impact of socioeconomic development on ecosystem services and its conservation strategies: a case...

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Impact of socioeconomic development on ecosystem services and its conservation strategies: a case study of Shandong Province, China Shujun Wang & Jian Liu & Renqing Wang & Zirong Ni & Shipeng Xu & Yueyao Sun Received: 16 November 2010 / Accepted: 8 June 2011 / Published online: 29 June 2011 # Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011 Abstract Ecosystems and their components provide a lot of benefits for the welfare of human beings. Coupled with increasing socioeconomic development, most of the rapidly developing and transitional countries and regions have been experiencing dramatic land use changes. This has resulted in a large amount of forestland, grassland, and wetland being occupied as residential and industrial land or reclaimed for arable land, which in turn results in a sharp deterioration of ecosystem services around the world. Shandong Province, an economically powerful province of China, was chosen as a case study in order to capture the impact of socioeconomic development on ecosystem services. By way of the study, land uses and their changes were categorized between 1980 and 2006, and the ecosystem services capital and changes of 111 counties of Shandong Province in different phases were evaluated, as well as the total ecosystem services capital, followed by the zoning of ecosystem services function region of Shandong Province. We found that the counties in mountainous areas and wetlands, where generally the prefectural-level cities are located with a rapid socioeco- nomic development, experienced a successive deteriora- tion of ecosystem services especially during the 2000s. Finally, three conservation strategies for managing and improving ecosystem services were proposed and discussed with the aim of achieving coordinate and sustainable development of the socioeconomy, environ- ment, and ecosystems not only in Shandong Province but also in other provinces of China, as well as in other developing and transitional countries and regions. Keywords Ecosystem services function regions . Ecosystem services value . Natural reserves . Payments for ecosystem services . Shandong province . Sustainable development Introduction Ecosystem services can be defined as the benefits provided by ecosystems and their components to the Environ Monit Assess (2012) 184:32133229 DOI 10.1007/s10661-011-2183-7 S. Wang : Y. Sun School of Economics, Shandong University, 250100 Jinan, Peoples Republic of China S. Wang : S. Xu Bureau of Water Resources of Linyi City, 276001 Linyi, Peoples Republic of China J. Liu Institute of Environment Research, Shandong University, 250100 Jinan, Peoples Republic of China R. Wang Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, 250100 Jinan, Peoples Republic of China Z. Ni Water Conservation and Civil Engineering College, Shandong Agricultural University, 271018 Taian, Peoples Republic of China Y. Sun (*) School of Economics, Shandong University, No. 27 Shandanan Road, Jinan 250100, Peoples Republic of China e-mail: [email protected]

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Impact of socioeconomic development on ecosystem servicesand its conservation strategies: a case study of ShandongProvince, China

Shujun Wang & Jian Liu & Renqing Wang &

Zirong Ni & Shipeng Xu & Yueyao Sun

Received: 16 November 2010 /Accepted: 8 June 2011 /Published online: 29 June 2011# Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

Abstract Ecosystems and their components provide alot of benefits for the welfare of human beings. Coupledwith increasing socioeconomic development, most of therapidly developing and transitional countries and regionshave been experiencing dramatic land use changes. Thishas resulted in a large amount of forestland, grassland,and wetland being occupied as residential and industrialland or reclaimed for arable land, which in turn results ina sharp deterioration of ecosystem services around the

world. Shandong Province, an economically powerfulprovince of China, was chosen as a case study in order tocapture the impact of socioeconomic development onecosystem services. By way of the study, land uses andtheir changes were categorized between 1980 and 2006,and the ecosystem services capital and changes of 111counties of Shandong Province in different phases wereevaluated, as well as the total ecosystem services capital,followed by the zoning of ecosystem services functionregion of Shandong Province.We found that the countiesin mountainous areas and wetlands, where generally theprefectural-level cities are located with a rapid socioeco-nomic development, experienced a successive deteriora-tion of ecosystem services especially during the 2000s.Finally, three conservation strategies for managing andimproving ecosystem services were proposed anddiscussed with the aim of achieving coordinate andsustainable development of the socioeconomy, environ-ment, and ecosystems not only in Shandong Provincebut also in other provinces of China, as well as in otherdeveloping and transitional countries and regions.

Keywords Ecosystem services function regions .

Ecosystem services value . Natural reserves .

Payments for ecosystem services . Shandong province .

Sustainable development

Introduction

Ecosystem services can be defined as the benefitsprovided by ecosystems and their components to the

Environ Monit Assess (2012) 184:3213–3229DOI 10.1007/s10661-011-2183-7

S. Wang :Y. SunSchool of Economics, Shandong University,250100 Jinan, People’s Republic of China

S. Wang : S. XuBureau of Water Resources of Linyi City,276001 Linyi, People’s Republic of China

J. LiuInstitute of Environment Research, Shandong University,250100 Ji’nan, People’s Republic of China

R. WangInstitute of Ecology and Biodiversity,School of Life Sciences, Shandong University,250100 Ji’nan, People’s Republic of China

Z. NiWater Conservation and Civil Engineering College,Shandong Agricultural University,271018 Tai’an, People’s Republic of China

Y. Sun (*)School of Economics, Shandong University,No. 27 Shandanan Road,Jinan 250100, People’s Republic of Chinae-mail: [email protected]

welfare of human beings, not only including food and rawmaterials which can be traded in an open market, but alsoinvolved biodiversity, water and soil conservation, climateregulation, and genetic resources conservation which aresignificant for mankind but can hardly be reflected by thecurrent market system (Costanza et al. 1997; Daily et al.2000; Xie et al. 2003; Chee 2004; Wallace 2007; Liu etal. 2008). Influenced by accelerated development of thesocioeconomy, most of the rapidly developing countrieshave been experiencing a dramatic land cover and landuse change (Pauleit and Duhme 2000; Huang and Cai2007; Li et al. 2007; Hu et al. 2008; He et al. 2010).Large amounts of forestland, grassland, and wetlandhave been occupied as residential and industrial land orreclaimed for arable land due to rapid population growthand urban expansion (Hu et al. 2008; He et al. 2010).Faced with dramatically deteriorated ecosystems, peopleand governments around the world are paying increasingattention to explore measures for conserving andmanaging ecosystems and their components.

