土地利用与生态系统服务

… changes over the past three decades. However, the effects of LUCCs on ecosystem service … , and 2008, we examined changes in land-use/land-cover and consequent ESVs using a …

… services obtained from ecosystems is vital to support decision-making processes at different levels. This study analyzes land use/land cover (… to assess its impact on ecosystem services. …

High-density human activities have rapidly changed the pattern of urban land use/land cover (LULC), affecting the supply of urban ecosystem services (ESs). This poses a challenge to the balance of urban development and ecological protection, which may be more serious in ecologically fragile regions. This study identified key LULC change (LULCC) impacts on ESs in Ordos, an ecologically fragile region in Northwest China. The urbanization process of Ordos will continue in 2030 under the business-as-usual scenario due to its strategic positioning in the National Energy Base of China. The future LULC simulation results showed that developed land in eastern Ordos will continue to expand in 2030, and more forest and grassland will appear in western Ordos as a result of ecological restoration. The results of the InVEST model in calculating four important ESs showed that the ES supply in the densely populated areas (eastern Ordos) has declined, and more attention must be given to natural vegetation protection in the urbanization process. Although carbon storage in the western region has increased due to afforestation, this also reduces the water yield supply, which may exacerbate the water shortage in Ordos. Supported by this framework, more sustainable urban land use management can be undertaken to balance the conflict between ecological protection and urbanization. This will contribute to regional ecological health and sustainable urban development.

Abstract As one of the most important ecological functional area in China, the Hengduan Mountain region has experienced dramatic land use/land cover changes (LUCC) over the past 20 years, but the effects of these changes on ecosystem services remain unknown. We revised a proxy-based method to analyze LUCC and ecosystem service value (ESVs) dynamics over three decades, and evaluated the sensitivity of ESVs to LUCC by using an elasticity indicator. Forest land converted to grassland during 1990–2000 was due to deforestation, but a reverse trend was found in 2000–2010 as a result of the implementation of ecological projects. The ESVs of the entire region decreased slightly (0.01% per year) in 1990–2000, and sharply increased (0.14% per year) in 2000–2010. The elasticity reached 0.07 for 1990–2000 and 0.29 for 2000–2010, which were moderate levels for China. For the whole region, forest land is a key land use type and should be maintained. Along the elevation gradient, different developmental strategies should be adopted. Lower areas should focus on the coordinated development of economy and ecology, and higher areas on ecological protection. On the county level, it is necessary to adjust the forest-grassland proportion in each county.

… In this paper, we report changes in ecosystem services in relation to land use and land cover over an … To obtain ecosystem service values for various ground cover types, the ten LULC …

Ecosystem services are increasingly affected by land use and land cover change (LULCC) in China. However, the spatial association between LULCC and ecosystem services remains unclear, thus constraining effective land use and ecosystem conservation policymaking. This study attempts to fill this gap by examining the association between ecosystem services intensity (ESI) and LULCC from a spatial perspective at the county level in China. The adapted benefit transfer method was employed to measure the ESI based on LULCC data. LULCC was characterized and measured by single land use dynamic degree, integrated land use dynamic degree, land use intensity, and land use diversity. The results indicated that ESI levels in China experienced a continuously decreasing trend from 1995 to 2015, especially in large metropolitan areas. The relationship between ESI and LULCC exhibited both significant spatial dependence and heterogeneity. Overall, ESI and land use intensity had statistically significant negative associations. However, the association between ESI and LULCC varied greatly over space and in different time periods. The results have important implications for future delineation of ecological conservation priority zones, sustainable development of national land, and the integration of ESI into landscape planning.

Estimating the impacts of land use/land cover (LULC) changes in Ecosystem Service Values (ESV) is indispensable to provide public awareness about the status of ESV, and to help in policy-making processes. This study was intended to estimate the impacts of LULC changes on ESV in the Andassa watershed of the Upper Blue Nile basin over the last three decades (1985–2015), and to predict the ESV changes in 2045. The hybrid land use classification technique for classifying Landsat images, the Cellular-Automata Markov (CA-Markov) model for LULC prediction, and the modified ecosystem service value coefficients for estimating ESV were employed. Our findings revealed that there was a continues expansions of cultivated land and built-up area, and withdrawing of forest, shrubland and grassland during the 1985–2015 periods, which are expected to continue for the next three decades. Consequently, the total ESV of the watershed has declined from US$26.83 A— 106 in 1985 to US$22.58 A— 106 in 2000 and to US$21.00 A— 106 in 2015 and is expected to further reduce to US$17.94 A— 106 in 2030 and to US$15.25 A— 106 in 2045. The impacts of LULC changes on the specific ecosystem services are also tremendous.

Monitoring the impact of current Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) management practices on future Ecosystem Services (ESs) provisioning has been emphasized because of the effect of such practices on ecological sustainability. We sought to model and predict the impacts of future LULC changes on subsequent changes in Ecosystem Service Value (ESV) in fragile environments undergoing complex LULC changes, Su-Xi-Chang region. After mapping and classifying the LULC for the years 1990, 2000, and 2010 using GIS and remote sensing, a Cellular Automata (CA)–Markov model was employed to model future LULC changes for the year 2020. ESV was predicted using the projected LULC data and the modified ES coefficients adopted by Xie et al. (2003). The projected results of the changes in LULC reveal that construction land expanded extensively, mainly at the expense of farmland, wetland, and water bodies. The predicted results of the ESVs indicate that water bodies and farmland are the dominant LULC categories, accounting for 90% of the total ESV. Over the study period, ESVs were diminished by 7.3915 billion CNY, mostly because of the decrease in farmland, water bodies, and wetland. A reasonable land use plan should be developed with an emphasis on controlling construction land encroachment on farmland, wetlands, and water bodies. The rules of ecological protection should be followed in LULC management to preserve ecological resources.

… the regional variances of dryland ecosystems for global ecosystem assessment. The major … the land use/land cover change, and secondly to assess the variations of ecosystem services …

Acute farmland expansion and rapid urbanization in Central Asia have accelerated land use/land cover changes, which have substantial effects on ecosystem services. However, the spatiotemporal variations in ecosystem service values (ESVs) in Central Asia are not well understood. Here, based on land use products with 300-m resolution for the years 1995, 2005 and 2015 and transfer methodology, we predicted land use and land cover (LULC) for 2025 and 2035 using CA-Markov, assessed changes in ESVs in response to LULC dynamics, and explored the elasticity of the response of ESV to LULC changes. We found significant expansions of cropland (+22.10%) and urban areas (+322.40%) and shrinking of water bodies (−38.43%) and bare land (−9.42%) during 1995–2035. The combined value of ecosystem services of water bodies, cropland, and grassland accounted for over 90% of the total ESVs. Our study showed that cropland ecosystem services value increased by 93.45 billion US$ from 1995 to 2035, which was mainly caused by the expansion of cropland area. However, the area of water bodies decreased sharply during 1995–2035, causing a loss of 64.38 billion US$. Biodiversity, food production and water regulation were major ecosystem service functions, accounting for 80.52% of the total ESVs. Our results demonstrated that effective land-use policies should be made to control farmland expansion and protect water bodies, grassland and forestland for more sustainable ecosystem services.

The land use and land cover (LULC) changes driven by the growing demands of mankind have a considerable effect on ecosystem services and functions. The study was carried out in the north-eastern highlands of Ethiopia to (1) analyze the effect of LULC changes between 1984 and 2021 and (2) assess the spatiotemporal variations in ecosystem service values (ESVs) and elasticity in response to LULC changes. Using Landsat imageries from 1984 to 2021, the spatiotemporal changes in LULC were evaluated with supervised image classification using maximum likelihood algorithm in ArcGIS software. Six LULC types were subsequently categorized, with overall accuracy and Kappa coefficients above 87% and 0.87, respectively. The ESVs were then estimated based on the Benefit Value Transfer (BVT) approach employing modified conservative value coefficients. The findings revealed a significant increase in cultivated land (9759.1ha) and built-up area (10174.41ha) during the stipulated periods and a drop in other land use types. The forest loss gradually decreased from 4.1% in the second period (1991–2001) to 0.58% in the third (2001–2021), compared to the first of the 1.1% conversion rates. Similarly, the proportion of grassland and water bodies steadily reduced over the stipulated periods, by 1.15% and 2.3% per annum, respectively. The overall loss of ESVs in the study landscape was estimated to be 54.4 million US$ (67.3%), drastically decreasing from 80.3 million US$ in 1984 to 26.4 million US$ in 2021, driven by the declining area coverage of water bodies, grassland, and forestland. Regardless of the loss, the ecosystem functions of hydrological regulation (37.2, 35.0, 6.1, and 5.1 US$ ha-1yr-1), water supply (14.5, 13.6, 2.4, and 2 US$ ha-1yr-1), and food production (9.8, 10.0, 9.1, and 9.9 US$ ha-1yr-1) contributed the most to the total ESV of each year while disturbance regulation and cultural values were the least throughout the study periods. The coefficient of sensitivity (CS) analysis revealed that our estimates were relatively robust. The findings further showed that human-dominated land-uses at the expense of natural ecosystems are the primary drivers of LULC transitions and the ensuing loss of ecosystem services in the region. Thus, this calls for intensive work on more effective land use policies that encourage an integrated management approach, with a focus on safeguarding the sustainability of natural ecosystems.

Based on satellite remote sensing image, GIS and Fragstats, this study modeled and calculated the dynamic changes of land use, land cover and landscape patterns in Guizhou Province, China, and calculated the changes of ecosystem service values (ESVs). The impacts of the evolution of landscape patterns on the ESVs were analyzed, and reasonable policy recommendations were made. The findings are as follows: (1) In the past two decades, the area of cropland and grassland has decreased; the area of water bodies, urban and rural, industrial and mining, and residential areas has increased; the area of forestland has increased first and then decreased. (2) The two major types of landscapes, cropland and grassland, are clearly being replaced by two land types, forest land and water bodies. (3) Overall, the degree of landscape aggregation and adjacency has decreased, and the landscape heterogeneity has increased. (4) The total amount of ESV in 2000, 2008, 2013 and 2017 was 2574 × 108 Yuan RMB, 2605 × 108 Yuan RMB, 2618 × 108 Yuan RMB and 2612 × 108 Yuan RMB, respectively. The changes of landscape patterns had important impacts on the ESVs. In order to solve the problems caused by the increasingly prominent changes in the landscape patterns and improve the ESVs, it is necessary to rationally plan and allocate land resources, optimize the industrial structures, and develop effective regulatory policies.

Abstract Land use/land cover (LULC) changes are likely to become more frequent and intense as a result of anthropogenic activities and may significantly affect human welfare by modifying ecosystem services (ESs). Understanding the impact of LULC changes on ESs value and the interactions among ESs could result in improvements in current land use policies and provide a scientific basis for the formulation of new policies in ecologically fragile zones. A case study was conducted in Zhangjiakou City, which is considered a typical ecologically fragile mountainous area in China, to examine the effects of LULC changes on ESs value and the interactions among ESs, including carbon sequestration and oxygen production (CSOP), water yield (WY), soil conservation (SC), sand-fixing (SF), and agricultural production (AP) from 2000 to 2015. Our results showed that ESs in Zhangjiakou City benefited substantially from existing land use policies and their “win-win expectations.” There were dramatic changes in the LULC types over the study period, especially in forestland, grassland, and arable land, with a significant impact on ESs value. LULC changes resulted in a significant increase in ESs value (US$ 3147.44 million), with the maximum increase occurring in AP (US$ 2255.19 million). However, LULC significantly decreased the value of the WY by $61.91 million, which mainly resulted from the degradation of arable land, forestland, and grassland. Strong trade-off relationships between WY and SC, CSOP and SC, SC and SF, and SC and AP were observed in 2000. Trade-off relationships were markedly weaken by LULCCs but increased by human activities when related to AP. Finally, a new spatialization approach of AP was designed and quantitative method of trade-off index was improved based on economic value. These results could offer some suggestions for land space optimization and ecological construction in Zhangjiakou City as well as in the similar regions in China, and provide some scientifically basis on the research area of coordination development of multi-functions of land use or geographical functions.

