How Does Topography Affect the Value of Ecosystem Services? An Empirical Study from the Qihe Watershed

Li Li (), Yonghui Li, Lan Yang, Ying Liang, Wenliang Zhao and Guanyu Chen
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Li Li: School of Government, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Yonghui Li: Henan Provincial General Institute of Urban and Rural Planning and Design, Zhengzhou 450044, China
Lan Yang: School of Government, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Ying Liang: School of Government, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Wenliang Zhao: School of Surveying and Planning, Shangqiu Normal University, Shangqiu 476000, China
Guanyu Chen: School of Surveying and Planning, Shangqiu Normal University, Shangqiu 476000, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 19, 1-16

Abstract: Topographic position indices (TPIs) measure essential impacts on ecosystem service supply capacity. The identification of changes in ecosystem services and value metrics under varying TPIs has become a topical subject of global change research. Multidimensional changes in spatiotemporal and geographical aspects of ecosystem service values (ESVs) are assessed in this article using land cover/use data from 2000–2015. Effects of land-use/cover changes and topographic indices on ESVs are explored using the Chinese terrestrial unit area ecosystem service value equivalence table combined with topographic factors. A sensitivity index is introduced to quantify the robustness of total ESV to land-use/cover and topographic indices. The results show that: (1) The total ESV in the Qihe watershed declined with a change in land-use/cover during the period 2000–2015. The maximum ESV was CNY 1.984 billion in 2005 and the minimum was CNY 1.940 billion in 2010; (2) The response of ESV to land/use cover varied greatly across TPIs, with the most significant change in ESV occurring in the 0.6–0.8 TPI range and the greatest change in a single ecosystem service occurred in water areas; (3) The sensitivity indices of ESVs are all less than 1. The sensitivity indices of unused land and water tended to zero. Woodland sensitivity indices were the highest at 0.53, followed by those of arable land and grassland, owing to the large proportion of arable land and grassland areas in the overall area of land-use categories.

Keywords: ecosystem service value; land-use/cover change; topographic position index; sensitivity index; Qihe watershed (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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