Hechuan wetland is located in the mid-Yellow River and at the intersection of Shaanxi, Shanxi and Henan provinces in China. It is the largest hot spring lake wetland in the Yellow River basin and the birthplace of Guanju, a famous poem in the Book of Songs. Based on field investigations and questionnaires, we valued Hechuan Wetland ecosystem services, considering use values and non-use values. The annual use value of Hechuan Wetland ecosystem services is 79.236 billion CNY. The contingent valuation method was applied to value the annual non-use value, which is 6.27 billion CNY. We examined how the historical and cultural value of the Book of Songs affected respondents’ willingness to pay by establishing a control group. Results suggest that historical and cultural value does have a strong influence on willingness to pay.

Root zone N management can reduce N fertilizer input and avoid nitrate pollution in greenhouse tomato production; however, little information is available on how reduced N affects soil microbes, especially dominant bacteria populations in long-term continuous greenhouse systems. This study investigated the effects of different combinations of N and straw on the population size of soil total bacteria and two dominant bacteria (Pseudomonas spp. and Bacillus spp.), and microbial community structure in a 6-year greenhouse tomato trial. The treatments were basal fertilizer (10 t ha-1 chicken manure; control), conventional high N treatment [600 kg N ha-1], conventional high N treatment with wheat straw, reduced N treatment [300 kg N ha-1 less than conventional], and reduced N treatment with wheat straw. Six years of reduced mineral N fertilization did not lead to a decrease in fruit yield. Both mineral N fertilizer and straw increased the numbers of soil bacteria (Bacillus spp. and Pseudomonas spp.) compared with the control, but the numbers were not affected by the amount of mineral N fertilizer (high vs reduced). Different denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis patterns were evidence that soil bacterial communities were changed by N treatments and straw application, but little difference in bacterial diversity was detected between high N and reduced N treatments. These results indicated that a reduction in N fertilizer input was possible in greenhouse tomato production and was beneficial in sustainable agriculture.

Achieving dual goals of economic growth and carbon emission reduction is a major issue in China. In this paper we define three economic growth patterns (green growth, brown growth and black growth) according to the relationship between economic scale and carbon emissions, and then trace the historical trajectory of economic growth over the last 40 years. Granger causality is used to test China’s economic growth and carbon emission linkage. We argue that green growth means that the rate of carbon emission reduction is faster than the increase in GDP. When carbon intensity reduction is slower than GDP growth, brown growth occurs. Black growth occurs when both carbon intensity and economic scale increase. For China, we denote the four periods of black growth (1971–1977), brown growth (1978–2001), black growth (2002–2004), and brown growth (2004–2010). Granger causality tests indicate that mutual causality between carbon emissions and economic growth exists in the short term, but not the long term. In order to achieve the goals of economic growth and carbon intensity reduction, it is necessary for China to actively participate in global carbon reduction activities, technological innovation and ecological civilization construction.

Eco-compensation, known as payment for ecosystem services, is defined in China as an institutional arrangement for regulating the relationship of economic interests among ecological protectors, beneficiaries and destructors in order to protect ecological service function and foster harmony between people and nature with non-market and market tools including transfer payment, taxes and fees. Reasonable compensation to ecological service providers significantly contributes to the protection of ecological assets and effective supply of ecological services by adopting transfer payments or market transactions on the basis of comprehensively considering the costs of ecological protection, costs of development opportunity and ecological service values. It is helpful for implementing a strategy for main functional areas. The building of eco-compensation mechanisms is therefore highly valued as the most important institutional guarantee for promoting the ecological civilization. Existing eco-compensation mechanisms mainly fall into three categories: exchequer based transfer payment, vertical and horizontal, and market based compensation in China. The institutional framework has been primarily established, inclusive of a forest ecological benefit compensation fund system, grassland eco-compensation system and transfer payment system of national key ecological function areas. Under the framework, various areas and departments have actively explored the building of an eco-compensation system and achieved important progress for forests, grassland, wetlands, river basins and water resources, exploitation of mineral resources, oceans and national key ecological functions areas. However, the eco-compensation system dominated by vertical transfer payments is still far from perfect in China. The interest regulation pattern of “developer to protect and beneficiary to compensate” has not been formed. Its role in the protection of the ecological environment has not been brought into full play. China should improve eco-compensation systems by intensifying eco-compensation inputs, strengthening government responsibility, diversifying eco-compensation tools, and establishing institutional systems.

