The integration of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) and tourism is a vital component of the holistic development of culture and tourism. This study examines the spatial distribution characteristics and tourism integration development models of Hulunbuir City through a spatial geography lens, employing nearest neighbor index and kernel density analysis. The results indicate the following: (1) Arts and crafts, as well as performing arts ICH resources, play a dominant role and are of a higher level, exhibiting a distinct agglomeration pattern centered around the main core area, sub-core area, and marginal area, which reflect the current distribution status. (2) Based on these findings, a spatial integration and optimization model is proposed, initially centered on the core area of ICH resources. Subsequently, a characteristic resource culture and tourism integration model is developed from three perspectives: resource-driven penetrative integration, product-driven restructured integration, and market-driven extension integration. (3) This study argues that the dynamic system driving the integrated development of ICH and tourism consists of three key subsystems: thrust, tension, and support. Their interactions constitute the dynamic mechanism underlying integrated development. Ultimately, this study provides a rational framework for the preservation and utilization of cultural heritage, thereby broadening the scope of cultural heritage studies.

Rural tourism plays a crucial role in driving the sustainable development of rural economies. With the rise of the digital economy, user-generated content (UGC) videos on platforms such as TikTok have become a significant factor influencing consumer decision-making, creating new opportunities for the growth of rural tourism. Using the TikTok app as the research platform, this study examines the relationship between UGC short videos, tourists’ intentions to engage in rural tourism, and their perception of destination image. Specifically, it explores the impact of UGC short videos on tourists’ willingness to participate in rural tourism and the mediating role of destination image perception. The findings indicate that UGC short videos positively influence tourists’ willingness to engage in rural tourism. Destination image perception mediates this relationship, shaping tourists’ decisions through cognitive and emotional image perceptions. Based on these findings, this paper recommends rural tourism destination managers enhance promotional strategies and improve destination image perception through UGC short video content.

Promoting sustainable livelihoods for villagers is an essential strategy for rural revitalization in areas enriched with heritage sites. Northwest Yunnan, despite being one of China’s poorest regions, is globally renowned for the Three Parallel Rivers and its premier hiking destinations, so exploring sustainable income-increasing opportunities for its villagers is important for its rural revitalization. By using density analysis, logical matrix construction and cluster analysis with GPS data, this study explored the spatial distribution characteristics of hiking tourism in Northwest Yunnan and identified the hiking popular areas. A revenue generation framework, informed by Sustainable Livelihood Approach (SLA) and customized to the unique hiking characteristics of such popular areas, was constructed to analyze income opportunities for villagers in these areas, so as to offer theoretical support for the hiking tourism development and rural revitalization in this region. The results showed that: (1) The distribution of hiking points of interest (POIs) in Northwest Yunnan was relatively centralized with three agglomeration areas from north to south, namely, the Deqin Agglomeration Area, the Lijiang-Shangri-La Agglomeration Area, and the Dali-Yangbi Agglomeration Area. (2) Northwest Yunnan mainly had three popular hiking areas and eight hiking sub-areas correspondingly. (3) The income-generating opportunities for villagers mainly included unique accommodation and food service, guide and gear transportation services, equipment supply, tourism product sales, and logistics support for hiking races. It indicated that due to the differing temporal-spatial characteristics, and themes of activities in each hiking sub-area, the approaches to revenue generation are uniquely distinctive for each sub-area. The diverse tourism-related livelihoods of villagers enrich tourists’ experiences while the nature of tourist activities guides the villagers’ livelihood choices. Hiking tourism serves as a vital avenue for economic growth in areas like Northwestern Yunnan, where villagers can significantly boost their income by offering a variety of tourism services.

Urbanization has resulted in growing ecological pressures on cities, necessitating assessments of urban ecological quality. Long-term characterization of regional dynamics and drivers is critical for environmental management. This study proposes an enhanced ecological quality model (MRSEI) incorporating vegetation cover and EVI rather than just NDVI. The MRSEI model was applied to analyse ecological quality in Yulin City during 2000-2018 using Landsat TM/OLI data on Google Earth Engine. Geographic detectors also quantified anthropogenic and environmental influences on the study area. The results are summarized as follows: (1) MRSEI showed an average correlation coefficient of 0.840 with other indices, demonstrating higher representativeness than individual components. The principal component analysis indicated a 12.88% increase in explained variance. MRSEI also exhibited significantly improved identification of roads, villages, and unused lands over RSEI, better matching ground conditions, and suitability for regional ecological assessment. (2) During 2000-2020, the average MRSEI in Yulin City was 0.481, peaking at 0.518 in 2018, indicating general ecological improvement over time. Spatially, conditions were better in the southeast than northwest. While 38.81% of the area showed significant improvement, 10.15% exhibited significant deterioration, concentrated in western Dingbian and Jingbian counties, highlighting areas requiring enhanced protection. (3) Ecological conditions in Yulin City remained stable over time. High-high clusters were concentrated in eastern counties (Qingjian, Wubao, Jia, Fugu) and central lower-altitude areas near Yokoyama and Zizhou. Low-low clusters predominated in the northern Yuyang desert and high-altitude western Dingbian regions. (4) Enhanced vegetation cover had the greatest influence in improving Yulin’s ecological quality. Rainfall was the most impactful environmental driver, while precipitation and land use change interactions showed the strongest combined effects. In contrast, air quality had minimal explanatory power in Yulin City. (5) The MRSEI model significantly impacts the ecological assessment of urban areas, thereby enhancing urban ecological monitoring accuracy. Moreover, our analysis demonstrates applicability to watershed regions, facilitating comprehensive regional ecological assessment and monitoring.

