Livelihoods as mediators: Unraveling the ecosystem services-human well-being nexus in the desert steppe of inner Mongolia, China

Ecosystem services (ES) and Human well-being (HWB) constitute two fundamental components of sustainable development. However, the intricate interdependence and feedback between them are difficult to quantify. Livelihoods serve as critical mediators between ES and HWB, providing a novel approach to examine their interactions. This study took desert steppe area of Inner Mongolia, China as the study area, by integrating the sustainable livelihood framework, analyzed livelihoods, well-being, and ES at the household scale, revealed the interactions among ES, livelihoods, and HWB at three levels by the path analysis model. Results showed natural and financial capitals were the main constraints on pastoral livelihoods. ES (grass yield, water yield, soil conservation, and carbon storage) increased southward, while firewood supply and carrying capacity of livestock showed spatial heterogeneity. Objective well-being (OWB) remained low despite high subjective well-being (SWB), reflecting material-psychological disparities. Overall, ES enhanced OWB, while livelihood capitals paradoxically degraded ES yet improved OWB. At the subtypes level, regulatory service positively impacted OWB, natural capital negatively affected provisioning and regulatory service. Natural, physical, human, and social capitals improved OWB. At the indicator level, livelihood capitals, such as adult male labor and other factors were identified as critical mediated factors. The study advances ES-HWB theoretical frameworks, offering actionable insights for balancing ecological conservation and pastoral households’ well-being in arid ecosystems. • Quantified ecosystem services-livelihoods-well-being relationships across three levels using path analysis. • Natural and financial capitals are key constraints to pastoral livelihoods. • Ecosystem services showed clear spatial heterogeneity at the household scale. • Livelihood capitals degraded ecosystem services but improved objective well-being. • Key livelihood factors (e.g., adult male labor) mediated ecosystem services-well-being links.