As urbanization and industrialization advance, China faces increasingly severe ecological challenges. The Ecological Protection Redline (EPR) policy is a crucial tool for land use management and ecological protection but requires a comprehensive risk assessment method to address ongoing challenges. This study integrated multiple factors with ecological resilience theory to establish a Hazard-Exposure-Vulnerability-Damage-Final Risk framework, assessing the spatiotemporal dynamics and risks of different EPR types in Qinghai Province over 20 years. Path analysis was further used to reveal relationships between risk stages. Results show increasing hazards and exposure in Water Conservation (WC), Biodiversity Maintenance (BM) and Land Desertification (LD) EPR types, with improved water conservation, stable biodiversity, and controlled desertification vulnerability across regions. Integrated risk results show a downward risk trend in WC type, BM type fluctuated but improved, and an initial increase followed by risk decrease in LD type. Path analysis revealed that damage in WC-type EPR was driven by direct hazard impacts, BM-type EPR by vulnerability, and damage in LD-type EPR by indirect effects of hazard through exposure. This study emphasizes the optimization of EPR policies by reducing external disturbances and enhancing ecosystem resilience, providing policy recommendations and practical experience for ecological protection and sustainable land use management.

The vegetation in Huayuan County was seriously damaged during the mining process. Using remote sensing data, the vegetation coverage in the Huayuan County lead-zinc mining area was analysed to explore the temporal trends and driving factors of the FVC. As calculated from remote sensing data, the average FVC decreased rapidly from 0.74 to 0.36 from 2000-2008, with no significant change from 2009 to -2018, and gradually recovered from 0.36 to 0.5 from 2019-2024. Two typical mining areas were selected for research. After artificial reclamation, the damaged vegetation can be restored, whereas the vegetation in the naturally restored mining area is difficult to restore. The cluster map of the mining area is obtained via the Moran index, which reveals that artificial reclamation has an obvious effect on vegetation restoration. The destruction of vegetation in mining areas is affected primarily by human activities, while human activities are affected primarily by changes in policy; thus, policy factors are the main factors driving changes in vegetation in mining areas, whereas natural factors have a small influence on changes in the FVC in mining areas. This study provides a theoretical basis for vegetation restoration in other mining areas and promotes sustainable development.

Reducing agricultural carbon emissions (ACEs) is critical to achieving green agriculture in China. Chinese agriculture has long faced the dilemma of large numbers of people and small landholdings, well as low-quality arable land. As a result, agricultural production relies heavily on inputs of agricultural chemicals to boost yields, damaging the rural environment. In this study, we use provincial panel data from China and a spatial difference-in-differences model to explore the influence of rural land consolidation policy (RLCP) on ACEs and their spatial spillover effects. The results show that the global Moran's of ACEs reflected a downward trend, the spatial correlation gradually weakened, and ACEs developed from a state of polarization to one of balance. RLCP has had a significant reduction and a negative spatial spillover effect on ACEs. Our analysis of the mechanism shows that rural land consolidation promoted the reduction of ACEs by improving the quality of farmland soil and the utilization rate of water resources. Under different geographical conditions, the construction of rural land consolidation has had a significant ACE reduction effect on both the south and the north, although RLCP in southern China has had a negative spatial spillover effect.