Climate change has become a significant global issue, impacting various sectors, including ski tourism. In recent years, the intersection between climate change and ski tourism has gained considerable attention. To explore this topic, we reviewed recent research papers published in recent years on ski tourism, snow, and ice sports, and climate change and selected the three dimensions of ski resorts, ski tourists, and governments and communities where ski resorts are located to summarize and analyze the literature from the perspective of stakeholders. The results revealed the following perspectives. First, climate change has led to reduced natural snowfall at ski resorts, resulting in shorter ski seasons. This has caused operational challenges, particularly for smaller, lower-altitude resorts, and decreased tourist satisfaction and loyalty, leading to fewer ski trips, shorter stays, and a shift toward alternative destinations. Additionally, ski tourism's decline negatively affects the economies and environments of the regions dependent on this industry. Second, strategies to mitigate climate change's impact on ski tourism are essential. Ski resorts can utilize artificial snowmaking equipment and the extension of effective skiing time. Ski tourists, following the leisure substitution theory, may shift their destinations or adjust their skiing schedules. Governments can counter the effects of climate change by developing infrastructure, integrating regional resources, and enhancing overall competitiveness.

Street greening is a popular topic in urban design research. Traditionally, assessments for urban greening levels using Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from satellite remote sensing images, often overlooking street greening from a human-scale perspective. This study combined spatial syntax, machine learning techniques, streetscape images, and remote sensing data to comprehensively assess thoroughly analyse street greening levels in Chengdu’s Fourth Ring Road. Additionally, by integrating accessibility analysis with Green View Index (GVI), this study identified areas that should be prioritised for street greening interventions. The results indicate that: (1) Streets in the western and southern regions of Chengdu City’s Fourth Ring Road possessed higher GVI. (2) There is a significant difference in the overall distributions of GVI and NDVI, particularly in the central and eastern regions. (3) Streets with “high commuting and walking accessibility (low GVI) overlapped in the area east of Shuncheng Avenue. The methodology presented in this study can serve as a reference for human-scale street greening in Chengdu and other cities.

This study introduces a novel framework to dissect and understand tourists' cultural perceptions within river basins. The framework consists of two complementary parts: first, it develops a multi-dimensional system to identify cultural perceptions through textual analysis; second, it uses advanced methods like deep learning and spatial clustering to analyze and compare these perceptions across different cities and regions. The findings from the Yellow River Basin reveal six key dimensions of cultural perception: historical, architectural, folklore, food, religious, and leisure. The basin exhibits three distinct cultural patterns: an upstream polycentric network, a central ‘cultural circle’ around Xi’an, and a city-to-city pattern downstream. Furthermore, the basin is categorized into ten unique cultural perception regions, each highlighting diverse tourist perceptions. This framework not only offers a methodological beacon for future regional tourism studies but also equips managers with strategic insights to enhance the quality and cooperation in river basin tourism development.

The integration and coordinated development of culture and tourism industry is essential for realizing high-quality development in China’s northeast border regions. To assess this integration and driving mechanism, an evaluation index system has been established to quantify the coupling and coordination degree of these sectors at the provincial level from 2013 to 2022. Meanwhile, ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis can identify driving factors and its mechanism. The findings indicate that, despite fluctuation and uneven development, the integration of cultural and tourism industry has generally demonstrated a gradual upward trend, remaining predominantly in preliminary-stage development. The degree of coupling and coordination is influenced by four primary factors: economic development level, transportation infrastructure quality, industrial structure optimization and advancement in the digital economy. The outbreak of the global public health crisis has temporarily weakened the impacts of economic development, transportation infrastructure, and the digital economy on the integration process. However, as economic recovery continues to unfold, these factors have been anticipated to exert a sustained and significant influence on facilitating further integration and coordinated development within the cultural and tourism industry thereby accelerating high-quality development in the Northeast border regions. Based on these conclusions, this study proposes measures that focus on enhancing the integration and development of culture and tourism industry from three perspectives, namely integrated model innovation, transportation network enhancement, and industrial structure optimization.

