Search Results (358)

The water supply–demand pattern directly affects the stability of ecosystems and the level of agricultural sustainable development. Based on the theoretical framework of water supply–demand ecosystem services, this study took 1990–2020 as the research period, and integrated the water yield module of the InVEST model, urban stormwater retention module, standard deviational ellipse method, and spatial interpolation to accurately calculate regional water yield, water demand, water supply–demand ratio, and gravity center shift. The aim was to reveal the spatiotemporal evolution and mechanism of water budget in the Sanjiang Plain under large-scale agricultural expansion. The results showed the following: (1) From 1990 to 2020, the annual water yield in the Sanjiang Plain fluctuated from 12.16 billion m³/yr to 23.28 billion m³/yr, with a spatial pattern of “high in the northwest and southeast, low in the central Songhua River”, and high-value areas were highly coincident with natural ecological land. (2) The multi-year average water demand was approximately 13.0 billion m³/yr, experiencing three phases, “slow growth–rapid rise–stable slowdown”, showing a distribution characteristic of “concentrated along rivers and high in urban areas”. (3) Water surplus and deficit areas maintained a rigid characteristic of “highland supply, lowland consumption” for a long time. The gravity center of deficit areas rotated counterclockwise from 132.35° E, 46.55° N to 132.58° E, 46.78° N, with an annual migration rate of 10–15 km/a. The gravity center of surplus areas rotated clockwise from 133.22° E, 47.45° N to 132.85° E, 46.92° N, with an annual migration rate of 15–20 km/a. (4) From 1990 to 2015, the regional water supply–demand pattern remained relatively stable. However, a pronounced transition occurred during 2015–2020, when surplus areas sharply decreased from 49% to 27%, while conflict zones expanded rapidly, indicating an evident deterioration of regional water security. Full article

Rapid urbanization has intensified ecosystem service supply–demand mismatches, severely constraining regional sustainable development. Ecological security patterns represent a critical strategy to address these challenges, yet existing studies predominantly focus on natural supply while neglecting human ecological demands. This study develops an integrated framework combining XGBoost machine learning and ecological network theory to assess and optimize ecological security patterns from a supply–demand perspective, using the Chengdu–Chongqing Urban Agglomeration in the upper Yangtze River Basin as a case study. Results reveal a distinct spatial pattern of “high supply in peripheries and high demand in urban cores”. Ecological demand sources and corridors have experienced explosive growth, expanding significantly faster than supply components. While the ecological supply–demand network has become more structurally complex with improved structural connectivity overall, the supply–demand balance has progressively deteriorated. Targeted optimization through supplementing key ecological sources and refining network structure enhanced connectivity by 136.46% and improved supply–demand balance by 35.4%. A “three zones, four corridors, six nodes” optimization scheme is proposed. This research provides valuable insights for mitigating ecological conflicts in rapidly urbanizing regions and informs evidence-based decision-making for territorial ecological restoration and public policy design to balance conservation and socioeconomic development. Full article

Managed honeybee colonies contribute to agriculture through multiple ecosystem services. However, the contribution of honeybees is often assessed through bee products rather than through the crop pollination services they provide. This study quantified the economic value, relative vulnerability and supply–demand imbalance of honeybee pollination in Chinese agriculture from 2010 to 2024. Using crop production, gross production value, harvested area and managed colony data, combined with crop-specific pollination-dependence coefficients, we estimated pollination function quantity, service value, relative vulnerability, theoretical colony demand and supply gaps. Benchmark pollination service value increased from US$114.27 billion in 2010 to US$247.02 billion in 2024, while pollination-attributable output increased from 203.92 million tonnes to 274.73 million tonnes. In 2024, 36.94% of selected crop value was exposed to pollination dependence, with vegetables and fruits contributing more than 93% of total benchmark value. Effective honeybee supply was estimated at 5.73 million colonies in 2024, resulting in a substantial supply deficit of 68.00 million colonies and a demand-to-effective-supply ratio of 12.88 under the benchmark scenario. Despite sensitivity to colony-use assumptions, the demand–supply gap remained persistent across alternative specifications. These results show that China’s high-value agriculture increasingly depends on pollination services while managed pollination capacity remains far below theoretical demand. Full article

