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Highlights • A method was proposed to study the possible drivers of ecosystem services relationships. • Optimal ecosystem attributes of five ecosystem services were summarized and analyzed. • Erosion control, air quality regulation and cooling effect are more likely to form synergic relationships. • Carbon sequestration and cooling effect and air quality regulation are more likely to form trade-off relationships. Abstract Ecosystem services interact and can form neural, synergic, and trade-off relationships with each other. Current studies of ecosystem service relationships have focused more on quantification without analyzing the driver of these interactions. Here, we proposed a qualitative method based on the number of shared optimal ecosystem attributes among services to study the possible driver of ecosystem service relationships and applied it to five ecosystem services (erosion control, water yield, air quality regulation, cooling effect, and carbon sequestration) as examples. The optimal approach of three categories of ecosystem attributes, namely spatial configuration, shape and size, and structure, for these five ecosystem services was summarized by systematically reviewing 116 related studies. Results suggested that synergic relationships were more likely to occur among erosion control, air quality regulation, and cooling effect since they had high numbers of shared optimal ecosystem attributes. A high possibility of trade-off relationships was found between carbon sequestration, cooling effect, and air quality regulation due to the relatively high number of contrary optimal ecosystem attributes they shared. Validation from previous studies supported these findings. The optimal attributes from this method might also provide general guidance for designing landscapes that aim to provide additional, diverse ecosystem services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ecological restoration should consider both effects on ecosystem service supply and trade-offs. • Four ecosystem services supply and trade-offs were analyzed under six restoration scenarios. • Restoration of the case study area improved all service supplies, even compared to the reference. • But higher service supply improvements and lower trade-off intensities are still possible. Ecological restoration is becoming increasingly important in addressing the global crisis of ecosystem degradation. Ecosystem services, as a concept that connects people and natural ecosystems, can be incorporated into the design, practice and evaluation of restoration projects to promote both the socioeconomic and ecological effects of restoration. However, the full incorporation of ecosystem services in landscape-scale restoration projects is still greatly lacking. In this study, we used the Dashihe mine tailings restoration project in Hebei, China, as a case study and analyzed data from field surveys, remote sensing and literature reviews to study the following two questions: 1) How would multiple ecosystem service supply capabilities and their tradeoffs change after ecological restoration; 2) How can multiple ecosystem service supply capabilities be maximized while minimizing their tradeoffs? The supply capabilities of four important ecosystem services (i.e., soil retention, dust deposition, carbon sequestration and habitat maintenance) and their tradeoff intensities under six restoration scenarios were quantified and compared. The results showed that restored ecosystems outperformed unrestored and even the reference conditions in terms of ecosystem service supply enhancement. However, there is still much room for improvement compared to the recommended restoration scenario. The recommended scenario could result in both higher service supplies and lower tradeoff intensities among the services. On this basis, we call for more incorporation of ecosystem service supply and tradeoff analysis in future ecological restoration projects to reverse the declining trends of ecosystem services across the globe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freshwater ecosystem service is essential to human’s survival and development. Many studies have documented the spatial differences in the supply and demand of ecosystem services and proposed the concept of ecosystem services flows. However, few studies characterize freshwater ecosystem service flow quantitatively. Therefore, our paper aims to quantify the effects of freshwater ecosystem service flow on downstream areas. We developed a freshwater ecosystem service flow model and applied it in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region, China, for the year of 2000, 2005, and 2010. We assessed the regional water security with an improved freshwater security index by integrating freshwater service provision, consumption and flow; and found that most areas of the BTH region (69.2%) were affected by upstream freshwater flows. The areas achieving water security in the region also expanded to 66.9%, 66.1%, and 71.3%, which were 6.4%, 6.8% and 5.7% increments compared to no-flow situation, in 2000, 2005 and 2010, respectively. Setting quota for human water consumption is suggested to further improve water security. These results highlight the need to fully understand the connections between distant freshwater ecosystem service provision and local freshwater ecosystem service consumption. This approach may also help managers to choose more sustainable strategies for critical freshwater resource management across different regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a measure of ecosystems' contribution to human well-being, the concept of Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) is an integrated monetary index for the evaluation of final ecosystem services, which has attracted widespread attention around the world. In China, both national and local governments have launched a series of GEP accounting pilot projects, with the aim to incorporate this new concept into real world decision-making. However, a critical review of these practices remains lacking, especially regarding their current status and problems. In this study, by performing a systematic review and data integration of current literature and government documents, we