Search Results (295)

The growing mismatch between ecosystem service (ES) supply and demand underscores the importance of thoroughly understanding their spatiotemporal patterns and key drivers to promote ecological civilization and sustainable development at the regional level in China. This study investigates six key ES indicators across mainland China—habitat quality (HQ), carbon sequestration (CS), water yield (WY), sediment delivery ratio (SDR), food production (FP), and nutrient delivery ratio (NDR)—by integrating a suite of analytical approaches. These include a spatiotemporal analysis of trade-offs and synergies in supply, demand, and their ratios; self-organizing maps (SOM) for bundle identification; and interpretable machine learning models. While prior research studies have typically examined ES at a single spatial scale, focusing on supply-side bundles or associated drivers, they have often overlooked demand dynamics and cross-scale interactions. In contrast, this study integrates SOM and SHAP-based machine learning into a dual-scale framework (grid and city levels), enabling more precise identification of scale-dependent drivers and a deeper understanding of the complex interrelationships between ES supply, demand, and their spatial mismatches. The results reveal pronounced spatiotemporal heterogeneity in ES supply and demand at both grid and city scales. Overall, the supply services display a spatial pattern of higher values in the east and south, and lower values in the west and north. High-value areas for multiple demand services are concentrated in the densely populated eastern regions. The grid scale better captures spatial clustering, enhancing the detection of trade-offs and synergies. For instance, the correlation between HQ and NDR supply increased from 0.62 (grid scale) to 0.92 (city scale), while the correlation between HQ and SDR demand decreased from −0.03 to −0.58, indicating that upscaling may highlight broader synergistic or conflicting trends missed at finer resolutions. In the spatiotemporal interaction network of supply–demand ratios, CS, WY, FP, and NDR persistently show low values (below −0.5) in western and northern regions, indicating ongoing mismatches and uneven development. Driver analysis demonstrates scale-dependent effects: at the grid scale, HQ and FP are predominantly influenced by socioeconomic factors, SDR and WY by ecological variables, and CS and NDR by climatic conditions. At the city level, socioeconomic drivers dominate most services. Based on these findings, nine distinct supply–demand bundles were identified at both scales. The largest bundle at the grid scale (B3) occupies 29.1% of the study area, while the largest city-scale bundle (B8) covers 26.5%. This study deepens the understanding of trade-offs, synergies, and driving mechanisms of ecosystem services across multiple spatial scales; reveals scale-sensitive patterns of spatial mismatch; and provides scientific support for tiered ecological compensation, integrated regional planning, and sustainable development strategies. Full article

Research on the supply–demand relationships of ecosystem services (ESs) in alpine pastoral regions remains relatively scarce, yet it is crucial for regional ecological management and sustainable development. This study focuses on the Sanjiangyuan Region, a typical alpine pastoral area and significant ecological barrier, to quantitatively assess the supply–demand dynamics of key ESs and their spatial heterogeneity from 2000 to 2020. It further aims to elucidate the underlying driving mechanisms, thereby providing a scientific basis for optimizing regional ecological management. Four key ES indicators were selected: water yield (WY), grass yield (GY), soil conservation (SC), and habitat quality (HQ). ES supply and demand were quantified using an integrated approach incorporating the InVEST model, the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), and spatial analysis techniques. Building on this, the spatial patterns and temporal evolution characteristics of ES supply–demand relationships were analyzed. Subsequently, the Geographic Detector Model (GDM) and Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression (GTWR) model were employed to identify key drivers influencing changes in the comprehensive ES supply–demand ratio. The results revealed the following: (1) Spatial Patterns: Overall ES supply capacity exhibited a spatial differentiation characterized by “higher values in the southeast and lower values in the northwest.” Areas of high ES demand were primarily concentrated in the densely populated eastern region. WY, SC, and HQ generally exhibited a surplus state, whereas GY showed supply falling short of demand in the densely populated eastern areas. (2) Temporal Dynamics: Between 2000 and 2020, the supply–demand ratios of WY and SC displayed a fluctuating downward trend. The HQ ratio remained relatively stable, while the GY ratio showed a significant and continuous upward trend, indicating positive outcomes from regional grass–livestock balance policies. (3) Driving Mechanisms: Climate and natural factors were the dominant drivers of changes in the ES supply–demand ratio. Analysis using the Geographical Detector’s q-statistic identified fractional vegetation cover (FVC, q = 0.72), annual precipitation (PR, q = 0.63), and human disturbance intensity (HD, q = 0.38) as the top three most influential factors. This study systematically reveals the spatial heterogeneity characteristics, dynamic evolution patterns, and core driving mechanisms of ES supply and demand in an alpine pastoral region, addressing a significant research gap. The findings not only provide a reference for ES supply–demand assessment in similar regions regarding indicator selection and methodology but also offer direct scientific support for precisely identifying priority areas for ecological conservation and restoration, optimizing grass–livestock balance management, and enhancing ecosystem sustainability within the Sanjiangyuan Region. Full article

