Changes in ecosystem services in a montane landscape impacted by major earthquakes: A case study in Wenchuan earthquake-affected area, China

Ecological Indicators

Chong Xu¹  Susan L. Ustin²  Yanan Duan³  Ruixing Zhang³  Baofeng Di³  Qiang Xie⁴  Shaolin Wu⁵  Jierui Li⁶ 

[1] Corresponding author at: Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction, Sichuan University-The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Chengdu 610207, Sichuan, China.;Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction, Sichuan University-The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Chengdu 610207, Sichuan, China;College of Architecture and Environment, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, Sichuan, China;John Muir Institute of the Environment, University of California Davis, CA 95616, USA;National Institute of Natural Hazards, Ministry of Emergency Management of China, Beijing 100085, China;Sichuan Academy of Environmental Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China;

关键词: Ecosystem services;    Driving forces;    Climate;    Earthquake;    Human activities;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Earthquakes are one of the most serious natural disasters, threatening ecological balance and security. Ecosystem services (ESs) reflect the multiple functions of an ecosystem. However, based on catastrophic disasters, the contributions of various factors to ESs recovery have not been previously quantified. We follow recovery after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake to gain insight into these processes. To quantify ESs, biophysical models were applied, including scenario simulation and Geodetector methods that were used to explore the driving forces. We concluded as follows: in overall study area, ESs showed an insignificant but undulating increase from 2001 to 2017, indicating the earthquake had slight but long-term effects. In the vegetated areas denuded by co-seismic landslides, the loss in ESs was twice that in non-denuded areas, and the damaged ESs did not recover to pre-earthquake levels by 2017. Overall, climate change was the main driving force, and the factors directly related to local climate had a more obvious impact on ESs especially elevation and geomorphic types. More than three quarters of study area showed ESs increases, with climate (accounting for 40.26%) and its multiple interactions with non-climate factors (accounting for 45.91%) contributed the most to ESs restoration, respectively at low elevations and in the subalpine mountains. Nearly a quarter of the study area was still degraded, of which the proportion of the area representing non-climate-driven factors had increased (accounting for 20.68%). The intensity of ESs degradation mainly concentrated in XI and X regions where co-seismic landslides were dense, which was one of the most influential non-climate factors. We therefore recommend that in the post-disaster reconstruction stage, more attention should be paid to restoration and maintenance of ecological service functions in areas with frequent secondary disasters, so as to maximize the benefits of post-disaster reconstruction projects and seek socio-economic and ecological environment collaborative development.

【 授权许可】

Unknown