Analyzing spatio-temporal changes and trade-offs to support the supply of multiple ecosystem services in Beijing, China

Rapid urbanization has dramatically changed regional land use patterns and brought enormous pressures on ecosystem services (ESs). The assessment of the impact of urbanization on ESs is critical for sustainable urban planning and land policy in China. In this study, we used the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model to assess the changes in ESs based on land use patterns in Beijing from 1984 to 2015. A new comprehensive ecosystem service (CES) index was developed to spatially reflect the total supply of multiple ESs and provide references for policy makers. We further analyzed the trade-offs among various ESs through correlation analysis and designed five alternative scenarios to explore effective strategies which can improve the CES while simultaneously reducing trade-offs among different ESs in Beijing. The results showed that the average CES of Beijing decreased over the past 30 years. The ecological conservation region, which is located to the north and west of Beijing, had the best CES performance. Among the various ESs, services for water purification, soil erosion control, vegetable provision, and fruit provision increased, whereas services for carbon storage, water provision, habitat provision, and grain provision decreased from 1984 to 2015. It’s worth noting that sediment export in Beijing showed no significant relationships with regulating and supporting services, which include carbon storage, water purification and habitat provision. To control soil erosion effectively, we should not only increase the area of afforestation but also plant trees on the steeper slopes. In addition, there is a major trade-off between food provision and regulating and supporting services. Vegetation restoration in both riparian zones and previously steep croplands can improve CES at the expense of reducing food provision. Moreover, forestry restoration is proved to be more effective than grass-based restoration. To reduce the trade-offs between food provision and regulating and supporting services and concurrently improve the CES, it is essential to increase the efficiency of food provision per unit area and develop urban vertical agriculture in Beijing.