Healthy peatlands provide valuable ecosystem services. Peat extraction damages peatlands, leading to carbon emissions. One of the main reasons for peat extraction is for use in horticulture. Replacing peat with recycled organic materials in horticulture is critical to preserve the valuable ecosystems provided by peatlands and to establish more circular supply chains that are reliant on recycling rather than extraction. Despite the strong policy commitment and budget allocation to restore peatlands, the demand for peat-based growing media remains high and drives most of the peat demand. In our research, we mapped the growing media supply chain, held semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders representing different interests, and surveyed amateur gardeners in the UK to understand the bottlenecks experienced by each profile in ending peat use and how to overcome them. We employed semi-structured key expert surveys to understand the supply chain dynamics and consumer demand, informed by these early interviews and the previous literature, we prepared and distributed an online consumer survey and interviewed supply-side stakeholders to understand their perspectives. The findings indicate that the barriers of availability, cost, and performance are shared between the supply-and-demand-side stakeholders. A portfolio of financial, educational and logistic interventions is required to simultaneously support the supply side to accelerate the transformation of production and supply patterns and to aid the demand side to adapt to growing with compost of recycled organic materials. The policies promoting recycled organic material use in horticulture must be coordinated within the UK and with other parts of Europe focusing on the elimination of the peat content in products rather than peat extraction to avoid extraction and the associated destruction of peat stocks elsewhere. Full article

Understanding the relationship between regional vegetation dynamics and water resources is essential for improving integrated vegetation–water management, enhancing ecosystem services, and advancing the sustainable development of ecological–economic–social systems. As China’s second largest river basin, the Yellow River Basin (YRB) is ecologically fragile and experiences severe water scarcity. Vegetation changes further intensify conflicts between water supply and demand. To investigate the evolution and interaction mechanisms between vegetation and water resources in the YRB, this study uses the InVEST model to simulate annual water yield (Wyield) from 1982 to 2020 and applies the Dimidiate Pixel Model (DPM) to estimate fractional vegetation cover (FVC). The Theil–Sen method is applied to quantify the spatiotemporal trends of Wyield and FVC. A pixel-based second-order partial correlation analysis is performed to clarify the intrinsic relationship between FVC and Wyield at the grid scale. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) During the statistical period (1982–2020), the multi-year average annual Wyield in the YRB was 73.15 mm. Interannual Wyield showed a clear fluctuating trend, with an initial decline followed by a subsequent increase. Wyield showed marked spatial heterogeneity, with high values in the southern upper reaches and low values in the Longzhong Loess Plateau and Hetao Plain. During the same period, about 68.74% of the basin experienced increasing Wyield, while declines were concentrated in the upper reaches. (2) The average FVC across the basin was 0.51, showing a significant increasing trend during the statistical period. The long-term average FVC showed significant spatial heterogeneity, with high values in the Fenwei Plain, Shanxi Basin, and Taihang Mountains, and low values in the Loess Plateau and Hetao Plain. Spatially, 68.74% of the basin exhibited significant increases in FVC, mainly in the middle and lower reaches, while decreases were mostly in the upper reaches. (3) Areas with significant FVC–Wyield correlations covered a small portion of the basin: trade-off regions made up 10.35% (mainly in the southern upper reaches), and synergistic areas accounted for 5.26% (mostly in the Hetao Plain and central Loess Plateau), both dominated by grasslands and croplands. Mechanistic analysis revealed spatiotemporal heterogeneity in FVC–Wyield relationships across the basin, influenced by both natural drivers and anthropogenic activities. This study systematically explores the patterns and interaction mechanisms of FVC and Wyield in the YRB, offering a theoretical basis for regional water management, ecological protection, and sustainable development. Full article

