| Summary: | We studied changes in ecological land use and the transfer of ecological service value in the low mountain and hilly regions of Sishui County. We used the dynamic model of land use change and the evaluation of ecosystem service value to evaluate the characteristics of ecological land usage changes and their impact on the profit and loss values for ecological services in Sishui County. Logistic regression modelling allowed us to determine the driving factors for these changes and discuss their impact. The results showed that from 1997 to 2017, the area allocated for ecological use in Sishui County changed significantly, decreasing over time with a total decrease of 3.60×10<sup>3</sup> hm<sup>2</sup> over this twenty years. The overall transfer rate for ecological land between 2007 and 2017 was much higher than the transfer rate for 1997 to 2007. In addition, grassland was shown to be the largest contributor to these transfers, the outward transfer was always larger than the inward transfer. The proportion of ecological land in this area was reduced while forest, water areas and cultivated land were increased. In this twenty years, the total value of ecosystem services in the research area decreased over time, but was preceded by a short period of increasing value resulting in an overall increase of 1.42×10<sup>8</sup> yuan over this time period. The ecosystem service value of cultivated land and grasslands both decreased over time while that of forest and water areas increased over the same time period; forests made the most significant contribution. Regression analysis showed that the distance to the river, population density, and distance to the town center and cultivated land were the major driving factors affecting the evolution of ecological land. These results could provide insight into determining ecological compensation and resource development in Sishui County, and provide important context for ecological planning and sustainable development in mountainous areas.
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