(1) Background. Food sovereignty and local sustainability are ensured by large agro-industrial holdings and small-scale farms; this synergy forms a complementary model of the agrifood system. Maintaining this model’s balance requires the creation of a unified digital ecosystem that integrates all suppliers and consumers into production chains, thereby eliminating unnecessary intermediaries. (2) Methods. This study employs a comprehensive methodological framework, including systems analysis and mathematical modeling, to develop service algorithms. Object-oriented design and software engineering methods facilitated the development and implementation of a service-oriented architecture for the digital system. (3) Results. The study presents a multi-tier architecture featuring an integration bus based on a service-oriented approach. To implement direct supply-and-demand coupling strategies, the system integrates both internal services (microeconomic indicators) and external services (macroeconomic indicators). Additionally, a recommender system based on neural networks and mathematical models was developed to personalize consumer requests and manage product sales. (4) Conclusions. The software solution is consistent with the AgTech 4.0 concept and enables the creation of a seamless environment for interstate trade. The implementation of the system enhances the transparency of the “product footprint”, facilitates the redistribution of surpluses, and, consequently, contributes to price stabilization. Full article

The water–energy–food (WEF) system acts as a critical nexus of social–ecological systems. However, rapid urbanization has intensified the regional imbalance in the supply and demand of ecosystem services (ESs). Clarifying the spatiotemporal matching of ecosystem services supply and demand (ESSD) within the WEF framework and revealing the driving mechanisms behind such imbalances are essential to formulating reasonable zoning schemes and targeted optimization strategies for the coordinated development of the regional WEF system. Taking Zhejiang Province as a case study, this research uses water yield (WY), carbon sequestration (CS), and grain production (GP) to characterize the WEF nexus system. It uses the InVEST model to assess WY and CS, applies spatial allocation methods to characterize GP, and integrates socioeconomic data to quantify the demand for the above three ESs. All indicators were standardized and integrated with equal weights to further clarify the comprehensive levels of ESSD. By integrating the Geodetector and K-Means clustering methods, the study analyzes the supply–demand matching of ecosystem services and its driving mechanisms in Zhejiang Province during this period, thereby exploring ecological management zoning and optimization strategies within the WEF system. The study findings indicate that: (1) From the supply perspective, Zhejiang Province’s WY services demonstrate a trend of elevated activity in the southwest and diminished presence in the northeast; high values for CS services are predominantly found in the vegetation-rich areas of the northwest, while high values for GP services are clustered in the northern Zhejiang Plain; from the demand perspective, high values for all three ESs in Zhejiang Province are primarily located in economically active, densely populated urban areas. (2) The correlation between ESSD within Zhejiang Province’s WEF system exhibits significant spatial heterogeneity and is driven by the combined effects of natural and socioeconomic factors, with the interaction between these two factors often producing a synergistic effect. Specifically, annual average precipitation and population density are the dominant factors influencing WY services, NDVI and human footprint are the dominant factors influencing CS services, and population density and GDP are the dominant factors influencing GP services. (3) From 2000 to 2020, the supply–demand ratio for comprehensive ESs in Zhejiang Province generally followed a pattern of being lower in the east and higher in the west. The supply–demand imbalance of ESs intensified in the core areas of eastern cities, whereas the western regions maintained a relatively sound supply–demand balance. (4) The study classifies the counties in Zhejiang Province into four ecological management zones—ecological stable zones, ecological conservation zones, ecological control zones, and ecological restoration zones—and explores differentiated approaches to optimizing these zones and implementing control strategies. Full article

