Rural–Urban Migration and Conservation Drive the Ecosystem Services Improvement in China Karst: A Case Study of HuanJiang County, Guangxi

Remote Sensing

Ying Xiong¹  Chunhua Zhang²  Lu Zhai³  Mingyang Zhang³  Yuemin Yue³  Chujie Liao³  Qian Li³  Kelin Wang³  Xiangkun Qi³  Xuemei Zhang³ 

[1] College of Architecture, Changsha University of Science and Technology, Changsha 410076, China;Department of Geography, Geology and Land Stewardship, Algoma University, Sault Ste. Marie, ON P6A2G4, Canada;Key Laboratory of Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China;

关键词: remote sensing;    ecosystem services;    human activities;    ecological restoration programs;    rural–urban migration;    China karst;   

DOI  :  10.3390/rs13040566

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Under the transformation from over-cultivation to ecological protection in China karst, the way human activities affect ecosystem services needs to be explored. This study incorporated satellite imagery and ecosystem models (Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach (CASA), Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) was and Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST)) to evaluate the main ecosystem services (net ecosystem productivity (NEP), soil conservation and water yield) in a typical karst region (Huanjiang County). The relationships between human activities and ecosystem services were also examined. NEP increased from 441.7 g C/m²/yr in 2005 to 582.19 g C/m²/yr in 2015. Soil conservation also increased from 4.7 ton/ha to 5.5 ton/ha. Vegetation recovery and the conversion of farmland to forestland, brought about largely by restoration programs, contributed to this change. A positive relationship between increases in NEP and soil conservation and rural-urban migration (r = 0.62 and 0.53, p < 0.01, respectively) indicated the decrease in human dependence on land reclamation and naturally regenerated vegetation. However, declining water yield from 784.3 mm to 724.5 mm shows that the trade-off between carbon sequestration and water yield in ecosystems needs to be considered seriously for further ecosystem services improvement. Our study suggests that conservation is critical to vegetation recovery in the region. Furthermore, the relieved human pressure on land also plays an important role.

【 授权许可】

Unknown