Revealing urban residents’ ecosystem service preferences in China: Evidence from a nationwide survey

Characterizing ecosystem services demand (ESD) is key to understanding the diverse preferences for various benefits from nature. However, direct evidence of the variations in ESDs among different groups of people and places remains limited. Here, a national-scale dataset of ESDs derived from a non-probabilistic survey of 20,075 urban residents across 31 provinces in China is presented. The dataset captures preferences for nine typical urban ecosystem services using a point-allotment experiment, where participants allocated a total of 100 importance points to prioritize ESDs. Key findings reveal significant variations in ESDs, with air purification receiving the highest average importance point (22.17), followed by recreation (15.60) and local climate regulation (13.62). This pattern of variation in ESDs is evident in 28 of 31 provinces. The dataset also includes detailed socioeconomic and environmental metadata, enabling further analyses of regional disparities and their drivers among ESDs. This resource offers exploratory insights into tailoring urban design and ecosystem management strategies to diverse societal needs, thereby advancing sustainable land use planning and ESD research.