Urban sprawl decreases the value of ecosystem services and intensifies the supply scarcity of ecosystem services in China.

Land use and land cover changes, particularly land take by urbanization, can degrade ecosystems and their capacity to provide humans with numerous benefits, namely, ecosystem services (ES). Many studies on the relationship between urbanization and the supply and demand of ES have been conducted. However, studies on the process and trend of the conflict between ES supply and demand, as well as the spatial differences, are lacking.