Linking ecosystem services trade-offs, bundles and hotspot identification with cropland management in the coastal Hangzhou Bay area of China. (September 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: CAO, Yu; Cao, Yu; Li, Guoyu; Tian, Yuhan; Fang, Xiaoqian; Li, Yan; Tan, Yongzhong
• Is Part Of: Land use policy. Volume 97(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-09
• Subjects: Cropland -- Ecosystem services bundles -- Tradeoff and synergy -- Functional zoning -- Hangzhou Bay area; Land use -- Periodicals; Land use -- Government policy -- Periodicals; Sol, Utilisation du -- Périodiques; Sol, Utilisation du -- Politique gouvernementale -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 333.7305
• DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104689
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0264-8377

Abstract

Highlights: Five ecosystem services of croplands in Hangzhou Bay area were quantified via several bio-physical models. An integrative approach comprising tradeoff analysis, hotspot identification and clustering algorithm were applied. Protection priorities of croplands and functional zoning with policy guidelines were proposed. The perspective of ecosystem bundles and tradeoffs is applicable to enhance current cropland management. Abstract: Understanding the co-occurrence of multiple ecosystem services within farming systems and how they are associated across space are relatively new topics. Quantifying ecosystem services and their interactions as dependent on cropland management can help to formulate a more effective and sustainable land use management system. However, current academic efforts and cropland management practices based on the perspective of ecosystem services bundles and tradeoffs remain limited, especially in developing countries. This paper aimed to integrate ecosystem services into cropland protection and functional zoning. Taking Cixi County in the Hangzhou Bay area, China, as the case study area, five typical ecosystem services (food supply, carbon sequestration, hydrological regulation, soil fertility and recreation potential) delivered by croplands and their correlations were quantitatively assessed. The results demonstrated a heterogeneous spatial pattern of multiple ecosystem services and diverse interactions between them, which depended on regional specific conditions and agricultural activities. Further, we adopted the framework of ecosystem services bundles as a planning tool to support the spatial strategy of cropland management. Cropland protection priority and functional zoning were determined by hotspot analysis and clustering algorithms, respectively. The croplands in Cixi were classified into three protection grades and a zoning scheme comprising four functional types with policy guidelines was proposed based on the spatial cluster results. The integrative approach used in this study is applicable to supplement the current cropland management actions by incorporating the perspective of ecosystem services tradeoff and bundles.