Land Ecosystem Services Research Articles

Impact of land use change on ecosystem services: A review

Changes in land use and ecosystem services influence each other and such changes have consequences for human wellbeing. In this paper, we review the research literature on how different types of ecosystem services are affected by LUC, and the consequences for human well-being. We begin with a review of the different types of ecosystem services. We examine the influence of LUC on provisioning ecosystem services due to mismatches between agricultural production and hydrological systems. We continue with a review of the impacts of LUC on supporting ecosystem services through the conversion of an ecosystem to cultivated land, and the resulting changes in soil properties and the hydrological balance. Next, We also discuss the regulating ecosystem services which are affected by LUC and alters water purification processes, as well as the effects on cultural ecosystem services. We conclude with a review of the valuation and quantification of the effects of LUC on the management of ecosystem services, and propose future research directions. Most of the research reveals a negative impact of LUC on ecosystem services, despite research gaps related to methods for valuing ecosystem services more accurately and for collecting social responses to the impacts of LUC on different ecosystem services.

A Scientometrics Review on Land Ecosystem Service Research

Humans can derive the benefits from the ecosystem to satisfy human needs as well-being. Therefore, good ecosystem management is the intermediary between ecosystems and human well-being. The ecosystem services depend on the supply of nature, and also reflect the value orientation of human beings, as the basis for the realization of human survival and cultural development. Land ecosystem services are the core and hot topic of ecological research. Under the current severe depletion of land use, this research evaluates the sustainable governance on the natural resource shortage, serious environmental pollution and ecosystem degradation. Based on the Web of Science database, this paper analyzes the development characteristics and trends of global land ecosystem services research using the Bibliometrix software package. The results show that (1) the amount of literature on land ecosystem services research between 2000 and 2019 has generally increased significantly, and entered a stage of rapid development from 2015. (2) Developed countries are the main research force in the field of land ecosystem services, and the United States has the absolute leading position. Developing countries are dominated by China, Argentina, and Brazil. (3) The high-frequency keywords for land ecosystem services are land use change, land use, climate change, urbanization, carbon and water quality. This can be regarded as a research hotspot in the field of land ecosystem services to a certain extent. (4) Through cluster analysis on the big data, the research found the direction for the future land ecosystem services, mainly: (I) the restoration of degraded land and its impact on ecosystem services; (II) the environmental impact assessment of land use planning based on the ecosystem services value; (III) the tradeoff analysis of ecosystem services in sustainable land management; (IV) the impact of land cover change on ecosystem services; (V) through the historical analysis of citied papers, the research history and evolution path of land ecosystem services are explored. Based on all these arguments, a comprehensive study on the diverse facets of land ecosystem services and the practical application of land ecosystem services areas is proposed.

Optimizing land use patterns for the grain for Green Project based on the efficiency of ecosystem services under different objectives

Abstract In the 20 years since the implementation of the Grain for Green Project (GFGP), the ecological environment in western China has improved. It is important to study the interaction between the spatial distribution of land use and ecosystem services as well as the interaction among ecosystem services under the GFGP for the purpose of improving regional ecosystem services. In this paper, we explore the influence of topography, climate and social demographic factors on ecosystem services, analyze the trade-offs and synergies among different ecosystem services, and choose suitable regional land use optimization strategies from hundreds of land use scenarios for GFGP from the efficiency of ecosystem services with different objectives viewpoint. Three key findings were obtained. First, grain supply has a trade-off relationship with soil conservation, and so as with carbon sequestration, while soil conservation and carbon sequestration have a synergistic relationship. Second, the implementation of GFGP strengthened the functions of carbon sequestration and soil conservation but weakened the function of grain supply. Third, the conversion schemes for retired farmland under different scenarios provide land use optimization strategies for the development of different ecosystem service objectives.