Humans worldwide depend on ecosystems and the services they provide. Land use and land cover change increasingly, influencing ecosystem values to the extent that the rate and direction of change occurred. The objective of this study was to review the link between changes in Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) and Ecosystem Service Value (ESV), with emphasis on mountainous landscapes in Ethiopia. The reviewers used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guideline in the reviewing process. Area-specific and country-level studies showed that the ESV changed as the result of the LULC changes in the country. The change in land use in Ethiopia resulted not only in the loss of ESVs but also in the gain of ESVs depending on the type of man’s activity. Negative change in LULC—especially the deterioration of land cover types such as forest land, shrub land and grass land—resulted in the loss of ESVs, whereas positive LULC change increased the value of ESVs. In Ethiopia, there is a loss of about USD 85 billion per year from the loss of ecosystem services. To save, improve and promote ESVs, land restoration and rehabilitation activities are important. The review provides insights into the need for and focus of future studies on LULC changes and the valuing of ESVs to understand the impact of changes in LULC on ESVs, considering existing and forecasted population increase in rapidly urbanizing areas.

… impact of land use/cover changes on the ecosystem services of Baguio … Ecosystem service flows: Recent progress and future … Assessing the capacity and flow of ecosystem services in …

Increasing human activities worldwide have significantly altered the natural ecosystems and consequently, the services they provide. This is no exception in Nigeria, where land-use/land-cover has undergone a series of dramatic changes over the years mainly due to the ever-growing large population. However, estimating the impact of such changes on a wide range of ecosystem services is seldom attempted. Thus, on the basis of GlobeLand30 land-cover maps for 2000 and 2010 and using the value transfer methodology, we evaluated changes in the value of ecosystem services in response to land-use/land-cover dynamics in Nigeria. The results showed that over the 10-year period, cultivated land sprawl over the forests and savannahs was predominant, and occurred mainly in the northern region of the country. During this period, we calculated an increase in the total ecosystem services value (ESV) in Nigeria from 665.93 billion (2007 US$) in 2000 to 667.44 billion (2007 US$) in 2010, 97.38% of which was contributed by cultivated land. The value of provisioning services increased while regulation, support, recreation and culture services decreased, amongst which, water regulation (-11.01%), gas regulation (-7.13%), cultural (-4.84%) and climate regulation (-4.3%) ecosystem functions are estimated as the most impacted. The increase in the total ESV in Nigeria associated with the huge increase in ecosystem services due to cultivated land expansion may make land-use changes (i.e. the ever-increasing agricultural expansion in Nigeria) appear economically profitable. However, continuous loss of services such as climate and water regulation that are largely provided by the natural ecosystems can result in huge economic losses that may exceed the apparent gains from cultivated land development. Therefore, we advocate that the conservation of the natural ecosystem should be a priority in future land-use management in Nigeria, a country highly vulnerable to climate change and incessantly impacted by natural disasters such as flooding.

Ecosystems provide a wide range of goods, services or ecosystem services (ES) to society. Estimating the impact of land use and land cover (LULC) changes on ES values (ESV) is an important tool to support decision making. This study used remote sensing and GIS tools to analyze LULC change and transitions from 2001 to 2016 and assess its impact on ESV in a tropical forested landscape in the southern plains of Nepal. The total ESV of the landscape for the year 2016 is estimated at USD 1264 million year−1. As forests are the dominant land cover class and have high ES value per hectare, they have the highest contribution in total ESV. However, as a result of LULC change (loss of forests, water bodies, and agricultural land), the total ESV of the landscape has declined by USD 11 million year−1. Major reductions come from the loss in values of climate regulation, water supply, provision of raw materials and food production. To halt the ongoing loss of ES and maintain the supply and balance of different ES in the landscape, it is important to properly monitor, manage and utilize ecosystems. We believe this study will inform policymakers, environmental managers, and the general public on the ongoing changes and contribute to developing effective land use policy in the region.

Ecosystem service changes caused by land use and land cover change (LULCC) is an important indictor and early warning of ecological changes. However, few attempts have been made to evaluate the effects of LULCC on ecosystem services in the Afroalpine highlands of Northwestern Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the impacts of LULCC on ecosystem services values in the afro-alpine area of Guna Mountain, Northwestern Ethiopia. Image classification was carried out using Landsat imageries of 1995, 2008, and 2020 following Random Forest algorithm with Google Earth Engine(GEE) based on filtered sample points. A modified benefit transfer method was used to evaluate ecosystem service value (ESV) changes in response to LULCC. The results revealed that the most notable feature of LULCC in the afro-alpine area of Guna Mountain was the expansion of cropland and built-up areas at the expense of grassland, forest, and shrubland. The overall ESV of the study site was estimated at USD 46.97 × 106 in 1995, USD 36.77 × 106 in 2008, and USD 37.19 × 106 in 2020. The net ESVs of the study site declined by USD 9.78 × 106 between 1995 and 2020. The regulating service values accounted for the greatest share, accounting for over 42% in all periods, followed by provisioning and supporting service values, which accounted for over 29% and 13%, respectively, while cultural services accounted for the smallest amount of the total ESV. The ecosystem service value of food production experienced the highest increase. However, the values of the remaining 16 types of ecosystem services declined with varying degrees of reduction over the study periods. The results of this study is necessary for land-use planners and decision-makers who require site-specific information on impacts of LULCC on ecosystem service.

Land use and land cover change is an important driving force for changes in ecosystem services. We defined several important human-induced land cover change processes such as Ecological Restoration Project, Cropland Expansion, Land Degradation, and Urbanization by the land use / land cover transition matrix method. We studied human-induced land cover changes in the Yellow River Basin from 1980 to 2015 and evaluated its impact on ecosystem service values by the benefit transfer method and elasticity coefficient. The results show that the cumulative area of human-induced land cover change reaches 65.71 million ha from 1980 to 2015, which is close to the total area of the Yellow River Basin. Before 2000, Ecological Restoration Project was the most important human-induced land cover change process. However, due to the large amount of cropland expansion and land degradation, the area of natural vegetation was reduced and the ecosystem value declined. Since 2000, due to the implementation of the "Grain for Green" program, the natural vegetation of upstream area and midstream area of Yellow River Basin has been significantly improved. This implies that under an appropriate policy framework, a small amount of human-induced land cover change can also improve ecosystem services significantly.

Rapid urbanization involves the expansion of construction land, which changes the land use and landscape pattern in watersheds. Moreover, it degrades ecosystem services and habitat quality, thus creating adverse ecological impacts such as the diffusion of non-point source (NPS) pollution. Therefore, it is urgent to investigate the adverse effects and potential ecological risks caused by variations in land use due to territory development and urbanization. Houxi Basin is a typical Chinese southeastern coastal watershed in the process of urbanization, and the ecological risk from 2011 to 2019 is here assessed. Based on ecosystem vulnerability and the interference with the ecosystem, we evaluated the risk of degradation of habitat services provided by terrestrial ecosystems due to changes in landscape patterns. In addition, the export coefficient model is employed to build an exposure-response relationship between land use and NPS pollution to investigate the risk of degrading water-purification services provided by aquatic ecosystems. The results show that the risks of degrading habitat-provision services increase slightly but for water-purification services increases rapidly. Alternatively, the integrated optimization scenario of key areas for 2030 reduces the risk of pollution diffusion and the landscape risk by 4.27% and 10.25%, respectively, compared with the business-as-usual scenario. In summary, reasonable planning of land-use types and spatial layout is conducive to reducing ecological risks. Other conclusions can be drawn: the combined replacement of forest and grassland more effectively inhibits pollution diffusion than does replacing only forest or only grassland. Optimizing areas with high land-use impact coefficients inhibits pollution diffusion more effectively than does optimizing areas with high export coefficients. Lastly, instead of increasing the area of green land, adjusting its spatial layout proves to be more effective in lowering the ecological risk to water-purification and habitat-provision services.

Abstract Intensive human activity has led to dramatic land changes in coastal watersheds, which in turn cause landscape pattern changes and threaten the valuable but fragile ecosystem. This paper conducted an empirical study in Jiulong River watershed (JRW) - a coastal watershed of southeast China with a population of more than 5 million and a land area of approximately 14,700 km2, to understand the effects of land-use change on landscape pattern and ecosystem services. We characterizes and compares land-use change with the approach of Intensity Analysis, the landscape change with landscape metrics, and ecosystem services values (ESVs) change in monetary terms, between the estuary and non-estuary zones of JRW, from 1990 to 2015. The results show that the overall land-use change in the estuary zone is continuously increasing while it went down after 2000 in the non-estuary zone. The land-use change intensity is positively associated with overall landscape fragmentation and heterogeneity in the estuary zone. The built-up area has become more aggregated, while grassland, cropland and woodland have become less aggregated, which is negatively associated with the ESVs in both zones. Furthermore, the land-use change intensity was found to strongly correlate with the degradation of ESVs.

Ecosystem services (ES) are directly affected by land use and land cover changes (LUCC); however, the impacts of extended period LUCC on ES are poorly explored. Here, we mapped the 1998–2019 annual land use and land cover in the Dongting Lake Region (China) and explored the spatiotemporal evolution of LUCC and landscape patterns (i.e., composition, shape, and aggregation) and their relationship with ES, including carbon storage, gross primary production (GPP), water conservation capacity, and crop yield in the region. The results showed a significant increase in forest areas and impervious surfaces and a decrease in croplands and bare lands with spatial heterogeneity. Carbon storage was strongly correlated with forest, cropland, waterbody, impervious surface, and bare land, and there was a nonlinear relationship between landscape patterns and ES. The trade-offs and synergies (correlations) among ES varied considerably, with crop yield being significantly synergistic with carbon stocks, GPP, or GPP with carbon stocks. This study revealed the nonlinear relationship between landscape patterns and ES, and the mechanism of landscape characteristics on ES. The findings can provide scientific support for regional land use planning, ES regulation, and landscape optimization in the lake region.

Decades of intensifying human activities have led to drastic changes in land use and land cover (LULC) in the Poyang Lake Basin (PLB), resulting in significant changes in landscape pattern and ecosystem service value (ESV), thereby affecting regional sustainability. We focused on understanding the impact of LULC changes on the landscape pattern and ESV of the PLB and used the Patch-generating Land Use Simulation model (PLUS) to predict LULC changes in 2050. We evaluated landscape patterns using landscape metrics and calculated ESV using the ecosystem service equivalent factor method. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to analyze the correlation between landscape patterns and ESV from 1990 to 2020. Then, we combined the PLUS model and the ecosystem service equivalent factor method to calculate the ESV under multiple scenarios from 2020 to 2050. From 1990 to 2020, the LULC of the PLB changed to varying degrees. The PLB has undergone a rapid process of landscape fragmentation, and the total ESV of the PLB has decreased. The total ESV was positively correlated with the CONTAG index and negatively correlated with the SHDI index. Between 2020 and 2050, the ESV of the PLB is projected to decrease under the NDS (nature development scenario) and EDS (economic development scenario) and increase under the EPS (ecological protection scenario). ESV responded to changes in landscape pattern. We recommend that the PLB should increase patch connectivity. Additionally, future development in the PLB should prioritize ecological protection to prevent further declines in ESV.

… landscape pattern at local to continental scales and that this variation may facilitate analyses of how environmental targets and ecosystem services … data on land cover and land use at …

… lands improves habitat quality and preserves rare habitats. In summary, appropriate environmental … of Highway 6 on landscape patterns and ecosystem services in Puli Township. …

… land use and land cover data. Using a functional fragmentation measure, we show how landscape pattern … of dry calcareous grasslands under different land use change scenarios in a …

… The Poyang Lake Region (PLR) is well known for its ecological and … in land use/land cover (LULC), followed by changes in landscape patterns and ecosystem services by landscape …

… for landscape planning. Our results highlighted the significance of joint application of landscape metric analysis and ecosystem service values assessment in landscape planning. …

… guidance and resilient planning for ecological risk reduction. To this end, our study integrated ESs and landscape patterns into LER zoning using land cover change data at the county …

… of landscape pattern change on the supply of water-related ecosystem services and will provide a reference for practical land management applications and policy formulation of water …

Land use transitions cause reconfigurations of regional landscape patterns which can further change the regional ecosystem service functions and its values, especially in environmentally fragile regions. Firstly, this paper theoretically examines the relationships between land use transitions, landscape pattern evolution and the responses of ecosystem service functions in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (Guangxi). Then, it explores the spatio-temporal evolution features of land use transition by using land use change matrices, examines landscape patterns by using the landscape pattern index, and studies ecosystem service value (ESV) by revising the coefficients of ESV per unit area. Finally, focus is placed on the empirical analysis of ESV responses to landscape pattern evolution caused by land use transitions in Guangxi. The results show that: (1) Guangxi has undergone an overall intensity-changing process of land use transition at a moderate rate during 1990–2010 and at a drastic rate during 2010–2018. In general, the area of construction land and waterbodies has increased, while forested land, grassland and farmland have decreased. Landscape fragmentation and heterogeneity are higher in the central area than that in the surrounding areas, while patch aggregation and connectivity show an opposite trend. Forested land patches are highly clustered, while grassland and farmland are fragmented and scattered and construction land patches tend to have aggregated. (2) The total loss of ESV has reached 20.56 billion RMB in Guangxi, and all areas’ single ESVs have decreased to different degrees during the past 28 years. Spatially, the ESV distribution shows a differentiated pattern of low in the central plain and high in the surrounding mountain regions which are mainly dominated by high-value zones. (3) The total ESV has significant positive correlations with the largest patch index (LPI), COHESION and the Aggregation Index (AI), and significant negative correlations with the Number of Patches (NP) and the Shannon Diversity Index (SHDI), while the correlation with the Landscape Shape Index (LSI) is not significant, indicating that the influence on ESV caused by landscape pattern evolution varies greatly. (4) The change of land area and multi-directional shifts among different land use types caused by land use transitions in Guangxi could both lead to the evolution of landscape patterns. Further, ecological service function responded obviously to the landscape pattern evolution in Guangxi, causing significant changes in strengthening or weakening of the ecological service function and its value. This systematic analysis should help coordinate the relationship of regional land use regulation, landscape pattern optimization and ecosystem operation in Guangxi or even China.

