Revealing Spatial Interactions: Coevolution and Driving Factors of Multifunctionality and Ecological Security of Cultivated Landscape—A Case Study of Tongshan District, Xuzhou City, Huaihai Economic Zone, China

ABSTRACT The relationship between cultivated landscape multifunctionality (CLM) and ecological security (ES) is crucial for achieving synergy between function enhancement and the maintenance of ES in main grain‐producing areas. However, studies have rarely integrated CLM and ES within a unified analytical framework, and grid‐scale on their coevolution and driving factors in main grain‐producing areas remained limited. This study focused on the Tongshan District of Xuzhou City within the Huaihai Economic Zone. It constructed a CLM system encompassing grain supply, population support, carbon sequestration, habitat maintenance, and soil retention. Furthermore, it decomposed ES into ecological structure and ecological function. Utilizing rank correlation, bivariate spatial autocorrelation, and multivariate logistic regression, identified the trade‐offs and synergistic types of CLM and ES while analyzing their underlying driving mechanisms. The results showed that the grain supply consistently increased from 2000 to 2021. In contrast, the population support and carbon sequestration experienced a decline. Soil retention and habitat maintenance initially decreased before showing an increase, while the overall CLM exhibited a general upward trend. However, both ecological structural security and comprehensive ES declined overall. Notably, ecological function supply demonstrated a phase of restoration between 2011 and 2021, although the overall status remained fragile. Significant synergies were observed, with comprehensive correlation coefficients of 0.64, 0.67, and 0.60, respectively. Among these, carbon sequestration exhibited the strongest correlation with ecological structural security (> 0.60). The correlation between grain supply and ecological function supply increased from 0.22 to 0.42. Conversely, soil retention displayed a stronger negative correlation with ecological function supply in 2021 (−0.21). Additionally, population support was positively correlated with ES, while habitat maintenance showed a positive correlation with ecological structural security, and functional supply was negatively correlated. The trade‐offs and synergistic types evolved from the CLM lagging and low ES in 2000 to a coexistence of the synergistic development and the low CLM and low ES between 2011 and 2021. This evolution maintained a distinction from the succession path of the mountainous areas, indicating that topographic constraints, accessibility, and land use intensity systematically altered the trade‐offs and synergistic relationship of CLM and ES. This study offered a reference framework for advancing the synergistic zoning policy of CLM and ES in main grain‐producing areas of the plains, while also providing empirical support for a relocatable governance framework across various geomorphic areas.