Abstract:Based on the supply and demand of ecosystem services, the division of ecological restoration zoning is of great significance for improving the quality of the ecological environment and enhancing regional sustainable development capabilities. Taking the typical ecologically fragile area in China, the Loess Plateau, as an example, we quantitatively evaluated the supply and demand of ecosystem services on the Loess Plateau from 2000 to 2020, analyzed the relationship between supply and demand of ecosystem services within the region. Based on these, we proposed corresponding optimization strategies for ecological restoration zoning. The results showed that: (1) From 2000 to 2020, the supply of different types of ecosystem services on the Loess Plateau increased. The demand for carbon sequestration and water production services showed an upward trend. The demand for soil conservation and food production services showed a downward trend. The supply-demand ratio of carbon sequestration service continuously decreased and was currently in short supply. The supply-demand ratios of water production, soil conservation, and food production services increased. The total supply-demand ratio first decreased and then increased. (2) In terms of spatial distribution patterns, the supply of carbon sequestration, water production, and soil conservation services generally exhibited a northwest-low to southeast-high pattern. The supply of food production service was consistent with the distribution of arable land. The demand for carbon sequestration, water production, and food production services was similar to the distribution of population density. The high-value areas of demand for soil conservation services were concentrated in the eastern and central regions, with the total demand being relatively high in the middle and low around the periphery. The total supply-demand ratio showed a northwest-low to southeast-high trend. From northwest to southeast, there was a transition in the matching types of supply and demand, from low supply-low demand to low supply-high demand to high supply-high demand to high supply-low demand. (3) Based on comprehensive analysis of the supply-demand relationship, the Loess Plateau was divided into five categories and nine ecological restoration zones, and corresponding restoration strategies were proposed for each zone. Among them, the zoning with insufficient supply focused on resolving the supply-demand contradictions between social development and natural ecology. The protection zoning emphasized the maintenance of the supply-demand relationship to enhance regional development coordination. The restoration zoning focused on improving the supply capacity to alleviate supply-demand conflicts. The transformation zoning combined governance and development. The construction zoning promoted regional industrial construction to facilitate high-quality regional development.