Coupling Analysis of Ecosystem Services Value and Economic Development in the Yangtze River Economic Belt: A Case Study in Hunan Province, China

Sound ecosystems are a precondition for the sustainable survival and development of human society. However, ecological deterioration caused by socioeconomic activities can result in increasing pressure on ecosystems. Exploration of the spatial interaction between ecosystem and economic development under the background of high-quality and green development is, therefore, necessary. In this study, we analyzed the spatial interaction between the ecosystem services value (ESV) and economic development with the economic and ecological coupling index method based on high-resolution remote-sensing land-use data and socioeconomic statistical data in Hunan Province from 2000 to 2018. The results revealed that the ESV provided by the ecosystems in Hunan Province decreased by US$1256.166 million from 2000 to 2018. The areas with high ESV per unit area were distributed in the mountainous areas, while the areas with low ESV per unit area were distributed in the major cities and their surroundings. The bivariate spatial autocorrelation analysis showed that the ESV had significant spatial dependence on the economic development. In addition, the coupling analysis documented that the relationship between the ESV and economic density was mostly in the low conflict and potential crisis states. These results provide important guidance for the coordinated development of the regional economy and ecosystem conservation.

[1]  R. O'Neill,et al.  The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital , 1997, Nature.

[2]  G. Mace,et al.  Bringing Ecosystem Services into Economic Decision-Making: Land Use in the United Kingdom , 2013, Science.

[3]  R. D. Groot,et al.  The ecosystem services agenda:bridging the worlds of natural science and economics, conservation and development, and public and private policy , 2012 .

[4]  Jiangfeng Li,et al.  The spatial association of ecosystem services with land use and land cover change at the county level in China, 1995-2015. , 2019, The Science of the total environment.

[5]  Bingfang Wu,et al.  Improvements in ecosystem services from investments in natural capital , 2016, Science.

[6]  M. Bleaney,et al.  Economic growth and income inequality , 2002 .

[7]  J. Rasinmäki,et al.  Integrating spatial valuation of ecosystem services into regional planning and development , 2017 .

[8]  Sissel Waage.  New business decision-making aids in an era of complexity, scrutiny, and uncertainty: tools for identifying, assessing, and valuing ecosystem services , 2014 .

[9]  Lopin Kuo,et al.  The affecting factors of circular economy information and its impact on corporate economic sustainability-Evidence from China , 2021, Sustainable Production and Consumption.

[10]  Chen Cao,et al.  Expert Knowledge Based Valuation Method of Ecosystem Services in China , 2008 .

[11]  Hong Yang,et al.  Impact of land use type conversion on carbon storage in terrestrial ecosystems of China: A spatial-temporal perspective , 2015, Scientific Reports.

[12]  Weiguo Jiang,et al.  Simulation of urban agglomeration ecosystem spatial distributions under different scenarios:A case study of the Changsha-Zhuzhou- Xiangtan urban agglomeration , 2016 .

[13]  Yiyun Chen,et al.  On the spatial relationship between ecosystem services and urbanization: A case study in Wuhan, China. , 2018, The Science of the total environment.

[14]  Jiyuan Liu,et al.  Spatiotemporal patterns and characteristics of land-use change in China during 2010–2015 , 2018, Journal of Geographical Sciences.

[15]  Pieter N Booth,et al.  Modeling aesthetics to support an ecosystem services approach for natural resource management decision making , 2017, Integrated environmental assessment and management.

[16]  R. D. Groot,et al.  Challenges in integrating the concept of ecosystem services and values in landscape planning, management and decision making , 2010 .

[17]  L. Anselin.  Local Indicators of Spatial Association—LISA , 2010 .

[18]  Jiangfeng Li,et al.  The spatial aspect of ecosystem services balance and its determinants , 2020 .

[19]  Guiling Wang,et al.  Spatiotemporal characteristics in ecosystem service value and its interaction with human activities in Xinjiang, China , 2020 .

[20]  Zhonglin Xu,et al.  Land‐Use Change and its Effects in Charchan Oasis, Xinjiang, China , 2017 .

[21]  Edward B. Barbier,et al.  Economic growth and environmental degradation: The environmental Kuznets curve and sustainable development , 1996 .

[22]  S. Balbi,et al.  Biophysical and economic assessment of four ecosystem services for natural capital accounting in Italy , 2020 .

[23]  Ronald E. Lacey,et al.  Change in ecosystem service values in the San Antonio area, Texas , 2001 .

[24]  P. Sutton,et al.  Changes in the global value of ecosystem services , 2014 .

[25]  Ranhao Sun,et al.  Land use changes and socio-economic development strongly deteriorate river ecosystem health in one of the largest basins in China. , 2018, The Science of the total environment.

[26]  A. Salmanmahiny,et al.  Dynamic trade-off analysis of multiple ecosystem services under land use change scenarios: Towards putting ecosystem services into planning in Iran , 2018, Ecological Complexity.

