Comparative Study on the Temporal and Spatial Evolution of the Ecosystem Service Value of Different Karst Landform Types: A Case Study in Guizhou Province, China

Abstract

Paying attention to the ecosystem service value (ESV) of different karst landform types is of great benefit to the green, sustainable, and high-quality development of the ecological environment in Guizhou Province. Based on the eight-period China Land Cover Dataset (CLCD) from 1985 to 2020, we compared and analyzed the ecosystem service value and its temporal and spatial variation characteristics of different karst landforms with the equivalent factor method in the study. The results revealed that the overall ecological environment of Guizhou Province showed a tendency to improve. Over the past 35 years, the net increase in the ecosystem service value in Guizhou Province was USD 385 million, with the largest increase occurring from 2015 to 2020. The overall spatial distribution is characterized by continuous low values in the middle and concentrated high values in the surrounding areas. Some of the local ecological environment in Guizhou Province is still not well-preserved. The ecosystem service value in the pure-karst area has decreased by USD 122 million over the past 35 years, mainly in Dushan County and Libo County, Qiannan Prefecture. The semi-karst area has increased by USD 367 million, concentrated in the northern and central areas of Guizhou Province. The non-karst area increased by USD 140 million, mostly distributed in Pu’an County, Xingyi City, and Yanhe County. In terms of the ecosystem service value per unit area, the results were as follows: non-karst areas > pure-karst areas > semi-karst areas. The ecosystem service value of each geomorphological area varied with the elevation and slope, showing an inverted “V” trend, first increasing and then decreasing. The maximum ecosystem service value in the pure-karst and semi-karst areas was between 800 m and 1100 m above sea level, and the non-karst area was in the range of 500 m to 800 m. The maximum ecosystem service value in the non-karst areas and semi-karst areas was within the gradient of 15° to 25°, and the pure-karst area was between 6° and 15°. The forest contributed most to the ecosystem service value of each karst landform, followed by cropland, and finally shrubland and grassland. Guizhou Province should pay attention to the protection of forest and cropland ecosystems in terms of future land management, especially with regard to ecological construction in pure-karst landform areas.