Water ecological compensation standards for the Yellow River Basin from coordinated provider-beneficiary perspectives.

Effects of basin ecological compensation policies in China: Insights from policy design differences

The institutional environment constitutes the external foundation for corporate development. In the process of China’s modernization, addressing the fiscal constraints on corporate green development is a key issue in advancing the green transformation of the economy, as well as a new approach to understanding the implementation gaps in environmental regulations and the challenges facing the development of green finance. This paper draws on new institutional economics theory to construct an analytical framework of “institutional incentives-behavioural choices-performance outcomes.” Using unbalanced panel data from 2008 to 2022 on listed companies in the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share markets and prefecture-level cities, a two-way fixed effects model is employed to systematically examine the impact of fiscal vertical imbalances on the efficiency of corporate green development. Heterogeneity analysis reveals the ‘institutional sensitivity gradient’ phenomenon, with the inhibitory effects of fiscal vertical imbalances being particularly pronounced among institutionally sensitive groups such as labour and capital-intensive enterprises, heavily polluting enterprises, mature and declining stage enterprises, and eastern coastal enterprises. Fiscal vertical imbalances severely constrain the pace of green transformation in traditional enterprises and the growth of green industries. It is necessary to reconfigure the central-local fiscal relationship oriented toward green development, innovate ecological compensation and green debt coordination mechanisms, and establish an incentive-compatible institutional environment to resolve the “green paradox.”

Ecological compensation for national parks based on carbon sink and ecosystem services.

Quantification of ecological compensation for the ecological conservation redline strategy based on target demand: a case study of Jiangsu Province, China

Dynamic ecological compensation and delayed strategies in China's coordinated land-sea governance: An evolutionary game analysis

Towards Cleaner and Responsible Herding: Can ecological compensation ensure sustainable grassland management in Alxa League, Inner Mongolia?

Quantifying Carbon Ecological Compensation Standards for Water-Receiving Areas in Interbasin Transfers

Reward and Punishment Mechanism Reform for Ecological Compensation and Energy Consumption Structure Transformation

ABSTRACT China's Grassland Ecological Compensation Policy (GECP) is the world's most extensive grassland conservation program, based on a payment‐ for‐ ecosystem‐ services framework. Despite comprehensive studies on its impact, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Using survey data collected from 1039 forage farmers in Gansu and Qinghai provinces in China, this study employs a propensity score matching approach to address selection bias from observable factors. A selectivity‐corrected stochastic production frontier model was subsequently applied to correct for the bias due to unobservable characteristics. We find that GECP increased technical efficiency by more than 5.7%. Moreover, the unconditional quantile regression results demonstrate that farmers with higher TE quantiles benefit more from GECP than farmers with lower TE quantiles.

Forest ecological compensation policies (FECPs) are a key institutional arrangement for balancing ecological conservation and farmers’ development needs in national parks. Existing research has often treated such policies as a homogeneous whole, failing to clearly reveal the mechanisms through which different policy types affect farmers’ livelihoods, while also paying insufficient attention to complex property-rights settings. This study takes Wuyi Mountain National Park—a typical representative of collective forest regions in southern China—as a case study. Based on 239 micro-survey datasets from farming households and employing the mprobit model and moderating effect models, it investigates the influence, mechanisms, and heterogeneity of farmers’ livelihood capital in terms of their livelihood strategy choices under the moderating roles of “blood-transfusion” and “blood-making” FECPs. The results show the following: (1) Among the sample farmers, livelihood strategies are distributed as follows: pure agricultural type (31.8%), out-migration for work type (20.5%), and commercial operation type (47.7%). (2) Farmers’ livelihood capital has a significant impact on their livelihood strategy choice, with different dimensions of capital playing distinct roles. (3) FECPs follow differentiated moderating pathways. “Blood-transfusion” policies emphasize compensation and buffering functions, reducing farmers’ livelihood transition pressure through direct cash transfers; “blood-making” policies reflect empowerment and restructuring characteristics, activating physical assets and reshaping the role of social capital through productive investment. Together, they constitute a complementary system of protective security and transformative empowerment. Accordingly, this study proposes policy insights such as building a targeted ecological compensation system that is categorized, dynamically linked, and precise; innovating compensation fund allocation mechanisms that integrate collective coordination with household-level benefits; optimizing policy design oriented toward enhancing productive capital; and establishing robust monitoring, evaluation, and adaptive management mechanisms for dynamic FECPs.

