Linking Social Perception and Provision of Ecosystem Services in a Sprawling Urban Landscape: A Case Study of Multan, Pakistan

Abstract

Urban sprawl causes changes in land use and a decline in many ecosystem services. Understanding the spatial patterns of sprawl and exploration of citizens’ perception towards the sporadic urban expansion and its impacts on an ecosystem to deliver services can help to guide land use planning and the conservation of the urban ecosystem. Here, we spatially examined land use changes in Multan, Pakistan, and investigated public perception about urban sprawl and its impacts on the quality and provision of ecosystem services, using a survey instrument. The spatial analysis of the historical land cover of Multan indicated an exponential expansion of the city in the last decade. Large areas of natural vegetation and agricultural land were converted to urban settlements in the past two decades. The citizens of Multan believe that the quality and provision of ecosystem services have declined in the recent past and strongly correlate the deteriorating ecosystem services with urban sprawl. Education and income levels of the respondents are the strongest predictors of urban ecosystem health literacy. Citizens associated with laborious outdoor jobs are more sensitive to the changes in ecosystem services. We concluded that the rapidly expanding cities, especially in the tropical arid zones, need to be prioritized for an increase in vegetation cover, and economically vulnerable settlements in these cities should be emphasized in climate change mitigation campaigns.

Valuing the invaluable: park visitors' perceived importance and willingness to pay for urban park trees in Pakistan

“…2a) and should be interpreted in the context of two important facts. First, the recent exponential expansion of Multan city has had adverse impacts on air quality (Manzoor et al 2019), and, second, the region has experienced prolonged and harsh summers and unprecedented heatwaves in recent years. These could have made services such as shade and fresh air more obvious to the residents of Multan as has been reported in other parts of the world (Camacho‐Cervantes et al 2014, Collins et al 2019, Manzoor et al 2019).…”

“…This region has recently faced many ecological challenges, including floods, frequent heatwaves, and consistently high summer temperatures. Besides, the city has experienced an exponential urban expansion in the recent past, which has consumed most of the vegetation cover, leading to environmental degradation (Manzoor et al 2019). The role of urban parks is crucial in this ecologically challenged part of the country; understanding the determinants of public attitude toward the value and improvement of urban park trees in Multan could be pivotal to policymaking.…”

“…Urban areas are home to more than half of the world's population and are predicted to expand by 2.5 billion people by 2050 (UN 2014). The pace and scale of urban expansion have caused environmental and health problems for urban dwellers, which are worsened by the lack of contact with nature (Manzoor et al 2019). Urban parks, "the areas of land containing grass, shrubs, and trees, and are accessible to and managed for, the benefit of the public" (Collins et al 2019), are rare hot spots of nature in complex urban centers (Filho et al 2020) and contribute to environmental sustainability by providing a range of essential ecosystem services (ESs; Mexia et al 2018).…”

Urban Vegetation Types are Not Perceived Equally in Providing Ecosystem Services and Disservices

“…A complex mix of factors shape people's perception of ecosystem services and disservices. These include environmental pressures such as heat stress [18], the proximity and accessibility of green spaces [19][20][21][22], and individual interests, beliefs, and professional background [23][24][25]. Also important are education, access to relevant information, and local traditions and values [19,[26][27][28][29][30][31][32].…”

Selected Environmental Assessment Model and Spatial Analysis Method to Explain Correlations in Environmental and Socio-Economic Data with Possible Application for Explaining the State of the Ecosystem

“…The dramatic increase in the range and intensity of human activity has rapidly changed the global ecosystem, and poses a severe threat to the survival and development of human society [1,2]. The contemporary world is increasingly industrializing and urbanizing, especially in developing countries [3].…”