Desert ecosystems play a critical role in global climate regulation. Current research reveals a relative lack of research regarding desert ecosystem service (ES) supply and demand. Therefore, we selected the Ulanbuh desert, one of the eight major deserts in China, as study area. Using specialized models, we quantify the supply and demand of four ES, including water yield (Wy), soil conservation (Sc), windbreak and sand fixation (Ws), and carbon sequestration (Cs), from 1985 to 2020. Univariate linear regression analysis and panel data analysis (PDA) were used to examine trends in desert ES supply–demand ratio (ESDR) and its determinants. The findings indicated that ES supply presented increases in Sc and Cs, and decline in Ws from 1985 to 2020. Demand patterns showed a growth trend for Wy and Cs. ESDR revealed that Sc, Ws, and Cs show an excess of supply over demand and are in a decreasing trend, while Wy displays a supply deficit relative to demand with no significant change. The comprehensive ESDR decreased over the study period, with a supply-deficit status emerging in the southwestern area. Natural factors (NDVI and precipitation) and socio-economic factors (GDP and population density) served as the main factors affecting the comprehensive ESDR. This research provides a novel perspective for desert ecosystems management and conservation, emphasizing the necessity of incorporating the ES supply and demand balance into regional development policies to achieve sustainable development in arid regions. Full article

This article investigates the architecture and institutional distribution of policy tools supporting open science (OS) in China. Based on a corpus of 199 policy documents comprising 25,885 policy statements, we apply an AI-assisted classification to analyze how the Chinese government mobilizes different types of tools. Using Qwen-plus, a large language model developed by Alibaba Cloud and fine-tuned for OS-related content, each policy statement is categorized into one of fifteen subcategories under three main types: supply-oriented, environment-oriented, and demand-oriented tools. Our findings reveal a strong dominance of supply-oriented tools (63%), especially investments in infrastructure, education, and public services. Demand-oriented tools remain marginal (11%), with little use of economic incentives or regulatory obligations. Environment-oriented tools show more balance but still underrepresent key components like incentive systems and legal mandates for open access. To deepen the analysis, we introduce a normalized indicator of institutional focus, which captures the relative emphasis of each policy type across administrative levels. Results show that supply-oriented tools are concentrated at top-level institutions, reflecting a top-down governance model. Demand tools are localized at lower levels, highlighting limited strategic commitment. Overall, China’s OS policy mix prioritizes infrastructure over incentives, limiting systemic transformation toward a more sustainable open science ecosystem. Full article

Cultural ecosystem services (CES) in urban parks, as a vital component of urban ecosystem services (ES), are increasingly recognized as an important tool for advancing urban sustainability and implementing nature-based solutions (NbS). The supply–demand relationship of CES in urban parks is strongly shaped by sociocultural and spatial geographic factors, playing a crucial role in optimizing urban landscape structures and enhancing residents’ well-being. However, current research generally lacks adaptive evaluation frameworks and quantitative methods, particularly for cities with significant spatial and cultural diversity. To address this gap, this study examines the central district of Lhasa as a case study to develop a CES supply–demand evaluation framework suitable for plateau river valley cities. The study adopts the spatial integration analysis method to establish an indicator system centered on “recreational potential–recreational opportunities” and “social needs–material needs,” mapping the spatial distribution and matching characteristics of supply and demand at the community scale. The results reveal that: (1) in terms of supply–demand balance, 25.67% of communities experience undersupply, predominantly in the old city cluster, while 16.22% experience oversupply, mainly in key development zones, indicating a notable supply–demand imbalance; (2) in terms of supply–demand coupling coordination, 55.11% and 38.14% of communities are in declining and transitional stages, respectively. These communities are primarily distributed in near-mountainous and peripheral urban areas. Based on these findings, four urban landscape optimization strategies are proposed: culturally driven urban park development, demand-oriented park planning, expanding countryside parks along mountain ridges, and revitalizing existing parks. These results provide theoretical support and decision-making guidance for optimizing urban park green space systems in plateau river valley cities. Full article

