Search

Menu
Search
in Ecology

Spatiotemporal evolution and drivers of grassland ecosystem service value in Inner Mongolia

159 Views


Abstract

Grassland ecosystems play an irreplaceable role in maintaining regional ecological balance and ensuring national ecological security. In this study, a coefficient-modified equivalent factor method was applied to estimate the grassland ecosystem service value (ESV) of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region from 2000 to 2023. Analyses were conducted from three dimensions—ecosystem service type, geographic region, and ESV grade. By integrating the center-of-gravity model, spatial autocorrelation analysis, and other methods, the spatial distribution characteristics of grassland ESV were examined, and influencing factors were identified using the Geodetector model. The results show that: (1) The area of grassland ecosystems in Inner Mongolia exhibits a fluctuating downward trend, with extensive overall coverage and a higher concentration in central regions, while parts of western Inner Mongolia experience a reduction in grassland area accompanied by a trend of spatial clustering. (2) Grassland ESV shows a fluctuating upward trend, with regulation services accounting for the largest proportion. The regional distribution follows a central > eastern > western pattern, and the distribution of ESV grades across counties varies across different periods. (3) The spatial distribution of grassland ESV generally presents a “northeast–southwest” pattern, with its center of gravity located northeast of the geometric center in Xilinhot City and exhibiting an overall southeastward shift, accompanied by increasing spatial imbalance. (4) Significant spatial agglomeration of grassland ESV is observed, with high–high clusters concentrated in central Xilingol League and low–low clusters distributed in western and southwestern central regions. The spatial extent of both cluster types has decreased, while polarization and centralization trends have emerged in some areas. (5) Natural factors exert a stronger influence on grassland ESV than socioeconomic factors, among which meteorological variables have the greatest impact. The interaction between annual mean temperature and annual precipitation shows the strongest explanatory power. These findings provide valuable references for management authorities in promoting grassland ecosystem protection and sustainable management.

Data availability

All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article.

References

  1. Huang, L., Ning, J., Zhu, P., Zheng, Y. H. & Zhai, J. The conservation patterns of grassland ecosystem in response to the forage-livestock balance in North China. J. Geogr. Sci. 31, 518–534 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Zarandi, M. T. & Moghise, M. Provision of payments for ecosystem services to reduce air pollution: case of tehran. J. Transp. Res. Interdisciplinary Perspect. 29, 101298 (2025).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Zhang, L. L. et al. A consistent ecosystem services valuation method based on total economic value and equivalent value factors: A case study in the Sanjiang Plain Northeast China. J. Ecol. Complexity. 29, 40–48 (2017).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Ai, M. S., Chen, X. & Yu, Q. Spatial correlation analysis between human disturbance intensity (HDI) and ecosystem services value (ESV) in the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration. J. Ecol. Indicat. 158, 111555 (2024).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Costanza, R. et al. The value of the world’s ecosystem services and natural capital. J. Nature. 387, 253–260 (1997).

    Google Scholar 

  6. Xie, G. D. et al. Expert knowledge based valuation method of ecosystem services in China. J. Nat. Resour. 23, 911–919 (2008).

    Google Scholar 

  7. Sannigrahi, S., Bhatt, S., Rahmat, S., Paul, S. K. & Sen, S. Estimating global ecosystem service values and its response to land surface dynamics during 1995–2015. J. Environ. Manag. 223, 115–131 (2018).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Jiang, W. Mapping ecosystem service value in Germany. J. Int. Sustain. Dev. World Ecol.. 25, 518–534 (2018).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Bezerra, L. A. V. et al. Brvaluation: a systematic comparison of ecosystem services across brazilian biomes and ecosystems. J. Environ. Dev. 56, 101279 (2025).

