Evolution of “Production–Living–Ecological” Spaces Conflicts and Their Impacts on Ecosystem Service Values in the Farming–Pastoral Ecotone in Inner Mongolia During Rapid Urbanization

Rapid urbanization is causing ecological and environmental issues to worsen. The stability of the ecosystem function of the farming–pastoral ecotone (FPE) in Inner Mongolia is essential to ensuring the sustained growth of the nearby cities, acting as a vital ecological safeguard in China’s northern regions. This study used the “production–living–ecological” spaces (PLES) spatial dynamics, the rate of change index, and the standard deviation ellipse to examine the spatial and temporal evolution of the PLES in the FPE in Inner Mongolia. This study constructed a spatial conflict index model based on the theory of landscape ecology, and evaluated the ecosystem service value (ESV) of the region and visualized the results of the analysis using the micro-scale of the grid. Finally, the relationship between the ESV and PLES spatial conflicts was determined using a bivariate spatial autocorrelation model. The findings show that: (1) During the 20 years, the maximum ecological spatial change rate reached 0.43%, with the cumulative spatial dynamics of PLES totaling 2.49%. Notably, industrial production space activities experienced the most significant increase, amounting to 277.09%. (2) Regional spatial conflict intensity shows an upward trend from 2000 to 2020, with the average conflict level increasing from 0.53 to 0.56, and high conflict values being concentrated in the east. (3) The ESV pattern in the FPE in Inner Mongolia is characterized by “high ESV in the east and low ESV in the central and western regions”, with an overall trend of increasing and then decreasing. A notable negative correlation was observed between ESV and PLES spatial conflicts in the region, with Moran’s I indicating values of−0.196, −0.293, and−0.163, respectively. Specifically, low-value–high-conflict zones were predominantly found in other ecological spaces, high-value–low-conflict zones was concentrated in forest ecological spaces, and high-value–high-conflict zones were predominantly concentrated in aquatic ecological spaces. The research findings serve as a crucial scientific foundation for the development of ecological civilization and the sustainable advancement of the FPE in Inner Mongolia.