Agri-cultural heritages, or agricultural heritage systems, as integrative carriers linking traditional agrarian civilizations with contemporary sustainable development and wisdom resources to promote modern eco-agricultural development, have emerged as a frontier in global heritage research and ecological governance. Since its establishment in June 2006, the Center for Natural and Cultural Heritage (CNACH) affiliated to the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), has taken agri-cultural heritage as an entry point and evolved into a leading institution with significant national and international influence. Based on two decades of research and practice, this paper systematically reviews the progress of CNACH in theoretical development, methodological innovation, and practical application in the field of agri-cultural heritage. Theoretically, it has advanced from conceptual clarification to the construction of a systematic framework and the expansion of value systems. Methodologically, it has established an integrated toolkit encompassing resource assessment, dynamic monitoring, quantitative analysis, and spatial modeling. Practically, it has developed application pathways from policy integration and regional planning to multi-level governance, further extending into national parks and other protected areas. Building on these contributions, this paper synthesizes a “Chinese pathway” for agri-cultural heritage research and conservation, characterized by a human-land synergy perspective, grounded in the theory of Social-Economic-Natural Complex Ecosystems (SENCE), and oriented toward sustainable development. This pathway emphasizes dynamic conservation, multifunctional utilization, and collaborative governance to realize value recognition, functional enhancement, and adaptive transformation of traditional agricultural systems. Finally, future research priorities are proposed to advance the discipline and enhance its contribution to global sustainability.

Against the backdrop of Agri-cultural Heritage conservation and the rural revitalization strategy, existing research on tourism willingness towards Agri-cultural Heritage Sites (AHS) has predominantly focused on localized case studies or single stakeholder groups, so an understanding of nationwide driving mechanisms and market segmentation is lacking. To bridge this gap, this study applied the Motivation-Opportunity-Ability (MOA) framework to a national survey for the first time. Then an integrated regression and cluster analysis was used to systematically identify the key drivers of tourism willingness and empirically delineate two distinct visitor segments, thereby providing a theoretical foundation for revitalizing heritage resources and optimizing marketing strategies. Using a nationwide sample of 1288 valid responses, binary logistic regression analysis and K-means clustering analysis were employed to investigate tourism willingness (TW) and shape visitor segmentation profiles (VSP). The results show that nostalgia, study-travel, and cultural experience motivations significantly and positively influence TW; travel frequency has a significant positive impact, while transportation accessibility shows no significant effect; value perception significantly and positively influences TW, whereas familiarity and conservation awareness show no significant impact. Demographically, age, occupation, monthly personal income, monthly household expenditure per capita, and household composition significantly influence TW, while gender and education level show no significant effect. Visitors can be categorized into two types. First, the youth parent-child study-tour group, primarily consisting of 21-30-year-old freelancers with children mostly in preschool or early elementary school, show a higher preference for scenario-based study activities at Agri-cultural Heritage Site. Second, the dual-driven deep-experience group from highly educated families, mainly comprising 41-60-year-old individuals with advanced degrees from enterprises and institutions, seek a dual-driven deep experience of study and nostalgia.

The conservation of agricultural heritage systems (AHSs) holds significant practical importance. Previous studies have indicated that artistic experiences, such as calligraphy and music, substantially influence the cognition, emotions, and behaviors of tourists during tourism activities. The Stimulus-Organism- Response (SOR) theory served as the foundation for this study, which examines the impact of artistic experience on the willingness of tourists to conserve AHSs. Based on interviews and the literature, this study built a conceptual model which was then modified based on the questionnaire findings. Time-space coupled data on the artistic experiences of tourists were collected in the survey, the impact of the temporal and spatial coupled experience characteristics on their willingness to conserve was analyzed, and some suggestions for the future tourism development of heritage sites were proposed. The findings show two important relationships. (1) The conservation willingness of tourists was positively influenced by the artistic experience through mediating roles of flow experience and satisfaction. (2) Tourists with longer stay duration in the artistic experience showed higher consumption intention and persuasive conservation willingness, while those experiencing more types of artistic activities demonstrated higher consumption intention, compliance conservation willingness, and persuasive conservation willingness.

