Abstract
Dramatic land use change in China affects ecosystem degradation and restoration. Identifying the evolving role of land use in ecosystem degradation and restoration in China is essential for sustainable land policy making. However, it is not clear how land use affects ecosystem degradation and restoration over time. Here, we used the revised benefit transfer approach and spatial statistics based on land use data to determine the evolving role that land use plays in ecosystem degradation and restoration in China during 2000–2020. The study results pointed out that the deterioration of the forestland ecosystem during the study period was the main reason for ecosystem degradation, while the conversion of arable land to forestland was the main cause for ecosystem restoration. Every 1% increase of land use intensity in the periods 2000–2005, 2005–2010, 2010–2015, and 2015–2020 resulted in –1.754%, 0.697%, 1.098%, and –0.058% of the changes in ecosystem services, respectively. This study provided important policy implications for future sustainable land use management in China.
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This study was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant numbers 42371258 and 42001187) and this study was also supported by the Key Laboratory of Geospatial Technology for Middle and Lower Yellow River Regions (Henan University), Ministry of Education (No. GTYR202205).
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Wanxu Chen: writing—original draft, formal analysis, conceptualization, data curation, methodology, software, writing—review and editing; Liyan Yang: writing—original draft, writing—review and editing, conceptualization, methodology, software, formal analysis; Guangqing Chi: writing—review and editing; Jie Zeng: writing—review and editing.
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Chen, W., Yang, L., Chi, G. et al. Ecosystem degradation or restoration? The evolving role of land use in China, 2000–2020. Environ Monit Assess 196, 304 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-024-12464-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-024-12464-x