Estimating the impact of land use land cover change on urban ecosystem service values and functions in case of Bahir Dar City, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia

The urban ecosystem in the study area faces habitat degradation and pollution, a decrease in biodiversity, mainly attributed to rapid urban expansion and poor management of green infrastructure. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to estimate the impact of land use and land cover changes on urban ecosystem services values and functions. Explanatory research design was applied to provide a comprehensive analysis of the study. An integrated valuation method adapted for Ethiopian conditions has been used to estimate ecosystem service values and functions in relation to land use land cover changes of 2006–2022 in the study area. Coefficient of Sensitivity (CS) is also used to assess the reliability of the estimation process for using the land use land cover classes as a proxy with the equivalent biomes. The result of this study showed that between 2006 and 2016, built-up area and open-area were increased by +186.23ha/year and 26.72ha/year, respectively. Conversely, water body, forestland and agricultural land were decreased by −10.7ha/year, −18.1ha/year and −163.22 ha/year, respectively, in the study area. Similar trends were observed between 2016 and 2022. Throughout the study period (2006–2022), the study found that the ecosystem service value of water body, forest and agricultural land was reduced. The total ecosystem service value also declined from US$ 4.57 million in 2006 to US$ 3.1million in 2016 and reduced to US$ 2.63 million in 2022 as well. This decline was primarily due to reduced coverage of water body, agricultural area and forest land in the study area. Total values of ecosystem service functions also decreased from US$ 4.55 million in 2006 to US$ 3.1 million in 2010 and US$ 2.62 million in 2022. The regulatory ecosystem services were the primary contributors to the overall ecosystem service values, which were followed by provisioning, supporting and cultural ecosystem services. Such observed changes in land use land covers have important implications for ecosystem service values and functions. Therefore, policy makers and urban planners should consider these findings for developing urban land use planning and sustainable urban development.