Arid regions are ecologically fragile and occupy a substantial portion of the global terrestrial surface. In these regions, ecosystem services (ESs) are strongly constrained by water availability and, more importantly, by the balance between water supply and demand. However, the nonlinear responses and threshold mechanisms linking water supply–demand balance to ES dynamics remain unclear. Taking the Kubuqi Desert in the “Great Bend” of the Yellow River as the study area, this study quantified the Comprehensive Ecosystem Service Index (CESI) and the Water Supply–Demand Ratio (WSDR) by integrating the InVEST model, RWEQ model, the RUSLE model, Water Balance Method, and so on. The dual-constraint line method and elasticity coefficient approach were integrated to identify the constraint effects and critical thresholds of WSDR on CESI. Ecological management zones were further delineated by integrating the inflection-point intervals of the dual-constraint lines with the threshold intervals identified by elasticity coefficients. The results showed that CESI remained relatively low, with a maximum value of approximately 0.5, suggesting that the overall ES level was still limited, but exhibited a continuous increasing trend. The regional water supply–demand pattern gradually shifted from deficit toward relative balance, although agricultural water use still accounted for about three-quarters of total consumption. CESI showed a nonlinear threshold response to WSDR: mild water deficit suppressed CESI growth, whereas moderate water surplus promoted CESI recovery by alleviating water constraints and improving ecosystem functioning. Thresholds identified by elasticity coefficients mainly occurred near critical transitions between water deficit and surplus. Based on ES supply and threshold sensitivity, nine ecological management zones were identified, with priority enhancement areas accounting for approximately 75%. These findings provide a threshold-based basis for ecological zoning and differentiated restoration in arid regions. Full article

Climate change intensifies hydrological variability and threatens agricultural water security. This review synthesizes literature on agricultural water system resilience under climate change through a structured critical narrative approach informed by PRISMA/SALSA reporting principles. We examine four linked domains: resilience concepts and indicators, assessment methods under uncertainty, climate impact and vulnerability evidence, and adaptation/governance pathways. The synthesis indicates a broad shift from engineering-centered water-supply approaches toward socio-ecological resilience frameworks that combine infrastructure, ecosystem processes, farmer behavior, and institutions. Methodologically, deterministic optimization is increasingly complemented by stochastic, robust, integrated-assessment, remote-sensing, and machine-learning approaches, although data requirements, uncertainty propagation, and interpretability remain important constraints. Evidence suggests that crop water demand and irrigation requirements may increase substantially under high-emission scenarios, with acute risks in arid and semi-arid regions. Effective adaptation is unlikely to rely on single technologies alone; precision irrigation, nature-based solutions, climate services, and infrastructure investments require complementary demand-side rules, water accounting, equity safeguards, and participatory governance to avoid maladaptation such as the irrigation-efficiency rebound effect. We identify priority research needs in transparent review protocols, uncertainty quantification, cross-scale governance, farmer decision-making, digital inclusion, and monitoring systems. The review provides a moderated conceptual framework and policy-oriented research agenda for strengthening agricultural water resilience. Full article

Land-use change is a major driver of ecosystem service reconfiguration, yet the character and intensity of resulting trade-offs remain highly variable across studies. This review synthesizes English-language research retrieved primarily from the Web of Science Core Collection and supplemented by Scopus and Google Scholar, with particular attention to the multi-scale characteristics of trade-offs, the analytical consequences of different assessment approaches, and their relevance for sustainability governance. The reviewed literature reveals several recurrent patterns. Intensive land conversion commonly produces short-term gains in provisioning or construction-related benefits while reducing regulating and supporting services. Trade-offs are strongly scale dependent, reflecting differences in ecological processes, land-use decisions, and governance units rather than analytical sensitivity alone. The landscape configuration further shapes ecosystem service interactions in ways that cannot be inferred from land-use area alone. However, evidence on restoration co-benefits, spatial-optimization gains, and governance claims based on scenario results remains context-dependent. These findings should be interpreted as conditional support for comparing land-use options, identifying potential trade-off displacement, and clarifying planning constraints, rather than as proof that restoration or optimization will automatically improve governance outcomes. The current evidence base is geographically uneven and strongly concentrated in Chinese case studies, which enriches planning-oriented research but limits straightforward generalization across institutional and environmental settings. Further progress may depend on stronger cross-scale and dynamic analysis, closer integration of the ecosystem service supply, demand, and flow, and more explicit treatment of uncertainty. More importantly, the value of future research will lie not simply in producing additional maps or indicators, but in establishing a clearer correspondence between the type of evidence generated and the governance decisions it is expected to inform. Full article

Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services (IVES) has emerged as a pluralistic framework for bringing multiple forms of ecosystem service value into relation for environmental decision-making. Within this literature, socio-biophysical approaches have become especially prominent, most often comparing biophysical estimates of ecosystem service supply with social measures of demand-as-use. However, recent studies increasingly move beyond this supply–demand framing by operationalizing alternative social value constructs. This study conducts a scoping review of this emerging literature following PRISMA-ScR procedures. We identify 18 empirical socio-biophysical studies that compare biophysical supply with social value constructs other than demand-as-use. Across these studies, we identify three recurring constructs: perceived importance, perceived supply and recognition of ecosystem services. We examine how each construct is operationalized and how it is compared with biophysical supply. Our synthesis shows that social construct choice shapes the basis of socio-biophysical comparison, the spatial and analytical strategies available and the governance insights that can be drawn from integrated valuation. Perceived importance is most useful for identifying social priorities and anticipating public reception of management interventions. Perceived supply better supports spatial targeting, hotspot-based planning and comparison with modeled ecological supply. Recognition reveals awareness gaps and under-recognized services that can inform communication, education and participatory planning. By clarifying these construct-specific contributions, this review supports more targeted construct selection in future socio-biophysical IVES research. Full article

The Wei River Basin (WRB) faces challenges including flood threats, ecological fragility, and uneven socio-economic development. However, existing ecosystem service supply–demand (ESSD) studies rarely incorporate flood-sediment transport as a core service, and systematic studies on revealing the multi-scale spatial heterogeneity and driving mechanism of ESSD coupling coordination remain insufficient. Therefore, this paper analyzed the ESSD across flood-sediment transport, eco-environmental, and socio-economic subsystems for the period 2005–2023 at three spatial scales (municipal, watershed, and county). A multi-scale comprehensive index of ESSD was constructed. Using the dynamic local and tele-coupling coordination degree (DLTCCD) model and spatial Markov model, we quantitatively assessed dynamic trade-offs and transition patterns of the DLTCCD in ESSD. The XGBoost-SHAP model and structural equation model were employed to explore the internal mechanisms through which key factors influence the DLTCCD. A zoning management mechanism was proposed by integrating the four-quadrant static model and DLTCCD change rate. The results showed the following: (1) ESSD exhibited a spatial pattern of “lower in the north and higher in the south,” with imbalances more evident at the county scale. (2) The DLTCCD showed significant scale dependence, with “spatial club convergence” of high and low levels in the Ziwuling Mountain and Longdong Plain areas. (3) Based on both the XGBoost-SHAP model and the structural equation model, precipitation was identified as the fundamental driving force across scales, exerting influence through interactive effects and a dual mediating path. (4) Zoning identification revealed structural challenges for sustainable development, marked by coexistence of coordinated and uncoordinated development zones. This study identifies the northern Loess Plateau, Qinling northern foothills, and Guanzhong Plain as key zones, proposes a “zoning-based graded intervention” strategy, and provides scientific support for ESSD management in the WRB. Full article

Whether compact urban development can achieve a spatial balance in the supply and demand of ecosystem services remains unclear amidst rapid urbanization. Understanding this relationship is critical for territorial spatial planning. Using Guanzhong Plain Urban Agglomeration as a case study, we applied local spatial autocorrelation to reveal spatial trade-offs and synergies, and employed ordinary least squares and geographically weighted regression models to analyze the underlying mechanisms. Results demonstrate that urban compactness is significantly negatively correlated with supply–demand gaps for carbon storage (r = −0.66), habitat quality (r = −0.58), recreation services (r = −0.60), and water yield (r = −0.63), while positively correlated with gaps for grain production and soil conservation. The GWR model outperformed the ordinary least squares model, with improvements in adjusted R² ranging from 0.0019 to 0.13. Land use intensity and GDP emerged as the dominant drivers of spatial heterogeneity in the ecosystem service supply–demand ratio, accounting for 66.21% and 51.08% of the variance, respectively. These findings provide a scientific basis for integrating compact urban form with ecosystem management in sustainable landscape planning. Full article