During surveys for wild felids in Nangunhe Nature Reserve, Yunnan province, China, we conducted a wider mammal survey of the core nature reserve area, using camera trapping techniques. Forty motion-triggered digital camera traps had been set in oldest forest tract of protected area to conduct a species inventory. The total camera trapping effort of 2460 camera trap nights yielded 232 digital photographs of mammals represented by 17 species in five orders. The species photographed include rare and elusive species and those that are of high conservation value, such as IUCN endangered species Asiatic elephant (Elephas maximus), and Phayre’s leaf monkey (Trachypit hecus phayrei). In addition, IUCN vulnerable species including Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus), sambar (Rusa unicolor), northern pig-tailed macaque (Macaca leonine), and marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata), and more common species were found. All mammals were also listed as key protected wild animals by the State Forestry Administration of China. Of particular importance were the carnivores, with 7 different species recorded. Ungulates and other taxa forming a prey base for these predators,such as rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta), red muntjac (Muntiacus muntjac), sambar, wild boar (Sus scrofa), and Chinese serow (Capricornis milneedwardsii), were found to be the most frequently photographed and most widespread species. Opportunities for local people to develop standardized monitoring designs for targeted species were identified by these initial assessment results. Local nature reserve staff lacked technical ability to produce standardized survey designs, yet a by product of this type of non-standardized data collection can be very informative and produce inventory information that gives a species richness analysis, as well as initial estimates for occupancy and detection probability for abundant species to drive future standardized survey designs and efforts.

The Nile is one of the longest rivers on the planet and an important freshwater source for the arid regions of Africa. It is also a river that is extensively affected by anthropogenic impact. This paper aims to provide an account of the social drivers that combine to cause extensive changes in the Nilotic environments. This paper is based on extensive review of literature backed up by field research. The main focus is on the lower Nile, where the effects of anthropogenic disturbances are most prominent. We argue that the Nile Basin is characterized by interrelated and compound problems of resource management, and managing this river system effectively requires shifting the focus from water related problems to a basin wide management agenda. We contend that knowledge of environmental history is important for this agenda shift, and the idea of benefit sharing can alleviate the growing stress on this extremely sensitive arid river basin.

Water-related ecosystem services is a hot topic in ecological research. Water supply services are crucial to regional water cycles and water quantity balance. The Dongjiang Lake basin is a national priority river basin in China where ecological compensation pilot programs concerning water resources and water supply services are top priorities for ecosystem service protection. We analyzed spatial and temporal patterns associated with generation and use of water supply services in the Dongjiang Lake basin using the InVEST model, socio-economic data and water resource data. We found that between 1995 and 2010, water yield in the Dongjiang Lake basin and its beneficiary areas increased before declining, varying 9350-12 400 m³ ha^-1 y^-1; average water yield peaked in 2000. The spatial distribution patterns of water yield during these years are similar, progressively decreasing from upstream to downstream with a remarkable reduction in surrounding areas of city clusters. Average water consumption of the basin and its beneficiary areas ranged from 2900-4450 m³ ha^-1 y^-1 between 1995 and 2010; the spatial distribution patterns of water consumption during these years are similar, dropping gradually from urban construction land to its surroundings with a stronger gradient between urban and rural areas. More water was consumed on both banks and surroundings of the lake. From 1995 to 2010, water supply fell short of demand for urban construction land and its proximity as well as areas along the lake. Water supply services were able to satisfy needs in other regions. The Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan city cluster suffers from the most strained water supply.

Evaluation of the ecological effects of eco-compensation policies helps analyze policy rationality and feasibility and provides scientific and practical bases for perfecting eco-compensation systems. Taking the key ecological function area of the Loess Plateau, China as a case study, we have evaluated ecosystem responses to the Grain-for-Green Project that commenced in 1999. Six indicators were selected to assess changes in ecosystem structure, quality and function. The results showed that implementation of the Grain-for-Green Project has reduced sloping cropland by 1571 km² and increased ecological land by 1337 km². The increase in ecological land alters ecosystem structures across the study area and the decline in sloping cropland reduces farming activity interference; both of these are conducive to the restoration of natural vegetation. From 2000 to 2010, the vegetation cover of grassland, desert and forest ecosystems increased 10.89%, 8.34% and 4.24% respectively and average NPP rose 51%, with an average annual growth rate of around 5%. This indicates that eco-compensation has promoted the improvement of ecosystem quality. Total biomass of ecosystems increased two times on average from 2000 to 2010, meaning that the carbon sequestration capacity of ecosystems also increased. The reduction in the area of water loss and soil erosion and the increase in retained runoff by forests indicate an improvement in ecosystem function and services on the Loess Plateau.

