Park Visitors and Birds Connected by Trade-Offs and Synergies of Ecosystem Services

Parks serve as vital components of green infrastructure within urban ecosystems, providing recreational opportunities that not only enhance human well-being but also support bird diversity. However, the shared use of park spaces by both humans and birds inevitably leads to spatial overlap and natural competition between the two groups. Consequently, addressing the diverse needs of both groups and balancing the ecosystem services provided to each has become an urgent and critical issue. In this study, we conducted bird and social surveys in an urban park and employed the SolVES and MaxEnt models to investigate the spatial patterns of cultural ecosystem services (CES), supporting ecosystem services (SES), and bird plumage color CES in the park. We then analyzed the trade-offs and synergies between different ecosystem service relationship pairs, as well as the factors influencing them, using bivariate spatial autocorrelation and geographical detectors analyses. Our results indicated a synergistic relationship between the recreational value of park CES and both park SES and bird plumage color CES. High-coverage vegetation areas along main roads promoted synergy, benefiting visitors’ appreciation of cultural services, bird roosting, and the supply of plumage color CES. Meanwhile, trade-offs were observed between the aesthetic value of park CES, park SES, and bird plumage color CES, primarily in fitness plazas where noise levels exceeded 70 dB. In contrast, visitors reacted more strongly to disturbances than birds. Furthermore, the colonization of colorful insectivorous birds enhanced the visual aesthetic value while simultaneously increasing the number of bird-feeding guilds and strengthening ecosystem stability. Our study suggests that planting tall trees, especially along park boundaries, expanding the perimeter green separation zone, and incorporating micro-water landscapes will help improve both avian CES and provide a more pleasant environment for visitors in parks.