Strategic Environmental Assessment, EnvironmentalImpact Assessment, and Ecological Impact Assessmenthave been developed and applied in many countrieswith the aim of predicting and evaluating the potentialenvironmental or ecological impact of policies, plans,and programs (PPPs) promulgated by central and/orlocal governments so as to provide alternatives toavoid, mitigate, or compensate for these impacts (Baoet al. 2004; Thérivel 2004; Liou et al. 2006; João 2007;Li et al. 2007; Zhu and Ru 2008; Wang et al. 2009).Ecosystem Services Assessment was defined byCostanza et al. (1997), Daily et al. (2000), Xie et al.(2003), and Chee (2004) in order to capture theecological services’ capital which was ignored by thecurrent market system. Payments for ecosystem serv-ices (PES) on the other hand has been established inmany countries with the aim of protecting naturalresources and managing and improving ecosystemservices, by generating private and public revenues andthen funding private landowners as well as governmentand nongovernment agencies tasked with ecosystemconservation (Wang et al. 2006; Zheng and Zhang 2006;Kosoy et al. 2007; Engel et al. 2008; Kalacska et al.2008; Pagiola 2008; Wunder et al. 2008).

As a developing country, China’s socioeconomy hasgained a dramatic increase since it opened up to the worldin 1978, which in turn gave rise to a series of ecologicalimpacts, which involved biodiversity reduction, habitatfragmentation, and even loss and alien species invasion

(Lin and Ho 2003; Liu et al. 2006; Stevens et al. 2007;Yu and Ng 2007). As an economically powerfulprovince of China with a large population, ShandongProvince has at least in part earned its rapid socioeco-nomic growth at the cost of ecological quality since the1980s. A series of policies promulgated by the centraland/or local governments have been by and largeeconomy oriented for accelerating the socioeconomicdevelopment in Shandong Province without takingsufficient ecological concern into account (Zhangand Ren 2005; Zhu and Ru 2008; Wang et al. 2009;Zang et al. 2010). These policies contributed a lot tothe occupation or reclamation of forestland, grass-land, and wetland as residential and industrial landand arable land, which in turn led to a sharpdeterioration of ecosystems and their componentsin Shandong Province (Zhang and Ren 2005; Wanget al. 2009; Zang et al. 2010). This drew the attentionof people and governments of Shandong Provincecoupled with improved ecological protection aware-ness. In recent years, the government of ShandongProvince has legislated a series of policies forconserving biodiversity and habitats and otherecosystem services, so as to achieve coordinate andsustainable development of the socioeconomy, andthe environment as well as ecosystems and theircomponents (Zhang and Ren 2005). Given this,assessing the impact of the socioeconomic develop-ment of Shandong Province on ecosystem serviceswill contribute a lot to the following:

& Capture land cover and land use changes as wellas ecosystem services values’ change influencedby the rapid socioeconomic development ofShandong Province;

& Identify and analyze the problems in currentconservation strategies of ecosystems; and

& Inform the management and establishment ofnatural reserves, the zoning of ecosystem servicesfunction regions (ESFR), and the establishment ofPES mechanism in Shandong Province.

In this study, Shandong Province is viewed as arepresentative case in terms of the impact of thesocioeconomic development on ecosystem services inChina. Land uses and their changes were categorizedand mapped between 1980 and 2006. The ecosystemservices capital and changes of 111 counties ofShandong Province in different phases were evaluated,as well as the total ecosystem services capital of

3214 Environ Monit Assess (2012) 184:3213–3229

Shandong Province. Conservation strategies for man-aging and improving ecosystems and their componentswere proposed and discussed.

Methods and materials

Study area

Shandong Province is located between 114°47.5′E and122°42.3′E and between 34°22.9′N and 38°24.01′N inthe eastern coastal area of China on the lower reachesof the Yellow River (Fig. 1). It covers an area of1.571×105 km2, which accounts for 1.6% of the totalland area of China (SBS 2007). Lying in the easternpart of the North China Plain, 65% of the total area ofShandong Province are plains and low-lying land,while the remaining 35% are hills and mountains. TheYellow River and the South Four Lakes are its mainwaterways. Shandong Province has a warm temperatesemihumid climate. With 3,100 km of coast line, it hasthe Jiaodong Peninsula, which is abundant in fish andsalt. Shandong Province is an economically powerfulprovince with a large population (7.29×107, 8.71×107,8.99×107, 9.31×107, and 9.52×107 inhabitants in1980, 1995, 2000, 2006, and 2010, accounting for7.1% of China’s population). It has experienced rapidand sustained development of its socioeconomy, withan optimized growing economic structure. The provin-cial gross domestic product increased at a mean annualrate of around 14% during the 2000s, where the per

capita figure broke through 8,000 Chinese Yuan (CNY)in 1999 and doubled in 2006 (SBS 2007). Since the1980s when China opened up its economy, a series ofpolicies promulgated by central and/or local govern-ments have been by and large economy-centered whichhas contributed to a sharp degeneration of ecosystemsand their components in Shandong Province (Liu andDiamond 2005; Zhang and Ren 2005).

