Land Use-Driven Changes in Ecosystem Service Values and Simulation of Future Scenarios: A Case Study of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Global climate change and land use change arising from human activities affect the ecosystem service values (ESVs). Such impacts have increasingly become significant, especially in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP). Major factors impeding the construction of China’s “ecological security barrier” are shifts in land-use patterns under rapid urbanization, irrational crop and animal husbandry activities, and tourism. In the present study, land use changes in the QTP in recent years were analyzed to determine their impacts on ESVs, followed by simulations of the interactive and evolutionary relationships between land use and ESVs under two scenarios: natural development scenarios and ecological protection scenarios. According to the results, the QTP land-use structure has a small change, and the main land use type is alpine grassland, followed by bare land and woodland. The stability of the major land use types is the key factor responsible for the overall increasing ESV trend. Different regions on the QTP had substantially varied ESVs. The northwest and southeast regions are mostly bare land, which is a concentrated area of low value of ecosystem services. A variety of land use types including grassland and woodland have been found in the humid and semi-humid areas of the central region, so the high value of ecosystem services is concentrated in this area to form a hot spot, with a Z value of 0.63–2.84. Simulations under the natural development and ecological protection scenarios revealed that land use changes guided by ecological policies were more balanced and the associated ESVs were relatively higher than those under the natural development scenario. Under a global climate change context, human activities on the QTP should be better managed. Sustainable development in the region could be facilitated by ensuring synchronization between resource availability and adopted socioeconomic activities.

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Spatiotemporal vegetation cover variations in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau under global climate change

Science Bulletin ◽

10.1007/s11434-008-0115-x ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 53 (6) ◽

pp. 915-922 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

XingKui Xu ◽

Hong Chen ◽

Jason K. Levy

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Global Climate Change ◽

Vegetation Cover ◽

Global Climate ◽

Tibet Plateau ◽

Qinghai Tibet Plateau

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Impacts of dams and land-use changes on hydromorphology of braided channels in the Lhasa River of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China

International Journal of Sediment Research ◽

10.1016/j.ijsrc.2021.07.003 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yuchi You ◽

Zhiwei Li ◽

Peng Gao ◽

Tiesong Hu

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Land Use Changes ◽

Tibet Plateau ◽

Lhasa River ◽

Qinghai Tibet Plateau

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Dynamics of Grassland Vegetation Composition across different Land-use Types on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau: Implications to Combat Grassland Degradation

Grassroots Journal of Natural Resources ◽

10.33002/nr2581.6853.040408 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 04 (04) ◽

pp. 95-114

Author(s):

Moses Fayiah ◽

◽

ShiKui Dong ◽

Roberto Xavier Supe Tulcan ◽

Sanjay Singh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Mitigation Measures ◽

Tibet Plateau ◽

Grassland Degradation ◽

Land Uses ◽

Vegetation Composition ◽

Grassland Vegetation ◽

Land Use Types ◽

Evenness Indices ◽

Qinghai Tibet Plateau

The constant biotic and abiotic interventions on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau (QTP) are seriously degrading the grasslands and, at the same time, restricting the active ecosystem function and grassland vegetation distribution on the plateau. This research analyses the dynamics of grassland vegetation composition across three land uses and counties. The degree of grassland degradation was divided into four land-use types based, i.e., healthy grassland (HG), restored grassland (RG), moderately degraded (MD) grassland, and severely degraded (SD) grassland. About 32 plant species were recorded in Tiebujia county, 28 in Maqin county, and 18 in Maduo county. Results showed Poa crymophila, Polygonum sibiricum, Leontopodium nanum and Oxytropis falcatabunge as the most abundant grassland species in all land-uses and counties. The richness of species ranged from 8 to 12 species per land-use, suggesting low richness and diversity in restored and degraded grassland. A positive non-significantly mean change (p<0.05) was detected for richness and evenness indices while a negative mean change (p<0.05) was detected for Simpson and Shannon indices in the alpine meadow and steppe in both Maqin and Maduo county. The results imply that degradation affects grassland vegetation, health, and distribution across the QTP. Plant total cover for the healthy grassland covered far more areas than other land-uses. Urgent mitigation measures to halt grassland degradation and decline in plant vegetation composition on the plateau should be adopted.

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Environment

Grand Transitions ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190060664.003.0006 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 205-243

Author(s):

Vaclav Smil

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Global Climate Change ◽

Economic Activity ◽

Large Scale ◽

Fossil Fuels ◽

Energy Use ◽

Global Climate ◽

Land Use Changes ◽

Human Action ◽

The One

Large-scale, anthropogenic impact on the biosphere is not a new phenomenon, but the past two centuries have seen an unprecedented extent and intensity of land-use changes, ecosystemic degradation, and pollution driven by population growth, rising food production, energy use, and economic activity. Some two-thirds of terrestrial surfaces have been affected by human action, every biome lost some of its biodiversity, and some forms of environmental pollution (including photochemical smog, coastal dead zones, and plastics in the ocean) are now encountered in many places around the world. The most worrisome impact is the one that affects the entire biosphere: global climate change caused by emissions of greenhouse gases from the combustion of fossil fuels and from agriculture and land-use changes. Managing this challenge will be exceedingly difficult.

