The Role of Ecosystem Services in Shaping Rural Livelihood Resilience in China: A Comparative Study Between Ecological and Non‐Ecological Functional Zones

ABSTRACT Understanding the relationship between ecosystem services and the livelihood resilience of rural households is essential for effective ecological management. Although interest in the link between ecosystem services and livelihoods has grown, few studies have examined the effects of total ecosystem service value (ESV), individual types of ESV, and their interactions with other factors on household livelihood resilience. Moreover, the heterogeneity of these effects in ecological and non‐ecological functional zones remains underexplored. Based on a method innovation integrating a nationwide representative dataset collected in rural China and a spatial dataset representing ESV, this study compares the impact of ESV on livelihood resilience and its three components (absorptive, adaptive, and transformative capacity) in ecological and non‐ecological functional zones. The results show that: (1) Household livelihood resilience score is higher in non‐ecological functional zones than in ecological zones (26.90 vs. 25.37). (2) The average total ESV is higher in ecological functional zones (7.679 × 10 6 yuan) than that in non‐ecological functional zones (6.443 × 10 6 yuan). (3) Total ESV has a stronger effect on livelihood resilience in non‐ecological functional zones ( β = −0.123, p < 0.01), with the greatest impact on adaptive capacity ( β = −0.058, p < 0.01). (4) The material production value (, p < 0.01) and water provision value (, p < 0.01) in ecological functional zones have more pronounced impacts on household resilience compared to the non‐ecological functional zones. (5) ESV weakens the positive influence of land resources utilization and net income on livelihood resilience but enhances the positive impact of ecological projects. These findings offer important insights for policy development in ecologically sensitive regions.