Transboundary habitat fragmentation and degradation pose severe threats to global biodiversity, and establishing transboundary habitat connectivity networks represents an essential conservation strategy. Nevertheless, inadequate cross-border collaborative planning and inconsistent management among neighboring countries make this goal extremely difficult to achieve. Current studies predominantly employ single-species or single-model designs, ignore heterogeneous ecological demands, and lack targeted optimization and protocols and systematic frameworks for identifying transboundary priority conservation areas. This study proposes an integrated multi-species framework to construct and optimize cross-border habitat connectivity networks in the China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor, using four indicator species representing distinct ecological functional groups: Elephas maximus (large terrestrial herbivores), Varanus salvator (aquatic-terrestrial ecotone predators), Syrmaticus humiae (montane forest-dwelling birds), and Ciconia nigra (long-distance migratory waders). We integrate the Maximum Entropy Model, Minimum Cumulative Resistance Model, and Circuit Theory to identify habitats, corridors, ecological pinch points and barriers, then optimize networks with Nature-based Solutions stepping stones. Results reveal extensive overlap between cross-border habitats and economic corridor infrastructure exacerbates fragmentation; stepping-stone optimization significantly improves corridor quantity and network topology, and four key transboundary priority conservation areas are defined. This framework facilitates priority conservation planning for cross-border habitats, establishes a replicable paradigm for transboundary multi-species connectivity research in data-scarce regions, and provides scientific guidance for balancing infrastructure development and biodiversity conservation in transboundary ecologically sensitive areas to bolster the ecological security barrier of the Belt and Road Initiative.

With accelerated urbanization, both urban expansion and renewal have significantly affected habitat connectivity and stability. Focusing on Nanning’s main urban area, this study used landscape pattern and complex network methods to evaluate habitat connectivity under different urban development scenarios. Results show that urban expansion—mainly converting unused suburban land into construction land—fragmented large habitat patches. Although ecological corridors increased by 211, overall connectivity decreased by 1%, and potential connectivity declined by 16%, considerably weakening ecosystem stability. In contrast, urban renewal—redeveloping old residential areas—added 7.21 km2 of green space and 213 ecological corridors, increasing overall connectivity by 1% and potential connectivity by 18%. This effectively offset connectivity loss from expansion, though compensation was unequal: approximately 2 units of renewed area were needed to counteract 1 unit of expanded area. The study identified 49 key ecological priority areas totaling 55.18 km2, whose degradation would severely impact the regional ecological network. Under combined expansion and renewal, the ecological network showed "overall weakening but local enhancement" in topology, with improved local robustness but reduced overall stability. Scientifically identifying and hierarchically managing priority conservation and restoration areas are crucial for enhancing urban ecosystem stability and services. These findings offer insights for ecological space optimization and spatial planning in Nanning and other fast-urbanizing regions.

In the ecologically fragile karst region of Hechi City, Guangxi, unique landforms and human activities have increased demand for multiple ecosystem services (ES), degrading ecological functions, weakening ecological network resilience, and highlighting the need to assess regional ecological security patterns (ESP). This study developed a multi-layer ecological network framework-integrating carbon sequestration, forest resources, and water conservation-and applied a cascading failure model to evaluate and improve ESP through the lens of spatial resilience in multi-layer ES. Ecological sources were identified via sensitivity, service importance, habitat quality, and morphological spatial pattern analysis, totaling 236 patches (12,604.28 km(2), accounting for 37.57% of the land area of Hechi City), primarily located in northwestern Tian'e and Nandan. Multi-layer resistance surfaces, based on land use, topography, NDVI, and human activity, showed higher resistance in the northwest. Minimum cumulative resistance models extracted 618-629 corridors (among which 340 were corridors with common ecological intersection points), densely distributed along the Fengshan-Donglan-Bama borders. Resilience under node/edge attacks and cascading failure simulations revealed vulnerability to targeted disruptions, with 15 critical nodes (e.g., IDs 102, 230) reducing the largest connected component (LCC) below 0.2. Edge-based restoration targeting pinch-points and critical corridors effectively restored LCC >0.8 using similar to 76 edges. Proposed Restoration Strategy 3, based on shared ecological pinch-point corridors, effectively balances cost-effectiveness and efficiency, with an average LCC increase of 0.0012 per 100 million yuan invested and 0.0067 per restored corridor edge. Five ecological restoration areas were proposed in Hechi City. This framework, by constructing a multi-layer ecological network as the structural representation of the ESP, provides a resilience evaluation method to support ESP design, promote ecosystem service synergies, and guide sustainable karst restoration.