Data processing and methodologies

Mapping land uses’ categorizationand their conversion

Four sets of Landsat TM images of ShandongProvince (1980/1995/2000/2006, seven bands) wereused in this study. Five different land uses: arableland, forestland, grassland, wetland, as well asresidential and industrial land were categorized byArcGIS 9.0 software based on a field investigation inShandong Province. ArcGIS 9.0 software was alsoemployed to map the conversions among land usesand determine the changes of various ecosystemservices providing areas in different phases (1980–1995, 1995–2000, and 2000–2006).

Assessment of ecosystem services capital

Measures to evaluate the ecological services’ capitalwere provided by Costanza et al. (1997), Daily et al.(2000), Xie et al. (2003), and Chee (2004). Based on

Fig. 1 Location of ShandongProvince and the distributionof the counties

Environ Monit Assess (2012) 184:3213–3229 3215

Costanza et al. (1997) and the investigation of morethan 200 ecologists in China, Xie et al. (2003)captured the annual average value of nine mainecosystem services of different ecosystems in China,which were closer to the specific characteristics ofecosystem services of China. The ecosystem servicesvaluation system developed by Xie et al. (2003) wasutilized to assess and quantify the ecosystem servicesvalues with the aim of reflecting the changing trendsof ecosystem services values of Shandong Provincebetween 1980 and 2006, and determining land usechanges of ecosystem services providing areas(ESPA) in different phases. These ecosystem servicesvalues have been classified as market and nonmarketvalues (see Daily et al. 2000; Chee 2004).

Zoning of ecosystem services function regions

The “Tentative Specification for Ecological FunctionZoning” was promulgated by the Ministry of Envi-ronmental Protection of China in 2002, in light of theEnvironmental Protection Law of the People’s Re-public of China, with the aim of guiding theEcological Function Zoning of governments at alllevels to conserve and improve different ecosystemsand their components. Based on the “TentativeSpecification for Ecological Function Zoning” as wellas the analysis of ecosystem services values in 111counties, ecosystem services function regions ofShandong Province was zoned, with the aim tocapture specific characteristics and important ecolog-ical services of different ecosystems in differentregions, to identify the main ecological problemsand their causes, as well as to inform the managementand establishment of natural reserves and the estab-lishment of PES, so as to manage and improveecosystem health and obtain coordinate and sustain-able development of the socioeconomy, ecosystems,and environment.

Results

Impact of socioeconomic development on landuses of Shandong Province

Main land use changes and their ecological impactassessment

Land uses of Shandong Province in 1980, 1995,2000, and 2006 were categorized and mapped withthe assistance of the ArcGIS 9.0 software (Table 1;Fig. 2). It is shown that arable land and residential andindustrial land of Shandong Province have experi-enced a clear change since 1980, especially during the2000s. The arable land area was reduced to 11.95×104 km2 in 1995 from 12.15×104 km2 in 1980, and to11.89×104 km2 in 2000 from 1995 with an annualaverage loss of 132 and 126 km2 (Table 1). Theannual loss of arable land increased to 199 km2

during the 2000s (Table 1). On the contrary, residen-tial and industrial land of Shandong Province has hada continuous expansion since 1980 with an annualincrease of 81 and 161 km2 between 1980 and 1995and between 1995 and 2000, respectively (Table 1).There was a dramatic increase during the 2000s withan annual increase of 523 km2 of land expansion. Theother three land uses, forestland, grassland, andwetland, did not have a clear change during the1980s and 1990s. However, they experienced a sharploss between 2000 and 2006 especially grassland,which decreased to 10,396 km2 in 2006 from11,588 km2 in 2000. This was due to the rapidexpansion of arable land and residential and industrialland (Table 1; Fig. 2).

The impact of land use changes on ecosystemservices caused by the socioeconomic developmentwere assessed (Table 2). Arable land has been the mainland use threatened by the dramatic socioeconomicdevelopment and continuous population increase in

Year Arable land Forestland Grassland Wetland Residential and industrial land

1980 121,480 7,889 11,457 9,217 7,057

1995 119,496 8,157 11,653 9,528 8,266

2000 118,864 7,891 11,588 9,685 9,072

2006 117,671 7,632 10,396 9,190 12,211

Table 1 Area of land uses ofShandong Province in differ-ent years (square kilometer)

3216 Environ Monit Assess (2012) 184:3213–3229

Shandong Province since 1980. Around 843, 546, and1,940 km2 of arable land in urban–rural fringe areas, aswell as approximately 155, 180, and 112 km2 ofwetland in the Yellow River Delta and coastal areaswere respectively occupied for expansion of residentialand industrial land between 1980 and 1995, 1995 and2000 as well as 2000 and 2006 (Fig. 3). Approximately363, 297, and 1,207 km2 of forestland and grassland inthe middle, south, southeast, and Jiaodong Peninsulamountainous areas of Shandong Province, as well as184, 128, and 475 km2 of wetland mainly located inthe Yellow River Delta and South Four Lakes basinwere respectively reclaimed to arable land between1980 and 1995, 1995 and 2000 as well as 2000 and2006 (Fig. 3).

