Trade-offs and synergies of ecosystem services: Development history and research characteristics

Ecosystem services are closely related to human well-being, and the study of the trade-offs and synergies between ecosystem services is currently a pressing research topic. By analyzing its conceptual connotation and research characteristics, we can better understand the relationship between the regional ecosystem services, adapt to the need of the parties to maximize the overall benefits, and provide a basis for decision-making for regional development. This study focused on the literature quantitative characteristics of domestic and foreign research on ecosystem services trade-offs and synergies from 1996 to 2020 by literature analysis and comparative analysis. Domestic and foreign research themes from different periods, from the beginning of development to the present, were analyzed. The conceptual connotation and research characteristics of the trade-offs and synergies of ecosystem services were summarized. Finally, shortcomings existing in current research and future research directions were identified. The specific conclusions are as follows: the number of domestic and foreign studies is increasing, with the foreign growth rate faster than domestic; Ecosystem service trade-offs and synergies are strongly dependent on time and space scales, the difference of spatio-temporal scale jointly drives the dynamic change of the relationship between trade-offs and synergies, but there is still a lot of research space in this field. In the future, it is necessary to strengthen the research on the framework model, quantitative analysis, driving mechanism, internal mechanism, threshold effect, supply and demand of temporal and spatial changes to better understand the mechanism of temporal and spatial changes in ecosystem service trade-offs and synergies, and achieve a mutually beneficial situation for regional ecological environment and socioeconomic development.