuquan City, China

The arid region of northwest China is an extremely fragile area of natural ecology. With population growth and continuous expansion of urban scale, the ecosystem in the arid region is facing greater pressure. Scientific assessment and prediction of the value of ecosystem services in arid areas are necessary and of great significance for the sustainable development of regional ecological environments. In this paper, a parametric optimal geographic model is used to analyze the driving factors of ESV spatial dispersion in Jiuquan City as an example. The PLUS model is also used to simulate the spatial and temporal evolution of ESV in 2035 under the scenarios of natural development, urban development, water constraints and ecological conservation, based on the historical change pattern of land use and ecosystem service value (ESV). The results showed that from 1980 to 2020, the plowland, water and construction land area in Jiuquan City showed a significant increasing trend, while other land use types showed a decreasing trend. ESV has increased from CNY 139.394 billion to CNY 142.642 billion. The expansion of plowland and water area was the main reason for the increase in ESV. Elevation, temperature, and precipitation are the main driving factors of spatial differentiation of ESV in Jiuquan City. The interaction of natural and human factors enhances the explanatory power of each factor to the spatial differentiation of ESV. In 2035, the ESV in four development scenarios in Jiuquan City showed an upward trend, and the ESV of the ecological protection scenario was the highest, which was the best mode to realize a sustainable development in Jiuquan City in the future. This study can provide scientific basis and decision-making basis for Jiuquan City to formulate sustainable development strategy.

Coastal land use change and evaluation of ecosystem services value enhancement under the background of Yangtze River protection: Taking Jiangyin coastal areas as an example

Evaluating the ecosystem service value is an important step to promote the sustainable development and the construction of ecological civilization of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the related research is already very rich. However, they neglect the evaluation of coastal areas and lack the deeper thinking of ecological value. To improve these deficiencies, this study takes the coastal area of Jiangyin as the study area, constructs the evaluation method system of ecosystem service value based on the land use data in 2016 and 2020, explores the temporal and spatial variation characteristics of land use and ecosystem service value in the study area, and analyzes reasons for these changes. The results show that: (1) Cultivated land is the main land type in the coastal area, with an area change rate of -15.89%, forest land increases rapidly, with a growth rate of 281.62%, followed by water area with a growth rate of 55.98%, garden land decreases the most, with a decrease rate of 86.36%, followed by construction land of 62.19%. Land use mainly presents the characteristics of changes from construction land to other land, construction land and green space, and cultivated land to cultivated land, water area and forest land. (2) The net increase of ecosystem service value in the coastal area is 483 million, with a growth rate of 137.27%. Among them, the value of forest land accounts for the largest proportion, with a net increase of 264 million yuan and a growth rate of 109.54%. In terms of single function, flood regulation and storage accounts for the main ecosystem service value, reaching more than 65%, with a net increase of 394 million yuan. (3) In terms of spatial distribution, the ecosystem service value of water conservation, flood regulation and storage has a spatial distribution characteristic of being high in the east and low in the west, while the distribution of ecosystem service value of wind prevention and sand fixation is both high and low in the west. In addition, this study further explores the response mechanism of ecological value to the protection measures along the river and the transformation path of ecosystem service value, which provides a new path for the study of government-led evaluation of ecological protection effects in important coastal areas and ecologically sustainable development with regional multi-subject participation.

An Assessment of the Impact of Land Use and Land Cover Change on the Degradation of Ecosystem Service Values in Kathmandu Valley Using Remote Sensing and GIS