Urbanization presents significant challenges to biodiversity but also offers opportunities for its protection and development. While uncontrolled urban expansion has a destructive impact on biodiversity, effective urban planning can play a positive role in protecting and maintaining urban biodiversity. The positive role of human factors, such as urban planning, can protect and maintain the healthy development of urban biodiversity. This study conducted an in-depth analysis of the evolution of various wildlife migration corridors throughout the full-cycle construction of Xiong’an New Area (Xiong’an) in China, revealing the impact of urbanization on these networks. Habitats for species like Sus scrofa, Bufo gargarizans, and Parus minor have notably increased. Between 2016 and 2023, Sus scrofa habitats grew from 35 to 44, large-toed frog habitats from 24 to 35, and Chinese tit habitats remained stable. By the planning phase, Sus scrofa habitats expanded to 87, large-toed frog habitats to 97, and Chinese tit habitats to 58. Habitat areas also grew significantly, especially for Sus scrofa, which increased from 2873.84 hectares in 2016 to 7527.97 hectares in the planning phase. Large-toed frog habitats grew from 2136.86 hectares to 6982.78 hectares, while Chinese tit habitats expanded from 1894.25 hectares to 3679.71 hectares. These changes suggest that urban parks and green spaces have provided more extensive habitats for these species. In terms of migration networks, the number of dispersal routes increased considerably. In 2016, Sus scrofa had 77 routes, large-toed frogs had 16, and Chinese tits had 77. By 2023, Sus scrofa and large-toed frog routes increased to 91 and 49, respectively, while Chinese tit routes remained stable. In the planning phase, Sus scrofa routes surged to 232, large-toed frogs to 249, and Chinese tits to 152, indicating a denser migration network. The distribution of ecological pinchpoints also changed significantly. By 2023 and in the planning phase, pinchpoints were concentrated in densely built areas, reflecting urbanization’s impact on the ecological network. The ecological resilience, assessed through network performance, showed a gradual recovery. The ecological connectivity index decreased from 8.25 in 2016 to 7.29 in 2023, then rebounded to 11.37 in the planning phase, indicating that the ecosystem had adapted after initial urbanization pressures.

The construction of the Pinglu Canal has significantly promoted economic development in southwestern Guangxi but it has also posed serious threats to wildlife habitat connectivity in the region. During the construction process, changes in land use types have led to habitat fragmentation, triggering a series of negative ecological effects, such as the “ecological island effect” and “edge effect”. This study uses the MaxEnt model to identify habitats for 11 wildlife species within the study area, categorized into terrestrial mammals, amphibians and reptiles, forest birds, and water birds, thereby constructing a multi-species habitat connectivity network (MHCN). Through complex network analysis, we assess habitat connectivity before and after the canal’s construction, as well as after implementing habitat optimization strategies. The results indicate that, following the completion of the Pinglu Canal, the wildlife habitat area decreased by 516.47 square kilometers, accounting for 5.79% of the total area, and the number of wildlife migration corridors decreased from 279 to 223, with a total decline of 56. Moreover, the average degree and clustering coefficient of habitat connectivity networks for various species showed a downward trend, while the average path length increased, indicating intensified habitat fragmentation and a growing threat to biodiversity in the region. In response, an ecological restoration strategy is proposed, which involves creating new habitats at key ecological “pinch points” and “barrier points,” increasing habitat area by 28.13% and the number of migration corridors by 33.41%, significantly enhancing the network’s robustness and connectivity. This research provides important references for biodiversity conservation and ecological restoration in the region.