    Google Scholar 

  10. Liu, Y. Y. et al. Estimation and dynamic analysis of the service value of grassland ecosystem in China. J. Acta Agrestia Sinica. 29, 1522–1532 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  11. Najmuddin, O., Li, Z., Khan, R. & Zhuang, W. Q. Valuation of land-use/land-cover-based ecosystem services in Afghanistan-an assessment of the past and future. J. Land 11, 1906 (2022).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Zhang, X. et al. Research on service value and adaptability zoning of grassland ecosystem in Ethiopia. Remote Sens. 14, 2722 (2022).

    Google Scholar 

  13. Kusi, K. K., Khattabi, A. & Mhammdi, N. Analyzing the impact of land use change on ecosystem service value in the main watersheds of Morocco. J. Environ. Dev. Sustain. 25, 2688–2715 (2023).

    Google Scholar 

  14. Yang, J. et al. Temporal and spatial characteristics of grassland ecosystem service value and its topographic gradient effect in the Yellow River Basin. PLoS ONE 17, e0278211 (2022).

    Google Scholar 

  15. Muleta, T. T. & Biru, M. K. Human modified landscape structure and its implication on ecosystem services at Guder Watershed in Ethiopia. Environ. Monit. Assess. 191, 295 (2019).

    Google Scholar 

  16. Liu, F. Y., Lu, R. R., Wu, C. & S.,. Grassland ecosystem service value in the Tibetan Plateau has not recovered during 1995–2015. J. Global Ecol. Conserv. 55, e03248 (2024).

    Google Scholar 

  17. Awé, D. V., Noiha, N. V. & Zapfack, L. Carbon management for savannah ecosystems in Central Africa: A case study from Cameroon. Int. J. Low-Carbon Technol. 16, 1290–1298 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  18. Nabaloum, A., Goetze, D., Ouédraogo, A., Porembski, S. & Thiombiano, A. Local perception of ecosystem services and their conservation in Sudanian savannas of Burkina Faso (West Africa). J. Ethnobiol. Ethnomed. 18, 8 (2022).

    Google Scholar 

  19. Yan, H. M. et al. The effects of human activities on windbreak and sand fixation services in Inner Mongolia grasslands from 2000 to 2020. J. Geogr. Sci. 34, 2421–2439 (2024).

    Google Scholar 

  20. Su, J. R. et al. Grazing intensity estimation in temperate typical grasslands of Inner Mongolia using machine learning models. J. Ecol. Indic. 172, 113318 (2025).

    Google Scholar 

  21. Peng, H. & Li, Z. Q. Evaluation of grassland ecosystem services in Xilin River Basin. Acta Pratacult. Sin. 16, 107–115 (2007).

    Google Scholar 

  22. Lou, P. Q. et al. Dynamic evaluation of grassland ecosystem services in Xilingol League. J. Acta Ecologica Sinica. 39, 3837–3849 (2019).

    Google Scholar 

  23. Mu, S. L. Spatial patterns of value of ecosystem service in temperate grassland in Inner Mongolia during 1982-2014. Acta Ecol. Sin. 30, 76–81 (2016).

    Google Scholar 

  24. Na, L., Zhao, Y. L. & Guo, L. Coupling coordination analysis of ecosystem services and urbanization in Inner Mongolia China. J. Land. 11, 1870 (2022).

    Google Scholar 

  25. Li, X. M., Li, T. N., Wu, Z. Y. & Wu, X. G. Spatio-temporal evolution of grassland ecosystem service value in Inner Mongolia under multi scenario simulation. J. Acta Prataculturae Sinica. 32, 14–27 (2023).

    Google Scholar 

  26. Li, M. et al. Analysis of the spatiotemporal dynamics and driving factors of ecosystem quality in Inner Mongolia from 2005 to 2020. J. Environ. Technol. Innov. 35, 103686 (2024).

    Google Scholar 

  27. Gao, F. et al. Grassland circulation, Herders’ income growth, and income gap——based on the micro survey data of Inner Mongolia. J. Chin. Grassland. 44, 92–103 (2022).

