Effects of the Implementation Intensity of Ecological Engineering on Ecosystem Service Tradeoffs in Qinghai Province, China

Ke Yan, Bingting Zhao, Yuanhui Li, Xiangfu Wang (), Jiaxin Jin, Jiang Jiang, Wenting Dong, Rongnv Wang, Hongqiang Yang, Tongli Wang () and Weifeng Wang ()
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Ke Yan: Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Bingting Zhao: Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Yuanhui Li: Northwest Surveying and Planning Institute of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Key Laboratory National Forestry Administration on Ecological Hydrology and Disaster Prevention in Arid Regions, Xi’an 710048, China
Xiangfu Wang: Northwest Surveying and Planning Institute of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Key Laboratory National Forestry Administration on Ecological Hydrology and Disaster Prevention in Arid Regions, Xi’an 710048, China
Jiaxin Jin: College of Hydrology and Water Resources, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Jiang Jiang: College of Forestry, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Wenting Dong: Northwest Surveying and Planning Institute of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Key Laboratory National Forestry Administration on Ecological Hydrology and Disaster Prevention in Arid Regions, Xi’an 710048, China
Rongnv Wang: Northwest Surveying and Planning Institute of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Key Laboratory National Forestry Administration on Ecological Hydrology and Disaster Prevention in Arid Regions, Xi’an 710048, China
Hongqiang Yang: College of Economics and Management, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Tongli Wang: Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
Weifeng Wang: Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 6, 1-18

Abstract: Ecological engineering (EE) has a profound impact on land-use dynamics, leading to alterations in ecosystem services (ESs). However, an appropriate EE implementation intensity that can balance the tradeoffs associated with altered ESs well has always been a concern for researchers and policymakers. In this study, we set the transition probability of farmland, bare land, and desertification land to forest and natural shrub, with 2010–2020 as the natural implementation scenario, as 10% for the low-intensity implementation scenario (LIS), 30% for the medium-intensity scenario, and 50% for the high-intensity scenario. The patch-generating land-use simulation (PLUS) model was used to project land-use patterns and the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Service and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model was used to simulate changes in the quality of ESs under four EE implementation intensities in 2030. We then performed a quantitative tradeoff analysis on the dominant ESs under four scenarios and used the production possibility frontier (PPF) curve to identify the optimal EE implementation intensity scenario. Our results indicated that an increase in EE implementation intensity would lead to an increase in soil retention, water purification, habitat quality, and carbon storage, but also to a decrease in water yield, aggravating the tradeoffs between water yield and other ESs. In all EE implementation intensity scenarios, the LIS had the lowest tradeoff intensity index and balanced ESs well, and thus was the optimal EE implementation scenario in Qinghai province. Our results provide knowledge to help decision makers select the appropriate EE intensity to maintain sustainable development. The integrated methodology can also be applied in other conservation regions to carry out practical land management.

Keywords: ecological engineering; land management; multi-scenario simulation; production possibility frontier; tradeoff intensity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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