Effects of the Land Use Change on Ecosystem Service Value in Chengdu, Western China from 1978 to 2010

Analysis of the ecosystem service value (ESV) associated with the observed land use changes is critically important for environmental assessment and sustainable urban development. This research evaluate the effects of land use on ESV in Chengdu based on remotely sensed data and GIS, assessment model, transfer and flows model, sensitivity and variable ratio function. The results show that the ESV is mainly composed of forest land and cultivated land. ESV substantially and continuously decreased by 92 x 10(8) Chinese Yuan (CNY) or about 45 % in Chengdu during the study period and ESV from urban areas in the city center and its surroundings were much lower than those from the natural landscape in the northern and western Longmenshan mountainous region. Land use changes were the major causes of the observed transfer and flows in ESV. The flows of ESV both positive and negative were associated with observed land use changes, but overall land use changes had a negative impact on ESV. The results further indicate that the coefficient change relative to the ESV was inelastic, and the relative sensitivity index was as follows: forest land > cultivated land > water areas, but changes in water area had the largest influence and amplification effect on the ESV. This research offers important insights for use in planning fast urbanizing regions and can assist to achieve more sustainable land use and policy making.