An Evaluation and Region Division Method for Ecosystem Service Supply and Demand Based on Land Use and POI Data

Mastering the regional spatial differences of ecosystem service supply and ecosystem service demand is of great significance to scientifically planning the development and utilization of national land and maintaining healthy development of ecosystems. Based on the relationship analysis of ecosystem service supply and ecosystem service demand, this study explored the regional ecosystem service supply by ecosystem service value based on grid data and constructed an ecosystem service demand evaluation model that integrated the construction land ecosystem service demand equivalent for static aspects and the point of interest (POI) kernel density estimation for dynamic aspects on the basis of land use and POI data. In the end, it put forward a region division method for ecosystem service supply and ecosystem service demand and conducted an empirical analysis of Haidian District, Beijing. The following results were concluded: (1) the ecosystem service value of different grids in Haidian District was between RMB (Chinese monetary unit, Yuan) 0 and RMB 2.4787 million. In terms of spatial distribution, the ecosystem service supply took on an obvious trend of gradual decrease from the northwest to the southeast, with major ecosystem service supply coming from the northwest. (2) The construction land ecosystem service demand equivalent of Haidian District was characterized by a multicenter cluster: the high equivalent area was in the southeast, while the equivalent of the northwest was relatively low. POI kernel density estimation demonstrated cluster distribution, with a high kernel density estimation in the southeast, a lower kernel density estimation in the central part, and the lowest kernel density estimation in the northwest. The ecosystem service demand index also showed cluster distribution: high index in the southeast, low index in the northwest, and prominent sudden changes from the central part to the south. (3) The bivariate local spatial autocorrelation cluster diagram method was used to divide five types of ecosystem service supply and ecosystem service demand, namely non-significant correlation region, high ecosystem service supply and high ecosystem service demand region, high ecosystem service supply and low ecosystem service demand region, low ecosystem service supply and high ecosystem service demand region, low ecosystem service supply and low ecosystem service demand region. Grids with the highest ratio belonged to the non-significant correlation region; the distribution of low ecosystem service supply and high ecosystem service demand region had the greatest concentration, mainly in the southeast; the grids of high ecosystem service supply and low ecosystem service demand region were mainly present in the northwest and in a continuous way; the grids of low ecosystem service supply and low ecosystem service demand region, and high ecosystem service supply and high ecosystem service demand region were extremely few, with sporadic distribution in the central part. The research results could provide a basis for the adjustment and fine management of regional land use structure.

The importance of remnant vegetation coverage along riverbank in supporting urban river naturalization in Bogor City, Indonesia

Human disturbances in urban river landscape and its riverbank cannot be avoided. The construction of buildings and other infrastructure are among the human disturbances which cause a serious decline in urban riverbank quality so that influencing the stability of its landscape ecological cycle. Exploration of vegetated urban riverbank in Indonesia, especially in Bogor City is very important to save its existence in supporting the naturalization of the Ciliwung River. This study aims to estimate the remnant vegetated urban riverbank along the Ciliwung River and estimate the value of landscape/ecosystem services along the riverbank in the Bogor City. This research was carried out by taking four sample locations of the 250 meters and 15 meters wide at the right and the left of the riverbank using aerial photography and processed with ArcGIS software. Then, the land cover delineation and ecosystem services of the four sample locations are estimated by random point sampling method as many as 500 points for each sample location using i-Tree Assessment. The results of this study indicated that vegetation cover along the riverbank in Bogor City is 62% or 300,443 m2 ± 1733.96 m2. The advantages of landscape service for tree vegetation along the Ciliwung riverbank in Bogor City, converted into economic value, is equal to IDR 178,272,333. The landscape ecological function of riparian vegetation has a large role in absorbing pollutant gases in cities, storing carbon in biomass and dust absorption as much as converted into these economic values. Protection and conservation of the remnant vegetated urban riverbank needs to be conducted with various stakeholders so that the value of landscape services can be increased optimally in achieving success of river naturalization for sustainable urban water system in Bogor City.

Ecosystem Services and Economic Assessment of Land Uses in Urban and Periurban Areas.