The Qinghai–Tibet Plateau ecosystem is fragile, experiencing rapid changes in land cover driven by both climate change and human activities, leading to habitat fragmentation and loss and resulting in biodiversity decline. Habitat ecological networks (HA-ENs) are considered effective solutions for habitat connectivity and biodiversity conservation in response to these dual drivers. However, HA-EN studies typically rely on current or historical landscape data, which hinders the formulation of future conservation strategies. This study proposes three future scenarios—improvement, deterioration, and baseline scenarios—focused on the southeastern Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (SE-QPT). The habitats of 10 species across three classes are extracted, integrating land use and climate change data into habitat ecological network modeling to assess the long-term dynamics of HA-ENs in the SE-QPT. Finally, conservation management strategies are proposed based on regional heterogeneity. The results show the following: Climate change and human activities are expected to reduce the suitable habitat area for species, intensifying resource competition among multiple species. By 2030, under all scenarios, the forest structure will become more fragmented, and grassland degradation will be primarily concentrated in the southeastern and western parts of the study area. Compared to 1985 (71,891.3 km2), the habitat area by 2030 is projected to decrease by 12.9% (62,629.3 km2). The overlap rate of species habitats increases from 25.4% in 1985 to 30.9% by 2030. Compared to the HA-EN control in 1985, all scenarios show a decrease in connectivity and complexity, with only the improvement scenario showing some signs of recovery towards the control network, albeit limited. Finally, based on regional heterogeneity, a conservation management strategy of “two points, two cores, two corridors, and two regions” is proposed. This strategy aims to provide a framework for future conservation efforts in response to climate change and human activities.

Amidst the acceleration of urbanization, a heightened focus on sustainable development is essential for maintaining urban ecological well-being. In China, the paradigm of urban construction is evolving from one of mainly expanding cities outward to one of advocating for essential and planned rebuilding through urban regeneration programs (URPs). This study aims to elucidate the interplay between URPs and wildlife, as well as to examine the implications of these programs for human well-being. To achieve these objectives, we used a superior urban regeneration approach that incorporates complex networks, topologies, and ecosystem services into the assessment framework. By adapting the spatial structure of older urban areas, we quantified consequential impacts on both wildlife and human well-being in a representative city located in southern China. Our results indicate that the habitat area for wildlife increased by 4.7% after the implementation of URPs. Moreover, the stability and connectivity of the ecological network significantly improved, as evidenced by changes in robustness curves and connectivity values. For example, the overall connectivity (IIC) of the study area increased by 1.1%, and the possible connectivity (PC) increased by 18.5%. Additionally, the URPs contributed to a partial restoration of ecosystem services in the study area, underscoring their potential to yield substantial improvements in the well-being of both humans and wildlife. Our study offers valuable insights for environmentalists and urban planners aiming to regenerate old human communities in cities while simultaneously bolstering urban ecological resilience.

In recent years, rapid global changes have accelerated the loss of habitats and fragmentation of landscapes, emerging as primary drivers of the alarming decline in global biodiversity. Through the construction of ecological networks (ENs) that simulate the interactions between animal and plant species with their environment, it is possible to mitigate landscape fragmentation and the loss of biodiversity. In this study, we focused on the ecologically diverse southeastern region of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP) as our research area and developed a comprehensive Multi-Species Ecological Network (MEN) consisting of ten species. Through employing complex network analysis methods, we thoroughly examined the intra-species and inter-species interactions within the MEN, integrating the findings with the natural characteristics of the study area to yield valuable insights. The results of our study revealed considerable spatial variations in the MEN. Specifically, the western and eastern regions experienced significant ecological resistance, leading to fragmented ecological sources and a limited connectivity of ecological corridors. Furthermore, the application of complex network analysis revealed inadequate connectivity and stability in specific localized areas within the MEN. This emphasizes the pressing requirement for effective ecological preservation plans. Through this study, our aim is to advance research on multi-species ecological spatial networks and to offer novel perspectives and methodologies for biodiversity conservation and habitat maintenance in the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau.

