Spatio-temporal quantification of the trade-offs and synergies among ecosystem services based on grid-cells: A case study of Guanzhong Basin, NW China

Abstract

An important feature of the relationships among ecosystem services (ESs) is that they have temporal and spatial patterns. The purpose of this research is to understand the relationship between various ESs and to optimize the structure of the ecosystem to ensure the sustainable development of the Guanzhong Basin region. The spatio-temporal synergies and trade-offs among ESs in Guanzhong Basin were analysed using correlation analysis and time-lagged cross-correlation analysis to quantitatively analyze the relationships between the three types of ESs (food production (FP), water retention (WR) and soil conservation (SC)) based on grid-cells. The results of this study were as follows: (1) The spatio-temporal synergies and trade-offs between FP and WR, FP and SC, and WR and SC were widespread in Guanzhong Basin. If a region's synergies and trade-offs are weak, ES interactions can easily be changed from synergies to trade-offs or from trade-offs to synergies under the influence of policies and planning (e.g., Reforestation of Cultivated Land (RFCL)); (2) the order of three paired ES interactions in different land use types were cultivated land > unused land > pasture > forest land, and this order remained relatively stable; (3) the greater the time-lagged correlation coefficient among the ESs, the shorter the time-lag. Thus, the conclusion is that correlation analysis and time-lagged cross-correlation analysis can be used for spatially explicit quantification of the spatial-temporal ES interactions based on grid-cells and can help to identify spatial heterogeneity of ES trade-offs and synergies. This study will help to broaden the depth and breadth of trade-off and synergy in ES to provide a case for practical eco-management under local conditions.