Where Are the Trade-Offs in Multiple Ecosystem Services in the Process of Ecological Restoration? A Case Study on the Vegetation Restoration Area in the Loess Plateau, Northern Shaanxi

Xin Wen, Jijun Wang (), Xiaojia Han and Lihui Ma ()
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Xin Wen: The Research Center of Soil and Water Conservation and Ecological Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Education, Yangling, Xianyang 712100, China
Jijun Wang: The Research Center of Soil and Water Conservation and Ecological Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Education, Yangling, Xianyang 712100, China
Xiaojia Han: Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
Lihui Ma: The Research Center of Soil and Water Conservation and Ecological Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Education, Yangling, Xianyang 712100, China

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-19

Abstract: Revealing trade-off and synergistic relationships among ecosystem services plays a key role in ensuring a stable ecosystem for long-term development. It is the crucial precondition for realizing watershed protection and high-quality development. The variations in land use during 1990–2020 are investigated by taking the typical areas for returning farmland to forests as an example. The spatiotemporal distributions of six key ecosystem services, namely carbon storage, water yield, net primary productivity (NPP), soil conservation, habitat quality, and forest recreation are quantified by the InVEST model and statistical data. We also uncover the spatial difference in the ecosystem in Loess Plateau, located in northern Shaanxi, with hot spot analysis and probe the trade-off and synergistic correlations among the investigated ecosystem services. The results show that: (1) the farmland decreased dramatically. On the contrary, the forests and orchards increased significantly. (2) During the same period, carbon storage and habitat quality increased, and water yield, NPP, soil conservation, and forest recreation initially declined, but subsequently rose to higher values than that in 1990. All these services in the southeastern part of the research area surpass those found in the northwest. (3) The ecosystem services relationships in northern Shaanxi are mainly characterized by synergistic correlations, which became stronger from 1990 to 2020. The trade-off effects mainly occur among the water yield and other ecosystem services and are distributed in the west and north of the investigated area. Based on these findings, this work provides scientific principles for improving the ecological environment and enhancing the resource sustainability of the study area.

Keywords: ecosystem services; trade-offs and synergies; land-use change; InVEST model; Loess Plateau in northern Shaanxi (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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