## 5 Discussion  
### Changes in ESV and Landscape Pattern of Xiong'an  
Previous studies [56; 57; 58; 59; 60; 61; 62] have demonstrated that regional disparities in economic development and land use patterns exert heterogeneous impacts on ESV. In Xiong'an, our analysis reveals a distinct temporal pattern: ESV declined from 2014 to 2016, followed by a consistent upward trend from 2016 to 2022. The peak ESV observed in 2014 can be attributed to two primary factors: (i) national agricultural policies [63], particularly the increased minimum purchase price for rice and corn supply shortages caused by livestock industry demands, triggered substantial grain price surges in Hebei Province; and (ii) meteorological records from Baoding Station indicate exceptionally high cumulative rainfall between 2012 and 2014 (peaking at 601.4 mm/year in 2013--double the 2019 level), which significantly expanded the water area of Baiyangdian. The period of 2016-2022 witnessed a remarkable ESV increase of CNY 35.82 billion (57.82% of total growth), averaging CNY 5.97 billion annually. This surge principally stemmed from dramatic area expansions in coniferous forests (+93.18%), grasslands (+64.06%), and broad-leaf forests (+30.79%), collectively enhancing Xiong'an's ecological quality and spatial patterns. Increased wetland and forest coverage (ESV +57.51%) enhance air/water purification, reducing respiratory diseases, and the absorption capacity of PM2.5 in Baiyangdian has increased by approximately 22% since 2017 [38]. Cultural ESV surged by 278%, and in 2022, Baiyangdian received 5.3 million tourists and generated CNY 1.2 billion in revenue [51]. Wetland restoration boosted fisheries (+15% yield since 2017), directly benefiting 12,000 local fishers [64].  
Studies on China's two other national-level new areas demonstrate that their establishment exerts significant and lasting impacts on landscape patterns. For instance, [PERSON] [65] and [PERSON] [66] investigated landscape changes in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and Pudong New Area before and after their establishment, respectively. Both studies observed an initial rise followed by a decline in the NP and ED, alongside a decrease-then-increase trend in the AI and CONTAG. This pattern suggests that new areas typically undergo a phase of disordered expansion (landscape fragmentation) followed by policy-driven consolidation (landscape aggregation). Our analysis of Xiong'an reveals that construction activities have reshaped its spatial configuration, though the region currently remains in the early stage of unregulated development with rapidly escalating fragmentation. Since its inception, government-led infrastructure projects have increased the NP and ED while reducing the AREA_MN. Concurrently, ecological interventions such as roadside greening, afforestation, and the Millennium Forest Project have enhanced landscape heterogeneity, as indicated by declining AI and CONTAG values coupled with rising DIVISION and SHDI values. Rapid urbanization, while driving economic growth, tends to exacerbate landscape fragmentation and subsequently induce a cascade of negative ecological impacts. In Xiong'an, urban expansion, transportation network construction, and infrastructure development will fragment contiguous habitats into isolated patches. Concurrently, wetland degradation in the Baiyangdian Basin may shrink the living space of waterbirds, fish, and other species, reduce biodiversity, and increase the edge-to-area ratio of habitat patches. These changes could further aggravate water eutrophication.