Study on the Evolution Mechanism of Ecosystem Services in Karst Mountainous Areas from the Perspective of Humanities

Peipei Miao, Xiaoqing Zhao (), Junwei Pu, Pei Huang, Xiaoqian Shi and Zexian Gu
Additional contact information
Peipei Miao: School of Earth Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
Xiaoqing Zhao: School of Earth Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
Junwei Pu: School of Earth Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
Pei Huang: School of Earth Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
Xiaoqian Shi: School of Earth Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
Zexian Gu: School of Earth Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 20, 1-19

Abstract: Anthropogenic activities have altered ecosystem service functions in the karst mountainous areas. The implementation of ecological restoration projects by the government, the behavior, attitude, and willingness of farmers to participate in their implementation, the application of pesticides and fertilizers, in addition to other socio-economic activities, have had a significant impact on the ecosystem services (ESS) of the region. Taking Guangnan County, a typical karst mountainous area in Yunnan Province, as an example, this study analyzes the evolutionary characteristics of six types of ESS and the driving mechanism of the change in ESS from the anthropogenic macro and micro perspective using questionnaire surveys and the multivariate logistic model. The results showed that (1) ecological restoration projects in the past 20 years have promoted an overall ecological transformation in the typical karst mountainous areas of the Yunnan Province (2) from the macro perspective, and the implementation of such ecological projects is beneficial in increasing soil conservation, carbon sequestration, habitat support, and cultural services. The reduction in agricultural population is beneficial in improving habitat support services, and the increase in the annual average tourism income and the tertiary industry is beneficial in increasing cultural services. Among them, the impact of hydraulic engineering on water production and the tertiary industry on cultural services are the most significant, with the change in the human disturbance index having the most substantial impact on soil conservation, carbon sequestration, and habitat support (3) at the micro level. Increasing pesticide and fertilizer application, willingness and use by farmers has a positive impact on food supply and a negative impact on habitat quality. An increase in the number and willingness of farmers participating in restoring farmland to forests and water conservancy projects was observed. This has a positive impact on soil conservation, water production, and carbon sequestration. Among them, the application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has the most significant impact on food supply and habitat support, and the willingness to implement the projects on restoring farmlands to forests has the most significant impact on carbon sequestration. The willingness to implement terracing has the greatest impact on water production and soil conservation, and aesthetic value has the greatest impact on cultural services.

Keywords: climate change; impact of implementation of ecological engineering; farmers’ behavior and willingness; social and economic activities; multiple logistic model; Yunnan karst mountain area (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:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/20/13628/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/20/13628/ (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:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:20:p:13628-:d:948724

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

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