Impact of socioeconomic development on ecosystemservices providing areas

Different ecosystems in specific regions at their bestprovide various kinds of ecosystem services. The

changes of two ESPAs, namely market value of ESPAand nonmarket value of ESPA, at different phases(1980–1995, 1995–2000, and 2000–2006) in ShandongProvince have been captured and mapped (Fig. 4). Theresults show that the weakened providing areas ofmarket value of ecosystem services (MVES) andnonmarket value of ecosystem services (NVES) aremainly located in the urban–rural fringe areas of rapiddeveloping counties, as well as in the Yellow RiverDelta and Laizhou Bay wetlands (Fig. 4). The annualdecreased areas have experienced a clear growth,especially during the 2000s due to the rapid urbanexpansion in Shandong Province (Fig. 4). Influencedby urban expansion and continuous population growth,the improved ESPA of MVES has experienced adramatic increase from 1980 to 2006. It is mainlylocated in the southern and southeastern parts ofShandong Province, as well as in the wetlands of theYellow River Delta and South Four Lakes andmountainous area in the Jiaodong Peninsula (Fig. 4).On the contrary, the improved ESPA of NVES has

Fig. 2 Land uses of Shandong Province in 1980, 1995, 2000, and 2006

Environ Monit Assess (2012) 184:3213–3229 3217

Tab

le2

Ecologicalim

pact

assessmentof

land

usechangescaused

bysocioecono

mical

developm

ent

Landuse

changes

Biodiversity

Habitat

protectio

nEcosystem

services

Wetland

Atm

osphere

regulatio

nClim

ate

regulatio

nWater

purificatio

nWater

and

soil

conservatio

n

Nutrient

cycling

Food

productio

nRaw

materials

Genetic

resources

Recreation

Culture

and

education

Water

storage

Water

quality

Connectivity

Arable

land

→residential

and

industrial

land

DNLUa

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

Forestland

→residential

and

industrial

land

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

Grassland

→residential

and

industrial

land

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

Wetland

→residential

and

industrial

land

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

DNLU

Arable

land

→forestland

IPL

IPL

IPL

IPL

IPL

IPL

IPL

INL

IPL

IPL

IPL

Arable

land

→grassland

IPL

IPL

IPL

INL

INL

IPL

IPL

IPL

Arable

land

→wetland

IPL

IPL

IPL

IPL

IPL

IPL

IPL

INL

IPL

IPL

IPL

IPL

IPL

IPL

Forestland

→arable

land

INR

INR

INR

INR

INR

IPR

INR

NLU

INR

INR

Grassland

→arable

land

INR

INR

INR

INR

INR

IPR

INR

NLU

INR

INR

Wetland

→arable

land

INR

INR

INR

INR

INR

INR

INR

IPR

IPR

NLU

INR

INR

INR

INR

INR

D/Idirect/in

direct,P/N

positiv

e/negativ

e,S/Pshort-term

/long

-term,R/U

reversible/irreversible

aUDPhasaD/I,P/N,S/P,or

R/U

impact

onecosystem

3218 Environ Monit Assess (2012) 184:3213–3229

experienced a continuous loss from 1980 to 2006,which is mainly located on the Yellow River Deltawetland (Fig. 4).

The impact of socioeconomic developmentof Shandong Province on ecosystem services

The annual MVES, NVES as well as total ecosystemservices value (TESV) in 111 counties of ShandongProvince were calculated and mapped (Figs. 5, 6, 7),as well as the growth rate in different phases (1980–1995, 1995–2000, and 2000–2006).

The MVES and its changes in 111 countiesof Shandong Province

The counties, located on the plains of the west andsoutheastern parts of Shandong Province, contribute amain part to the MVES of Shandong Province with highMVES per square kilometer. The counties with low

MVES are in mountainous areas of the JiaodongPeninsula as well as the middle and southern parts ofShandong Province (Fig. 5). The counties, whereprefectural-level cities are located with a rapidlydeveloping socioeconomy, have the lowest contributionto the MVES of Shandong Province, as well as thecounties located in the Yellow River Delta and SouthFour Lakes wetlands (Fig. 5). Between 1980 and 1995,MVES of 74 counties experienced a slight decline witha growth rate between −2% and 0%. MVES of 22counties had a growth rate between −5% and −2%, andmost of them are located in places where theprefectural-level cities are sited, as well as in theYellow River Delta. There were eight counties with agrowth rate lower than −5% (Fig. 5). On the contrary,only seven counties, in the western part of ShandongProvince experience an increased MVES. Between1995 and 2000, the MVES almost experienced thesame growth rate as previously mentioned (Fig. 5).There were 88 counties that experienced a growth rate

Fig. 3 Land use changes of Shandong Province in different phases

Environ Monit Assess (2012) 184:3213–3229 3219

between −2% and 0%, 11 counties that experienced agrowth rate between −5% and −2%, and four countiesthat experienced a growth rate below −5%. Only eightcounties experienced an increased MVES per squarekilometer during this phase (Fig. 5). However, far

different from the former, the growth rate of MVESexperienced a dramatic decline during the 2000s. Thecounties with a growth rate between −2% and 0% werereduced to 38. On the contrary, the counties withgrowth rates between −5% and −2% and below −5%,

Fig. 5 Market value of ecosystem services (×104) and their changes (percent) in counties of Shandong Province

Fig. 4 Changes of ESPA in different phases (square kilometers)

3220 Environ Monit Assess (2012) 184:3213–3229

mostly located in the middle and eastern parts ofShandong Province, including the places where theprefectural-level cities are sited, increased to 48 and 20,respectively (Fig. 5). Only five counties, located on theplains area of the western part of Shandong Provinceexperienced an increased MVES (Fig. 5).

