scholarly journals Study on Land Use/Cover Change and Ecosystem Services in Harbin, China

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (15) ◽  
pp. 6076
Author(s):  
Dao Riao ◽  
Xiaomeng Zhu ◽  
Zhijun Tong ◽  
Jiquan Zhang ◽  
Aoyang Wang

Land use/cover change (LUCC) and ecosystem service functions are current hot topics in global research on environmental change. A comprehensive analysis and understanding of the land use changes and ecosystem services, and the equilibrium state of the interaction between the natural environment and the social economy is crucial for the sustainable utilization of land resources. We used remote sensing image to research the LUCC, ecosystem service value (ESV), and ecological economic harmony (EEH) in eight main urban areas of Harbin in China from 1990 to 2015. The results show that, in the past 25 years, arable land—which is a part of ecological land—is the main source of construction land for urbanization, whereas the other ecological land is the main source of conversion to arable land. There is no significant change in the value ratio of ESV, however, it is also inclined to the southeast of the study area in spaces like the barycenter of LUCC. The EEH degree has risen from the potential crisis area to the medium coordination degree, and then dropped to the low coordination degree. This shows that although there has been limited change of LUCC, ESV, and EEH in eight main urban areas of Harbin in 25 years, there is a contradiction between the allocation of ecological land and non-ecological land.

Proceedings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Leitão ◽  
Ferreira ◽  
Ferreira

Land-use changes driven by human activities affect natural systems. Urbanization, forest monoculture and intensive agriculture are changing the functioning of many biotic and abiotic processes. This tends to decrease the ability of ecosystems to provide services, which leads to several problems particularly in cities. This study investigates the ability of urban areas with great population and environmental pressures, to supply ecosystem services. The study was carried out in Coimbra municipality, through the assessment of regulation, provisioning and cultural services. The quantification of ecosystem services was based on the evaluation performed by experts familiar with the study area, through questionnaires. A total of 31 questionnaires were completed. The experts ranked the potential supply of 30 ecosystem services for the 33 existent land-uses. based on a qualitative evaluation: “strong adverse potential”, “weak adverse potential”, “not relevant”, “low positive potential” and “strong positive potential”. The qualitative evaluation was converted into a quantitative classification (−2, −1, 0, 1, 2). The values were used to develop an ecosystem services quantification matrix and to map the information in the study area, using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Despite the limited ecosystem services provided by urban areas, agricultural fields and especially green spaces are relevant for the provision of resources essential for human survival and well-being. The methodology used in this work is still useful for the quantification of ecosystem services in cities with characteristics associated with the Mediterranean climate. This type of studies are important to (i) anticipate problems originated from the loss of ecosystem services, (ii) identify good and bad practices of land use changes, (iii) the role of connectivity in maintaining biotic and abiotic processes, and (iv) develop practices that promote the sustainable development of societies.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabio Carvalho ◽  
Alona Armstrong ◽  
Mark Ashby ◽  
Belinda Howell ◽  
Hannah Montag ◽  
...  

<p>According to the latest IPCC report, 70 to 85% of electricity generation worldwide will need to come from renewable sources of energy by 2050 if countries are to meet internationally agreed greenhouse gas emissions targets. In the rush to decarbonise energy supplies to meet such targets, solar parks (SPs) have proliferated around the world, with uncertain implications for the biodiversity and ecosystem service (ES) provision of hosting ecosystems. SPs necessitate significant land-use change that could disproportionately affect the local environment compared to other low-carbon sources.</p><p>In Britain, SPs are commonly built on intensive arable land and managed as grasslands. This offers both risks and opportunities for ecosystem health, yet evidence for assessing ecosystem consequences is scarce. Therefore, there is an urgent need to understand how net environmental gains can be integrated into land-use change for solar energy development to address the current biodiversity and climate crises.</p><p>We used vegetation data from over 70 SPs and 50 countryside survey plots (1 km<sup>2</sup>) in England and Wales to assess the effects of land-use change for SPs on plant diversity and ES provision. We assessed ten habitat indicator variables (e.g., species richness, larval food plants, forage grasses, bird food plants) associated to functionally important plant species that have the potential to enhance ecosystem service delivery.</p><p>SPs showed higher diversity of habitat indicator species than arable land and improved grasslands, with vegetation between solar arrays showing higher numbers of species important for ES provision (e.g., N-fixing species important for nutrient cycling) than vegetation under solar panels. Overall, the diversity of habitat indicator species seemed highly dependent on former land-use, showing SPs have the potential to enhance ecosystem services provision if built on degraded agricultural land.</p><p>Developing this understanding will enable optimisation of SP design and management to ensure delivery of ecosystem co-benefits from this growing land-use.</p>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inês Amorim Leitão ◽  
Carla Sofia Santos Ferreira ◽  
António José Dinis Ferreira