This work quantified ecosystem services (ES) and the geographic gross product (GGP) at municipal level in the Metropolitan Region of Buenos Aires (MRBA), Argentina. The ES offer and GGP were evaluated for each land use (extensive agriculture EA, intensive agriculture IA, urban and periurban agriculture UPA, green areas GA, urban use URB), expressed as a percentage (%), at the municipality level. Municipalities with a greater URB percentage (<70) presented an elevated ES offer from GA. In periurban municipalities EA contributed to ES offer more than other vegetated land uses (IA, GA, and UPA). Urban municipalities presented 20% more GGP than periurban municipalities. The GGP was negatively associated with total ES offer (-0.34) and ES offer from EA (-0.46). The identification and quantification of ES and GGP is relevant for achieving an adequate landscape planning and a sustainable environmental and economic use of urban systems.

Scale effects on the relationships between land characteristics and ecosystem services- a case study in Taihu Lake Basin, China.

It is generally recognized that marginal changes in landscape characteristics can influence multiple ecosystem services, but the causal relationships involved are still very unclear due to lack of knowledge and data gaps. Planners and managers need spatial information and evidence on these causal relationships for systematic and sound land planning. This study evaluated the effects of landscape characteristics on seven types of ecosystem services and the trade-offs among the ecosystem services by combining statistical data and the InVEST model with correlation analysis across Taihu Lake Basin, China. We found that all ecosystem services except food production increased from 2005 to 2015 in the whole basin. We also found that correlations between landscape characteristic metrics and ecosystem services indicators changed over time for different types of ecosystem service indicators at the county scale, and between county and pixel scale. The results demonstrated the effects of landscape characteristic metrics on multiple ecosystem services indicators and the tradeoffs among these ecosystem services indicators, and also revealed scale effects on correlations and tradeoffs. Therefore planners and managers need to consider both landscape characteristic metrics and scale effects for effective landscape management to improve ecosystem services and reduce unwanted tradeoffs.

The impacts of land use and cover changes on ecosystem services value in urban highland areas

Land use and cover (LUC) changes are one of the main factors in global environmental change. It directly affects the welfare of society through changes in environmental conditions, such as land degradation and ecosystem services value (ESV). These ecosystem services have a large impact on quality of life in urban areas in the highlands, such as the region of Takengon, and must be addressed in land use planning. The purpose of this study is to identify the impact of LUC on ESV in 2009 and 2014.Both LUC maps divided into four categories, namely built-up area, water body, forest, and non built-up area, using the ArcGIS®10.1, with a supervised classification. Furthermore, an assessment of several environmental service variables was carried out, namely gas regulation, water supply, waste treatment, food production, raw material, and recreation. The classification results show that the LUC2009 and LUC 2014 were dominated by forests, with 10,064 ha of forest in 2009 and 8,959 ha of forest in 2014. The decrease in forest area from 2009 to 2014 also reduced the ESV by 12.33%. The government needs to consider landscape conservation and sustainable urban development planning.

Trade-offs and Synergies of Ecosystem Services in Karst Area of China Driven by Grain-for-Green Program

As an important means regulating the relationship between human and natural ecosystem, ecological restoration program plays a key role in restoring ecosystem functions. The Grain-for-Green Program (GFGP, One of the world’s most ambitious ecosystem conservation set-aside programs aims to transfer farmland on steep slopes to forestland or grassland to increase vegetation coverage) has been widely implemented from 1999 to 2015 and exerted significant influence on land use and ecosystem services (ESs). In this study, three ecological models (InVEST, RUSLE, and CASA) were used to accurately calculate the three key types of ESs, water yield (WY), soil conservation (SC), and net primary production (NPP) in Karst area of southwestern China from 1982 to 2015. The impact of GFGP on ESs and trade-offs was analyzed. It provides practical guidance in carrying out ecological regulation in Karst area of China under global climate change. Results showed that ESs and trade-offs had changed dramatically driven by GFGP. In detail, temporally, SC and NPP exhibited an increasing trend, while WY exhibited a decreasing trend. Spatially, SC basically decreased from west to east; NPP basically increased from north to south; WY basically increased from west to east; NPP and SC, SC and WY developed in the direction of trade-offs driven by the GFGP, while NPP and WY developed in the direction of synergy. Therefore, future ecosystem management and restoration policy-making should consider trade-offs of ESs so as to achieve sustainable provision of ESs.

