Spatio-temporal evolution and topographic gradient effect of land use and ecosystem service value in the Lhasa River Basin

The Lhasa River Basin forms an essential human settlement area in the southern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.This study employed ecosystem service value(ESV)evaluation model,terrain gradient grading,and Geodetector to analyze land use and ESV in the Lhasa River Basin from 1985 to 2020.The findings reveal that:(1)From 1985 to 2020,grassland was the dominant land use.There was a trend of grassland reduction and the expansion of other land types.(2)ESV has increased over the research period(with a total increase of 0.84%),with higher values in the southeast and lower values in the northwest.Grassland contributed the most to ESV,and climate regulation and hydrological regulation were the ecosystem services that contribute the most to ESV.(3)Natural factors like NDVI and altitude,as well as economic factors like population density and distance from roads,influenced the spatial differentiation of ESV,the explanatory power of NDVI reached up to 0.47.The interaction between factors had a greater impact than individual factors.These research results can provide theoretical support for national spatial planning and ecological environment protection in the Lhasa River Basin and other similar areas.

Multi-scenario Simulation of the Impact of Land Use Change on the Ecosystem Service Value in the Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou Metropolitan Area,China

As the most economically developed metropolitan area in China’s Yangtze River Delta,the rapid changing land use patterns of Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou(Su-Xi-Chang) metropolitan area have profound impacts on the ecosystem service value(ESV).Based on the patterns of land use change and the ESV change in Su-Xi-Chang metropolitan area from 2000 to 2020,we set up four scenarios:natural development scenario,urban development scenario,arable land protection scenario and ecological protection scenario,and simulated the impact of land use changes on the ESV in these scenarios.The results showed that:1) the area of built-up land in the Su-XiChang metropolitan area increased significantly from 2000 to 2020,and the area of other types of land decreased.Arable land underwent the highest transfer-out area,and was primarily converted into built-up land.The total ESV of Su-Xi-Chang metropolitan area increased initially then declined from 2000–2020,and the value of almost all individual ecosystem services decreased.2) Population density,GDP per area,night lighting intensity,and road network density can negatively impact the ESV.3) The total ESV loss under the natural development and urban development scenarios was high,and the expansion of the built-up land and the drastic shrinkage of the arable land contributed to the ESV decline under both scenarios.The total ESV under arable land protection and ecological protection scenarios increases,and therefore these scenarios are suitable for future land use optimization in Su-Xi-Chang.This study could provide a certain reference for land use planning and allocation,and offer guidance for the rational allocation of land resources.

Land Use Dynamics and Ecosystem Service Value Changes in the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration Under Different Scenarios

Urban agglomerations,serving as pivotal centers of human activity,undergo swift alterations in ecosystem services prompted by shifts in land utilization.Strengthening the monitoring of ecosystem services in present and future urban agglomerations contributes to the rational planning of these areas and enhances the well-being of their inhabitants.Here,we analyzed land use conversion in the Yangtze River Delta(YRD)urban agglomeration during 1990-2020 and discussed the spatiotemporal response and main drivers of changes in ecosystem service value(ESV).By considering the different development strategic directions described in land use planning policies,we predicted land use conversion and its impact on ESV using the Future Land Use Simulation(FLUS)model in three scenari-os in 2025 and 2030.Results show that:1)from 1990 to 2020,land use change is mainly manifested as the continuous expansion of con-struction land to cultivated land.Among the reduced cultivated land,82.2%were occupied by construction land.2)The land use types conversion caused a loss of 21.85 billion yuan(RMB)in ESV during 1990-2020.Moreover,the large reduction of cultivated land area led to the continuous decline of food production value,accounting for 13%of the total ESV loss.3)From 2020 to 2030,land use change will mainly focus on Yangzhou and Zhenjiang in central Jiangsu Province and Taizhou in southern Zhejiang Province.Under the BAU(natural development)and ED(cultivated land protection)scenarios,construction land expansion remains dominant.In contrast,under the EP(ecological protection)scenario,the areas of water bodies and forest land increase significantly.Among the different scenarios,ESV is highest in the EP scenario,making it the optimal solution for sustainable land use.It can be seen that the space use conflict among urban,agriculture and ecology is a key factor leading to ESV change in the urban agglomeration of Yangtze River Delta.There-fore,it is crucial to maintain spatial land use coordination.Our findings provide suggestions for scientific and rational land use planning for the urban agglomeration.

