Impact of Urbanization on Ecosystem Services Balance in the Han River Ecological Economic Belt, China: A Multi-Scale Perspective

Abstract

Urbanization intensification seriously interferes with the supply capacity and demand level of ecosystem services (ESs); therefore, it affects the balance state of ESs. Coordination of urbanization development and ecosystem protection in the ecological economic belt is vital for ecological protection and high-quality development of the ecological economic belt. However, previous studies lacked multi-scale analysis of the impact of urbanization elements on the ESs balance index (ESBI) in the ecological economic belt. In this study, a geographically weighted regression model was employed to measure the spatial non-stationary patterns associated with the impact of urbanization elements on the ESBI at 5 km and 10 km in the Han River Ecological Economic Belt (HREEB) in China based on land use data. The main findings were shown as follows. The supply capacity and demand level of ESs in the HREEB increased from 2000 to 2020 simultaneously, while the ESBI showed a decreasing trend. In mountainous areas, the ESBIs were evidently higher than those in the plain areas. During the study period, the urbanization level in the HREEB improved evidently, and the urbanization levels of the middle and lower reaches of the Hanjiang River were relatively high. Significant spatial dependence between urbanization elements and the ESBI was identified. Urbanization had significant positive and negative impacts on ESBI, and there were significant differences among different scales. The findings of this study can act as a decision-making reference for ecological protection and high-quality development of the HREEB and can also provide a perspective for exploring the impact of urbanization on the ESBI of the ecological economic belt in other similar regions.

Spatially Non-Stationary Response of Carbon Emissions to Urbanization in Han River Ecological Economic Belt, China

“…The ULs in different regions of the HREEB varied significantly, with high levels in the east and low levels in the central and western regions. The main reason could be that the southeast and northeast are located in the Jianghan Plain area, where the topography is flat and the climate is pleasant, making it suitable for the development of agriculture and various industrial economies, as well as gathering a large population [50]. In contrast, the western region is located in the Qinba Mountains, where the terrain is mainly mountainous with extensive vegetation and a sparse population, the development of urbanization is slow, and the level of urbanization is relatively low.…”

“…The HREEB is an important ecological barrier in China, and although urbanization is being promoted rapidly, there is still a large gap in its urbanization development level compared with economically developed regions. In addition, while technology can increase the efficiency of energy consumption and, thus, reduce CEs to some extent [50], it is not enough to offset the incremental increase caused by rapid urbanization. Therefore, a positive correlation was still present overall in the HREEB.…”

“…In this study, the Han River Ecological Economic Belt (HREEB) was selected as a case study. With a favorable geographical location in China, the HREEB is an important ecological barrier for China and has witnessed rapid urbanization in recent years [50]. Located in the transitional zone of the north and south floras and at the intersection of the east and west floras, the HREEB plays an important ecological role.…”

Spatiotemporal Characteristics of the Coupled Coordination Degree of Ecosystem Services Supply and Demand in Chinese National Nature Reserves

“…Rational use of land resources for areas available for development is required to ensure that the demand for Ess for recreation of residents can be met while ensuring habitat quality and promoting sustainable development of human–land systems [ 67 , 68 ]. The protection of grassland, water bodies, and wetland should be strengthened in areas where the CCD is low to avoid the decline of ESs supply due to land degradation [ 69 , 70 , 71 ]. Therefore, under the existing nature conservation system, it is still necessary to further improve the NRs protection policy according to local conditions, coordinate human needs with ecological protection, and establish a long-term mechanism for NRs protection.…”

Ecological and health risk assessment of potential toxic elements in surface sediments: Gediz River, Türkiye

“…As a result of these phenomena, they have always been under the negative pressure of anthropogenic activities (such as industrial, agricultural, urbanization, mining and others). Point and non-point pollutants from these human activities threaten the ecosystem balance of lotic or lentic surface waters and their biological life (Maguire et al, 2019;Moiseenko & Sharov, 2019;Li et al, 2022). River sediment, which is the accumulation medium of several pollutants such as microplastics, toxic chemicals, and organic or inorganic loads, is the focus of researchers as a helpful indicator in environmental monitoring investigations (Scherer et al, 2020;Köck-Schulmeye et al, 2021).…”