[27]  J. Boyd,et al.  Nonmarket benefits of nature: What should be counted in green GDP? , 2007 .

[28]  Juergen Kreyling,et al.  Interactions among ecosystem services across Europe: Bagplots and cumulative correlation coefficients reveal synergies, trade-offs, and regional patterns , 2015 .

[29]  Inci Güneralp,et al.  Impacts of Land Change on Ecosystem Services in the San Antonio River Basin, Texas, from 1984 to 2010 , 2017 .

[30]  Brett A. Bryan,et al.  Changes in land-use and ecosystem services in the Guangzhou-Foshan Metropolitan Area, China from 1990 to 2010: Implications for sustainability under rapid urbanization , 2018, Ecological Indicators.

[31]  Xiangzheng Deng,et al.  Land-use/land-cover change and ecosystem service provision in China. , 2017, The Science of the total environment.

[32]  C. Kremen.  Managing ecosystem services: what do we need to know about their ecology? , 2005, Ecology letters.

[33]  T. Panayotou.  Economic Growth and the Environment , 2000 .

[34]  Yuanhong Deng,et al.  Changes in ecosystem service values in karst areas of China , 2020 .

[35]  E. Dai,et al.  Land use/land cover change and the effects on ecosystem services in the Hengduan Mountain region, China , 2018, Ecosystem Services.

[36]  Luis Loures,et al.  Simulating the impacts of future land use change on soil erosion in the Kasilian watershed, Iran , 2017 .

[37]  L. Loures,et al.  Relevance of Intermittent Rivers and Streams in Agricultural Landscape and Their Impact on Provided Ecosystem Services—A Mediterranean Case Study , 2019, International journal of environmental research and public health.

[38]  Jiyuan Liu,et al.  Spatiotemporal characteristics, patterns, and causes of land-use changes in China since the late 1980s , 2014, Journal of Geographical Sciences.

[39]  Chuanglin Fang,et al.  Global mapping and estimation of ecosystem services values and gross domestic product: A spatially explicit integration of national 'green GDP' accounting , 2014 .

[40]  Lu Xing,et al.  Spatial spillover effects of urbanization on ecosystem services value in Chinese cities , 2021, Ecological Indicators.

[41]  M. Grosjean,et al.  From nature-dominated to human-dominated environmental changes , 2000 .

[42]  H. Long,et al.  Effects of land use transitions due to rapid urbanization on ecosystem services: Implications for urban planning in the new developing area of China , 2014 .

[43]  Zengxiang Zhang,et al.  Spatial patterns and driving forces of land use change in China during the early 21st century , 2010 .

[44]  E. Bennett,et al.  Capacity, pressure, demand, and flow: A conceptual framework for analyzing ecosystem service provision and delivery , 2013 .

[45]  S. Rozelle,et al.  Poverty, population and environmental degradation in China. , 1997, Food policy.

[46]  R. Costanza,et al.  Defining and classifying ecosystem services for decision making , 2009 .

[47]  Jiangfeng Li,et al.  Land use transitions and the associated impacts on ecosystem services in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River Economic Belt in China based on the geo-informatic Tupu method. , 2019, The Science of the total environment.

[48]  J. Zhan,et al.  Response of ecosystem services to land use and cover change: A case study in Chengdu City , 2017 .

[49]  Xie Gao,et al.  Ecological assets valuation of the Tibetan Plateau , 2003 .

[50]  G. Kyle,et al.  Capturing multiple values of ecosystem services shaped by environmental worldviews: a spatial analysis. , 2014, Journal of environmental management.

[51]  Darius J. Semmens,et al.  A comparative assessment of decision-support tools for ecosystem services quantification and valuation , 2013 .

[52]  Z. Shuwen,et al.  Effects of land use change on ecosystem services value in West Jilin since the reform and opening of China , 2018, Ecosystem Services.

[53]  W. Jing.  Evaluation on the Coordination of Ecological and Economic Systems and Associated Spatial Evolution Patterns in the Rapid Urbanized Yangtze Delta Region since 1991 , 2011 .

[54]  C. S. Holling,et al.  Economic growth, carrying capacity, and the environment , 1995, Environment and Development Economics.

[55]  Eeva Primmer,et al.  Operationalising ecosystem service approaches for governance: Do measuring, mapping and valuing integrate sector-specific knowledge systems? , 2012 .

[56]  G. Daily,et al.  Integrating ecosystem-service tradeoffs into land-use decisions , 2012, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[57]  Jiangfeng Li,et al.  Ecosystem Services and Their Driving Forces in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River Urban Agglomerations, China , 2020, International journal of environmental research and public health.

[58]  Garry D. Peterson,et al.  Understanding relationships among multiple ecosystem services. , 2009, Ecology letters.

[59]  L. Anselin.  A test for spatial autocorrelation in seemingly unrelated regressions , 1988 .

[60]  H. Long,et al.  Effects of land use transitions on ecosystem services value:A case study of Hunan province , 2015 .