[Spatio-temporal Evolution and Driving Forces of Ecosystem Service Values in Gansu Province's...

Assessing ecosystem service value （ESV） based on geographical zoning in large-scale regions is essential for optimizing regional ecological environments. To explore the dynamics and driving mechanisms of ESV in the production-living-ecological spaces （PLES） of the four major geographical regions in Gansu Province， this study utilized land use data from 1990 to 2020， integrating the transfer matrix， equivalent factor method， and geographical detector to analyze the evolution characteristics of PLES and the spatiotemporal patterns of ESV. The results indicate： ① The total ESV of Gansu Province increased from 209.533 billion yuan in 1990 to 378.769 billion yuan in 2020， an 80.80% growth， exhibiting a spatial pattern of "higher in the southeast and lower in the northwest." ② In the northwestern region of Gansu Province， agricultural production land increased by 236 369.26 hm²， with significant mutual conversion with grassland ecological land， leading to a 90.01% growth in ESV. In the Qinghai-Xizang Region， water ecological land increased by 33 538.59 hm²， contributing to a 79.50% rise in ESV. In the northern region， the mutual transformation between agricultural production land and grassland reached 297 998.01 hm²， resulting in the fastest ESV growth （80.85%）. The southern region had the lowest total ESV but a steady growth rate of 77.94%. ③ At the regional scale， NDVI， evapotranspiration， and solar radiation explained 50% of the spatial heterogeneity in ESV， serving as core driving factors. From the perspective of the four geographical regions， the northwestern region was dominated by NDVI （47% influence）， the Qinghai-Tibet Region was jointly influenced by NDVI and evapotranspiration （49% and 45%， respectively）， while the northern and southern regions showed no significant driving factors but were indirectly regulated by precipitation and GDP. This study reveals the spatial heterogeneity of ESV across the four geographically distinct regions and provides a scientific basis for formulating differentiated conservation strategies.