Abstract：Land use change caused by changes in climate and human activities in high-altitude, cold pasture areas with a fragile environment significantly affects ecosystem services and functions. Evaluating ecosystem services can also clarify the ecological and environmental changes caused by land use change. Our study investigated changes in ecosystem services in response to land use change, caused mainly by climate change and human activities. The aim was to provide guidance for sustainable management of a high, cold pasture areas. We chose Maqu County, a region in the eastern fringe of the Tibetan Plateau with large areas of grassland and wetland, as the study area. We used remote sensing to evaluate land use changes, then applied a fast method for evaluating ecological service values in 1975, 1990, and 2005. The value of ecosystem services totaled 129.713×108 yuan in 1975, 128.390×108 yuan in 1990, and 123.961×108 yuan in 2005, representing a decrease of 5.75×108 yuan from 1975 to 2005 and an accelerating rate of decrease, mainly due to the degradation of high-cover grassland and wetlands. The combined ecosystem service value of wetlands, high- and moderate-cover grasslands, and shrubland was about 92% of the total value. Waste treatment and climate regulation were the two largest service functions, contributing about 42% of the total service value. Future land use planning should emphasize the protection of high-cover grassland and wetlands, which have the highest ecosystem service values and which showed accelerated degradation during the study period.
李晋昌, 王文丽, 胡光印, 魏振海. 玛曲县土地利用/覆盖变化对区域生态系统服务价值的影响[J]. 中国环境科学, 2010, 30(11): 1579-1584.
LI Jin-Chang, WANG Wen-Li, HU Guang-Yin, WEI Zhen-Hai. Impacts of land use and land cover change on ecosystem service values in Maqu County. . CHINA ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCECE, 2010, 30(11): 1579-1584.
