Ecosystem carbon sequestration service (ECSS), the benefit that humans derive from ecosystem carbon sequestration, is key to regulating climate and supporting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) achievement. However, the ECSS-SDGs relationship is largely unknown, limiting our understanding of how ecosystem services contribute to the sustainable development agenda. Here we assessed the sustainable development progress of the Loess Plateau from 2000 to 2019 based on the SDG indicators. Then we analysed the impact of ECSS on regional SDG progress and its threshold. The results showed that the Loess Plateau made higher progress on resource and environmental SDGs, such as SDG 13 (Climate action), SDG 12 (Responsible consumption and production), SDG 6 (Clean water and sanitation), and SDG 7 (Affordable and clean energy). SDG 6, 7, 13 and 15 (Life on land) showed linear responses to ECSS, while the response of SDG 1 (No poverty), 4 (Quality education), 8 (Decent work and economic growth) and 12 (Responsible consumption and production) to ECSS showed a threshold when the standardised carbon sequestration value was 0.11. ECSS positively affected the SDG progress when the standardised carbon sequestration value was less than 0.11, which corresponds to most part of the Loess Plateau. It indicates that ECSS support the SDG realization in most areas of the Loess Plateau, where the socio-economic sustainability is closely related to carbon sequestration service. The areas that ECSS had no significant impact on SDGs (when the standardised carbon sequestration value was larger than 0.11) correspond to large-scale forestland. This work links carbon sequestration service to sustainable development and can help to leverage nature’s contributions to social-ecological sustainability.

Restoration is the natural and intervention-assisted set of processes designed to promote and facilitate the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed. Therefore, the need to assess an ecological restoration project is a critical step to evaluate its success and identify best management practices. We performed a meta-analysis concerning the environmental outcomes during the years 2000 to 2015 resulting from the “Grain for Green” Project (GFGP) implementation in the Loess Plateau (LP). Data were collected in 48 English-language peer-reviewed papers selected from a pool of 332 papers. The results showed that, on average, GFGP increased forest coverage by 35.7% (95% CI: 24.15-47.52%), and grassland by 1.05% (95% CI: 0.8-1.28%). At the same time, GFGP has a positive impact on soil carbon (C) sequestration, net ecosystem production (NEP), and net primary production (NPP), from the years 2000 to 2015 by an average of 36% (95% CI: 28.96-43.18%), 22.7% (95% CI: 9.10-36.79%), and 13.5% (95% CI: 9.44-17.354%), respectively. Soil erosion, sediment load, runoff coefficient and water yield reduced by 13.3% (95% CI: 0.27%-25.76), 21.5% (95% CI: 1.50-39.99%), 22.4% (95% CI: 5.28-40.45%) and 43.3% (95% CI: 27.03%-82.86%), respectively, from the years 2000 to 2015. Our results indicate that water supply decreased with restoration age. Therefore, GFGP policies and strategies should be adjusted to balance the need for green space and grain trade by recovering, enhancing, and maintaining more resilient landscapes.