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Influence of Land Use Change on the Surface Albedo and Climate Change in the Qinling-Daba Mountains

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su131810153 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (18) ◽

pp. 10153

Author(s):

Fang Zhao ◽

Xincan Lan ◽

Wuyang Li ◽

Wenbo Zhu ◽

Tianqi Li

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Land Use ◽

Radiative Forcing ◽

Surface Albedo ◽

Global Climate ◽

Land Use Changes ◽

Mountainous Area ◽

Land Area ◽

Climate Change Effects ◽

Land Use Types

Land use changes affect the surface radiative budget and energy balance by changing the surface albedo, which generates radiative forcing, impacting the regional and global climate. To estimate the effect of land use changes on the surface albedo and climate change in a mountainous area with complex terrain, we obtained MODIS data, identified the spatial–temporal characteristics of the surface albedo caused by land use changes, and then calculated the radiative forcing based on solar radiative data and the surface albedo in the Qinling-Daba mountains from 2000 to 2015. The correlation between the land use changes and the radiative forcing was analyzed to explore the climate effects caused by land use changes on a kilometer-grid scale in the Qinling-Daba mountains. Our results show that the primarily land use changes were a decrease in the cultivated land area and an increase in the construction land area, as well as other conversions between six land use types from 2000 to 2015. The land use changes led to significant changes in the surface albedo. Meanwhile, the radiative forcing caused by the land use had different magnitudes, strengths, and occurrence ranges, resulting in both warming and cooling climate change effects.

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Malaria risk and temperature: influences from global climate change and local land use practices.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.1001629.374762 ◽

2006 ◽

Author(s):

Albert van Jaarsveld

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Land Use ◽

Global Climate Change ◽

Global Climate ◽

Malaria Risk ◽

Land Use Practices

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Spatial and Temporal Differences in Alpine Meadow, Alpine Steppe and All Vegetation of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and Their Responses to Climate Change

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13040669 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 669

Author(s):

Hanchen Duan ◽

Xian Xue ◽

Tao Wang ◽

Wenping Kang ◽

Jie Liao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Alpine Meadow ◽

Global Climate ◽

Growing Season ◽

Tibet Plateau ◽

Vegetation Types ◽

Analysis Method ◽

Alpine Steppe ◽

Qinghai Tibet Plateau ◽

Variation Trends

Alpine meadow and alpine steppe are the two most widely distributed nonzonal vegetation types in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. In the context of global climate change, the differences in spatial-temporal variation trends and their responses to climate change are discussed. It is of great significance to reveal the response of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to global climate change and the construction of ecological security barriers. This study takes alpine meadow, alpine steppe and the overall vegetation of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau as the research objects. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data and meteorological data were used as the data sources between 2000 and 2018. By using the mean value method, threshold method, trend analysis method and correlation analysis method, the spatial and temporal variation trends in the alpine meadow, alpine steppe and the overall vegetation of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau were compared and analyzed, and their differences in the responses to climate change were discussed. The results showed the following: (1) The growing season length of alpine meadow was 145~289 d, while that of alpine steppe and the overall vegetation of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was 161~273 d, and their growing season lengths were significantly shorter than that of alpine meadow. (2) The annual variation trends of the growing season NDVI for the alpine meadow, alpine steppe and the overall vegetation of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau increased obviously, but their fluctuation range and change rate were significantly different. (3) The overall vegetation improvement in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was primarily dominated by alpine steppe and alpine meadow, while the degradation was primarily dominated by alpine meadow. (4) The responses between the growing season NDVI and climatic factors in the alpine meadow, alpine steppe and the overall vegetation of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau had great spatial heterogeneity in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. These findings provide evidence towards understanding the characteristics of the different vegetation types in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and their spatial differences in response to climate change.

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Spatio-Temporal Change of Land Use in a Coastal Reclamation Area: A Complex Network Approach

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13168690 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (16) ◽

pp. 8690

Author(s):

Caiyao Xu ◽

Lijie Pu ◽

Fanbin Kong ◽

Bowei Li

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Complex Network ◽

Coastal Wetland ◽

Eastern China ◽

Wetland Ecosystems ◽

Ecological Protection ◽

Land Use Types ◽

Coastal Reclamation ◽

Reclamation Area ◽

Spatio Temporal

Coastal ecological protection and restoration projects aimed to restore and recover the ecological environment of coastal wetland with high-intensity human reclamation activity, while the integrity of the coastal wetland system with human reclamation activity and the ability of individual land use types to control the overall system were not fully considered. In this study, a six-stage land use conversion network was constructed by using a complex network model to analyze coastal land use dynamic changes in the coastal reclamation area located in eastern China from 1977 to 2016. The results showed that land use types had gradually transformed from being dominated by natural types to artificial types, and the speed of transformation was accelerating. The proportion of un-reclaimed area decreased from 93% in 1977 to 46% in 2007, and finally fell to 8% in 2014 and 2016. Tidal flat and halophytic vegetation were the main output land use types, while cropland, woodland and aquaculture pond were the main input land use types. Cropland had the highest value of betweenness centrality, which played a key role in land use change from 1992 to 2014. The land use system of the coastal reclamation area was the most stable in 2002–2007, followed by 1984–1992, and the most unstable in 2007–2014. The Chinese and local government should carry out some measures to improve the land use in coastal wetland ecosystems, including the allocation and integration of land use for production space, living space, and ecological space, and develop multi-functionality of land use to realize the coastal high-quality development and coastal ecological protection and restoration.

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