How do ecosystem services evolve across urban-rural transitional landscapes of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in China: patterns, trade-offs, and drivers

Context Urbanization process has greatly changed urban-rural landscape patterns and the ecosystem services (ESs) they provide. Understanding how ESs and their relationships change in the context urban-rural transition is crucial for landscape sustainability, especially under the background of accelerated urban-rural integration. Objective The objectives of this study were to (1) identify urban-rural transitional landscapes in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration; (2) analyze the spatiotemporal dynamics of ESs from 1980 to 2020 and their trade-offs across urban-rural landscapes; and (3) understand how driving factors affect the ES trade-offs across different urban-rural landscapes. Methods Urban, urban-rural fringe, and rural landscapes were identified by adopting clustering and buffer analysis and eight typical ESs were assessed by using the biophysical models. Then, correlation analysis and geographically weighted regression were applied to explore ES relationships and their drivers. Results Average values of most types of ESs increased from urban to rural areas, except for food production and water purification. ESs trade-offs became intensified as it transitions from urban to rural landscapes, most of which occurred between provisioning and other services. Drivers of ES trade-offs showed two patterns: decline for socioeconomic factors and inflexion for natural factors across the urban-to-rural transitional gradient. Conclusion Integrating urban-rural identification with ESs and their trade-offs can provide a novel perspective for strengthening urban-rural landscape sustainability: understanding and improving ESs across urban-rural landscapes, and further reconciling their trade-offs can facilitate urban-rural integration and provide policy implications for landscape governance.