Abstract The spatial structure and function of Xi’an city is significantly affected by urbanization, a factor which can be considered as the main driver of landscape pattern and ecosystem service change. Due to these changes are a response to urban land use and land cover (LULC), remote sensing images are interpreted by the method of supervised classification and visual interpretation to obtain the LULC data for research on landscape pattern index (LPI) and ecosystem service value (ESV) of Xi’an city, China. Combined with urban planning theory, concentric buffer zones were used to explore the characteristics and relationships between LPIs and ESVs along an urban-rural gradient. Ten landscape indices and nine ecosystem service types were selected to analyze the correlation and construct multiple linear regression models, and principal component analysis (PCA) was used to eliminate the problem of multi-collinearity in the process of model construction. Results indicate that the highest landscape fragmentation was mainly distributed in the urban-rural fringe, 20–35 km from the urban center, and patch density (PD), edge density (ED), Shannon's diversity index (SHDI), and landscape shape index (LSI) recorded the highest values. Total ESV of Xi’an city was 20493.65 × 106 CNY in 2016, and the mean value of ESV increased from 0.06 × 106 CNY to 2.60 × 106 CNY along an urban-rural gradient. This finding indicates that a higher ESV was recorded for the natural landscape. Results also indicated that SHAPE_MN, FRAC_MN, PLADJ, and AI recorded a positive effect on total ESV whilst ED and PD have a negative effect on total ESV. Results from the regression models showed quantitative relationships between ESVs and LPIs which revealed how ecosystem service values were affected by the landscape pattern. This study will improve the quantitative assessment method on landscape ecology and provide a basis for further research on city’s landscape pattern and ecosystem balance, especially for detecting and evaluating urban-rural development.

Abstract Fragmentation, as one of the most distinct characteristics of agricultural landscapes worldwide, has resulted in a diversity of ecological consequences. It remains as a gap in the literature on how provisioning service changes in association with agricultural fragmentation and land use management. Addressing such a gap at a national level should provide essential insights for policymakers. This paper identifies the essential metrics from a set of landscape metrics for describing agricultural fragmentation and further develops an integrated fragmentation index (IFI). Using the IFI, spatiotemporal dynamics of agricultural fragmentation across Chinese cities from 2010 to 2017 are captured. In particular, an increasing trend of fragmentation is identified and southern China is characterized by more fragmented agricultural landscapes than the other parts. Spatial regression, with the Cobb-Douglas Production Function as the theoretical basis, is employed to quantify the relationships among provisioning service, agricultural fragmentation, and land use management. It is discovered that landscape fragmentation would impair the supply of the provisioning service and sustainable land use management regulates the provisioning service in a positive way. We argue that alleviating the landscape fragmentation issue would not be achieved with simple measurement. Cooperation of a series of administrative acts, such as land reclamation, land use transfer, household registration system reform and improvement of employment and welfare system, should be fundamental and practical approaches. The present study demonstrates a novel methodological framework to unravel the effect of agricultural fragmentation on provisioning services, which should be useful for understanding the complex human-ecosystem interactions.

… processes that affect the flow and provision of ecosystem services. In this study, we quantified land-use changes and the effects of landscape patterns on estimated Ecosystem Service …

… change have spurred land use and land cover changes and ecosystem services variations. … to detect the landscape pattern evolution and its association with ecosystem services. The …

Changes in land use intensity and types can affect the structure and function of ecosystems, and thus ecosystem services (ESs) as well as their interactions. However, the impacts of changes in land use intensity on ESs remain poorly understood. Through four different land use scenarios, we distinguished the independent contribution of changes in agricultural land use intensity and types to grain production (GP), water purification (WP), and their trade-offs in the Dongting Lake Basin. The results showed that from 1990 to 2015, GP increased across 58.07% of the total area, but WP decreased across 64.81% of the study area. The two ESs simultaneously increased or decreased across 41.93% of the total area. Watersheds covering 48.72% of the study area where GP increased and WP decreased were mainly distributed in areas with increased land use intensity. The other regions where GP decreased and WP increased were mainly distributed in areas with decreased land use intensity. The scenario analysis of GP, WP, and their trade-offs showed that the areas where agricultural land use intensity was the dominant factor were as large as 1.95 times, 2.38 times, and 2.43 times those dominated by land use type respectively, under the same climate conditions. This study highlighted the importance of changes in agricultural land use intensity on ES, which provided further supporting to ES-based land use management.

Sustaining multiple ecosystem services across a landscape requires an understanding of how consistently services are shaped by different categories of land uses. Yet, this understanding is generally constrained by the availability of fine-resolution data for multiple services across large areas and the spatial variability of land-use effects on services. We systematically surveyed published literature for New Zealand (1970-2015) to quantify the supply of 17 non-production services across 25 land covers (as a proxy for land use). We found a consistent trade-off in the services supplied by anthropogenic land covers with a high production intensity (e.g. cropping) versus those with extensive or no production. By contrast, forest cover was not associated with any distinct patterns of service supply. By drawing on existing research findings, we reveal complementarity and redundancy (potentially influencing resilience) in service supply from different land covers. This will guide practitioners in shaping land systems that sustainably support human well-being.

… effects of land-use intensity (LUI) on ecosystem services and … intensity index, key ecosystem services (crop production, soil … the effect of LUI on ecosystem services and human well-…

Land use intensity is an important indicator of human activities, so we quantified the land use intensity and five ecosystem services (soil conservation, water conservation, carbon storage, net primary productivity (NPP), and crop production) in 13 subbasins of the Tabu River Basin in an agro-pastoral ecotone in central Inner Mongolia. Furthermore, we analyzed the relationships among ecosystem services and the responses of the services to the impact of land use intensity. The primary conclusions were as follows: (1) All five ecosystem services gradually diminished from the upper to the lower reaches of the Tabu River Basin; (2) Water conservation exhibited a trade-off relationship with soil conservation, NPP, and crop production, but it exhibited a synergistic relationship with carbon storage. There were also synergistic relationships between soil conservation, carbon storage, NPP, and crop production; (3) As land use intensity increased, soil conservation, NPP and crop production monotonically increased. In contrast, water conservation exhibited a monotonically decreasing trend, and carbon storage followed a unimodal curve; (4) In this region, suitable ecosystem services were sustained at a land use intensity of approximately 3.95.

Land use intensity (LUI) is an important indicator for assessing human activities, and quantitatively studying the impact of LUI on ESs can help to realize the scientific management of urban ecosystems as well as sustainable development. In this study, we quantified five important ecosystem service bundles in the study area with the aid of the R-language “kohonen” package and used bivariate spatial autocorrelation modeling to examine the effects of LUI on the ESs in Harbin City from 2000 to 2020. These ESs include food supply (FP), water conservation (WC), soil conservation (SC), carbon storage (CS), water purification (WP), and habitat quality (HQ). The results show the following: (1) The LUI in Harbin City had a trend from 2000 to 2020 of “decreasing and then growing”, with a spatial distribution pattern of “high in the west and low in the east.” (2) Except for FP, all other ESs exhibit a similar spatial pattern of “west-low-east-high”; WC and WP exhibit a trend of continuous increase, SC exhibits a trend of decreasing and then increasing, and CS and HQ are generally more stable, with less fluctuation. The built-up area is situated in the high-value area of LUI, and the area exhibits a significant expansion trend. (3) Ecological conservation bundles, FP–WP synergistic bundles, ecological transition bundles, CS–WP–HQ synergistic bundles, and FP bundles are the five ecosystem service bundles that were discovered in Harbin. (4) From 2000 to 2020, there is a predominately “low LUI-high ESs” and “high LUI-low ESs” aggregation type, with a substantial positive correlation between LUI and FP and a significant negative correlation between LUI and other ESs. Harbin City should strengthen the management of ESs in the western part of the city and, at the same time, maintain the favorable ecological conditions in the ecological barriers of Zhangguangcai Range and Xiaoxing’an Mountains.

… patterns have a significant impact on ESs, and (3) differing intensities of land use may have different impacts on the generation of ESs. As human needs for different ESs vary and are …

Significance Ecosystem services derive from ecosystem functions and rely on complex interactions among a diversity of organisms. By understanding the relationships between biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and the services humans receive from nature, we can anticipate how changes in land use will affect ecosystems and human wellbeing. We show that increasing land-use intensity homogenizes the synergies between three organizational levels of the ecosystem, namely, biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and services. Increasing land-use intensity changes keystone components, which are important for the functioning of the ecosystem, and alters the synergies and trade-offs between biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and services. Our approach provides a comprehensive view of ecosystem functioning and can identify the key ecosystem attributes to monitor in order to prevent critical shifts in ecosystems. Land-use intensification can increase provisioning ecosystem services, such as food and timber production, but it also drives changes in ecosystem functioning and biodiversity loss, which may ultimately compromise human wellbeing. To understand how changes in land-use intensity affect the relationships between biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and services, we built networks from correlations between the species richness of 16 trophic groups, 10 ecosystem functions, and 15 ecosystem services. We evaluated how the properties of these networks varied across land-use intensity gradients for 150 forests and 150 grasslands. Land-use intensity significantly affected network structure in both habitats. Changes in connectance were larger in forests, while changes in modularity and evenness were more evident in grasslands. Our results show that increasing land-use intensity leads to more homogeneous networks with less integration within modules in both habitats, driven by the belowground compartment in grasslands, while forest responses to land management were more complex. Land-use intensity strongly altered hub identity and module composition in both habitats, showing that the positive correlations of provisioning services with biodiversity and ecosystem functions found at low land-use intensity levels, decline at higher intensity levels. Our approach provides a comprehensive view of the relationships between multiple components of biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and ecosystem services and how they respond to land use. This can be used to identify overall changes in the ecosystem, to derive mechanistic hypotheses, and it can be readily applied to further global change drivers.

Abstract Managing multiple ecosystem services (ES) in agricultural landscapes is a challenging task, especially in regions with complex topographical and agro-ecological conditions. These challenges require ES assessment approaches that go beyond the case study level and provide multi-temporal information at a transnational level. We used a spatiotemporal approach to examine the impact of specific land use/land cover (LULC) trajectories on eight ES for the past 150 years. We show how a spatially explicit ES upscaling procedure, from case study to an Alpine-wide level, based on topographical, agro-ecological and socioeconomic parameters, can improve our understanding of ES dynamics and bundles. Our results indicated that the provision of multiple ES was not stable during the 150 years surveyed, mainly depending on the prevailing land management type and the biophysical conditions. ES bundle mapping enabled us to identify landscapes with consistent socioecological characteristics that are most likely to either enhance or diminish the provision of specific types of services. By introducing a spatiotemporal perspective into ES assessment, we provide clear evidence of the dynamic nature of ES provision and contribute to identifying processes and drivers behind these interactions. Our results emphasize that mountain ES supply is particularly sensitive to long-term LULC change, to biophysical characteristics and to regional socioeconomic conditions. They indicate the benefit of integrating of ES bundles into environmental policies at national and transnational level.