The NVES and its changes in 111 countiesof Shandong Province

Contrary to the distribution of MVES, the counties withhigh NVES per square kilometer, are located inmountainous areas of the Jiaodong Peninsula and themiddle and southern parts of Shandong Province, as wellas the YellowRiver Delta and South Four Lakeswetlands(Fig. 6). These places involved most of the countieswhere the prefectural-level cities are located. However,the counties on the plains of the western and southeastern

parts of Shandong Province have a lower NVES persquare kilometer. Between 1980 and 1995, NVES of 75counties experienced an increase, which involved sevencounties with a growth rate of more than 10%. Thesecounties are mainly located in mountainous areas,including the Jiaodong Peninsula as well as the middle,southern, and southeastern parts of Shandong Province(Fig. 6). There were 36 counties whose NVES persquare kilometer declined, most of them located in thewestern–southern part of Shandong Province. Thecounties, where the NVES increased, were dramaticallyreduced to 37 during the second half of the 1990s.These counties are mainly on the plains of the west andnortheastern parts of Shandong Province, as well as theYellow River Delta wetland. The NVES turned todecline in the counties located in mountainous areas,including the Jiaodong Peninsula as well as the middle,south, and southeastern parts of Shandong Province

Fig. 7 Total ecosystem services (×104) and their changes (percent) in counties of Shandong Province

Fig. 6 Nonmarket value of ecosystem services (×104) and their changes (percent) in counties of Shandong Province

Environ Monit Assess (2012) 184:3213–3229 3221

(Fig. 6). The decline of NVES was continuous in mostcounties during the 2000s. Only the NVES of severalcounties in the coastal areas and the middle mountain-ous area of Shandong Province experienced a slightincrease. However, the NVES in the Yellow RiverDelta has continuously increased since 1995 (Fig. 6).

The TESVand its changes in 111 counties of ShandongProvince

Because the NVES contributes a major part of TESV, thedistribution of NVES in 111 counties of ShandongProvince and their changes tend to play the leading rolein the distribution of TESV and their changing trend.Like the NVES, the counties with high TESV per squarekilometer are located in the mountainous areas of theJiaodong Peninsula and the middle part of ShandongProvince, as well as the Yellow River Delta and SouthFour Lakes wetlands (Fig. 7). Most of the countieswhere the prefectural-level cities are located are alsoincluded in these areas. However, the counties, on theplains in the west and southeastern parts of ShandongProvince as well as the mountainous areas in the southpart of Shandong Province, have a lower TESV persquare kilometer (Fig. 7).

Between 1980 and 1995, 74 counties’ TESVincreased, and half of them had a growth rate below2%. There were four counties with a growth rate ofmore than 10% (Fig. 7). These counties are mainlylocated in the middle, eastern, and southwestern partsof Shandong Province. There were 37 counties whoseTESV experienced a decline, most of them located in

the southwestern part of Shandong Province, includ-ing the South Four Lakes wetland (Fig. 7). Between1995 and 2000, the counties, where the TESVincreased, were dramatically reduced to 41. Thesecounties are mainly on the plains in the west andnortheastern parts of Shandong Province, as well asthe Yellow River Delta and South Four Lakeswetlands (Fig. 7). However, like the NVES, the TESVdeclined in the counties located in mountainous areas,including the Jiaodong Peninsula as well as themiddle, south, and southeastern parts of ShandongProvince. The decline of the TESV was aggravatedin most counties during 2000s (Fig. 7). Only theTESV of several counties in coastal areas and themiddle mountainous area of Shandong Provinceexperienced a slight increase. However, the TESVin the Yellow River Delta has continuously increasedsince 1995 (Fig. 7).

Impact of the socioeconomic developmenton ecosystem services values of Shandong Province

The MVES, NVES, and TESV of Shandong Provinceare respectively about 11 billion CNY, 130 billion CNY,and 140 billion CNY annually (Fig. 8). The NVES andTESV had a slight increase between 1980 and 1995with an annual growth rate of 0.12% and 0.1%,respectively (Fig. 8). Due to the significant loss ofwetland, forestland, and grassland, however, they alldecreased from 1995 to 2006. On the other hand, theMVES has experienced a continuous decline since 1980(Fig. 8). Especially during the 2000s, its annual growth

Fig. 8 Total ecosystem services (ES) value of Shandong Province and their annual change rate (percent)

3222 Environ Monit Assess (2012) 184:3213–3229

rate declined to −0.49% from the former −0.11%,mainly owing to rapid urban expansion and dramaticloss of arable land (Fig. 8).

Zoning the ecosystem services function regionswith specific ecosystem services characteristics

According to the “Tentative Specification for EcologicalFunction Zoning,” promulgated by the Ministry ofEnvironmental Protection of China in 2002, as well asthe analysis concerning the providing area of differentecosystem services and the assessment of ecosystemservices values in Shandong Province, four ecosystemservices function regions, including seven subregions ofShandong Province with specific ecosystem servicecharacteristics were zoned. The name and location ofthese regions and subregions are shown in Fig. 9. Themain ecosystem services provided by these regions andsubregions are analyzed in Table 3, as well as the mainproblems and conservation strategies. Function region A,D2, and D3 are key areas for ecosystem services of waterand soil conservation, biodiversity, and habitat protection,atmosphere, and climate regulation. B1, C2, and D1 arekey areas for ecosystem services of nutrient cycling andfood production. B2 and C1 are key areas for ecosystemservices of water storage and purification, water and soilconservation, biodiversity, and habitat protection.

