Impact of Urbanization on Ecosystem Services in the Yangtze River Delta: An Analysis from Explicit and Implicit Perspectives

Rapid urbanization has profoundly impacted regional ecosystem services. However, most current studies have not paid enough attention to the implicit quality-of-life dimensions of urbanization, and few studies have been published on the dynamic interactions between urbanization and the evolution of ecosystem services. This study investigated the temporal and spatial dynamics of urbanization and ecosystem services value (ESV) in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region from 2010 to 2020 and their correlation. We conceptualized and measured the level of urbanization in two dimensions: Urbanization I (population, economy, and landscape) and Urbanization II (public services, education and spiritual life, and habitation environment construction). ESV was quantitatively evaluated by the equivalent factor method. The global and local spatial autocorrelation analysis was used to reveal the influence of urbanization dynamic evolution on ESV change. The results show the following: (1) the level of Urbanization I rose steadily, while the level of Urbanization II, though starting from a lower base, grew at a significantly faster rate, especially after 2017; (2) total ESV declined, with the largest decline in regulating services; (3) a significant negative spatial correlation was found between urbanization and ESV, with Urbanization I exerting a greater negative impact than Urbanization II; (4) spatially, “high-low” clusters (high urbanization, low neighboring ESV) dominate in the eastern coastal areas, while “low-high” clusters dominate in the western inland areas. The findings are of great significance for regional sustainable development and can provide a reference for other rapidly urbanizing regions in the world.