Linking landscape structures and ecosystem service

Authors: Zhiming Zhang Junfeng Gao

Publish Date: 2015/12/16

Volume: 75, Issue: 1, Pages: 3-

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Abstract

Human activities have fragmented habitats around the world In this case understanding the links between landscape structures and ecosystem service value ESV is important because the provision of ecosystem services could be affected by landscape structural changes The main objective of this study was to evaluate how the landscape structures affect multiple ESVs This paper examined the influences of landscape structural changes on ESV by analyzing the changes in land use and landscape metrics in the Chaohu Lake Basin China Principal component analysis and multivariate regression were used to determine the relationships between landscape metrics and ESVs while considering spatial autocorrelation The results revealed significant differences in the ESV across the study area Regulating services provided more than 588  of the total ESV of the study area in 2007 followed by supporting provisioning and cultural services Patch sizes can significantly affect landscape metrics at the landscape level and consequently influence the relationships between landscape metrics and ESV The fragmentation metrics were critical to the ESVs in the small patches Moreover the diversity density and connectivity metrics were important to the ESVs in the medium and great patches In the large patches the fragmentation density area and richness and connectivity metrics were critical to multiple ESVs The application of landscape metrics in landscape planning should receive particular attention because of the complexity of the impacts of landscape structural changes on the provision of ecosystem services are complex These results could advance the understanding of the relationships between landscape structures and ecosystem services and guide landscape planning management and restoration

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