Exploring the changes in food consumption and dietary nutrient intake of Chinese urban and rural residents is of great significance. This study constructed a Chinese food nutrient model using data from “China Statistical Yearbook”, “China Rural Statistical Yearbook”, “China Yearbook of Household Survey”, and “China Yearbook of Rural Household Survey”. The structure and changes in food consumption and nutrient intake among urban and rural residents in China from 2000 to 2020 were analyzed using dietary balance indices and comparisons with dietary recommendations. The results show that higher consumption of cereals and lower consumption of dairy products remained the main problems in food consumption by both urban and rural residents from 2000 to 2020. The dietary nutrient structure of urban and rural residents developed a dual calorie structure dominated by grain and supplemented by vegetable oil, a dual protein structure dominated by grain and supplemented by pork, and a triple fat structure dominated by vegetable oil and supplemented by both pork and grain. Rural plant-based and animal-based dietary nutrition lagged behind that of urban areas, with a difference of roughly 20 years. The results of this study clarified the food consumption and dietary nutritional structures and changes of urban and rural residents. We found the deficiencies in the current dietary structure and made recommendations for improving the nutritional health of urban and rural residents.

High-quality development is essential for China’s modernization. The in-depth implementation of the new development philosophy has become crucial for promoting China’s development in the context of “domestic and international” double-cycle development. This study constructs an evaluation index based on the new development philosophy, measures the level of China’s high-quality development majorly from 2005 to 2020, dynamically examines the spatial and temporal pattern of China’s high-quality development on a multi-level spatial scale, and explores its influence mechanism with the help of the obstacle degree model. The results show that: (1) China’s high-quality development level has increased as a whole, with the high-quality development index rising from 0.056 in 2005 to 0.092 in 2020, with an average annual growth rate of 3.36% and an overall development pattern of “high level in the east and fast growth rate in the west”. (2) Spatial correlation, China’s high-quality development shows a significant positive correlation, with cities with higher levels of high-quality development concentrated in the eastern coastal region, the Pearl River Delta region, and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and those with lower levels of high-quality development clustered in the western region. (3) In terms of dynamic evolution, China’s high-quality development level shows a small rightward shift, the polarization of high-quality development level is weakening, and the rightward trailing situation has been alleviated. (4) Obstacles to identifying the factors affecting China’s high-quality development include the amount of imports, exports, and the number of foreign direct investment contract projects. From the criterion level, openness and innovation are the biggest obstacles to high-quality development, and the obstacle degree of each criterion level shows significant spatial differentiation characteristics in the research period. The results can provide a scientific basis for China’s path to upgrading and building a modern socialist country.

Stray dog invasion caused by human activities poses a significant challenge to wildlife communities worldwide. Conservation biology efforts must prioritize controlling stray dog populations to maintain equilibrium within local wildlife communities. In the Helan Mountains, ungulate population recovery and the absence of top predators present critical issues. The presence of a stray dog as a predator may complicate ecological restoration efforts in the region. Through molecular and camera trapping data analyses, we investigated the overlap of ecological niches between stray dogs and local carnivores across nutritional and spatiotemporal dimensions. The results revealed a high overlap between stray dogs and local carnivores across various niches, likely linked to food abundance, suggesting the possibility of increased future competition between them. Stray dogs cannot be ignored when conservation of wild carnivores involved.

Habitat quality plays a crucial role in enhancing the regional ecological environment and safeguarding biodiversity, with topography being a key element influencing the structure and function of ecosystem services. This research aims to assess habitat suitability across various topographic gradients, analyze the spatial heterogeneity of habitat quality between 2000 and 2020, and explore the relationship between influencing factors and habitat quality. InVEST model is used to evaluate the spatial-temporal evolution characteristics of habitat quality in Zhaotong City, focusing on how topographic gradients impact habitat quality distribution. The study also delves into the factors affecting habitat quality in Zhaotong City, including land use patterns, elevation, slope, average annual temperature and other variables. The results indicate three key aspects of this system. (1) During the study period, the land use types were mainly forest land, farmland and grassland, with construction land experiencing the most significant increase. (2) From 2000 to 2020, the quality areas of high and medium habitats in Zhaotong City decreased, while the quality areas of medium-high, medium-low and low habitats increased. (3) The study revealed a notable topographic gradient effect on habitat quality, with the primary driver shifting from GDP to land use type and subsequently to average annual precipitation in Zhaotong City. The transfer between different grades of habitat quality mainly presents the characteristics of “descending” transfer, with medium-low quality habitats typically found on medium-low topographic gradients and medium-high quality habitats on medium-high gradients. Cross-detection results show that land use type exhibited the strongest correlation with other influencing factors. Therefore, this study can provide a scientific basis for policy makers to protect biodiversity, enhance ecosystem services and promote regional economic development.