Under increasingly frequent and intense climate extremes, identifying the dominant climatic drivers of extremely low net primary productivity (NPP) is critical for assessing terrestrial ecosystem stability. Using meteorological data, we calculated four representative extreme climate indices for the period 2001-2020: TN10p (cold nights), TX90p (warm days), RX5day (maximum 5-day precipitation), and CDD (consecutive dry days). Extremely low NPP events were identified within strata defined by climate zone and land cover using the 10th percentile of a detrended, interannually standardized NPP time series. A standardized multivariate regression framework was applied to quantify and compare the relative contributions of the four selected extreme climate indices. Nationally, CDD showed the highest relative contribution (0.39), followed by TN10p (0.24), RX5day (0.21), and TX90p (0.16). Specific heterogeneity of substantial spatial and land-cover was evident: drought (CDD) dominated in croplands (0.51) and urban areas (0.44); TX90p exerted the greatest influence in forests and deserts (both 0.38); RX5day was most influential in grasslands (0.33); and TN10p showed the highest contribution in wetlands and water bodies (0.38). Overall, water-related stress was the dominant driver of extremely low NPP across China, whereas thermal stress played a stronger role in specific ecosystems and regions. These findings provide an empirical basis for assessing the impacts of climate extremes on terrestrial ecosystem productivity in China.

For basin management, the links among the demand and supply of ecosystem services associated with water are essential. Investigating the spatial flows of ecosystem services can provide evidence for guiding cross-regional ecological conservation policies. This study proposed a method based on flow to assess the supply and demand of ecosystem services. The InVEST and ArcGIS models were used to analyze the supply and demand characteristics of three water-related ecosystem services—water supply, water purification, and soil conservation—in the basin of Miyun Reservoir, China. The analysis identified the providing region, demanding region, and flow path, analyzed their patterns, and assessed satisfaction levels of the three services. The results revealed three key features of this system. (1) The upper basin is the providing region of the three services, whereas the demanding region is different from the lower natural basin. Due to the construction of an artificial diversion canal (Jingmi Diversion Canal), the demanding area is the urban area of Beijing. (2) In terms of flow direction, the three ecosystem services flow in consistent directions, including the slope flow direction and river flow direction of water flows. (3) In 2020, the water supply satisfied the demands of both the upper and lower basins; however, water purification and soil conservation did not fully satisfy the lower basin demands. Total phosphorus had better satisfaction compared to total nitrogen. This study provides a methodological tool for evaluating the relationships of regional socioeconomic and ecological systems, while offering a scientific basis for developing sustainable development policies.

As a national central city and a core growth pole in South China, Guangzhou has experienced rapid urbanization over the past three decades, which was accompanied by a significant expansion of construction land and a marked alteration of its ecological landscape. Based on the Landscape Expansion Index (LEI), this study identified the construction land expansion patterns in Guangzhou from 1990 to 2020, and applied the InVEST model to quantify six types of ecosystem services (ESs): carbon sequestration (CS), biodiversity service capacity (BS), food production (FP), habitat quality (HQ), soil retention (SR), and water yield (WY). The results show four important patterns. (1) The total area of construction land in Guangzhou continued to increase, with edge-spreading being the dominant mode, while leap-frogging and interior-filling were evident in certain localities. (2) In terms of ES changes, CS and SR generally declined, while FP and BS consistently weakened, HQ decreased most significantly, and WY exhibited spatially fluctuating patterns. (3) The impacts of different expansion modes on ESs varied: edge-spreading led to overall declines in ESs, and although leap-frogging covered a smaller area, it caused disproportionately higher per-unit ES losses. (4) Spatially, the central urban area was mainly characterized by declines in HQ and CS, while peripheral areas suffered greater losses in FP and BS, indicating pronounced spatial heterogeneity. Overall, this study demonstrates that urban expansion in Guangzhou has markedly accelerated the degradation of ESs. Future efforts should strengthen ecological redlines and land-use regulations, optimize the modes of construction land expansion, and promote the coordination of urban development and ecological conservation.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a powerful innovative tool for monitoring biodiversity that holds significant promise for application in various fields. The selection of primers is important in eDNA research. While primers for amplifying the eDNA of aquatic organisms have been extensively discussed, there is a lack of research on primers for terrestrial organisms. In this study, conventional biodiversity monitoring methods(camera traps and the transect method) were compared with the eDNA method, and subsequently two primers, 12s-v5 and MiMammal, were selected to compare their efficiency in amplifying eDNA from terrestrial vertebrates. A total of 17 soil samples and nine water samples were collected from the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park. Among these, three soil samples and two water samples were subjected to PCR amplification with three technical replicates per sample using both primer sets. The resulting reads from each sample were merged with FLASH, and the raw sequencing data were subsequently processed to generate clean reads, which served as the basis for all downstream analyses. The conventional method detected 183 species, whereas the eDNA method detected 46 OTUs, of which only 14 were identified to the species level. However, the eDNA method can still supplement some undetected species and serve as an auxiliary tool. Regarding the different primers, the 12s-v5 primer generally outperformed the MiMammal primer by detecting a richer diversity of terrestrial vertebrates. In contrast, the MiMammal primer amplified numerous (>85%) non-target fragments in the soil samples. In summary, the 12s-v5 primer demonstrated superior performance in eDNA detection in tropical rainforest environments, and while the application of the eDNA method to soil samples requires further methodological refinement, it still holds substantial potential.

