ABSTRACT
Understanding the relationships among different ecosystem services is the basis for optimizing ecological protection strategy and achieving sustainable ecological management. Based on the ecosystem services and their spatial patterns in Southwest China, we analyzed tradeoffs and synergies of five ecosystem regulation services (water retention, soil retention, carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, and water purification) and five provision services (rice production, wheat production, corn production, vegetable production, and fruit production) using statistical analysis, ArcGIS technology and GeoDa software. Further, we identified the win-win areas of ecosystem servi-ces through overlay analysis, and discussing the influence of ecosystem types on win-win pattern. There were synergistic relationships among different types of regulation or provision services in Southwest China, while there were both synergies and trade-offs between regulation and provision services. The high win-win areas of the total ecosystem services in Southwest China were mainly distributed in Qionglai Mountains, Ailao Mountains, Dayao Mountains, as well as Lujiang River and Lancang River basins. The proportion of forest and farmland areas significantly affected all kinds of win-win trend.
Subject(s)
Conservation of Natural Resources , Ecosystem , Carbon Sequestration , China , SoilABSTRACT
Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, has experienced severe soil erosion following a period of rapid economic development and urbanization. To investigate how urbanization has influenced the extent of soil erosion in Inner Mongolia, we used urbanization and soil erosion data from 2000 through 2010 to determine the relationship between urbanization and soil erosion patterns. Two empirical equations-the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) and the Revised Wind Erosion Equation (RWEQ)-were used to estimate the intensity of soil erosion, and we performed backward linear regression to model how it changed with greater urbanization. There was an apparent increase in the rate of urbanization and a decrease in the area affected by soil erosion in 2010 compared to the corresponding values for 2000. The urban population stood at 11.32 million in 2010, which represented a 16.47% increase over that in 2000. The area affected by soil erosion in 2000 totaled 704,817 km², yet it had decreased to 674,135 km² by 2010. However, a path of modest urban development (rural-urban mitigation) and reasonable industrial structuring (the development of GDP-2) may partially reduce urbanization's ecological pressure and thus indirectly reduce the threat of soil erosion to human security. Therefore, to better control soil erosion in Inner Mongolia during the process of urbanization, the current model of economic development should be modified to improve the eco-efficiency of urbanization, while also promoting new modes of urbanization that are environmentally sustainable, cost-effective, and conserve limited resources.
