IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v14y2025i5p920-d1640652.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exploring the Balance Between Ecosystem Services and Economic Benefits via Multi-Objective Land Use Optimization

Author

Listed:
  • Xiaoyun Li

    (Faculty of Geography, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China)

  • Zhaonian Lu

    (Faculty of Geography, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China)

Abstract

Excessive human activities associated with rapid industrialization and urbanization have exerted tremendous pressure on limited land resources. Scientific land use planning is essential for attaining sustainable development. This study focuses on multi-objective land use optimization in Xinjiang, China’s largest arid region, targeting the dual goals of maximizing ecosystem services and economic benefits. The non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) and the future land simulation (FLUS) model are integrated innovatively to explore optimal land use in terms of both quantity and spatial distribution. Four distinct development scenarios are predefined and compared: natural development, ecological preservation, economic development, and sustainable development. The main results are as follows: (1) The fragile ecosystem of Xinjiang has been under tremendous pressure during the past 40 years. The predominant pattern in land use transition was the increase in construction land (+115.66%) and cultivated land (+47.18%) at the expense of grassland (−5.48%) and forest land (−4.15%), both of which hold substantial ecological significance. (2) Among these predefined scenarios, the sustainable development scenario is considered more favorable in the future due to its ability to balance ecological preservation and economic development. All the ecologically valuable lands will have certain degrees of growth, whereas the expansion scale of construction land will be effectively controlled. (3) The lack of high-quality land and the unpredictability of water resources will be the two major obstacles to implementing this sustainable development scenario. To overcome them, the government should provide policy and financial support for restricting construction land expansion, exploiting unused land, and strengthening water conservation. This study contributes to formulating more effective land use strategies under multiple conflicting goals and ultimately achieving sustainable development of the economy and ecology in Xinjiang as well as other similar regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiaoyun Li & Zhaonian Lu, 2025. "Exploring the Balance Between Ecosystem Services and Economic Benefits via Multi-Objective Land Use Optimization," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-20, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:5:p:920-:d:1640652
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/5/920/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/5/920/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wu, Geng & Wang, Haojing & Wu, Qingguo, 2020. "Wind power development in the Belt and Road area of Xinjiang, China: Problems and solutions," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    2. Xin Luo & Yongzhong Luo & Fangjun Le & Yishan Zhang & Han Zhang & Jiaqi Zhai, 2024. "Spatiotemporal Variation and Prediction Analysis of Land Use/Land Cover and Ecosystem Service Changes in Gannan, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-22, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Aizhao Zhou & Xianwen Huang & Wei Wang & Pengming Jiang & Xinwei Li, 2021. "Thermo-Hydraulic Performance of U-Tube Borehole Heat Exchanger with Different Cross-Sections," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-20, March.
    2. Meimei Liu & Sheng Zhao, 2025. "Spatial Assessment of Ecosystem Services in Zhoushan Archipelago Based on InVEST Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-21, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:5:p:920-:d:1640652. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.