Land use and land cover (LULC) robustly influence the delivery of the ecosystem services that humans rely on. This study used Kathmandu Valley as a study area which is a fast-growing and most vulnerable city to climate change. Remote sensing and GIS methods are the most significant methods for measuring the impact of LULC on the ecosystem service value (ESV). The satellite-based dataset was used for quantitative assessment of the LULC and ecosystem service value for 10-year intervals from the year 1989 to 2019. The result revealed that the area of forest cover, cropland, and waterbodies decreased by 28.33%, 4.35%, and 91.5%, respectively, whereas human settlement and shrubland increased by more than a hundred times and barren land by 21.14% at the end of the study period. This study found that Kathmandu valley lost 20.60% ESV over 30 years which dropped from USD 122.84 million to USD 97.54 million. The urban growth and extension of agricultural land to forest cover areas were found to be contributing factors for the reduction in ESV of Kathmandu valley. Cropland transformed into shrubland, bringing about an increase in ESV of some areas of the study region. In conclusion, the aggressive increase in population growth with inadequate urban planning and fragmentation of farmlands influenced the ESV of Kathmandu valley.

Ecosystem services values at risk in the Atlantic coastal zone due to sea-level rise and socioeconomic development

Uncertainties about the future extent of sea-level rise (SLR) and socioeconomic development will determine the future of coastal ecosystem services and values. This study analyzes the joint impact of flooding and socioeconomic development on the future ecosystem services and values in the Atlantic coastal zone by 2100. To this end, flood probability maps (using the Uncertainty Bathtub Model; uBTM) and local ecosystem service value (ESV) estimates (using meta-analytic based global ecosystem service value functions for Provisioning, Regulating & maintenance, and Cultural ecosystem services across 12 biomes) are derived for a wide combination of Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) and Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP) scenarios to obtain future values of coastal ecosystem services (ES). Results show that the higher potential of ESV at risk is associated with RCP 8.5 and SSP5, i.e. the scenario associated with a narrative related to fossil-fueled development. For this scenario, by 2100, the coastal zone with the highest probable losses in Provisioning ESV is Europe (∼5.9 € billion/year), for Regulating & maintenance ESV this is North America (∼6.0 € billion/year) and for Cultural ESV this is South America (∼21.3 € billion/year). Countries facing highest relative risk of losing Provisioning ESV are the Netherlands (10.6 %), United States (7.4 %), and Mauritania (5.8 %). For Regulating & maintenance ESV, the top 3 countries impacted are Mauritania (17.6 %), the Netherlands (10.0 %) and Argentina (8.0 %). For Cultural ESV, the countries are Mexico (19.0 %), Denmark (18.1 %) and Sweden (15.6 %). Changes in ESV are exponentially related to flood risk and economic growth, such that small changes in flood or income lead to large changes in ESV. Unlike previous studies, the ESV functions used are dependent on time and local factors, such as population and income. Although population and income growth result in an increase in ESV, it also emphasizes the ecosystem service values at risk. Thus, sea-level rise and socioeconomic changes impact ecosystem services and values – directly affecting the well-being of the world population. The unequal distribution of coastal ecosystem service value losses across continents and countries highlighted in this work is important to identify what values are at risk and for whom. Adaptation measures and strategies can, in turn, be defined.

Valuation of Land-Use/Land-Cover-Based Ecosystem Services in Afghanistan—An Assessment of the Past and Future

Being one of the weakest economies in the world, livelihoods in Afghanistan remain highly dependent on local ecosystem services. However, the risk of ecosystem services degradation in Afghanistan over the past two decades has significantly increased, mainly due to rapid changes in land-use and land-cover (LULC). As such, policy makers must be able to estimate the impact of LULC changes on various ecosystem services. By utilizing GlobeLand30 land cover products for 2000, 2010 and 2020, and by adopting the value transfer method, this study assessed the ecosystem services value (ESV) changes in response to the changes of LULC in Afghanistan. Additionally, the dynamics of the land system (DLS) model was innovatively coupled with linear programming to predict likely scenarios of ESV changes by 2030. The predicted results were also validated against actual land cover and achieved a Kappa value of 0.78. The results showed that over the 20-year period, ecologically important LULC categories such as forest, water bodies and grassland were severely unstable and rapidly decreasing in scope. These LULC types were being threatened by agricultural, built-up and unused lands. During this period, we estimated a decrease in the total ESV from 161 billion USD in 2000 to 152.27 billion USD in 2020. About 92% of this decrease was shared by supporting and provisioning services. The simulated scenarios also showed that ESV will likely further decrease under Business-As-Usual (BAU), and Rapid Economic Development (RED) scenarios. Positively, an Environmental Protection (ENP) scenario is predicted, with a 4.5% increase in ESV by 2030. However, achieving this scenario requires the enforcement of strict environmental protection measures.

