Ecosystem Services Supply-Demand Imbalance: A Critical Driver of Ecological Degradation

Ecosystem services (ESs) supply pertains to the ability of an area to provide ecosystem goods and services at a given time, whereas ESs demand encompasses the total consumption or utilization of all ecosystem products and services by human society (Burkhard et al., 2012). The quantification of ESs supply primarily involves ecological process modeling, valuation assessments of ecosystem services, and public participation. On the other hand, ESs demand encompasses comprehensive index assessments based on population, economy, and land, remote sensing monitoring, and consumption-based accounting.

While many studies have focused on the relationship between ESs supply and demand (ESSD), the imbalance between supply and demand serves as a crucial driver of regional ecological degradation (Chen et al., 2020; Kroll et al., 2012). Current research on ESSD primarily concentrates on quantification, spatial-temporal variation, spatial flow (Feurer et al., 2021), as well as the analysis of associated driving forces (Huang et al., 2022; Zhang et al., 2022), and its application in ecological zoning and the establishment of ecological security patterns (Zhang et al., 2022; Jia et al., 2023).

Furthermore, the changes and variations of ESSD are explored at different spatial scales, including landscape, regional, national, or global levels (Meng et al., 2020; Deng et al., 2021). However, there is still a lack of research focusing on future predictions. The future changes in ESSD are influenced by complex climate conditions (Scarano, 2017), socio-economic development (Lawler et al., 2014), and land use/land cover changes, which directly or indirectly impact ESSD and even pose limitations or threats to regional sustainable development.