Research on synergies and trade-offs between ecosystem services (ES) contributes to a better understanding of the linkages between ecosystem functions. Relevant research mainly focuses on mountain areas, while research in arid areas is obviously insufficient. In this research, we use the northern sand-stabilization belt (NSB) as an example to explore how the synergies and trade-offs between different ES vary with the gradient of precipitation and fractional vegetation cover (FVC) over the period 2000-2020. Based on five simulated ecosystem services (habitat provision, sand-stabilization service, water conservation service, soil conservation service and carbon sequestration service), the Pearson correlation coefficient method was used to analyze the various characteristics of the trade-offs and synergies among the different ES pairs along the FVC and precipitation gradients. Results showed that: Synergies between most paired ES increased significantly with increasing precipitation and FVC. However, ES have different sensitivities to environmental change, FVC promotes bit more synergy of ES pairs than precipitation. The study also found that land use/land cover may be an important driving factor for trade-offs and synergies between paired ES. The findings demonstrate that increased precipitation and FVC promote synergy of ecosystem services in arid regions of China. In the future, it can be investigated whether anthropogenic increase in FVC in arid regions can significantly contribute to the synergy of ES. In the meantime, this study could improve our understanding of arid and semi-arid (or macro-regional) ecosystems and contribute to the development of ecosystem management and conservation measures in NSB.

Identifying and protecting key sites of ecological assets and improving spatial connectivity and accessibility are important measures taken to protect ecological diversity. This study takes Guangxi as the research area. Based on the gross ecosystem product (GEP), the ecological source is identified, and the initial ecological network (EN) is constructed by identifying the ecological corridor with the minimum cumulative resistance model. The internal defects of the initial ecological network are extracted using the circuit theory, the priority areas for restoration and protection with clear spatial positions are determined according to the complex network analysis, and the network's performance before and after optimization is comprehensively evaluated. The results show that 456 initial ecological sources and 1219 ecological corridors have been identified, forming the initial ecological network of Guangxi. Based on the circuit theory, 168 ecological barriers, 83 ecological pinch points, and 71 ecological stepping stones were extracted for network optimization. After optimizing the ecological network, there are 778 ecological sources with a total area of 73,950.56 km(2) and 2078 ecological corridors with a total length of 23,922.07 km. The GEP of the optimized structure is 13.33% higher than that of the non-optimized structure. The priority areas for protection are distributed in a large area, and the attached GEP reaches USD 118 billion, accounting for 72% of the total GEP attached to the optimized ecological source area. The priority areas for restoration are scattered in small patches, with a GEP of USD 19.27 billion. The robustness and connectivity of the optimized ecological network have been improved obviously. This study attempts to identify key sites of ecological assets and the priority regions for restoration and conservation using genuine geographical location and reference materials for regional ecological network optimization and implementation.

Abstract Context A crucial step in achieving sustainable development is identifying and safeguarding critical natural asset sites. Objectives Improving spatial connectivity and accessibility by optimizing the distribution and spatial structure of key sites is an effective strategy to achieve environmental preservation and economic development. Methods Guangxi was chosen as the research area. The Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) was used to determine the ecological source. A comprehensive resistance evaluation index system for ecological source land expansion was created using the multifactor integrated decision-making method. The internal defects of the initial ecological network were extracted using the minimum cumulative resistance model and circuit theory and the priority areas for restoration and protection were determined with clear spatial positions. Results 168 ecological barriers, 83 ecological pinch points and 71 ecological stepping stones were selected as priority areas for protection and restoration. The total area of priority area is 22090.009km2. After optimization, there are 332 new ecological sources and the number of ecological corridors has increased from 1,219 to 2,078. The ecological corridor is 23922.071 km in total. The GEP of the optimized structure increased by 13.338% compared to that of the unoptimized structure. The connectivity of the optimized ecological network structure is obviously improved., and it has better resistance and resilience to random attacks and malicious attacks. Conclusions This study attempts to identify key sites of ecological assets and the priority regions of restoration and conservation with genuine geographical location, and reference material for regional ecological network optimization and implementation.

The prolonged disregard for the Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) has limited the effectiveness of regional ecological conservation. However, identifying and safeguarding areas with high GEP, and optimizing their distribution and spatial structure, are of great immense for preserving ecosystem services (ESs). Our goal is to refine the spatial configuration of ecological network (EN), and subsequently augment and sustain the stability of ESs. We have specifically chosen Hechi City, situated in the Karst region of southwest China, as our case study. Firstly, we devised a GEP evaluation system to pinpoint crucial areas as ecological sources. Subsequently, we utilized the circuit theory and minimum cumulative resistance model to construct the preliminary EN. Through the circuit theory model identified the key nodes in the EN and optimized the EN. Finally, by combining complex network analysis methods, we evaluated the robustness and topological characteristics of the EN. Our results showed that the area of ecological sources increased from 71 to 161 after optimization. The number of corridors increased from 161 to 423, resulting in an overall increment of 8.8% in the source area. The connectivity and stability of the optimized EN can be significantly enhanced. The addition of new nodes increases the overall importance of the network, making the importance of each node more balanced. Additionally, the complex network analysis method provided a detailed understanding about the spatial topology of the overall and local elements of the EN. The study results can provide a valuable reference for optimizing, restoring and evaluating ENs in karst areas.