Evaluating the Impact of Dynamic Changes in Grasslands on the Critical Ecosystem Service Value of Yanchi County in China from 2000 to 2015

Grasslands are the basis for sustainable development in the northern farming-pastoral transition zone of China, with functions of human production, living, and ecology. Large-scale human activities inevitably lead to significant changes in grasslands, resulting in significant impacts on ecosystem services. To this end, we quantitatively estimated the ecosystem services value in each positive succession process (the improvement in the coverage or area of grasslands) and negative succession process (the degradation in the coverage or area of grasslands). The results indicated that (1) grasslands showed an improving trend from 2000 to 2015. The grassland improvement from low to high coverage dominated the positive succession process. Grassland degradation from high to low coverage dominated the negative succession process. (2) The total ecosystem services value increased by 25,294.87 × 104 yuan from 2000 to 2015. The grassland improvement from low to high coverage was the most important process that led to the increase in ecosystem service value. The degradation between grasslands and non-grasslands was the key process that led to the decrement in ecosystem services value. (3) The impact of grassland dynamics on the regional ecosystem service value showed significant spatial heterogeneity at the town scale. The results will provide some implications for the sustainable development of grassland ecosystem services to improve human well-being.

The Evolution and Determinants of Ecosystem Services in Guizhou—A Typical Karst Mountainous Area in Southwest China

Due to rapid urbanization and economic development, the natural environment and ecological processes have been significantly affected by human activities. Especially in ecologically fragile karst areas, the ecosystems are more sensitive to external disturbances and have a hard time recovering, thus studies on the ecosystem services in these areas are significant. In view of this, we took Guizhou (a typical karst province) as the research area, evaluated the ecosystem service value (ESV) according to reclassified land uses and revised equivalent factors, and investigated the determinants of ecosystem services based on geographic detection. It was found that the total ESV showed a prominent increase trend, increasing from 152.55 billion CNY in 2000 to 285.50 billion CNY in 2020. The rise of grain prices due to growing social demands was the main factor in driving the increase of ESV. Spatially, the ESVs of central and western Guizhou were lower with cold spots appearing around human gathering areas, while that of southern and southeastern Guizhou were higher with hot spots that formed in continually distributed woodland. Moreover, the ESV per unit area and its change rate in karst regions were always lower than that in non-karst areas. Precipitation and temperature were the dominant nature factors while cultivation and population density were the main anthropogenic effects driving the evolution of ecosystem services. Therefore, positive human activities as well as rational and efficient land-use should be guided to promote the coordinated and high-quality development of ecology and the economy.

Effects on ecosystem services value due to land use and land cover change (1990\u20132020) in the transboundary Karnali River Basin, Central Himalayas

Valuation of ecosystem services based on land use and land cover changes (LUCC) offers an incentive to people for sustainable use of the natural resources and can encourage people to adjust the land use sustainably. In this study, we used “Object-based Image Analysis (OBIA),” a remote sensing technique to extract the land use and land cover (LULC) of the transboundary Karnali River Basin (KRB, China and Nepal) from 1990 to 2020, and ecosystem services value (ESV) coefficients derived for the Tibetan Plateau has been used to assess the ESV. The basin has highest percentage of forest (33.44%), followed by bare area (30.29%), shrub/grassland (18.5%), agriculture (13.12%), snow/ice (4.36%), waterbody (0.3%), and built-up (0.03%) as of 2020. Over 30 years, 4.07 km2 of the forest has been converted to agricultural land, 3.31 km2 of agricultural land has been encroached by built-up area, whereas 2.82 km2 of snow/ice area has melted into the waterbody. Furthermore, 80.85 km2 of bare area has been converted to snow/ice, and 2138.83 km2 of snow/ice has been changed to bare area. The ESV of KRB has increased by nearly 2.7 million USD from 1990 to 2020, primarily due to the increase in ESV from the conversion of 133.09 km2 of snow/ice to shrub/grassland. The ESV of forest, waterbody, and snow/ice has decreased, whereas it has increased for other LULC classes in the basin. Spatial distribution of LUCC and assessment of ESV can be a tool to facilitate for better provisioning and regulating the resources for the future.