Evaluations connect ecosystem and human welfare to achieve restoration. There have been an increasing number of studies conducted on various ecosystem service assessments, but little research has focused on inland river basins playing a critical role in development in northwestern China. The distinct differences in natural endowment, socioeconomic characteristics among the upper, middle and downstream inland river basin require heterogeneity during evaluation. The objective of this study was to verify the existence of population preference heterogeneity and examine impact factors using choice experiment surveys in the Shiyang River Basin, China. A mixed logit model using data from 714 households across the entire basin estimated mean willingness to pay and the standard deviation for ecological attributes. Ordinary least squares (OLS) was employed to estimate the effects of exogenous variables on all willingness to pay estimations. The results demonstrate that ecosystem service values are heterogeneous among people. Willingness to pay is affected by personal and regional characteristics. Government involvement will be required to seek differentiated ecosystem services values among populations and facilitate public support.

This article contributes to research on how climate change will impact crops in China by moving from ex-post empirical analysis to forecasting. We construct a multiple regression model, using agricultural observations and meteorological simulations by GCMs, to simulate the possible planting boundaries and suitable planting regions of spring wheat under RCP4.5 scenario for the base period 2040s and 2070s. We find that the south boundary of possible planting region for spring wheat spreads along the belt: south Shandong-north Jiangsu-north Anhui-central Henan-north Hubei-southeast Sichuan-north Yunnan provinces, and will likely move northward under RCP4.5 scenario in 2040s and 2070s, resulting in the decrease of possible planting area in China. Moreover, the sowing and harvest date of spring wheat in the base period shows a gradually delayed phenomenon from the belt: south Xinjiang - Gansu, to the Tibet Plateau. As a result, the growth period of spring wheat in China will shorten because of the impacts of climate change. These results imply that a variety of adaptations measures should be set up in response to changing climatic conditions, including developing the planting base for spring wheat, restricting the planting area of spring wheat in sub-suitable areas at risk while expanding the planting area of optimal crops.

Changes in grain production are decomposed and compared among nine major Chinese river basins for the sake of optimal water allocation. The results show that water-deficient northern China, especially the Songliao River Basin and Huai River Basin, contributed the greatest share of the total grain increment from 1995 to 2010. The Songliao River Basin achieved increased grain output largely by expanding multiple cropping, while the Huai River Basin achieved it mainly by improving the yield per unit area. With increased reliance on expanding irrigation and multi-cropping, most northern basins have high levels of agricultural water consumption, despite the rising share of corn, a lower water intensive crop. In contrast, over the same period the warm and humid south, traditionally a major rice-growing area, mostly experienced a sharp decline in rice cropping area and the Southeast Rivers Basin even reduced multiple cropping indexes, contributing to decreased agricultural water consumption. Implications of our findings and the need for tackling the imbalance of agricultural water use in grain production are discussed.

Inner Mongolia is the important ecological barrier zone in northern China, which plays an important role in the prevention and control of wind in the regional ecosystem. Based on the Revised Wind Erosion Equation (RWEQ) model and the cost-recovery method, this study simulated the wind erosion prevention service (WEPS) in Inner Mongolia in 2010 and 2015, investigated the spatial pattern of material and monetary value of WEPS, and analyzed the differences among various cities and various ecosystems. The results indicated that the total WEPS of Inner Mongolia was estimated to be 73.87×10⁸ t in 2015, which was 4.61×10⁸ t less than in 2010, while the monetary value of WEPS was calculated to be 738.66×10⁸ yuan in 2015, which was 46.16×10⁸ yuan less than in 2010. Among all the leagues and cities, Xilin Gol League supported the highest WEPS, reaching 18.65×10⁸ t in 2015, while Wuhai provided the lowest. The WEPS of Hulunbeier increased the most, by 4.37×10⁸ t from 2010 to 2015. The WEPS in the grassland ecosystem was the highest among the different ecosystems, accounting for more than 55% of the total WEPS in Inner Mongolia, but it was reduced by 1.05×10⁸ t during the same period. The WEPS in the forest ecosystem increased the most, reaching 0.19×10⁸ t. This study found that the implementation of projects such as returning farmland to forests and grasses and sand control effectively increased the WEPS by increasing the forest area. However, unsuitable land use increased the desertification of ecosystems which resulted in a reduction of WEPS in Inner Mongolia.

