Study on the Response Mechanism of Ecosystem Services to Urban Land Expansion by Dynamic Equivalent Factor Method: A case of Wuhan, China

Abstract

Abstract A clear insight into the response mechanism of Ecosystem Services (ESs) to urban land expansion can provide references for balancing the relationship between urbanization and ecosystem. Some qualitative studies have looked at the relationship between ESs and urban land expansion, but they can hardly reveal the response mechanism. Thus, we adopted the dynamic equivalent factor method to quantitatively assess each of the Ecosystem Service Values (ESVs) and the total ESVs, then explored the response mechanism through the correlation analysis in Wuhan. The results showed that: (1) During 1990-2015, various ESVs in Wuhan decreased continuously, with the largest decline in the food production, the smallest in hydrology regulation; the ESVs of the whole region showed a downward trend, particularly, in the central region where construction land was concentrated, the ESVs dropped sharply. (2) The demand pressure of ESs brought by population growth was much larger than the direct damage of urban land expansion to ESs. (3) The urban land expansion had the greatest damage to raw material production. This research could deepen the understanding of the relationship between urban land expansion and the decrease of ESVs, but also provide theoretical references for the reasonable expansion of urban land in Wuhan.