Land Use Change Processes Research Articles

Environmental diagnostic of municipality of zinacantepec, Estado de México

In the period 2021‑ 2023, technical tours were conducted as part of the Local Ecological Management of Zinacantepec to carry out the environmental diagnosis of the territory, in which soil degradation is present in the sub‑ b asin of the Tejalpa River while the forest ecosystem in the Zinacantépetl Formation is in a process of feedback according to the General System Theory (GST), that is, recovery with a positive trend in the forest cover. The purpose of this research is to analyze the characteristics of the physical‑ g eographical subsystemin order to determine the environmental conditions in the study area. In order to achieve the specific objectives, a methodology based on the evaluation of the disturbances in the balance of the environmental system was proposed, for which thematic cartography was obtained, as well as the state of evolution of the relief by means of matrices applied in field work. On the other hand, through COMPROBIDES, training sessions and working groups have been held to present multidisciplinary proposals that promote environmental protection based on the results obtained, in which processes of land use change, water erosion, deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution and urban location in agricultural areas have been identified. It should be noted that knowledge of the geodynamics of geographic space has contributed to social and public participation for the preservation of natural resources.

Afforestation Enhances Potential Bacterial Metabolic Function without Concurrent Soil Carbon: A Case Study of Mu Us Sandy Land

Elucidating the impact of afforestation on soil bacterial community composition and its potential function in afforestation is imperative for comprehending the biochemical processes of land use change. This study employed high-throughput genomic sequencing to determine the bacterial phylogenetic assembly and assess functional groups following afforestation encompassing shrubland and woodland. Compared with non-afforested cropland, the soil organic carbon (SOC) remained unchanged, but significant alterations were observed in the bacterial composition and potential functions under afforestation. Afforestation enhanced bacterial diversity and even shifted the bacteria from the r- to K-strategy, as indicated by higher oligotroph/copiotroph ratios. Soil properties explained 66.45% and 68.9% of the total variation in bacterial community composition at the phylum level and the functional group. A 60.44% decrease in soil water content, a 3.82% increase in pH, a 7.5% increase in bulk density, and a 66.8% decrease in available phosphorus (AP) were the main soil factors affecting both bacterial community composition and functional traits in afforestation. In particular, lower available nutrients, AP, and nitrate nitrogen in afforestation drive the bacterial life history strategies. We conclude that changes in bacterial metabolic functions due to reduced soil available nutrients from dryland afforestation might be the main driver for microbial-inhibited SOC accumulation. These results could provide strong microbiological evidence to help further evaluate the importance of dryland afforestation.

Deliberative Democracy and Making Sustainable and Legitimate Development Plans: The Case of the Antalya Kırcami Agrihood

The objective of this study is to examine the process of land-use change through the lens of the preferences of local actors in the Kırcami Agrihood. Our main focus is to investigate whether the decision-making mechanisms used in the Kırcami development plan (i) are carried out in accordance with deliberative democracy and (ii) whether they are true, systematic, and typical tools of deliberative democracy. To do so, in-depth interviews were conducted with local actors, namely residents, investors, and local government, and their preferences and views regarding urban agriculture and the decision-making process were examined through discourses. Our first finding is that very few tools of deliberative democracy are used in the making of the Kırcami development plan, and they are not idealised tools. Our second finding is that less than half of residents and investors participate in these flawed democratic decision-making processes; thus, the transformative power of deliberation does not function in the Kırcami case. Finally, deliberative democratic tools are not incorporated into Turkish legislation at both local and national levels. We conclude that these three issues should be addressed, and genuine tools of deliberative democracy should be used to make the Kırcami development plan more sustainable and legitimate.

