Context In the Tibetan Plateau (TP), the supply of cultural ecosystem services (CESs) is unique, and the demand for CESs is gradually increasing with rapid urbanization. Evaluating the relationship between the supply and demand for CESs is critical for guiding regional sustainable development. However, due to the difficulty in obtaining empirical data in the high altitude and complex topography of the TP, relevant research is still lacking. Objectives The objective of this study was to develop an approach to address the difficulty of obtaining the empirical data on the TP and to evaluate the relationship between the supply and demand for CESs. Methods Taking the Qinghaihu–Huangshui basin as an example, we combined the SolVES (Social Values for Ecosystem Services) model and social media big data to evaluate the supply and demand for CESs in the TP. Results Our results showed that the combined method can effectively evaluate the supply and demand for CESs in the basin, and can be used for other remote regions. The supply and demand for CESs in the basin exhibited obvious spatial mismatch. Among the two types of mismatch, in the areas of high supply and low demand of CESs, residents’ subjective well-being (SWB) were substantially lower. Being far away from central city was an important reason for the high supply and low demand of CESs. Conclusions Establishing and improving the transportation system connecting central cities with other counties is encouraged to utilize the rich cultural and tourism resources of the TP, as well as enhance the SWB and promote regional sustainable development.
Context Effectively estimating the influences of urban expansion on multiple ecosystem services (ESs) is of great importance for improving urban planning in drylands. However, there are some shortcomings in the existing urban expansion models, which lead to great uncertainties in the assessment of the influences of urban expansion on multiple ESs. Objectives This study sought to effectively estimate the influences of urban expansion on multiple ESs in drylands. Methods We combined the land use scenario dynamics-urban model and ES models to estimate the influences of urban expansion on habitat quality, food production, water retention, air quality regulation, sand fixation, and aesthetics. Results The results showed that (1) our method can effectively evaluate the influences of urban expansion on multiple ESs in drylands, and the accuracy increased by more than 20% on average. (2) Under the impacts of future urban expansion, the annual average loss per unit area of habitat quality, food production, water retention, air quality regulation, sand fixation, and aesthetics will increase. (3) Future urban expansion will occupy more cropland and grassland, which will be the main reason for the intensified degradation of multiple ESs. Conclusions We suggest that the local government should focus on protecting key ecosystems, especially grasslands, from urban expansion to mitigate the potential influences on multiple ESs in drylands.
Effective evaluations of the future urban expansion impacts (UEI) on surface runoff in alpine basins are full of challenges due to the lack of reliable methods. Our objective was to provide a new approach by coupling the Land Use Scenario Dynamics-urban (LUSD-urban) and Soil Conservation Service-Curve Number (SCS-CN) models to estimate the future UEI on surface runoff. Taking the Qinghaihu-Huangshui basin (QHB) in the Tibetan Plateau, China, as an example, we first applied the SCS-CN model to quantify the surface runoff in 2000 and 2018 and analyzed the changes in surface runoff. Next, we applied the LUSD-urban model to simulate urban expansion under five localized shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) from 2018 to 2050. Finally, we assessed the UEI on surface runoff in the QHB from 2018 to 2050. We found that coupling the LUSD-urban and SCS-CN models could effectually evaluate the future UEI on surface runoff. Compared with the combination of the Future Land Use Simulation (FLUS) and SCS-CN models, our method reduced the absolute evaluation errors from 3.40% and 11.78% to 0.18% and 4.23%, respectively. In addition, the results showed that future urban expansion will have severe impacts on surface runoff in the valley region. For example, as a result of urban expansion, the surface runoff in the Huangzhong, Xining, and Datong catchments will increase by 4.90–9.01%, 4.25–7.36%, and 2.33–3.95%, respectively. Therefore, we believe that the coupled model can be utilized to evaluate the future UEI on surface runoff in alpine basins. In addition, the local government should pay attention to flood risk prevention, especially in the valley region, and adopt reasonable urban planning with soft and hard adaptation measures to promote the sustainable development of alpine basins under rapid urban expansion.
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