Abstract:Significant spatial heterogeneity and spatial imbalance exist in the supply and demand capabilities of ecosystem services, which have a huge impact on regional economic development and environmental protection. Taking the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration as the research unit, its supply and demand of ecosystem services was separately calculated in this study. With gradient analysis, the spatial characteristics of ecosystem service supply and demand were summarized. Based on the analysis of the supply and demand, an ecological pattern zoning scheme for the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration and targeted development strategies for different parts of the area were proposed, which would provide scientific bases for the land-use planning and regional coordinated development of the area. Results of this research show that: (1) the supply capacity of ecosystem services in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration is closely related to the type of land use, showing a gradual increase from north to south; (2) there is a close connection between the demand for ecosystem services in the area and socioeconomic development, where a high-value area for ecosystem service demand is formed near the estuary of the Yangtze River and then declines toward the periphery; (3) the supply and demand of ecosystem services has a negative trend along the urban-rural gradient that transects across Shanghai-Nanjing-Hangzhou-Hefei; and (4) based on the relationship between the supply and demand of ecosystem services, the ecological pattern of urban agglomeration in the Yangtze River Delta can be divided into four zones: an ecological conservation area (high supply-high demand), an ecological restoration area (low supply-high demand), an ecological remodeling area (low supply-low demand), and an ecological development area (high supply-low demand).