Acta Geographica Sinica ›› 2017, Vol. 72 ›› Issue (3): 521-532.doi: 10.11821/dlxb201703012

• Land Use and Environmental Change • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Spatial and temporal changing analysis of synergy and trade-off between ecosystem services in valley basins of Shaanxi Province

Yijie SUN1(), Zhiyuan REN1(), Shengnan ZHAO1, Jing ZHANG1,2   

  1. 1. College of Tourism and Environment Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710119, China
    2. College of History and Tourism, Shaanxi Sci-Tech University, Hanzhong 723001, Shaanxi, China
  • Received:2016-07-14 Revised:2016-11-08 Online:2017-03-15 Published:2017-03-15
  • Supported by:
    The Major Project of Key Research Institute of Humanities and Social Science of the Ministry of Education, No.14JJD840004;National Natural Science Foundation of China, No.41371523

Abstract:

The valley basins, the main grain output area and socio-economic center of Shaanxi Province, are experiencing population growth, rapid urbanization and industrialization. However, the eco-environment is suffering as a result of destructive human economic activities (forest and grassland clearance for farmland expansion, deforestation and vegetation damage) and is potentially facing a huge ecosystem crisis, from the likes of soil erosion and vegetation coverage reduction - all of which hinder local sustainable social and economic development. Because of complicated conditions and its significant location, the Guanzhong Basin, the economic center of Northwest China, and the Hanzhong Basin, an ecological preservation area in Shaanxi Province, were chosen for comparing and analyzing the spatial and temporal disparities between ecosystem services. In this study, we use several mathematical methods including the correlational analysis method, and the linear and power function regression methods to calculate the spatial and temporal differences between the two areas based on ecosystem services data from 1990 to 2010 (NPP, water conservation and food supply). From this, we find that NPP and water conservation have a synergistic relationship, and that there is also a trade-off between NPP and food supply, and between water conservation and food supply. In addition, between 1990 and 2010, this synergistic relationship shows a downward trend while the trade-off relationship demonstrates an upward trend. Furthermore, the rate of change in the Guanzhong Basin is faster than that in the Hanzhong Basin. In terms of the synergistic relationship between NPP and water conservation, the strongest evidence can be found in cultivated land in the east of the Guanzhong Basin and in the west of Ningqiang county and Lueyang county in the Hanzhong Basin; the lowest is observed in Tongchuan city and Xixiang city. When exploring the trade-off between NPP and food supply, we find that the strongest trade-off relationship is in Tongchuan city and the Qinling Mountains in Xi'an and the south of Xixiang county, while the weakest is in Baoji city and Lueyang county.

Key words: Shaanxi, valley basin, ecosystem services, trade-off and synergy