Characteristics and driving mechanism of wetland landscape pattern change in karst region of southwest China over past 35 years: A case study of Caohai wetland in Guizhou

AbstractTo uncover the process of land use change and its driving mechanism of typical wetland ecosystems in the karst region, this thesis conducts a case study on Caohai National Nature Reserve (hereafter referred to as Caohai). With the support of geo‐information technology and the landscape index analysis method, it quantitatively analyzes the magnitudes, speed, and landscape patterns of land use changes over 35 years from 1985 to 2020 using continuous remote sensing images. The results show that the land use structure of Caohai has mainly undergone mutual conversion between farmland and wetland. Before 2005, 164.60 ha of farmland were converted to wetland, from 2005 to 2015, 451.79 ha of wetland were converted to farmland, and from 2015 to 2020, 979.62 ha of farmland were transformed into wetland. The trend for construction land was to decrease first and then increase, with increased construction land primarily coming from farmland and partially from shrubland and forestland. The spatial connectivity of landscape distribution showed a slow decrease to a rapid decrease, then increased and reduced again, while diversity and evenness showed the opposite trend. Rational policies and urban construction planning are essential measures for protecting wetland ecosystems in the karst region.

Spatio-temporal patterns and accessibility of green spaces in Kumasi, Ghana

Urban green spaces (UGS) are a central part of cities and offer multiple ecological and social benefits necessary for a higher quality of life of inhabitants. However, rapid unguided urban growth together with planning policies on rezoning can lead to transformation of UGS to commercial, residential, and other uses. These processes of land use change result in inequities in the distribution of UGS in the city. Yet, data and metrics that capture changes in the geography of UGS is scarce within African cities. This paper addresses this need by examining the spatio-temporal geography of UGS at the neighborhood-scale in Kumasi, the next biggest city in Ghana. Five (5) UGS distribution indicators were computed from remote sensing data for 2013 and 2020 and compared across neighborhoods. Further, a GIS network analysis method was deployed to analyse access to parks in Kumasi. The results showed that between 2013 and 2020, green spaces in Kumasi became fragmented and disconnected despite a slight increase in quantity. The level of UGS fragmentation was found to significantly vary among the neighborhoods. Fragmentation and depletion in UGS were profound at the outskirts of Kumasi while majority of the population cannot access the nearest park under 30-min’ walk. These findings contribute to a complete and holistic understanding of the distribution and accessibility of UGS at the neighborhood level in cities and disparities in UGS exposure in the Global South. The findings provide important insights for urban policies while the data and methods serve as blueprints for local authorities, particularly in Ghana to track their progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 11, target 7.

Evolution and coupled matching of ecosystem service supply and demand at different spatial scales in the Shandong Peninsula urban agglomeration, China

Ecosystem services are the environmental basis of human living and sustainable development, and the coupled matching of ecosystem service supply and demand (ESSD) plays an important role in socioeconomic and eco-environmental development. As one of the major regions supplying ecological products in China, the Shandong Peninsula urban agglomeration (SPUA) has unique geographical advantages and a strategic position. Based on high-resolution land-use and regional socioeconomic development data in SPUA, this study used value quantity assessment and an ecosystem service demand model to quantify ecosystem service supply (ESS) and ecosystem service demand (ESD) at both the city and county scale in 2000, 2010 and 2020. Meanwhile, the CA-Markov model was used to predict the potential land-use, the Moran index and Getis-Ord Gi* index were used to analyze spatial clusters of ESS and ESD, and a coupling coordination degree model and matching index were used to analyze the relationship between ESS and ESD. The results show that: (1) The most prominent land-use change in SPUA from 2000 to 2020 was the conversion of cropland to other land-use types; the process of land-use change was more intense from 2010 to 2020 than from 2000 to 2010; and the center of city activities might expand by 2030, which is related to the regional development plan. (2) The ESS was related to the regional natural conditions. Coastal regions or regions with abundant natural resources in SPUA had higher ESS, and the southwest region had lower ESS in SPUA. The ESS presented high–high clusters, low–low clusters and hot spots, and the cluster phenomena gradually diminished from 2000 to 2020. (3) The ESD was related to the regional location and economic development, with the southwest region of SPUA having a higher ESD than the northeast. The ESD presented low–low clusters, and Jinan and Qingdao had hot spots, which are the most developed cities in SPUA. (4) The study scale had impacts on coupled matching of ESSD. Coupled matching of ESSD was found to be unbalanced at the county scale from 2000 to 2020, but tended to be balanced at the city scale, which was related to resource management at different spatial scales. This study reveals the evolution and coupled matching of ESSD at different scales, which has important implications for the sustainable development of regional urban agglomerations.

