Impacts of Land-Use Change on Ecosystem Service Value of Mountain–Oasis–Desert Ecosystem: A Case Study of Kaidu–Kongque River Basin, Northwest China

Abstract

In this study, we used long time series Landsat data and ecosystem services coefficients for global and Chinese ecosystems during 1978–2018 to estimate the influences of land-use change on ecosystem services (ES) in Kaidu–Kongque River Basin (KKRB), where both socioeconomic progress and the arid, fragile natural environment have considerable affected land-use change. The results showed that (1) the total value of ES in the KKRB was about USD 8111.5, 7995.31, 8275.74, 8131.91, and 8016.38 million in 1978, 1988, 1998, 2008, and 2018, respectively. The net ecosystem service value (ESV) loss was about USD 116.19 million for 1978–1988, the net ESV profit was about USD 280.43 million for 1988–1998, and the net ESV loss was about USD 259.36 million for 1998–2018. (2) Water supply and waste treatment function were the top two ecological functions with high service value; their combined contribution rate was 59.3%, indicating that the regulating service function in this study area is higher than the provision services function. (3) The high to low ranking for each ecosystem function based on their contribution rate to overall ES value was water supply > waste treatment > climate regulation > biodiversity protection > recreation and culture > soil formation > gas regulation > food production > raw material. These results are significant for the continuation of the integrity and sustainability of the mountain–oasis–desert region ecosystem, where socioeconomic progress and the fragile characteristics of the natural ecosystem complement each other. The results of this study provide scientific evidence for governmental decision makers and local residents and offer a reference for environmental researchers in northwest China.