Ecosystem service demand relationship and trade-off patterns in urban parks across China

TL;DR

This study analyzes how urban residents in China prioritize different ecosystem services in parks, revealing demand patterns and influencing factors to inform better park design.

Contribution

It provides large-scale empirical insights into demand trade-offs among ecosystem services in Chinese urban parks, highlighting the need for tailored park planning.

Findings

High preference for air purification and recreation services.

Identified three demand bundles: air purification, recreation, balanced.

Socio-economic and environmental factors significantly influence demand trade-offs.

Abstract

Urban parks play a vital role in delivering various essential ecosystem services that significantly contribute to the well-being of urban populations. However, there is quite a limited understanding of how people value these ecosystem services differently. Here, we investigated the relationships among nine ecosystem service demands in urban parks across China using a large-scale survey with 20,075 responses and a point-allotment experiment. We found particularly high preferences for air purification and recreation services at the expense of other services among urban residents in China. These preferences were further reflected in three distinct demand bundles: air purification-dominated, recreation-dominated, and balanced demands. Each bundle delineated a typical group of people with different representative characteristics. Socio-economic and environmental factors, such as environmental interest and vegetation coverage, were found to significantly influence the trade-off intensity among service demands. These results underscore the necessity for tailored urban park designs that address diverse service demands with the aim of enhancing the quality of urban life in China and beyond sustainably.