Developing a game-theoretic interactive decision-making framework for urban land-use planning

Land-use changes are the result of individuals' interactive decisions and are directly affected by stakeholders' preferences. For a better understanding of land-use change processes and to support the development of an adequate land-use plan, simulating stakeholders' interactions is a key challenge. This study aims to develop a Game-Theoretic Interactive Decision Making (GTIDM) framework to simulate the interrelated behavior of stakeholders with imperfect information in a land-use change process. GTIDM considers consequences of the any possible decision taken by actors and support the best possible payoff for all decision-makers in conflicted and competitive situations. The proposed framework was implemented and analyzed using data from the 22nd municipal region of Tehran. We compared the results from GTIDM with Multi-Agent System (MAS) and Conventional Multi-Criteria Decision Making-based (CMCDM) frameworks to demonstrate the effects of considering or ignoring the interactive decision-making process. The results obtained indicate that the interactive decision-making situation can be efficiently simulated by GTIDM and the outputs are more similar to stakeholders’ decisions in the real world. The MAS- and CMCDM-based frameworks are less focused on interactive situations. Finally, GTIDM provides insight into interactive decision-making in land-use change process and can lead us toward a feasible solution in urban land-use planning.

Multi-scenario Land Use Optimization and Carbon Storage Assessment in Northwest China

Land use/cover change (LUCC) is the main factor leading to the change in carbon stock of terrestrial ecosystems. Studying the process of land use and carbon storage change under different scenarios in the future will help to formulate scientific land use policies and increase regional terrestrial ecosystem carbon storage. The GMMOP-PLUS-InVEST model was constructed to analyze the change characteristics of land use and carbon storage in northwest China from 2000 to 2020 through multi-source data and to predict the land use and carbon storage in northwest China in 2030 under the scenarios of natural development (ND), economic development (ED), ecological protection (EP), and comprehensive development (CD). The results showed that:①from 2000 to 2020, the area of grassland decreased by 1680.99×104 hm2, and the area of cultivated land, forest land, water area, wetland, construction land, and unused land increased by 201.19×104, 208.47×104, 91.54×104, 51.30×104, 157.40×104, and 971.09×104 hm2, respectively. ②From 2000 to 2020, soil and underground carbon storage decreased, dead organic matter and aboveground carbon storage increased, and total carbon storage decreased by 677.97×106 t. Grassland degradation was the main reason for the decrease in carbon storage. ③Compared to that in 2020, the total carbon storage in the ND scenario was reduced by 63.12×106 t, and the total carbon storage in the ED, EP, and CD scenarios increased by 759.19×106, 804.57×106, and 817.89×106 t, respectively; the CD scenario was the optimal development model. These results can provide a reference for regional land use planning and the increase of terrestrial ecosystem carbon storage.

Geographical Detector-Based Research of Spatiotemporal Evolution and Driving Factors of Oasification and Desertification in Manas River Basin, China

