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Uncovering the trade-offs and synergy relationship of multiple ecosystem services (ESs) is important for scientific ecosystem management and the improvement of ecological service functions. In this study, we investigated the spatiotemporal changes of four typical ES types (i.e., water yield (WY), carbon storage (CS), soil conservation (SC), and habitat quality (HQ)) from 2001 to 2020 in the Han River Basin (HRB). Meanwhile, the trade-offs and synergies between paired ESs and the socioecological drivers of these ESs were further explored. The results showed that grassland, cropland, and bare land decreased by 12,141.3 km2, 624.09 km2, and 22.1 km2 during the study period, respectively, which can be attributed to their conversion to forests in the HRB. Temporally, the WY, CS, and SC all showed a continuously increasing trend. Spatially, WY and HQ exhibited bipolar clustering characteristics, with WY exhibiting low-value clustering in the upstream and high-value clustering in the downstream, while CS showed the clustering characteristics of a scattered distribution of cold and hot spots from 2001 to 2020. The spatial patterns of aggregation locations in CS and HQ were relatively similar, with clusters of higher ES values mainly distributed in the western and central regions and clusters of lower ES values mainly located in the eastern and southeastern regions, while the aggregation of WY was spatially concentrated. Overall, the CS showed a significant positive correlation with HQ, but a significant negative correlation with WY. Spatially, WY and HQ, CS, and SC showed a substantial trade-off relationship in the northwest and southeast parts of the study area, while HQ, CS, and SC mainly exhibited a synergistic relationship in most parts of the study area. Slope and temperature had high influencing factor coefficients on multiple ESs; the mixed effect of terrain and natural factors was significantly greater than the impact of a single factor on ESs, and terrain factors played an essential role in the changes in ESs. The findings can provide technical and theoretical support for integrated scientific ecosystem management and sustainable development at the local scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Vegetation in China showed a significant greening trend from 2001 to 2020. • Differences in the EVI patterns along four climate zones were characterized. • EVI was more sensitive to rainfall in the tropics and temperate regions. • This study is significant for the scientific management of cross climate zone ecosystems. Vegetation growth is sensitive to climate change. The complex climate types of China pose great challenges to the sustainable management of vegetation on global change. Therefore, this study used Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) as an indicator to explore the spatiotemporal dynamics of vegetation and their driving factors in different climatic zones of China to provide theoretical support for sustainable vegetation management in different climate zones in the future. The results showed that vegetation exhibited considerable clustering patterns in the country, with high and low values concentrated in the eastern and western regions, respectively. From 2001 to 2020, both at regional and pixel scales, vegetation in China showed a significant greening trend. EVI displayed a noticeable increase within temperate and subtropical areas. The only exception is observed in the eastern coastal area of the North China Plain and Yangtze River Delta region, which experienced evident degradation trend. During this period, China's climate showed an overall trend towards warming and humidification with drying trends observed mainly over the western regions. The impact of climate changes resulted in EVI dynamics that vary over time and space. The vegetation change in China was mainly derived by changes in precipitation and radiation rather than temperature, especially in temperate and subfrigid regions. Precipitation was the main driving factor for vegetation greening in tropical and temperate regions, while radiation and temperature were the dominant climate factor for vegetation greening in subfrigid and subtropical regions, respectively. When precipitation was no longer a limiting factor for vegetation growth, the effect of temperature or radiation increases. In addition, the positive impact of precipitation on plant growth in temperate regions was much greater than that of radiation and temperature, and this difference was much greater than in tropical, subtropical, and subfrigid regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]