Disturbances Brought about by Human Activities in Relation to the Eco-Environment of the Main Stream of the Tarim River, 2000–2020

The main stream of the Tarim River in China is typical of ecologically sensitive areas that have been heavily disturbed by human activities; as such, the monitoring of the quality of its eco-environment constitutes an important task for researchers. By using GlobeLand30 data and applying the disturbance degree model and revised ecosystem service value (ESV) model, the study presented in this paper undertook a quantitative estimation of the effects of the disturbance impacts of human activities on the eco-environment of this area in the period of 2000 to 2020. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) disturbance index values, which reflect disturbance to the local ecosystem by human activities, increased over the study period. Further, cultivated land experienced the largest increase, which, in turn, brought about the most significant disturbance to the eco-environment. High disturbance index values presented a patchy distribution in the west of the main stream of the Tarim River and formed bands and dots in the east; the area of land characterized by high and moderate disturbance index values increased, with growth areas taking on a scattered distribution of patches, bands, and dots without significant spatial continuity. (2) The total ESV increased, indicating the quality of the eco-environment improved. The increase of cultivated land offset the increase in ESV, which counteracted the effects of ecological governance measures. Areas with high ESV values were mainly located in the western and central parts of the study area, while low values were found in the middle east and east. Areas with higher increases in ESV were mainly located in the western and the western part of the middle reaches and took on a zonal distribution, while areas of decrease followed a scattered distribution, presenting as dots or patches. Using the quantitative analysis methods and high-resolution remote sensing data to evaluate the changes in the eco-environment was considered as the innovation of this study, and the findings are useful in exploring the influence of human activities on ecosystems and evaluating the eco-environment in the minor watershed of an arid area. This piece of quantitative research contributes to the task of monitoring eco-environmental changes using remote sensing techniques in ecologically sensitive areas.

The Impact of Tourism on Ecosystem Services Value: A Spatio-Temporal Analysis Based on BRT and GWR Modeling

The healthy development of the ecosystem and tourism in destinations plays an essential role in sustainable development. Taking Shennongjia as an example, we analyzed the spatial–temporal variation in the ecosystem services value (ESV) and investigated the impacts of tourism on ESV and their spatial heterogeneity using the geographically weighted regression (GWR) and boosting regression tree (BRT) models. The results showed that (1) the types of ecosystem services (ESs) were dominated by climate regulation and biodiversity. The ESV increased from 3.358 billion yuan to 8.910 billion yuan from 2005 to 2018 and showed significant spatial divergence, maintaining a long-term distribution pattern of high in the center and low at the border. (2) The GWR and BRT results showed that the Distance to Scenic Spots (DSS) and the Distance to Residential Areas (DRA) are important factors influencing ESV, with the Distance to Hotels (DH) and the Distance to Roads (DR) having a relatively weak influence on ESV. (3) The influencing factors presented positive and negative effects, and the degree of influence has spatial heterogeneity. The DRA and DH inhibited the increase in ESV in nearby areas, while DR was the driving factor for increasing ESV. The assessment results of DSS vary according to the models.

Temporal and spatial analysis of the ecosystem service values in the Three Gorges Reservoir area of China based on land use change.

