A social-ecological network approach to exploring synergies between water-related ecosystem services and social governance

Understanding and enhancing the synergies between ecosystem services (ESs) and social governance are crucial for achieving sustainable social development. This study proposes a methodological framework to analyze the coupling coordination – representing the synergy – between the networks of water related ESs (flood regulation, water conservation, and soil retention) and their social governance. Shanxi Province, China served as the case study context. Results revealed that precipitation, landscape, and land use and land cover (LULC) were key drivers of spatiotemporal changes in water-related ESs within this semi-arid region. Spatially, flood regulation and soil retention services were generally higher in mountainous areas, while water conservation services predominated in the plains. Temporally, from 2010 to 2020, flood regulation and soil retention services showed notable increases, whereas water conservation services experienced a small decline. Trade-offs between the ESs were comprehensively driven by precipitation, landscape structure, and LULC dynamics. The Coupling coordination degree (CCD) between the networks of the water-related ESs and their social governance was found to be low, indicating significant spatial mismatches between social governance and the distribution of water-related ESs. Further results show that, the CCD exerted a measurable impact on the performance of these services. Specifically, flood regulation and soil retention services increased linearly with CCD, while water conservation services exhibited a U-shaped with CCD. This study proposed a novel social-ecological network approach to exploring the fostering synergies, this framework offers practical insights to promote win-win solutions for enhancing all water-related ESs in semi-arid regions.