As a large province with forest resources, assessing the value of forest ecosystem services in Yunnan is of great significance to maintain the sustainable development of Yunnan’s economy. Based on the latest survey data of Yunnan Province, i.e., the forest resources type II survey data, and in accordance with the Specification for Forest Ecosystem Service Function Assessment (GB/T 38582-2020), the value of forest ecosystem service function of 16 cities (prefectures) in Yunnan was assessed, and the ridge regression method was used to study the main factors affecting the value differences among cities (prefectures). The results show that: (1) The value of forest ecosystem services in Yunnan is 982.926×10⁹ yuan yr^-1, of which the value of carbon fixation and oxygen release is the largest. (2) The top four cities (prefectures) in terms of value of services are Pu’er City > Chuxiong Prefecture > Diqing Prefecture > Dali Prefecture; the bottom four cities (prefectures) are Kunming City > Yuxi City > Dehong Prefecture > Zhaotong City; (3) The main factors affecting the value of the service function of each city (prefecture) are forested land area, forest cover, GDP and population density. The findings of this study provided a reference for the sustainable development of the ecological environment in the prefectures and cities of Yunnan Province.

Coal burning is the prevailing way of heating in winter in rural areas of northern China, especially in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and their surrounding areas. Regrettably, the direct burning of large amounts of bulk coal is a major contributor to the serious air pollution and frequent heavy pollution days in winter in northern China. It is urgent to find ways for promoting the smooth implementation and sustainable development of clean heating in rural areas, while ensuring affordable heating solutions for rural residents. Conducting research on the WTP of rural residents for clean heating and its influencing factors can provide greater technical support for better promoting clean heating in rural areas. Through field visits and questionnaire surveys in rural areas of Shandong, Hebei, Henan and Shaanxi provinces, data on the willingness of rural residents to pay for clean heating was obtained. A multivariate regression model was then constructed based on the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) to measure and analyze the willingness of residents to pay for clean heating and its influencing factors. Findings reveal that the highest willingness to pay (WTP) was in Hebei at 2388 yuan and its lowest was observed in Shandong at 1595 yuan, with Henan and Shaanxi registering 1608 yuan and 1929 yuan, respectively. WTP is significantly negatively correlated with age and financial burden of clean heating costs after retrofit. WTP is significantly positively correlated with total household heating hours per year, total household heating area, total household income in 2023, affordable price increase, satisfaction with the overall clean heating project, satisfaction with gas (electricity) prices, satisfaction with heating equipment, and satisfaction with indoor temperature.

The coordinated development of ecological security (ES) and high-quality economic development (HQED) is of great significance to the integrated sustainable development of the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) urban agglomeration. In this study, the entropy weight-TOPSIS model and the improved coupling coordination degree (CCD) model were used to analyze the coupling coordination mechanism of ES and HQED. The results indicate that the level of ES in the YRD showed a fluctuating upward trend from 0.475 in 2000 to 0.481 in 2020, while HQED continued to rise from 0.097 in 2000 to 0.232 in 2020, and the coordinated development index of ES and HQED increased from 0.293 in 2000 to 0.795 in 2020, highlighting an obvious trend of balanced development. Notably, the eastern coastal cities exhibited superior HQED and ES levels, with a better CCD, compared to the inland cities. The multi-scale geographically weighted regression model (MGWR) analysis shows that industrial structure, production efficiency and urbanization rate were key factors in the imbalanced development of the YRD. Finally, policy suggestions are proposed from the aspects of strengthening technological and industrial innovation and comprehensively promoting new urbanization.

This paper explores the pathway toward harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature through the lens of ecotourism, delving into its impact on tourists’ cognition of the natural environment, cultivation of emotional connections, and its pivotal role in shaping environmentally responsible behavior. At the Luya Mountain Scenic Area, a case study was conducted in July 2021, collecting 632 valid tourist questionnaires to investigate the nexus among “ecotourism experience”, “emotional experience”, and “environmental responsibility behavior” using structural equation modeling. Moreover, the relationship between tourism and daily environmental behavior was scrutinized with canonical correlation analysis. The findings unveil several substantial revelations: (1) Engagement experience significantly and positively influences tourists’ inclination toward responsible behavior. (2) Emotional experience mediates the relationship between educational, engagement, and escapism experiences and the inclination to act responsibly. (3) The utilization of digital information technologies positively moderates the conversion of emotional experience into a willingness to behave responsibly. (4) Ecotourism responsibility is linked to daily behavior, and cognitive and emotional experiences foster long-term environmental protection. This study provides a pioneering approach to enhancing tourism offerings within the scenic area and nurturing a sustainable human-environment relationship.

