Factors driving water yield ecosystem services in the Yellow River Economic Belt, China: Spatial heterogeneity and spatial spillover perspectives

The stable supply of water resources is an important foundation for maintaining human production and life. With the development of economy and society, climate, socioeconomic and land factors directly or indirectly affect surface Water yield ecosystem services (WY). The driving factors of WY in the Yellow River Economic Belt (YREB) show the spatial spillover effect, which has been neglected in previous related studies. The results show that: (1) From 2000 to 2015, WY in YREB showed an obvious downward trend, with Henan and Shandong having the largest declines; (2) The decrease of WY is positively correlated with climate factors and negatively correlated with socioeconomic and land factors. (3) WY of YREB presents is characterized by obvious spatial heterogeneity characteristics of uneven distribution in the north and south, which is mainly due to the spatial spillover effect caused by climate and socioeconomic factors. Scientifically identifying the spatial heterogeneity of WY and the spatial spillover effect of the driving factors can help managers better understand the spatial driving mechanism of the driving factors on WY. This conclusion provides support for the ecological protection and high-quality development strategy of YREB.