Global economic development and increasing human activities have brought great challenges to fragile ecosystems. In order to avoid, reduce, and reverse desertification, Chinese and foreign scientists and ecological governance institutions have developed a series of ecological restoration technologies (ERTs) and models in the past few decades. These technologies can improve residents’ livelihoods, strengthen disaster resilience, and launch a comprehensive review of degraded ecosystems in desertification regions. However, some studies and practices have limited the selection and promotion of good technologies and the assessments of these technologies, resulting in the waste and loss of funds and manpower. The objective of this study is to identify desertification control and restoration technologies and models, summarize the evolutionary features and trends of these technologies under different natural conditions, and evaluate the various ERTs that are now available. The data sources of this study include the databases of international organizations, CNKI, related literature and reports, and questionnaires from institutions and experts. First, the three stages of ERTs evolution were summarized, and the key events and social-economic developments were identified as the driving forces of evolution. Then, the four categories of ERTs were identified as biological, engineering, agricultural, and management ERTs. Finally, the key ERTs were evaluated in the five dimensions of the degree of difficulty, the degree of maturity, effectiveness, suitability, and potential for transfer. The management ERTs scores for the degree of difficulty, the degree of maturity, and potential for transfer are higher. This study provides a reference for adapting to local conditions, the comprehensive management, rational development, and utilization of dryland resources, improving the application of ecological technologies, and promoting the export and import of the excellent technologies.

China’s Yellow River Delta represents a typical area with moist semi-humid soil salinization, and its salinization has seriously affected the sustainable use of local resources. The use of remote sensing technology to understand changes in the spatial and temporal patterns of salinization is key to combating regional land degradation. In this study, a feature space model was constructed for remote sensing and monitoring land salinization using Landsat 8 OIL multi-spectral images. The feature parameters were paired to construct a feature space model; a total of eight feature space models were obtained. An accuracy analysis was conducted by combining salt-loving vegetation data with measured data, and the model demonstrating the highest accuracy was selected to develop salinization inversion maps for 2015 and 2020. The results showed that: (1) The total salinization area of the Yellow River Delta displayed a slight upward trend, increasing from 4244 km² in 2015 to 4629 km² in 2020. However, the area’s salting degree reduced substantially, and the areas of saline soil and severe salinization were reduced in size; (2) The areas with reduced salinization severity were mainly concentrated in areas surrounding cities, and primarily comprised wetlands and some regions around the Bohai Sea; (3) Numerous factors such as the implementation of the “Bohai Granary” cultivation engagement plan, increase in human activities to greening local residential living environments, and seawater intrusion caused by the reduction of sediment contents have impacted the distribution of salinization areas in the Yellow River Delta; (4) The characteristic space method of salinization monitoring has better applicability and can be promoted in humid-sub humid regions.

Quantifying the whole process of ecosystem services from generation through transfer to use, and analyzing the balance between the supply and demand of regional ecosystem services are of great significance for formulating regional sustainable development strategies, realizing regional ecosystem management, and effective resource allocation. Based on the SWAT model, InVEST model, ArcGIS, and other software, this study analyzed the supply-demand balance of water provision services in Jinghe River Basin, a typical region located in the Loess Plateau, using multi-source data. This research then analyzed the spatial-temporal distribution pattern and spatial matching characteristics of the supply and demand of water provision services in Jinghe River Basin from 2000 to 2015. On this basis, a spatial flow model of water provision service was constructed, the flow rules (flow paths) of the water provision service were explored at the subwatershed scale, and the spatial scope of the supply area and benefit area were depicted. The results show that: (1) Water resource supply and demand in the Jinghe River basin both showed increasing trends from 2000 to 2015. (2) The supply-demand balance of water resources was generally up to the standard, however, there were significant differences between urban and rural areas. The supply-demand balances of the central urban areas of each county were relatively low, and even exceeded the supply in the lower reaches of the Jingyang River, such as Gaoling County, Qindu District, and Jingyang County. In rural areas, due to the small population and industrial distribution, coupled with a better ecological environmental base, the supply-demand balance was relatively high, such as Pengyang County, Lingtai County, Huachi County, Huanxian County, Ningxian County, and Zhenyuan County. (3) From 2000 to 2015, the spatial matching pattern of supply and demand in the Jinghe River Basin showed a trend of decline with fluctuations. In 2015, the supply-demand ratios of more than 60% of the subwatersheds showed trends of decline, and the proportion of under-supply area increased by 55.7% in 2015 compared with that in 2000. (4) The supply areas of water provision service in Jinghe River Basin are distributed in the upper reaches of the basin, and the benefit areas are Huating County, Chongxin County, Yongshou County, Chunhua County, Ganxian County, Liquan County, Qindu District, and others in the middle and lower reaches.