Discussions

Impact of the socioeconomic developmenton ecosystem services

Based on our study, the mountainous areas, located onthe Jiaodong Peninsula and the middle, southern, andsoutheastern parts of Shandong Province, as well asthe wetlands in the Yellow River Delta and SouthFour Lakes basin, are the key regions for providingsignificant nonmarket ecosystem services, includinghabitat and biodiversity protection, water and soilconservation, raw materials production, and geneticresources conservation. Since China’s economic re-form and opening up to the world in 1978, thesocioeconomy of counties in these regions, wheregenerally the prefectural-level cities are located, hasexperienced a rapid development. This contributed alot to the accelerated expansion of residential andindustrial land as well as arable land especially duringthe 2000s. Given this, large amounts of forestland,grassland, and wetland in these regions, mainly in themiddle and east parts of Shandong Province, havebeen occupied as residential and industrial land.Influenced by dramatic population growth, reducedwater storage and increasing water pollution, thewetlands in the Yellow River Delta and South Four

Fig. 9 Zoning of ecosystemservices function regionsand subregions of ShandongProvince

Environ Monit Assess (2012) 184:3213–3229 3223

Table 3 Main problems and conservation strategies for different ecosystem services function regions and subregions mapped in Fig. 9

Ecosystemservicesfunctionregions orsubregions

Main ecosystem services Main problems Conservation strategies

A Habitat and biodiversity protection; water andsoil conservation; nutrient cycling; rawmaterials; genetic resources conservation,recreation, culture, and education

•Deforestation is contributing to soil erosionand influencing water and soil conservation.

•Coal mining and stone quarrying cause landsubsidence and landscape damage.

•Rivers are polluted due to rapid development ofresources- and pollution-intensive industries.

•Forest and grass ecosystems are threatened byrapid expansion of residential and industrialland.

•Actively strengthen the forestlandconservation and afforestation.

•Strengthen the management andestablishment of natural reserves forwater and soil conservation.

•Reclaim the arable land with low outputin mountainous area to forestland orgrassland.

•Strengthen the ecosystems’ restoration indegenerated areas and mining areas.

•Restrict the development of resources-and pollution-intensive industries andpromote the development of ecologi-cally friendly industries.

•Promote the development of ecotourism.•Speed up the establishment of eco-cities.•Promote the rational use of land resources.

B2 Biodiversity and habitat protection; waterstorage; water purification; food and rawmaterials production; genetic resourcesconservation, recreation, culture, andeducation

•Wetland’s water is polluted and eutrophicated,and water storage declined due to rapiddevelopment of water- and pollution-intensiveindustries.

•Large amounts of wetland were occupied asresidential and industrial land.

•Biodiversity and habitat are threatened.•Soil salinization and desertification is gettingworse.

•Strengthen the management andestablishment of wetland naturalreserves for biodiversity and habitatprotection and water storage.

•Control soil salinization anddesertification by biological andengineering measures.

•Restrict the development of water- andpollution-intensive industries and pro-mote the development of ecologicallyfriendly industries.

•Speed up the establishment of eco-cities.•Promote the rational use of land resources.

C1 Biodiversity and habitat protection; waterstorage, water purification; food and rawmaterials production; genetic resourcesconservation, recreation, culture, andeducation

•Wetland’s water is polluted andeutrophicated, and water storage declineddue to rapid development of water- andpollution-intensive industries.

•Biodiversity and Habitat are threatened.•Land subsidence caused by coal mining isexpanding.

•Large amounts of wetland were reclaimed forarable land.

•Strengthen the management andestablishment of wetland naturalreserves for biodiversity and habitatprotection and water storage.

•Restrict the development of water- andpollution-intensive industries and pro-mote the development of ecologicallyfriendly industries.

•Strengthen the ecosystems’ restoration indegenerated areas and mining areas.

•Turn reclaimed arable land back to wetland.

D2, D3 Habitat and biodiversity protection; water andsoil conservation; nutrient cycling; rawmaterials production; genetic resourcesconservation, recreation, culture, andeducation

•Forestland reclaimed for arable land isincreasing.

•Coniferous forests are becoming dominantwhich is influencing biodiversity protection.

•Rapidly developing transportation system isfragmenting and isolating habitats andblocking gene flow.

•Rapid development of tourism is posing athreat to conserve ecosystem services.

•Strengthen forestland conservation andafforestation.

•Optimize the species structure of foreststo improve ecosystem services.

•Reclaim arable land with low output inmountainous area to forestland.

•Strengthen the management andestablishment of natural reserves.

•Speed up the establishment of eco-cities.•Strengthen the infrastructure establishmentof transportation system for mitigating itsimpact.

•Promote the development of ecotourism.

B1, C2, D1 Nutrient cycling, food and raw materialsproduction

Large amounts of arable land have beenoccupied as residential and industrial landin urban–rural fringe areas due to rapidsocioeconomic development.

•Develop sustainable agriculture.•Promote arable land use efficiency.•Strengthen the establishment of farmlandshelterbelt network to improve foodproduction.

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Lakes basin, as well as forestland and grassland inmountainous areas of the middle and southern parts ofShandong Province, have been largely reclaimed toarable land, especially since 2000. All these socioeco-nomic developmental activities led to a clearly contin-uous deterioration of nonmarket ecosystem services inthese key ecosystem services function regions.

