Forest aboveground carbon (AGC) stock dynamics serve as a key indicator of ecosystem carbon sink function. Although existing studies have distinguished different formation paths of forest carbon sinks, there is still a lack of systematic and comprehensive analysis on how these paths diverge in spatial and temporal patterns and formation mechanisms along environmental and socio-economic gradients. To address this gap, we focused on the Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River (UAMRYR). Based on distinguishing between forest growth and forest expansion as two carbon sink pathways, this study constructed a township-level urban-rural gradient framework. Forest AGC trends were analyzed using the Theil-Sen estimator and Mann-Kendall test. Drivers were quantified using the optimal parameter-based geographical detector (OPGD), and future change sustainability was assessed with the Hurst index. Key results show that: (1) From 2003 to 2023, forest growth dominated the carbon sink, contributing 1072.84 Tg CO₂, which was significantly greater than the 178.41 Tg CO₂ from forest expansion. (2) Spatially, forest AGC stock exhibited a clear urban-rural gradient, with Mixed Rural areas forming the core carbon sink, representing about 60% of the total. (3) Topographic factors were the primary drivers of AGC stock distribution. Notably, the explanatory power of drivers was systematically weaker for the forest expansion pathway, which also showed higher susceptibility to nonlinear anthropogenic influences. (4) Projections indicate that 93.8% of the existing forest area will maintain a sustainable carbon sink function. By clarifying the different mechanisms of the two carbon sink pathways along an urban-rural gradient, this study highlights the need to consider each pathway separately to understand carbon sequestration during urbanization.

In the context of rapid development of the digital economy, digital literacy has become a crucial variable influencing farmers' welfare and social equity. Based on 2,921 micro-samples from the 2020 China Rural Revitalization Survey (CRRS), this paper constructs a multi-dimensional welfare index system encompassing economic, health, living conditions, and subjective well-being to systematically analyze the impact of digital literacy on farmers' welfare inequality and its underlying mechanisms. The results show that improved digital literacy significantly suppresses farmers' welfare inequality, a conclusion consistent across different model specifications and robustness tests. Mechanism analysis reveals that digital literacy indirectly alleviates welfare inequality by narrowing the income gap, with the mediating effect accounting for approximately 15% of the total effect. Heterogeneity analysis shows that digital literacy exerts a more pronounced role in improving the welfare of middle-aged and elderly farmers and low-income farmers, demonstrating a clear "compensation effect." These findings not only enrich the theoretical research on the relationship between digital literacy and welfare inequality but also provide policy implications for advancing digital inclusion and the rural revitalization strategy.

Cultivated land multifunction (CLMF) is essential for ensuring food security and rural revitalization. Central China plays a key role in national food security while facing increasing pressure from rapid urbanization. Using statistical data from 76 cities during 2010–2023, this study evaluated CLMF with a projection pursuit model based on the real-coded accelerating genetic algorithm (RAGA-PPM), analyzed its spatial association through the gravity model and social network analysis (SNA), and identified optimal spatial zoning and driving factors using the geographical optimal zones-based heterogeneity model (GOZH) from four dimensions: natural conditions, agricultural development, industrial development, and urbanization. The results show that: (1) CLMF exhibited a clear provincial gradient, following the pattern of ‘Hunan > Hubei > Anhui > Henan > Jiangxi’. (2) Significant spatial correlations existed among cities, with Hubei Province occupying the network core and Huanggang showing the highest degree centrality. (3) GOZH revealed that precipitation was the dominant driver of CLMF spatial heterogeneity in 2015, whereas the urbanization rate was the primary zoning factor in 2010, 2020, and 2023, indicating that natural and socio-economic factors jointly shaped CLMF at different development stages. Overall, urbanization has gradually replaced natural conditions as the dominant driver of CLMF spatial differentiation.

Grounded in feminist political ecology and utilizing a survey of 2085 rural households across diverse mountainous regions, this study deciphers the counterintuitive relationship between non-agricultural labor transfer (NALT) and terrace non-grain production (NGPT) through gendered labor divisions. Results reveal that NALT suppresses NGPT via dual pathways: remittance income reduces risk appetite for cash crops (income effect), while labor scarcity drives adoption of small-scale machinery favoring grain cultivation (substitution effect). Critically, gender reconfigures this dynamic—female labor transfer exerts significantly stronger inhibition on NGPT than male transfer, as women's exodus depletes essential labor for precision-intensive crops (e.g., vegetables, tea), triggering household exit from diversified farming, whereas terrain fragmentation constrains mechanization in male-dominated grain systems. This unintended conservation effect, where female off-farm mobility reinforces grain landscapes yet risks eroding women's agrobiodiversity knowledge, demands gender-responsive policy realignments: recognizing gendered crop heritage zones, subsidizing terrain-adapted machinery, and securing women's land rights to reconcile Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of food security (SDG 2) and gender equity (SDG 5) within rural revitalization frameworks.