The judicious use and management of natural resources is vital to achieve sustainable development. Land and water are prime natural resources, and their depletion and degradation can lead to serious threats like land subsidence. Land subsidence is a phenomenon of the alteration of elevation at a point on the earth through the sinking of the surface. It occurs when the earth’s surface loses its support. The major causes of land subsidence include groundwater extraction, mining, construction overload, and other similar factors that increase pressure on the surface and eventually subsidize the land. Urban centers with excessive groundwater extraction and infrastructure development are at a high risk of subsidence. Lahore, the second-largest city in Pakistan, is undergoing an enormous increase in population density, uncontrolled urbanization with very large-scale construction projects, and intensive groundwater extraction which are responsible for subsidence directly or indirectly. Therefore, studies on groundwater status and unplanned urban appraisals have seriously urged monitoring of the subsidence in Lahore. Herein, we used freely available Sentinel-1 data for one year (from August 2018 to August 2019), with a high spatial and temporal resolution, to monitor subsidence in Lahore. The data were processed using the SNAP/StaMPS approach for Persistent Scatterer Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (PSI) analysis, which is an advanced InSAR technique. The displacement velocity map from InSAR processing shows a significant land deformation in the area with values ranging from -114 to 15 mm yr^-1. Along with the Sentinel-1 data, we also used supplementary data obtained from various government agencies of Pakistan to study the land cover map, transportation network and waterways of Lahore, soil types, population density, and field points for assessing the results and understanding the roles of various factors in the occurrence of uplift or subsidence. A strong correlation was established between subsidence and various parameters such as groundwater extraction and lowering of the water table, soil type variations, land cover changes, surface water channels, and population density. The deformation map confirms the greatest subsidence in the central part of Lahore, while the uplift is observed in the less populated and rural areas situated near Ravi River. The land subsidence and uplift could be attributed to groundwater extraction and recharge through the canal system and the river, respectively.

Food resources play a great role in human livelihood, so it is meaningful to investigate their utilization and structural evolution, especially in developing countries. This study takes data from FAOSTAT and the World Bank, and applies the emergy method to analyze Uzbek food consumption changes and characteristics from 1992 to 2019. Two main results were obtained: (1) National food consumption showed a persistent increase and had a remarkable change in stages, with the first stage of low-level repetition, the second stage of speeding up and the third stage of high development. The increase of animal-based food consumption was more notable than that of plant-based food consumption. (2) Per capita annual food consumption had a tendency of change that was similar to that of national food consumption. The proportion of animal-based food in the total per capita annual food consumption usually remained about 2-fold higher than that of plant-based food consumption. The main food consumption pattern was the combination of crops such as wheat and rice with meat such as beef. The fruit and vegetable consumption also increased. With the growing population, various changes in food demand will inevitably happen, so it is necessary to take sustainable measures in time to satisfy the new demand and to protect resources and the environment.