Oasification and desertification are two essential processes of land use and cover (LULC) change in arid regions. Compared to desertification, which is widely regarded as the most severe global ecological issue, the importance of oasification has not received universal recognition. However, neglecting oasification can lead to detrimental outcomes to the effectiveness of ecological governance by affecting the comprehensiveness of environmental policies proposed only based on desertification. Therefore, this study incorporates oasification into the examination of desertification by analyzing land use data for five representative periods spanning from 1980 to 2020, as well as socioeconomic and environmental data from 2000 to 2010. The aim is to evaluate the spatial and temporal dynamics of oasification and desertification in the Manas River Basin and identify the underlying factors driving these processes. The findings indicated that (1) the general trend of oasification and desertification exhibited the expansion of oases and the retreat of deserts. Specifically, the oasification area showed a “decrease-increase-decrease” pattern over time, while the desertification area consistently decreased. (2) In terms of spatial distribution, oasification and desertification displayed a transition from scattered and disordered patterns to an overall more organized pattern, with the hotspot area of desertification shifting from Shawan County to Manas County over time. (3) Population density, average land GDP, soil type and annual precipitation significantly influenced the degree of oasification, with driving force q-values above 0.4, which were the key factors driving oasification. Population density and average land GDP significantly affected the degree of desertification, with driving force q-values above 0.35, which were the key factors driving desertification. The driving force of all factors increased significantly after the interaction, and socioeconomic factors influenced oasification and desertification more than other factors. The study’s findings aim to provide a scientific basis for land resource use, ecological governance and sustainable development in the Manas River basin.

Analysis of Spatiotemporal Aggregation of Land Use Change Processes Considering the Shape of Land Units

The processes of land use and cover change (LUCC) are highly diverse and complex, being heavily influenced by natural factors, economic factors, and other related factors. These changes have a significant impact on ecological environments and landscapes, and serve as a reflection of human activity, limited by natural factors. As a result, LUCC has been widely studied across multiple scientific disciplines. In particular, considerable progress has been made with regard to traditional methods of analyzing land use structures, which focus on the overall differences in the land use structure in each spatiotemporal snapshot. However, these methods have overlooked the continuity in the evolution of each land use unit between different snapshots, impeding the development of a comprehensive model for the spatiotemporal evolution of land use processes. In this work, land use change process (LUCP)—constructed using multiple land use data points from different points in time—was employed as the basis to develop a method to measure the spatiotemporal distance between irregular land patches in evolution sequences based on LUCP. Furthermore, the spatiotemporal distribution model was analyzed using Monte Carlo simulation and measurements of the shortest spatiotemporal distance of LUCP. This work employs land use data for Huainan in China, a typical coal resource city, from 2008 to 2017 for an empirical study. A typical kind of spatiotemporal evolution of LUCP (evolution from farmland to grassland within any two years) is evaluated. Taking into account the shape of land use units, the spatiotemporal distances between irregular evolutionary sequences are measured using buffer-based superposition. The results show that the expected mean nearest neighbor distance for the irregularly evolving sequence of land use units is 0.085 in the completely random CSR model, whereas the mean nearest neighbor distance is 0.037 in the real observation model. These results indicate that such LUCPs have generally shown a spatiotemporal aggregation pattern over the past 10 years. However, since the z-score is 1.03, which is in the range of −1.65 to 1.65, this aggregation pattern is not statistically significant. These experiments demonstrate the validity of using the method proposed herein to study similar problems. The results of this work provide valuable insight into the spatiotemporal evolution process of land use units, which could be instrumental in exploring the potential spatiotemporal model of LUCP evolution.

Two Decades of Land-Use Dynamics in an Urbanizing Tropical Watershed: Understanding the Patterns and Drivers

Java’s Brantas River Basin (BRB) is an increasingly urbanized tropical watershed with significant economic and ecological importance; yet knowledge of its land-use changes dynamics and drivers as well as their importance have barely been explored. This is the case for many other tropical watersheds in Java, Indonesia and beyond. This study of the BRB (1) quantifies the land-use changes in the period 1995–2015, (2) determines the patterns of land-use changes during 1995–2015, and (3) identifies the potential drivers of land-use changes during 1995–2015. Findings show that from 1995 to 2015, major transitions from forest to shrubs (218 km2), forest to dryland agriculture (512 km2), and from agriculture to urban areas (1484 km2) were observed in the BRB. Responses from land-user questionnaires suggest that drivers include a wide range of economic, social, technological, and biophysical attributes. An agreement matrix provided insight about consistency and inconsistency in the drivers inferred from the Land Change Modeler and those inferred from questionnaires. Factors that contributed to inconsistencies include the limited representation of local land-use features in the spatial data sets and comprehensiveness of land-user questionnaires. Together the two approaches signify the heterogeneity and scale-dependence of the land-use change process.

