Spatio-temporal characteristics and development trends of ecosystem service value in lake- based tourist destinations under the metacoupling framework - A case study of Chun'an County, Zhejiang Province, China

Abstract

Context With the rapid development of China's tourism industry, tourism has become a strategic pillar industry of the national economy. Understanding the spatio-temporal characteristics and development trend of ecosystem service value of tourist destinations is a prerequisite for realizing the sustainable development. however, few studies have explored it from the metacoupling perspective, which is of great significance for us to discern and understand the relationship between tourism development and ecological conservation. Objectives The goal is explore the the regularity of ecosystem service value evolution in lake-based tourist destinations and the path towards sustainable development. Methods We used the metacoupling framework of tourist destinations and Patch-level Land Use Simulation model (PLUS) to diagnose the spatio-temporal evolution pattern of ecosystem service value in Chun'an County, and explore paths to a sustainable future for tourist destinations. Results The ecological service value of Chun'an County has decreased from 32.71 billion RMB to 30.15 billion RMB over the past two decades, and intensive human activities have significantly weakened the ecological service value of tourism destination, but the overall ecological environment of Chun'an County has tended to improve. Conclusions Rational tourism development can notably enhance the relationship between humans and nature, and it is imperative to reinforce ecological management while regulating excessive human activities in the future construction of lake-based tourist destinations.