Identifying the Areas Benefitting from the Prevention of Wind Erosion by the Key Ecological Function Area for the Protection of Desertification in Hunshandake, China

Yu Xiao, Gaodi Xie, Lin Zhen, Chunxia Lu and Jie Xu
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Yu Xiao: Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Gaodi Xie: Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Lin Zhen: Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Chunxia Lu: Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Jie Xu: Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 10, 1-14

Abstract: Research on the spatial flow of ecosystem services can help to identify the spatial relationships between service-providing areas (SPAs) and service-benefitting areas (SBAs). In this study, we used the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model to stimulate the flow paths of the wind erosion prevented by ecosystems in Hunshandake, China. By interpolating these paths, the SBAs were identified, and their benefits in terms of land cover, population, and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) were determined. The results indicated that the flow paths mostly extended to the eastern part of the study area, and the estimated cover of the SBAs was 39.21% of the total area of China. The grid cells through which many (≥10%) of the trajectories passed were mainly located in the western part of north-eastern China and the eastern part of northern China. The benefitting population accounted for 74.51% of the total population of China, and the GDP was 67.11% of the total in 2010. Based on this research, we described a quantitative relationship between the SPAs and the SBAs and identified the actual beneficiaries. This work may provide scientific knowledge that can be used by decision makers to develop management strategies, such as ecological compensation to mitigate damage from sandstorms in the study area.

Keywords: wind erosion prevention; ecosystem service flow; sandstorm; service-benefitting areas; service-providing areas (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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