Landscape patterns and ecosystem services under land use changes during long time periods in mountainous-hilly-plain complex terrain areas in southwestern China (Sichuan Province)

This study proposed an innovative research framework for analyzing landscape patterns and assessing ecosystem service values under land use changes in mountainous-hilly-plain complex terrain areas southwest of China (Sichuan Province). Firstly, we analyzed the spatial characteristic scales of land uses by using lacunarity analysis and the results illustrated that the spatial heterogeneity and cluster characters of land uses appeared at different spatial scales. The fitting regression mode was then applied to quantify the interactive relationships between landscape pattern indexes and their driving factors. The outcomes revealed that the climate, social and economic driving factors were the key factors in shaping the landscape spatial pattern. Furthermore, the landscape spatial patterns indirectly impacted on ecosystem services from temporal and spatial perspectives. There were six high regulation and support ecosystem services contributed 85% of the total ecosystem services. Thus, it is necessary to understand the landscape processes and their spatial scales caused by land use changes for perfect management of specific ecosystem services targets, which can further effectively maintain ecological conservation targets and successfully sustain ecosystem services provision.