    Google Scholar 

  28. Liu, B. et al. Spatial evolution of grassland ecological carrying capacity and low-carbon development pathways for animal husbandry in Inner Mongolia. J. Land. 14, 1092 (2025).

    Google Scholar 

  29. Bai, L., Zhou, J., Luo, J. M., Dou, H. & Zhang, Y. Analyzing driving factors of soil alkalinization based on geodetector—a case in Northeast China. J. Sustainability. 15, 11538 (2023).

    Google Scholar 

  30. Zhao, Q. C. et al. Spatial and temporal variation and impact factors analysis of ecosystem service value in low-mountain counties:taking Dexing City in Jiangxi Province as an example. J. Environ. Eng. Technol. 13, 704–714 (2023).

    Google Scholar 

  31. Xie, G. D., Zhang, C. X., Zhang, L. N., Chen, W. H. & Li, S. M. Improvement of the evaluation method for ecosystem service value based on per unit area. J. Nat. Resour. 30, 1243–1254 (2015).

    Google Scholar 

  32. Feng, Q. et al. Spatial-temporal evolution research of ecosystem service value in ecologically vulnerable karst regions under the perspective of poverty alleviation relocation. J. Acta Ecologica Sinica. 42, 2708–2717 (2022).

    Google Scholar 

  33. Long, J. H., Zhang, W., Fu, Y. H. & Hu, Z. Q. The value of ecosystem services in Hegang coal mining area. J. Acta Ecologica Sinica. 41, 1728–1737 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  34. Cui, Z. Z. & Ma, C. Spatiotemporal variation of vegetation in the Horqin Sandy Land and its response to climate change from 1982–2015. J. Arid Zone Res. 38, 536–544 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  35. Zhang, X. C. et al. Spatial-temporal characteristics of vegetation index and its impact factors in the Golmud River Basin. J. Geosci. 33, 461–468 (2019).

    Google Scholar 

  36. Cheng, Q., Lu, Y., Wang, T. & Lu, X. Study on the evolution of the urban land use and the driving mechanism from the perspective of the “Productive-Living-Ecological” spaces. Sustainability 17, 237 (2025).

    Google Scholar 

  37. Kim, M. Y. & Lee, S. W. Regression tree analysis for stream biological indicators considering spatial autocorrelation. J. Int. Environ. Res. Public Health. 18, 5150 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  38. Wang, J. F. & Xu, C. D. Geodetector: Principle and prospective. Acta Geogr. Sin. 72, 116–134 (2017).

    Google Scholar 

  39. Li, Z. D. & Liu, M. C. Research progress in the evaluation of policy of subsidy and reward for grassland ecological protection in China. Acta Agrestia Sin. 29, 1125–1135 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  40. Zhu, M. Y. et al. Temporal and spatial variations of wind reduction and sand fixation function of ecological barrier zone on the southern edge of Horqin Sandy Land and influencing factors. J. Chin. Ecol. 44, 1857–1865 (2025).

    Google Scholar 

  41. Msofe, N. K., Sheng, L. X., Li, Z. X. & Lyimo, J. Impact of land use/cover change on ecosystem service values in the Kilombero Valley Floodplain, Southeastern Tanzania. Forests 11, 109 (2020).

    Google Scholar 

  42. Li, L. Analysis of temperature and precipitation changes in Inner Mongolia from 1981 to 2020. J. Meteorol. Hydrol. Marine Instrum. 42, 51–53 (2025).

    Google Scholar 

  43. Wang, S. W. Spatial and temporal dynamics of drought in Inner Mongolia in recent 20 years and its response to seasonal climate and evapotranspiration. J. Res. Soil Water Conserv. 29, 231–239 (2022).

    Google Scholar 

  44. Li, Y. X. et al. Multi-objective optimization of land use based on ecosystem service bundle zoning: A case study of Bayannur City. J. Chin. J. Ecol. 42, 1205–1213 (2023).