Evolution of Land Cover and Ecosystem Services in the Frame of Pastoral Functional Categories: A Case Study in Swedish Lapland

Ecosystem services (ES) are a key-component for sustainable management of human–environment systems, particularly in polar environments where effects of global changes are stronger. Taking local knowledge into account allows the valuation of ES experienced by stakeholders. It is the case for reindeer herders in Scandinavia, the ungulate being a keystone specie for subarctic socio-ecosystems. We adapt the ecosystem services assessment (ESA) proposed in Finland to the case study of the Gabna herders’ community (Sweden), considering its cultural, geographical, and dynamic specificities. We used Saami ecological categories over the land-use categories of the CORINE Land Cover (CLC). We reassessed ES at the scale of the Gabna community and its seasonal pastures. We studied their evolution over 2000–2018, using CLC maps and Change CLC maps. Integration of Saami ecological categories in the classification of land cover did not substantially change the land cover distributions. However, ES were greater in Saami land use compared to other CLC categories. Cultural services were higher for summer and interseasonal pastures, dedicated to the reindeer reproduction, suggesting interactions between provisioning and cultural ES. Land cover changes are mostly represented by intensive forestry (5% of winter pastures) impeding reindeer grazing activity, while other seasonal pasture landscape composition stayed comparable along time. Consequently, forest activity, and in a lesser extent glacier melting and urbanization are the main drivers of the temporal evolution of ES. In the frame of pastoral landscapes conservation, the use of local terminologies opens perspectives for a holistic approach in environmental science. It raises the importance of local stakeholders as co-researchers in nature conservation studies.

Effect of Land Use Change on Ecosystem Service Value in Dujiangyan City

In order to evaluate the impact of land use change on ecosystem service value in Dujiangyan City, through equivalent factor method, qualitative and quantitative analysis is carried out on the dynamic change of land use change and its caused ecosystem service value in Dujiangyan City from 2010 to 2016. The results show that: (1) Dujiangyan city land use changes a large extent, with the extension of construction land expansion as the main increase part, and at the cost of the reduction of arable land and grassland area. (2) Over the past 7 years, the total value of ecosystem services in Dujiangyan city followed a law of first rising and then falling, showing an overall rising trend, with a total increase of 19.2244 million yuan. (3) The accuracy of the ecological value coefficient of woodland and grassland will greatly affect the value assessment of ecosystem services in Dujiangyan city. (4) From the relationship between land use type and ecosystem service value, cultivated land and construction land are negatively correlated with ecosystem service value, on the contrary, forest land, grassland, water area and construction land are positively correlated with ecosystem service value. In general, the land use of Dujiangyan City did not cause obvious damage to the ecological environment, but also cannot ignore the impact of land use changes on the environment in the process of economic development. It is necessary to control the growth of construction land area, promote the conservation and rational development of Eco-tourism area in Dujiangyan City, maintain the stability of ecosystem services in Dujiangyan City, and realize the strategy of sustainable development of Social-Economic-Ecological benefits.

Enhanced Ecosystem Services by Land Use Composition Adjustment Can Reduce Weather Disasters Loss under Climatic Change

How to evaluate ecosystem services has been intensively documented. However, the function of ecosystem services in alleviating the economic loss of weather disasters has been seldomly noticed. In Hunan Province of China, we investigated the loss of weather disasters: drought, flood, hail, rain storm, and heavy snow from 120 counties during 1980-2010. The land use changes and ecosystem services were also assessed. The results indicated that enhanced ecosystem services brought by land use changes have substantially reduced the intensity of weather disasters, and reduce the loss of disasters if they occurred. These potential function in mediating weather disaster should be considered in the assessment of ecosystem services. With global climate changes, we should optimize the land uses to face increasing weather extremes.

