The green space system in metropolitan areas is crucial for maintaining environmental health and stability by regulating and supporting ecosystem service values (ESVs). The Suzhou–Wuxi–Changzhou metropolitan area is located in the core of the Yangtze River Delta, and its green space exemplifies this importance, despite facing challenges from rapid urbanization in past decades. Studying the categories of ESVs and their driving factors can facilitate the comprehension of ESVs’ dynamics, thereby promoting regional sustainable development. In this article, we used the inVEST module to calculate six ESV indicators (soil retention, annual water yield, habitat quality, carbon storage, nitrogen, and phosphorus absorption) of the Suzhou–Wuxi–Changzhou metropolitan area’s green space system from 2015 to 2020 and combined it with the entropy weight method (EWM) to allocate weights for these indicators and evaluate the total value of the ESVs. To address the weakness of the inVEST model in calculating the total value of multiple ESVs, the Xgboost algorithm was combined with PCA methods to screen its main driving factors from numerous measures. Finally, the GWR method was used to reveal the spatial and temporal change in the main driving factors’ impacts on ESVs in the study area over five years. The result shows (1) the spatial distribution of the total value of regulating and supporting ESVs in the Suzhou–Wuxi–Changzhou metropolitan area has become more uneven in 2020 compared with 2015; (2) the most important driving factors include landscape diversity, topographic gradient, economic activity intensity, humidity, and surface temperature; and (3) based on the analysis of GWR results, the study area has an overall increase in regional soil erosion due to the expansion of impervious areas. And some mountainous areas have habitat fragmentation because of incorrect economic activity. This study provides a new perspective for evaluating the sum of multiple types of ESVs and exploring their driving factors, as well as revealing the ecosystem problems of the Suzhou–Wuxi–Changzhou metropolitan area in recent years. It also provides a reference for policymakers to maintain local ecological stability and security.

Mount Jiuhua, a sacred Chinese mountain with profound Buddhist heritage, has developed Buddhist cultural landscapes closely linked to the secularization of Chinese Buddhism. The interplay between these landscapes and religious secularization is complex, yet scholarly research into this dynamic remains limited. This study utilizes historical geographical information system (HGIS) technology, integrating multi-source data—including local gazetteers, travelogues, and historical maps—to construct a database of temples and associated historical spatial elements on Mount Jiuhua. Through a combined qualitative and quantitative approach, we analyze the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics and driving mechanisms of Buddhist temples on Mount Jiuhua from the Tang Dynasty onward. The study reveals that the number of temples on Mount Jiuhua has undergone a phased trajectory characterized by “continuous growth-high-level stability-gradual decline”. Spatially, the distribution pattern shifted from an early multi-centered dispersion to a single-core agglomeration centered on Jiuhua Street since the Ming and Qing dynasties, with the spatial centroid of temple distribution progressively converging toward Jiuhua Street and its surrounding core area. This transformation represents a spatial manifestation of Chinese Buddhist secularization within a mountainous landscape, shaped jointly by four interrelated dimensions: natural conditions, political economy, secular demands, and transportation systems. This research offers a novel analytical framework and methodological paradigm from a historical-geographical perspective for studying the secularization of sacred mountains. It also provides scientific insights for the conservation of Buddhist mountain cultural heritage and the restoration of historical landscapes.