Spatial and temporal changes of carbon sequestration and soil conservation based on land-use in the farming pastoral ecotone of north China

To provide scientific support for the planning and management of land resources in the farming pastoral ecotone, land-use change and ecosystem services evaluation should be carried out. In this study, the land-use transfer matrix and change dynamic degree of Damao Banner from 2000 to 2015 were measured, and the evolution characteristics of ecosystem services soil conservation and carbon sequestration were analyzed for the same period. The results showed that grassland, unused land, and cropland were the main types of landuse. In the past 16 years, grassland, building land, unused land, and forest areas had increased significantly, whereas cropland areas had decreased significantly. Land-use types had mainly changed from cropland to grassland and from grassland to building land. From 2000 to 2015, carbon sequestration throughout the banner decreased from 1 832 500 t to 1 816 500 t, and soil conservation decreased from 1 705 800 t to 1 073 200 t. These changes were mainly due to the decrease in grassland quality in the study area, which resulted in a decrease in ecosystem services provided per unit area. The services of carbon sequestration and soil conservation provided by various landuse types were grassland > cropland > unused land > building land > shrub > forest > saline alkali land > water > sand. In future ecological management, grassland and cropland areas should be used moderately to protect and expand production land. Moreover, the quality of grassland and cropland should be improved and the land-use structure should be optimized scientifically to effectively improve ecosystem services.