Characterizing changes in ecosystem service valuesin China's eastern Loess Plateau
JinChang Li 1*, HaiXia Liu 1, ZhiZhu Su 2, Yong Liu 1, YongGang Yang 1
1. Institute of Loess Plateau, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China
2. Historical Culture School, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China
*Correspondence to: Dr. JinChang Li, Associate Professor of Institute of Loess Plateau, Shanxi University. Xiaodian
District, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China. Tel: +86-351-7010700; E-mail: lijch@lzb.ac.cn
Received: December 5, 2014 Accepted: February 10, 2015
ABSTRACT
Human activities such as the implementation of ecological protection projects and expansion of construction land can
cause complex land use changes that affect ecosystem service values (ESV). In this study, we investigated changes in
ESV in response to land use changes in Ningwu County, in eastern Loess Plateau of China. Our aim is to provide
guidance for sustainable land use planning in this region. We used remote sensing to evaluate land use changes, and
applied a fast, proxy-based method for evaluating ESV at three points in time: 1990, 2000, and 2010. More than 89% of
the total ESV in Ningwu County was attributable to woodland and grassland. The ESV in western mountain areas show
the greatest increase from 1990 to 2010, but ESV decreased the most in the low-elevation northeastern area of flat terrain.
These tradeoffs led to a slight net decrease (1.0%) in Ningwu County's total ESV. Although the decline in ESV was
relatively low compared to the rate of economic growth, total ESV was much lower than global and national average
levels at the end of the study period.
Keywords: ecosystem service values; land use changes; ecological protection projects; remote sensing; Ningwu County