China’s Convert Cultivated Land into Forest and Grassland policy has been gradually emphasized and promoted in the context of advancing China’s Western Development Program. Therefore, based on the perspective of localized practice in China, this study bridges the semantic level of information from the perspective of qualitative analysis and quantitative coding through the qualitative analysis of policy content and text similarity metrics. The study systematically reveals the diffusion characteristics of China’s Convert Cultivated Land into Forest and Grassland policy with respect to spatiotemporal evolution, thematic focus, and the degree of central policy diffusion. The goals are to clarify the mechanisms of policy evolution in a long time span, to analyze the implementation effects of the policy in accordance with local conditions, and thereby to make strong contributions to policy making. The results show five important aspects of the policy diffusion. (1) The policy followed a tendency characterized by “slow-rapid-stable” stages, and its diffusion process can be summarized into four phases. (2) By integrating thematic diffusion characteristics and spatiotemporal evolution characteristics, this study reveals that the Grain for Green policy primarily exhibited a top-down “Hierarchical diffusion mode”. (3) By combining the national land cover change with the geographical distribution data of the Grain for Green policy, this study reveals that the policy has largely achieved its ecological goal of converting cultivated land. (4) Based on empirical research, this study illustrates the relationships between the number of policy issuances, the similarity between central and provincial policies, and the degree of policy diffusion, thereby enriching diffusion theory based on China's localized practical research. (5) This study suggests that national policies appear to reduce vertical pressure, thus inspiring the innovation of regional policy. Meanwhile, efforts should focus on developing distinctive industries to promote improvements in quality and efficiency.

Red tourism in China has expanded significantly since 2004, driven by government initiatives focused on economic development, cultural preservation, and Communist Party promotion. Despite this growth, red tourism often fails to engage tourists effectively due to a lack of focus on their experiences. This study employed the Q method with 31 samples to identify four key components of memorable red tourism experiences: identity experience, mixed emotional experience, cost-effective experience, and knowledge experience. Theoretically, this study underscores how red tourism can fulfill personal political goals and highlights the impact of affordability on creating memorable experiences. It also challenges the idea that hedonism is central to red tourism, while stressing the importance of cultural authenticity. The findings provide practical guidance for red tourism destination management to create more engaging and meaningful experiences. The recommendations include enhancing experiential atmospheres, incorporating red cultural elements, and balancing cultural authenticity with entertainment.

The cultural elements are the core of theme parks, which gradually interact with people as unique cultural space landscapes. The expression of culture is pivotal in determining the quality of a theme park and significantly affects the tourist experience. From the perspective of the production of culture on display, this paper explores the cultural practices of theme parks and tourists’ appeal through field research, content analysis, and grounded theory. The research findings indicate that theme parks are characterized by authenticity, interaction, participation, and readability. They rely on scene restoration, story narration, service facilities, cultural characteristics and tourist interaction to facilitate cultural engagement. Content analysis shows that tourists prioritize amusement attractions, performances, and the overall tourism experience. When theme parks serve as venues for leisure and entertainment, tourist appeal reflect in five aspects: Theme park products, tourism services, storytelling, social interaction, and immersive experiences. Meanwhile, these appeals drive the cultural reproduction within theme parks. This study expands the application scope of cultural engagement in theme parks, elucidates the evolving demands of visitors, and provides insights for theme parks to enhance their storytelling capabilities and improve tourist experiences.

Tracking and investigating tourist satisfaction and accurately identifying the key factors that affect tourist satisfaction have always been among the top priorities for academia and tourist attraction operators. With the rise of online travel, analysis based on online comments has become an important method for tracking and surveying tourist satisfaction. This article examined the online comments of tourists for the Panjin Red Beach Scenic Corridor Scenic Area (hereinafter referred to as Red Beach) on Ctrip as an example. Using natural language processing to classify the tourist evaluations into topics, the main topics of concern were identified as tourism services, tourism attractions, scenic area management, and tourism experience. Through the 5-level rating of Ctrip’s online gaming customer satisfaction, an analysis was conducted on tourist satisfaction and the topics of greatest concern to the tourists were ranked. The results showed that the satisfaction levels from high to low are: tourism experience, tourism attractions, scenic area management, and tourism services. Therefore, satisfaction with related content under the service topic was the lowest so this aspect urgently needs to be improved and enhanced.