Using ArcGIS to analyze the spatial distribution of traditional villages in Yunnan Province in combination with the actual local conditions of traditional villages, the purpose of this study is to determine the development model suitable for their characteristics. The results show several important features of traditional village distribution. (1) The traditional villages in Yunnan Province have spatial structural characteristics of unbalanced cohesive distribution, and they are mainly distributed in the higher-level cities and prefectures such as northwest Yunnan, west Yunnan and south Yunnan. Among them, the traditional villages of Baoshan City have the highest distribution density of 66.33 per 10000 km². This is followed by Dali Prefecture and Honghe Prefecture, where the densities of traditional villages are 44.13 per 10000 km² and 37.66 per 10000 km², respectively. (2) The factors affecting the spatial distribution structure of traditional villages in Yunnan Province are natural geographical factors, humanistic historical factors and transportation factors. Among them, the natural geographical conditions with a large vertical gap in Yunnan Province gave birth to the human settlement environment of traditional villages. The history of a farming civilization that has been passed down from generation to generation has laid a brilliant and splendid humanistic foundation for traditional villages, and the high-altitude areas are relatively primitive. The transportation conditions have delayed the destruction of traditional villages by urbanization and industrialization. In summary, these factors have affected the spatial distribution pattern of traditional villages in Yunnan Province to some extent. (3) According to the law of the spatial distribution of traditional villages in Yunnan Province, it is necessary to explore the activation path of traditional village tourism with regional characteristics and ethnic characteristics, and also to carry out differentiated development according to the different endowment characteristics of local resources, that is to develop a series of activation modes including agricultural tourism, cultural tourism and ecological tourism.

As a typical representative of the herbivorous wild animals in Chang Tang Plateau, the number of Tibetan wild asses has increased significantly in recent years. Clarifying the distribution, population, and size of its habitats is conducive to formulating the protection plan for wild animals and managing the conflict between people and wild animals in Chang Tang Plateau. Based on the distribution probability of Tibetan wild ass habitats and environmental factors, the number of Tibetan wild asses in Gaize County of Chang Tang Plateau was calculated by using the belt transect method and random forest model, and due to the uncertainty of the calculations, the results were corrected and analyzed. The results show that the living environment of Tibetan wild asses in Gaize County of Chang Tang Plateau is at 4400-4600 m above sea level, 350-400 m away from the river, and the average temperature in the warmest season is 10-12 ℃. The vegetation types of habitats are generally temperate tufted dwarf grass, dwarf semi shrub desert grassland, alpine grass, Carex grassland, alpine cushion dwarf semi shrub desert, among others. On the basis of studying the environmental preferences of Tibetan wild asses, the random forest model was corrected by using the data of the second scientific survey sample line of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau for three years. The approximate number of Tibetan wild asses in each of the different areas of Gaize County was obtained. The number of Tibetan wild asses in Gaize Town, Xianqian Township, Gumu Township, Chabu Township, Mami Township, Wuma Township and Dongcuo Township is 855, 3458, 2358, 1453, 743, 943 and 647, respectively. By studying the environmental preferences of Tibetan wild asses and analyzing the results of the belt transect survey, the random forest model can accurately estimate the number of Tibetan wild asses in Gaize County of Chang Tang Plateau.

The study of ecosystem service consumption (ESC) in Nepal not only helps us to understand the intensity and management level of Nepal’s ecosystem utilization, but also provides scientific data support for the establishment and planning of China’s aid to Nepal. Based on the data of food consumption and forestry production and trade, this study dynamically investigated the consumption levels, structure and ecological consumption patterns of farmland, forest, grassland, water and the integrated ecosystem in Nepal and their main driving forces, using the physical quantity accounting method. The results showed that the total consumption of farmland, forest, grassland, water and the integrated ecosystem in Nepal from 1961 to 2018 exhibited a fluctuating increase, with average value of 7.26 Tg yr^-1, 6.38 Tg yr^-1, 1.10 Tg yr^-1, 0.02 Tg yr^-1 and 14.76 Tg yr^-1, respectively. The annual per capita forest consumption roughly decreased, while the annual per capita consumption of farmland, grassland, waters and integrated ecosystems mostly increased with their growth rates accelerating. The corresponding ecological consumption patterns were the “Log-Cereal-Milk” mode during 1961-1984, the “Log-Cereal-Vegetable-Root-Milk-Sugar” mode during 1985-2007 and the “Log-Cereal-Vegetable-Root-Sugar-Fruit-Milk” mode during 2008-2018. This study indicated that the supply capacity of the ecosystem (production, import and export capacity) and socio-economic factors (population density, per capita GDP and religious beliefs) are the main driving forces that are restricting the evolution of Nepal’s ecological consumption pattern. Although Nepal’s dietary structure has improved significantly, there is still a large gap between it and the standard of a balanced diet. The supply capacities of fruits, meat, eggs, milk and aquatic products should be enhanced to meet people’s demand for a balanced diet. This study can provide data support for the establishment of China’s aid projects to improve Nepal’s livelihood.

