Urban sprawl decreases the value of ecosystem services and intensifies the supply scarcity of ecosystem services in China

Land use and land cover changes, particularly land take by urbanization, can degrade ecosystems and their capacity to provide humans with numerous benefits, namely, ecosystem services (ES). Many studies on the relationship between urbanization and the supply and demand of ES have been conducted. However, studies on the process and trend of the conflict between ES supply and demand, as well as the spatial differences, are lacking. Developing countries around the world are experiencing rapid urbanization. The aim of this study was to summarize the relationship between urbanization and the supply and demand of ES in China. China has experienced rapid urbanization since the reform and opening up, and the urban population reached 56.10% in 2015. Urban sprawl was twice that of population expansion, and led to a loss in value of ES. We calculated the loss in value of the five ES (food production, water conservation, climate regulation, habitat support and cultural service) due to the increase in construction area by means of spatial analysis. The total loss was US $110.95 billion in China from 1985 to 2015. This result indicated that the increases in construction land area had a negative impact on ES. At the same time, there was a conflict between the scarcity index of ES and their loss in value. The leading cause of this conflict was that economic development was highly dependent on the area of urban construction land. The results suggested that we should adopt “intensive” and “compact” strategic development models, quantify the value of ES, focus on the conflict between the loss in value and ES supply, and try our best to reduce the decline in ES in the future.