ABSTRACT A key sustainability challenge in human-dominated landscapes is how to reconcile competing demands such as food production, water quality, climate regulation, and ecological amenities. Prior research has documented how efforts to prioritize desirable ecosystem services such as food and fiber have often led to tradeoffs with other services. However, the growing literature has revealed different and sometimes contradictory patterns in ecosystem service relationships. It thus remains unclear whether there are generalizable patterns across social-ecological systems, and if not, what factors explain the variations. In this study, we synthesize datasets of five ecosystem services from four social-ecological systems. We ask: (1) Are ecosystem service relationships consistent across distinct regional social-ecological systems? (2) How do ecosystem service relationships vary with land-use intensity at the landscape scale? (3) In case of ecosystem service tradeoffs, how does land-use intensity affect intersection points of tradeoffs along the landscape composition gradient? Our results reveal that land-use intensity increases magnitude of ecosystem service tradeoffs (e.g. food production vs. climate regulation and water quality) across landscapes. Land-use intensity also alters where provisioning and regulating services intersect: in high-intensity systems, food production and regulating services can be both sustained only at smaller proportions of agricultural lands, whereas in low-intensity systems, these services could be both supplied with greater proportions of agricultural lands. Our research demonstrates importance of considering multiple aspects of land uses (landscape composition and land-use intensity), and provides a more nuanced understanding and framework to enhance our ability to predict how land use alters ecosystem service relationships.

Land-use intensification is occurring worldwide and is impacting the delivery of multiple ecosystem services. We developed an approach to understand land-use change in relation to ecosystem services synergies and trade-offs at a national level. We test the proposed approach for Spain by mapping the spatial distribution of 14 high-resolution indicators with the aim to (a) facilitate a greater understanding of the spatial interactions among ecosystem services; (b) identify the hotspots of ecosystem service synergies and trade-offs; and (c) explain the ecosystem service synergies and trade-offs in relation to a land-use intensity gradient. Our results show how current land-use management in Spain is creating a landscape-level dichotomy between land-use intensification and protection (through the declaration of protected areas), which is having a clear negative effect on the conservation of essential ecosystem services. For example, we spatially identify where agricultural intensification is presenting a major trade-off with other ecosystem services. Finally, we discuss the urgent need for a new comprehensive model of landscape planning at a national scale that takes into account the complex interactions among ecosystem services and the establishment of a new governance body at national level regarding the management and conservation of ecosystem services.

An increased land use intensity due to rapid urbanization and socio-economic development would alter the structure and function of regional ecosystems and cause prominent environmental problems. Revealing the impact of land use intensity on ecosystem services (ES) would provide guidance for more informed decision making to promote the sustainable development of human and natural systems. In this study, we selected the Hanjiang River Basin (HRB) in Hubei Province (China) as our study area, explored the correlation between land use intensity and ecosystem Services’ Value (ESV), and investigated impacts of natural and socio-economic factors on ESV variations based on the Geographical Detector Model (GDM) and Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR). The results show that (1) from 2000 to 2020, land use intensity in HRB generally showed an upward trend, with a high spatial agglomeration in the southeast and low in the northwest; (2) the total ESV increased from 295.56 billion CNY in 2000 to 296.93 billion CNY in 2010, and then decreased to 295.63 CNY in 2020, exhibiting an inverted U-shaped trend, with regulation services contributing the most to ESV; (3) land use intensity and ESV had a strong negative spatial correlation, with LH (low land use intensity vs. high ESV) aggregations mainly distributed in the northwest, whereas HL (high land use intensity vs. low ESV) aggregations were located in the southeast; (4) natural factors, including annual mean temperature, the percentage of forest land, and slope were positively associated with ESV, while socio-economic factors, including GDP and population density, were negatively associated with ESV. To achieve the coordinated development of the socio-economy and the environment, ES should be incorporated into spatial planning and socio-economic development policies.

… basis for land use policy making and ecosystem protection in … of ecosystem services intensity and land use intensity based … of land use status and the Normalized Difference Vegetation …

Background As the global human population grows and its consumption patterns change, additional land will be needed for living space and agricultural production. A critical question facing global society is how to meet growing human demands for living space, food, fuel, and other materials while sustaining ecosystem services and biodiversity [1]. Methodology/Principal Findings We spatially allocate two scenarios of 2000 to 2015 global areal change in urban land and cropland at the grid cell-level and measure the impact of this change on the provision of ecosystem services and biodiversity. The models and techniques used to spatially allocate land-use/land-cover (LULC) change and evaluate its impact on ecosystems are relatively simple and transparent [2]. The difference in the magnitude and pattern of cropland expansion across the two scenarios engenders different tradeoffs among crop production, provision of species habitat, and other important ecosystem services such as biomass carbon storage. For example, in one scenario, 5.2 grams of carbon stored in biomass is released for every additional calorie of crop produced across the globe; under the other scenario this tradeoff rate is 13.7. By comparing scenarios and their impacts we can begin to identify the global pattern of cropland and irrigation development that is significant enough to meet future food needs but has less of an impact on ecosystem service and habitat provision. Conclusions/Significance Urban area and croplands will expand in the future to meet human needs for living space, livelihoods, and food. In order to jointly provide desired levels of urban land, food production, and ecosystem service and species habitat provision the global society will have to become much more strategic in its allocation of intensively managed land uses. Here we illustrate a method for quickly and transparently evaluating the performance of potential global futures.

… The use of LULC analysis combined to ecosystem services valuation improved our … analysis and ecosystem service valuation as a tool that could better inform land managers …

… We show that land use composition is an important aspect in our ecosystem service … Although our study region is faced with a maximum land use change of 11% in the major land use …

… services (clean water provisioning and flood regulation) experienced local declines in response to shifting land uses… In contrast, climate regulation (carbon storage) and cultural services …

Fincha watershed is characterized by the presence of large scale government development projects, such as hydroelectric dam and sugarcane plantation. Within this watershed, land use/land cover (LULC) changes and its linkages with ecosystem services were analyzed for a period of more than three decades (1987–2019). The study first assessed LULC dynamics using ArcGIS software with a standard method. After data on LULC change was obtained, the study used a globally developed values coefficients to estimate the Ecosystem Service Values (ESVs) of the study watershed. The findings revealed that; cultivated land, water body, settlement and sugar cane plantation increased at a rate of 579.8 ha/yr, 199.7 ha/yr, 141.2 ha/yr and 137.1 ha/yr, respectively, whereas wetland, forest land and bare land reduced by 600 ha/y, 328.7 ha/yr and 60.3 ha/yr, respectively, for the study period (1987–2019) considered in the watershed. The increase in water body and sugar cane plantation is mainly attributed to large scale government development projects, while the increase in settlement and cultivated land is the result of small scale farming in the area. Both subsistence farming practices and large scale government projects compete on forest land and wetland. This has resulted in the decrease of the total NCV (Natural Capital Value) by 13.2%. The total ecosystem service values were dominated by cultivated land, which contributed 42.9% of the values in 2019. Elasticity of ESV change in relation to LULC showed the dominance of cultivated land in the overall values of the natural capital. To optimize the values of natural capital at the watershed, making synergies and tradeoffs between land uses is vital by all concerned stakeholders involved in modification of the land uses.

… , and erosion regulation than the provision of these hydrological services. … cultural services were in sufficient supply during the past three decades. In contrast, the provisioning services …

… from historic and future land use change. This paper analyzes the role of land use change for the supply of two regulating services, flood regulation and climate regulation, in the …

Mankind’s quest for well-being results in continuous pressure to transform landscapes, with said transformation driven by land use changes, urbanization, production activity, and protective measures in addition to climate variability and other environmental drivers. The relationship between anthropogenic landscape changes and the provision of ecosystem services (ES) is a topic of increasing interest in Latin America. In Chile, land cover changes due to increased urbanization and forestry, and expansion of agricultural land, in addition to conservation initiatives as a part of land planning, have been intensive in the last few decades. In this study, the effects of anthropogenic landscape changes on the supply of ES were analyzed for the urban region of Santiago-Valparaiso (Chile) using a method based on expert consultation and land cover change assessment. A pool of experts scored the potential of specific land covers to provide certain ES. The results enabled calculation and mapping of changes in the potential of the landscape to supply ES. The aforementioned changes over a period of 15 years were evaluated. The results indicate a tenuous balance between positive and negative changes to the supply of ES derived from land cover changes. Understanding and reporting how these processes occur in urban regions contributes to the conservation of valuable landscapes through spatial planning tools, especially in areas close to housing developments and sensitive ecosystems.

… land use and land cover (LULC) are broadly available on different scales and are used widely for mapping ecosystem services … the two analyzed provisioning services crops and fodder …

… the sustainable use area. We found possible trade-offs between water provision (positively … and between water provision (negatively affected) and local climate regulation, and tourism (…

… transactions (eg soil protection, climate regulation, disturbance control, habitat provision), … -controlled for rewarding the provision of ecosystem services are analyzed and discussed in …

… regulating ecosystem services – global climate regulation, air quality regulation, erosion regulation, nutrient regulation… three provisioning ecosystem services – habitat provision, energy …

… Both regulating and provisioning services increased in value, but only regulating services … For the ecosystem services considered in this study, forest-related land uses can be highly …

… We here define provisioning services as “fluxes of nutrients, soil… ground cover and root systems are considered very effective at … From these examples it is clear that the various land uses …

Ecosystems in semi-arid areas remain essential to securing livelihoods and aiding climate change adaptation. However, land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) is the leading driver of biodiversity, ecosystem services, habitat, and ecosystem loss in most rural areas of developing countries. We evaluated LULCC in the Bobirwa sub-district of Botswana between 1995 and 2015. We employed the supervised classification’s maximum likelihood algorithm on the 1995, 2005, and 2016 Landsat images to establish the implications of LULCC on the delivery of provisioning ecosystem services (ES) and ecosystem-based adaptation in the Limpopo Basin part of Botswana. Five major LULC classes—vegetation, cropland, bare land, built-up areas, and water bodies—were identified in the sub-district. The decline in vegetation by 50.67 km2/year between 1995 and 2016 was characterized by an increase in croplands (34.02 km2/year). These changes were attributed to the growing human population that induced farming households to expand croplands. Government programs also encouraged agricultural expansions by offering free inputs and compensating smallholder farmers for land preparation. Higher agricultural yields remained critically low while the loss of vegetated areas to croplands threatened biodiversity, habitats, and the sustainability of provisioning ES through impaired ecosystem functions. There is an urgent need to arrest all unnecessary agricultural expansions and enhance agricultural productivity from current land parcels. The government and other relevant stakeholders also need to strengthen the ecosystem management capacities of local communities and support them to develop and implement biodiversity-based village action plans. Engaging communities through participatory, biodiversity-based action planning promotes biodiversity conservation and the sustainable use of ecosystem resources.

… the spatially explicit analysis of land use scenarios in combination with a more detailed land use classification and including an assessment of changes in land use pattern gave us an …

… To determine current ecosystem provisioning services for food production of … use for the regulating and provisioning ecosystem services, their potential towards sustainable land use …

Reliable quantification of ecosystem service (ES) provision in agricultural landscapes depends on accurate mapping of the spatial configuration of land-use and land cover (LULC). In this paper we explore the benefits of enhanced spatial and thematic resolution in LULC mapping in terms of predicting ecosystem services and associated natural capital-based land-use policies. Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite images were processed using Google Earth Engine (GEE) to generate a LULC map at 10 m resolution, which was compared to existing datasets at 20 m, 25 m, and 100 m resolution in the River Welland catchment (Eastern England). Spatial resolution had a significant effect on the abundance and spatial configuration of land cover types. For example, detected woodland cover in the finest resolution dataset was 2x that in the coarsest data. Finer spatial resolution also allowed small, fragmented patches of woodland and grassland to be identified. ES provision (crop yield, carbon storage and pollinator abundance) was estimated from each map using the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model. The finest resolution map resulted in 21% lower predicted wheat pro- duction (due to lower estimates of cultivated land cover), 7% higher predicted carbon stocks and 43% higher predicted wild bee abundance compared to the coarsest resolution map. The estimated monetary value of ES provision increased by 23.2% between the 10 and 100 m dataset. We recommend that a LULC resolution of at least 10 m should be employed in agricultural landscapes to accurately capture ES provision. This can be ach- ieved using GEE and could be used as a basis for the development of future natural capital policy.