Spatiotemporal evolution of land ecosystem service value and its influencing factors in Shaanxi province based on GWR

Spatiotemporal evolution of land ecosystem service value and its influencing factors in Shaanxi province based on GWR

Engaging Regional Stakeholders in Scenario Planning for the Long-Term Preservation of Ecosystem Services in Northwestern Virginia

This case study describes the application of a framework for developing stakeholder-driven scenarios of the future. The purpose of these scenarios is to inform land use planning toward the protection of ecosystems and derivable ecosystem services in Northwestern Virginia. We held two scenario development workshops with regional experts in conservation, agriculture, land use planning, policy, and economic development to create scenarios of land use in the northern Piedmont and northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. We structured the workshops around a framework that guided stakeholders through several steps eventually resulting in four unique scenarios describing the region in 50 years. Scenario narratives were defined by the intersection of highly influential and uncertain drivers of change relevant to land use planning and ecosystem services. Participants from the northern Shenandoah Valley region selected population growth and climate change adaptation as their scenario defining drivers, while participants from the northern Piedmont region selected planning strategy and climate change impact as their scenario defining drivers. Participants fleshed out scenarios into descriptive narratives that incorporated qualitative and quantitative measures of change. Details from the scenario narratives informed land use change models to further quantify tradeoffs between land use planning decisions and ecosystem services. Individuals interested in using scenario planning to guide research efforts, conservation, or land use planning, or even to broaden perspectives on how to view the future, will find value in this case study.

Sustainability Dynamics of Traditional Villages: A Case Study in Qiannan Prefecture, Guizhou, China

Rapid urbanization has greatly changed traditional villages in rural areas of China. This paper aims to assess sustainability and obtain its spatio–temporal dynamics, analyze the cause of sustainability changing conditions, and offer suggestions on the sustainable development of traditional villages. We integrated human disturbances into a minimum cumulative resistance (MCR) model based on land use, landscape patterns, and ecosystem service (ES) provision in order to evaluate the sustainability dynamics of traditional villages between 1995 and 2015 in the Qiannan Prefecture, China. The results showed that pronounced declines in sustainability were limited to the northern and eastern regions, where the degradation of forest ecosystems and the rapid increase in construction land have resulted in landscape fragmentation and ES decline. We suggest that scientific land use development plans and ecological restoration should be implemented to protect the ecosystem and improve the sustainability of traditional villages in Qiannan Prefecture.

Using the Eco-Erosion Index to assess regional ecological stress due to urbanization – A case study in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration

Abstract Urban agglomeration (the spread of cities into large agglomerations) has become the main form of urbanization in China, and natural ecosystems surrounding the urban areas are becoming degraded and fragmented as a result. Although ecological indicators have been widely used to assess the regional ecological stress resulting from urbanization, few of them consider spatial adjacency relationships between urban and natural landscapes. From this perspective a novel ecological indicator, the Eco-Erosion Index (EEI), was developed and applied to assess the regional ecological stress caused by urban agglomeration development across 26 cities in the Yangtze River Delta, China (YRD). We analyzed: i) temporal change in land use and land cover (LULC) and ecosystem services value (ESV) in YRD from 1990 to 2010, ii) spatiotemporal dynamics of EEI of YRD at different scales: provincial, municipal, and 5 km-grid, iii) inter-relationships between EEI and LULC and ESV to explore its effectiveness as an indicator. The results showed that urban agglomeration in YRD has led to increasing regional ecological stress from 1990 to 2010. EEI values increased from 0.197 in 1990 to 0.321 in 2010. The closer to Shanghai City, the greater the EEI values of the cities become. EEI is highly related with LULC and ESV but integrates these two variables as it represents both the spatial occupation and landscape adjacency effects. The EEI values demonstrate some scale effects, and EEI at fine scale provides useful information to guide sustainable urban landscape management.