    Google Scholar 

  45. Mao, X. Y. et al. Study on the impact of human activities on ecosystem services in the ecological critical mining areas of western China-taking Ordos City as an example. J. Mining Res. Dev. 42, 153–159 (2022).

    Google Scholar 

  46. Chen, H. R. et al. Analysis of spatial-temporal evolution and meteorological driving factors of vegetation net primary productivity in Kubuqi Desert. J. Trans. Chin. Soc. Agric. Mach. 56, 424–433 (2025).

    Google Scholar 

  47. Wang, N. et al. Land use change and ecosystem service value in Inner Mongolia from 1990 to 2018. J. Soil Water Conserv. 34, 244–250 (2020).

    Google Scholar 

  48. Cheng, W., Shen, B. B., Xin, X. P., Gu, Q. & Guo, T. Spatiotemporal variations of grassland ecosystem service value and its influencing factors in Inner Mongolia, China. Agronomy 12, 2090 (2022).

    Google Scholar 

  49. Rukeya, S. W. T. et al. Spatio-temporal changes of grassland ecosystem service values in Urumqi City based on the RS and GIS. J. Acta Ecologica Sinica. 40, 522–539 (2020).

    Google Scholar 

  50. Dong, L., Zheng, Y., Martinsen, V., Liang, C. Z. & Mulder, J. Effect of grazing exclusion and rotational grazing on soil aggregate stability in typical grasslands in Inner Mongolia, China. Front. Environ. Sci. 10, 844151 (2022).

    Google Scholar 

  51. Arévalo, J. R., Encina-Domínguez, J. A., González-Montelongo, C., Mellado, M. & Cruz-Anaya, A. Effects of scale, temporal variation and grazing on diversity in an endemic pasture in Sierra de Zapaliname, Coahuila, Mexico. J. Agric. 13, 1737 (2023).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This research was supported by Major Projects of the National Social Science Fund of China (Grant Number: 24&ZD108) and Doctoral Support Project of Fujian Provincial Social Science Fund(Grant Number: FJ2025BF045) .

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Economics and Management, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, Fujian, China

    Qi Shi, Wenlan Wang, Xuerui Zhu, Chuan Ye & Jintai Li

Authors

  1. Qi Shi
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Wenlan Wang
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Xuerui Zhu
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Chuan Ye
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jintai Li
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Conceptualization, Q.S. and W.W.; methodology, Q.S.; software, Q.S. and C.Y.; validation, Q.S.; formal analysis, Q.S., W.W. and X.Z.; investigation, Q.S., X.Z. and J.L.; resources, Q.S.; data curation, Q.S. and C.Y.; writing—original draft preparation, Q.S. and W.W.; writing—review and editing, Q.S., W.W., X.Z., C.Y. and J.L.; visualization, Q.S., X.Z., C.Y. and J.L.; supervision, W.W.; project administration, Q.S. and W.W.; funding acquisition, W.W. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to
Wenlan Wang.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Shi, Q., Wang, W., Zhu, X. et al. Spatiotemporal evolution and drivers of grassland ecosystem service value in Inner Mongolia.
Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-45150-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-45150-8

Keywords

  • Inner Mongolia autonomous region
  • Grassland
  • ESV
  • Coefficient modification
  • Spatiotemporal evolution
  • Driving factors

Source: Ecology - nature.com

Rapid mid-Cretaceous diversification of squid and cuttlefish preceded radiation into coastal niches

Quantifying blue-green space cooling thresholds in a subtropical water-network city

This portal is not a newspaper as it is updated without periodicity. It cannot be considered an editorial product pursuant to law n. 62 of 7.03.2001. The author of the portal is not responsible for the content of comments to posts, the content of the linked sites. Some texts or images included in this portal are taken from the internet and, therefore, considered to be in the public domain; if their publication is violated, the copyright will be promptly communicated via e-mail. They will be immediately removed.

Back to Top
Close