Ecosystem Services Value (ESV) are the various beneficial functions and products that natural ecosystems provide to humans, and are important indicators for evaluating ecosystem conditions and human well-being. Opencast mining is one of the human activities that severely damage the surface environment, but its long-term impact on ecosystem services lacks systematic assessment. This study takes the Ordos opencast mining area as an example, and calculates the value of ESV from 1990 to 2020 based on the Google Earth Engine platform. Mann-Kendall Tau-b with Sen\'s Method (Sen + mk test) and Joinpoint regression model were used to analyzes its spatiotemporal variation characteristics. Further revealed the impacts of opencast mining on ESV as well as the trend of ESV changes. The results show that: (1) The dynamic ESV levels in the study area fluctuated considerably from 1990 to 2020 with an overall decreasing trend of 89.45%. (2) Among nine types ecosystem services, most of them were significantly different (p < 0.001) between mining areas and control areas, with biodiversity protection (BP), climate regulation (CR), gas regulation (GR), soil formation and retention (SFR), water supply (WS) and waste treatment (WT) showed a significant decrease between 1990 and 2020. (3) In the past 30 years, the ESV of the study area showed an overall improvement trend, where the improved area accounted for 48.45% of the total area of the study area. However, the degraded area also accounted for 21.28, and 17.19% of the area belonged to severe degradation. With 67% of the significantly degraded areas distributed within mining concessions. (4) The trend of ESV changes in the mining impact areas and the control area showed significant differences. The ESV of the control area increased continuously, with an average annual percentage change (AAPC) of 0.7(95%CI:0.50 ~ 0.9, P < 0.001) from 1990 to 2020; while the ESV of the mining impact areas first stabilized and then decreased significantly, with an AAPC of - 0.2(95%CI:- 0.3 ~ - 0.1,P < 0.001) from 1990 to 2020. This study provides scientific support for formulating ecosystem management, restoration plans, and payment for ecosystem service policies, which is conducive to achieving regional sustainable development and improving human well-being.

The South-to-North Water Diversion Project (SNWD) in China is a trans-basin water transfer project for water resource optimization that affects ecosystem services functions along its main transfer line. Exploring the effects of land-use change on ecosystem services in the headwater and receiving areas along the SNWD is conducive to improving the protection of the surrounding ecological environment. However, previous research lacks a comparative analysis of ecosystem services values (ESVs) in these areas. In this study, the land-use dynamic degree index, land-use transfer matrix, and spatial analysis method were used to comparatively analyze the impact of land-use changes on ESVs in the headwater and receiving areas of the SNWD. The results show that cultivated land was the main land use type in the receiving areas and HAER. From 2000 to 2020, CLUDD in the headwater areas was faster than that in the receiving areas. Spatially, in general, the land-use change areas of the receiving areas were larger. During the study period, cultivated land in the headwater areas of the middle route mainly transferred to water areas and forestry areas, while built-up areas mainly occupied cultivated land in the headwater areas of the east route, receiving areas of the middle route, and receiving areas of the east route. From 2000 to 2020, the ESV increased only in the headwater areas of the middle route, while the ESV in the other three sections decreased. The variation extent of ESV in the receiving areas was greater than that in the headwater areas. The results of this study have important policy significance for land use and ecological protection in the headwater and receiving areas of the SNWD in the future.

A stable and complete agricultural horizontal ecological compensation (AHEC) is an essential means of reconciling agricultural ecosystem protection and regional development and is also the key to the sustainable use of agricultural water and land resources. Unlike previous methods of studying agricultural ecological compensation (AEC), this study analysed the direction and amount of net transfer of agricultural land and water use along with inter-provincial trade. In conjunction with the value of ecosystem services embedded in agricultural land and water resources, this study calculated AHEC standards and estimated payments/reimbursements from each province. We found that agricultural land and water resources continued to flow from the underdeveloped inland provinces to the developed coastal provinces in 2017. In addition, the value of agricultural ecosystem in the central and coastal areas can be further enhanced by reducing the negative value of their cropland. Even though the ecological compensation standards for virtual agricultural water use (AWU) was much lower than the ecological compensation standards for virtual agricultural land use (ALU), the integrated AHEC in 31 provinces was more reasonable than considering only virtual ALU and virtual AWU. These findings are of great theoretical and application significance for the government to establish a systematic and feasible framework for inter-provincial AHEC and serve as a reference for other countries to conduct related research.