Understanding and managing the changing landscape of our planet requires analyzing land use and land cover (LULC) transitions. This study combines remote sensing data and GIS analysis to uncover the intricate patterns and drivers behind these transitions. By integrating GIS analysis, we identify factors such as urbanization, agricultural expansion, deforestation, and natural resource management contributing to these changes. Accurate data preprocessing and calibration are emphasized to reduce errors and uncertainties in LULC maps. The study covers the period from 2017 to 2022, utilizing digitized LULC maps created with GIS tools and satellite data interpretation, specifically Sentinel-2 images. The landscape was classified into seven land cover types: agricultural land, built-up areas, barren or degraded land, flooded vegetation areas, forests, vegetation or shrub-covered areas, and waterbodies. Findings revealed a decrease of 1063.73 km² in barren land between 2017 and 2022. Agricultural land expanded by 228.93 km², forest land increased by 632.90 km², and waterbodies grew by 33.05 km². These changes suggest a conversion of areas likely influenced by the high intensity of rainfall between 2017 and 2022, leading to notable ecological consequences such as reduced soil erosion and improved biodiversity protection. The study's results have significant implications for land management, environmental protection, and sustainable development. The extensive analysis of spatial and temporal data equips policymakers, urban planners, and researchers with crucial knowledge to make well-informed decisions. This research provides a solid basis for monitoring and managing LULC transitions, offering valuable methodologies and insights to promote a resilient and harmonious coexistence between human activities and the environment.

Rapid urbanization significantly influences urban renewal and the construction of new spaces in metropolises within developing countries, particularly affecting the ecological patterns and security of urban landscapes. This study conducts an in-depth analysis of landscape ecological change indicators in Hangzhou from 1990 to 2020, summarizing typical driving models and formation mechanisms behind these changes while proposing optimization strategies. The findings indicate that since 1990, driven by urban expansion, Hangzhou’s landscape ecological pattern has experienced overall stability alongside localized drastic transformations, revealing three distinctly different stages around West Lake, along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and across the Qiantang River. This evolution is primarily propelled by public service facilities, tourism development, industrial parks, landscape ecological corridors, and other forms of spatial expansion. Such processes reflect a comprehensive interplay among population urbanization dynamics, land use policies for urban areas, adjustments in administrative divisions, as well as the snowball effect stemming from capital-driven growth and wealth accumulation associated with new urban space development. The results presented herein serve as a representative case for understanding both the characteristics and driving forces behind changes in China’s urban landscape ecological patterns; they also hold significant implications for predicting and optimizing regulatory frameworks concerning spatial expansion policies in other nations and regions.

The Three-River Source Region is an important ecological security barrier in China. Revealing the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of its landscape types and ecological risks is of great significance for promoting ecological restoration and landscape pattern optimization in the Three-River Source Region. Selecting the Three-River Source Region for a case study and applying the land-use data from four periods (the 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020), we constructed a landscape ecological risk assessment model for the region based on the landscape pattern index. We then quantitatively assessed the ecological risks and determined the characteristics of their spatial-temporal evolution. The results showed that: (1) The overall landscape ecological risk in the Three- River Source Region tended to decrease from northwest to southeast, and the distribution of landscape ecological risk was closely related to the natural plateau zones and the changes in land cover. (2) From 1990 to 2020, the areas covered by grasslands, water bodies, croplands, and construction land in the Three-River Source Region increased, while the areas of woodlands and unused land decreased. The spatial-temporal changes in the ecological landscape risk were consistent with the characteristics of the changes in the landscape types. The areas categorized as highest, higher, medium, lower and lowest risk areas, while highest and higher risk areas decreased by 9.76%, medium risk areas increased by 1.03%, lower risk areas increased by 8.99%, and lowest risk areas decreased by 0.26%, respectively. (3) Overall, the Three-River Source Region was dominated by very low to medium ecological risk, the areas of which accounted for more than 70% of the entire study area. Overall ecological risks are decreasing, and there is positive spatial autocorrelation of landscape ecological risks in adjacent evaluation units.

