Abstract
Ecosystem services are crucial for human well-being but face significant threats in regions experiencing rapid population growth and poverty, such as South Asia. Afghanistan, particularly its capital city Kabul, has undergone unprecedented urbanization over the past two decades, leading to substantial land use changes and posing severe risks to the state of ecosystem services. This study aims to provide a comprehensive spatial assessment of four key ecosystem services in Kabul city: annual water yield, urban cooling, urban nature access, and urban flood risk mitigation. It also seeks to explore the spatial relationships and interdependencies among these services. Utilizing the InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs) model and ArcGIS, we quantified the supply of these services and analyzed their spatial distribution through hotspot and coldspot analysis. Additionally, we calculated Global and Local Moran’s I using ArcGIS and GeoDa to examine spatial relationships, and employed Spearman correlation analysis to explore interrelationships between different services. Our findings reveal a high degree of spatial correlation, highlighting significant spatial interactions among the ecosystem services studied. The results underscore the spatial dynamics of these services, with particular areas identified as hotspots and coldspots. This study provides novel approaches for ecosystem services mapping and assessment using remote sensing in a data-scarce region. This comprehensive assessment offers valuable insights into the spatial dynamics of ecosystem services in Kabul city, providing a critical foundation for sustainable urban planning and policy development aimed at mitigating the adverse effects of rapid urbanization. The study's novel methodologies and findings contribute to the broader context of landscape ecology and urban ecosystem service management.