Abstract: Climate change and human disturbances have resulted in the degradation of ecosystem services, impeding regional sustainable development. A thorough scientific understanding of ecosystem service changes and the underlying mechanisms is essential to formulating policies for regional sustainable development and ecological security enhancement. In this study, we used the InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs Tools) model to quantitatively evaluate ecosystem services (water yield, soil conservation, and habitat quality) in western Jilin Province over the past decade (2010-2020). We further examined the temporal and spatial variations of ecosystem services and revealed the relative contributions of climate change, land use/cover change (LUCC) and their interactions to the changes of ecosystem services. The results showed that: (1) Over the past decade, the area of drylands, wetlands and unused lands decreased, while the area of paddy fields, forest lands, grasslands and construction lands showed an increasing trend, primarily driven by land management policies. The reduced drylands were mainly converted into paddy fields or forest land. (2) The overall trend of ecosystem services in western Jilin Province was increasing, but with significant spatial heterogeneity. Water production and soil conservation increased by 24.2% and 51.6%, respectively, while habitat quality overall showed a decreasing trend (-4.8%). The increases in water production were mainly concentrated in the wetlands and paddy fields that located in the central and northwestern parts of the study area. In contrast, the increases in soil conservation were mainly found in the wetlands and grasslands of the western and northeastern regions. (3) The increases in water production were primarily affected by the positive effects of climate change, such as increasing temperature and precipitation. The increases in soil conservation were mainly affected by climate change and its interaction with LUCC (resulting from increased vegetation cover). The decreases in habitat quality were primarily driven by the negative effects of LUCC, such as increased arable land area and urban expansion. Our findings can provide a scientific foundation for the enhancement of ecosystem services and the rational utilization and arrangement of resources in western Jilin Province.

Key words: ecosystem service, land use/cover change (LUCC), climatic change, InVEST