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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Land Use Dynamics
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2024.1500045
This article is part of the Research Topic Territorial Spatial Evolution Process and Its Ecological Resilience, Volume II View all 8 articles

Changing characteristics of land cover, landscape pattern and ecosystem services in the Bohai Rim region of China

Provisionally accepted
Jiaqi Liu Jiaqi Liu 1,2,3Wei Chen Wei Chen 1,2,3*Hu Ding Hu Ding 1,2,3Zhanhang Liu Zhanhang Liu 1,2,3Min Xu Min Xu 4Ramesh P. Singh Ramesh P. Singh 5Congqiang Liu Congqiang Liu 1,2,3
  • 1 Institute of Surface-Earth System Science, School of Earth System Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
  • 2 Tianjin Key Laboratory of Earth’s Critical Zone Science and Sustainable Development in Bohai Rim, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
  • 3 Tianjin Bohai Rim Coastal Earth Critical Zone National Observation and Research Station (Bohai National CZO), Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
  • 4 State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
  • 5 School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University, Orange, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Since the Anthropocene, ecosystems have been continuously deteriorating due to global climate change and human intervention. Exploring the changing characteristics of land use/land cover (LULC), landscape pattern and ecosystem service (ES) and their drivers is crucial for regional ecosystem management and sustainable development. Taking the Bohai Rim region of China as an example, we used the land use transfer matrix, landscape pattern index and InVEST model to analyze the changing characteristics of LULC, landscape pattern and six key ESs (crop production (CP), water yield (WY), carbon storage (CS), soil conservation (SC), habitat quality (HQ), landscape aesthetics (LA)) during 2000-2020. Detailed analysis of the natural and anthropogenic factors affecting the landscape pattern and ES changes has been considered in this study. The results show that the areas of forest, water and impervious land increased, while those of cropland, shrubs, grassland and barren land decreased during 2000-2020. The landscape was fragmented, complex and decentralized during 2000-2015, while the three trends eased during 2015-2020. From 2000 to 2020, CP, WY, and SC capacity show an increasing trend, while CS, HQ, and LA capacity tend to a decline. Natural factors (e.g. precipitation, temperature, altitude) and human factors (e.g. technological progress, policy changes, and LULC forms) are the main factors affecting landscape pattern and ESs. The present study can provide theoretical basis for ecological restoration, ecological product value realization, and land planning in the typical developed urban area.

    Keywords: Land use/land cover, landscape pattern, ecosystem service, Bohai Rim region, InVEST model

    Received: 22 Sep 2024; Accepted: 01 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Liu, Chen, Ding, Liu, Xu, Singh and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Wei Chen, Institute of Surface-Earth System Science, School of Earth System Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.