EXAMINING THE ROLE OF LAND USE CHANGE AS AN ECOSYSTEM SERVICE ON WATERSHED MANAGEMENT

Abstract

Conversion of land-use change combined with urbanization on watershed can significantly impact the quality of ecosystem service. Land-use change become the main cause of the decline quality of ecosystem service. The relationship between ecosystem service and land-use change play a vital role to implement sustainable watershed management. Motivated by this fact, the objective of this study is to examine the role of land use change as an ecosystem service on watershed management  by selecting the study area in the Love River watershed located in the center of Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. This study used Iso Cluster Unsupervised Classification to identify important land use types from the interpretation results of satellite imagery by using spatial analysis embedded with a geographical information system (GIS)-based model to examine the pattern of land-use changes. The analysis revealed a significant change in the proportions of the various land use types of the study area. Land use change, such as deforestation, urbanization, and agricultural expansion, is one of the primary drivers of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation. Land use change can disrupt the ecological processes that underpin ecosystem functioning, such as nutrient cycling and soil formation. By understanding the complex relationship between ecosystem services and land use change, this study can help the stakeholders to make regulations or other decisions.To advance future studies, it is necessary to develop a comprehensive ecosystem service and monitoring systems by using GIS-based spatial and temporal analysis.