TITLE:
Land Use Changes and Their Impact on the Value of Ecosystem Services in the Model Region
AUTHORS:
Jarmila Makovníková, Stanislav Kološta, Boris Pálka
KEYWORDS:
Ecosystem Services, Matrix Approach, Land Use
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection,
Vol.13 No.8,
August
25,
2025
ABSTRACT: The quantification and evaluation of ecosystem services represent key drivers for the sustainable development of human activities, particularly within the framework of natural capital management. This study aims to assess the effects of land use change on both the non-monetary and monetary values of ecosystem services through the application of a matrix-based evaluation approach. In the Brezno District, the total ecosystem service score exhibited only a marginal decline of 0.99% over the observed 20-year period. Nevertheless, when expressed in monetary terms, this reduction corresponds to a loss of €4,715,502. Changes in land use most notably influence the potential for provisioning and regulating ecosystem services.