Spatiotemporal Evolution of Ecosystem Service Value in Caohai National Nature Reserve

Wetland ecosystems are important regulators of global climate change.Studying the spatiotemporal changes and driving mechanisms of their ecosystem service values(ESV)is beneficial for the sustainable development of wetlands.This paper uses the equivalent factor method,based on land use changes,to reveal the spatiotemporal evolution of the ecosystem service value in the Caohai National Nature Reserve(CNNR).The results show the following:①from 2000 to 2020,there was a significant decrease in the core zone s arable land area,with an increase in forest and water areas.Construction land mainly increased in the experimental area,and the grassland area showed a fluctuating change of first increasing and then decreasing;②in 2000,2010,and 2020,the ecosystem service value of the study area was 302 million,296 million,and 325 million yuan,respectively,showing a trend of fluctuating growth,with the value of wetland ecosystems playing a dominant role;③regulatory services are the main contributors to the ecosystem service value in the study area,with a contribution rate of 60%.Hydrological regulation is the ecosystem function with the highest value in wetland ecosystem services,contributing more than 35%to the ESV in all three periods;④in terms of spatial distribution,the core zone s ecosystem service value is dominant.Looking at the total ecosystem service value of the region,the core zone>the experimental area>the buffer zone.In terms of ESV per unit area,the core zone(89000 yuan/hm^(2))is significantly higher than the buffer zone(39100 yuan/hm^(2))and the experimental area(15800 yuan/hm^(2)).The study can provide a basis for research and spatial management of ecosystem services in wetland ecosystems and nature reserves.

Assessment of Ecosystem Services Value in Hotan Oasis, Xingjiang

[Objective] The study aimed to assess the ecosystem services value in Hotan Oasis, Xingjiang. [Method] The visual interpretation method was adopted to process TM/ETM＋ images based on field investigation in Hotan Oasis. These inter- pretation data, along with two periods of land use data, were reclassified to farm- land, forest, grassland and so on. Then, the ecosystem services value was calculat- ed and analyzed. [Result] Analysis indicated that the ecosystem services value had been increased by 30.44x108 Yuan （16.51%） in the study area during 1980-2010, which can be explained by the increase of glacier and snowfield distributed in the south mountain with the increase of annual precipitation. At the same time, the con- tribution rate of grassland to ecosystem services value had been decreased as a result of degradation of grassland and occupation from farmland. For the whole basin, the increase of ecosystem services value came from the upper reaches, while the ecosystem services value had been reduced in the middle and lower reaches. In the middle reaches, the reduction came mainly from wetland （-1.83x10s Yuan）, waters （-1.68x10s Yuan）, forest （-0.86x108 Yuan） and grassland （-0.80x108 Yuan）. But in the lower reaches, the ecosystem services values of waters, grassland and forest were -0.61 x108 Yuan, -0.24x108 Yuan, and -0.07x10s Yuan, respectively. [Conclusion] If some effective policies, such as the implementation of returning farm- land to forest and ceasing from farming to grazing, would be taken, the ecosystem degradation can be constrained and reversed in the northwest arid region.

Study on the Ecosystem Services Value of Fei County Based on RS and GIS

[Objective] With the background of dramatic changes in land use patterns,the aim was to explore the ecosystem services value of Fei County based on RS and GIS.[Method] Ecological changes in the environment can bring changes in economic value expressed quantitatively by ecosystem service value （ESV）.According to modified ESV equivalency factor tables and three periods of interpreted TM remote sensing images in 1990,2000 and 2009,this paper calculated the total ESV in Fei County,Shandong Province,China and analyzed the relationship between ESV and the land-use changes at last.[Result] The results showed that the total ESV of the study area decreased from 2.144×109 yuan in 1990,2.139×109 yuan in 2000,and at last to 2.098×109 yuan in 2009 as the overall study area land use pattern changed dramatically,in which the built-up land increased by 23％,while the cropland and forest were constantly on the decrease.[Conclusion] The research provides theoretical support for the construction of high efficient ecological economic zone and sustainable development of the region.