In the Si River Basin, where water resources are scarce and agriculture is intensive, evapotranspiration (ET) is jointly influenced by land use evolution, adjustments in the cropping structure within cultivated land, and irrigation management. However, the SWAT model treats cultivated land as a single category and lacks irrigation scheduling, making it difficult to represent differences in water consumption and management effects. Based on land use data from 2000 and 2020, combined with field sampling points, a random forest approach was used to obtain the spatial distributions of winter wheat-summer corn rotation, peanuts, and other crops. After comparing multiple remote sensing ET products, the PML_V2 product showed the highest accuracy and was selected for model validation. Three schemes were developed—Original SWAT (OSWAT), Improved SWAT (ISWAT), and Final SWAT (FSWAT)—to evaluate ET simulation accuracy and spatiotemporal responses for 2001-2010 (calibration/baseline period) and 2011-2020 (validation/change period). The results show that from 2000 to 2020, the total cultivated-land area changed only slightly, while the rotation zone area expanded by 40.6 km². Model performance improved from ISWAT to FSWAT, and FSWAT reached an R² of 0.90 and an NS of 0.84 in the validation period. At the basin scale, introducing cropping structure had a limited effect on increasing the mean annual ET but enabled the identification of ET differences among crops. After also incorporating irrigation, the average annual ET increased by 15-18 mm between the baseline and the change period; the ET values for winter wheat, summer corn, and other crops as well as in key months were effectively enhanced; the spatial extent and intensity of high-ET zones increased; and the spatial ET range increased by 2-161 mm. Using 2002 with the lowest precipitation and 2003 with the highest precipitation as representative dry-year and wet-year scenarios, respectively, the annual ET of cropland hydrological response units (HRUs) was higher overall during the change period than during the baseline period. Under the dry-year scenario, areas with increased ET were mainly concentrated in the newly expanded winter wheat-summer corn rotation zones in the middle reaches, whereas the increase under the wet-year scenario was comparatively less pronounced. The dry-wet comparison further indicates that in dry years, ET increases in the newly added rotation areas are more spatially focused and more substantial; while in wet years, both the spatial extent and magnitude of ET increases are relatively attenuated. These results suggest that the effects of land use and cropping structure changes on ET are constrained by interannual precipitation conditions, so they exhibit clear climate dependence. Overall, refining the cropping structure provides an essential basis for identifying water consumption differences within cultivated land and explaining ET variations, while parameterizing irrigation regimes is a key step for improving ET simulation accuracy and supporting agricultural water management decision making.

Social movements in environmental management are an important factor in maintaining the sustainability of the ecosystem. Ciliwung River communities are part of clear evidence of the existence of social movements in dealing with the Ciliwung River problem. Ciliwung River is one of the largest rivers in Indonesia that still encountered problems related to its water quality and watershed. Some studies have found that the majority of the problem causes is from household waste. This study is aimed to analyze the environmental action conducted by Ciliwung River communities in the segment of upstream, middle-stream, and downstream of the river and how these actions analyze the four key factors of environmental communication to build sustainable environment actions: advocacy, capacities building, the community organizing, and the network development. The method used in this study is a post-positive paradigm using quantitative research supported by qualitative data. In order to be able to represent the representativeness of each segment, this study has chosen 8 communities spread from upstream, middle-stream, and downstream segment, based on the purposive sampling method. This study found that the activities relate to network development and Advocacy is the most influential for the communities to improve the sustainability of environmental action. Each Ciliwung River community has its specific characteristic actions depending on its geographical issues, local issues, and people’s interest. This study recommends the necessity for Gerakan Ciliwung Bersih (GCB) as the facilitator of the communities’ movement of Ciliwung River to improve the community organizing and capacities building through creating program activities that continue and involve many different stakeholders, not only conducting ceremonial activities that only last in a short time.