Background/Objectives: The global health landscape is currently confronted with dual challenges from both infectious diseases and chronic conditions. Medical–preventive integration has emerged as a pivotal strategy to address these issues, aiming to create a comprehensive, closed-loop framework that spans disease prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and healthcare, ultimately improving population health outcomes. In the Chinese context, existing policies remain fragmented, scattered across various healthcare-related regulations, and lack systematic and comprehensive analysis. This policy fragmentation may impede the creation of synergistic effects essential for the effective implementation of integrated healthcare strategies. Methods: This study adopted a mixed-methods approach to analyze 85 national policies: a three-stage coding process identified 1088 policy nodes, and a three-dimensional framework (policy instruments (X) × full-cycle health service (Y) × integration stages (Z)) was applied to uncover systemic imbalances. Social network analysis and Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling were utilized to map interagency collaboration patterns and thematic shifts, which were visualized using Gephi and Sankey. Results: The analysis revealed that policy instruments are predominantly supply-side (45.04%) and environmental-side (40.35%), with demand-side instruments (14.61%) being notably underutilized, particularly in health financing. Rehabilitation services, representing just 8.27% of the policy focus, were identified as a significant gap in the comprehensive health service cycle. While 44.58% of the instruments facilitated collaboration of medical and preventive services, integration of medical–preventive management stagnated at 25.28%, reflecting institutional inertia that impedes the redistribution of cross-sector resources. Agency collaboration evolved from a siloed approach (2015–2018) to a networked structure (2019–2021) and transitioned to centralized governance post-2022. Thematic shifts in policy discourse moved from a “Healthy China” focus toward pandemic-driven disease surveillance, culminating in the recent development of smart health ecosystems. Conclusions: China’s policies for medical–preventive integration demonstrate notable structural imbalances, particularly in the economic instruments related to health financing and the private-sector participation in healthcare. These imbalances may impede the effective allocation of healthcare resources and hinder the seamless transition toward integrated care. Future policy efforts should focus on optimizing the structure of policy instruments, addressing gaps in the full lifecycle of health services, advancing integration reforms, and promoting the transformation of the healthcare system through enhanced collaborative governance among key stakeholders. Full article

Water ecosystem service flows (WESFs) help address spatial mismatches in water resources and support basin resilience. However, their dynamic evolution and nonlinear drivers under climate change and intensive human activities remain poorly understood. This study evaluates the spatiotemporal dynamics of WESFs in the Yangtze River Basin (YRB) from 2005 to 2022 by integrating dynamic flow analysis with mechanism interpretation. We developed an integrated framework coupling SWAT hydrological simulations with a proxy-based spatial allocation approach for social water demand. Using the Water Stress Index (WSI) and river topology, dynamic inter-regional WESFs were simulated. Furthermore, an interpretable machine learning approach was employed to identify the nonlinear effects of multiple driving factors. Results reveal a persistent supply–demand mismatch: supply exhibited a northwest–southeast gradient (averaging 567.21 mm annually), while demand concentrated in mid-lower plains and urban corridors. The flow network, which accounts for accumulated upstream inflow, demonstrated a stable “upstream supply, mid-reach transmission, and downstream benefit” pattern, highlighting downstream reliance on upstream inputs. Driving analysis identified land surface and vegetation as the largest associated driver category, while climate–hydrology and human activity were not cleanly separable. Climate provided the hydro-climatic conditions for redistribution. Nonlinear responses and blue–green interactions were also identified, informing transboundary ecological compensation and regional water-resilience management. Full article