On the other hand, food and raw material produc-tion is the major ecosystem services provided by theagricultural ecosystem, mainly located on the plainsof the western and southeastern parts of ShandongProvince. Increasing population growth is posing athreat to the agricultural ecosystem conservation inthese regions. Large amounts of arable land have beenoccupied as residential land due to acceleratedvillages and towns’ expansion, which resulted insome woods and pools scattered around the villagesand towns being reclaimed for arable land.

According to this study, the market ecosystemservices as well as nonmarket ecosystem services inthese regions have experienced a successive degener-ation caused by accelerated socioeconomic develop-ment. The socioeconomic development impacts theecosystem services by reducing the habitat andbiodiversity, as well as the capacity of water purifica-tion, water and soil conservation, and flood control. Itin turn adversely affects the living environment andsocioeconomic development. The socioeconomy ofShandong Province will have a rapid increase in thenear future in accordance with the prediction of theoutline of establishing Shandong Province as anecoprovince, promulgated by the government ofShandong Province in 2003. The predicted urbaniza-tion ratio will be up to 50% and 60% in 2010 and2020, respectively, which means that the acceleratedurban expansion will occupy more arable land andother kinds of land uses. Needless to say, this rendersit highly challenging to biodiversity and habitatconservation and other ecosystem services conserva-tion in Shandong Province.

Management strategies for conserving ecosystemservices

This process of rapidly socioeconomic development isnot only taking place in Shandong Province, but alsoin other provinces of China as well as in otherdeveloping and transitional countries and regions,which results in ecosystems and their components

being threatened by accelerated habitat fragmentation,isolation, and even loss (Costanza et al. 1997;Treweek 1999; Stevens et al. 2007; Liu et al. 2008;Mouillot et al. 2008; Wang et al. 2009). Faced withdramatically deteriorated ecosystems, people andgovernments around the world are paying increasingattention to explore measures for conserving andmanaging ecosystems and their components. Threemanagement strategies were proposed for balancingthe ecosystem services conservation with rapidsocioeconomic development.

Zoning the ecosystem services function regionswith specific ecosystem services characteristics

Zoning the ESFR has been considered as a criticalstep for optimizing human activities at the spatialscale under limited natural resources and ecologicalcarrying capacity (del Carmen Sabatini et al. 2007;Fang et al. 2008). Especially in China, zoning isplaying a key prescriptive role for the conservationand management of ecosystem services and theircomponents (Fang et al. 2005, 2008; del CarmenSabatini et al. 2007). By analyzing the characteristicsof ecosystems in different regions, zoning the ESFRcan identify the main ecosystem services of eachESFR and problems in different ESFRs, as well asputting forward conservation strategies for managingand improving ecosystem services. It will alsocontribute to inform the establishment and manage-ment of natural reserves and PES mechanism in Chinaor other developing and transitional countries andregions.

Strengthening the establishment and managementof natural reserves

Natural reserves can be defined as places allocated forpreserving and protecting wildlife, as well as forbuilding awareness of the need to protect and managebiodiversity and natural resources for regional sus-tainable development (Buisson and Dutoit 2006;Rocchini et al. 2006; Mouillot et al. 2008). However,the establishment of natural reserves in China has notbeen well developed (Ministry of EnvironmentalProtection (MEP) 2006). Take Shandong Province,for example, the natural reserves of ShandongProvince covered a total area of 12,550 km2 in2007, which only accounts for 8% of the total land

Environ Monit Assess (2012) 184:3213–3229 3225

area of Shandong Province (SBS 2007). These naturalreserves play an important role in preserving andprotecting wildlife and ecosystems in these regionsand countries, including provinces of China and otherdeveloping and transitional countries. However, owingto the accelerated land use changes caused by rapidsocioeconomic development, the natural reserves inthese regions and countries are faced with such largethreats as follows:

& Large amounts of wetlands, forestland, and grass-land within or around natural reserves, especiallylocated around cities with a rapidly developingsocioeconomy, were reclaimed for arable land orallocated as residential and industrial land; and

& The rapidly developing transportation system isfurther fragmenting and isolating habitats andblocking gene flow (MEP 2006).

Considering these problems, the following sugges-tions are proposed for strengthening the establishmentand management of natural reserves in these countriesand regions in accordance with the analysis ofecosystem services value and the zoned ESFR:

& Strengthen the establishment and management ofnatural reserves at key ESFR, which will contrib-ute to improve water and soil conservation,biodiversity, and habitat protection and geneticresources conservation; and

& Strengthen the study of natural reserves inaccordance with specific characteristics of localecosystems and their components with the aim ofbetter designing, establishing, and managingspecific natural reserves.

Establishing payments for ecosystem services

PES can be defined as an incentive-based mechanismaimed at protecting natural resources and managing andimproving ecosystem services, by generating privateand public revenues and then funding private land-owners as well as government and nongovernmentagencies tasked with ecosystem conservation (Zhengand Zhang 2006; Kosoy et al. 2007; Engel et al. 2008;Kalacska et al. 2008; Pagiola 2008; Wunder et al.2008). Influenced by economy-centered developmentpolicies, the socioeconomy of China experienced arapid development for decades without taking suffi-cient ecosystem protection into account (Liu and

