Spatiotemporal Changes in the Watershed Ecosystem Services Supply and Demand Relationships in the Eastern Margin of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

Clarifying the spatiotemporal changes in the supply and demand relationship of ecosystem services (ESs) is essential for optimizing ESs management. However, several studies have reported the ESs supply and demand risk in complex mountainous areas. In this study, we quantitatively analyzed the spatiotemporal variation in ESs supply, demand, and their trade-off and synergy, including water yield, soil conservation, and food provision in the Bailongjiang watershed (BLJW) in western China. The results showed that the total supply and demand of water-yield and soil-conservation services rose with a surplus from 2002 to 2018, except for food provision. A high value characterizes the water-yield and soil-conservation supply in the south, but there are low values in the east BLJW. The spatial distribution of water and food supply–demand featured a high demand in the subareas with population aggregation. Soil-conservation demand is high in the northwest and south of Wudu. The dominant spatial matching type of supply and demand in water yield was a high supply with a low demand. Soil conservation was associated with a low supply and low demand, and food provision with a high supply and increased demand. A synergy existed between water yield and soil conservation. Trade-offs existed between water yield, food provision, and soil conservation. The spatial distribution of trade-off intensity showed distinctive patterns. The supply–demand ratio of WY and SC decreased with the increasing trade-off intensity. This study comprehensively considers ES and supply–demand conflicts, thus providing a new perspective and approach for enhancing ecosystem services and high-quality regional development.