This paper is the result of environmental geological survey engineering.

Objective Guilin is a typical and representative karst landform and an important ecological fragile area in China. In recent years, the degradation of karst landscape resources caused by human activities has become severe. Research on the evaluation and management Guilin’s karst landscape resources is of great significance for achieving regional ecological protection, restoration, and high−quality socio−economic development.

Methods Taking the national innovation demonstration zone for sustainable development goals of Guilin as the research area, ecosystem sensitivity was evaluated based on factors such as soil erosion, rocky desertification, land use, and lithology, while ecosystem service functions were assessed suing indicators like water conservation, soil conservation, biodiversity, and landform landscape.

Results In the study area, the sensitivity of soil erosion and rocky desertification was mainly mild or general, accounting for 67.04%−76.24% of the total karst area.Land use and lithology were predominantly categorized as highly or extremely sensitive, accounting for 52.12%−62.21%. The functional importance of water conservation and soil conservation were generally moderate, representing 36.23%−51.87%, while the conservation of biodiversity and landform landscape were rated as highly important, accounting for 37.99%−44.26%. Based on the comprehensive calculation of ecosystem sensitivity and service function, the importance of landscape protection determined to be at least moderate across 83.57% of karst area.

Conclusions Based on the evaluation results, the study areas are divided into zones for enhancing agricultural and forestry landscape function, restoring wetland and water landscapes, rehabilitating mine and geological landscapes, and addressing rocky desertification. The proposed management models include landscape restoration and water resource regulation, as well as karst geological landscape protection and ecological recycling industry collaborative development. This study provides a scientific basis for sustainable utilization of karst landscape resources, ecological environment protection, and comprehensive planning in Guilin City.