Factors influencing the spatiotemporal variation in the value of ecosystem services in Anxi county

Wenjia Jiang; Pingping Guo; Zhimin Lin; Yuying Fu; Ying Li; Kinga Kasperkiewicz; Abdel-Rhman Z Gaafar

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19182

Factors influencing the spatiotemporal variation in the value of ecosystem services in Anxi county

Heliyon. 2023 Aug 16;9(8):e19182. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19182. eCollection 2023 Aug.

Authors

Wenjia Jiang¹, Pingping Guo², Zhimin Lin³, Yuying Fu¹, Ying Li¹, Kinga Kasperkiewicz⁴, Abdel-Rhman Z Gaafar⁵

Affiliations

¹ Fujian Chuanzheng Communications College, Fujian Province, Fuzhou, 350007, China.
² Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China.
³ Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 360007, China.
⁴ Faculty of Medicine, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Konstantynow 1J, 20-708, Lublin, Poland.
⁵ Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 11451, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Understanding the value of ecosystem services is imperative for the welfare of current and future generations. Anxi town is situated within the mountainous terrain of Fujian province, China and characterized by a diverse range of ecosystems encompassing forests, rivers, and mountains. These ecosystems offer a wide range of ecosystem services. The value of ecosystem services has been declining in the county for the past twenty-years. However, limited is known on the spatial changes and factors affecting the value of these Therefore, current study assessed the spatial changes in the value of ecosystem services (provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural) in 24 townships situated in the county for three time periods, i.e., 1999, 2009, and 2019 and factors affecting these services. The results revealed that annual decline in the value of ecosystem services was higher in 1999-2009 than 2009-2019. Longjuan, Xianghua, Gande, Futian, Changkeng, Xiping, Taozhou and Huqiu townships observed the highest annual decline in the value of ecosystem services ranging from 20.1 to 68.1 million yuan. The GWR model indicated that vegetation index had the highest impact on the value of ecosystem services in the county. Overall, the value of ecosystem services was negatively correlated with the urbanization rate and distance from the road with some exceptions, whereas altitude had a positive impact. All townships (except Xianghua, Futian, and Taozhou) had negative values for water supply services. Hence, water supply is a significant ecological issue in the county. It is concluded that tea farmers in the county should be educated about water and soil conservation, investment should be done in conservation measures, regional ecological environments should be protected, and ecological tea planting techniques should be developed in the county to halt further decrease in the value of ecosystem services.

Keywords: Distance to road; Ecological tea gardens; Ecosystem services; Spatial changes; Value.