<p>Land-use changes affect the properties of ecosystems, and are typically associated with decreasing ability to supply services, which in turn causes a decrease in the social well-being. Urbanization is identified as one of the main causes of ecosystem degradation, once it is considered an artificial space that replaces natural areas.This study investigates the impact of land-use changes during 20 years (1995-2015) on the potential supply of ecosystem services in Coimbra municipality, central Portugal. The assessment was based on the evaluation performed by 31 experts familiar with the study area, through questionnaires. The experts ranked the potential supply of 31 ecosystem services, grouped in regulation, provisioning and cultural services, for the several land-uses existent. Experts performed a qualitative evaluation, considering ‘strong adverse potential’, ‘weak adverse potential’, ‘not relevant’, ‘low positive potential’ and ‘strong positive potential’. The qualitative evaluation was converted into a quantitative classification (-2, -1, 0, 1, 2). Quantitative values were then used to develop an ecosystem services quantification matrix and to map the information in the study area, using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). An urban expansion from 14% to 18% was recorded over the last 20 years. Agricultural land decreased 8% due to conversion into forest (4% increase) and urban areas (4% increase). This has led to a decrease in the supply of provision (e.g. food) and regulation services (e.g. flood regulation). In fact, over the last years, recurrent floods have been increasingly noticed in Coimbra city. On the other hand, the growth of forest areas has led to an increase in general ESs supply. The adverse impacts of urbanization were partially compensated by enlarging the benefits provided by forest areas, which is the land-use with greatest ESs potential supply. In order to support urban planning and develop sustainable cities, it is essential to quantify the potential supply of ecosystem services considering local scale and characteristics.</p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 1137-1146
Author(s):  
Ogungbenro Matthew Taiwo ◽  
Salfarina Samsudin ◽  
Dzurllkanian @ ZulkarnainDaud ◽  
Olukolajo Michael Ayodele

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to review the quest for physical development and economic viability which has overshadowed the social aspect of sustainable development that produces a liveable urban settlement in many emerging economies. Many of the urban areas of developing countries are characterized by sporadic/unguided land-use changes as a result of urbanization coupled with poor planning and management of land-use. Unfortunately, these changes are impacting negatively on the social fabric of sustainable and this calls for urgent attention. Methodology: The study is based on an extensive review of literature on land-use changes and social sustainability in both the developed and emerging economies in order to identify gaps in practice and management of urban land development. Main Findings: The results showed that although a considerable investment has been made and enormous efforts geared towards achieving sustainable development in Nigeria urban areas, little or no attention devoted to social sustainability in the planning and execution of these projects has rather led to unsustainable development. Many developmental projects and planning were politicized and thereby jettisoned social sustainability in the process. Implication: It is important that urban land-use change should be appropriately monitored, purposively driven, and stakeholders must be responsive to promoting social sustainability to achieve a wholesome urban development. Novelty: This study to the best of our knowledge is the first attempt that links urban land-use change and social sustainability especially in Nigeria. It has also provided information to guide the land-use planners, the policymakers and other stakeholders towards achieving a wholesome urban land-use development.