The Three Gorges Reservoir area (TGRA) has complex geological conditions and a fragile ecological environment. The construction of the Three Gorges Project triggered ecological and environmental issues and social disputes, which have attracted considerable attention in recent years. However, how the temporal and spatial characteristics of ecosystem service value (ESV) in the TGRA changed in each stage of the Three Gorges Project with the implementation of ecological restoration plans remains ambiguous. Based on four periods of land use data from 2000 to 2018, the changes in land use were investigated, and the ESVs were estimated. Then, the spatial distribution and dynamic changes in ecosystem services were analysed. The results showed that grassland and construction land were the land use types that had the greatest reductions and increases in area over time, respectively. The conversion of cropland to forestland, grassland and construction land represented the most important land type changes. In the past 18 years, because of an increase in forestland and water area, the ESVs increased by 2.7 billion yuan, with a growth rate of 3.46%. The conversion of cropland to forestland had the largest contribution rate to the increase in ESV. The ESV was higher in the northeast and lower in the southwest, and its changes had a significant positive autocorrelation in terms of the spatial distribution. The hot spots of ESV change were mainly distributed in the main stream of the Yangtze River and the reservoir area. This research provides a reference for land resource allocation and experience for the ecological environment protection and sustainable development of the Yangtze River Basin.

Spatial and Temporal Changes of Ecosystem Service Value in Airport Economic Zones in China

With the rapid development of the aviation industry, many negative effects on the local environment have been reported. This study examined the land use and land cover (LULC) and ecosystem service value (ESV) of airport economic zones (AEZs) in China and assessed the changes in LULC and ESV. The results indicate that LULC changed significantly from 1990 to 2015, characterized by the increase in construction land (increase rate, 68.53%) and water bodies (increase rate, 2.32%) and the decrease in cropland (decrease rate, 4.28%), forest (decrease rate, 0.73%), grassland (decrease rate, 4.64%) and unused land (decrease rate, 6.36%). The ESV of AEZs in 1990 and 2015 was RMB 3454 and 3483 million, respectively, with an overall ESV change of RMB 29 million. The ESV of AEZs is characterized by high value in the coastal area of China. From 1990 to 2015, AEZs with a high ESV were located in Inner Mongolia, while those with a high decrease in ESV were located in the southeastern coastal area. From 1990 to 2000, the AEZs with a high increase in ESV were located in Inner Mongolia and Qinghai and the AEZs with decreased ESV were mostly located in central and south China. However, from 2000 to 2010, AEZs with high and low increases in ESV were located in central China and the south coastal area of China, respectively. From 2010 to 2015, AEZs with a high decrease in ESV were located in southeast China.

Ecological restoration projects did not increase the value of all ecosystem services in Northeast China

Ecosystem service value (ESV) is greatly affected by changes in land use/land cover (LULC), and land use decisions are critical drivers of LULC change. ESV assessment has become an important basis for evaluating the effectiveness of land use decisions. The implementation location and scope of different land use decisions have not received sufficient research attention, and there is therefore little information on the actual effects of such decisions. Northeast China has been the subject of multiple land use decisions in the past, and a lack of information on their effectiveness has created challenges to sustainable ecosystem management. In this study, we used the latest benefit transfer method specifically developed for China to evaluate the changes in ESV and quantified the location and scope of different land use decisions to evaluate their benefits. The results showed that the total ESV increased from about $353.54 billion in 2000 to $354.86 billion in 2010 because of the expansion of river and lake, broad-leaved forest, and paddy field. However, the total ESV decreased to $353.39 billion in 2015 due mainly to decreases in wetlands, rivers and lakes, and dry farmland. The impact of wetland loss on ESV outweighed that of forestland increase. The Grain for Green Program (GFGP) and the Natural Forests Conservation Program (NFCP) increased ESV in the 2000–2010 period but decreased it in the 2010–2015 period. The Three-North Shelterbelt Program (TNSP) led to a continuous increase in ESV, but the Natural Wetland Conservation Program (NWCP) did not lead to an increase in ESV from 2000 to 2015. The effectiveness of the GFGP, NFCP, and NWCP should be enhanced, and priority conservation areas need to be established. This study can provide a reference for balancing the influence of multiple land use decisions in order to promote sustainable development.