For the first time, greenhouse gas emissions (CO₂, CH₄, N₂O) from agricultural fields, including no-till and fallow land, as well as natural ecosystems in the Samara region under consistent climatic conditions, were measured using a gas chromatographic technique combined with planar microfluidic technology. A mobile system built around the portable chromatograph “PIA” (LLC “NPF MEMS”, Samara) was developed for these measurements. Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) and Methane (CH₄) emissions were analyzed using this system, while Nitrous Oxide (N₂O) emissions were analyzed using a stationary chromatograph, “GALS”, equipped with a planar microfluidic column (LLC “NPF MEMS”, Samara). Its use directly in the field shortens analysis time, reduces labor needs, and provides a cost-effective way to monitor emissions. The results indicated that total CO₂ emissions from cultivated fields were about half of those from natural ecosystems like forests and meadows, but approximately 1.7 times higher than emissions from fallow lands. This difference is linked to the richer organic matter in natural soils, which supports greater microbial activity. Methane emissions were 1.7 times greater in no-till fields compared to natural areas, suggesting that undisturbed ecosystems have a stronger capacity to absorb methane. Nitrogen levels in the soils were low and promoted denitrification and N₂O uptake, although N₂O absorption in no-till fields was 1.5 to 2 times lower than in natural ecosystems and fallow lands. When looking at total greenhouse gas emissions expressed as CO₂-equivalents, the order from highest to lowest was forest, meadow, cropped field, and fallow. Additionally, CO₂ emissions showed a clear relationship with the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), where lower NDVI values corresponded to reduced carbon fluxes both across space and over time.

Artificial bird nest boxes are often used to attract birds to nest and breed. However, different bird species have distinct preferences for nest features. Flaws and improper placement of nest boxes can reduce their attractiveness to birds or even fail to attract the target species from occupying them. In the present study, we report an example of a swift tower in Beijing that failed to attract common swifts (Apus apus pekinensis) but instead attracted Eurasian tree sparrows (Passer montanus) due to suboptimal nest box design. Surveys during the breeding season revealed that sparrows occupied 7.8% of the nest boxes, while none were occupied by common swifts. By comparing characteristics (height, orientation, entrance shape) between occupied and unoccupied nest boxes, we found that sparrows preferred boxes that were 8.4 m high, south- or east-facing, and had circular or elliptical entrances. Based on a comparison of the swift tower with previously reported nest boxes that successfully attracted common swifts, we conclude that location, orientation, and entrance shape of the nest boxes were not appropriately designed for swifts, resulting in their absence. This case highlights that proper design of nest boxes to attract a target bird species for conservation requires a thorough understanding of species-specific preferences for nest characteristics.

Effectively governing non-grain utilization of farmland requires balancing the complex interests of farmers, local governments, and enterprises. Traditional static models are ill-equipped to capture this dynamic. Through the lens of multi-agent collaborative governance, this study uses evolutionary game theory and simulation analysis to examine how decisions regarding non-grain utilization of farmland evolve dynamically and the key factors shaping these choices. The results reveal that: (1) In the farmer-local government two-party game model, when the sum of farmers’ grain cultivation income and subsidies under the grain cultivation guidance approach exceeds the income from non-grain utilization, the strategy profile (grain cultivation, grain cultivation guidance) emerges as a stable equilibrium. Subsidies, central government penalties on local governments, local government compensation to farmers, and farmers’ additional costs of non-grain utilization all influence the evolution of both parties’ strategies. Among these factors, subsidies and additional costs have a more pronounced impact on farmers, while penalties and compensation exert a stronger driving effect on local governments’ strategic choices. (2) In the tripartite evolutionary game of farmers-local governments-enterprises, including enterprises’ large-scale operation decisions, the results indicate that rent has the most significant impact on farmers’ land transfer willingness; mandatory costs dominate local governments’ strategic choices; and subsidies and non-grain utilization penalties have comparable and mutually the strongest effects on enterprises’ grain cultivation decisions. Based on these findings, we propose the following policy recommendations: optimizing subsidy mechanisms, implementing differentiated incentives for local governments, linking farmers’ subsidies to actual grain cultivation, and establishing a dynamic land rent adjustment mechanism.

