Changes in land use/land cover and ecosystem services in Central Asia during 1990-2009

Ecosystem service is an emerging hot topic in the field of ecology. Temporal and spatial variations in human-induced land use change and climate variability have resulted in regional differences in dryland ecosystem services. Such information, however, is not enough. It is necessary to better understand such variations of ecosystem services to support policy-making and management in dryland areas. In the research, a case study was conducted in the ecologically vulnerable region of Central Asia. Land use and land cover change, net primary productivity (NPP), actual evapotranspiration (AET) and crop production were selected for evaluation. Substantial conversion of farmland to natural vegetation from 1990 to 2000 had led to a considerable decrease in farmland and crop production in the same period. With the reclamation of abandoned farmland in the recent 10 years, the crop production restored and reached a high and stable level. The NPP of farmland was significantly higher than that of natural vegetation. Despite of the decrease in precipitation, the NPP increased in 2000 with the rise of temperature. The AET was higher in the northern and eastern part than in the central area of Central Asia, and the mean AET of farmland was greatly lower than that of natural vegetation.