ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Environmental Economics and Management
This article is part of the Research TopicMonitoring and Modeling of Runoff and Soil Processes in River BasinsView all 6 articles
Measurement and spatio-temporal characteristics of ecosystem service value flow in Yangtze River Basin during 2010--2023: A network perspective
Provisionally accepted
- 1Xiangnan University, Chenzhou, China
- 2Wuhan Huaxia University of Technology, Wuhan, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Understanding the spatial flows of ecosystem services (ES) is essential for designing effective ecological compensation mechanisms. This study examines the spatial characteristics and evolution of ES flows in the Yangtze River Basin and their implications for transverse ecological compensation. Using the InVEST model to quantify ES supply and demand and a gravity model to simulate flow paths, we combined network analysis to identify critical nodes and bottlenecks. The results reveal a distinct "upstream supply–midstream transfer–downstream demand" gradient pattern. Upstream regions serve as primary suppliers and compensation beneficiaries, midstream regions function as transfer hubs, and downstream regions act as major demand areas and compensation contributors. From 2010 to 2023, the ES network evolved from a sparse structure into a complex polycentric system, with core nodes consolidating and secondary nodes emerging. Spatiotemporal analysis of ecological compensation shows a clear gradient with a general mitigation of supply–demand mismatch, indicating positive policy outcomes. This study recommends optimizing compensation criteria, enhancing the capacity of peripheral nodes, strengthening regional coordination, and balancing ecological and economic benefits to support sustainable ecological civilization development in the Yangtze River Basin.
Keywords: ecosystem service value, supply–demand-flow, InVEST model, Complex network analysis, Gravity model
Received: 01 Oct 2025; Accepted: 28 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lu, Wang and Xie. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xiangyi Lu
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.