Land Use Transition and Effects on Ecosystem Services in Water-Rich Cities under Rapid Urbanization: A Case Study of Wuhan City, China

Abstract

Ecosystems can provide ecosystems service for human society. Exploring the impact of land use transition of water-rich cities on ecosystem service can obtain a large amount of scientific data, and its findings have certain significance for building a sustainable city land use transition pattern. This study takes Wuhan, a water-rich city, as the study area, combines remote sensing image data and macro-economic data in the region from 2000 to 2020, and uses spatial analysis methods, the equivalent factor calculation method, and hot spot analysis to portray the spatial-temporal patterns of land use transition in Wuhan and its effect on ecosystem service values. The results show that: (1) farmland, water, and built-up land are the main land use types in Wuhan, and the continuous expansion of built-up land area is an important factor in the decrease of farmland, wetland, and grassland areas; (2) The change in ecosystem service values in Wuhan is influenced by the fluctuation of water area, and the overall ecosystem service values in Wuhan increased from CNY (Chinese Yuan) 56.498 billion (USD 8.47 billion) in 2000 to CNY 56.749 billion (USD 8.508 billion) in 2020, with an increase of CNY 251.3 million (USD 37.676 million) between 2000 and 2020. Among them, the ecosystem services values of water increased by CNY 1.223 billion (USD 183.358 million), and the ecosystem service values of its assumed hydrological regulation function also increased by CNY 995.7 million (USD149.28 million) during this period; (3) In the period 2000–2020, the hotspot areas for the value supply of ecosystem services were mainly distributed in Jiangxia, Hongshan, Hannan, Xinzhou, Huangpi and some areas of Caidian, which are covered with a large proportion of water, while the cold spots are mainly distributed in Jiang’an, Jianghan, Qiaokou, and Qingshan districts, which have more built-up land, and Huangpi, Caidian, Jiangxia, and Xinzhou districts, which have more farmland. Sustainable land planning solutions should take into account typical regional land use transition patterns and incorporate them into smart land planning practices. This study can provide key information for smart land planning.