Urban expansion is leading to the loss and fragmentation of habitats, which poses a threat to wildlife. People are hopeful that, through scientific urban planning and the adoption of innovative models for human communities, such a situation can be improved. Thus, a case study was carried out in Nanning City, China, to extract habitats, build an ecological resistance surface, and construct a habitat connectivity network (HCN). To simulate changes to unused land in the future, we put forth the A (the parcel is divided into strips), B (the parcel is divided into two strips), C (the central area of the parcel is planned as a quadrangle), and D (opposite to Scenario C, the peripheral area is green space) scenarios of human communities that guarantee a 30% ratio of green space, and established the corresponding HCNs. The results indicate that: (1) Currently, the habitats cover approximately 153.24 km2 (34.08%) of the entire study area. The ecological corridors in this region amount to a total of 5337, and the topological indicators and robustness indicate a strong stability of the current HCN. (2) With urban expansion, once continuous habitats are being fragmented into smaller green spaces, it is estimated that the habitats will shrink by 64.60 km2. The topological indicators and robustness reveal that the stability of the HCNs becomes lower as well. Multiple scenario simulations demonstrated that Scenario D is better than Scenarios B and C, while Scenario A performed the worst. (3) Furthermore, we observed a stronger negative impact of urban expansion on local connectivity. This indicates that the influence of urban expansion on the local HCNs is often more pronounced and may even be destructive. Our findings can advise urban planners on decisions to minimize the impact of urban expansion on wildlife.

Scientific understanding of the coupling relationship between grazing activities and grassland ecosystem is an important foundation for protecting and improving the ecological quality of grassland. This study took the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (Inner Mongolia) as the research area, systematically evaluated the grassland ecosystem and grazing intensity status in Inner Mongolia, and evaluated the ecological quality of Inner Mongolia county based on the four quadrant model. The results showed that: (1) The types of landscape patterns in Inner Mongolia were mainly grassland, forest, and desert. During the study period, the overall pattern of the landscape was stable, but problems such as urban expansion needed to be given more attention. (2) The areas with good grassland ecosystem carrying capacity were principally distributed in the eastern and southeastern Inner Mongolia, while the western Inner Mongolia and the northwest region of the Xilingol League were relatively low, and in the period 2000-2010 the ecological quality of the Inner Mongolia grassland in general belonged to the fair, middle level, but had been in a stable state and showed a good direction to improve the trend of ascension. (3) The grazing overload degree (GOD) in Inner Mongolia was significantly different in the region. GOD decreased from northeast to southwest in both periods. And most of the grassland stocking pressure was alleviated during 2000-2010. (4) The results of the four quadrant model analysis showed that there were obvious spatial differences in ecological quality in Inner Mongolia. And about 97% of the research area was located in the first, second, and fourth quadrants, with only 3% located in the third quadrant. From 2000 to 2010, the counties with nearly unchangeable and non-significantly worse accounted for 91.76% and 4.33%, respectively, indicating that the overall grassland ecosystem in Inner Mongolia remained stable and showed a slight improvement trend. This study can provide the necessary reference basis for the scientific formulation of grassland resources-related policies and plans and the promotion of grassland ecological protection in Inner Mongolia.

