Abstract
Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) is one of the most significant human variables influencing the efficiency of Ecosystem Services (ESs) in terrestrial ecosystems. Theoretical and technical assistance for regional sustainable land use planning and management, as well as ecosystem conservation and restoration, is provided by investigating the influence of changes in the LULC pattern on the efficiency of ESs. This research focuses on the interactions between socioeconomic activities and natural ecological processes in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA). We use LULC data from the TGRA for the years 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020. The study includes the analysis and calculation of the spatiotemporal evolution features of the current LULC pattern and the efficiency of ESs, including their spatiotemporal distribution. Considering the TGRA's national development orientation and guidance, three potential LULC patterns are constructed under various develop-ment scenarios. To calculate the efficiency of ESs, the GeoSOS-FLUS future LULC simulation model is linked, and several methodologies such as INVEST, RUSLE, and CASA are used. The goal is to investigate the influence of future changes in LULC patterns on ESs efficiency. The findings show the following: (1) From 1990 to 2020, the values of water conservation services in the TGRA decreased and subsequently increased. High-value areas are primarily located in the reservoir's centre and eastern sections, whereas low-value areas are mostly found in the western section. Soil conservation service values initially declined and later climbed. The TGRA's carbon storage services have in-creased yearly, from 552.64 g/m2 in 2000 to 615.92 g/m2 in 2020. (2) In the ecological protection scenario, carbon storage and soil erosion increased compared to the ecosystem services in 2020. The ecological system service benefits are greater when compared to the natural development scenario. (3) The four ESs show positive spatial correlations across all three scenarios, and local spatial au-tocorrelation analysis findings demonstrate that carbon storage, water yield, and habitat quality have comparable spatial distributions across all three scenarios. To some extent, high-value areas for water conservation, soil retention, carbon storage, and habitat quality overlap.