The response of key ecosystem services to land use and climate change in Chongqing: Time, space, and altitude

Mountainous landscapes are particularly vulnerable and sensitive to climate change and human activities, and a clear understanding of how ecosystem services (ES) and their relationships continuously change over time, across space, and along altitude is therefore essential for ecosystem management. Chongqing, a typical mountainous region, was selected to assess the long-term changes in its key ES and their relationships. From 1992 to 2018, the temporal variation in water yield (WY) revealed that the maximum and minimum WYs occurred in 1998 and 2006, which coincided with El Nino-Southern Oscillation and severe drought events, respectively. Soil export (SE) and WY were consistent with precipitation, which reached their highest values in 1998. During this period, carbon storage (CS) and habitat quality (HQ) both decreased significantly. ES in Chongqing showed large variations in altitude. Generally, WY and SE decreased with increasing altitude, while CS and HQ increased. For spatial distribution, WY and SE showed positive trends in the west and negative trends in the east. In regard to CS and HQ, negative trends dominated the area. Persistent tradeoffs between WY and soil conservation (SC) were found at all altitude gradients. The strong synergies between CS and HQ were maintained over time.

Automated summary

Mountainous landscapes, such as those in Chongqing, are highly vulnerable to climate change and human activities. The study found that key ecosystem services, such as water yield and soil export, showed significant variations over time and across altitude. Water yield and soil export decreased with increasing altitude, while carbon storage and habitat quality increased. The findings suggest persistent tradeoffs between water yield and soil conservation, while strong synergies exist between carbon storage and habitat quality.