The response of ecosystem service value to land-use change in the upper Zhang River region from 2001 to 2013

This study aims to analyze the changes in the ecosystem service value (ESV) in response to land use and contribute significantly to ecological construction and sustainable development.

The present study was conducted in the upper Zhanghe River region based on the moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer Land Cover Type product MCD12Q1 by using geographic information system (GIS) methods to process and re-classify the land-use data and using the Chinese ESV equivalent weight factors to investigate changes in land use and resulting changes in ESV between 2001 and 2013.

The results showed significant fluctuations in ESV between 2001 and 2013: there was a decline in ESV from 2001 to 2004, followed by a gradual rise after 2004, and the overall ESV exceeded 2001 levels by the end of 2013. However, the pattern of ESV change differed across geographic locations, and each administrative region contributed differently to the overall trend. The analysis confirmed that the land-use change was closely related to the change in its ESV, and the coefficients of sensitivity of ESV for all types of land use were less than one, indicating that the coefficient value of ESV lacked elasticity.

Therefore, to promote sustainable development in the upper Zhanghe River region, ESV should be taken into consideration when planning land use, especially for land types with high ESV, such as water bodies and forestlands.

The results can provide scientific support for the sustainable development of the ecological, economic and societal aspects of the upper Zhanghe River region. In addition, county-level administrative divisions were set as the basic research unit for the analysis and discussion of ESV changes in each unit within the research period and its impact on the overall ESV of the entire area to lay down a foundation for the analysis of the ESV spatial dynamic distribution in the entire research site.