Impacts of land use change on ecosystem service degradation within a traditional circular agroecosystem: a case study of the Honghe Hani Rice Terraces

Amid ongoing socio–economic development and natural environmental changes, the paddy rice area within the Honghe Hani Rice Terraces has undergone substantial decline, resulting in significant imbalances within the agroecosystem. This study employs land use change mapping and ecosystem service evaluation models to assess the ecological impacts of land use changes on the agricultural system from 1990 to 2020. The findings reveal that the area of paddy rice decreased by a net total of 36.35 km², representing a 24.83% reduction, with most of this area being converted into forest and cropland. Although forest expansion led to a 16.61% increase in carbon storage, the habitat quality declined overall due to the reduction in paddy rice areas. Specifically, the extent of lower-quality habitat areas expanded by 134.71 km² (30.02%), while soil retention and water yield ecosystem services decreased by 14.43% and 11.74%, respectively. Areas exhibiting extremely high sensitivity to habitat degradation (32.71%), and geological hazards (38.82%) increased markedly, thereby posing substantial risks to the resilience of the terrace system. Conversely, the total area sensitive to soil erosion declined by 48.84%. These results demonstrate that land use change has adversely affected the traditional agroecosystem services of the Honghe Hani Rice Terraces. The study further proposes pathways for the optimization and conservation of traditional agroecosystem functions.