Sensitivity and Uncertainty Analysis of Regional Marine Ecosystem Services Value

Marine ecosystem services are the benefits which people obtain from the marine ecosystem,including provisioning services,regulating services,cultural services and supporting services. The human species,while buffered against environmental changes by culture and technology,is fundamentally dependent on the flow of ecosystem services. Marine ecosystem services become increasingly valuable as the terrestrial resources become scarce. The value of marine ecosystem services is the monetary flow of ecosystem services on specific temporal and spatial scales,which often changes due to the variation of the goods prices,yields and the status of marine exploitation. Sensitivity analysis is to study the relationship between the value of marine ecosystem services and the main factors which affect it. Uncertainty analysis based on varying prices,yields and status of marine exploitation was carried out. Through uncertainty analysis,a more credible value range instead of a fixed value of marine ecosystem services was obtained in this study. Moreover,sensitivity analysis of the marine ecosystem services value revealed the relative importance of different factors.

Effects of Land Use Change on the Ecosystem Services Value in the Dry-Hot Valley

The objective of the study reported here was to determine whether LANDSAT TM images could be used to quantify changes in land-use and ecosystem services in Yuanmou County. The sizes of six land use/land cover （LUCC） categories were estimated in Yuanmou County according to the LANDSAT TM images in the summer of 1986 and 2005. Coefficients published by Xie Gaodi and co-workers in 2003 were used to value changes in ecosystem services delivered by each land use/land cover category, and the ecosystem services sensitivity analysis was conducted to determine the effect of manipulating these coefficients on the estimated values. The important results are summarized as followings. （1） The estimated size of cultivated land, pasture land, water area and unused land decreased by 6.39%, 1.35%, 2.25% and 10.67% respectively between 1986 and 2005. By contrast, the estimated size of forest land and construction land increased by about 2.23% and 71.15% respectively between 1986 and 2005. （2） The total ecosystem services value （EVS） of the study area increased from 2 142 132 609.46 yuan to 2 146 416 621.00 yuan, with the net increase of 4 284 011.54 yuan during the 20-year time period. （3） The coefficient sensitivity （CS） of the study are less than unity in all cases （CS 〈 1）. This indicates that the total ecosystem values estimated for the study area are relatively inelastic with respect to the ecosystem service coefficients. While this implies that our estimates are robust and the coefficient is reasonable, highly under or over valued coefficients can substantially affect the veracity of estimated changes in ecosystem service values overtime even when the CS are less than unity（CS 〈 1）.

Ecosystem services value of wetland in Suzhou Taihu Lake

Based on a comprehensive analysis on various classifications of natural resource values,this paper summarizes an ecological services system of constructed wetland(CW) ecosystems for the accounting of ecological economic value.With the research,the wetland ecosystem services can be classified into six categories,that is waste treatment,food and material production,water supply,gas regulations,disturbance and water regulations,habitat and refuge provision.For decision making in terms of environmental economics for wetland construction,ecosystem services value for the wetland in Suzhou Taihu Lake National Tourist and Holiday Resort is accounted for 7,088,769 USD/yr through Environmental Economics Analysis.Ecosystem services value of waste treatment is 825,000 USD/yr,that of food and material production is 1,430 USD/yr,that of water supply is 4,752,000 USD/yr,that of gas regulation is 2,251USD/yr,that of disturbance and water regulations is 1,3721 USD/yr,and that of habitat and refuge provision value is 1,494,367 USD/yr.The ecosystem services values of a pilot constructed wetland in Suzhou are compared with those of other wetlands as a mean and of a typical human-interfered wetland in Wenzhou of China.Results show that in both finite and infinite time horizons considered,the wetland in Suzhou Taihu Lake National Tourist and Holiday Resort has the largest services value.This paper analyzes all the probability that may weaken the value of the Suzhou Taihu Wetland in order to provide some advices for the wetland protection.