… InVEST indicator is related to the biodiversity module in order to assess terrestrial habitat quality combining information on land use-land … the input data required for InVEST model [27]: …

Mapping ecosystem services (ES) increases the awareness of natural capital value, leading to building sustainability into decision-making processes. Recently, many techniques to assess the value of ES delivered by different scenarios of land use/land cover (LULC) are available, thus becoming important practices in mapping to support the land use planning process. The spatial analysis of the biophysical ES distribution allows a better comprehension of the environmental and social implications of planning, especially when ES concerns the management of risk (e.g., erosion, pollution). This paper investigates the nutrient retention model of InVEST software through its spatial distribution and its quantitative value. The model was analyzed by testing its response to changes in input parameters: (1) the digital terrain elevation model (DEM); and (2) different LULC attribute configurations. The paper increases the level of attention to specific ES models that use water runoff as a proxy of nutrient delivery. It shows that the spatial distribution of biophysical values is highly influenced by many factors, among which the characteristics of the DEM and its interaction with LULC are included. The results seem to confirm that the biophysical value of ES is still affected by a high degree of uncertainty and encourage an expert field campaign as the only solution to use ES mapping for a regulative land use framework.

… of ecosystem services and tradeoffs (InVEST) between 2010 and 2021 from the southern coasts of Iran. The INVEST model uses land use and land cover maps to estimate habitat …

Abstract Land use connects social and economic activities with ecological processes and influences ecosystem services. Research into the variation of substance quantity or value quantity in ecosystem services undergoing land use change has recently gained considerable attention. However, few efforts have quantified and mapped the responses of ecosystem services to projected land use change. In view of this, we propose an index that can quantitatively evaluate the degree of variation in ecosystem services caused by land use change. Based on this index, we evaluate the degrees of influence of four different scenarios of land use change (a reference scenario, rapid urbanization scenario, ecological security scenario, and cultivated land protection scenario) on ecosystem services in China’s karst mountains. The results indicate that from 2010 −2030, land use change under the ecological security and rapid urbanization scenarios significantly affects ecosystem services, with indices of 2.04 and −6.99, respectively. These indices mean that a 1% change in land use will cause the ecosystem services index to vary by 2.04% and −6.99% under the ecological security and rapid urbanization scenarios, respectively. Thus, we infer that under the ecological security scenario, land use change positively affects ecosystem services, while under the rapid urbanization scenario, ecosystem services are negatively affected by land use change. Land use changes under the ecological security scenario are thus conducive to the sustainable development of ecosystem services in the karst mountains.

<title>Abstract</title> Riverine ecosystems supply humans with a variety of ecosystem services (ESs), but anthropogenic activities endanger their availability worldwide. Understanding the spatiotemporal characteristics of riverine ESs and identifying the primary driving forces behind various ESs are crucial for preserving regional ecological security and achieving ecosystem sustainability. The study examines the spatio-temporal changes from 2000 to 2022 in the Danro River Basin in Jharkhand in four essential Ecosystem Services (ES): Sediment Delivery Ratio (SDR), Nutrient Delivery Ratio (NDR), Habitat Quality Monitoring (HQM) and Carbon Storage (CS), using InVEST model, Land Use Dynamics Index and Correspondence analysis. Danro River is a tributary of the Ganges River basin affected by sand mining. Key results were: (1) A rise in soil erosion was observed due to the transformation of agricultural land into urban areas; (2) The phosphorous and nitrogen retention was higher in agricultural land as compared to forest areas; (3) The habitat quality of the Danro River body showed degradation during 2000 to 2020; (4) The study area can sequester 2128304.92 Mg of Carbon; (5) The land use dynamic index (K) indicated that bare ground experienced the greatest impact, with a value of -0.021. The study uncovered complex relationships between ecosystem services and land use changes, emphasizing tradeoffs and synergies and laying stress on the holistic management strategies to balance tradeoffs and leverage synergies. The findings provide valuable insights for decision-making in socio-environmental processes. Other regions missing meteorological, hydrological, and geological data may also benefit from applying the InVEST model with localized parameters.

Research on habitat quality change is of great significance for regional ecological security. Analysis of spatiotemporal change of habitat quality based on different geomorphic types can restore the background of ecological environment in historical periods and provide scientific support for revealing the evolution law of regional ecological environment quality and ecological restoration. This study aimed to identify the change in habitat quality under different geomorphic types from 1995 to 2018. Based on DEM data, geomorphic types of different scales were divided. The InVEST habitat quality model was used to analyze the spatiotemporal change in habitat quality in individual land use types in the Altay region. The spatiotemporal changes and main influencing factors of habitat quality under the background of different geomorphic types were explored. Remote sensing data was used to analyze the land use/cover changes. Sixteen threat sources, their maximum distance of impact, mode of decay, and sensitivity to threats were also estimated for each land use type. The results showed that habitat quality decreased significantly in 2015, which was related to the rapid expansion of cultivated and construction land as threat sources, as well as the decrease of forestland and grassland as sensitive factors. However, habitat quality improved significantly in 2018, because of the implementation of ecological restoration policy in 2015. Affected by elevation and topographic relief, the geomorphic type with the best habitat quality index was the large undulating middle mountain (0.927) and the worst was the medium altitude platform (0.351). Woodland contributed the most to habitat quality in large undulating middle mountain (35.07), and bare rock gravel land contributed the most to medium altitude platform (127.68). Habitat quality of different geomorphic types showed obvious spatial aggregation, and from high altitude to low altitude showed a banded ladder-like distribution. Changes in habitat quality during the past three decades suggested that the conservation and restoration strategies applied in regional ecosystem were effective. On the basis of the analysis results, four types of zoning management schemes were divided, and the ecological management and conservation measures were put forward. Therefore, this study can help decision makers, especially regarding the lack of data on biodiversity.

Ecosystem services (ES) are key to maintaining sustainable regional development. Climate change and land cover and land use change (LULC) are one of the main factors leading to changes in regional ecosystem services. Existing studies have simulated regional ES changes under different future scenarios, providing valuable guidance for regional sustainable management. However, most studies focus on the effects of individual factors (LULC or climate change) on ES, paying insufficient attention to the coupled effects of the two elements. Yunnan Province is a biodiversity hotspot facing challenges in ES in the context of future climate change and rapid socio-economic development. In order to achieve sustainable management, policies must be developed in advance to address possible future ecological risks. In this study, we simulated the coupled effects of climate change and LULC on six types of ES using the SD, FLUS, and InVEST models. The scenario framework of shared socioeconomic pathways SSP245 and SSP585 was combined with LULC scenario dynamics to assess the changes of ES in 2030 and 2050, identifying sensitive areas and providing a scientific basis for local ecosystem management. In 2020, the eastern part of Yunnan Province was the coldspot area for all ES. Under the future scenarios, Yunnan Province's ES show different loss rates and distinct spatial heterogeneity. Future climate change and LULC changes have a more significant negative impact on water conservation and water quality purification. About 66% of its counties will become sensitive areas for water production services, and 37% of counties will endure reduced water purification functions by more than 50%. According to the analytical results, we then proposed several suggestions to improve regional ES management.

Abstract China began implementing the world’s most ambitious afforestation and forest conservation projects in 2000s. However, whether the forest restoration efforts facilitate forest recovery, and whether the changes in land-use/land-cover (LULC) driven by afforestation projects affect ecosystem services remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated the changes in LULC and water-related ecosystem services (i.e., water yield, water purification, and soil conservation) using the InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Environmental Service and Tradeoffs) model in China’s Han River basin, the water source region of the South-to-North Water Transfer Project (Middle Route). Our study indicated that forest restoration projects greatly facilitated conversion of shrublands and croplands into forests, which dominated the LULC change (LULCC) and subsequently improved the water purification and soil conservation services but slightly decreased water yield services during 2000–2010. By excluding the influence of climatic factors, we found that 4.79 × 108 m3 of water yield were reduced by LULCC, which equals to 0.69% of water yield in 2000. In contrast, the LULCC improved soil conservation services markedly and reduced 1.72 × 107 t sediment, i.e., 12.8% of sediment export in 2000. Meanwhile, 761.7 t nitrogen loading was cut down by the LULCC. The Danjiangkou Reservoir subwatershed, the water supply site for the water transfer project, showed a net decrease of 302 t nitrogen loading from 2000 to 2010. Although the nitrogen loading showed a decreasing trend in 40 out of 50 subwatersheds during 2000–2010, ten subwatersheds showed increasing trends, including the Ren River, Laoguan River, Bai River, Diao River, Youshui River, Tang River, Han River, Xushui River, Sanjia River, and Dan River. These regions should be taken as the priorities for ecosystem restoration and environmental management in the future.

The current paper aims to assess the effects of landscape change in a mountain river basin in the north of Iran through quantifying, mapping, and assessing carbon storage. The analyses were performed based on previous alterations in land use and land cover (LULC) (1988–2018) and on expected changes determined by three LULC alteration setups for 2048. The Landsat imagery from 2018, 2008, 1998, and 1988 was used for evaluating and predicting the spatiotemporal distributions of LULC changes. The future LULC image prediction has been generated using Land Change Modeler (LCM) module of TerrSet software for the years 2028, 2038, and 2048. Validation was carried out by overlaying the actual and projected to 2018 map. We integrated the Markov Chain (MC) and InVEST Carbon Storage and Sequestration (InVEST-CSS) models for simulating the ecosystem carbon storage and the long-term monetary valuation. In this process, we considered social costs/economic value because of the area’s loss and gain of stored carbon. The results show that forests and rangelands with good and poor conditions decreased by 631.2, 10,374, and 10,254 ha, respectively, from 1988 to 2018. Overall, modeling and mapping LULC changes showed a descending trend in forests (0.66%), agriculture (0.1%), and rangelands (4.1%) in 2048. In addition, carbon storage has already been lost by 9.9 million tons (76.98 ha^−1) from 1988 to 8.8 million tons (68.86 ha^−1) in 2018 and is expected to have an 8.4 million tons (65.25 ha^−1) loss by 2048. Monitoring the economic value of carbon storage from 1988 to 2018 shows a loss of $US 15684338 (121.8 ha^−1) and estimates a loss of $US6972622 (54.18 ha^−1) by 2048. Therefore, spatiotemporal design of InVEST model by estimating the carbon value over time focuses on continuous monitoring actions for both the carbon pools dynamic and LULC pattern. This consideration causes reduction the uncertainty of estimated models and also increases the continuous cost of those changes. This will help government and decision makers for long-term and accurate carbon sequestration strategies for ecosystem.

… Generally, land use refers to the utilization of land for a given human purpose and land cover … We used the InVEST models to map and quantify wetland ESs and their changes, namely …

Purchases of private land for conservation are common in California and represent an alternative to regulatory land-use policies for constraining land use. The retention or enhancement of ecosystem services may be a benefit of land conservation, but that has been difficult to document. The InVEST toolset provides a practical, low-cost approach to quantifying ecosystem services. Using the toolset, we investigated the provision of ecosystem services in Sonoma County, California, and addressed three related questions. First, do lands protected by the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District (a publicly funded land conservation program) have higher values for four ecosystem services — carbon storage, sediment retention, nutrient retention and water yield — than other properties? Second, how do the correlations among these services differ across protected versus non-protected properties? Third, what are the strengths and weaknesses of using the InVEST toolset to quantify ecosystem services at the county scale? We found that District lands have higher service values for carbon storage, sediment retention and water yield than adjacent properties and properties that have been developed to more intensive uses in the last 10 years. Correlations among the ecosystem services differed greatly across land-use categories, and these differences were driven by a combination of soil, slope and land use. While InVEST provided a low-cost, clearly documented way to evaluate ecosystem services at the county scale, there is no ready way to validate the results.

… analyze land use transition matrices, quantify ecosystem service value (ESV), evaluate ecological … This decline was likely attributable to land conversion, reduced vegetation cover, and …

We evaluate the return on investment (ROI) from public land conservation in the state of Minnesota, USA. We use a spatially-explicit modeling tool, the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST), to estimate how changes in land use and land cover (LULC), including public land acquisitions for conservation, influence the joint provision and value of multiple ecosystem services. We calculate the ROI of a public conservation acquisition as the ratio of the present value of ecosystem services generated by the conservation to the cost of the conservation. For the land scenarios analyzed, carbon sequestration services generated the greatest benefits followed by water quality improvements and recreation opportunities. We found ROI values ranged from 0.21 to 5.28 depending on assumptions about future land use change, service values, and discount rate. Our study suggests conservation is a good investment as long as investments are targeted to areas with low land costs and high service values.

