Spatial-temporal evolution of agricultural land utilization benefits and tradeoffs/synergies in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region

•Constructing ALUBs evaluation index system based on the needs in the current era.•Analyzing spatial–temporal evolution of ALUBs in the BTH region from 2000 to 2020.•Applying the Mechanical Equilibrium Model to explore the tradeoffs/synergies.•Exploring the coordination levels and deviation directions of ALUBs.•Proposing differentiated management measures based on regional conditions. As urbanization and industrialization accelerate, the imbalance in agricultural land use between economic development, social security, and ecological protection becomes increasingly apparent. To achieve sustainable utilization of agricultural land, it is essential to promote the coordinated development of economic, social, and ecological benefits. To this end, this paper constructs an evaluation index system for agricultural land utilization benefits (ALUBs) based on three dimensions of economy, society, and ecology and adopts the Mechanical Equilibrium Model to analyze the spatial–temporal evolution of ALUBs and their tradeoffs/synergies in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region at the county scale from 2000 to 2020. The results indicate that: (1) economic, social, and comprehensive benefits increased significantly, while the ecological benefit remained relatively stable; (2) the overall coordination degree of ALUBs increased continuously, albeit with evident spatial differences; (3) with the rapid growth of social benefit, the deviation types shifted from economic and ecological benefit dominant areas to social benefit dominant areas. Corresponding suggestions for sustainable agricultural land use are also proposed based on the characteristics of ecologically fragile areas, core urbanization areas, and major grain-producing areas, respectively. This paper can serve as a useful reference for the sustainable utilization and management of agricultural land.