This study employed synergy theory to construct a comprehensive evaluation index system encompassing four dimensions: synergistic foundation, synergistic drive, synergistic depth, and synergistic performance. The G1-entropy combined weighting method was used to systematically measure the pollution reduction, carbon reduction, green expansion and growth (PCGG) synergistic effect across 30 Chinese provinces from 2014 to 2023. The standard deviation ellipse, space-time weighted kernel density estimation, and geographical detector methods were used to thoroughly analyze the spatiotemporal differentiation patterns and driving mechanisms of the PCGG index. Three key findings were revealed. (1) China’s PCGG synergy index demonstrated significant upward growth with an average annual increase of 2.46%, while exhibiting notable regional disparities characterized by an “east-high, west-low; south-strong, north-weak” gradient pattern and a spatial evolutionary trend of “westward shift with eastern retreat, southward advance with northern recession”. (2) Temporal factors attenuated the spatial correlations among adjacent provinces with low PCGG levels but amplified the positive spillover effects among high-level neighboring regions. (3) Marketization (q=0.744) emerged as the predominant driver of spatial differentiation, with all factor interactions demonstrating characteristics of dual-factor enhancement, especially the strongest interaction between marketization and digitalization levels.

Corporate innovation serves as a key driver for overcoming resource constraints and achieving sustainable development. Grounded in neoclassical growth theory and green growth theory, this study develops a comprehensive index system for evaluating corporate innovation. Using panel data from Chinese A-share listed companies between 2012 and 2022, we investigate the mechanisms through which government regulation and public participation influence incremental innovation in enterprises. The results indicate that public participation stimulates corporate innovation willingness and vitality, whereas government regulation exerts a stable and sustained positive effect. Both factors exhibit inverted U-shaped relationships with corporate innovation, initially promoting and later inhibiting it, and they also demonstrate a synergistic promotional effect. Moreover, government regulation shows a U-shaped effect on medium-to-high innovation enterprises, with its impact gradually strengthening as innovation levels rise, while low innovation enterprises remain largely unresponsive. In contrast, no significant differences in the responses to public participation were observed across firms with varying innovation levels. Industrial structure upgrading and government intervention can mitigate the suppressive effects of high-intensity government regulation and enhance the efficiency of public participation, thereby reinforcing regulatory synergies. Further analysis revealed that government regulation has a stronger effect in the central and western regions compared to the eastern regions, while public participation is only significant in the east. Environmental regulation also helps to strengthen the innovative leadership of state-owned enterprises and high-tech enterprises. This study provides empirical evidence on how environmental regulation can foster the development of incremental innovation in enterprises.

Green total factor productivity (GTFP) is a key metric for assessing the quality of urban economic development, and FinTech plays a crucial role in promoting it. Using data from 284 prefecture-level cities and municipalities in China from 2011 to 2023, this study empirically examines the impact of FinTech on urban GTFP, its underlying mechanisms, and spatial spillover effects. The findings reveal that Fintech significantly boosts urban GTFP, a conclusion that remains robust after addressing endogeneity concerns and undergoing rigorous stability tests. Mechanism analysis indicates Fintech enhances GTFP by fostering green innovation, improving resource allocation efficiency, and increasing environmental investment. Moderation effects show environmental regulations positively moderate Fintech’s positive impact on urban GTFP. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that Fintech’s impact on GTFP is more pronounced in smaller cities with higher industrialization levels, advanced digital infrastructure, higher pollution levels, and greater financial development compared to larger cities with lower industrialization, weaker digital infrastructure, lower pollution, and less developed financial sectors. Spatial spillover effects reveal that Fintech not only boosts GTFP in the local city but also enhances it in neighboring cities.

The redevelopment of historical and cultural blocks represents a vital aspect of urban renewal that is aligned with the broader objectives of urban development, addresses long-standing spatial and functional conflicts, and fosters both the preservation of cultural heritage and the promotion of innovation. From the perspective of land rent gap theory, we constructed an analytical framework that includes a multi-body interest distribution mechanism and employed an evolutionary game model to study the renewal and transformation process of Dashilar Historical and Cultural Blocks. We also explored the dynamic process of strategy evolution among the local government, the original land users (residents), and enterprises (developers), as well as the influencing factors. The main findings of this study are threefold. (1) The redistribution of land increment benefits serves as a central catalyst for urban renewal. (2) The adjustment of interests among multiple parties through a blend of “incentive and penalty strategies” can substantially enhance the incentives for all stakeholders to engage in the renewal process, thereby ensuring its effective implementation. (3) The “micro-renovation” model, characterized by voluntary relocation, interest-driven engagement, and autonomous renewal, plays a crucial role in resolving conflicts among diverse interest groups and facilitating the efficient execution of renewal projects.

