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Glacier service value and influence on human well-being in Qilian Mountains

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Abstract

Global warming is causing melting of glaciers, which is affecting socioeconomic development. It is essential to study the combined influence of changes in structures of glaciers on human well-being and socioeconomic systems. Herein, we considered Qilian Mountains as an example, quantified the regional socioeconomic benefits of glaciers and human well-being, and attempted to draw a correlation between glacier service value and human well-being. The findings of our study reveal that the value of glacier services in Qilian Mountains decreased from 1.84 × 1010 yuan in 1998 to 1.72 × 1010 yuan in 2018, with a spatial trend of circling down from the central region to the western and eastern regions. The distribution of human well-being showed an increasing trend, and a phenomenon of “low value central and western clustering, high value eastern sporadic distribution.” There is an increasing degree of coordination between human well-being and glacier services value; the spatial distribution shows a decreasing trend from the west to the east, with differences in the nature of coordinated development in different regions at the same coordination stage being obvious. We analyzed the changes in glacier services value and their relationship with human well-being from both micro and macro perspectives to provide theoretical support for formulating management strategies for glacier resource conservation and improving the interface between glacier service evaluation results and government decision-making.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geography Science Institute, Shanxi Normal University, Taiyuan, 030031, China

    Xingran Cai & Zhongwu Zhang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, CAS, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Chunhai Xu, Zhongqin Li, Feiteng Wang & Shijin Wang

  3. School of Geographic Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, 050024, China

    Yanqing Liang

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  1. Xingran Cai
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  2. Chunhai Xu
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  3. Yanqing Liang
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  5. Zhongqin Li
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Correspondence to Xingran Cai.

Additional information

Foundation: Shanxi Province Graduate Education and Teaching Reform Project, No.2023JG095; Hebei Province Scholarship Program for Introducing Overseas Students, No.C20230510; The Natural Science Foundation of Gansu Province, No.21JR7RA059; Hebei Province Cultural and Art Science Planning and Tourism Research Project, No.HB23-YB063; National Natural Science Foundation of China No.42001067; State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, No.SKLCS-ZZ-2021; Key Science and Technology Project of Gansu Province, No.22ZD6FA005

Author: Cai Xingran (1993–), PhD and Lecturer, specialized in cryosphere and sustainable development.

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Cai, X., Xu, C., Liang, Y. et al. Glacier service value and influence on human well-being in Qilian Mountains. J. Geogr. Sci. 33, 2211–2236 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-023-2173-z

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