Realizing the value of grassland resource assets is a critical initiative to harmonize ecological conservation with economic development,fostering sustainable coexistence be-tween humans and grasslands.As an advanced productive force aligned with the future-orient-ed protection and utilization of grassland resources,new quality productive forces provide es-sential theoretical and practical foundations for this process.This study employs literature analysis,inductive reasoning,and case study methodologies to systematically elucidate the fundamental logic,operational mechanisms,and key pathways through which new quality productive forces empower the value realization of grassland resource assets.The findings demonstrate that:(1)The three core components of new quality productive forces-new tech-nologies,new factors,and new industries-deliver scientific impetus,diversified strategies,and sustainable safeguards for value realization.(2)Practical challenges in this process are characterized by a tripartite dilemma:low technological conversion rates and gaps in cutting-edge technologies,insufficient participation of new-type factors and barriers to factor integra-tion,and outdated industrial structures with low production efficiency.(3)Critical implemen-tation pathways include:building specialized research teams,addressing technological defi-ciencies,and establishing industry-academia collaboration platforms;integrating production factors and developing multi-dimensional value systems;modernizing industrial structures,transforming production modes,and optimizing organizational management.This research provides both theoretical guidance and practical frameworks for the scientific management and value realization of grassland resource assets,contributing to the synergistic advance-ment of ecological civilization construction and socio-economic prosperity in pastoral re-gions.

Cropland abandonment is prevalent throughout China,particularly in mountainous regions.However,the varying degrees of land marginalization and the specific factors influencing different types of cropland remain insufficiently understood.This knowledge gap hampers targeted management strategies for mitigating cropland abandonment in these areas.This study used spatial analysis,logistic regression,and random forest models to explore the spatial patterns and key drivers of abandonment across flatland,terrace,and slopeland in Chongyi county,a mountainous region in Jiangxi Province of South China,utilizing data from the 2009 and 2019 national land surveys of China.Results showed that the overall cropland abandonment rate in Chongyi county was 36.46%,with particularly high rates in core terrace conservation areas.Abandoned cropland was spatially clustered,predominantly in high-elevation regions.The abandonment rates were 9.71%for flatland,37.52%for terrace,and 43.02%for slopeland.Variations in vegetation cover on abandoned cropland suggest that abandonment started earlier on slopeland and later extended to terraces and flatlands.The factors driving the abandonment of flatland,terrace,and slopeland included land altitude,cultivation height difference,and distance to forest land,respectively.Consequently,the results recommend implementing land consolidation and developing small machinery projects for the fragmented flatland.Promoting the multifunctional use of terraces could realize their ecological value.Additionally,the Program of Converting Farmland to Forest should be implemented on the low-quality slopeland.

With global urbanization, increasing farmer differentiation—characterized by varying degrees of part-time employment among farmers—has coincided with a rising trend of farmland abandonment worldwide. However, the relationship between farmer differentiation and farmland abandonment remains unclear, particularly with respect to the factors influencing this connection. This paper provides a theoretical and systematic analysis of the effects, mechanisms, and heterogeneity of farmer differentiation on farmland abandonment. Using unique survey data, we conducted an empirical analysis employing the Probit model, Tobit model, and instrumental variable (IV) estimation. The key findings are as follows: (1) Farmer differentiation has a significant positive effect on both farmland abandonment behavior and the scale of abandonment, a conclusion that holds after endogeneity and robustness tests are conducted. (2) An increase in farmer differentiation promotes the non-agricultural labor transfer, resulting in greater farmland abandonment; concurrently, it also encourages farmland transfer and boosts village collective agricultural investment, which mitigates abandonment. (3) Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the abandonment of farmland by low-differentiation farmers is influenced primarily by natural conditions, whereas the proportion of non-agricultural income significantly positively affects the abandonment scale for high-differentiation farmers. This study enhances the understanding of the relationship between farmer differentiation and farmland abandonment, providing some evidence for managing farmland.