The loess hilly region is one of the most fragile areas in China. Many ecological restoration projects in this region are equivalent to simple afforestation and grass planting, with large investment and low benefits. Based on the concept of reference ecosystem, this study uses remote sensing data and vegetation community survey of Wanhuigou catchment, and applies methods such as redundancy analysis and GeoDetector to explore the characteristics of topography, soil, and vegetation of reference ecosystem, so as to provide restoration standards for damaged or degraded ecosystems in a small watershed. Thirteen typical and representative areas are selected to evaluate the degree of ecosystem damage and resilience, and divided into four categories according to the evaluation results and characteristics of ecosystems. Corresponding restoration measures such as protection and conservation, natural restoration, auxiliary regeneration, and ecological reconstruction are adopted for ecosystems under different scenarios with reference ecosystems as the target, and the effectiveness of implementation is assessed. The results show that the combination conditions of elevation and slope have a very important influence on the distribution of ecosystems. In the process of ecological restoration, it is necessary to deeply grasp the characteristics of soil and species diversity within the same community and among different communities, as well as their interrelationships. Adaptive restoration measures for ecosystems in different situations are conducive to the sustainability and effectiveness of ecosystem restoration. Given the complexity and diversity of habitat conditions and plant community types in Wanhuigou catchment, the results have certain universality, which can provide reference for the comprehensive management of other small watersheds in the loess hilly region, so as to achieve sustainable construction and restoration of ecosystems as well as harmonious development between humans and nature.

The preservation of cultivated land quality stands as a vital prerequisite for ensuring food security and sustainability. In the black soil area of northeast China, a large amount of fertilizer was used to stabilize grain production in its early stages, which damaged soil structure and polluted the ecological environment. Based on the panel data of fertilization intensity of 48 districts and counties in Heilongjiang Province from 2010 to 2020, this study takes the implementation of the Three-Year Action Plan for the Protection of Black Soil Farmland in Heilongjiang Province for the (2018-2020) (TYAP) policy as a natural experiment, and uses the difference-indifferences (DiD) method to identify the causal effect of the policy on the local fertilization intensity. The results of the empirical study showed that the implementation of the TYAP policy significantly reduced the fertilization intensity of the black soil cultivated land implemented by the policy during the implementation period, which resulted in a decrease of 11.97% on average compared with the areas without the policy implementation. Several robustness tests provided additional confirmation of the aforementioned findings. This study further revealed that the policy mitigated fertilization intensity by fostering advancements in agricultural mechanization.

Meat consumption causes major damage to the environment, such as the pollution of air, water, and soil, and contributes significantly to biodiversity loss and climate change. To reach environmental and climate targets, agricultural production methods need to be addressed politically. However, dietary behavior also needs to change. This is especially the case in Western countries with unsustainably high meat consumption, such as Germany. Based on a systematic analysis of the literature of different disciplines, the article examines the following: (a) Factors influencing food behavior; (b) Policy instruments effectively contributing to behavior change; (c) Potential problems with regard to their political feasibility. Using Germany as an example, the analysis shows that only a combination of measures is promising to achieve a reduction in meat consumption-both in terms of effectiveness as well as political feasibility. Instruments need to change contextual conditions in a way that makes sustainable nutritional choices the easier ones. In the longer term, education programs and campaigns can help to change basic influencing factors such as norms or values. And, in the short term, these factors can be activated and become relevant for action in the respective decision-making situations.

Current soil- and land degradation seriously challenge our societies; it contributes to climate change, loss of biodiversity and loss of agricultural productions. Yet, soils are also seen as a major part of the solution, if maintained or restored to provide ecosystem services. Climate-smart sustainable management of soils can provide options for soil health maintenance and restoration. In the European Union, the resource management and sustainability challenge are addressed in the Green Deal that, among other goals, aspires towards a healthy climate-resilient agricultural sector that will produce sufficient products without damaging ecosystems and contribute to better biodiversity and mitigate climate change. The European Joint Programme (EJP) SOIL was set up to contribute to these goals by developing knowledge, tools and an integrated research community to foster climate-smart sustainable agricultural soil management that provides a diversity of ecosystem service, such as adapting to and mitigating climate change, allowing sustainable food production, and sustaining soil biodiversity. This paper provides an overview of the potential of climate-smart sustainable soil management research to the targets of the Green Deal that are related to soils most directly. The EJP SOIL EU-wide consultation (interviews and questionnaires) and literature analysis (national and international reports and papers) done in the first year (2020-2021) generated a wealth of data. This data showed that there are specific manners to do research that are essential for it to be effective and efficient and that can actively contribute to the Green Deal targets. We concluded that research needs to be: (i) interdisciplinary, (ii) long-term, (iii) multi-scaled, from plot to landscape, (iv) evaluating trade-offs of selected management options for ecosystem services and (v) co-constructed with key stakeholders. Research on climate-smart sustainable soil management should be developed (1) on plot scale when mobilizing soil processes and on landscape scale when addressing sediment and water connectivity and biodiversity management; and (2) address the enabling conditions through good governance, social acceptance and viable economic conditions. A guideline to European agricultural soil management: three layers for sustainable soil management: the biosphere: healthy soils and (bio)diverse landscapes (green bar); solutions: based on functioning of the natural system (yellow bar); enabling conditions: finding the social and economic enable conditions (blue bar).image

