Forests provide goods and services while maintaining ecological security. However, the market does not adequately reflect their economic benefits, posing a significant challenge to the Payments for Forest Ecosystem Services (PFES). The involvement of multiple stakeholders with varying responsibilities and interests complicates collaboration and hinders effective governance. This study proposes an integrated approach using stakeholder analysis, social network analysis, and evolutionary game analysis to explore the collaborative governance of stakeholders in PFES. Through field surveys, the study empirically investigates PFES in China, demonstrating the effectiveness of this integrated approach. The results indicate the following: (i) Stakeholders are classified into three categories; the key stakeholders include the central and local governments, forest managers, and paying users. (ii) Stakeholders still need to strengthen collaboration. Local governments, forest managers, their employees, and communities exert widespread influence; paying users and research institutions have high efficiency in resource sharing. (iii) Five evolutionarily stable strategies are observed at different stages. Government intervention is crucial for changing the stagnant state. Benefits and government incentives have a positive impact on stakeholder collaborative governance. The research findings offer theoretical insights to enhance stakeholder collaboration and promote the development of the PFES. Key strategies include addressing key stakeholders’ needs, diversifying incentives, and establishing an accessible information platform.

China, facing severe saline–alkali land degradation, is grappling with the paradox of technically adequate but systemically deficient land consolidation. In response to the existing evaluation system’s over-reliance on physicochemical indicators and neglect of socioeconomic value, this study proposes the use of the Optimal Land Use Value (OLV) to construct a comprehensive benefit evaluation indicator system for saline–alkali land consolidation that encompasses ecosystem resilience, supply–demand balancing, and common prosperity. Considering a case project implemented from 2019 to 2022 in the Western Songnen Plain of China—one of the world’s most severely affected soda saline–alkali regions—this study combines the land use transition matrix with a comprehensive evaluation model to systematically assess the effectiveness and sustainability of land consolidation. The results reveal systemic deficiencies: within ecological spaces, short-term desalination succeeds but pH and organic matter improvements remain inadequate, while ecosystem vulnerability increases due to climate fluctuations and grassland conversion. In production spaces, cropland expansion and saline land reduction are effective, but water resource management proves unsustainable. Living spaces show improved infrastructure and income but face threats due to economic simplification and intergenerational unsustainability. For the investigated case, recommendations include shifting from technical restoration to systemic governance via three strategies: (1) biological–engineering synergy employing green manure to enhance soil microbial activity; (2) hydrological balancing through groundwater quotas and rainwater utilization; (3) specialty industry development for rural economic diversification. This study contributes empirical evidence on the conversion of saline–alkali land, as well as an evaluation framework of wider relevance for developing countries combating land degradation and pursuing rural revitalization.