Spatio-Temporal Changes in Ecosystem Service Value and Its Coordinated Development with Economy: A Case Study in Hainan Province, China

Abstract

Ecosystem service value is crucial to people’s intuitive understanding of ecological protection and the decision making with regard to ecological protection and economic green development. This study improved the benefit transfer method to evaluate ESV in Hainan Province, proposed the coupling analysis method of economic and environmental coordination, and explored the relationship between ESV and economic development based on the medium-resolution remote sensing land use data and socio-economic data from 2000 to 2020. The results show that Hainan Province’s ESV decreased by 33.305 billion CNY from 2000 to 2020. The highest ESV per unit area was found in the water system and forest ecosystem, mainly distributed in the central mountainous area. The overall condition of EEC decreased from a basic coordination state to a moderate disorder state. Areas with high economic development had better EEC, such as Haikou and Sanya. Meanwhile, we analyzed the driving force of ESV and EEC by Geodetector. The results show that land use intensity was the most important driving factor affecting ESV, with a contribution rate of 0.712. Total real estate investment was the most important driving factor affecting EEC, with a contribution rate of 0.679. These results provide important guidance for the coordinated development of regional economy and ecosystem protection.