This paper investigates ecological asset accounting methods tailored for agricultural cultural heritage sites, specifically through the ancient tea forest cultural landscape of Jingmai Mountain in Pu'er. These heritage sites globally act as reservoirs of extensive cultural history and ecological richness, yet they face increasing risks and challenges from urban expansion and modernization. (1) The research develops a comprehensive methodological framework that merges ecological, economic, and cultural valuation techniques. This framework identifies and evaluates crucial ecological assets such as land, water, vegetation, fauna, and microorganisms, categorizing their value into direct values (e.g., agriculture), indirect values (e.g., flood control), and non-use values (e.g., biodiversity and cultural heritage). (2) It emphasizes the necessity of integrating cultural heritage preservation with ecological stewardship. This dual approach supports the sustainability of both cultural and natural resources, underpinning broader conservation goals and necessitating innovative management strategies for heritage conservation. (3) The study advocates for sustainable management practices that maintain the ecological and cultural integrity of these vital sites. Through detailed ecosystem analysis, the paper proposes balanced policies that cater to both ecological preservation and the socio-economic needs of local communities, promoting a replicable model for similar heritage sites worldwide. Overall, this model exemplifies how to effectively utilize ecological and cultural assets for sustainable development, ensuring the coexistence of natural and cultural values in a harmonious environment.

Land use/cover change (LUCC) is a measure that offers insights into the interaction between human activities and the natural environment, which significantly impacts the ecological environment of a region. Based on data from the period from 2000 to 2020 regarding land use, topography, climate, the economy, and population, this study investigates the spatial and temporal evolution of land use in the Liuchong River Basin, examining the interaction between human activities and the natural environment using the land use dynamics model, the transfer matrix model, the kernel density model, and the geodetic detector. The results indicate that: (1) The type of land cover in Liuchong River Basin primarily comprises cropland, forest, and shrubs, with the land use change mode mainly consisting of an increase in the impervious area and a decrease in surface area covered by shrubs. (2) The dynamic degree for single land use of barren, impervious, and waters indicates a significant increase, with areas covered by shrubs decreasing by 9.37%. In addition, the change in the degree of single land use for other types of cover is more stable, with the degree of comprehensive land use being 7.95%. The areas experiencing the greatest land use change in the watershed went through conditions that can be described as “sporadic distribution” to “dispersed” to “relatively concentrated”. (3) Air temperature, rainfall, and elevation are important factors driving land use changes in the Liuchong River Basin. The impact of nighttime lighting, gross domestic product (GDP), and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) on land use change have gradually increased over time. The results of the interaction detection indicated that the explanatory power of the interaction between the driving factors in each period for land-use changes was always greater than that of any single factor. The results of this study offer evidence-based support and scientific references for spatial planning, soil and water conservation, and ecological restoration in a watershed.

With the rapid development of urbanization and industrialization in China, the expansion of construction land and irrational utilization of cultivated land have led to issues such as cultivated land marginalization, extensive use, non-grain conversion, and non-agriculturalization. These issues are a major threat to sustainable agricultural development, but existing research suffers from limitations including failure to assess the multifunctionality of cultivated land (MCL) from the perspective of sustainable agricultural development. This study constructed an agricultural production function (APF)-social security function (SSF)-ecological maintenance function (EMF)-landscape aesthetic function (LAF) classification system. Using this comprehensive evaluation model, the MCL values for typical provinces in southwestern mountainous areas of China (Guizhou, Sichuan, and Yunnan) were calculated in detail, and their spatiotemporal evolutionary characteristics were explored. Concurrently, the Spearman rank correlation coefficient, geographically weighted regression (GWR) and redundancy model were used to deeply explore the relationships among cultivated land functions and their influencing factors. The results showed three important points. (1) Over the past two decades, the comprehensive values and four sub-functional values of cultivated land in southwestern mountainous areas have shown increasing trends in the order of SSF > EMF > LAF > APF. The values and rates of change of each sub-functional value show obvious spatial variation. However, the spatial gap in cultivated land functions has adverse effects on sustainable agricultural development. (2) There are clear correlations between each pair of the four major functions of cultivated land during the study period, and the number of results reaching significance among the six correlations between the four main cultivated land functions increased significantly from 2000 to 2020. Simultaneously, there are noticeable spatiotemporal differences in the trade-offs and synergies among the MCLs. (3) The development of MCL is most significantly influenced by socioeconomic factors such as the per capita net income of rural residents. Therefore, formulating reasonable land protection policies is imperative for promoting the sustainable development of agriculture. The results of this study can provide guidance for the rational layout and coordinated development of MCL space, for promoting sustainable agricultural development and ensuring food security.

