Factors affecting ecosystem services varied in space in Pearl River Delta, China

Abstract

Ecosystem services (ESs) have undergone substantial changes as a result of human and natural interventions, particularly within urban megaregions. A multitude of studies have investigated the spatial-temporal dynamics of ESs and their driving factors. However, these researches have largely focused on the negative impacts of factors on ESs, with less attention given to the positive contributions of both natural and human factors. To fill this gap, this study quantified ESs with the spatial-temporal dynamics in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) and further explored the impacts of social and natural drivers and how such impacts varied in space. The result showed a 35.54 % and 11.62 % decrease in food production (FP) and carbon sequestration and oxygen production (COSP), respectively, but an 11.07 % and 28.86 % increase in water retention (WR) and soil conservation (SC). The changes in ESs in highly developed central cities are mainly affected by gross domestic production (GDP) and population (POP). In contrast, the ESs in the periphery of the PRD with relatively low development density were mainly affected by natural factors. It is worth noting that while human activities caused the loss of ESs in some regions, there are regions where GDP and POP had positive impacts on ESs. These results underscore the importance of place-based strategies to mitigate the adverse impacts on ESs.