This study investigated the phytochemical and palyno-anatomical characteristics of Arnebia hispidissima and Myosotis ramosissima, collected from three locations of the southern desert region of Iraq during the 2023 growing season. Phytochemical analysis revealed significant variation in the content and distribution of pyrrolizidine alkaloids and glycosides between the two species. Myosotis ramosissima exhibited the highest concentration of the alkaloid indicine (57.72 mg mL^-1), whereas Arnebia hispidissima had higher concentrations and proportions of heliotrine (257.64 mg mL^-1), supinine, heleurine, indicine-N-oxide, and lindelofidine, indicating a generally higher total alkaloid content except for indicine. In terms of glycosides, Arnebia hispidissima showed higher levels of quercetin (19.86 mg mL^-1), naringenin (35.20 mg mL^-1) and triterpene (91.52 mg mL^-1). On the other hand, Myosotis ramosissima recorded greater concentrations of isorhamnetin, heliotrope (146.83 mg mL^-1), and isopyrrolidine, reflecting distinct metabolic profiles between the species. Palyno-anatomical analysis using light microscopy and acetolysis techniques demonstrated clear morphological differences, such as pollen grain shape, size, aperture type, and exine ornamentation, as well as variations in stem tissue and leaf anatomy. Both species possessed uniseriate epidermal layers, unifacial mesophyll, and anomocytic stomata on both upper and lower leaf surfaces, along with unicellular trichomes. These findings contribute to taxonomic identification and highlight the ecological and biochemical divergence between A. hispidissima and M. ramosissima in three locations.

The Green Belt Areas in Beijing are the key areas for constructing the ecological security pattern of the plain area and restricting the unlimited expansion of cities, and they are also the regions with strong demand for improving the urban ecological environmental quality. In this study, the differences in perception of the demand for ecological environmental quality in Beijing’s Green Belt Areas were analyzed based on the results of a questionnaire survey. The analysis revealed four major points. (1) About half of the respondents were very satisfied with the ecological environmental quality of the Green Belt Areas. Overall, 65.22% of respondents believed that the proportion of green ecological space in the Green Belt Areas has increased and the habitat connectivity has improved. Overall satisfaction with atmospheric quality was notably high, and forest expansion was identified as the primary factor contributing to its improvement. Most respondents demonstrated a clear understanding of biodiversity and showed moderate satisfaction. (2) The main ecosystem service demands for parks in the Green Belt Areas are primarily leisure and entertainment as well as natural experiences. In addition, urban parks should emphasize services such as leisure and entertainment, ecological environmental maintenance, sports and fitness, while country parks should highlight services such as ecological conservation, environmental purification, landscape recreation, and ecological environmental maintenance. (3) The factors contributing to the improvement of ecological environmental quality are generally believed to be in the order of environmental quality > ecosystem quality > biodiversity conservation. The contributions of park construction are mainly reflected in enhancing biodiversity (70.00%) and optimizing vegetation configuration structure and quality (65.65%). (4) Education level and income disparity are the main factors contributing to cognitive differences. In the future, efforts should be made to enhance public participation and strengthen popular science publicity, and to formulate differentiated ecosystem management and service supply strategies based on the public demand for ecological environmental quality.

