The Evolution and Determinants of Ecosystem Services in Guizhou—A Typical Karst Mountainous Area in Southwest China

Lu Jiao, Rui Yang, Yinling Zhang, Jian Yin and Jiayu Huang
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Lu Jiao: College of Big Data Application and Economics, Guizhou University of Finance and Economics, Guiyang 550025, China
Rui Yang: College of Public Management, Guizhou University of Finance and Economics, Guiyang 550025, China
Yinling Zhang: School of Tourism and Culture Industry, Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, China
Jian Yin: West China Modernization Research Center, Guizhou University of Finance and Economics, Guiyang 550025, China
Jiayu Huang: College of Big Data Application and Economics, Guizhou University of Finance and Economics, Guiyang 550025, China

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 8, 1-23

Abstract: Due to rapid urbanization and economic development, the natural environment and ecological processes have been significantly affected by human activities. Especially in ecologically fragile karst areas, the ecosystems are more sensitive to external disturbances and have a hard time recovering, thus studies on the ecosystem services in these areas are significant. In view of this, we took Guizhou (a typical karst province) as the research area, evaluated the ecosystem service value (ESV) according to reclassified land uses and revised equivalent factors, and investigated the determinants of ecosystem services based on geographic detection. It was found that the total ESV showed a prominent increase trend, increasing from 152.55 billion CNY in 2000 to 285.50 billion CNY in 2020. The rise of grain prices due to growing social demands was the main factor in driving the increase of ESV. Spatially, the ESVs of central and western Guizhou were lower with cold spots appearing around human gathering areas, while that of southern and southeastern Guizhou were higher with hot spots that formed in continually distributed woodland. Moreover, the ESV per unit area and its change rate in karst regions were always lower than that in non-karst areas. Precipitation and temperature were the dominant nature factors while cultivation and population density were the main anthropogenic effects driving the evolution of ecosystem services. Therefore, positive human activities as well as rational and efficient land-use should be guided to promote the coordinated and high-quality development of ecology and the economy.

Keywords: karst region; land-use change; ecosystem service value; spatial autocorrelation; geographical detector (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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