Achieving the supply-demand balance of ecosystem services through zoning regulation based on land use thresholds

The supply-demand balance of ecosystem services (ESs balance) has become a hotspot for human-land relationship research. Promoting ESs balance by land use regulation has become a challenge, which is crucial for developing effective ecological management and land use policies. This study took Yulong County in the Sichuan-Yunnan ecological barrier, China, as a research object, then used the ecological supply-demand ratio (ESDR) to analyze the balance characteristics of five ESs, including water retention, habitat quality, grain production, carbon sequestration, and soil retention in two different periods of 2010 and 2020. Further, the management indicators of land use proportion required to achieve ESs balance (i.e., land use thresholds) were defined, and finally, the land use zoning regulations were proposed. The results showed that: (1) From 2010 to 2020, forest, cropland, and grassland were the primary land use types in Yulong County, and the supply of the five ESs exceeded their demand. The surplus of other four ESs in the global region declined except for grain production. (2) Cropland, built-up land, and forest were the key land use types influencing the ESs balance. The land use thresholds were defined based on the regression relationship between ESDR and the proportion of key land use types, and they differed depending on the ES type. (3) Based on the comparison between the current land use structure and land use thresholds, aiming to achieve the balance of multiple ESs, four and three types of land use regulation zones and their management strategies were proposed at the township and 1 km × 1 km grids scales, respectively. This study proposed a theoretical framework, namely "achieving ESs balance through land use zoning regulations," which can provide references for formulating ecologically sustainable land use policies in spatial planning and management.