Addressing the economic–ecological imbalance within urban agglomeration integration and sustainable development is crucial, particularly in the context of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of sustainable cities and communities. This study examines this imbalance using a unique ecosystem services (ESs) balance index that evaluates “supply” and “demand” tradeoffs. It emphasizes localization, mobility, and cooperation as regionalization strategies, utilizing multisource datasets. To address gaps from endogeneity and heterogeneity, the study regresses these strategies on ESs balance values, incorporating landscape patterns as endogenous variables across 214 YRDCA counties or districts in 2020, using a multilevel geographically weighted instrumental variable regression model. Employing the patch-generating land use simulation method, three scenarios were explored: non-intervened development (ND), mobility priority (MD), and localization priority (LP). These scenarios were assessed for their 2025 mitigation effects and health benefits to optimize balanced development strategies. Key findings include (1) a severe ecological–economic imbalance in supply and demand patterns; (2) localization boosts economic development, mobility enhances ecological development, and cooperation promotes both; and (3) LP and MP strategies, compared to ND, show promising potential to reduce the imbalance and generate health benefits, although the extent of the impact may depend on the implementation scale and regional context. By promoting inclusive urbanization and participatory and integrated planning, and enhancing urban resilience through targeted risk-reduction strategies, this study provides insights into fostering balanced development among cities. Full article

As a vital bridge linking human well-being with ecological processes, cultural ecosystem services (CESs) play a pivotal role in understanding the equilibrium of social–ecological systems. However, the spatial supply–demand relationships of CESs remain underexplored in rapidly urbanizing regions. This study establishes an integrated framework by synthesizing multi-source geospatial data, socioeconomic indicators, and the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) model to investigate the spatial dynamics of CESs in Taiyuan City. Key findings include the following: (1) A pronounced spatial heterogeneity in CES supply distribution, exhibiting a core-to-periphery diminishing gradient, with inverse correlations observed among different CES categories. (2) Accessibility, topographic features, and fractional vegetation cover emerged as primary drivers of spatial supply differentiation, while climatic factors and elevation exerted non-negligible influences on this Loess Plateau urban system. (3) Four spatial mismatch patterns were identified through the supply–demand analysis: high supply–high demand (38.1%), low supply–low demand (37.2%), low supply–high demand (13.6%), and high supply–low demand (10.9%). The coupling coordination degree of CESs in Taiyuan City indicated moderate coordination, with severe imbalances observed in urban–rural transitional zones. This study reveals nonlinear interactions between natural landscapes and anthropogenic factors in shaping CES spatial distributions, particularly the trade-offs between esthetic value and transportation constraints. By integrating big data and spatial modeling, this research advances CES quantification methodologies and provides actionable insights for optimizing green infrastructure, prioritizing ecological restoration, and balancing urban–rural CES provision. These outcomes address methodological gaps in coupled social–ecological system research while informing practical spatial governance strategies. Full article

