Losses of Ecosystem Service Values in the Taihu Lake Basin from 1979 to 2010

Abstract

The Taihu Lake Basin, an east-coastal developed area, is one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in China. Ecosystem services in the Taihu Lake Basin have been overexploited and jeopardized. Based on land-use and land-cover change (LUCC) data from 1979, 1984, 2000, and 2010, in conjunction with the adjusted ecosystem service values (ESV), changes in ESV were analyzed in detail. Results revealed that LUCC resulted in a substantial decrease in total ESV from $3.92 billion in 1979 to $2.98 billion in 2010. The ESV of cropland decreased from $1.64 billion in 1979 to $1.34 billion in 2010, which represented a 20.28% reduction. The ESV of water areas decreased from $1.08 billion in 1979 to $0.36 billion in 2010, which represented a 65.62% reduction mainly because of a decline in water quality. In terms of annual change rate, cropland and water areas showed a sustained downward trend. Spatially, ESV declines were mainly observed in Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, and Shanghai, probably due to a combination of economic progress, population growth, and rapid urbanization. The research results can be a useful reference for policymakers in mitigating ESV decline.

Keywords

ecosystem service values / land use/land cover / water quality / Taihu Lake Basin

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Special Scientific Research Fund for Environment Protection Commonweal Section(Grant No. 201509040), Shanghai Key Lab for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco-Restoration (Grant No. SHUES2013B06) and Basal Research Fund of Central Public-interest Scientific Institution of Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection (Grant No. 20160304).

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