Response of Soil and Water Conservation Ecosystem Service Value to Land Use Type at Anjiagou Watershed in Dingxi City

Abstract

[Objective] The ecosystem service value of different land use types at Anjiagou watershed in Dingxi City, Gansu Province was quantitatively determined in hilly and gully regions of the Yellow River basin from 2005 to 2020, and the temporal and spatial variation patterns were studied in order to provide a scientific reference for optimizing land use structure and sustainable utilization of land resources in this area. [Methods] Soil and water conservation ecosystem service values were quantitatively analyzed by using the opportunity cost and the shadow engineering method in the Anjiagou watershed from 2005 to 2020. Land use types included artificial grassland, wheat fields, sea buckthorn land, Chinese pine land, closed land, and barren land. [Results] ① Ecosystem service values continuously increased from 2005 to 2020 for all land use types except for wheat fields. ② The average value of soil and water conservation ecosystem service for artificial grassland, wheat fields, sea buckthorn land, Chinese pine land, closed land, and barren land was 5.82×105, 4.49×105, 6.99×105，6.73×105, 5.34×105, and 4.68×105 yuan/(km2·ha) respectively. The order of the rasult was sea buckthorn land>Chinese pine land>artificial grassland>barren land>closed land>wheat fields. However, there were significant differences among different land use types. ③ The annual growth rate of ecosystem service value increase was greatest for artificial grassland (9.82%), followed by closed land and barren land (8.52% and 6.84%, respectively), and lowest for Chinese pine land (2.12%). However, there was no obvious trend in wheat fields with years. [Conclusion] Sea buckthorn land and Chinese pine land accounted for 21% and 20%, respectively, of the soil and water conservation ecosystem service value, followed by artificial grassland (17%). Wheat fields accounted for the least amount of ecosystem service value (13%). Closed land and barren land had intermediate values (15% and 14%, respectively). Therefore, the key to controlling soil and water loss in hilly and gully regions of the Yellow River basin is to maintain and improve the quality of forest land and grasslands.

Keywords

• land use patterns
• ecological service value
• opportunity cost
• shadow engineering
• anjiagou watershed
• dingxi city, gansu province