Exploring dynamic spatiotemporal relationships among multiple ecosystem systems to identify priority restoration areas: a case study in the Chinese Loess Plateau

Abstract Ecological restoration has significantly improved ecosystem services (ESs) in the Chinese Loess Plateau. Identifying spatial priority restoration areas based on ESs plays a key role in future ecological restoration, as dynamic trade-off relationships exist in multiple ESs. This study examined the dynamic spatial and temporal relationships among soil erosion, carbon storage, and habitat quality from 1988 to 2020 and explored the spatial priority restoration areas in Yan’an, the Loess Plateau. We found that ecological restoration has improved soil erosion, carbon storage, and habitat quality in the entire Yan’an over the past three decades, but low values of ES areas were concentrated in north Yan’an. Trade-offs occurred in soil erosion, carbon storage, and habitat quality from 1988 to 2020. Significant trade-off relationship areas moved from south to north Yan’an, concentrating on Wuqi, Zhidan, Ansai counties, and north Baota district. Moreover, a high level of vegetation cover was maintained in Yan’an in 2015 and 2020, but we did not find a significant improvement for three ESs in 2020 in comparison to 2015. Thus, a focus should be on the maintenance of the level of vegetation in 2020 and priority restoration areas tend to be clustered in four counties located in north Yan’an. However, knowledge on what vegetation threshold is compatible with a good level of ES is missing. Future research may investigate the threshold of vegetation cover for providing multiple ES on a regional scale, even expanding to the entire Loess Plateau, and further identifying spatial priority restoration areas across the Loess Plateau.