Value Evaluation of Water Ecosystem Services——A Case Study of Changshu City

[ Objective] The study aimed to quantitatively assess the values of water ecosystem services. [ Method] Combining the market value, travel cost and restoration cost method, the ecological services and their economic values of the lake Taodangmian were assessed from aspects of water supply, recreation and tourism, water purification and biodiversity maintenance. [ Resultl For the lake Taodangmian, its freshwater supply and tourism played more positive roles in the society than the others, while the functions of water purification and biodiversity maintenance brought negative effects, which shows that the ecological environment of Taodangmian has become increasingly worse and needs to be controlled and and protected further. [ Conclusion] The research could provide scientific references for the reasonable exploitation and utilization of water resources.

Spatiotemporal evolution of ecosystem service value and topographic gradient effect in the Da-Xiao Liangshan Mountains in Sichuan Province,China

The Da-Xiao Liangshan mountains are critical ecological function areas and essential ecological barriers in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in China.This study selected a total of six periods of land use land cover(LULC)data from 1995 to 2020,to estimate the ecosystem service value(ESV)and analyzed its spatiotemporal evolution and topographic gradient divergence.The results showed that:(1)The ESV increased by 1.1 billion yuan,with an increase rate of 1.47%from 1995 to 2020.Two time periods,2005–2010 and 2015–2020,showed more significant increases than other periods.(2)The elevation and slope of mountainous areas determine the type of land use and further influence the spatial pattern of ESV.(3)Although woodland and grassland are the main land use types of the study area(more than 90%),the hydrological regulation function of the water area partially compensated for the impact of the encroachment of the built-up area on the ESV of grassland.(4)The spatial distribution of ESVs showed an inverted V-shaped characteristic as the topographic gradient increased,with the dominant position being the 5th topographic gradient zone.Finally,this study provided relevant recommendations for ecosystem protection and optimization.The findings of this study clarified the influence of topographical factors on the spatial differentiation of ESV and provided novel insights into ecosystem protection.

Value Assessment of Wetland Ecosystem Services in the Da Hinggan Mountains, China

This study examined regional differences in ecosystem services for the Da Hinggan Mountains(DHM),China.A correction index was constructed based on ten-year average net primary productivity(NPP)data.A new equivalent factor table that was suitable for the assessment of wetlands in the DHM was formed by using the expert weight determination method(EWDM).An evaluation model was established for evaluating the ecosystem service value(ESV)of wetlands in the DHM.The results show that in 2020,the total ESV of wetlands reached 93361×10^(6) USD,with the forest swamp and marsh ecosystems contributing the most.From the perspective of value composition,regulating services and supporting services are the main service functions of wetlands in the DHM.From 2010 to2020,ESV provided by wetlands increased by 4337×10^(6) USD/yr in the DHM.The value of forest swamp and peatland ecosystems increased by 18.6%and 12.7%,respectively,whereas the value of swamp,shrub swamp,and marsh decreased.The research results are of significance for contributing to local government performance evaluation and determining financial compensation for the provision of wetland ecosystem services.

Global Development of Mobile Value Added Services

With the increasing demand for VAS from the subscribers, mobile operators are making efforts to create more services to promote the continuous development of the non-voice service application. The following three mobile VASes are becoming the development focus of operators.