This study explores the impact of intergenerational differences on farmers’ terrace abandonment in response to increasing intergenerational differentiation among rural households and the practical issue of terrace abandonment. Logit and Tobit models are employed to conduct empirical analysis and it is found that terrace abandonment increases sequentially among the new, middle, and old generations, confirming that intergenerational differences significantly influence whether farmers abandon terraces and the terrace abandonment scale. Village characteristics and government subsidies significantly influence farmers’ terrace abandonment. An increase in the number of migrant workers in the village increases terrace abandonment among new and middle generation farmers, whereas an increase in the distance from the village to the county significantly increases terrace abandonment among old generation farmers. An increase in the village’s total population significantly reduces terrace abandonment among new generation farmers. An increase in government subsidies significantly reduces terrace abandonment among middle and old generation farmers. The impact of intergenerational differences on terrace abandonment is more pronounced in low-altitude areas. To reduce terrace abandonment, it is necessary to promote terrace transfer, develop characteristic agriculture, improve terrace farming subsidies, and propose targeted strategies for the different generations of farmers.

Cropland abandonment is common and widely distributed in hilly and mountainous areas.Clarifying the current situation and development of cropland abandonment can provide reference for the rational and classified management of cropland abandonment in hilly and mountainous areas.Taking Jiangxi Province as the study area,and using the Google Earth Engine and Landsat data,the scale and years of abandoned cropland from 2002 to 2020 were calculated by using the random forest classifier and rules for identifying cropland abandonment.The spatio-temporal pattern of cropland abandonment at the county level was analyzed.The results indicated that the overall accuracy of land use classification was over 90% .The cropland abandonment rate ranged from 3% to 5.5% from 2002 to 2020,while the cropland abandonment rate was highest in 2013 and showed a downward trend after 2017.Among the years,the area of first-time abandoned cropland was the largest in 2005.The distribution of the cropland abandonment rate was low in the middle and north,but high in the surrounding area and the south.A notable positive spatial correlation was observed in the cropland abandonment rate,with a gradual intensification of spatial clustering.The LISA cluster map revealed a significant north-south disparity,exhibiting an incremental trend over time in the characteristics of the"High-High"cluster in the Southeastern Mountainous Area and the"Low-Low"cluster in the Poyang Lake Hilly Plain in Jiangxi.The results of this study can provide data for extracting spatial in-formation and analyzing the driving factors of cropland abandonment in hilly and mountainous areas,and they can also provide a basis for the development of policies for the utilization and classification management of abandoned cropland.

In view of the five-fold dilemma caused by the economic and physical attributes of wa-ter resources ecological products,and based on literature review and connotation definition,a multi-center governance system framework for the value realization of water resources ecological products was constructed.Its design principles include the delineation of water resources property rights,the direction of water resources utilization,nested governance and development,market development and portfolio operation,the value cycle of water resources,supervision and feed-back,and interest integration.Key mechanisms include providing clear ownership of water eco-logical products through a new system,standardizing the transaction process with credible com-mitments,and ensuring the realization of value through mutual supervision.Role positioning helps to clarify the functional division of each definable stakeholder,promotes the formation of a government,an effective market and a collective,and enhance the value of water resources eco-logical products to realize the efficient operation of a multi-center governance system.By provid-ing a positive-sum game platform for multiple participants,the multi-center governance system addresses the conflicting interests of participants with heterogeneous institutional supply and pro-motes the realization of the value of water resources ecological products.

Decades of intensifying human activities have led to drastic changes in land use and land cover (LULC) in the Poyang Lake Basin (PLB), resulting in significant changes in landscape pattern and ecosystem service value (ESV), thereby affecting regional sustainability. We focused on understanding the impact of LULC changes on the landscape pattern and ESV of the PLB and used the Patch-generating Land Use Simulation model (PLUS) to predict LULC changes in 2050. We evaluated landscape patterns using landscape metrics and calculated ESV using the ecosystem service equivalent factor method. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to analyze the correlation between landscape patterns and ESV from 1990 to 2020. Then, we combined the PLUS model and the ecosystem service equivalent factor method to calculate the ESV under multiple scenarios from 2020 to 2050. From 1990 to 2020, the LULC of the PLB changed to varying degrees. The PLB has undergone a rapid process of landscape fragmentation, and the total ESV of the PLB has decreased. The total ESV was positively correlated with the CONTAG index and negatively correlated with the SHDI index. Between 2020 and 2050, the ESV of the PLB is projected to decrease under the NDS (nature development scenario) and EDS (economic development scenario) and increase under the EPS (ecological protection scenario). ESV responded to changes in landscape pattern. We recommend that the PLB should increase patch connectivity. Additionally, future development in the PLB should prioritize ecological protection to prevent further declines in ESV.