Background: Exploring the spatial and temporal evolution patterns of regional ecosystem service functions and their main drivers can provide effective support for formulating regional ecological conservation policies and coordinating sustainable economic–ecological development. Methods: This study quantifies the service functions of the water production, soil conservation, carbon storage, habitat quality, and net primary productivity (NPP) in the study area based on the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) model and the Carnegie–Ames–Stanford Approach (CASA) model and constructs a comprehensive index for ecosystem services (CES) based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to reflect the total supply of various ecosystem services spatially and explore the main driving mechanisms of their spatial variation. The main driving mechanisms of the spatial variation were investigated. Results: (1) Water production in the study area from 2010 to 2020 showed a trend of increasing before decreasing, soil retention showed a trend of continuously decreasing, carbon storage and biotope quality showed a trend of decreasing before increasing, and the NPP showed a trend of continuously increasing. (2) The mean CES of the study area from 2010 to 2020 (0.5398, 0.5763, 0.5456) showed a trend of increasing before decreasing. The improvement areas were mainly concentrated in the western, southwestern, and northeastern parts of the study area, and the degraded areas were mainly distributed in the southeast and northwest. (3) The fit of the geographically weighted regression (GWR) was higher than that of the ordinary least squares (OLS) in all the periods, and the main driving factors affecting the spatial variation in the CES were the NDVI and tea plantation area (T-Area). Conclusion: This study constructed the CES model, explored the regional CES spatiotemporal evolution pattern and its main driving mechanism, and provided a reference basis for promoting the high-quality development of specialized tea regions.

… -scenario simulation of future LUCC and assessing ecosystem services from the dual perspectives of land … , we first explore ecosystem services response to future LUCC under multiple …

… ecosystem service dynamic characteristics and responses under different land use/cover change (LUCC) scenarios … public willingness to pay for the ecosystem and guide the decision-…

Improving our knowledge of future dynamics of ecosystem services (ESs) in the face of climate change and human activities provides a crucial foundation to navigate complex environmental challenges, which are essential to attaining sustainable development particularly in urban regions. However, an existing dearth persists in thoroughly forecasting the intricate interplay of trade-offs and synergies, as well as ecosystem services bundling under distinct future scenarios. This study adopts an integrated research framework to understand the spatiotemporal dynamics of ESs in the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan Urban Agglomeration (CZTUA) under three Shared Socioeconomic Pathway and Representative Concentration Pathway (SSP-RCP) scenarios (i.e., SSP126, SSP245 and SSP585). Our future scenarios suggest that the core urban area of CZTUA is projected to expand at the cost of forests and croplands by 2050. Furthermore, human-induced urbanization, particularly the high-intensity LUCC along the Xiangjiang river, significantly impacts ESs, resulting in lower ESs values. The trade-off effects between ESs are primarily observed between WY (water yield) and other ESs. Ecosystem service bundles (ESB) previously dominated by WY have significantly transitioned to CS (carbon storage)-HQ (habitat quality) bundle, especially in the urban core of CZTUA, which serves as an early warning of potential challenges related to water resources. Our study utilizes the latest climate and land use change predictions to evaluate ecosystems in urban agglomerations, and adopts a layered zoning strategy based on ESs, which provides decision-makers with reproducible tools to explore ecosystem changes.

… land use (LU) management policies based on the concept of harmonious development. Therefore, based on LUCC … From 2020 to 2050, the LUCC under the EDP scenario will be more …

Increasing global pressure on natural resources requires that decision makers and land managers adopt sustainable solutions to ensure the long-term provision of essential ecosystem services (ES). Analysing the effects of land-use changes on ES can contribute to an improved understanding of the interactions between socio-economic development, landscape changes and ES, which is fundamental in order to avoid or mitigate the undesired consequences of today's decisions. Studies at longer timescales are still underrepresented, but are also fundamental for capturing slow social and ecological processes. This study therefore analysed the impacts of land-use/land cover (LULC) changes on ES values from the past to the future (1860-2100) in the Autonomous Province of South Tyrol (Italy). Future scenarios were based on socio-economic storylines and their spatial distribution mapped. By attributing ES values to LULC types, we assessed changes in ES values as well as their spatial patterns. Our results indicate that the abandonment of mountain grassland induced an ongoing shift in ES at higher elevations, from grassland-related ES towards forest-related ES. The intensification of use in the valley bottoms had predominantly negative effects on regulation & maintenance, and cultural ES in the past. Under future scenarios, changes in ES values at lower elevations greatly depend on expected socio-economic development. Negative effects on regulation & maintenance and cultural ES were highest for the 'Food sovereignty' scenario due to huge transformations of grassland and permanent cultures to arable land in order to optimise food provision at the regional level. In contrast, under the 'Liberalisation' and 'Rewilding' scenarios, there were positive trends for forest-related provisioning ES and less negative effects on regulation & maintenance and cultural ES within the study area, but the dependence on imported products increased. Our findings provide valuable information for decision-making and policy development in order to minimise negative consequences through targeted management measures or payments for environmental services.

… ecosystem services are mainly caused by land use change. In calculating the ecosystem services for each scenario, only land use … By identifying changes in land use from 2010 to 2050 …

Climate change can have marked effects on ecosystem service (ES) provision in the Andes, particularly in peri-urban areas. In addition to global-change related processes, cumulative effects such as changing socio-political dynamics, environmental policies, and conflicts are also changing type and magnitude of land use-land cover (LULC) dynamics in the Colombian Andes. Studies in the region have investigated the effects of LULC change, deforestation and extreme climatic events on the hydrology of watersheds and carbon sequestration. Yet, less is known on how the cumulative effects of climate and LULC changes will drive water yield and carbon sequestration. To investigate these cumulative effects, we study two different watersheds near Bogota, Colombia and their ES for the period 2016-2046. We use IPCC-LULC scenarios, expert elicitation, hydro-meteorological data, and integrated modelling using temporal LULC change and ESs valuation models to parse out effects of LULC versus climate change on two representative ESs. Our results show forest and shrublands remain stable during the analysis period. However, urban conversion of agricultural pastures is substantial. We found that climate change scenarios had greater effect on water yield and supply than LULC scenarios in both watersheds. However, carbon sequestration was greater in rural forest and shrubland areas farther from Bogota. In contrast to current land use zoning being promoted by local elected officials, our findings indicate that land-use development and policies in near-urban basins need to minimize urbanization in agriculture and pasture LULCs, as these can have substantial effects on water yield. Similarly, land use polices in ex-urban areas need to conserve forested and shrubland areas to maximize their carbon offset potential. Collectively, our results highlight the need to incorporate climate change conditions in decision making and land use planning processes, in order to maintain the capacity of ecosystems, both urban and rural, to provide services to society.

Land use/cover change (LUCC) accompanied by climate change and human activities will have unpredictable impacts on watershed ecosystems. However, the extent to which these land use changes affect the spatial and temporal distribution of ecosystem services (ESs) in different regions remains unclear. The impact of LUCC on ESs in the Qingjiang Watershed (QJW), an ecologically sensitive area, and LUCC’s role in future ESs under different land use scenarios are crucial to promoting ecological conservation and land use management. This paper assessed water yield (WY), soil conservation (SC), carbon storage (CS) and habitat quality (HQ) using the InVEST model, and their responses to LUCC in the QJW from 1990 to 2018 using the geodetector and multiscale geographically weighted regression. We predicted land use patterns using the Logistic–CA–Markov model and their effects on ESs in 2034 under business as usual (BAU), ecological land protection (ELP), arable land protection (ALP) and ecological economic construction (EEC) scenarios. From 1990 to 2018, the area of cropland and woodland decreased by 28.3 and 138.17 km2, respectively, while the built-up land increased by 96.65 km2. The WY increased by 18.92%, while the SC, CS and HQ decreased by 26.94%, 1.05% and 0.4%, respectively. The increase in the arable land area led to a increase in WY, and the decrease in forest land and the increase in construction land led to a decrease in SC, CS and HQ. In addition to being influenced by land use patterns, WY and SC were influenced mainly by meteorological and topographical factors, respectively. In 2034, there was an obvious spatial growth conflict between cropland and construction land, especially in the area centered on Lichuan, Enshi and Yidu counties. Under four scenarios, WY and SC were ranked ALP > BAU > EEC > ELP, while CS and HQ were ranked ELP > EEC > BAU > ALP. Considering the sustainable eco-socio-economic development of the QJW, the EEC scenario can be chosen as a future development plan. These results can indicate how to rationally improve the supply of watershed ESs through land resource allocation, promoting sustainable regional development in mountainous watershed areas.

Ecosystem services (ESs) are critical to human welfare and play an important role in supporting sustainable social and economic development. Climate change (CLC) and land use change (LUCC) are two of the most important factors influencing ESs. However, few studies have tried to distinguish the independent contributions of CLC and LUCC to ESs. Using meteorological, soil, land use, and remote sensing data for Liaoning Province (China) from 2000 to 2020, the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) model and Carnegie-Ames Stanford Approach (CASA) model were used to construct scenario simulation frameworks based on three hypothetical scenarios: 1) CLC effect only; 2) LUCC effect only; 3) a combined effect of CLC and LULC. The three scenario simulation frameworks were then used to determine the independent contributions of CLC and LUCC to net primary productivity (NPP), water yield (WY), soil retention (SR), and their temporal dynamics. Results showed that under the combined effect of CLC and LULC, NPP, WY and SR in Liaoning Province exhibited a trend of gradual increase from 2000 to 2020, increasing by 124.62 gC/m2, 30.64 mm/a and 0.63 t/km2, respectively. Under the CLC only scenario, WY and SR changed by 6.24% and 2%, respectively, exhibiting a more significant effect than under the LUCC only scenario. In contrast, NPP changed by 25.71% under the LUCC only scenario, which was more significant than under the CLC only scenario. Overall, CLC was found to be the dominant factor affecting changes in WY and SR in Liaoning Province, with independent contribution rates of 81.79%-84.02% and 73.57%-85.44%, respectively, whereas LUCC was the dominant factor affecting changes in NPP with an independent contribution rate of 86.12%-92.50%. Decreased precipitation levels and an increase in temperature were the two primary factors driving fluctuations in the independent contributions of CLC to WY and SR, while large-scale forest land area damage and rapid urbanization were the two primary factors driving fluctuations in the independent contribution of LUCC to NPP. The results of this study identify the specific effects of different climatic conditions on ESs and highlight the conflict between urbanization and ecosystem service provision, providing a theoretical foundation for improving and increasing ESs and regional sustainable development in Liaoning Province.

Abstract Urbanization alters the supply of ecosystem services that are vital for human well-being. The loss of ecosystem services is particularly challenging in rapid urbanization areas where economic development needs to consume substantial natural resources. The quantitative and spatial optimization of land use provides an effective tool for rationally allocating land use structure and pattern to ensure the provision of expected ecosystem services. In this paper, we combine the Multi-Objective Programming and the Dyna-CLUE model to project land use changes in 2030 for Wuhan city under three scenarios, i.e., Business As Usual (BAU), Rapid Economic Development (RED), and Ecological Land Protection (ELP). The coupled model that integrates “top-down” and “bottom-up” processes is capable of obtaining the optimized land use patterns under different scenarios and examining the potential impacts of land use changes on ecosystem services in a spatially explicit way. We find that built-up land will continue its remarkable growth during 2015-2030 under the BAU scenario (grows by 96%) at the expense of ecological lands (decreases by 18%). Meanwhile, the predicted losses of ecological lands are 11% and 6% under the RED and ELP scenarios, respectively. Projected land use changes result in varying magnitudes of declines in ecosystem service values for BAU (11%), RED (6%) and ELP (2%) scenarios from 2015 to 2030. The ELP scenario, which incorporates ecological protection policies and spatial restrictions, plays a positive role in altering land use trends and mitigating ecosystem degradation. Finally, we establish an ecosystem service value change matrix to explain how interactions between land use types give rise to trade-offs among multiple ecosystem services. We find that conversions between ecological land use types can trigger trade-offs among ecosystem services, but the conversion from ecological lands towards urban land leads to a net loss of all individual ecosystem services. By linking land and ecological systems, the coupled modeling framework in this study can be useful for obtaining optimal ecosystem-based land use allocation strategies and provide scientific support for sustainable land use management.

