Abstract: This study establishes a scientific assessment framework, diagnostic methodology, and management pathways for the ecological conservation and sustainable development of karst tourism destinations, offering valuable insights for coordinating tourism development and ecological preservation in environmentally fragile regions. Taking the Yulong River Karst Wetland Scenic Area in Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China as a case study, this paper systematically evaluates the spatio-temporal evolution of three key ecosystem services-water conservation, habitat quality, and carbon storage-from 2003 to 2023 using the InVEST model. The findings indicate that, driven by tourism-induced land-use changes, the scenic area’s ecosystem services have generally degraded. This is reflected in the continuous decline of water conservation capacity, polarized habitat quality, and a stepwise reduction in carbon storage, collectively forming a spatial differentiation pattern characterized by "high-value preservation in the upper reaches, median-value expansion in the middle reaches, and low-value aggregation in the lower reaches". The study further reveals that tourism activities drive land use change through three primary pathways: facility expansion, agricultural transformation, and operational emissions, which subsequently trigger coordinated degradation of ecosystem services. Based on the evaluation results and spatial coupling patterns, this paper proposes a three-tier spatial management system-comprising core conservation areas, ecological restoration zones, and intensive utilization areas-along with ecologically tailored optimization measures such as terraced wetlands, permeable pavements, and native vegetation restoration. These recommendations provide a scientific basis and practical reference for advancing ecological protection and sustainable development in karst tourist destinations.

Key words: ecosystem services, karst scenic areas, InVEST model, tourism-driven, spatial control, Yulong River