The coupling coordination relationship between ecosystem services supply–demand and human well-being in arid inland regions is increasingly vulnerable to imbalance risks under the combined pressures of climate change and intensified anthropogenic activities. Here, we assessed dynamic changes in ecosystem services supply–demand, human well-being, their coupling relationships and influencing factors in the Hexi Regions by integrating remote sensing data, ecological model, ecosystem services supply–demand ratio (ESDR), coupling coordination degree (CCD) model, and the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Our results showed that the six key ecosystem services supply, demand, and ESDR in the Hexi Regions from 1990 to 2020 exhibited greater ecosystem services surplus in the Qilian Mountains and stronger deficits in urban and surrounding areas of the Hexi Corridor. The deficit of water yield accounted for 32% in the Hexi Corridor with large cropland irrigated, four times that of the Qilian Mountains, indicating a serious supply–demand mismatch in space and time. Additionally, survival-oriented human well-being across regions is still dominant. Overall, the coupling relationship between ESDR and human well-being in the Hexi Regions progressed towards a high level of coordination, with higher values observed in the oases of the Hexi Corridor and the central and eastern Qilian Mountains. The ESDR of food production and water yield showed a higher coupling coordination level with human well-being in the Qilian Mountains, where the CCD was generally exceeded by 0.7. Climate, vegetation, and land use intensity were key drivers of spatial heterogeneity in CCD. Human well-being made a greater contribution to CCD than other elements in the influence paths. Our results can provide a reference for promoting coordinated development of the ecological environment and sustainable human well-being in arid inland regions. Full article

Ecosystem service flows are critical linkages between ecological supply and human demand. As a vital component of ecosystem services, water yield service is essential for human survival and development. Therefore, it is of great significance to explore the supply–demand relationship of water yield service and its spatial flow process. This study investigates the supply–demand dynamics and spatial flow of water yield service in the transnational area of Tumen River (2000–2020), utilizing the InVEST model and the miniature delivery-path-mechanism model. The results show the following: (1) From 2000 to 2020, the supply of water yield service in the Tumen River Basin exhibited a spatial distribution pattern of “low center, high surrounding”, with significant spatial heterogeneity in the distribution of supply and demand. (2) Despite the substantial surplus of water yield service in the study area, the ecosystem service supply–demand ratio (ESDR) shows an overall declining trend. The dominant spatial mismatch type is high-supply–low-demand (HL type) zones, primarily located in mountainous and hilly areas, accounting for over 40% of the total identified pixel types. (3) Driven by economic and social development, the spatial scope of water yield service flow has gradually expanded. Supply-side flows initially increased before declining, while demand-side flows followed the opposite trend. By mapping ecosystem service flows, this study provides a reference and basis for establishing the regional ecological compensation mechanism and promoting integrated water resource management, both of which are crucial for the long-term sustainable development of the basin. Full article

Diversification and business expansion have become key strategies for modern business development, prompting many large companies to move from singular service models to diversified service strategies, ultimately evolving into comprehensive service ecosystems. Therefore, an in-depth understanding of the evolutionary patterns of service ecosystems is crucial for formulating efficient and effective management strategies and helping enterprises to make informed decisions during the service innovation process. At present, research on the evolution of service ecosystems largely lacks sufficient theoretical underpinning and focuses on the supply–demand relationship relationship, which reduces the credibility of research conclusions and ignores the influence of multiple factors. In this paper, the Lotka–Volterra (LV) model is introduced to service ecosystems and the model as a ternary framework that captures competition–cooperation dynamics among atomic and composite services. In addition, an agent-based computational experiment is designed to integrate adversarial games for decision-making and genetic algorithms for service evolution. Furthermore, the results indicate that moderate competition $\alpha \approx 0.5$ among atomic services maximizes composite service innovation and excessive cooperation $\alpha \to 0$ stifles it. Full article

Amid rapid urbanization, cities are becoming increasingly compact, leading to intensified land resource constraints and environmental pressures. As a result, urban parks and green spaces have emerged as critical areas for providing cultural ecosystem services (CESs). However, the spatial distribution of CES supply and demand within urban green spaces remains significantly unbalanced, necessitating precise identification and quantification of CES supply–demand patterns to enhance ecosystem service efficiency. This study uses Nanjing, China, as a case study to develop an indicator framework for urban green space CES supply and demand, leveraging multi-source data. By employing spatial autocorrelation analysis (Bivariate Moran’s I) and a coupling coordination model, this research systematically assesses the spatial patterns of CESs in urban parks and green spaces. The results indicate that the overall CES supply–demand coordination in Nanjing exhibits a “high in the city center, low at the edges, and mismatched in the suburbs” pattern. Specifically, while 9.71% of the areas demonstrate well-matched CES supply and demand, 4.14% of the areas experience insufficient CES demand, and 3.66% face CES supply shortages, primarily in the urban outskirts, leading to a mismatch in green space distribution. This study further reveals the spatial heterogeneity of CES supply–demand matching across different urban districts. Based on these findings, this research proposes optimization strategies to improve CES allocation, providing a scientific basis for urban green space ecosystem service management and promoting the sustainable development of cities. Full article