Stakeholder perspectives on farmers’ resistance towards urban land-use changes in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

ABSTRACT Owing to growing uncontrolled land-use change and urban expansion, farmers in urban fringes are struggling to sustain their livelihood. Farmers have been expressing their dissatisfaction at different times. This study analyzes the stakeholders’ perspectives on the causes and outcomes of farmers’ resistance to land-use change and urban expansion processes by zooming in on Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. The paper is based on focus group discussions with farmers in the neighboring villages, local agricultural extension experts, and, subsequently, key informant interviews of local government officials. Juxtaposing farmers’ and local experts’ positions reveals that inadequate compensations during land expropriation, lack of good governance in the urban expansion process, and inaccessibility of infrastructures are primary reasons for the farmers’ struggle against urban expansion in the urban fringes. This study provides insights into the consequences of unplanned urban development challenges and may inform research and policymaking on sustainable urban development in the area and beyond.

Regional Drivers behind the Burning of Remanent Forests in Michoacán Avocado Belt, Central Mexico

The state of Michoacán in central Mexico supplies nearly 50% of the global avocado trade in a region known as the Michoacan Avocado Belt or Avocadoland. Fire has been a component associated with regional land-use change processes. We documented fire regime attributes for the period 2000–2017, discussed the use of fire related to the expansion of avocado orchards, and evaluated the role of atmospheric variables and human infrastructure. There was a mean of 276 fires covering 3287 ha of forest per year. Over 80% of the burned area was covered by pine and pine–oak forests, with a strong correlation of ignitions with the distance to urban settlements, roads, agricultural plots, and avocado orchards. There is a median fire return interval of 2–3 years, and the distance to avocado orchards and main roads was highly correlated with fire recurrence. Final users of the international marketing of this fruit may be unaware of the fire-related land-use changes, namely, the damage to biodiversity, forest health, and water bodies, as well as to producers’ well-being, behind the great demand for avocados. The present conditions of insecurity and social conflict must be addressed to guarantee, among other things, the conservation of these diverse forests.

Research on the interaction of "tourism development-land use-landscape pattern" since the 1990s in a small karst basin, China.

The rapid rise of tourism in the karst regions has promoted the development of the local economy by relying on the unique landforms and landscapes. However, tourism development is often accompanied by land use changes and has an impact on the ecological environment. Exploring the coupling relationship between "tourism development-land use-landscape pattern" is very important for ecologically fragile karst areas. Taking the Yulong River Basin as an example, this research applied 3S technology, spatial analysis based on POIs, and regression analysis to the following: (1) identifying the process and effects of land use change, (2) determining the spatial pattern of tourism land and its correlation with land use change, (3) determining the characteristics and impacts of landscape pattern evolution. As the results suggested: (1) The significant expansion of construction land occupies a large amount of farmland, there is a balanced relationship between farmland and forest land for mutual conversion. (2) The aggregation of tourist land is affected by the trend of tourist behavior and the distribution of scenic spots. There is a significant moderate positive correlation between tourism land and construction land. (3) With the land use change, landscape heterogeneity has improved, but landscape fragmentation is serious and landscape connectivity is reduced. This research provides new evidences for the effect of the rapid development of tourism on land use change and ecological environment and as a reference to future orderly and moderate land development and ecological sustainability in karst regions.