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has disrupted health, economy, and society globally. Thus, many countries, including China, have adopted lockdowns to prevent the epidemic, which has limited human activities while affecting air quality. These affects have received attention from academics, but very few studies have focused on western China, with a lack of comparative studies across lockdown periods. Accordingly, this study examines the effects of lockdowns on air quality and pollution, using the hourly and daily air monitoring data collected from Lanzhou, a large city in Northwest China. The results indicate an overall improvement in air quality during the three lockdowns compared to the average air quality in the recent years, as well as reduced PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, and CO concentrations with different rates and increased O3 concentration. During lockdowns, Lanzhou's morning peak of air pollution was alleviated, while the spatial characteristics remained unchanged. Further, ordered multi-classification logistic regression models to explore the mechanisms by which socioeconomic backgrounds and epidemic circumstances influence air quality revealed that the increment in population density significantly aggravated air pollution, while the presence of new cases in Lanzhou, and medium- and high-risk areas in the given district or county both increase the likelihood of air quality improvement in different degrees. These findings contribute to the understanding of the impact of lockdown on air quality, and propose policy suggestions to control air pollution and achieve green development in the post-epidemic era.

Society could sustain the impact of climate change by adapting to the change and mitigating risks from adverse effects of increasing changes, so that it can continue maintaining its prospect and improving wellbeing. Nevertheless, climate change is more or less affecting society's functions at different scales, including both individuals and communities. In this review, we discuss the relationship between society and climate change in China from the aspects of the needs at different socioeconomic developing stages. The relationship as well as the current spatial pattern and future risks of the climate change impacts on societies are summarized. The complexity of social and climatic systems leads to the spatial heterogeneity of climate impacts and risks in China. To more effectively leverage increasing knowledge about the past, we advocate greater cross-disciplinary collaboration between climate adaption, poverty alleviation and Nature-based Solutions (Nbs). That could provide decision makers with more comprehensive train of thoughts for climate policy making.

Facing severe air pollution issues, China has implemented a series of clean air policies aimed to improve the country's air quality. These policies largely focused on reducing emissions of major air pollutants such as sulfur dioxide (SO2) and primary aerosols. However, changes in such pollution also affect radiative forcing. To understand the climate consequences of these clean air actions in China, we evaluate the near-equilibrium climate response to sustained changes in aerosol (and precursors) emission rates equivalent to those that occurred in China between 2006 and 2017. During this period, China's SO(2)emissions declined by similar to 70%, and black carbon emissions declined by similar to 30%. Climate simulations that used a fully coupled ocean and atmosphere climate model indicate that China's reductions in aerosol emission rates from 2006 to 2017 may exert a net increase in global radiative forcing of 0.09 +/- 0.03 W m(-2)and a mean warming of 0.12 +/- 0.01 degrees C in the Northern Hemisphere; and may also affect the precipitation rates in East Asia and in more distant regions. The success of Chinese policies to further reduce aerosol emissions may bring additional net warming, and this 'unmasked' warming would in turn compound the challenge and urgency of international climate mitigation efforts.