Spatial trade-offs and synergies among ecosystem services in Guangdong Province, China

Abstract

Abstract The trade-offs between ecosystem services directly affect the quality of the ecological environment and the survival and development of human society, which is of great concern to academia, governments, and non-governmental organizations. Based on ecosystem service data from the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the trade-offs and synergies among different ecosystem services in Guangdong Province in China were analyzed. Moreover, the differences in their impact and impact mechanisms were investigated. Our results showed three main points: (1) The ecosystem services in Guangdong Province showed clear spatial heterogeneity. Also, Northern Guangdong has high water retention, with a value of 5,804.73×104 m3/km2 and high values for carbon sequestration and soil retention. Western Guangdong is a functional area for food production, and the Pearl River Delta is an economically developed region. (2) In the overall Guangdong Province, three pairs of ecosystem services, namely water retention–soil, carbon sequestration–water, and carbon sequestration–soil retention, showed a strong positive correlation and a good synergistic relationship. The other three pairs of relationships show strong trade-off effects. (3) The trade-offs and synergies between pairs of ecosystem services are clearly different in space, and the relationships between the same ecosystem services show completely different characteristics in different regions, resulting from the complex influence of different natural local conditions and human activities.