Non-stationary response of complex ecosystem service networks to urbanization: Evidence from a typical eco-fragile area in China

Abstract

Understanding the complex interactions between urbanization and ecosystem services (ESs) is crucial for optimizing planning policies and achieving sustainable urban management. While previous research has largely focused on highly urbanized areas, little attention has been given to the phased effect of progressive urbanization on ES networks. This study proposes a conceptual framework that utilizes the network method and space-time replacement to examine the effect of urbanization on the complex relationships among ESs at different stages, with a particular emphasis on the progressive evolution of the process. We apply this framework to the Horqin area, a typical eco-fragile area in China. Results demonstrate that the connectivity of the ES synergy network exhibits a non-stationary characteristic, initially increasing, then decreasing, and subsequently strengthening. Meanwhile, its modularity shows a rising trend during periods of accelerated urbanization. The performance of the trade-off network displays the opposite pattern. Additionally, we observe a gradual replacement of provisioning and regulation services by cultural services in terms of dominance in the synergy network as urbanization advances. By providing guidance for identifying key planning initiatives and implementing ecological protection policies at different stages of development, this study contributes a pathway that can inform development strategies in other regions undergoing progressive urbanization.

Keywords

Ecosystem services / Urbanization / Network analysis / Non-stationary fluctuation

Ethical statement

Ethical approval was not required for this study since human participants were ensured following local legislation and institutional requirements. All proceeds of this research were carried out following the Helsinki Declaration principles of human subject investigation. Participation in this survey was anonymous and voluntary, assuring consent of prospective respondents before participation. Data accumulated for this research was treated confidentially.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Zhen Shen: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft, Methodology, Data curation, Conceptualization. Yang Gao: Writing – review & editing, Funding acquisition, Conceptualization. Lei Wang: Writing – review & editing. Zheyi Xia: Writing – review & editing. Haowei Liu: Writing – review & editing. Ting Deng: Writing – review & editing.

Declaration of competing interests

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation Projects of China (Grant No. 42071284).

Supplementary materials

Supplementary material associated with this article can be found, in the online version, at doi:10.1016/j.geosus.2024.07.005.

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