Trade-offs and synergies in ecosystem service values of inland lake wetlands in Central Asia under land use/cover change: A case study on Ebinur Lake, China

The ecosystem service value (ESV) of wetlands is a major concern in ecological research. However, inland lake wetland ecosystems in arid areas are easily overlooked and seldom quantitatively evaluated due to their relatively low biological production. In this study, the ESVs of the Ebinur Wetland Complex (EWC) in Xinjiang, China, were investigated for 11 land use types based on satellite data collected in 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015. The results show that the land use/cover change (LUCC) in the EWC has been both naturally and anthropogenically affected since 2010, especially in constructed lands, shoal lands and marsh lands. The ESV of the EWC has increased overall, with a total increase of 6.34 x 108 yuan from 2000 to 2015. The ESVs were quantitatively evaluated according to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) under different LUCCs. The ecosystem service factors (food supply (FS), wind prevention and sand fixation (WPSF), soil conservation (SC), and carbon fixation and oxygen supply (CFOS)) exhibited strong correlations (R-2 > 0.75) and synergies. The FS value accounted for the largest proportion (38.78%) of the ESV in the EWC, followed by the WPSF value (31.93%) and SC value (19.33%). Among the LUCCs, the ESV arable lands accounts for the largest fraction (49.97%) of the total ESV in the EWC. However, the increase was caused by the significant improvement in provisioning services such as arable lands at the expense of regulating and supporting services such as grassland and forest land (mainly cultivated to arable lands). Therefore, integrated strategies, such as the use of plantation water-saving crops, drip irrigation, captive breeding and the establishment of a nature reserve, will lead to sustainable development of the ESV in the EWC. (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.