2021 ◽  
Vol 248 ◽  
pp. 01027
Author(s):  
LiLi Zhao

With the changing behavior of land use by explosive population growth, the ecological environment is constantly disturbed and destroyed by humans, and the value of ecosystem services is obviously degraded. After the introduction of the national new-type urbanization plan, counties have become the key areas to promote new-type urbanization, and county land use is exceptionally active. Therefore, it is especially urgent to grasp the impact of county land use changes on ecosystem service values. Based on remote sensing satellite image interpretation to obtain county land use classification data, the changes of ecosystem service values in County between 1995 and 2015 were thoroughly explored. The research results show that the total value of ecosystem services has increased in most regions during the 20 years, among which, the service value of Shunchang County has increased most significantly. In terms of the service values of different land use types in each region, woodland is the main contributor to ecological services in different regions. From different time periods, Jian’ou City had the highest value of woodland ecosystem services in 1995 and 2015. In contrast, Songxi County had a lower value of services for each ecosystem type during 20 years.


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 349-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Jiang ◽  
Chongyang Li ◽  
Yan Chen

Land use changes significantly impacts ecosystem services and functions. The estimation of ecosystem services value is conducive to clarifying the ecological changes in response to LULC changes due to urbanization. Chengde was the upper water source of Beijing and Tianjin, the ecosystem is very fragile. After a series of ecology conservation projects like "returning cropland to forestry", the ecosystem service value increased from 5100.17 x 107 Yuan in 1990 to 5104.08 x 107 Yuan in 2008 respectively, with the average increase of 2.3 x 106 Yuan per year. It is indicated that ecosystem service value has the potential to inform policy decisions by emphasizing the benefits of sustainable ecosystem management. So plans on land use management should be made to maintain a balance between urbanization and ecosystem health.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Eyad H Fadda ◽  
Fatemah Al Shebli ◽  
Ayshah Al Kabi

Many studies house indicated the increase of the proportion of urban areas over the arable land in many provinces of the Sultanate of Oman. This came as a result of urban growth and development processes taking place since the era of the Renaissance which started in 1970. Consequently, spatial variation in land use is an important issue to be taken into consideration, because lands are being converted to be less productive, due to the lack of raw soil, vegetation, and water as a result of human exploitation of the limited resources in different ways, in addition to the natural factors of droughts and floods and all that will eventually lead to land degradation. Barka province (wilayat) in al Batinah Governorate is one of the provinces, which has been affected by land cover/land use changes due to several reasons. Therefore, this study will focus on the determination of land use changes, whether commercial or residential that have been occurred in the province, in addition to the loss of agricultural areas and fertile land during the period from 1987 to 2015. Remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) were utilized in order to delineate and to determine the cause of shrinking in the arable land and fertile land. Satellite images were used to detect the change in land use/land cover by applying selective digital image processing techniques such as supervised classification and change detection. Thematic maps were prepared using GIS software with attribute data about the land uses in the study area, which highlights and show the impact of urban growth on land degradation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 165 ◽  
pp. 02024
Author(s):  
Min Liu ◽  
Shimin Wen ◽  
Chuanjiang Zhang

In order to evaluate the impact of land use change on ecosystem service value in Dujiangyan City, through equivalent factor method, qualitative and quantitative analysis is carried out on the dynamic change of land use change and its caused ecosystem service value in Dujiangyan City from 2010 to 2016. The results show that: (1) Dujiangyan city land use changes a large extent, with the extension of construction land expansion as the main increase part, and at the cost of the reduction of arable land and grassland area. (2) Over the past 7 years, the total value of ecosystem services in Dujiangyan city followed a law of first rising and then falling, showing an overall rising trend, with a total increase of 19.2244 million yuan. (3) The accuracy of the ecological value coefficient of woodland and grassland will greatly affect the value assessment of ecosystem services in Dujiangyan city. (4) From the relationship between land use type and ecosystem service value, cultivated land and construction land are negatively correlated with ecosystem service value, on the contrary, forest land, grassland, water area and construction land are positively correlated with ecosystem service value. In general, the land use of Dujiangyan City did not cause obvious damage to the ecological environment, but also cannot ignore the impact of land use changes on the environment in the process of economic development. It is necessary to control the growth of construction land area, promote the conservation and rational development of Eco-tourism area in Dujiangyan City, maintain the stability of ecosystem services in Dujiangyan City, and realize the strategy of sustainable development of Social-Economic-Ecological benefits.


Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nangware Kajia Msofe ◽  
Lianxi Sheng ◽  
Zhenxin Li ◽  
James Lyimo

Land use/cover change (LUCC) attributed to natural factors and human activities has led to the loss of ecosystem services, making the quantitative valuation of ecosystem services the scientific focal pointfor sustainable development. This study assessed changes in the ecosystem services values (ESVs) due to LUCC during the period 1990–2016 in the Kilombero Valley floodplain, located in southeastern Tanzania. Moderate resolution Landsat images from 1990, 2010 and 2016 were obtained and analyzed using a random forest (RF) algorithm for classification, and ArcGIS Desktop software (version 10.2, Esri, Redlands, CA, USA) for mapping to assess the LUCC. The ESVs were estimated based on the benefit transfer approach using adopted global value coefficients and modified local value coefficients. The results revealed that the aggregated ESVs of the forests, bushlands, wetlands, and water had decreased, consequently leading to a total loss of US$ 811.5 million (26.6%) in ESVs over the past 26 years when calculated with the modified local value coefficients to US$ 3000.7 million (42.3%) when calculated with global value coefficients. Moreover, the loss in the ESV was attributed to the decreased values of water regulation, climate regulation, erosion control, nutrient cyclying, habitat/refugia, and water supply, with the exception of the values of food production and biological control, which gradually increased during the study period. This study provided minimum estimates of the ecosystem service values, which willcontribute to the formulation of policy actions and strategies for sustainable management of the Kilombero Valley floodplain and inform various stakeholders on the tradeoffs involved in the use of land resources.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Workiyie Worie Assefa ◽  
Belachew Getnet Eneyew ◽  
Ayalew Wondie

Abstract Background Even though wetlands are essential in enhancing water quality and providing recreation and entertainment opportunities in urban areas, their values are overlooked by the decision-makers. Underestimation of the economic value of wetland ecosystem services contributes to their continuing deterioration and inevitable loss. Investigating the changes in ecosystem service values (ESV) can provide crucial information for decision-making. This study, therefore, analyzes the temporal and spatial land-use/land-cover (LULC) change patterns over 35 years (1984–2019) intending to evaluate its impact on wetland ecosystem service values in Bahir Dar City, Ethiopia. Estimation and change analyses of ESVs were conducted by employing ArcGIS using LULC inputs of the year 1984, 1994, 2004, 2014, and 2019 with their corresponding global value coefficients that were developed earlier and our own modified value coefficients for the studied landscape. Results The results showed that wetlands and water bodies of the city and its peripheries had decreased by 75.71% (−1618 ha) within 35 years, while built-up area increased by 216.24% (+2599 ha). Cultivated land had increased slightly from 1984 to 1994 and then gradually declined since 1994. Changes in LULC had resulted in a decline of the total ESV. The total ESV had decreased from USD 29.73 × 106 to USD 20.84 × 106 in 35 years. This indicates the loss of nearly USD 8.9 × 106 ESV from 1984 to 2019. A sensitivity analysis suggested the robustness of ESV estimation in the study area. All individual ecosystem services experienced a negative change. However, a greater reduction in ESV was observed for services such as water regulation, waste treatment, and habitats for maintaining biodiversity. The expansion of built-up area of Bahir Dar City was the major factor that contributed to the loss of ESV provided by wetlands. Conclusions The loss of ESV resulting in LULC changes has a negative implication on local climate, waste management, and the livelihoods of the poor community. Thus, interventions should be made for the restoration and sustainable management of wetlands in the urban and peri-urban areas of Bahir Dar City.


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