Spatiotemporal effects of landscape structure on the trade-offs and synergies among ecosystem service functions in Yangtze River Economic Belt, China

Effective landscape management is vital for maximizing the availability of ecosystem service functions (ESF). However, how landscape pattern simultaneously affects multiple ESF across time and space, specifically regarding changes in their relationships, has not been comprehensively evaluated. Accordingly, the current study examines the dynamic impact of landscape pattern on the interactions among ES trade-offs in China's Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) from 1990 to 2020. Five key ESF are evaluated: carbon sequestration (CS), food supply (FS), habitat quality (HQ), water retention (WR), and soil conservation (SC). The geographical and temporal weighted regression model is adopted to analyze how these relationships are influenced by changes in the landscape pattern over 30 years. Over the past three decades, the overall amounts of FS, WR, and SC have increased, with only WR exhibiting a sustained increasing trend, while CS and HQ have significantly decreased. The trade-off coordination effects among the ESF generally transitioned from trade-offs to synergies, with the CS–FS change more pronounced, shifting from weak trade-offs (− 0.29) to synergies (0.20). Significant spatial variations were also observed. Most landscape pattern significantly impact the relationships among ESF. Specifically, landscape composition has a stronger influence on ecosystems than configuration; however, these effects are diverse and often inconsistent, requiring decision-makers to continuously balance landscape management. The impacts of landscape pattern on the relationships between SC and other ESF (CS–SC, HQ–SC, HQ–SC, and WR–SC) were consistent, with the most prominent impact on CS–SC. This suggests that landscape pattern exerts a comparatively steady impact on CS, benefiting from the contributions of decision-makers to soil conservation in regional land parcels. These results underscore the intricate responses of inter-ecosystem relationships to landscape pattern and the need for dynamic trade-offs in landscape management. Cumulatively, this study provides crucial guidance for policymakers in designing effective landscape management policies to mitigate ecological degradation.