Context Towards the common goal of improving human well-being, Ecological Product Value Realization (EPVR) and landscape sustainability are both based on natural capital as the material foundation and sustainability science as the theoretical foundation. Integrating these two concepts can help advance the development of landscape sustainability science. Objectives This study was intended to explore the different ways that EPVR can contribute to landscape sustainability science. Results EPVR can contribute to the science and practice of landscape sustainability in multiple ways: (1) as an economic solution; (2) as an axiological research perspective; (3) as a multi-disciplinary, all-round and multi-level system concept; (4) as a dynamic mechanism with socioeconomic flows in landscape mosaic; (5) a holistic methodology through interdisciplinary integration; (6) as a landscape sustainability research approach following the “resource assetization–asset capitalization–capital monetization” chain of steps. Conclusions EPVR can contribute to landscape sustainability science in the following ways: to assist identifying landscape pattern by ecological product survey and monitoring; to promote landscape governance by natural-resource value transformation; to consolidate the resource base of sustainable landscapes with ecological compensation; to optimize landscape pattern by balancing the supply and demand of ecological products; to enhance landscape biodiversity by restoring ecosystems; and to optimize landscape sustainability evaluation using the comprehensive evaluation method of EPVR.

Driven by urbanization and industrialization, arable land in hilly and mountainous regions of China is gradually becoming marginalized, with the extent of arable land abandonment rapidly expanding from poor-quality sloping arable land to high-quality terraces. The abandonment of large-scale terraces will lead to a series of socio-economic and ecological effects. A national sample survey was used to investigate the extent and spatial distribution of terrace abandonment in China, and a total of 560 valid village questionnaires from 329 counties were collected in the mountainous areas of China. The main findings are as follows: (1) The phenomenon of terrace abandonment was widespread throughout the country, with 54% of the total surveyed villages exhibiting terrace abandonment, and the area of abandoned terraces accounting for 9.79% of the total. (2) The degree of terrace abandonment is high in the south and low in the north. The most serious region with abandonment was the hilly and mountainous areas in the south, especially in the middle and lower Yangtze River region. (3) The main driving factors of terrace abandonment were rural labor migration, agricultural mechanization level, irrigation conditions, and transportation conditions for cultivation. Targeted measures should be taken based on the specific conditions of each area to alleviate terrace abandonment. Measures such as improving terrace mechanization are universally applicable. Specifically, low-quality terraces can be withdrawn orderly, and for high-quality terraces, multiple measures are needed to consolidate agricultural production, such as adjusting the planting structure, strengthening agricultural infrastructure construction, and encouraging the transfer of land-use rights as well as large-scale operation.

研究目的:以集体行动困境为切入点,探索乡村振兴和生态文明战略背景下乡村生态产品价值实现的多中心治理体系,以期为中国乡村生态产品价值实现提供理论指导.研究方法:文献分析法、归纳演绎法和米切尔评分法.研究结果:(1)单一治理模式容易造成集体行动困境问题,乡村生态产品价值实现亟需多中心治理体系支撑,包括关键要素、治理机制和角色定位;(2)多中心治理的关键要素包括清晰界定边界、资源禀赋适配、市场自由、嵌套式治理与发展、监督与制裁、冲突解决和共建共治共享;(3)新制度供给、可信承诺和相互监督是关键要素长久运行的重要保障,是多中心治理的重要机制;(4)地方政府、企业、村集体和村民作为核心利益者,应当根据自身的利益目标承担相应的角色职责,找准角色定位.研究结论:随着乡村社会结构不断变迁和重构,乡村生态产品价值实现的多中心治理尤其重要.建议建构"有为政府、有效市场、担当集体和自发村民"的多中心治理格局,以实现乡村生态产品的价值增值.

To clarify the influence mechanism and action path of social networks on farmland abandonment, taking the hilly and mountainous areas of Ganzhou, China as the study area, this paper first explores the influence of farmers' social networks on abandonment; furthermore, a mediation effect model is introduced to test the inhibiting effect of farmland transfer on abandonment under the scenario of expanding farmers' social networks. The results show that the expansion of farmers' social networks directly aggravates farmland abandonment, but with the development of land transfer market, farmers' social networks help to reduce the transaction cost of farmland transfer, thus promoting land circulation and restraining abandonment. Considering the double‐edged effect of farmers' social networks on abandonment, this paper recommends that policies aimed at curbing abandonment should be channeled through local farmers‐based social networks, and encourage land transfer among farmers' relatives, friends, or neighbors, and so forth to reduce transaction cost in rural society.

