The spatial pattern of agricultural ecosystem services from the production-living-ecology perspective: A case study of the Huaihai Economic Zone, China

Clarifying the spatial pattern of multiple ecosystem services and the production-living-ecology is crucial for promoting the sustainable development of regional agricultural ecosystems. In this paper, taking the Huaihai Economic Zone (HEZ) as a case study area, we used a series of geospatial models and multisource data to construct a framework for assessing the production-living-ecology of agricultural ecosystem services. Then, the ecosystem services and comprehensive production-living-ecology index of the cropland in the entire study area were evaluated and analyzed. Finally, we used a method of regionalization with dynamically constrained agglomerative clustering and partitioning to identify the subclusters of agricultural ecosystems in the study area and proposed the concept of regional management. We found that (1) for the single service of agricultural ecosystems, based on warm temperate semihumid climatic conditions and topographic factors, water conservation, carbon sequestration and oxygen release and grain production services in the HEZ showed spatial consistency in 2017; the distribution characteristics of these factors were high in the south and low in the north; the distribution of soil maintenance services was the opposite, and the high value of culture and recreation services was scattered and distributed in areas with good ecological background conditions and convenient transportation. (2) The production-living-ecology index in the HEZ generally showed a distribution pattern of high in the south and low in the north. (3) Through zoning, the 1884 grids, 12 partitions, and 6 subclusters provide references for the management of different types of agricultural ecosystem services. Our results can provide scientific guidance for the development of effective agricultural ecosystem management programs and the optimization of cropland development. • A model of the production-living-ecology (PLE) index is proposed for agricultural ecosystems. • Spatial pattern analysis of agricultural ecosystem services and integrated PLE is carried out. • The PLE is applied to the identification of agricultural ecosystem subclusters in the Huaihai Economic Zone (HEZ). • Differentiated measures are taken to optimize cropland in HEZ.