Objective This study reveals the coupling relationship between the supply-demand patterns of ecosystem services (ESs) and livelihood capital in the Loess Plateau agro-pastoral ecotone (LPAPE), and identifies its driving mechanisms, aiming to alleviate regional ecological vulnerability and human-land conflicts and provide a scientific basis for the coordinated agro-pastoral development and ecological conservation. Methods A multi-model approach was used to quantify the supply-demand patterns of food, fodder, livestock production, water yield, and carbon sequestration services in the LPAPE from 2000 to 2020. Geographically weighted regression (GWR) and redundancy analysis (RDA) were then applied to identify the characteristics of the spatial coupling between ESs and livelihood capital and their dominant factors. Results (1) The area of high food supply decreased by 7.8% and contracted toward the north-central region. The high-supply areas of fodder, water yield, and carbon sequestration services expanded to the northwest, and livestock supply showed a spatial pattern of “high in the northwest and low in the southeast”. (2) The demand for ESs continued to increase, leading to more pronounced supply-demand mismatches in densely populated and urbanized areas (ESDR<1). (3) Food, fodder, and livestock production services were strongly synergistic with natural and physical capital, while water yield and carbon sequestration services exhibited a trade-offs between ecological synergy and lagging economic development in ecological protection zones. (4) Natural factors such as annual precipitation, mean annual temperature, and elevation were the dominant driving factors of the relationship between ESs and livelihood capital, while socioeconomic factors intensified supply-demand imbalances and spatial trade-offs. Conclusion ESs and livelihood capital are strongly coupled in the LPAPE. The driving mechanisms are dominated by natural factors and exacerbated by socioeconomic factors, and exhibit spatial heterogeneity under the influence of climate and ecological vulnerability. This study clarifies their relationship and the driving mechanisms, which can contribute to improving regional sustainability.
de GrootR S, WilsonM A, BoumansR M J. A typology for the classification, description and valuation of ecosystem functions, goods and services[J]. Ecological Economics, 2002,41(3):393-408.
[2]
AssessmentM E. Ecosystems and human well-being[M]. Washington, Dc: Island Press, 2005.
YangX T, QiuX P, XuY, et al. Spatial heterogeneity and dynamic features of the ecosystem services influence on human wellbeing in the West Sichuan Mountain Areas[J]. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 2021,41(19):7555-7567.
FuB J. Ecological and environmental effects of land-use changes in the Loess Plateau of China[J]. Chinese Science Bulletin, 2022,67(32):3769-3779,3768.
ZhouX Y, MengS T, HuangQ X, et al. Combining supply and demand of ecosystem services and human well-being for regional planning[J]. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 2022,42(14):5748-5760.
[9]
WangZ Z, FuB J, WuX T, et al. Distinguishing trajectories and drivers of vegetated ecosystems in China′s Loess Plateau[J]. Earth′S Future, 2024,12(2): e2023EF003769.
LiangX Q, FengQ, DuanB L. Research on well-being effect of ecosystem services in mining area of western Shanxi Loess Plateau[J]. Research of Soil and Water Conservation, 2023,30(4):431-437.
FengQ, ZhaoW W, DuanB L. Relationship between trade-off intensity of ecosystem services and matching degree of supply and demand: a case study in Shanxi Province[J]. Arid Zone Research, 2022,39(4):1222-1233.
ChenQ Q, YangL, HaoX R. Spatio-temporal analysis of coupling coordination between ecosystem service and farmers'livelihood in Gannan Yellow River water supply area[J]. Acta Agrestia Sinica, 2023,31(8):2471-2480.
[16]
MaY H, ChenH, YangM M, et al. Ecological compensation based on multiscale ecosystem carbon sequestration service flow[J]. Journal of Environmental Management, 2024,372:123396.
[17]
DingZ M, YaoS B. Theory and valuation of cross-regional ecological compensation for cultivated land: a case study of Shanxi Province, China[J]. Ecological Indicators, 2022,136:108609.
ZhangL X, ZhouD C, FanJ W, et al. Consistency analysis of the spatial distribution patterns and their drivers of the ecological vulnerability on the Loess Plateau[J]. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 2024,44(22):10096-10105.
TuW Z, ZhaoW W, LiuY, et al. Ecological restoration zoning on the Loess Plateau based on the supply and demand of ecosystem services[J]. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 2024,44(21):9695-9707.
ChangH. Correlation mechanisms of livelihood, ecosystem services, and human well-being of pastoral households in desert steppe areas: a case study of Damao Banner in Inner Mongolia, China[D].Hohhot:Inner Mongolia University,2023.
[24]
CostanzaR, d′ArgeR, de GrootR, et al. The value of the world′s ecosystem services and natural capital[J]. Nature, 1997,387(6630):253-260.
PiaoS L, FangJ Y, HeJ S, et al. Spatial distribution of grassland biomass in China[J]. Acta Phytoecologica Sinica, 2004,28(4):491-498.
[29]
SunY F, ChangJ F, FangJ Y. Above-and belowground net-primary productivity: a field-based global database of grasslands[J]. Ecology, 2023,104(2): e3904.
[30]
任继周.草业科学研究方法[M].北京:中国农业出版社,1998.
[31]
RenJ Z. Grassland science′s research methods[M]. Beijing: China Agriculture Press, 1998.
[32]
TaoY, TaoQ, SunX, et al. Mapping ecosystem service supply and demand dynamics under rapid urban expansion: a case study in the Yangtze River Delta of China[J]. Ecosystem Services, 2022,56:101448.
[33]
YuH J, XieW, SunL, et al. Identifying the regional disparities of ecosystem services from a supply-demand perspective[J]. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 2021,169:105557.
[34]
ZhangJ X, HeC Y, HuangQ X, et al. Understanding ecosystem service flows through the metacoupling framework[J]. Ecological Indicators, 2023,151:110303.
DingX H, WuL W, YanZ J, et al. Research on the characteristics and influencing factors of herdsmen′s pasture stocking rate[J]. Chinese Journal of Grassland, 2024,46(9):105-117.
XiangH X, ZhangJ, WangZ M, et al. Relationships between supply and demand of ecosystem services in the Songnen Plain[J]. Ecology and Environmental Sciences, 2021,30(8):1769-1776.
[43]
TreasuryH M. UK aid: tackling global challenges in the national interest[R]. London: Hm Treasury, 2015.
LiX M, LiT N, LiD Z, et al. Spatial-temporal characteristics of county-range coupling coordination relationship between ecosystem services and human′s well-being in Inner Mongolia[J]. Journal of Arid Land Resources and Environment, 2023,37(7):27-37.
[46]
GaoJ B, ZuoL Y. Revealing ecosystem services relationships and their driving factors for five basins of Beijing[J]. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2021,31(1):111-129.
DangX H, WuY B, LiuG B, et al. Spatial-temporal changes of ecological footprint in the Loess Plateau after ecological construction between 1995 and 2010[J]. Geographical Research, 2018,37(4):761-771.