How Do Changes in Ecosystem Services Multifunctionality Influence Human Wellbeing? Evidence From the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration in China

A proclaimed goal of landscape management is to improve the multifunctionality of ecosystem services (ESs) to sustain higher levels of human wellbeing (HWB). Although the enhancement of ES multifunctionality is often considered to lead to better HWB, empirical evidence directly supporting this claim remains scarce. This study investigates the relationship between ES multifunctionality and HWB in rapidly urbanizing regions, using the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration in China as a case study. We quantified ES multifunctionality with the Gini-Simpson Diversity Index and identified ES multifunctional types using the bundle approach. We also calculated both the HWB mean score and HWB evenness score with the improved radar chart method, examining their relationships with ES multifunctionality through Spearman correlation analysis and the Kruskal–Wallis rank-sum test. Results showed that (1) ES multifunctionality exhibited varied relationships with HWB indicators, but overall showed significant negative associations with both HWB mean score and HWB evenness score. (2) Each HWB indicator significantly differed across the detected ES bundles, but none of the bundles exhibited the highest values of all HWB indicators. (3) HWB mean score and HWB evenness score were generally higher in the peri-urban bundle while lower in the agriculture and forest bundles. Our findings suggest that peri-urban landscapes can provide relatively higher and more balanced levels of HWB in urban agglomerations. This also implies that a “land-sharing” urban development model, which balances natural and built environments, may be more beneficial for enhancing ES multifunctionality and HWB compared with a “land-sparing” model, where natural and built areas are separated.