A sound ecosystem is the prerequisite for the sustainable development of human society, and the karst ecosystem is a key component of the global ecosystem, which is essential to human welfare and livelihood. However, there remains a gap in the literature on the changing trend and driving factors of ecosystem services value (ESV) in karst areas. In this study, Guizhou Province, a representative region of karst mountainous areas, was taken as a case to bridge the gap. ESV in the karst areas was predicted, based on the land use change data in 2009-2018, and the driving mechanisms were explored through the gray correlation analysis method. Results show that a total loss of CNY 21.47 billion ESV from 2009 to 2018 is due to the conversion of a total of 22.566% of the land in Guizhou, with forest land as the main cause of ESV change. By 2025 and 2030, the areas of garden land, water area, and construction land in Guizhou Province will continue to increase, whereas the areas of cultivated land, forest land, and garden land will decline. The total ESV shows a downward trend and will decrease to CNY 218.71 billion by 2030. Gray correlation analysis results illuminate that the total population and tertiary industry proportion are the uppermost, among all the driving factors that affect ESV change. The findings in this study have important implications for optimizing and adjusting the land use structure ecological protection and will enrich the literature on ESV in ecologically fragile areas.

The quantitative and spatial-temporal variations in the characteristics of ecosystem value can be helpful to improve environmental protection and climate adaptation measures and adjust the balance between economic development and the ecological environment. The arid and semi-arid regions of China are undergoing the effects of climate change across the entire northern hemisphere. Their ecological environments are fragile and in conflict with anthropogenic activities, which significantly altered more ecosystems services in these regions. Therefore, estimating the effects of anthropogenic activities on ecosystem services is important for formulating ecological policy and regional environmental mitigation plans of these regions. This study employed the model of ecosystem service value (ESV) assessment and the bivariate spatial autocorrelation method to reveal the spatiotemporal variations in the characteristics of ecosystem value in the arid and semi-arid ecological regions of China and its interaction with human activities. Results showed that (1) the total value of ES of the study area increased from USD 487,807 billion in 2000 to USD 67,831,150 billion 2020; (2) the ES value provided by forest land first increased by 5.60% from 2000 to 2020; (3) the ESV provided by grassland showed an overall decline over the 20 years. Food and raw material production showed the lowest ES value, and climate regulation and soil conservation decreased from 2000 to 2020; (4) the index of human footprint patches decreased from 45.80% in 2000 to 17.63% in 2020, while the high and very high human footprint index areas increased significantly, mainly due to the rapid urbanization and improvement of railway networks in these areas. Spatially, the regions with high human footprint were mostly dispersed in the northeastern of China such as Shanxi and Gansu, whereas the regions with a low human footprint remained mainly located in the central and southwestern parts of China; (5) significant spatial dependencies between changes in ESV and the human footprint index were recorded. Our study could provide a scientific basis for ecosystem functions regulation and land development security in arid and semi-arid ecological regions.

West African coastal areas including the Beninese coastal zones have undergone an intensification of socio-economic activity in the last few decades that has been strongly driven by the effects of rapid urbanization. This has led to land-use and land cover changes that represent threats to the sustainability of various ecosystem functions. Such dynamics of land use and land cover changes pose challenges to coastal zone management. Correct assessment is vital for policymakers and planners to ensure efficient and sustainable use of the coastal ecosystem services, and it remains crucial to achieving sustainable coastal zone management. This study examines changes in land-use and land cover (LULC) and their impacts on ecosystem services value (ESV) fluctuations in the tropical coastal region of Benin, West Africa. We employed Globe Land 30 image data for the years 2010 and 2020, and the ESV fluctuations during the study period were evaluated using the benefit transfer approach (BTA) with corresponding local coefficients values and the GIS techniques. The results reveal that (1) in the current urbanizing coastal area, the LULC types have changed significantly, with obvious reductions in forest land and waterbodies and a considerable increase in artificial surfaces; (2) the total ESV decreased by 8.51% from USD 7.1557 million in 2010 to USD 6.5941 million in 2020; (3) the intensity of LULC in the coastal region has increased over the last 10 years; (4) regions with high land-use intensity have a high rate of ESV change; and (5) provisioning services are the greatest contributors of ESV (51% in 2010; 41% in 2020), followed by supporting services (37% in 2010; 35% in 2020) and regulating services (25% in 2010; 30% in 2020). Uncontrolled changes in LULC from forest land and waterbodies are the main causes of the loss in total ESV, necessitating urgent measures to improve the coastal ecosystem sustainability through effective planning and policies.