Ecosystem service (ES) supply and demand are affected by changes in land use and the supply of specific ecosystem services for human consumption, respectively. Future spatio-temporal dynamics and their coupling relations with land use in China have not been well analysed. In this study, based on future land use scenarios of Li's database, ES supply, demand and balance (supply minus demand) were revealed utilizing land use and land cover (LULC) matrix model in China in 2010, 2050 and 2100. The results showed that ES supply, demand and balance had great spatial and temporal variations under different scenarios at national and provincial scales. Higher population and higher urban expansion scenarios will lead to a significant decreasing in the balance values of different categories and total ESs in most provinces. The ecological sensitivity index was calculated to indicate the impact of land use intensity on ecosystem services. The results showed that the sensitivity levels in approximately 90% of provinces were low for all the scenarios, as only Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Liaoning in 2050 and Gansu in 2100 were extremely sensitive to changes in supply, while only provinces in the central-eastern regions were sensitive with obvious differences from the demand. The coupling coordination analysis between land use intensity and ES balance was applied to identify the provinces with low-level coordination in land use and ES management. The results showed that the coordination change in most provinces remained stable under four scenarios. However, some provinces displayed an improving trend from low to moderate coordination or from moderate to high coordination and a degrading trend from moderate to low coordination or from high to moderate coordination from 2010 to 2100. This study contributes to exploring the effect of land use on ecosystem service evolution, thereby providing credible guidance for future land and ES management.

Land use and land cover (LULC) changes exert large impacts on key ecosystem services (ESs) in arid areas. This study presents a framework to link LULC change with spatial changes …

Abstract. Land-use models and integrated assessment models provide scenarios of land-use and land-cover (LULC) changes following pathways or storylines related to different socioeconomic and environmental developments. The large diversity of available scenario projections leads to a recognizable variability in impacts on land ecosystems and the levels of services provided. We evaluated 16 projections of future LULC until 2040 that reflected different assumptions regarding socioeconomic demands and modeling protocols. By using these LULC projections in a state-of-the-art dynamic global vegetation model, we simulated their effect on selected ecosystem service indicators related to ecosystem productivity and carbon sequestration potential, agricultural production and the water cycle. We found that although a common trend for agricultural expansion exists across the scenarios, where and how particular LULC changes are realized differs widely across models and scenarios. They are linked to model-specific considerations of some demands over others and their respective translation into LULC changes and also reflect the simplified or missing representation of processes related to land dynamics or other influencing factors (e.g., trade, climate change). As a result, some scenarios show questionable and possibly unrealistic features in their LULC allocations, including highly regionalized LULC changes with rates of conversion that are contrary to or exceed rates observed in the past. Across the diverging LULC projections, we identified positive global trends of net primary productivity (+10.2 % ± 1.4 %), vegetation carbon (+9.2 % ± 4.1 %), crop production (+31.2 % ± 12.2 %) and water runoff (+9.3 % ± 1.7 %), and a negative trend of soil and litter carbon stocks (−0.5 % ± 0.4 %). The variability in ecosystem service indicators across scenarios was especially high for vegetation carbon stocks and crop production. Regionally, variability was highest in tropical forest regions, especially at current forest boundaries, because of intense and strongly diverging LULC change projections in combination with high vegetation productivity dampening or amplifying the effects of climatic change. Our results emphasize that information on future changes in ecosystem functioning and the related ecosystem service indicators should be seen in light of the variability originating from diverging projections of LULC. This is necessary to allow for adequate policy support towards sustainable transformations.

… ecosystem services (WESs) are essential for sustainable development, particularly in regions experiencing rapid land use and cover change (LUCC… , and trade-offs of LUCC and CC on …

… land use/cover change (LUCC), which has a significant negative impact on the functions and services of coastal ecosystems. … Multi-scenario simulations of LUCC and ESV in 2030 were …

… provisioning across agricultural landscapes. The … in landscape planning processes. The generated plans are evaluated and optimized for multiple indicators of ecosystem services …

Boreal forests produce multiple ecosystem services for the society. Their trade-offs determine whether they should be produced simultaneously or whether it is preferable to assign separate areas to different ecosystem services. We use simulation and optimization to analyse the correlations, trade-offs and production levels of several ecosystem services in single- and multi-objective forestry over 100 years in a boreal forest landscape. The case study area covers 3600 ha of boreal forest, consisting of 3365 stands. The ecosystem services and their indicators (in parentheses) considered are carbon sequestration (forestry carbon balance), biodiversity (amount of deadwood and broadleaf volume), economic profitability of forestry (net present value of timber production) and timber supply to forest industry (volume of harvested timber). The treatment alternatives simulated for each of the stands include both even-aged rotation forestry (thinning from above with clear cut) and continuous cover forestry regimes (thinning from above with no clear cut). First, we develop 200 Pareto optimal plans by maximizing multi-attribute utility functions using random weights for the ecosystem service indicators. Second, we compare the average level of ecosystem services in single- and multi-objective forestry. Based on our findings, forestry carbon balance and the amount of deadwood correlate positively with each other, and both of them correlate negatively with harvested timber volume and economic profitability of forestry. Despite this, the simultaneous maximization of multiple objectives increased the overall production levels of several ecosystem services, which suggests that the management of boreal forests should be multi-objective to sustain the simultaneous provision of timber and other ecosystem services.

… Integrating ecosystem services (ESs) into land development strategies can provide a new … of natural ecosystems and as a result, these conditions have affected ecological characteristics…

… , a non-linear programming method was used to optimize multi-objective land-use allocation by weighing multi-objective benefits from ecosystem services at the landscape level. The …

Abstract Urban ecosystem services (UES) are the benefits supplied by nature to people in urban systems. The supply of UES is threatened because of widespread increasing urbanisation. Modelling scenarios that optimise UES supplies can support sustainable urban planning processes. UES are linked to land use/land cover (LULC) types, which enables the optimisation of UES supply to be based on LULC configurations. However, current modelling approaches are not suitably adapted to the link between UES optimisation and LULC configurations. One possibility to target UES optimal supply is to use mathematical optimisation methods. The objective of this study is to test the combined use of participatory modelling and optimisation models to deliver spatial solutions that maximise UES by optimal urban LULC configurations. An integrated model is built using a multi-objective integer linear programming (MOILP) model along with LULC performance scores to maximise a set of locally supplied UES. This is illustrated with a case study of Lisbon (Portugal) involving the participation of key stakeholders to validate and benchmark the selection of optimisation constraints. Results show land optimally allocated to land cover types with high UES functions combined with a reshuffling and densification of residential land. Thus, the new LULC configuration increased multiple UES supplies while maintaining a level of housing capacity. The model shows clear implications of increasing land cover types whose UES functions are high compared to most other LULC classes. Moreover, incorporating stakeholder participatory modelling offers a transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary scientific contribution intersecting mathematical optimisation, UES, and urban planning.

Ecosystem services are usually influenced by physical land use changes and climate changes. The significant land use changes and polices in Inner Mongolia mainly include urban …

Degradation, fragmentation, and loss of tropical forests has exponentially increased in the last decades leading to unprecedented rates of species extinctions and loss of ecosystems functions and services. Forest restoration is key to recover ecosystems health and achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. However, restoring forests at the landscape scale presents many challenges, since it requires balancing conservation goals and economic development. In this study, we used a spatial planning tool (Marxan) to identify priority areas for restoration satisfying multiple objectives across a biological corridor in Costa Rica. Biological corridors are critical conservation instruments promoting forest connectivity while acknowledging human presence. Increasing forest connectivity requires restoration initiatives that will likely conflict with other land uses, some of them of high national economic importance. Our restoration plan sought to maximize the provision of forest-related services (i.e., seed dispersal, tourism and carbon storage) while minimizing the impact on current land uses and thus avoiding potential conflicts. We quantified seed dispersal and tourism services (birdwatching potential) using species distribution models. We used the carbon sequestration model of InVEST to quantify carbon storage potential. We tested different restoration scenarios that differed in whether land opportunity costs of current uses were considered or not when identifying potential restoration areas, or how these costs were estimated. We showed how a landscape-scale forest restoration plan accounting for only forest connectivity and ecosystem service provision capacity can greatly differ from a plan that considers the potential impacts on local livelihoods. Spatial planning tools can assist at designing cost-effective landscape-scale forest restoration plans, identifying priority areas where forest restoration can maximize ecosystem provision and increase forest connectivity. Special care must be paid to the use of adequate estimates of opportunity cost, to avoid potential conflicts between restoration goals and other legitimate land uses.

… landscapes in generating ecosystem services while maximizing gross margin associated with agricultural commodity production. Ecosystem services … ) with a multiobjective evolutionary …

Integrating ecosystem service value (ESV) into land use optimization is crucial for achieving sustainable development goals. Unlike traditional “post-evaluation” approaches that assess ESV after generating land use plans, this study pioneers a “goal-oriented” method by embedding ESV as an objective to guide land use optimization. A multi-objective particle swarm optimization (PSO) framework, which incorporates ESV with land quantity error, spatial aggregation of farmland and construction land, and economic benefits, was constructed for the research study. Applied to Wuhan, China, for the periods of 2005–2015 and 2010–2020, the results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed framework in: (1) reducing construction land area while increasing farmland and ecological land; (2) spatially aggregating construction land towards urban functional areas while protecting farmland and ecological land in peri-urban and outer suburban areas; (3) improving spatial aggregation of farmland, construction land, and ecological land; and (4) slightly increasing ESV, particularly in peri-urban and outer suburban areas. The proposed PSO framework provides a valuable tool for optimizing land use layout, enhancing ecosystem service provision, and promoting balanced socio-ecological development.

… economic and ecological benefits, this study develops an improved optimization method … takes into full account ecological spatial constraints, including ecological protection red line, …

… Multi-objective Optimization (… optimal set of designs for an evolving landscape in the rural urban fringe of a major metropolitan area. Landscape design and its configuration optimization …

Excessive human activities associated with rapid industrialization and urbanization have exerted tremendous pressure on limited land resources. Scientific land use planning is essential for attaining sustainable development. This study focuses on multi-objective land use optimization in Xinjiang, China’s largest arid region, targeting the dual goals of maximizing ecosystem services and economic benefits. The non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) and the future land simulation (FLUS) model are integrated innovatively to explore optimal land use in terms of both quantity and spatial distribution. Four distinct development scenarios are predefined and compared: natural development, ecological preservation, economic development, and sustainable development. The main results are as follows: (1) The fragile ecosystem of Xinjiang has been under tremendous pressure during the past 40 years. The predominant pattern in land use transition was the increase in construction land (+115.66%) and cultivated land (+47.18%) at the expense of grassland (−5.48%) and forest land (−4.15%), both of which hold substantial ecological significance. (2) Among these predefined scenarios, the sustainable development scenario is considered more favorable in the future due to its ability to balance ecological preservation and economic development. All the ecologically valuable lands will have certain degrees of growth, whereas the expansion scale of construction land will be effectively controlled. (3) The lack of high-quality land and the unpredictability of water resources will be the two major obstacles to implementing this sustainable development scenario. To overcome them, the government should provide policy and financial support for restricting construction land expansion, exploiting unused land, and strengthening water conservation. This study contributes to formulating more effective land use strategies under multiple conflicting goals and ultimately achieving sustainable development of the economy and ecology in Xinjiang as well as other similar regions.

Understanding and managing the complex trade-offs among multiple ecosystem services (ESs) against the backdrop of rapid urbanization is critical for achieving sustainable ecological …

… the scenario analysis and multi-objective optimal planning design for ecosystem management and … and spatial multi-objective optimization model for ecosystem service management, …

… GI planning often prioritize individual ecosystem services (ES) … -II) algorithm as a multi-objective spatial optimization tool for … area of Wuhu City are optimized with the aim of maximizing …

Landscapes are often patchworks of private properties, where composition and configuration patterns result from cumulative effects of the actions of multiple landowners. Securing the delivery of services in such multi-ownership landscapes is challenging, because it is difficult to assure tight compliance to spatially explicit management rules at the level of individual properties, which may hinder the conservation of critical landscape features. To deal with these constraints, a multi-objective simulation-optimization procedure was developed to select non-spatial management regimes that best meet landscape-level objectives, while accounting for uncoordinated and uncertain response of individual landowners to management rules. Optimization approximates the non-dominated Pareto frontier, combining a multi-objective genetic algorithm and a simulator that forecasts trends in landscape pattern as a function of management rules implemented annually by individual landowners. The procedure was demonstrated with a case study for the optimum scheduling of fuel treatments in cork oak forest landscapes, involving six objectives related to reducing management costs (1), reducing fire risk (3), and protecting biodiversity associated with mid- and late-successional understories (2). There was a trade-off between cost, fire risk and biodiversity objectives, that could be minimized by selecting management regimes involving ca. 60% of landowners clearing the understory at short intervals (around 5 years), and the remaining managing at long intervals (ca. 75 years) or not managing. The optimal management regimes produces a mosaic landscape dominated by stands with herbaceous and low shrub understories, but also with a satisfactory representation of old understories, that was favorable in terms of both fire risk and biodiversity. The simulation-optimization procedure presented can be extended to incorporate a wide range of landscape dynamic processes, management rules and quantifiable objectives. It may thus be adapted to other socio-ecological systems, particularly where specific patterns of landscape heterogeneity are to be maintained despite imperfect management by multiple landowners.

