Author(s)

HengHui Xi^1,2

Affiliation(s)

¹College of Public Administration, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu, China.

²China Resources, Environment and Development Academy, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu, China.

Corresponding Author

HengHui Xi

ABSTRACT

Understanding the coupling relationship between ecosystem service (ES) supply-demand matching and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is crucial for achieving landscape sustainability in rapidly urbanizing regions. This study focuses on Yixing City, a typical urbanizing area within the Taihu Lake Basin, and constructs a "Landscape Sustainability Assessment Framework Coupling ES Supply-Demand and ES-SDG Linkages". Using the InVEST model and socioeconomic data, we quantified the supply-demand levels of five key ESs, evaluated SDG attainment across Yixing’s townships based on ES-SDG linkages, and comprehensively characterized their landscape sustainability (LS). Key findings include: (1) Significant spatial variability in ES supply-demand balances across townships, with carbon sequestration showing the most pronounced imbalance; (2) SDG 8 (Economic Growth) consistently outperformed other SDGs, while SDG 7 (Clean Energy), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities) exhibited lower attainment levels; (3) Among the 18 townships, 12 displayed improving trends in landscape sustainability. Xinzhuang achieved the highest sustainability, whereas Yicheng and Qiting ranked lowest; (4) Targeted strategies—such as ecological restoration tailored to local ES deficits, enhancing critical ES supplies, and prioritizing key SDGs—are needed to improve regional landscape sustainability.

KEYWORDS

Ecosystem service supply and demand; ES-SDG linkages; Landscape sustainability; Taihu lake basin

CITE THIS PAPER

HengHui Xi. Assessing landscape sustainability by coupling ecosystem service supply-demand and ES-SDG linkages: a case study of Yixing city in the Taihu lake basin. Frontiers in Environmental Research. 2025, 3(1): 74-83. DOI: https://doi.org/10.61784/fer3018.

REFERENCES

[1] Wu J. Landscape sustainability science (II): core questions and key approaches. Landscape Ecology, 2021, 36(8): 2453–2485.

[2] Li T, Liu Y, Ouyang X, et al. Sustainable development of urban agglomerations around lakes in China: Achieving SDGs by regulating Ecosystem Service Supply and Demand through New-type Urbanization. Habitat International, 2024, 153: 103206.

[3] Tao Y, Li Z, Sun X, et al. Supply and demand dynamics of hydrologic ecosystem services in the rapidly urbanizing Taihu Lake Basin of China. Applied Geography, 2023, 151: 102853.

[4] Xi H, Huang C, Ou W, et al. An assessment framework for landscape sustainability based on ecosystem service supply-flow-demand. Landscape Ecology, 2024, 39(3): 57.

[5] Burkhard B, Kroll F, Nedkov S, et al. Mapping ecosystem service supply, demand and budgets. Ecological Indicators, 2012, 21: 17–29.

[6] Gao M, Hu Y, Liu X, et al. Revealing multi-scale characteristics of ecosystem services supply and demand imbalance to enhance refined ecosystem management in China. Ecological Indicators, 2025, 170: 112971.

[7] Zhang X, Wang Y, Yuan X, et al. Identifying ecosystem service supply-demand imbalance for sustainable land management in China’s Loess Plateau. Land Use Policy, 2022, 123: 106423.

[8] Wood SLR, Jones SK, Johnson JA, et al. Distilling the role of ecosystem services in the Sustainable Development Goals. Ecosystem Services, 2018, 29: 70–82.

[9] Yang Z, Zhan J, Wang C, et al. Coupling coordination analysis and spatiotemporal heterogeneity between sustainable development and ecosystem services in Shanxi Province, China. Science of The Total Environment, 2022, 836: 155625.

[10] Yang L, Zhang L, Li Y, et al. Water-related ecosystem services provided by urban green space: A case study in Yixing City (China). Landscape and Urban Planning, 2015, 136: 40–51.

[11] Liu L, Xu X, Chen X. Assessing the impact of urban expansion on potential crop yield in China during 1990–2010. Food Security, 2015, 7(1): 33–43.

[12] Sun X, Yang P, Tao Y, et al. Improving ecosystem services supply provides insights for sustainable landscape planning: A case study in Beijing, China. Science of The Total Environment, 2022, 802: 149849.

[13] Liu H, Remme RP, Hamel P, et al. Supply and demand assessment of urban recreation service and its implication for greenspace planning-A case study on Guangzhou. Landscape and Urban Planning, 2020, 203: 103898.

[14] Tao Y, Tao Q, Sun X, et al. Mapping ecosystem service supply and demand dynamics under rapid urban expansion: A case study in the Yangtze River Delta of China. Ecosystem Services, 2022, 56: 101448.

[15] Yang S, Zhao W, Liu Y, et al. Prioritizing sustainable development goals and linking them to ecosystem services: A global expert's knowledge evaluation. Geography and Sustainability, 2020, 1(4): 321–330.

[16] Hu S, Yang Y, Li A, et al. Integrating Ecosystem Services Into Assessments of Sustainable Development Goals: A Case Study of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, China. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 2022, 10.

[17] Zhao Y, Zhou R, Yu Q, et al. Revealing the contribution of mountain ecosystem services research to sustainable development goals: A systematic and grounded theory driven review. Journal of Environmental Management, 2025, 373: 123452.

[18] Zuo L, Liu G, Zhao J, et al. Spatiotemporal heterogeneity management: Optimizing the critical role of ecosystem services in achieving Sustainable Development Goals. Geography and Sustainability, 2025, 6(1): 100211.

[19] Chen D, Zhao Q, Jiang P, et al. Incorporating ecosystem services to assess progress towards sustainable development goals: A case study of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China. Science of The Total Environment, 2022, 806: 151277.