Implications of land sparing and sharing for maintaining regional ecosystem services: An empirical study from a suitable area for agricultural production in China

The clarification of land use management in areas of potential land use conflict plays an important role in maintaining ecosystem services. However, the relationship between land use strategies and ecosystem services in potential conflict zones remains uncertain, lacking quantitative evidence. Therefore, to construct a healthy territorial space system, a spatial classification model for land use was built based on land sparing and sharing. In addition, the inherent characteristics of different modes in the landscape structure and functional heterogeneity were also resolved. Then, an empirical analysis was carried out with the coastal agricultural production area of Maoming City, Guangdong Province. Focusing on the potential area of land use conflicts in Maoming City, that is, the suitable area for agricultural production, this study determined the differences in ecosystem services under multiple land use patterns at the pixel level, explored the trade-offs of ecosystem services in the entire suitable area and a single model, and examined the gradient effect of ecosystem services with the intensity of cultivated land use. According to the results, ecosystem services significantly differed in land use patterns, and the comprehensive ecosystem service was the highest in the land sharing model. Ecosystem services exert a synergistic effect in the entire suitable area for agricultural production, whereas there exists no correlation within a single model. When the arable land area of intensive agriculture exceeds 84.84%, food supply and other ecosystem services will be reduced to varying degrees. The study bridges the gap in research on the relationship between land sparing and sharing and ecosystem services in Chinese regions, and proposes clear land remediation strategies in potential conflict zones, which can thus provide some guidance for achieving sustainable regional development.