Ecosystem services (ES) have been shrinking due to unreasonable development and utilization for a long time. There are many studies on ES, but the ecological information for policymakers is still complex and obscure. To address this critical omission, based on remote sensing data, combined with meteorological data, land use data, and administrative division data, using GIS spatial analysis technology and some ecological process models, we develop an ecosystem services radiation assessment framework (ESRAF) that can provide policymakers with concise and reliable ecological information. We illustrate the measurement of ESRAF through an application to specific regions of China’s national ecological sheltering zone (NESZ), showing that the approach can effectively identify the beneficiary areas (SBA) for sand-stabilization service, soil conservation service, and water conservation service, and the degree of sharing of ES of SBA. ES produced by ecosystems in a specific region not only generates huge benefits locally but also a large number of ES benefit surrounding regions through cross-regional transmission. Specifically, in 2015, the area benefiting from sand-stabilization service provided by the Ordos’s ecosystem is about 1.66×106 km2, the amount of dust reduction in SBA would reduce by 28,738.67×104 tons. The Loess Plateau Ecological Screen (LPES) provides critical soil conservation service, the SBA of LPES includes two parts: LPES and the Yellow River. The Northeast Forest Belt (NFB) provides vital water conservation services. The water conservation service beneficiary area is mainly located near the NFB, with 266 hydrological response units, covering an area of 8.982×104 km2. This study also showed that the transmission distance is inversely proportional to the radiation effect, that is, the benefit level decreases with the distance from SPA. According to the degree of sharing of ES of SBA, the proposed cross-regional differentiated ecological compensation scheme is helpful to promote regional sustainable development. At the same time, this study also shows that NESZ is of great significance for ensuring China’s ecological security.

The ecosystem services (ES) can be influenced by various environmental factors. In order to efficiently allocate resources and manage ecosystems, it is important to understand the mechanisms by which these environmental effects impact the interactions and trade-offs among different ES. While previous studies have primarily examined the impact of individual environmental factors on ES, the intricate mechanisms underlying the effects of multiple environmental factors have been largely overlooked. In this study, we adopted a path analysis approach that considered interactions among explanatory variables. We analyzed multiple geospatial datasets from various sources, including remote sensing and climate data, to examine the main drivers—precipitation, temperature, FVC (fractional vegetation cover), NPP (net primary productivity), human activities, and altitude—affecting five ecosystem services: carbon sequestration service (C), habitat provision service (HP), soil conservation service (SCS), sand-stabilization service (SSS), and water conservation service (WCS) in arid and semi-arid mountainous regions. Our investigation found that all five ES have shown an upward trajectory over the past two decades. The most significant growth was observed in C, which increased by 39.4%. Among the environmental factors examined, precipitation has been identified as the predominant factor influencing the ES and the synergies and trade-offs among ES. The influence of precipitation on SCS reached a coefficient of 0.726. Human activity factors had the greatest influence on HP of the five ES with a path coefficient of 0.262. Conversely, temperature exhibited a suppressive influence on ES. The impact of factors such as NPP and altitude on ES was comparatively modest. Notably, human activities assumed a substantial contributory role in shaping the relationship encompassing WCS. It is worth noting that individual factors exerted differential effects on ES along distinct environmental gradients, including anthropogenic gradients. In this context, the combination of high altitude and substantial FVC demonstrated a notable contribution to WCS. Our study can provide valuable insights for the management of ES which can be utilized to optimize the regulation of the Loess Plateau Ecological Screen (LPES) ecological construction and promote regional sustainable development.

The complexity and fragility of the Yellow River Basin ecosystem limits its economic growth and sustainable social development as a strategic planning area for development in western China. The Chinese government has established the Loess Plateau Ecological Screen (LPES) in the region to eliminate or mitigate the negative ecological impacts of human activities represented by the expansion of impervious surfaces (IS) through active ecological conservation and restoration. However, there are few studies that quantify the effects of impervious surfaces on ecosystem services (ES). To fill this gap, this study takes the LPES in China as an example and explores the response of ES to IS changes and its scale effect from 2000 to 2020. Based on remote sensing, meteorological, soil, hydrological, social, and economic data using GIS spatial analysis techniques. The results show that: From 2000 to 2020, the urbanization of the LPES developed rapidly, and the IS increased rapidly. The increase in IS affected the supply of ES, which decreased with the increase in IS growth rate, and this phenomenon had a scale effect. Overall, except for soil conservation service (SCS) - IS, carbon storage service (C) - IS at the administrative scale, the negative correlation increased with increasing scale, while the opposite was true at the grid scale. There were thresholds for the response of ES to IS, and the thresholds were also influenced by the scale of study. The smaller the scale was, the lower the threshold was. However, there were differences in the ranking of each ES reaching the threshold with increasing IS at the grid-scale and administrative division scale. The ecosystem services composite index (ESCI) was found to be the best indicator for exploring the relationship between IS and ES compared to other single ecosystem services indices, with the largest negative correlation with IS and the least influenced by scale effects. Given the obvious scale effect of IS on ES, this study suggests that the development of ecological management programs at the national level should be macroscopically regulated at the provincial level, with specific measures at smaller grid scales (5 Km × 5 Km) to constrain IS expansion..

