Rural development drives temporal turnover in plant diversity in a China’s scenic area

Rural development has the potential to improve the well-being of villagers, but it may also impact local plant diversity. In addition, plant diversity differs across various subareas of rural development efforts in scenic areas, reflecting variations along the center-periphery gradient. To explore t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jia Zhang, Weicheng Li, Guofu Yang, Yue Wang, Xinxin Ji, Xiaojian Zhang, Yijun Lu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2024-01-01
Series:Environmental Research Communications
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/ad9436
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850065260715704320
author Jia Zhang
Weicheng Li
Guofu Yang
Yue Wang
Xinxin Ji
Xiaojian Zhang
Yijun Lu
author_facet Jia Zhang
Weicheng Li
Guofu Yang
Yue Wang
Xinxin Ji
Xiaojian Zhang
Yijun Lu
author_sort Jia Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Rural development has the potential to improve the well-being of villagers, but it may also impact local plant diversity. In addition, plant diversity differs across various subareas of rural development efforts in scenic areas, reflecting variations along the center-periphery gradient. To explore the relationship between economic development, plant diversity, and villagers’ well-being in villages within scenic areas during the rural development process, this study analyzed plant species data and satellite remote sensing images between 1984 and 2021, focusing on changes in land-use types in the Hangzhou West Lake Scenic Area and their impacts on plant diversity in the central, middle, and peripheral scenic areas. The results indicated that the area of rural construction land decreased, compared to 1984, while other land use types showed varying degrees of increase. Specifically, part of the forest in the peripheral scenic area was transformed into tea fields, resulting in an observable increase in the overall area of tea field. Moreover, the number of plant species decreased along the center-periphery gradient of the scenic spot. The greatest differences in the number of plant species and increases in the number of invasive plants were found in the peripheral scenic area, reflecting the greater impact of rural development in this region. Additionally, the number of rare and endangered plant species increased the most in the central scenic area in recent years, which was related to the use of urban green space to protect such plants. Ellenberg’s ecological indicator values (EIVs) indicated an increase in the number of species preferring shady locations and acidic soils in the scenic areas. The changes in land use and production and business activity strategies in the villages of the West Lake Scenic Area improved the villagers’ well-being, and the resulting factors such as the introduction of non-indigenous plants and environmental filtering changed local plant diversity. Therefore, the administrators should carefully consider the trade-off between conserving biodiversity and enhancing the well-being of the local villagers. The findings offer evidence of how different economic development models over time can influence rural biodiversity and villagers’ well-being, providing a reference for sustainable development in scenic spot villages.
format Article
id doaj-art-03deaaa8f2884380af353efea4d2e44a
institution DOAJ
issn 2515-7620
language English
publishDate 2024-01-01
publisher IOP Publishing
record_format Article
series Environmental Research Communications
spelling doaj-art-03deaaa8f2884380af353efea4d2e44a2025-08-20T02:49:04ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Communications2515-76202024-01-0161111503110.1088/2515-7620/ad9436Rural development drives temporal turnover in plant diversity in a China’s scenic areaJia Zhang0Weicheng Li1Guofu Yang2Yue Wang3Xinxin Ji4Xiaojian Zhang5Yijun Lu6Environment Design Department, Hangzhou City University , Hangzhou, People’s Republic of ChinaNational Forestry and Grassland Administration East China Survey, Planning and Design Institute, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of ChinaEnvironment Design Department, Hangzhou City University , Hangzhou, People’s Republic of ChinaEnvironment Design Department, Hangzhou City University , Hangzhou, People’s Republic of ChinaArchitekten Xu and Partner, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of ChinaCollege of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University , Hangzhou, People’s Republic of ChinaEnvironment Design Department, Hangzhou City University , Hangzhou, People’s Republic of ChinaRural development has the potential to improve the well-being of villagers, but it may also impact local plant diversity. In addition, plant diversity differs across various subareas of rural development efforts in scenic areas, reflecting variations along the center-periphery gradient. To explore the relationship between economic development, plant diversity, and villagers’ well-being in villages within scenic areas during the rural development process, this study analyzed plant species data and satellite remote sensing images between 1984 and 2021, focusing on changes in land-use types in the Hangzhou West Lake Scenic Area and their impacts on plant diversity in the central, middle, and peripheral scenic areas. The results indicated that the area of rural construction land decreased, compared to 1984, while other land use types showed varying degrees of increase. Specifically, part of the forest in the peripheral scenic area was transformed into tea fields, resulting in an observable increase in the overall area of tea field. Moreover, the number of plant species decreased along the center-periphery gradient of the scenic spot. The greatest differences in the number of plant species and increases in the number of invasive plants were found in the peripheral scenic area, reflecting the greater impact of rural development in this region. Additionally, the number of rare and endangered plant species increased the most in the central scenic area in recent years, which was related to the use of urban green space to protect such plants. Ellenberg’s ecological indicator values (EIVs) indicated an increase in the number of species preferring shady locations and acidic soils in the scenic areas. The changes in land use and production and business activity strategies in the villages of the West Lake Scenic Area improved the villagers’ well-being, and the resulting factors such as the introduction of non-indigenous plants and environmental filtering changed local plant diversity. Therefore, the administrators should carefully consider the trade-off between conserving biodiversity and enhancing the well-being of the local villagers. The findings offer evidence of how different economic development models over time can influence rural biodiversity and villagers’ well-being, providing a reference for sustainable development in scenic spot villages.https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/ad9436rural developmentplant diversitygradientecosystem servicesecological indicator valuescenic areas
spellingShingle Jia Zhang
Weicheng Li
Guofu Yang
Yue Wang
Xinxin Ji
Xiaojian Zhang
Yijun Lu
Rural development drives temporal turnover in plant diversity in a China’s scenic area
Environmental Research Communications
rural development
plant diversity
gradient
ecosystem services
ecological indicator value
scenic areas
title Rural development drives temporal turnover in plant diversity in a China’s scenic area
title_full Rural development drives temporal turnover in plant diversity in a China’s scenic area
title_fullStr Rural development drives temporal turnover in plant diversity in a China’s scenic area
title_full_unstemmed Rural development drives temporal turnover in plant diversity in a China’s scenic area
title_short Rural development drives temporal turnover in plant diversity in a China’s scenic area
title_sort rural development drives temporal turnover in plant diversity in a china s scenic area
topic rural development
plant diversity
gradient
ecosystem services
ecological indicator value
scenic areas
url https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/ad9436
work_keys_str_mv AT jiazhang ruraldevelopmentdrivestemporalturnoverinplantdiversityinachinasscenicarea
AT weichengli ruraldevelopmentdrivestemporalturnoverinplantdiversityinachinasscenicarea
AT guofuyang ruraldevelopmentdrivestemporalturnoverinplantdiversityinachinasscenicarea
AT yuewang ruraldevelopmentdrivestemporalturnoverinplantdiversityinachinasscenicarea
AT xinxinji ruraldevelopmentdrivestemporalturnoverinplantdiversityinachinasscenicarea
AT xiaojianzhang ruraldevelopmentdrivestemporalturnoverinplantdiversityinachinasscenicarea
AT yijunlu ruraldevelopmentdrivestemporalturnoverinplantdiversityinachinasscenicarea