Modeling land-use change using partitioned vector cellular automata while considering urban spatial structure

While many published studies have explored the impact of spatial heterogeneity on land-use change, few have focused on regional differences in land-use transition rules caused by urban spatial structure. In this paper, we measured urban land-use diversity by developing self-adaptive kernel density estimation and entropy weight methods and determine the urban spatial structure (composed of urban regions, inner and outer urban-rural fringes, and a rural hinterland) by applying a spectral clustering method. Combining local neighborhood effects and environmental effects, the land-use transition rules of different types of regions were mined to construct a partitioned vector cellular automata (CA) model that zonally simulates urban land-use change. The proposed model was applied to the simulation of the land-use change process in Jiangyin City, China, from 2007 to 2017. The resulting simulation accuracy was higher than that of other well-accepted CA models that do not consider urban spatial structure, and the conventional neighborhood assimilation rule was found not to be applicable to the conversion of construction land. The results and findings demonstrate that the proposed model is an effective means for urban planners to simulate and analyze urban evolution processes of cities with urban spatial structures that fit a concentric circle model.

Swelling Cities? Detecting China’s Urban Land Transition Based on Time Series Data

It is common to see urban land expansion worldwide, and its characteristics, mechanisms, and effects are widely known. As socio-economic transition and the change of land use policies may reverse the trend of urban expansion, in-depth research on the process of urban land use change is required. Through a process perspective, this paper reveals the change paths, development stages, and spatial patterns of urban residential land use with data from 323 cities in China from 2009 to 2016. The results show that: (1) theoretically, urban residential land use change can be divided into four development stages: an initial stage (Ⅰ), a rapid development stage (Ⅱ), a transition stage (Ⅲ), and a later stage of transition (Ⅳ). The rate of land use change is low—increase—decrease—approaching zero. (2) In about 68.7% of China’s cities, urban residential land is experiencing a transition, shifting from accelerating growth to decelerating growth. Given the distinctive transition process, it has been suggested that urban planning and land use policies should give timely responses to the new trends and spatial differences.

Simulation and Prediction of Urban Land Use Change Considering Multiple Classes and Transitions by Means of Random Change Allocation Algorithms

The great majority of the world population resides nowadays in urban areas. Understanding their physical and social structure, and especially their urban land use pattern dynamics throughout time, becomes crucial for successful, effective management of such areas. This study is committed to simulate and predict urban land use change in a pilot city belonging to the São Paulo Metropolitan Region, southeast of Brazil, by means of a cellular automata model associated with the Markov chain. This model is driven by data derived from orbital and airborne remotely sensed images and is parameterized by the Bayesian weights of evidence method. Several layers related to infrastructure and biophysical aspects of the pilot city, São Caetano do Sul, were used as evidence in the simulation process. Alternative non-stationary scenarios were generated for the short-run, and the results obtained from past simulations were statistically validated using a multiresolution “goodness-of-fit” metric relying on fuzzy logic. The best simulations reached fuzzy similarity indices around 0.25–0.58 for small neighborhood windows when an exponential decay approach was employed for the analysis, and approximately 0.65–0.95 when a constant decay and larger windows were considered. The adopted Bayesian inference method proved to be a good parameterization approach for simulating processes of urban land use change involving multiple classes and transitions.

Modelling of land-use/cover change trajectories in a transboundary catchment of the Sio-Malaba-Malakisi Region in East Africa using the CLUE-s model

A comprehensive undertanding of land-use change processes and their future trajectories is essential for the development of land-use management plans required for conservation of ecological resources. In East Africa, however, there is still limited information on historical, current and future land cover change trends within the vulnerable watersheds. In such data constrained areas, a few studies have adapted spatial models, employing historical land cover change trends derived from satellite remote sensing to provide the requisite landscape metrics for ecological modelling and management. In this study, the ensemble Conversion of Land Use and its Effects at Small regional extent (CLUE-s) model was used to model potential land-use/cover change trajectories in the transboundary Sio-Malaba-Malakisi Watershed of Kenya and Uganda. Historical change trends were obtained from consistently classified land cover datasets. The model parameters, which included climatic, biophysical and human factors were estimated from physical datasets in a Geographical information System (GIS). Two scenarios that represented options for agricultural expansion (Scenarion I), and land reclamation (Scenarion II) were investigated for the period between 2027 and 2047 to support ongoing regional inititiaves towards ecological resource conservation and watershed management across the transboundary region. From the results, Scenario I indicated an increase in the cropland area by 24%, covering approximately 62% of the whole basin area by 2047. A Scenario II indicated a 30% increase in forest cover, indicating an improvement in forest recovery and restoration of ecosystem area. The results obtained can be used to support baseline studies on the management of the transboundary region with varied country-management options.