The economic and social development evaluation system with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the leading indicator is no longer applicable to the current social progress in China. It is essential to carry out an assessment of the Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) to integrate ecological benefits into the economic and social evaluation system and promote sustainable socio-economic development. This study took Guangxi, an important province in South China, as the study area. We used four periods of land use and land cover data (LULC), meteorological data, soil data and yearbook statistics to construct a GEP assessment framework based on geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) technologies. We accounted for the provisioning services, regulating services, and tourism services provided by Guangxi in 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020 and analyzed the region’s and municipalities’ spatial–temporal pattern characteristics and trends of change in GEP. In addition, this study also discusses the relationship between GEP and GDP. The results showed that many important products and services provided by natural ecosystems in Guangxi had enormous economic benefits. GEP had increased from CNY 15,657.37 billion in 2005 to CNY 36,677.04 billion in 2020, and the distribution of GEP showed obvious spatial heterogeneity. The value of ecosystem regulation services was about 65–89% of GEP, which is the main component of GEP. From 2005 to 2020, natural ecosystem protection and socio-economic development have achieved coordinated development in Guangxi. GEP and GDP showed upward trends in general. Although Guangxi is relatively backward in terms of economic development, the scientific quantification of the unrealized value of the services provided by the ecosystem through GEP accounting makes it possible to transform ecological advantages into economic advantages. It could help the local government and people to re-recognize the value of ecological resources and realize the beautiful vision of lucid waters and lush mountains as invaluable assets.

The leachate generated from the long-term storage of waste residue and waste liquid produced in mining mineral resources diffuses into the soil, which is easy to cause the surrounding soil to be polluted by heavy metals and affects its crop growth. After human beings eat fruits containing heavy metals through the food chain, they will cause neurasthenia of the nervous system, numbness of hands and feet, indigestion of the digestive system, blood poisoning, kidney injury and other symptoms. Then it will pollute and damage the ecological environment and personal safety, therefore, how to quickly find out the situation of soil pollution is particularly critical. With the development of remote sensing technology, multispectral remote sensing has great potential in breaking through the vegetation barrier to monitor heavy soil metals because of its high spectral resolution and real-time non-destructive and large-area monitoring advantages. This study takes peach trees, the main crop in Pinggu District, as the research object. Using hyperspectral data of peach leaves and field soil sampling data, the response characteristics of peach leaf spectral curves were analyzed. The reflectance spectra of peach leaves were transformed by first-order/second-order differentiation, standard normal transformation and continuous de unification. The characteristic variables are determined by correlation analysis and multiple linear regression model, construction of vegetation index HMSVI, the correlation between HMSVI and Cd, As and Pb content is higher than that of common vegetation index. After modeling element content and vegetation index HMSVI by linear regression method, selecting the model with good fitting, the statistical modeling of leaf hyperspectral reflectance spectrum and soil heavy metal content was realized, and the spatial distribution of heavy metal content was retrieved from sentinel-2 remote sensing image, and the results were verified. The results show that : the average spectral reflectance of leaves under heavy metal stress was higher than that of normal leaves, and the phenomenon of "blue shift" occurred. 780, 945 and 1 375 are the most sensitive to heavy metal pollution. The inversion model established by using the vegetation index constructed in three bands can be better used to predict the content of heavy metal elements in peach forest soil. The prediction models are y = 0. 44x+ 0. 193, y = 7. 4361nx +13. 161, y = - 15. 359x+ 13. 583x(2) + 23. 541 respectively. The spatial inversion results show that the high-value areas of the three heavy metals are widely distributed near the liujiadian tailings pond, Wanzhuang tailings pond and Jinhai Lake tailings pond in Pinggu District. Heavy metal pollution is more serious in the West than in the East. The mapping results can provide basic data support for preventing and treating heavy metal pollution in Taolin, Pinggu District, Beijing.