From studying the properties and functions of land and soil to assessing their ecosystem services: a review

The content of the article is based on the results of an analytical review of foreign and domestic scientific and applied research, as well as the author’s own developments on the specific features and the role of land and soil in the provision of ecosystem services. The latter are the benefits and goods that people receive as a result of the functioning and economic use of soil and land resources, contributing to the improvement of their well-being, as well as the sustainable existence of terrestrial ecosystems. The dualist role of land and soil performing, on the one hand, economic, environmental, sanitary and hygienic, territorial-organizational and other functions, on the other hand, being a recognized form of natural capital with an accumulated stock of value, is considered. It is proposed despite the physical unity of land and soil, when valuing them, be considered separately, determining the value of soil from the standpoint of their ecological functions, and the land – the spatial basis, life support and habitat, and also as an integral part of utility and profitability of land use. The possibilities of assessing land and soil ecosystem services are analysed on the basis of the concept of their common economic value and the prospects for applying its results in environmental management practice and statistical accounting of the natural capital.

Spatio-temporal variation of land use and ecosystem service values and their impact factors in an urbanized agricultural basin since the reform and opening of China.

The provision capacity of ecosystem services is affected by land-use/land-cover (LULC) change and biophysical and socio-economic characteristics. Studies related to ecosystem service values (ESVs) and their impact factors can provide a good reference for natural capital management. In this paper, the temporal and spatial dynamics of LULC and ESVs in the Nansihu Lake basin, China, since the reform and opening of China were analyzed by a combined method of spatial analysis and correlation analysis, and the factors that influence ESV changes were discussed. The results indicated that the main LULC changes were the enormous loss of cultivated land and rapid urban land expansion since the policy of reformation and opening in 1978. The ESVs in the basin decreased by 1.64% (1.70 × 108 US$) from 1975 to 2015, and the main impact factors of this temporal change in ESVs were the changes in waterbodies and cultivated land. Spatial patterns of ESVs were significantly influenced by socio-economic factors in the basin, such as population density and intensity of land use. This research provides alternatives and robust information for policy-making processes for the Nansihu Lake basin, and similar work can be conducted in other parts of the country.

Building Regional Sustainable Development Scenarios with the SSP Framework

Climate change is having an increasing effect on human society and ecosystems. The United Nations has established 17 sustainable development goals, one of which is to cope with climate change. How to scientifically explore uncertainties and hazards brought about by climate change in the future is crucial. The new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has proposed shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) to project climate change scenarios. SSP has been analyzed globally, but how regions and nations respond to the global climate change and mitigation policies is seldom explored, which do not meet the demand for regional environmental assessment and social sustainable development. Therefore, in this paper, we reviewed and discussed how SSPs were applied to regions, and this can be summarized into four main categories: (1) integrated assessment model (IAM) scenario analysis, (2) SSPs-RCPs-SPAs framework scenario analysis, (3) downscaling global impact assessment model, and (4) regional impact assessment model simulation. The study provides alternative ways to project land use, water resource, energy, and ecosystem service in regions, which can carry out related policies and actions to address climate change in advance and help achieve sustainable development.

Contribution of the land use allocation model for agroecosystems: The case of Torrecchia Vecchia

In this study, we developed a bio-economic model coupling land use and ecosystem services to investigate the role of forests on a broad set of ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration, soil quality and biodiversity. As a case study, the model was calibrated with economic, agronomic and ecological data from the Torrecchia Vecchia agroecosystem in Italy. In our analysis of optimal land use allocation, the results showed that diversified land use is required to provide a good balance between provisioning and non-provisioning ecosystem services. More specifically, the development of woodlands alongside farming activities had a positive impact on the soil quality score and on landscape heterogeneity, which is a proxy for ecosystem function and resilience. These findings demonstrate that the inclusion of woodlands can alleviate the trade-offs between provisioning and non-provisioning services as they can generate profit while allowing for better soil quality and biodiversity relative to more intensive land use. The study also confirms that a landscape-scale method can be used to investigate agroecosystem management problems when spatially explicit data is not available.