Complex spatiotemporal changes in land-use and ecosystem services in the Jeju Island UNESCO heritage and biosphere site (Republic of Korea)

Abstract

Summary Jeju Island, designated by UNESCO as a world heritage site, continues to face the anthropogenic pressures of reckless development for regional tourism and economic revitalization purposes. Because land use/land cover (LULC) affects ecosystem services and human well-being, it is crucial to comprehensively identify the causes of changes in LULC based on long-term analyses. This study examined LULC changes on Jeju Island over 47 years from 1973 to 2019 and quantified changes in four ecosystem services: habitat quality, carbon stock, water yield and cumulative viewshed. From 1973 to 1998, forest land increased from 22% to 56%, but these restoration efforts were conducted in grassland, reducing that land type from 42% to 17%. This process increased the areas of highest habitat quality from 68% to 73%, and carbon stock increased from 20 to 30 million tonnes. Between 1998 and 2009, the area of cropland more than doubled from 21% to 44%. As a result, the areas of highest habitat quality decreased from 73% to 49%, and carbon stock decreased from 3.0 million tonnes to 2.3 million tonnes. Our analysis could help stakeholders and policymakers to develop their management planning and improve ecosystem services through restoration and conservation policies on Jeju Island.