Climate is an important factor that affects the livability of a region. The climate suitability of a region’s environment for human settlement profoundly affects the regional socio-economic development and the population distribution. Tibet is an area that is sensitive to climate change. Given the impact of global climate change, the climate suitability of Tibet has undergone significant changes. In this study, the temperature humidity index (THI) values for Tibet were calculated, and the relationships between the population distribution and the THI were analyzed quantitatively. In this way, the zoning standards for climate suitability in Tibet were determined such that the climate suitability could be evaluated. The results show that the average annual temperature in the southeast of Tibet, where the population was densely distributed, was relatively high. The mean annual relative humidity showed a trend of gradually decreasing from south to north. Regions with a suitable climate, including the high suitability areas (HSAs), the moderately suitable areas (MSAs) and the low suitability areas (LSAs), accounted for only 7.90% of the total area but accommodated over 40% of the total population. The critically suitable areas (CSAs) accounted for 37.81% of the land area and 48.24% of the total population. Non-suitable areas (NSAs) were widely distributed in Tibet and accounted for 54.29% of the total area and 11.33% of the total population. The results of this study may provide a reference for guiding the reasonable distribution of population and promoting the optimization of the spatial planning in Tibet.

China has achieved a comprehensive victory in poverty eradication. Relocation has been the major measure of the poverty alleviation strategy, and 10 million poor people have successfully been relocated in the ‘Thirteenth Five-Year’ period (from 2016 to 2020). This paper established an integrated evaluation index system for the livelihoods of relocated groups and the sustainability of the village, based on the framework of United Nation 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and using the data from questionnaire surveys in Bailang Village, Tibet. The indicator system quantitatively analyzed the changes in the livelihoods of different agro-pastoralist groups before and after relocation from the three aspects of living standards, livelihood assets, and livelihood strategies. The results showed that relocation led to the improvement of the livelihoods of immigrated households. As the duration after relocation increases, the living standards rise steadily, especially in poverty eradication (SDG1), which increased nearly 100%. Relocation affects the livelihood strategies of the relocated groups, in that the original pure farmers chose more diverse livelihood strategies and the non-farm employment ratio (SDG8) of the village increased. The total SDG score increased from the perspective of the sustainable development of the village. The data also showed that relocation had limited impacts on the livelihoods of the aborigines. The results implied that the relocation policy for poverty alleviation has been implemented successfully in this area. This research could support policy optimization for improving the sustainability of the village and the livelihoods of the immigrants.

As a very important part of the urban ecosystem, the urban green space system plays an active role in maintaining the urban ecosystem stability, providing ecosystem services, and improving the quality of the urban environment. In order to deal with the problems brought about by the deterioration of the urban ecological environment, it is necessary to study and analyze the spatial distribution pattern, evolutionary characteristics and ecosystem services of urban green space to maximize its ecological benefits and comprehensive functions. In this study, we took Beijing urban area as an example, and based on the spatial distribution data of urban green space and remote sensing data, we first calculated the urban green space type transition matrix, landscape pattern index and ecosystem services. Then, we analyzed the changes in urban green space landscape patterns, ecosystem services and their spatial distributions from 2000 to 2020, and studied the interactive relationships between landscape changes and changes in ecosystem services. The results showed three key findings. (1) Beijing’s urban green space construction has achieved remarkable results from 2000 to 2020. The area of green space has increased by 77.41%, mainly from cultivated land and construction land. (2) From 2000 to 2020, the amounts of dust retention, SO₂ absorption, NO₂ absorption, cooling and humidification, carbon fixation and oxygen release, and rainwater runoff reduction in Beijing's urban green space have shown continuous increases in general. (3) There is a close relationship between urban green space landscape changes and green space ecosystem services, and total area (TA) has the highest correlation with ecosystem services. Except for rainwater runoff reduction, the correlation coefficients between TA and ecosystem services are all higher than 0.85. This research can provide theoretical guidance for optimizing Beijing's green space and determining how to maximize the effect of green space for improving the ecological environment, and ultimately provide a scientific basis for the construction of Beijing's ecological environment.

