How to Detect Scale Effect of Ecosystem Services Supply? A Comprehensive Insight from Xilinhot in Inner Mongolia, China

Huashun Dou, Xiaobing Li, Shengkun Li and Dongliang Dang
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Huashun Dou: Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Xiaobing Li: Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Shengkun Li: Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Dongliang Dang: Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 10, 1-21

Abstract: Spatial scale plays a crucial role in the assessment and management of ecosystem services (ES), yet explicit information for identifying and understanding the scale effect on ES supply remains limited. In an attempt to detect scale effect on ES supply from a comprehensive perspective, this study developed a framework for integrating scale effect in three aspects, including individual ES patterns, pairwise ES interactions, and ecosystem service bundles (ESB). The framework was tested in Xilinhot, a prairie landscape city of Inner Mongolia, at four different levels of spatial scale. The results indicated that, most ES showed a decreasing clustering at coarser scales in terms of spatial pattern. At the same time, coarser scales resulted in fewer trade-offs and stronger synergies between pairwise ES. The identification of ESB varied greatly with scale, and this change reflected in the composition of ES variables and spatial distribution of bundles. We attributed the scale effect of the above three aspects to differences in social-ecological factors and their driving mechanisms at different scales. This comprehensive framework could support local managers to coordinate the management of multiple ES at different scales.

Keywords: scale effect; ecosystem services; spatial patterns; trade-offs; ecosystem service bundles (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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