… ecological restoration programmes have been implemented in China to restore and sustain ecosystem services… specialized models to quantify four ecosystem services (water provision, …

Determining the desirable composition of a forested landscape and its associated ecosystem services (ES) is challenging because the solutions must reconcile the preferences of various forest stakeholders and account for uncertain data. By combining multi-objective robust optimization with an online survey of forest professionals in Slovenia (n = 130) and forest professionals, forest scientists, nature conservationists and forest owners in Germany (n = 649) about optimal forest landscape composition, we derived compromise portfolios of forest types. These portfolios minimize the trade-offs between five ES (stopping avalanches, carbon storage, recreation, timber production and regulating flows of water), and account for the varying capacity of eight forest types to supply ES. The resulting optimized forest landscape compositions always comprised at least two forest types. In both countries, uneven-aged native deciduous and conifer mixed stands were prominent in the optimized portfolios. In Germany, however, the optimized portfolio also contained exotic species in mixtures, whereas forest stands without active management were notable for several ES in Slovenia. Unmanaged forest stands were also selected in the forest composition optimized for nature conservationists in Germany: the nature conservationists' portfolio diverged strongly from those of the other stakeholders. Our results illustrate that diversified forested landscapes provide multiple ES, but also secure the provision of a single ES when accounting for uncertainty. The optimal forest compositions obtained by multi-objective robust optimization are a starting point for participatory planning approaches to identify the most socially acceptable strategies for adapting forest management to an uncertain future.

Abstract Demands on peri-urban landscapes are increasing and diversifying. These landscapes typically fulfil different functions, including agriculture, ecosystem services and may also host species and habitats of conservation concern. Designing landscapes that can simultaneously meet multiple competing demands is an important challenge. Addressing this challenge requires methods that can provide a clear understanding of the trade-offs between biodiversity, production and ecosystem services, and that can assist in effectively navigating these through planning. Here, we tested the degree to which landscape optimization algorithms can do so, for an intensively-used area in the Netherlands. We optimized land use/land management to increase fruit yield, endangered species habitat, and landscape aesthetics, while minimizing losses in dairy farming, and assessed the trade-offs among these objectives. We considered the allocation of on-farm measures (organic management and establishment of linear elements), off-farm measures (taking land out of production) and a combination of both. Both agri-environment measures were able to contribute to the objectives but showed strong trade-offs between fruit yield (on-farm: +26.19% vs. off-farm: +1.63%) and species habitat (on-farm: +9.90% vs. off-farm: +45.72%). Using a combination of both on-farm and off-farm measures largely alleviated this trade-off. The spatial allocation of measures in the landscape was important, and priority areas according to our optimization technique differed markedly from those in the existing nature conservation plan, which is primarily focused on species conservation. Our results highlight that the current nature conservation plan can be improved, thereby simultaneously contributing to multiple environmental objectives while incurring a smaller impact on dairy farming. Comparing on-farm and off-farm management practices provides insight in the functional trade-offs associated with each management option and their respective potential to increase multifunctionality. Moreover, the identification of priority locations across all solutions can further integrate landscape optimization approaches into spatial planning and inform policy design and implementation.

The optimization of the spatial structure and layout is to determine an optimal and cost-effective land-use allocation plan for protected areas. The key goal is to maximizing the value of ecosystem services. This paper establishes a framework for optimizing the spatial structure and layout of the protected area based on ecosystem services. With the objective of maximizing the value of ecosystem services, it uses the CoMOLA (Constrained Multi-objective Optimization of Land-use Allocation) model for multi-objective optimization under the constraints of area and conversion rules. Taking the Yellow River’s headwaters region in the Three-River-Source (Sanjiangyuan) National Park as the study area, this paper uses the data of the year 2015 as a benchmark, and obtains the optimization results of the study area by 2035. The results show that the total value of ecosystem services of the Yellow River’s headwaters region after optimization will reach RMB [Formula: see text], with a total increase of RMB [Formula: see text] (8.47%). The land covers that contribute most to the value of ecosystem services are rivers, lakes and wetlands (51.55%), and grasslands (40.71%). Among the various types of ecosystem services, the value of provisioning services will increase by RMB [Formula: see text], regulating services by RMB [Formula: see text], supporting services by RMB [Formula: see text], and cultural services by RMB [Formula: see text]. The research results can provide a scientific basis for the spatial optimization of protected areas and the management of national parks.

… However, we still lack further information about the spatial scale effects of LULC and ESs, and their underlying mechanisms. The hierarchical scaling strategy provides an effective …

Ecosystems provide life-sustaining services upon which human civilization depends, but their degradation largely continues unabated. Spatially explicit information on ecosystem services (ES) provision is required to better guide decision making, particularly for mountain systems, which are characterized by vertical gradients and isolation with high topographic complexity, making them particularly sensitive to global change. But while spatially explicit ES quantification and valuation allows the identification of areas of abundant or limited supply of and demand for ES, the accuracy and usefulness of the information varies considerably depending on the scale and methods used. Using four case studies from mountainous regions in Europe and the U.S., we quantify information gains and losses when mapping five ES - carbon sequestration, flood regulation, agricultural production, timber harvest, and scenic beauty - at coarse and fine resolution (250 m vs. 25 m in Europe and 300 m vs. 30 m in the U.S.). We analyze the effects of scale on ES estimates and their spatial pattern and show how these effects are related to different ES, terrain structure and model properties. ES estimates differ substantially between the fine and coarse resolution analyses in all case studies and across all services. This scale effect is not equally strong for all ES. We show that spatially explicit information about non-clustered, isolated ES tends to be lost at coarse resolution and against expectation, mainly in less rugged terrain, which calls for finer resolution assessments in such contexts. The effect of terrain ruggedness is also related to model properties such as dependency on land use-land cover data. We close with recommendations for mapping ES to make the resulting maps more comparable, and suggest a four-step approach to address the issue of scale when mapping ES that can deliver information to support ES-based decision making with greater accuracy and reliability.

Globally, anthropogenic environmental change is exacerbating the already vulnerable conditions of many people and ecosystems. In order to obtain food, water, raw materials and shelter, rural people modify forests and other ecosystems, affecting the supply of ecosystem services that contribute to livelihoods and well-being. Despite widespread awareness of the nature and extent of multiple impacts of land-use changes, there remains limited understanding of how these impacts affect trade-offs among ecosystem services and their beneficiaries across spatial scales. We assessed how rural communities in two forested landscapes in Indonesia have changed land uses over the last 20 years to adapt their livelihoods that were at risk from multiple hazards. We estimated the impact of these adaptation strategies on the supply of ecosystem services by comparing different benefits provided to people from these land uses (products, water, carbon, and biodiversity), using forest inventories, remote sensing, and interviews. Local people converted forests to rubber plantations, reforested less productive croplands, protected forests on hillsides, and planted trees in gardens. Our results show that land-use decisions were propagated at the landscape scale due to reinforcing loops, whereby local actors perceived that such decisions contributed positively to livelihoods by reducing risks and generating co-benefits. When land-use changes become sufficiently widespread, they affect the supply of multiple ecosystem services, with impacts beyond the local scale. Thus, adaptation implemented at the local-scale may not address development and climate adaptation challenges at regional or national scale (e.g. as part of UN Sustainable Development Goals or actions taken under the UNFCCC Paris Agreement). A better understanding of the context and impacts of local ecosystem-based adaptation is fundamental to the scaling up of land management policies and practices designed to reduce risks and improve well-being for people at different scales.

Climate and land-use change are key drivers of environmental degradation in the Anthropocene, but too little is known about their interactive effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Long-term data on biodiversity trends are currently lacking. Furthermore, previous ecological studies have rarely considered climate and land use in a joint design, did not achieve variable independence or lost statistical power by not covering the full range of environmental gradients. Here, we introduce a multi-scale space-for-time study design to disentangle effects of climate and land use on biodiversity and ecosystem services. The site selection approach coupled extensive GIS-based exploration and correlation heatmaps with a crossed and nested design covering regional, landscape and local scales. Its implementation in Bavaria (Germany) resulted in a set of study plots that maximizes the potential range and independence of environmental variables at different spatial scales. Stratifying the state of Bavaria into five climate zones and three prevailing land-use types, i.e. near-natural, agriculture and urban, resulted in 60 study regions covering a mean annual temperature gradient of 5.6–9.8 °C and a spatial extent of 380×360 km. Within these regions, we nested 180 study plots located in contrasting local land-use types, i.e. forests, grasslands, arable land or settlement (local climate gradient 4.5–10 °C). This approach achieved low correlations between climate and land-use (proportional cover) at the regional and landscape scale with |r ≤0.33| and |r ≤0.29|, respectively. Furthermore, using correlation heatmaps for local plot selection reduced potentially confounding relationships between landscape composition and configuration for plots located in forests, arable land and settlements. The suggested design expands upon previous research in covering a significant range of environmental gradients and including a diversity of dominant land-use types at different scales within different climatic contexts. It allows independent assessment of the relative contribution of multi-scale climate and land use on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Understanding potential interdependencies among global change drivers is essential to develop effective restoration and mitigation strategies against biodiversity decline, especially in expectation of future climatic changes. Importantly, this study also provides a baseline for long-term ecological monitoring programs.

… scale effect of relationships between ecosystem services (ESs), and determining which factors affect … Among these factors, vegetation cover (VEG), annual average temperature (TEM), …

It is generally recognized that marginal changes in landscape characteristics can influence multiple ecosystem services, but the causal relationships involved are still very unclear due to lack of knowledge and data gaps. Planners and managers need spatial information and evidence on these causal relationships for systematic and sound land planning. This study evaluated the effects of landscape characteristics on seven types of ecosystem services and the trade-offs among the ecosystem services by combining statistical data and the InVEST model with correlation analysis across Taihu Lake Basin, China. We found that all ecosystem services except food production increased from 2005 to 2015 in the whole basin. We also found that correlations between landscape characteristic metrics and ecosystem services indicators changed over time for different types of ecosystem service indicators at the county scale, and between county and pixel scale. The results demonstrated the effects of landscape characteristic metrics on multiple ecosystem services indicators and the tradeoffs among these ecosystem services indicators, and also revealed scale effects on correlations and tradeoffs. Therefore planners and managers need to consider both landscape characteristic metrics and scale effects for effective landscape management to improve ecosystem services and reduce unwanted tradeoffs.

… policy making processes at local scales (Adesina and Baidu-… ecosystem services of land use types at the landscape scale … To obtain ecosystem service values for various ground cover …

Abstract Land Use and Land Cover Changes (LULCC) are interrelated with other global processes like global climate change, population growth, land degradation etc. Land use structure of a given area, region is adapted to the requirements of human society since the appearance of human beings. Land use structure is understood as the proportion of land use types orruring in a given area. The objective of the paper is to analyse land use changes in Lake Balaton catchment, Hungary and to present the role of changes of one ecosystem service, i.e. recreation and tourism by quantitative methods, based on spatial and statistical databases of land use and tourism in Lake Balaton catchment, Hungary between 1990 and 2012. The study area is a frequented touristic region of Hungary with variegated and beautiful landscape mosaics. The lake (595 km2) is exposed to various kinds of environmental impacts including agricultural activities and tourism. For the quantification of the Recreation and Ecotourism Ecosystem Service potential the Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) method was applied. Land use changes between 1990 and 2012 were identified from the CORINE Land Cover Database and evaluated from ecological aspects and from the aspect of ecosystem services. The main changes include a continuous increase of the forest area and a remarkable on-going decrease of arable land. Soil erosion as the main land degradation process in the area endangering the quality of ecosystem services. The remarkable decrease of arable fields reduces erosion risk. Ecosystem services provided by each land use type were analysed. The main conclusion is that long term trend of land use changes is beneficial for ecosystem services.

This study analyzes land use dynamics, spatiotemporal patterns of ecosystem service value (… ) and Remote Sensing (RS) was used to extract information on land use/land cover (LULC) …

… landscape management measures. From 2001 to 2014, we analyzed the changing trends in five critical ecosystem services … and landscape patterns affect the five ecosystem services on …

… metrics are widely used in studies describing landscape patterns and their relationship to land use/land cover changes, biodiversity distribution, ecological processes, and …