Farmers’ livelihoods and their impacts on the ecosystem are important indicators of human-land relationships. Appropriate livelihood strategies for farmers can meet the needs of human well-being and promote the sustainable use of natural resources, thereby maintaining the health and stability of natural ecosystems. Scholars have carried out a great deal of research on the changes in farmers’ livelihoods, as well as the driving mechanisms and ecological effects, but there are still many controversial issues about the ecological effects of farmers’ livelihood transformation. On the basis of collecting and sorting out the relevant literature, this paper analyzes the previous research results on the transformation mechanism and ecological effects of farmers’ livelihoods, and further explores the coupling relationship. Through the analysis and summary, we find that the choice of farmers’ livelihoods is affected by natural factors, subjective willingness and social policies. The transformation of farmers’ livelihood changes the ways of production, consumption and resource utilization, which in turn profoundly affects the evolutionary process of the natural ecosystems. This paper establishes a research framework for the livelihood transformation mechanism of farmers and its ecological effect, and finally summarizes two directions that need to be studied further in the future: (1) Exploring the interactions between the driving factors of farmers’ livelihood transformation; and (2) Exploring a win-win sustainable mechanism for farmers’ livelihood needs and natural resource utilization.

Research on spatial flow as it relates to the relationship between the supply and demand of ecosystem services supports a significant connection between the supply of ecosystem services and human well-being. Understanding the entire process of the production and flow, as well as the use of ecosystem services, accurately assessing the balance of supply and demand of ecosystem services, and establishing a two-way feedback relationship between supply and demand are vital for the scientific management of the ecosystem and ensuring the sustainable development of regional resources. Based on a large number of relevant publications, this paper comprehensively summarizes the concepts and assessment methods of ecosystem service supply and demand from the perspective of ecosystem service supply and demand, and discusses the impacts of land use and climate change on the temporal and spatial changes of ecosystem services under the background of global change. Then, an analysis of the research progress in the ecosystem services spatial flow indicated that there are still deficiencies in the quantification of cultural services, the dynamics of ecosystem service flow and the driving mechanism of ecosystem services. We also propose that clarifying the driving mechanism and transfer process of ecosystem services, and realizing the mutual conversion between different spatial-temporal scales of ecosystem services, is an important approach for improving the application of ecosystem services research in practice in the future.

Ecological culture has a low-carbon attribute, which coincides with the concepts of energy conservation and emission reduction in low-carbon tourism. Analyzing the differences in the public perception of the two is of great significance for achieving the carbon neutral goal of tourism. Firstly, the views of nature, equality and ecology in ecological culture, as well as the cognition and participation willingness for low-carbon tourism were identified by using the principal component analysis method. Secondly, all samples were divided into four types of ecological culture cognition: sufficient, relatively sufficient, general and poorer, by the K-means clustering method. Thirdly, significant differences in the low-carbon tourism cognition among different types were revealed by using the ANOVA method. Finally, the influences of the main demographic characteristics on the low-carbon tourism cognition were analyzed. This analysis showed that gender, age, education level and income level had significant differences in some aspects of low-carbon tourism cognition and participation willingness, especially education level. On this basis, several corresponding strategies were put forward for managing the cognitive differences of the different types, which could contribute to the realization of the carbon neutral vision of tourism.

The construction of a comprehensive observation platform for natural-resource elements would provide data support for studies of dynamic changes in various natural resources, and could serve the needs of natural-resource management and the construction of ecological civilization during a period of global change. As the second-largest inland river basin in NW China, the Heihe River Basin (HRB) lies in the central part of the Silk Road Economic Belt, consequently, pilot studies of resource management in the basin are urgently needed. This paper describes the construction of a comprehensive natural-resource elements observation network in the HRB to meet requirements for natural-resource management, based on natural-resource and Earth-system science. Based on current observations and research, thirteen observation stations were established in different river basins through integration with existing stations, reconstruction and upgrading, and new construction. The main types of land-surface resources in the HRB (grassland, forests, rivers, lakes, deserts, wetlands, and farmland) were included in the observation network constructed for the monitoring of natural-resource elements. Long-term, continuous, and stable observation can yield key data concerning coupling processes, trends of change, and rates of change in natural resources. This is of great significance in improving cognitive ability, scientific management, and strategic decision-making regarding natural resources in the HRB, and can provide a reference paradigm for the observation of and research into natural resources in other basins.