Research on Human Needs and the Valorization of Supply–Need Relationships in Ecosystem Services—A Case Study of the Southwest Karst Region

Jingheng Wang, Meichen Fu (), Xiangxue Han, Yuting Wu and Hongyan Wen
Additional contact information
Jingheng Wang: School of Land Science and Technology, China University of Geosciences, 29 Xueyuan Rd, Beijing 100083, China
Meichen Fu: School of Land Science and Technology, China University of Geosciences, 29 Xueyuan Rd, Beijing 100083, China
Xiangxue Han: School of Land Science and Technology, China University of Geosciences, 29 Xueyuan Rd, Beijing 100083, China
Yuting Wu: School of Land Science and Technology, China University of Geosciences, 29 Xueyuan Rd, Beijing 100083, China
Hongyan Wen: Wu’an Municipal Natural Resources and Planning Bureau, Handan 056300, China

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 3, 1-28

Abstract: Human needs alter ecosystem services (ESs), which then affect human needs. Based on the human needs theory, human needs in ESs are classified into four major categories of needs. A monetization method was used to quantify the ecosystem service need value (ESNV), the ES value equivalent method was used to calculate the ES supply value (ESSV), and the correlation coefficient method was used to understand the relationships and mutual influences among human needs. Finally, the supply and demand relationships were compared to obtain the gap between the supply of and demand for ESs. Taking Hechi City, a city with a predominantly karst landscape, as an example, we found that: (1) the total area of high-value areas and generally high-value areas in Hechi City increased by 10,935.15 km 2 , whereas the total area of low-value areas decreased by 11,094.07 km 2 . (2) A positive correlation exists between the various demands. Spiritual needs and material needs are moderately significantly positively correlated, with a correlation coefficient of 0.54. Security needs are positively correlated with material needs, with a correlation coefficient of 0.6. (3) The ESNV and ESSV in Hechi City are slightly imbalanced. Du’an requires an external ecosystem supply of CNY 21.9192 million for living material, while Jinchengjiang has the potential to export a water supply value of CNY 22.9934 million to external ecosystems. (4) The centers of gravity of various types of supply and demand are distributed primarily within Jinchengjiang District, only the center of gravity of production material needs is in the northern part of Du’an County. The distance between the centers of gravity of the demand and supply for living materials increased by 2100.44 m, the distance between the centers of gravity of the demand and supply for oxygen security increased by 639.15 m. The results are complementary to current research on ESs from the perspective of ES demand. These findings can thus provide scientific foundational information to help decision makers understand the balance between the supply and demand of ESs in a region and promote the construction of a human-harmonious ecosystem.

Keywords: ecosystem services; human needs; valorization; supply–demand theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/3/588/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/3/588/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:3:p:588-:d:1609851

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().