Diamond 2005). Coupled with declining environmen-tal quality and improving ecological awareness, how-ever, people and governments have been payingincreasing attention to strengthen the conservationand management of ecosystems and their components.Supported by the Shandong Province Government, theShandong Province Environmental Protection Bureauand Shandong University as well as the ShandongProvince Association of Environment Protection In-dustry worked together in 2006 to study on theestablishment and implementation of PES in China inaccordance with the specific socioeconomic andecological characteristics of China. Based on thatstudy, the buyers and providers of ecosystem servicesas well as the network and security system for PESwere analyzed (Fig. 10). The buyers of ecosystemservices can be individuals or organizations, includingresources- and pollution-intensive industries, who useor benefit from good ecosystem services or damage theecosystems and their components which in turnnegatively influence ecosystem services (Kosoy et al.2007; Jack et al. 2008; Kalacska et al. 2008; Pagiola2008). International organizations who are dedicated toglobal or local ecological conservation can act asbuyers (Fig. 10). Based on our study, the mountainareas in the middle, east, and southeast of ShandongProvince are the key regions with fine forest ecosystemproviding ecosystem services of water and soilconservation, biodiversity and habitat protection, at-mosphere and climate regulation. The wetland areasnorth and south of Shandong Province are the keyregions with well wetland ecosystem providing eco-system services of water storage and purification, water

Fig. 10 Network for PES in Shandong Province

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and soil conservation, biodiversity and habitat protec-tion. These counties in these regions should be paid forproviding significant nonmarket ecosystem servicevalues. The PES standard can be developed accordingto evaluation of ecosystem services of these countiesand their context-specific socioeconomic character-istics. The ways for PES not only include financialcompensation, but also include policy compensation,technical compensation, intellectual compensation, andgoods compensation. The providers of ecosystemservices, on the other hand, can be local governments,organizations, or individuals in key ESPAs whocontribute a lot to conserve and manage ecosystemservices for other regions (Kosoy et al. 2007; Jack etal. 2008; Kalacska et al. 2008; Pagiola 2008). Theseconservation activities, however, by and large hamperthe socioeconomic development in these regions.Given this, the financial and policy compensation,provided by the buyers of ecosystem services, wereused to encourage these providers to pay moreattention to conserve and manage ecosystem serviceswithout worrying about their low-developed socio-economy (Engel et al. 2008; Jack et al. 2008; Pagiola2008).

Policy and legal support can be an effectivemeasure, provided by central and/or local govern-ments, to guide and ensure the effective implementa-tion of PES and to support ecological conservation inkey ESFRs (Kosoy et al. 2007; Jack et al. 2008;Kalacska et al. 2008; Pagiola 2008). Goods compen-sation, provided by the buyers of ecosystem services,can be another way to supply equipment andmaterials for ecological conservation. The buyers ofecosystem services also can compensate the providersby offering free technical advice, guidance, andtraining services with the aim of promoting theirecological awareness as well as their capability forconservation and management of ecosystems (Jack etal. 2008; Kalacska et al. 2008; Pagiola 2008).

As a newly introduced concept from othercountries and regions, the further implementation ofPES in China has turned out to be hampered by manyproblems caused by traditionally economy-centereddevelopment policies. However, as mentioned above,PES will contribute a lot to conserve and improve theecosystem services. The following suggestions areproposed for strengthening the establishment of thesecurity system for PES in China, as well as otherdeveloping and transitional countries:

& Strengthen PPPs’ legislation related to ecologicalprotection as the legal support for the furtherimplementation of PES;

& Further carry out the study of PES in accordancewith the local specific characteristics of the socio-economy and ecosystems, including methodologiesof ecosystem services valuation, identification ofbuyers and providers of ecosystem services as wellas measures to provide compensation;

& Further improve the establishment of property rightsof natural resources and market-based PES; and

& Promote exchanges and cooperation with PES ofwell-developed regions or countries.

In conclusion, rapid socioeconomic development indeveloping and transitional countries and regions, likeShandong Province of China, contributes a lot to theexpansion of residential and industrial land and theoccupation of arable land, forestland, grassland, andwetland, which in turn results in the dramatic deterio-ration of ecosystems and their components. By assess-ing the changes of value in different phases, the impactof socioeconomic development on ecosystem servicescan be captured. In accordance with the ecosystemservices valuation as well as characteristics of regionalor local socioeconomic development and ecosystems,three management strategies are proposed for conserv-ing the ecosystems and their components in developingand transitional countries and regions. Zoning the ESFRwill contribute to determine the major ecosystemservices in these regions or countries, so as to identifythe specific conservation strategies to protect differentecosystems and their components (Fang et al. 2005,2008; del Carmen Sabatini et al. 2007). It is importantto further strengthen the establishment and manage-ment of natural reserves for biodiversity and habitatconservation (Buisson and Dutoit 2006; Rocchini et al.2006; Mouillot et al. 2008). PES has been developedfor a couple of years, and at its best, plays a key role inproviding financial, legal, and policy support forconserving ecosystems and their components andpromoting the establishment and management ofnatural reserves (Zheng and Zhang 2006; Engel et al.2008; Kalacska et al. 2008; Wunder et al. 2008). Allthese strategies will also contribute to promote thepeople’s and governments’ ecological awareness and toincorporate consideration of ecological consequencesinto government deliberation on proposed PPPs, so as

Environ Monit Assess (2012) 184:3213–3229 3227

to achieve coordinate and sustainable development ofthe socioeconomy and the environment as well asecosystems and their components not only in ShandongProvince but also in other provinces of China as well asin other developing and transitional countries andregions.

Acknowledgments Thanks to Dr. Edward C. Mignot ofShandong University for the linguistic advice. The research wassupported financially by the Science and Technology Develop-ment Project of Linyi City (no. 201012006), Research Award forOutstanding Young Scientist in Shandong Province (no.2006BS08008), and The Educational Funding of ShandongFinance Bureau (no. 200771).

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