Abstract

Alpine ecosystems are critical for carbon sequestration, water balance, ecological security, biodiversity, and human well-being. However, climate change and high-intensity human activity continue to degrade vulnerable alpine ecosystems. Based on this, we reveal 40-year trends in ecosystem change in China’s Qilian Mountains and identify the primary driving factors of change in alpine ecosystems from the perspective of ecosystem service value (ESV) change, providing a more comprehensive picture of the interactions between human society and natural ecosystems. From 1980 to 2018, more than 55% of ecosystem types changed, with forests, grasslands, glaciers, and bare land being the most vulnerable to disturbance, and forest and grassland ecosystems having significant ESV potential. Significant changes in land use and land cover (LULC) over the last decade, however, have resulted in a reduction in ESV stability in alpine ecosystems, where human activities have a greater impact on ESV of sparse woodland, shrubland, and grassland ecosystems at 2800-4000 m.