Spatial Pattern Analysis of a Water-Related Ecosystem Service and Evaluation of the Grassland-Carrying Capacity of the Heihe River Basin under Land Use Change

Abstract

A key challenge to the sustainability and security of grassland capacity is the protection of water-related ecosystem services (WESs). With the change of land use, the supply of aquatic ecosystem services has changed, and the grassland-carrying capacity has been affected. However, the correlation mechanism between WESs and the grassland-carrying capacity is not clear. In this study, we used the InVEST(Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs) model to evaluate the impact of land-use change on WESs, and made a tradeoff analysis between WESs and grassland-carrying capacity. Considering that the Heihe River Basin (HRB) was an important grassland vegetation zone, which was a milestone for the development of animal husbandry in China, HRB was taken as a case. The main findings are as follows: (1) the spatial distribution of WESs shows the dissimilation rule, the upper reaches are the main water yield area, the soil retention is weakening in the middle and lower reaches, and the pollution has further increased in the middle and upper reaches. (2) The carrying capacity of animal husbandry decreased in the upper reaches, increased in Shandan County and Zhangye City in the middle reaches, and decreased sharply in other regions. (3) There was a positive correlation between the livestock-carrying capacity and nitrogen export in 2018, which was increasing. As the change of land use has changed the evapotranspiration structure, WESs have undergone irreversible changes. Meanwhile, the development of large-scale irrigated farmland and human activities would be the source of a further intensification of regional soil erosion and water pollution. Therefore, it is necessary to trade off the WESs and animal husbandry under land-use change. This paper revealed how WESs changed from 2000 to 2018, the characteristics of the changes in the spatial and temporal distribution, and the carrying capacity. It aims to provide a scientific basis for coordinating the contradiction between grassland and livestock resources, improving the regional ecological security situation, and carrying out ecosystem management.

Monitoring and influencing factors of grassland livestock overload in Xinjiang from 1982 to 2020

“…This corresponds with Umuhoza’s research findings ( Umuhoza et al., 2021 ), which state that climate, soil types, topography plays a crucial role in shaping the composition and projected distribution of grassland carrying capacity. Luo also pointed out that the degradation of grassland could be caused by factors like small mammals, climate change, challenging environments, weak soil, and over-grazing ( Luo et al., 2021 ). Indeed, factors such as reduced precipitation, increased interannual variability in precipitation, and climate warming can potentially lead to a significant decrease in grassland productivity and livestock carrying capacity ( Li et al., 2018 ).…”

The Estimation of Grassland Aboveground Biomass and Analysis of Its Response to Climatic Factors Using a Random Forest Algorithm in Xinjiang, China

“…Efficient and accurate estimation of AGB in natural grasslands is crucial for understanding their carbon source and sink capacities [ 3 , 4 ]. The rapid development of pastoral economies and global warming have led to severe degradation of grasslands and a decline in ecosystem stability, ultimately affecting the carbon sequestration capacity [ 5 ]. There are abundant grassland resources in Xinjiang, China, which have high ecological and economic value [ 6 , 7 ].…”

Do Ecological Restoration Projects Improve Water-Related Ecosystem Services? Evidence from a Study in the Hengduan Mountain Region

“…The implementation of these ERPs has had a positive impact on the regional land-use structure, which is mainly reflected by a significant increase in ecological land (forestland, grassland, water area, etc.). For example, the ERPs not only significantly reduce the amount of soil erosion on the Loess Plateau but also decrease soil erodibility [ 9 ]; with the change of land use pattens, the water-related services in the Heihe River Basin have undergone irreversible changes, and the development of large-scale irrigated farmland and human activities are a source of further intensification of regional soil erosion and water pollution [ 10 ]. Thus, effective land-use management is the key to achieving the sustainable development of regional ESs [ 11 , 12 ].…”