Fujian is one of the key forest areas in southern China. Analyzing the changes in vegetation coverage and its driving factors can provide a theoretical basis for evaluating ecological protection efforts and strengthening ecological construction. The Kernel Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (KNDVI) is an improved vegetation index that can effectively overcome the limitations of the traditional Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) under complex terrain and climatic conditions, and more accurately reflect the growth status of vegetation within a region. Taking Fujian Province as the study area, this study uses trend analysis, the Hurst index, and other methods to analyze the characteristics of spatiotemporal variations and future trends of vegetation coverage from 2000 to 2020, and it then explores the dominant influencing factors and reasons for the interannual changes in vegetation coverage over the past 20 years in Fujian Province. The results show three aspects of vegetation coverage in Fujian Province. (1) From 2000 to 2020, the overall vegetation coverage in Fujian Province showed an increasing trend, with an average annual growth rate of 0.005 yr^-1. Areas with significant increases in vegetation coverage accounted for 62.3% of the total, while areas with significant reductions accounted for 23.5%. (2) From 2000 to 2020, 62.5% of the areas in Fujian Province had projected trends of vegetation coverage that were consistent with the past, showing a continuous growth trend, while a few areas had the possibility of first decreasing and then increasing or continuous degradation. (3) Natural and human factors jointly drive the dynamic changes in vegetation. Annual precipitation and topographic factors play a mainly positive role in promoting changes in vegetation coverage, while per capita GDP and population density have shown negative effects at different times.

Sustainable agriculture is essential for long-term food security, especially in semi-arid regions facing ecological stress and resource depletion. While Haryana is a leader in agricultural productivity, regional disparities in sustainability adoption persist. Mahendergarh, a drought-prone, resource-scarce district in southern Haryana, remains understudied despite its vulnerability to climate variability, fragmented awareness, and limited adoption of sustainable practices. This study addresses that research gap by conducting a detailed village-level assessment of sustainable farming in Mahendergarh, using a mixed-methods framework anchored in the Agricultural Sustainability Index (ASI). Primary data were collected from 10 villages across five administrative blocks through stratified random sampling and structured farmer interviews. The study employed 12 indicators grouped into physical, economic, and social categories. Quantitative analysis involved calculating the ASI for each village using normalized indicator values (X/Mean), while qualitative insights were derived from open-ended interviews, coding, and thematic mapping. Comparative analysis with neighboring districts such as Rewari and Jhajjar highlighted regional variations in sustainability performance. Findings show moderate sustainability levels in most villages, with higher ASI scores linked to land consolidation, modern irrigation methods, and crop diversification. However, barriers such as alkaline soils (pH>7.2), low literacy levels, and limited access to agricultural technology hinder broader adoption. Compared to nearby districts, Mahendergarh lags in organic farming but shows stronger irrigation infrastructure. The study recommends targeted policy interventions including AI-enabled precision agriculture tools, localized training programs, and improved institutional support for market access and credit. These findings can inform state-level strategies to enhance agricultural sustainability in similar agro-climatic zones.

Urban villages are unique informal residential spaces that pose a core challenge to urban renewal during China’s urbanization, specifically regarding the accurate identification of their high-density and heterogeneous built spaces. This study constructs a framework for identifying built spaces in urban villages by employing high-resolution remote sensing images and the Swin Transformer deep learning model. Considering 179 urban village renewal projects in Hangzhou as empirical cases, this study explores an intelligent identification path centered on multi-scale feature fusion. The Swin Transformer model integrates cross-scale spatial information, ranging from individual building details to the overall layouts of urban blocks, through its hierarchical feature modeling and shifted window self-attention mechanism. This effectively overcomes the limitation of single-segmentation scales inherent in traditional object-based image analysis (OBIA) technology. The empirical results show that the model achieves an overall accuracy of 90.27% in identifying the building floor area of urban villages and establishes a closed-loop process for data collection, feature modeling, intelligent identification, and dynamic evaluation. This process provides spatial decision support for formulating differentiated renewal strategies. This study offers a replicable technical paradigm for the intelligent identification of urban village-built spaces in the context of urban renewal, which contributes to the realization of precision, dynamism, and sustainability in urban spatial governance.

This study examined how carbon governance enhances tourism ecological efficiency in forest tourism destinations. Based on data from 16 destinations, a network DEA-DDF model was employed to evaluate efficiency outcomes under three governance scenarios: carbon mitigation, carbon sequestration, and a combined approach. First, carbon emissions were quantified in accordance with the GHG Protocol: A Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard, which covers Scope 1 (direct emissions) and Scope 2 (emissions from purchased energy) within each destination’s geographic boundary. Second, this study investigated the mechanism of carbon governance measures. Carbon mitigation measures offset an average of 26.06% of total emissions, while forestry-based carbon sequestration offset 40.32%. A dual-strategy approach achieved an average offset of 66.38%. The mean ecological efficiency score at the operational stage was 0.36, increasing to 0.40 with carbon mitigation, 0.47 with sequestration, and 0.50 under the combined strategy. While both approaches enhanced ecological performance, carbon sequestration yielded greater marginal benefits. These results underscore the potential of integrated carbon governance for improving ecological efficiency at tourism destinations and provide a replicable framework for supporting low-carbon development in the tourism sector under climate transition goals.