comprehensively described the GEP accounting practices in China, including pilot project's coverage, accounting methods, and policy application. Then, we identified five major problems in current GEP accounting practices in China, which prevent GEP from being accurately measured in the short term. We proposed that GEP accounting should be a constantly evolving process with both long-term and short-term improvement goals. More in detail, the accuracy issues in GEP accounting require longer periods of time to resolve; while its repeatability, comparability, and applicability should be improved in the short term, so that it can be incorporated into decision-making. In response to these challenges, we suggested the adaptation of GEP accounting index screening principles as a possible future direction, which can help to apply GEP results in the current stages of decision making. By improving GEP concept and accounting, it will be possible to establish a unified comparable GEP accounting system and reduce the gap between the GEP and decision-making. • GEP accounting has received extensive attention from the Chinese government. • GEP accounting requires a co-evolution of accuracy and applicability. • Five problems that prevent GEP from being accurately accounted were identified. • Future GEP accounting results should be repeatable, comparable and applicable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Intermediate and final ecosystem disservices should be differentiated. • Functional classification of disservices helps people studying their effects. • Economic gains from services outweighed the losses from disservices in Beijing. • Both services and disservices effects should be considered in planning. Ecosystem disservices (EDS) is an important form of social-ecological interactions and can strongly influence people's perception of nature. However, compare to ecosystem services (ES), current studies on EDS are still very limited especially from the perspective of classification and valuation. Here, we firstly proposed a function-based classification system to better explain the general effects of EDS. Then, we used Beijing, the capital of China, as a case study to value three common urban EDS (excessive decrease in water quantity, plant-related diseases and infrastructure damage) there. The results suggested that the total EDS value of Beijing was approximately 10.54 billion RMB/year in 2019, which equaled about 5.13% of the total value of five important ecosystem services (food and raw material production, climate regulation, environmental quality regulation, soil retention and ecotourism). The finding showed that although EDS caused considerable financial loss, the potential economic gains from ecosystem services could still greatly outweigh the loss and therefore supported the current urban greening expansion policy in Beijing. Our study attempted to promote the bridging of ecosystem services and disservices studies and call for more equal consideration of both ES and EDS to create more compressive and sustainable planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Six ecosystem services (ESs) and the relationships among them were analysed. • The relationships among the same types of ESs differed in different bundles of ESs. • Trade-offs and synergies among bundled ESs were heterogeneous and nonlinear. • There were all-win and zero-sum exceptions of trade-offs among bundled ESs. Understanding the relationships among multiple ecosystem services (ESs) is crucial for the sustainability of natural capital and ESs. The objective of this paper was to explore the antagonistic and synergistic relationships among ESs in their respective ESs bundles (ESBs) from the perspectives of heterogeneity and nonlinearity. Six ESs were quantified using different models, and the relationships among ESs were analysed by combining spatial mapping and statistical methods in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) urban agglomeration. Our results showed that the spatially concordant supply of regulating services and cultural services decreased from northwest to southeast, whereas the delivery of provisioning services exhibited a distinct spatial pattern and decreased from southeast to northwest in the region. Different combinations of ecosystems provided seven types of ESBs with different compositions and quantities of ESs. The trade-offs and synergies among the ESs in the different ESBs had similarities and differences in both the types of ESs and their intensities. The provisioning service was synergistic with the other ESs in some ESBs, and the relationships among the regulating services and among the regulating services and the cultural service could be antagonistic in other ESBs. Within each ESB, the trade-offs and synergies among the bundled ESs showed spatially heterogeneous changes across the simplified landscapes, and the provision of the involved ESs displayed different nonlinear responses along the productivity gradients. There were different all-win and zero-sum exceptions for the trade-offs involving different ESs in each ESB, with the former indicating the possibilities of mitigating trade-offs and the latter demonstrating the detrimental effects of severe trade-offs. According to our findings, we suggested that the features of ES delivery and their relationships should be considered to ensure the effectiveness, efficiency and equity of the spatially targeted management of natural capital and ESs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We utilized the Markov-PLUS model to explore woodland growth by setting up a no-policy scenario. • We analyzed ecosystem service trade-offs and bundles at dual scales. • Woodland growth was more influenced by proximity to cropland following the implementation of the policy. • The ecosystem services trade-offs showed a decrease after the policy implementation. Forest can provide multiple benefits, such as supplying a variety of ecosystem services. However, the planet is currently at risk of deforestation as a result of increased urbanization and growing food demand. Countries around the world have introduced a wide range of policies to mitigate this issue. In China, the Linyi City government has launched the cross-county forest credit market transactions (CFCMT) policy, which showcased significant innovations in compliance credits and transaction entities to enhance motivation for afforestation. This study creates a no-policy counterfactual scenario to analyze the woodland growth and ecosystem service trade-offs between 2013 and 2021. The results demonstrate that the woodland grew faster after this policy, with a growth rate 1.78 times higher than that from 2013 to 2017. The areas of woodland growth with the policy are mainly located on the edges of cropland and woodland. The increased woodland primarily originates from cropland conversion, and compared to the no-policy scenario, these growing woodlands have gentler slopes and lower altitudes. After the policy's enforcement, there were more increases in carbon storage, soil retention, and habitat quality. And ecosystem services showed a more optimizing trend in the direction of synergy at grid and town scales. We also find that larger spatial scales exhibit synergies and less accurately represent trade-off/synergistic change trends. The ecosystem services bundle consisting of carbon stocks, soil conservation and habitat quality showed a significant increase. This study reveals woodland growth and trade-offs among ecosystem services after the implementation of CFCMT policy, offering valuable insights for future afforestation policy optimization and promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Managing relationships among ecosystem service supplies and demands and manipulating certain drivers to maintain well-balanced ecosystem service suites are key challenges for ensuring sustainable social-ecological systems. However, comprehensive research on the spatial relationships and determinants of ecosystem service supply-demand mismatches remains rare. Therefore, we assessed trade-offs and synergies among bundled ecosystem service supply-demand balances and their underlying drivers in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Four distinct ecosystem service bundles revealed diverse ecosystem service supply-demand mismatches among different locations associated with various trade-offs and synergies. Building weighted networks specifically for different bundles promoted innovative understandings of the emergent properties of ecosystem services and unveiled the topological ecosystem service differences, synergistic interdependences among these services and essential umbrella ecosystem services for improving multiple ecosystem service supply-demand states. Social factors severely increased ecosystem service deficits in some bundles, while biophysical factors more critically improved ecosystem service surpluses in other bundles. Besides, the similar nonlinear responses of both the overall supply-demand states of multiple services and the supply-demand relationships of umbrella ecosystem services to their shared drivers in most bundles further supported the important roles of umbrella services in improving ecosystem service multifunctionality. Our study emphasized the significance of considering the spatial relationships and drivers of ecosystem service supply-demand mismatches when targeting effective spatial policies for realizing the sustainability of social-ecological systems and could provide useful guidance for addressing complex human-nature interdependencies. [Display omitted] • Relationships among and drivers of ecosystem service (ES) budgets were analysed. • Topological differences among bundled ES budgets were explored by network analysis. • Synergistic interdependence among bundled ES supply-demand relations was revealed. • Umbrella ESs lied at the heart of managing supply-demand relations of multiple ESs. • Social-ecological drivers had contrasting and nonlinear impacts on ES budgets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystem service is widely acknowledged as a mainstream and valuable concept for the sustainability-oriented decision-makings on meeting the fundamental needs for improving human well-being and addressing the critical challenges such as food scarcity, land degradation, climate warming, biodiversity loss, flood risk and population pressure. Different ecosystem services arise through combinations of social-ecological drivers and interact with each other across scales. Essential to design effective policy interventions toward achieving sustainability is clarifying the relationships among ecosystem services and the underlying drivers at different scales. Therefore, this study analysed the spatial patterns and relationships of six ecosystem service supplies and examined their responses to ten social-ecological drivers at three spatial scales in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in 2015. Our results revealed differences in ecosystem service spatial pattern robustness across scales. The trade-offs and synergies between ecosystem services changed less in direction and more in strength at the three scales. The relationships between the provisioning service and the other ecosystem services were mostly antagonistic, and those between the regulating services and cultural service were predominately synergistic. Different types of ecosystem service bundles comprising different abundances of services were detected, and reconfiguration of ecosystem service bundles occurred as the scale changed. The directions of social-ecological drivers' impacts varied across ecosystem services, and the magnitudes of social-ecological drivers' impacts on the services varied at different scales. Across the three spatial scales, the most influential driver of ecosystem services was the normalized difference vegetation index, to which different ecosystem services responded diversely and non-linearly. Our results advocated the multiscale assessment of ecosystem services and social-ecological drivers and emphasized the necessity of embracing scale dependency in the hierarchical governance of ecosystem services. Image 1 • The trade-offs and synergies between ecosystem services (ESs) changed with scale. • Reconfiguration of ESs bundles occurred as the spatial scale increased. • The magnitudes of social-ecological drivers' impacts on ESs varied with scale. • Different ESs responded non-linearly to the normalized difference vegetation index. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]