Understanding the intricate tradeoffs among ecosystem services in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration across spatiotemporal features

Abstract

Revealing the intricate interactions between ecosystem services and their values is essential for the comprehensive management of diverse ecosystems. However, understanding tradeoffs among various ecosystem services and their influencing factors, especially at different spatial scales, remains challenging, primarily due to the difficulty in quantifying cultural services. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the ecosystem service value (ESV) at both grid and county scales in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration from 2000 to 2020, considering the representation of different ecosystem services. Our investigation aimed to elucidate tradeoffs among ecosystem services and identify key natural-social-economic-climate drivers. The key findings are as follows: (1) Over the study period, the overall ESV in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration exhibited an upward trend, with regulation of waterflows, water body, and forest land making the largest contributions. (2) At the grid scale, there were 3 tradeoffs and 52 synergies among multiple ecosystem services in 2000, which increased to 18 tradeoffs in 2020, indicating a considerable degradation of numerous ecosystem services. Conversely, at the county scale, all ecosystem services exhibited a synergistic relationship. (3) The most significant synergistic effect was observed between regulation of waterflows and maintenance of soil fertility, while the most prominent tradeoff effect was identified between food production and waste treatment. (4) Social-economic factors exerted a more substantial influence on ESV, followed by climate factors, whereas the impact of natural factors was limited. GDP emerged as the primary single driver of total ESV, while farmland production potential played a crucial role in shaping the 11 ecosystem services. Notably, GDP-temperature and GDP-farmland production potential output were identified as the most influential dual factors. These findings underscore the importance of simultaneously enhancing economic development, controlling temperature rise, and improving food production as essential measures to enhance ESV.