As an important carrier for ecological security and natural resource conservation, national parks perform multiple functions such as maintaining biodiversity, ensuring ecosystem services, and promoting ecological civilization construction. Against the backdrop of the comprehensive establishment of the national park system in China, finding a way to achieve the synergy of ecological, economic, and social values under strict protection has become a key research focus. This study used the RMP (Resource-Market-Product) theoretical framework to systematically analyze the value realization path of ecotourism products in national parks from three dimensions: resource endowment, market demand, and product design. The results indicate that the highly original and complete ecological resources, specific behavioral patterns of organisms, high-quality environmental resources and in-depth experience opportunities in national parks support diverse forms of ecotourism. Meanwhile, market demand shows a multi-level differentiation from basic leisure to ecological education and original natural experiences. In terms of product design, adhering to the principles of prioritizing ecological protection, cognitive interactive orientation, and the supply of differentiated characteristics, a product system including the ecological research experience type, ecosystem immersive perception type, natural aesthetic transformation type, and systematic interpretation and education type was constructed to enhance ecological protection awareness, increase public participation, and achieve the value transformation of ecotourism products. Finally, four future development directions for national parks are proposed: implementing precise zoning and dynamic regulation mechanisms for ecological spaces, building a service network for coordinating development between surrounding cities and national parks, innovating the depth of ecological product experience to enhance the added value and consumption potential of tourism services, and establishing a national park brand strategy to build an ecological cultural value dissemination system. These efforts will provide theoretical support and practical paths for the realization of ecological product value and sustainable development of national parks.

Tourism corridors are vital for regional integration, yet traditional planning often overlooks the multidimensional value of attractions and actual market preferences. This study proposes a value-driven hierarchical corridor construction framework to address these gaps and applies it to Western Hunan, China. By integrating attraction quality, network attention, digital footprints, and service capacity, the framework identifies significant misalignments with traditional ratings. Specifically, it uncovers high-potential attractions overlooked by official classifications while exposing highly rated sites with weak market engagement. Based on the integrated attraction importance, 136 attractions were classified into core (34), important (68), and general (34) nodes. This classification directly informed three differentiated routing strategies: the Minimum Spanning Tree (MST) for core nodes, an improved Gravity Model incorporating road-grade resistance for important nodes, and a weighted shortest-path algorithm for general nodes. The results reveal both alignment with and divergence from existing research. The resulting network is a hierarchical system composed of three distinct tiers: a core backbone featuring World Heritage sites and historic towns; important sub-networks focused on ethnic traditions and revolutionary heritage; and peripheral routes accessing rural and ecological gems, which creates a spatially efficient and thematically diverse regional travel system. This demonstrates the reliability of the proposed method while highlighting its advantage in constructing more inclusive and sustainable tourism corridor networks. This study offers a multidimensional framework that captures tourist demand better than traditional rating systems, and provides a replicable methodology for hierarchical tourism corridor construction. The findings support the differentiated design of tourism products and service facilities across corridor tiers, thus promoting integrated regional development and the sustainable utilization of cultural and ecological resources.

Experience-based assessment tools for qualitative research evaluate the quality, impact, and effectiveness of studies by concentrating on participants' perceptions. This qualitative experiential research uses a triangulation method to evaluate the Architecture of Resort project. The study is conducted in three distinct phases. It initially examines whether the design process was informed by an in-depth site analysis and responds to the contextual study conducted by the architect, through the field note transcripts. The investigation further collects qualitative data from expert professionals by conducting in-depth interviews. The tourist reviews collected from internet, from tourism websites offer a user perspective. The data collected through all three methods is then triangulated to examine the reflection of the context into the design of the resort. The results indicate that the experiential qualities of the resort can be significantly improved through the implementation of a contextually informed, in-depth design strategy. The key design elements that emerged from this research include site suitability criteria, context specific site planning, incorporation of local architectural styles, the use of sustainable materials, and the use of spatial design that promote tourist satisfaction and enhance their experience. The study highlights the significance of a context-sensitive approach to creating resort environments that are both harmonious and impactful. The research underlines that the experiential evaluation tool can further be used for the investigation of any architectural evaluation & post occupancy perception.