Identification of priority conservation areas based on ecosystem services and systematic conservation planning analysis

Abstract

In order to reverse the trend of ecological deterioration and resolve the conflict between ecological conservation and economic development, it is necessary to evaluate the trends of ecosystem services (ESs) and unravel the relationship between ESs and environmental drivers and identify the priority areas for ESs. In this research, we used the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model to quantify the variation of four important ESs (water purification, water yield, soil conservation, and habitat quality) in the Dongting Lake Basin from 2000 to 2015. During the past 15 years, water yield was declined by 3.38% and soil conservation was increased by 1.45%. Water quality purification was deteriorated with the rise in phosphorus export (5.32%) and nitrogen export (4.09%). Meanwhile, habitat quality was decreased by 3.27%. Trade-offs occurred primarily among water yield and other ESs. Social-ecological drivers importance analysis found that water yield was primarily influenced by precipitation and temperature. By contrast, water purification and habitat quality were more affected by the distribution of land use and land cover (LULC). Soil conservation was closely related to precipitation and geographical factor. Based on the distribution of ESs and the intensity of human activities, we delineated priority areas for each ESs using the systematic conservation planning tool (Marxan). LULC shifted most dramatically in water yield reserves (6.49%) with a large amount of lands conversed to cropland (4.4%) and build-up land (0.27%), which further increased the risk of water scarcity, while LULC changed less in other ESs priority areas due to human activities. Our study helps develop conservation strategies within specific area cost-effectively and provides scientific support for future conservation program of ESs formulation and adjustment.

Keywords: Ecosystem services; Marxan; Priority areas; Social-ecological drivers; Trade-off; InVEST.