Changes in Ecosystems and Ecosystem Services in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area since the Reform and Opening Up in China

Abstract

Ecosystem services provide important support for the sustainable development of humans; these services are provided by various ecosystems, but they have been severely influenced by anthropogenic activities globally in the past several decades. To respond to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, this study investigated the changes in ecosystem structure and estimated the associated ecosystem services value (ESV) since China’s reform and opening-up policy in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), one of the most developed and populous areas of China. Our results showed that dramatic changes in ecosystem structure occurred in the GBA, characterized by unpresented construction land sprawl (an average of 148 km2/yr) and extensive farmland loss (an average of 111 km2/yr). The change size and rate of ecosystems from 2000 to 2010 was the biggest and fastest, followed by that from 1990 to 2000. The ESV of the study area showed an overall decreasing trend, declining from 464 billion yuan to 346 billion yuan. The ESV supported by forest ecosystems and water body ecosystems made dominant contributions to the total ESV, ranging from 92% to 95%. Strong spatial heterogeneity of the ESV of the GBA might be noted throughout the study period, with lower values in the central region and higher values in the surrounding region. To realize sustainable development in the GBA; this study strongly suggests that local governments, and the public, scientifically use various ecosystems and their services, focusing on vigorously protecting ecosystems with high and important ESVs, such as water body, wetland, forest, and farmland ecosystems.

Land Use Optimization for Coastal Urban Agglomerations Based on Economic and Ecological Gravitational Linkages and Accessibility

“…Expansion of these UA is driven not only by the speed of economic development and population growth, but also through collaborative economic linkages between cities, and regional collaborative development has become even more important Land 2022, 11, 1003 2 of 18 than ever in domestic and foreign competition [1,6]. However, urban expansion in UA is at the expense of limited land resources that increase pressure on the ecological environment and ecosystem services [7]. UA that are sustainable, therefore, need to balance and optimize complex multiple objectives, in order to progress and/or redress development towards balanced integrated ecological sustainability and economic performance.…”

Virtual built‐up land transfers and induced ecosystem service potential loss embodied in China's inter‐regional trade

“…ESs are closely related to human welfare and they are an important basis for determining payment for ESs. Research on the supply and demand of ESs helps to identify the temporal pattern and spatial flow characteristics of ESs (Wang et al, 2021).…”

Collaborative Optimal Allocation of Urban Land Guide by Land Ecological Suitability: A Case Study of Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area

“…Accompanied by a dense population and the demand for urban construction land [1], the land use pattern in urban agglomerations (UAs) has changed significantly, and a large amount of ecological space has been encroached upon [2]. Urban expansion comes at the expense of limited land resources [3,4], which increases pressure on the ecological environment and leads to a range of ecological problems such as soil erosion, water pollution and air pollution [5]. Without proper regulation and control, UAs may sprawl in a disorderly manner [6], which will further lead to ecological degradation and the waste of land resources [7].…”

“…The aim of this paper is to construct an LES-based multi-objective urban land optimization (MULO) model to provide a spatial optimization allocation scheme for the high-quality development of UAs. Considering that the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (the GBA) is an essential part of the Chinese economy, its rapid urbanization has led to drastic land changes, resulting in a fragile ecological environment [4]. The GBA urgently needs development planning based on the principle of ecological priority, as a method to improve regional competitiveness and ecological security.…”