Analyzing the Process of Land-Use Transfer Flow in the Suhai Lake Basin in China, 1980–2018

The Suhai Lake Basin has held major ecological status as a crucial component of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau’s ecological security barrier. The Suhai Lake Migratory Bird Nature Reserve’s safety and the livelihood of Kazakh citizens are now directly endangered by the frequent switching between land-use types and the decrease of ecosystem service functions caused by climate change and human activity. As a result, this work introduces the idea of land-use transfer flow. Through the application of interval level change and the land-use transfer chain, the process, affecting factors, and current issues of land-use change in the Suhai Lake Basin over the past 40 years are thoroughly investigated. The results showed that the intensity of land-use change was significant, at 0.055%, during the period 1990–2000, whereas the grassland area significantly increased, with a net increase of 23.07 km2, mainly from the conversion of saline-alkali land, swamp, and other unused land in the middle and lower reaches. The key factor influencing the growth of the grassland throughout this time has been the ecological management policy. As a result of the climate’s ongoing warming between 2000 and 2018, glacial meltwater and precipitation increased, the middle and lower ranges of the groundwater table rose, and the grassland degradation, swamp shrinkage, and soil salinization in the watershed all worsened. The degradation of grassland will result from both overgrazing and overprotection. Suhai Lake Wetland and Haizi Grassland Wetland are the most readily apparent examples of land-use changes in the Suhai Lake Basin from a spatial perspective. More consideration should be given to the ecological deterioration and land exposure in the glacier retreat zone of the upstream source region. The results can provide important information on the impact of regional development and the environmental governance policies of the changes in land use/cover in the Suhai Lake Basin.

Spatiotemporal differentiation and the coupling analysis of ecosystem service value with land use change in Hubei Province, China

Rapid urbanization has exacerbated land use transformation, which in turn has affected ecosystem service value (ESV). Clarifying the spatial association between land use change (LUC) and ESV is of relevance to the development of policies for sustainable land development and ecosystem service (ES) management. In this paper, taking Hubei Province as an example, the biomass coefficient, resource scarcity coefficient and socioeconomic adjustment coefficient are introduced to improve the ESV assessment model, and then the spatiotemporal dynamics of land use and ESV from 2000 to 2020 are analyzed. Furthermore, the coupling coordination degree (CCD) between land use intensity and ESV was explored through a CCD model. The results show that (1) land use in Hubei Province changed significantly from 2000 to 2020, mainly in cropland and built-up land. (2) The change in ESV showed a fluctuating upward trend, with an increase of 71.30%, and the spatial differences generally decreased, showing a spatial pattern of “low in the center and high in the surroundings”. (3) All individual ESVs first decreased and then increased, with regulating services and supporting services contributing more to ESV and hydrological regulation, maintenance of biodiversity and soil conservation being the top three ecosystem functions with high service value. (4) The CCD between ESV and land use intensity in Hubei Province and its cities (prefecture and forest area) decreased and then increased, being at the lowest and highest values in 2005 and 2020, respectively. This paper revealed the spatiotemporal evolution process of LUC and ESV in Hubei Province and their coupling coordinated relationship, which can provide effective guidance for the formulation of interzonal ES maintenance policies to reconcile the conflicts between land use and ecosystem management.