Spatiotemporal pattern of the trade-offs and synergies of ecosystem services after Grain for Green Program: a case study of the Loess Plateau, China.

A vital approach for sustainable development is to achieve continuous synergies of ecosystem services (ESs). The implementation of Grain for Green Program (GFGP) in China has altered land use pattern and further affected ESs. The Loess Plateau, one of the crucial areas of GFGP, has a barren ecosystem. Thus, it is urgent to analyze trade-offs and synergies of ESs as it seeks to make rational use of natural resources. In this paper, three ESs (food supply (FS), water yield (WY), and habitat quality (HQ)) were selected to illustrate their relationships and changes during the implementation of GFGP. Accordingly, the correlation coefficient, the spatial autocorrelation, and the hotspot method were adopted to analyze the spatial agglomeration effect at the grid scale and the village scale. The obtained results indicated that the spatial distribution of the three ESs had their own characteristics. There is a synergy of WY and FS, and trade-offs of WY and HQ, and HQ and FS, respectively. Notably, the trade-offs and synergies of ESs were consistent at two scales, though the correlation coefficient was slightly different. Compared with the grid scale, the agglomeration effect on the village scale is more obvious. To promote region sustainable management, the interrelation of ESs should be taken into account in the eco-conservation policies.