Objective Taking the Kuye River basin as the study area, this study aims to investigate how the natural evolution of land use patterns drives changes in water conservation functions within the river basin. Methods By constructing a comprehensive assessment framework, this study focused on analyzing the interactions and trade-off mechanisms between the two. The InVEST model and the Cellular Automata-Markov (CA-Markov) model were used to analyze the water conservation status in the Kuye River basin from 2000 to 2020 and to predict the variation trends from 2020 to 2035. Results 1) Water yield in the Kuye River basin exhibited an overall increasing trend from 2000 to 2020. The highest water yield was 1.26 billion m³ in 2020, and the lowest was 587 million m³ in 2000. The water yield per unit area for different land use types showed higher values for cultivated land, grassland, and forest land, while lower water yields were observed in construction land and bare land. 2) The water conservation capacity of the Kuye River basin in 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020 was 106 million m³, 132 million m³, 188 million m³, 204 million m³, and 228 million m³, respectively. Forest land, grassland, and cultivated land exhibited large water conservation capacities, while other land use types had small capacities. Rainfall exhibited the strongest explanatory power for water conservation capacity. In two-factor interactions, the combination of rainfall and land use type showed the greatest explanatory power, followed by the interaction of land use type with slope and elevation, respectively. 3) The overall land use pattern during the prediction period remained stable compared with that in 2020, specifically manifested as a continuous decrease in grassland and ongoing expansion of construction land. The spatial distribution of water conservation capacity remained largely consistent with that in 2020, showing distribution characteristics of higher values in the southeast and lower in the northwest. However, the total conservation capacity showed a declining growth rate and tended to stabilize, and water loss continued the increasing trend observed from 2000 to 2020. Conclusion Both the water yield and water conservation capacity in the Kuye River basin increased year by year from 2000 to 2020. Forest land, grassland, and cultivated land are the core contributing types, and the interaction between water yield and land use type has the greatest impact on water conservation. Under the natural evolution scenario, it is predicted that the river basin will continue the trends of ″grassland reduction and construction land expansion″ from 2020 to 2035. The total water conservation capacity is expected to stagnate, and water loss will continue to rise. To ensure ecological security and the sustainable use of water resources in water-scarce northern regions, future efforts should focus on the protection and restoration of forest land and grassland, thereby optimizing the land use structure.
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