Evaluating rural sustainable land use from a system perspective based on the ecosystem service value

Rural sustainable land use(RSLU) is important to China’s implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals and the goals of rural revitalization strategy in China. Research on RSLU is key to understanding the impact of human activities on rural sustainability. This paper explored the evaluation method of RSLU from a system perspective based on the ecosystem service value(ESV). Three systems were proposed for consideration when conducting this evaluation method. One was the sustainability of the land system, the other was the sustainability of the ecoeconomic system, and the rest was the sustainability of the land-eco-economy system. Indicators including(1) land use intensity and land system stability,(2) gross domestic production(GDP), ESV, and the eco-economic harmony degree(EEHD), and(3) coupling degree and coupling coordination degree were used to analyze the sustainability of the land, eco-economic, and landeco-economic systems, respectively. An empirical research on Yanhe ecovillage was conducted and the study period extended from 2008 to 2020. The results showed that forest land had always accounted for more than 81.20% of the total area in Yanhe eco-village from 2008 to 2020, which greatly influenced land system stability and restricted economic development. This feature contrasted with RSLU. The total ESV of Yanhe eco-village declined by 1.60×106CNY during 2008–2020 because of land use changes. The EEHD was –0.01, which presented that there was a very slight unharmonious between ecology and economy. The coupling degree and coupling coordination degree showed that the development between the land and ecoeconomic systems exhibited a coupling coordination relationship. The results indicated that ecology and economy in Yanhe eco-village will change significantly in response to land use changes in rural areas, which further revealed the dynamic linkage between human beings and nature. Moreover, opposite variation tendencies in land system stability and ESV revealed that the contradiction between the high stability of the land system and well development of the eco-economic system. The results of this study implied that it is necessary and useful to integrate ESV into land management to achieve RSLU.

Response of Ecosystem Service Value Based on Land Use Changes and Analysis of its Driving Factors in Typical Hilly Region with Red Soil

The contribution rate of ecosystem service value variation was used to analyze the effects of land use changes on the changes of ecosystem service value in Xingguo County during 1996-2005.Grey integrated correlation was employed to explore the contribution level of the indicators such as total population,urbanization level,proportion of primary industry and investment of social fixed assets on ecosystem service value,and the correlation analysis was also carried out.The results showed that the ecosystem service value in Xingguo County during 1996-2005 mainly was woodland,and the decrease of woodland area was the major reason for the sustained reduction of ecosystem service value.With the further increase of market demand and the incentives of local government,the garden area rapidly increased during 2001-2005,and the influence degree of garden towards the changes of ecosystem service value was only second to woodland,ranking No.2.Four socio-economic indicators had different correlation degree with ecosystem service value during the different research periods.Total population,urbanization level and proportion of primary industry had high correlation degree with ecosystem service value,whereas the influence degree of various socio-economic indicators on ecosystem service value was equal with each other day by day.Urbanization level,investment of social fixed assets and total population had significant negative correlation with ecosystem service value,while the proportion of primary industry had positive correlation with ecosystem service value.

Impacts of Land Use Change on Ecosystem Service Value in Yanchi County of Ningxia

Based on TM image data in 1989, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2006 and 2009 of Yanchi County of Ningxia, the land use date of Yanchi County in each year were extracted supported by RS and GIS technology, and used to analyze the dynamic change of land use. The land use data were studied for estimating the change of ecosystem services value caused by the land use change of Yanchi County, using the evaluation method of China terrestrial ecosystem services value. The results showed that the changes of land use were obvious during 1989 to 2009. The area of woodland and construction land had an increasing tendency; grassland area changed from decreasing to increasing, which was in contrary to farmland and un-used land areas （from increasing to decreasing）; water area fluctuated slightly. The ecosystem services value of Yanchi County had an increasing tendency during 1989 to 1995, because the increasing woodland area had took the major role in raising the total ecosystem services value. The grassland accounted for a large proportion of the total ecosystem service value of Yanchi County, with its contribution rate from 49.8% to 60.4%. And the composition of the ecosystem services value of Yanchi County happened benign change for the increasing contribution rate of woodland. The ecosystem services value sensitivity index of each land use type was less than 1, indicating that the ecosystem services value of Yanchi County lacks flexibility on its service value index, and the research results are reliable.

