Abstract:  A case study was carried out of Xianlin of Nanjing, a newly developed urban area for analysis of changes in land use pattern with the transfer matrix method, and classification and evaluation of eco-services with the experts grading method and AHP method, of which the results were presented spatially for further analysis of effects of changes in land use on eco-service functions of the area. The results show that(1) during the decade from 2003 to 2013, in the Xianlin region, the areas of farmland and water surface dropped by a large margin, while those of construction land, intensive grassland and bare land expanded remarkably, signifying changes in land use were embodied mainly in alienation of the former into the latter; (2) eco–service functions of the region declined as a whole, but varied spatially, that is, more significantly in the northwest and middle parts of the region and less in the southeast; and (3) the alienation of farmland, forestland and watersurface into construction land and bare land was the major cause of the decline of its eco-service functions, and held responsible for 70% of the decline.

Key words: land use, eco-service, new urban area, urbanization