In the process of rapid urbanization, the decline in ecosystems\' physical supply value is a direct result of the increasing demands of human development. The ecosystem services value combined with supply and demand factors can be used to obtain the ecosystem services scarcity value (ESSV). These ecosystems with larger ESSVs warrant increased protection, or at the very least a development plan to ensure a balance between their continued existence and human usage. However, urbanization and other developmental effects have often caused the ESSV of those regions to be disregarded, which produces an imbalance in the ecosystem. This paper evaluated the spatial differentiation of ESSV based on heterogeneous units in the Yuebei region, China. Then, a spatial response analysis of the ESSV to urbanization according to the spatial correlation model and Getis-Ord Gi* was conducted. The results showed that the ecosystem service physical supply value declined due to urban sprawl in 1990-2015, but the ESSV increased sharply during the same time with its acceleration being particularly strong after 2000. Areas with higher ESSV were concentrated in the northern region due to a higher prevalence of woodland. Urbanization accelerated significantly after 2000, and it is found that similar tendencies of ESSV and urbanization occurred over the same period. Surprisingly, the ESSV was negatively correlated with urbanization in local regions, and their interaction continued to increase over time. The spatial hotspot map of the ESSV and urbanization also formed an opposite pattern. In addition, the grid number of High-Low and Low-High types is more than half of the total number of aggregated grids. According to the results, understanding the variation in the ESSV clearly due to urbanization and identifying their interaction in local regions can provide a more specific direction for future resource adjustment and ecosystem service improvements.

Exploring the spatiotemporal change characteristics of ecosystem service value (ESV) under the influence of national land space pattern (NLSP) changes is of great significance for promoting the rational use of land resources and the optimization of ecosystems. In this study, Fengdu County in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area was selected as a case study. We analyzed the changes in NLSP using land use data from 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2018. Then, we used the equivalent factor method and exploratory spatial data analysis method to explore the spatiotemporal change characteristics of the ESV of Fengdu County. The results show that: (1) From 1990 to 2018, the changes in NLSP in Fengdu County generally manifested in the transformation of agricultural space into urban space and ecological space; (2) The spatiotemporal change of ESV is a process that positively responds to the increase in ecological space and negatively responds to the expansion of urban space. From 1990 to 2018, the total ESV of Fengdu County showed a trend of continuous growth, with a total increase of CNY 11.10 × 108, and the change rate was 9.33%. The ESV gain area is mainly located along the Yangtze River and the southernmost part of the county, and the loss area is mainly located near the south bank of the Yangtze River; (3) ESV and its changes in Fengdu County have a significant positive spatial autocorrelation. The cold and hot spots of ESV change are mainly distributed along the Yangtze River and to the south of the Yangtze River. Therefore, it is suggested to integrate ESV as an important indicator into the decision-making of national land space planning. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen the intensive use of urban space and protect the important ecological space from decreasing. Our study results provide useful insights for the development of regional NLS management and environmental protection policies. However, it is worth noting that the results of this paper are more applicable to areas where the terrain is dominated by mountains.

We investigated the potential impacts of climate change on ecosystem services and their components in two distinct ecosystems: the northern grasslands and southern hills in China. The effects of minimum, average, and maximum temperature, and precipitation at monthly, seasonal, and yearly scales on ecosystem services and their components were studied through stepwise multiple regression analysis. The results showed that in the northern grasslands, an increase in the total ecosystem services value (ESV) was mainly attributed to soil conservation, biodiversity, hydrological regulation, and aesthetic landscape. In the southern hills, an increase in total ESV in each region was mainly attributed to climate regulation, environmental purification, biodiversity, and aesthetic landscape. There were strong correlations between ESVs and fluctuations in temperature and precipitation. In the northern grasslands, temperature was the main driving factor of the values from 11 categories of ecosystem services in Anxi, Tumuji, and Xilingol. However, in West Ordos, precipitation negatively affected the change in ESVs. In the southern hills, ESVs were governed by both precipitation and temperature in Huaying. Precipitation variables were an important factor affecting the ESVs in Cili. There was a stronger correlation between temperature and the majority of ESVs in Danjiangkou, Chongyi, and Lechang than precipitation. This paper provides a basis for a better understanding of the impact of climate change on different ecosystem services, and helps to enhance ESV under climate warming.

Social development and changes in natural conditions have seriously affected the ecosystem services value (ESV) of wetlands. It is important for social sustainable development and human welfare to identify and evaluate the driving factors that lead to changes in ESVs. Based on the land use data of Northeast China (NEC) from 1980 to 2015, the Emergy method and Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index decomposition analysis (LMDI) was applied to calculate the main ESVs of wetlands and clarify the contributions of different driving factors to ESVs changes. The results showed that the value of provision services (ESVp) and cultural services (ESVc) increased significantly, while the value of regulation services (ESVr) and supporting services (ESVs) decreased. Overall, the ESV of wetlands increased by 7.31 × 1022 solar emjoules (sej), with a growth rate of 127.73%. The most obvious factors driving ESV changes were the wetland supporting factor (△GA), per capita GDP factor (△PG), and protection investment factor (△T). The combined average contribution weight of the three factors was above 50%. From the perspective of driving force category, social-economic development effect had the greatest impact on ESVs, with average contribution weights ranging from 45.18% to 54.59%, followed by human activity effect, average contribution weights ranging from 33.45% to 40.14%, and the influence of natural factor effect was relatively small. The research results would provide a reference for protecting and improving the ESV of the wetland ecosystem.