Against the backdrop of urbanization and global warming, reducing carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality have emerged as focal points in current urban ecological research. Urban green infrastructure (UGI) serves as the primary natural carbon sink within cities; therefore, investigating and optimizing its carbon sequestration services is a crucial step toward realizing carbon neutrality and fostering sustainable urban development. As the core components of urban ecosystems, urban parks provide essential ecosystem services that play a pivotal role in expanding carbon sinks, facilitating energy conservation and emission reduction, and enhancing urban climate resilience. This paper takes 20 parks in Linyi City’s central urban area as examples, systematically quantifies the carbon sequestration effect of urban parks in the central urban area of Linyi City from 2019 to 2024 using methods such as the Carnegie–Ames–Stanford Approach (CASA) and the gravity model, and quantitatively evaluates the equity of urban residents’ access to these services. The study shows that the overall annual average carbon sequestration rate of urban parks in Linyi City’s central area over nearly six years ranges from 202.02 gC·m⁻²·a⁻¹ to 279.31 gC·m⁻²·a⁻¹, while individual park annual averages range from 171.29 to 332.76 gC·m⁻²·a⁻¹, falling within the normal range for cities at the same latitude; in terms of vegetation carbon sequestration capacity, woody plant communities dominate in this region, with annual average carbon sequestration rates approximately 10% higher than those dominated by herbaceous vegetation. In terms of intrinsic activity performance of carbon sequestration, overall, woody-dominated plant communities exhibit greater stability and resilience under extreme weather conditions, experiencing smaller impacts on ecological functions but longer recovery cycles to peak levels. Regarding equity in the supply and demand of ecosystem services, the Gini coefficient in the study area is 0.59, indicating an extremely imbalanced state; within the same park service range, up to 60% of residents do not benefit from carbon sequestration ecosystem services. The urban supply–demand mismatch reveals that approximately 20% of the population resides in high-demand–low-supply areas, experiencing extreme ecological deprivation; only about 13% of the population falls into the high-demand–high-supply category, this group being the high-benefit recipients who enjoy both spatial convenience and high-quality ecological welfare. The theoretical implications for urban green space planning: according to the results, merely expanding park green space area to increase per capita access is myopic and inadvisable in central urban park planning. Instead, greater emphasis should be placed on enhancing ecological service levels beyond basic area requirements, comprehensively improving vegetation quality and ecosystem service capacity of parks. In old urban areas constrained by land use, the hierarchical structure of vegetation should be strengthened, and micro green spaces should have enhanced ecological service capabilities to improve residents’ access rights through higher service quality. In newly developed urban areas, planning should balance quantity and quality to serve more people and alleviate urban ecological pressures. Overall, by quantitatively assessing the carbon sequestration capacity and the socio-spatial equity of ecosystem services provided by urban parks in Linyi City, this study offers robust empirical evidence and methodological tools for sustainable urban planning, ultimately fostering the sustainable development of urban ecosystems. Full article

Global climate change and rapid socio-economic development have increasingly exacerbated the imbalance between ecosystem service (ES) supply and demand. Taking the Pinglu Canal Economic Zone as a case study and employing a water–energy–food (WEF) nexus perspective, this study selected three key ESs—water yield, carbon sequestration, and food supply. The InVEST model, supply–demand index (SDI), Pearson correlation analysis, and four-quadrant model were integrated to systematically reveal the spatiotemporal patterns, correlation characteristics, and spatial matching of ES supply and demand from 2005 to 2020. Scale effects and appropriate management scales were clarified through municipal, county, and grid scale comparisons, and a comprehensive management zoning scheme was constructed using a “zoning–classification–grading” framework. The results show that water yield and food supply exhibited an overall increasing trend, while carbon sequestration supply remained stable. Demand for all three services showed continuous growth, with a spatial pattern of “high in the central area and low in the surrounding areas”, consistent with population and economic agglomerations. The county scale was the most effective at capturing local supply–demand characteristics. A “zoning–classification–grading” spatial governance system was constructed based on dominant functions, supply–demand status, and control priority. This study can provide a scientific basis for territorial spatial planning and integrated ecosystem management in the Pinglu Canal Economic Zone and similar regions. Full article