Changes in Grassland Ecosystem Service Values in the Three-River Headwaters Region,China

[Method] This study aimed to assess the changes in grassland ecosystem Service values in the Three-River Headwaters Region of China, the source of the Yangtze, Yellow （Huang He） and Lantsang （Mekong） rivers. [Method] Biophysical values of four services were monetized within the region, including water regulation, air quality regulation, climate regulation and soil conservation. [Result] The total ESVs were 884.97×10^8 Yuan, 1 302.06×10^8 Yuan and 1 299.49×10^8 Yuan in 2000, 2005 and 2008, respectively. The amount of value per unit area experienced a steep increase from 2000 to 2005（18.10×10^4 Yuan/km2）, and then remained almost unchanged from 2005 to 2008 （-0.31×10^4 Yuan/km2）. The ESV tended to decline from the southeastern to the northwestern. ESV in the eastern and central part increased faster than that in the south-central and western part of the TRHR from 2000 to 2008. It could be seen that the ecosystem condition of grassland in the TRHR improved signifi- cantly over the study period of 2000-2008. [Conelusion] The results provided good information to assess the effectiveness of current ecological protection measures in the TRHR and support regional sustainable management policies.

Assessments on Ecological Sensitivity and Ecosystem Service Value in Karst Area Based on GIS——Taking Bijie Prefecture in Guizhou for Example

Assessments on ecological sensitivity and ecosystem service value are two important basic works in eco-functional regionalization. According to the special ecological environment in Guizhou Province,GIS technology was used in the classification evaluations of soil erosion sensitivity,acid rain sensitivity and rocky desertification sensitivity in Bijie Prefecture,and then the comprehensive evaluation on eco-environmental sensitivity was carried out. Finally,the preliminary economic estimation of ecosystem service value in Bijie Prefecture was made by means of the appraisal approach for ecosystem service proposed by Costanza.

ESTIMATION OF ECOLOGICAL SERVICE VALUES OF WETLANDS IN SHANGHAI, CHINA

Shanghai is a coastal metropolitan city with various types of natural wetlands, which account for 23.5% of its total area. According to the definition of wetland in Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the wetlands of Shanghai were classified into 4 types: coastal, riverine, lacustrine, and reservoir and pond wetlands. In order to examine the roles of wetlands in the life-support system of Shanghai, we calculated the area of each type of the wetlands using GIS technique, and then measured the ecological service values of different ecosystems in Shanghai based on the classification of ecosystem services proposed by COSTANZA et al. (1997). The estimated annual value of ecosystem services in the study area was 7.3×109US$/a for the total area of 1 356 700ha, among which about 97% was provided by the wetlands. Effective conservation and management of wetlands are therefore crucial to Shanghai’s sustainable development. The limitations of the evaluation method for ecosystem service value were also discussed in the present paper.

Responses of Spatial-temporal Variation of Karst Ecosystem Service Values to Landscape Pattern in Northwest of Guangxi,China

The responses of spatiotemporal variation of ecosystem service values (ESVs) to landscape pattern from 1985 to 2005 in a typical Karst area of the northwest Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,China,were examined us-ing remote sensing and geographic information system techniques in this paper.The total ecosystem service values de-clined significantly from 1985 to 1990,and then increased slowly from 1990 to 2005,almost equaled to the 1985 level.The ecosystem service values tended to decline from the west to the east and from mountainous regions to peak-cluster depression areas in 1985,1990,2000 and 2005 respectively.During the period from 1985 to 2005,the ecosystem ser-vice values have increased in the middle and eastern parts of the study area.Landscape pattern indices,such as total area,largest patch index,contagion,aggregative index,effective mesh and proportion of like adjacencies,are significantly correlated with ecosystem service values.This suggests that ecosystem service values tend to increase with the growth of patch area and patch connectivity.However,there are negative correlations between ecosystem service values and landscape pattern indices,such as division index and patch richness.It indicates that ecosystem service values decrease with patch fragmentation and patch size shrinkage.The ecosystem conditions in the typical Karst area have been improved because of the control measures of rocky desertification.It is important to protect key landscape types,such as woodland,shrub and grassland,and to increase patch size and connectivity to avoid further fragmentation.Furthermore,it is necessary to reduce disturbances to ensure the growth of ecosystem service values and to facilitate the sustainable development in this region.