The Influence of Land Use Change on Ecosystem Service Value in Shangzhou District

Abstract

Land use change has an impact on the ecosystem service value because it changes the structure and function of ecosystems. This paper analyzed the changes in land use during the period from 2000 to 2015 in Shangzhou district, and used the equivalent value of ecological services per unit area of land ecosystem combining the natural and economic conditions of Shangzhou district. Based on this method, the ecological service value of Shangzhou district was estimated, and the impact of land use change on the ecological service value was analyzed. The results showed that: (1) the main types of land use in Shangzhou district were grassland, woodland and farmland, among which the contribution rate of woodland to the value of local ecosystem services was the highest; (2) the overall trend in the ecosystem service value in Shangzhou district increased between 2000 and 2015, from 10.74 × 108 yuan in 2000 to 20.32 × 108 yuan in 2015, which is the result of the combined effects of regional economic development and changes in the natural environment and land use patterns; and (3) the main reason for the value increase of ecosystem services in Shangzhou district between 2000 and 2015 was that the grain-for-green policy transformed a considerable amount of farmland into woodland, while the main reasons for a decline in value was the expansion of built-up land that occupied other types of land.

Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Ecosystem Service Value Determined by Land-Use Changes in the Urbanization of Anhui Province, China

“…Lu'an, Xuancheng, and Huangshan have the next highest ESVs, with their ESV proportions being 14.59%, 11.57%, and 10.63%, respectively. These three cities were all characterized by large areas of forest land and water area, of which Huangshan had the largest area of forest land area of 7529.94 km 2 . Chaohu Lake is located in Hefei and Chuzhou, and the lower reaches of the Yangtze River flow through Chizhou and Wuhu, which are reasons for their relatively high ESVs.…”

“…The proportions of farmland in the cities distributed in northern Anhui province were close to 80%, which greatly decreased their total ESV. Built-up land has a significant negative effect on the ESV [2,31], which leads to a relatively low ESV in areas with a large proportion of built-up land. In particular, in Hefei, the built-up land proportion is 17.60%.…”

“…Table 5 shows the land-use transition matrix of Anhui province. The main land-use type transfer characteristics are as follows: Paddy field has the largest transfer-out area of 2848.69 km 2 , next are unirrigated field, which has a transfer-out area of 1654.34 km 2 ; built-up land has the largest transfer-in area of 4048.75 km 2 , followed by water area, which has a transfer-in area of 594.70 km 2 . We found that the hot spot of transfer in Anhui province is the transfer of paddy field and unirrigated land to built-up land.…”

“…Ecosystem services refer to the natural environmental conditions and functions of ecosystems and ecological processes that maintain human survival [1,2]. In addition, these are very important for regional and global ecological security, and are a frontier and focus of ecological and geography research [3].…”

“…In addition, these are very important for regional and global ecological security, and are a frontier and focus of ecological and geography research [3]. Ecosystems support and sustain balance within the human living environment by regulating climatic conditions and maintaining biodiversity [4,5], providing food and raw materials for human life and reproduction, and providing entertainment and aesthetic enjoyment [2,6].…”