Scale effects on the relationships of water-related ecosystem services in Guangdong Province, China

Abstract

Study region: Guangdong Province (GD) and the Pearl River Delta urban agglomeration (PRD) in China. Study focus: Scale is a key factor affecting the connections among ecosystem services, but the relationships between water-related ecosystem services (WRESs) at diverse scales remain unclear. This study evaluated spatio-temporal changes in water yield, water purification and soil retention from 2000 to 2020. The InVEST model was used to depict the WRESs, and correlation analysis was used to detect trade-offs in WRESs at different scales. New hydrological insights for the region: i) The proportion of construction land increased most from 2000 to 2020, especially in the PRD, whereas that of cultivated land and forest exhibited downward trends; ii) During the study period, the three WRESs showed an increase in GD, but water purification and soil retention services showed a decrease in the PRD; iii) for the two scales, trade-offs existed between water yield and other WRESs, and synergies between soil retention and water purification; and iv) The correlation coefficients among WRESs in the PRD were greater than in the whole GD, and the correlation coefficients of the two scales changed in different directions with time. This study expands the scale effect on the relationships among ecosystem services, and puts forward suggestions for the sustainable development of WRESs with consideration of land use planning and stakeholders.

Keywords

• Scale
• Water-related ecosystem services
• Trade-offs
• Guangdong province
• Urban agglomeration