The Grain for Green Program Intensifies Trade-Offs between Ecosystem Services in Midwestern Shanxi, China
Ecological engineering is a widely used strategy to address environmental degradation and enhance human well-being. A quantitative assessment of the impacts of ecological engineering on ecosystem services (ESs) is a prerequisite for designing inclusive and sustainable engineering programs. In order...
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MDPI AG
2021-10-01
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author | Baoan Hu Zhijie Zhang Hairong Han Zuzheng Li Xiaoqin Cheng Fengfeng Kang Huifeng Wu |
author_facet | Baoan Hu Zhijie Zhang Hairong Han Zuzheng Li Xiaoqin Cheng Fengfeng Kang Huifeng Wu |
author_sort | Baoan Hu |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Ecological engineering is a widely used strategy to address environmental degradation and enhance human well-being. A quantitative assessment of the impacts of ecological engineering on ecosystem services (ESs) is a prerequisite for designing inclusive and sustainable engineering programs. In order to strengthen national ecological security, the Chinese government has implemented the world’s largest ecological project since 1999, the Grain for Green Program (GFGP). We used a professional model to evaluate the key ESs in Lvliang City. Scenario analysis was used to quantify the contribution of the GFGP to changes in ESs and the impacts of trade-offs/synergy. We used spatial regression to identify the main drivers of ES trade-offs. We found that: (1) From 2000 to 2018, the contribution rates of the GFGP to changes in carbon storage (CS), habitat quality (HQ), water yield (WY), and soil conservation (SC) were 140.92%, 155.59%, −454.48%, and 92.96%, respectively. GFGP compensated for the negative impacts of external environmental pressure on CS and HQ, and significantly improved CS, HQ, and SC, but at the expense of WY. (2) The GFGP promotes the synergistic development of CS, HQ, and SC, and also intensifies the trade-off relationships between WY and CS, WY and HQ, and WY and SC. (3) Land use change and urbanization are significantly positively correlated with the WY–CS, WY–HQ, and WY–SC trade-offs, while increases in NDVI helped alleviate these trade-offs. (4) Geographically weighted regression explained 90.8%, 94.2%, and 88.2% of the WY–CS, WY–HQ, and WY–SC trade-offs, respectively. We suggest that the ESs’ benefits from the GFGP can be maximized by controlling the intensity of land use change, optimizing the development of urbanization, and improving the effectiveness of afforestation. This general method of quantifying the impact of ecological engineering on ESs can act as a reference for future ecological restoration plans and decision-making in China and across the world. |
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language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:51:44Z |
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series | Remote Sensing |
spelling | doaj.art-0af1b0cfdb3b42a19fd00efe23e644af2023-11-22T16:43:29ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922021-10-011319396610.3390/rs13193966The Grain for Green Program Intensifies Trade-Offs between Ecosystem Services in Midwestern Shanxi, ChinaBaoan Hu0Zhijie Zhang1Hairong Han2Zuzheng Li3Xiaoqin Cheng4Fengfeng Kang5Huifeng Wu6School of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, ChinaHohhot Meteorological Bureau, Hohhot 010020, ChinaSchool of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, ChinaSchool of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, ChinaSchool of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, ChinaSchool of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, ChinaEcological engineering is a widely used strategy to address environmental degradation and enhance human well-being. A quantitative assessment of the impacts of ecological engineering on ecosystem services (ESs) is a prerequisite for designing inclusive and sustainable engineering programs. In order to strengthen national ecological security, the Chinese government has implemented the world’s largest ecological project since 1999, the Grain for Green Program (GFGP). We used a professional model to evaluate the key ESs in Lvliang City. Scenario analysis was used to quantify the contribution of the GFGP to changes in ESs and the impacts of trade-offs/synergy. We used spatial regression to identify the main drivers of ES trade-offs. We found that: (1) From 2000 to 2018, the contribution rates of the GFGP to changes in carbon storage (CS), habitat quality (HQ), water yield (WY), and soil conservation (SC) were 140.92%, 155.59%, −454.48%, and 92.96%, respectively. GFGP compensated for the negative impacts of external environmental pressure on CS and HQ, and significantly improved CS, HQ, and SC, but at the expense of WY. (2) The GFGP promotes the synergistic development of CS, HQ, and SC, and also intensifies the trade-off relationships between WY and CS, WY and HQ, and WY and SC. (3) Land use change and urbanization are significantly positively correlated with the WY–CS, WY–HQ, and WY–SC trade-offs, while increases in NDVI helped alleviate these trade-offs. (4) Geographically weighted regression explained 90.8%, 94.2%, and 88.2% of the WY–CS, WY–HQ, and WY–SC trade-offs, respectively. We suggest that the ESs’ benefits from the GFGP can be maximized by controlling the intensity of land use change, optimizing the development of urbanization, and improving the effectiveness of afforestation. This general method of quantifying the impact of ecological engineering on ESs can act as a reference for future ecological restoration plans and decision-making in China and across the world.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/19/3966Grain for Green Programecosystem services trade-offsscenario analysisspatial regressionMidwestern Shanxi |
spellingShingle | Baoan Hu Zhijie Zhang Hairong Han Zuzheng Li Xiaoqin Cheng Fengfeng Kang Huifeng Wu The Grain for Green Program Intensifies Trade-Offs between Ecosystem Services in Midwestern Shanxi, China Remote Sensing Grain for Green Program ecosystem services trade-offs scenario analysis spatial regression Midwestern Shanxi |
title | The Grain for Green Program Intensifies Trade-Offs between Ecosystem Services in Midwestern Shanxi, China |
title_full | The Grain for Green Program Intensifies Trade-Offs between Ecosystem Services in Midwestern Shanxi, China |
title_fullStr | The Grain for Green Program Intensifies Trade-Offs between Ecosystem Services in Midwestern Shanxi, China |
title_full_unstemmed | The Grain for Green Program Intensifies Trade-Offs between Ecosystem Services in Midwestern Shanxi, China |
title_short | The Grain for Green Program Intensifies Trade-Offs between Ecosystem Services in Midwestern Shanxi, China |
title_sort | grain for green program intensifies trade offs between ecosystem services in midwestern shanxi china |
topic | Grain for Green Program ecosystem services trade-offs scenario analysis spatial regression Midwestern Shanxi |
url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/19/3966 |
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