Xinjiang is located in an inland arid area, and it faces significant challenges in water resource supply and demand, with a fragile ecological environment. Exploring the internal relationship between the time–space distribution of agricultural water–soil matching and the evolution of the ecosystem service value (ESV) in the Tailan River Irrigation District of Xinjiang from 2000 to 2020, this study provides theoretical guidance for the balance of agricultural water–soil resources and the healthy and sustainable development of the ecological environment in the irrigation district. By integrating the water–soil matching coefficient and the equivalent factor method, the spatiotemporal distribution of agricultural water–soil matching and the spatiotemporal evolution of the ESV under the change of land use (LU) in the irrigation district are analyzed. Based on the Pearson correlation, the trade-off synergy between the two is explored. The results show that the following occurred in the past 20 years: (1) Grassland and dryland are the two categories of land with the biggest transfer-out and transfer-in areas in the Tailan River Irrigation District, and the conversion areas are mostly in Jiamu Town and Guleawati Township. (2) The area and reclamation rate of the irrigation district increased gradually, among which the highest reclamation rate was 85.93% in Kezile Town and the lowest was 76.37% in Guleawati Township. The average Gini coefficient of agricultural water–soil in the irrigation district is 0.118, which is absolutely fair. (3) Kezile Town has the highest agricultural water consumption, but the matching of agricultural water–soil always fluctuates between the best and the worst. The agricultural water consumption in Communist Youth League Town is the lowest, but the matching of agricultural water–soil has remained the best for many years. (4) The ESV of the irrigation district showed an overall increasing trend, from CNY 243 million in 2000 to CNY 678 million in 2020; in addition, soil conservation, hydrological regulation, grassland, and dryland contributed the most to ESV in each period. (5) There was a significant trade-off relationship between agricultural water–soil matching and ecosystem services in the Tailan River Irrigation District, while there was a significant synergistic relationship between ecosystem services. Full article

Quantitative assessment of the ability of the ecosystem service (ES) and its driving forces is of great significance for achieving regional SDGs. In view of the scarcity of existing research that evaluates the sustainability of multiple ES types over a long time series at the township scale in a typical Watertown Region, this study aims to address two key scientific questions: (1) what are the spatiotemporal changes in the ecosystem service supply–demand index (ESSDI) and ecosystem service sustainability index (ESSI) of a typical Watertown Region? and (2) what are the key factors driving the changes in ESSI? To answer the above two questions, this study takes the Yangtze River Delta Integrated Demonstration Zone (YRDIDZ) as the study area, utilizing multi-source remote sensing and other spatiotemporal geographical datasets to calculate the supply–demand levels and sustainable development ability of different ES in the YRDIDZ from 2000 to 2020. The main findings were as follows: (1) From 2000 to 2020, the mean ESSDI values for habitat quality, carbon storage, crop production, water yield, and soil retention all showed a declining trend. (2) During the same period, the mean ESSI exhibited a fluctuating downward trend, decreasing from 0.31 in 2000 to 0.17 in 2020, with low-value areas expanding as built-up areas grew, while high-value areas were mainly distributed around Dianshan Lake, Yuandang, and parts of ecological land. (3) The primary driving factors within the YRDIDZ were human activity factors, including POP and GDP, with their five-period average explanatory powers being 0.44 and 0.26, whereas the explanatory power of natural factors was lower. However, the interaction of POP and soil showed higher explanatory power. The results of this study could provide actionable ways for regional sustainable governance: (1) prioritizing wetland protection and soil retention in high-population-density areas based on targeted land use quotas; (2) integrating ESSI coldspots (built-up expansion zones) into ecological redline adjustments, maintaining high green infrastructure coverage in new urban areas; and (3) establishing a population–soil co-management framework in agricultural–urban transition zones. Full article