Taking Shanghai as an example, this study obtained the online travel notes data from Xiaohongshu and Qunar in the past 10 years to construct the Shanghai tourist flow network (STFN) and used the methods of change point detection (CPD) and complex network analysis (CNA) to reveal the spatial structure characteristics of Shanghai tourism flow and the dynamic evolution process of STFN. The results showed that: (1) In the past 10 years, Shanghai tourist market had experienced a process of evolution from stable and orderly to short-term fluctuation and then gradual recovery, and the year of 2019 was the turning point of tourist flow network evolution. (2) The small-world and approximate scale-free characteristics of STFN were verified, and the network changed from disassortative to temporary assortative, showing a development trend of external expansion and internal separation. (3) While the centrality indicators of tourist flow network remained stable as a whole, the attention to cultural nodes was also increasing with the emergence of new nodes; (4) In terms of spatial connection, new popular nodes emerged and the relationship between them and the surrounding nodes was strengthened; (5) The spatial pattern of tourist flow network presented an inverted “V” shape and gradually expanded to southwest and southeast, forming a network with core nodes as the center and radiating outward. At the same time, newly emerging nodes at the periphery had formed relatively independent clusters.

This study examines the coupling and coordinated development of the competitiveness system of the convention and exhibition industry in China’s prefecture-level cities. Using an index system, the entropy weight method, and the coupling coordination degree model this study quantitatively measures and investigates the characteristics and influencing mechanisms of change in the convention and exhibition industry. The analysis shows that between 2013 and 2019, in China’s urban convention and exhibition industry, the competitiveness subsystem and its comprehensive development level have improved significantly. Additionally, among the factors influencing the convention and exhibition industry in China, the economic strength of cities exerts the greatest impact, followed by the capacity of the post and telecommunications sectors, while vitality has the least impact. The level of informatization plays a crucial role in the coupling, coordinated development, and change of the competitiveness system of an urban exhibition industry. Improvement in the competitiveness of the urban exhibition industry is closely related to a variety of resource elements. Each city should highlight its own endowment advantages and status, clarify its scale and positioning, and form a regional development pattern of differentiated development and dislocation competition with surrounding cities through the development strategy of consolidating advantages and addressing shortcomings.

The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) initiative in Maharashtra addresses the critical need to balance development with environmental conservation by ensuring compensatory afforestation for diverted forest lands. It manages funds collected from agencies using forest areas for non-forest purposes, ensuring their proper utilization for reforestation, biodiversity conservation, and ecosystem restoration. This initiative is crucial for maintaining ecological balance, mitigating climate change impacts, and promoting sustainable development in the state, while also providing transparency in the management of environmental compensation funds. This research examines the factors influencing the success of CAMPA plantations in western and central Maharashtra, India. We employed field surveys, SWOT analysis, and stakeholder interviews to assess plantation outcomes and challenges. Our analysis revealed strengths like natural forests, good rainfall, and suitable soil, alongside weaknesses such as challenging terrain, water scarcity, and wildlife interference. Opportunities for improvement include promoting natural regeneration, implementing water and soil conservation practices, and fostering local community involvement. Threats to success come from monsoon inaccessibility, inappropriate species selection, and wildlife disturbance. The study emphasizes a two-pronged approach for successful CAMPA initiatives. First, technical considerations like irrigation during initial years, planting mature saplings, and constructing large cattle-proof trenches are crucial for sapling survival, water conservation, and soil protection. Second, effective management practices are equally important. Timely access to funding ensures proper implementation, while engaging local communities through Gram Sabha (village assembly) fosters a sense of ownership and promotes plantation protection. Flexibility in planning allows for adaptation to diverse site conditions. Therefore, site observations, consultations with forest officials and key informants (to rank the crucial success factors) enabled this study to fetch dynamic results. In a nutshell, this research highlights the importance of combining scientific knowledge with community participation for building resilient and sustainable CAMPA initiatives. Stakeholders, despite minor variations in emphasis, agree on core success factors: community involvement, animal protection through large trenches, and securing funding.

The Beijing Ecological Conservation Area is evolving into a modern green development demonstration zone, where river basin water quality is improving, rural industries are being transformed, and ecological value is being converted into economic value. Academic research has gradually expanded with the opening of construction practices. Against the backdrop of the main functional zoning, the Beijing Ecological Conservation Area is guiding the differentiated development of Beijing's mountainous areas, while accounting for the developmental constraints of higher-level planning and the requirements for regional economic growth and providing decision-making references for policy formulation and engineering construction. This study outlines the overarching characteristics of theoretical research on the Beijing Ecological Conservation Area by synthesizing two decades of academic progress through four key themes: (1) Cultivation and realization mechanisms for ecological product value; (2) Rural socio-economic development and functional evolution; (3) Watershed water conservation and ecological barrier construction; and (4) The equilibrium between ecological preservation and industrial development. Finally, by analyzing the inherent constraints and balance between ecological protection and economic development, the modern developmental logic of the Beijing Ecological Conservation Area is elucidated. Building on this analysis, future research directions are proposed across three dimensions: technical methodologies, paradigm establishment for research topics, and the optimization of research perspectives and objectives.