在梳理湿地资源生态产品价值实现的基本逻辑及其内在关联基础上,提出湿地资源生态产品价值实现的关键要件与核心机制.结合国内外实践等将湿地资源生态产品价值实现模式分为4大类11小类,其中湿地保护补偿模式包括湿地生态补偿、湿地转移支付、湿地损害赔偿、湿地信用交易,湿地产业开发模式包括物质产品交易、湿地产业经营和湿地特许经营,湿地权益交易模式包括资源权益流转和湿地碳汇交易,湿地权益融资模式包括湿地权益金融和湿地权益投融资.湿地资源生态产品形态丰富、价值实现周期长、资金需求量大,应以多要素供给机制保障湿地资源要素供给,以多主体参与机制激励湿地资源组合运营,以多业态融合机制促进湿地资源价值循环.

2021年4月,中共中央办公厅、国务院办公厅正式印发《关于建立健全生态产品价值实现机制的意见》.这标志着国家将"两山"理念具体落实到制度安排和实践操作层面.同时,我国强调要把碳达峰、碳中和纳入经济社会发展全局,坚定不移地走生态优先、绿色低碳的高质量发展道路.在全面推进"美丽中国"建设背景下,"双碳"目标实现与生态产品价值实现,成为推动绿色发展的"双引擎".

To objectively and fairly evaluate the level of urban smart growth (USG) in Chinese cities from a fair perspective, it is necessary to use an internationally recognized and mature framework to quantify it. This research builds a USG evaluation index system by selecting 31 indicators from three dimensions based on the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from 2005 to 2019. Real-coded accelerated genetic algorithm–projection pursuit (RAGA-PP) techniques and exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) models are applied to examine the temporal and spatial gaps in USG levels among Chinese provinces. The results are as follows: (1) China’s USG level exhibited a rising trend and obvious regional differences during the study period. (2) The USG level in China displays a spatial pattern that is high in the east and low in the west. High–high (H–H) and low–low (L–L) are the leading types of local spatial autocorrelation, and an inverted U-shaped distribution exists in the north–south direction. (4) Goal A is the key driver of improvements in the target USG level, while goals B and C are the main barriers to reaching the target USG level. These results are helpful for quantifying the level and spatial distribution of USG in China and expanding the theoretical connotation and application scope of the theoretical SDG framework.

Integrating the landscape pattern holistically and identifying priority areas for ecological restoration sci-entifically are the key challenges of national land space planning and ecological protection.Taking Xiushui County,a fragile ecological region in the south,as an example,this study established an evaluation index system based on the pattern-process principle,including the importance of ecosystem services and ecosystem sensitivity,and ex-plored regional priority areas for ecological restoration through GIS spatial analysis technology.The results show that the ecological restoration priority area in the case study area is 2880.64 km2 in total,covering 63.93%of the overall area.Of that amount,367.55 km2 is the bottom-line priority areas for ecological restoration,accounting for 8.16%.Regarding land use types within the major ecological restoration priority area,the arable land and con-struction land areas are 210.83 km2 and 122.52 km2,covering 55.35%and 51.43%of the overall area,respectively.Determining the priority areas at different levels can help decision-makers to prioritize the restoration needs of de-graded areas and provide a basis for adopting targeted ecological restoration measures for areas with different degrees of degradation.Identifying priority areas also provides basic information for the protection and construction of the eco-security pattern of the territorial space,which is vital for improving the regional ecological environmental safety and building a harmonious community between humans and nature.

Realizing the coordinated development of urbanization and resource-environment performance is a crucial way to ensure regional high-quality development.By clarifying the interaction between multidimensional urbaniza-tion (MUR) and resource-environment performance (REP), this study used multiple approaches-the coupling degree model, center of gravity shift analysis, scissors difference analysis, and the Tobit model-to discuss their coupling coordination degree, spatiotemporal evolution characteristics, and core driving factors in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration (YRDUA) from 2008 to 2018. Results show that (1) the multidimensional ur-banization was high in the east and low in the west, while the resource-environment performance showed a trend in which the high-level area is decreasing and the low-level area is moving to the east. (2) In terms of the temporal sequence evolution, the multidimensional urbanization lagging cities in the study area dominated, but the number of resource-environment performance lagging cities represented by Shanghai, gradually expanded. (3) The range of the center of gravity in the multidimensional urbanization and resource-environment perfor-mance coupling degree in terms of longitude and latitude was 119.675 degrees E-119.708 degrees E and 30.983 degrees N-31.008 degrees N, respectively. Generally, the center of gravity shifts to the northwest, but the total migration distance was only 5.489 km. (4) The obstacles restricting improvement of the multidimensional urbanization and resource--environment performance coupling coordination degree mainly come from the population factor, while tech-nological, ecological, spatial, and economic factors all play positive roles. Among them, the technical factor has the greatest impact, where the coupling coordination degree increases by 0.5198% for every 1% increase.