Dynamics of Ecosystem Service Value Caused by Land Use Changes in Manas River of Xinjiang

Ecosystem service can be defined as the conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems and the species that comprise them, sustain and fulfill human life, or the goods and service provided by ecosystem which contribute to human welfare, both directly and indirectly, and the valuation of which play an indispensable role in both sustainable ecology and ecological economic research. Thus, it is imperative to evaluate the impacts of land use change on regional ecosystem service. Although many researches had been performed on ecosystem service valuation, most of them are at the global or country level and little attention have been paid on the important watershed and nature reserves at medium scale, even fewer valuations have been conducted on the vulnerable arid ecosystems.

Therefore, researchers selected the Manas River, a typical inland river watershed in the northwest of China, as an example to quantify the impacts of land use changes on ecosystem service value during large scale land development, and to provide key information for both economic development and policy makers for eco-environmental protection.

Landsat MSS/TM/ETM+ images in 1976, 1989, 1999 and 2008 were applied to estimate ecosystem service value based on land use, and subsequently ecosystem service value dynamics were analyzed in response to land use changes. It is found that the built-up area and cultivated land increased significantly from 1976 to 2008. The decreasing ecosystem service value (from 17362.2 million Yuan in 1976 to 16975.0 million Yuan in 2008) is mainly caused by the reduced grassland. The combined ecosystem service value of water body and grassland is over 60% of the total value. Functions of water supply, waste treatment, soil formation and retention and biodiversity protection contributed to over 70% of the total service value. The results suggest that a reasonable land use plan should emphasize protection of water body, woodland and grassland as they have the highest ecosystem service value.

The main finding has been published on Communications in International Journal of Environmental Research, 2012, 6(2):499-508. The paper is also archived at http://ijer.ir/?_action=article&kw=1802&_kw=Ecosystem+service+value.