Abstract Marine ecosystem services (MES) provide food, a comfortable environment, and recreational value to humans, but they are increasingly being degraded by human overexploitation and utilization. Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a critical means of safeguarding ecosystem services. Based on the logical relationship between the ecosystem service value of MPAs and ecological protection compensation, this study calculates the ecosystem service value of the provincial seal nature reserve in China’s Miaodao Islands and analyzes the compositional characteristics and spatiotemporal changes of this value, from which a scientifically grounded ecological compensation standard is established. This article highlights that, within MPAs, the proportion of material ecological products capable of achieving market value transformation remains relatively low. Conversely, the value of regulating, supporting, and underdeveloped cultural services—those yet to undergo market value realization—constitutes a comparatively higher proportion. Therefore, the establishment of MPAs can affect the composition of ecosystem service values in the region, thereby threatening the equal development rights of various stakeholders. This study concludes that when the level of economic development remains constant, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), the greater the value of ecosystem services that cannot be converted into market value, the higher the priority for ecological protection compensation. Consequently, there is a greater demand for and a higher amount of ecological compensation. The main contribution of this research is the establishment of a strong correlation between the benefits of ecological protection and the entities responsible for compensating for ecological protection.

With the continuous advancement of ecological compensation mechanisms, there is an urgent need to refine the dynamic evaluation of the ecological value of cultivated land (EVCL). This study constructs a dynamic assessment model for the EVCL based on the Gompertz curve, selecting Lezhi County in Sichuan Province, China, as the study area. The impact of the evolution of ecological compensation policies on the EVCL is examined. Using the functional value method, the study quantifies four key ecosystem services: agricultural product supply, water conservation, carbon sequestration and oxygen release, and soil and water conservation. It estimates that the ecological value per hectare of cultivated land reached CNY 704,250 in 2022, expressed in constant 1990 prices using the official GDP deflator published by the National Bureau of Statistics of China. A Gompertz curve linear equation was developed through logarithmic linearization, and parameter estimation was supported by the GDP growth rate as a proxy variable. This approach ensured statistical consistency and avoided overfitting. The model was compared with the traditional Pearl curve using quantitative indicators such as the coefficient of determination (R²) and root mean square error (RMSE). These measures highlight the superior correction capacity and fitting stability of the Gompertz model. To ensure temporal consistency, all monetary values were harmonized by converting nominal series into constant 1990 prices before integration with historical data (1979–2022) and GM(1,1) forecasts up to 2052. This integration provided a coherent time series for calculating development stage coefficients and projecting EVCL. The results indicate that the ecological value follows an asymmetric S-shaped growth trajectory as development stages advance, aligning with the gradual evolution of ecological compensation policies and increasing institutional maturity. By linking quantitative model validation with policy evolution, the study not only estimates the EVCL from 1979 to 2052 but also provides a methodological reference for evaluating ecological compensation policies across regions.

Broad-scale assessments often track forest productivity, yet they rarely quantify how soil conditions determine whether these gains persist as long-lived carbon and generate measurable economic value. This study focused on Northeast China, where forests include boreal coniferous stands dominated by Dahurian larch, temperate conifer–broadleaf mixed forests with Korean pine, and temperate deciduous broadleaf forests dominated by Mongolian oak. We combined GLASS net primary productivity and ESA CCI Land Cover to delineate forest pixels, used 2000 to 2005 as the baseline, and converted productivity anomalies into pixel level carbon economic value using a consistent pricing rule. Forest NPP increased significantly during 2000 to 2018 (slope = 1.57, p = 0.019), and carbon economic value also increased over time during 2006 to 2018 (slope = 2.24, p = 0.002), with the highest values in core mountain forests and lower values in the western forest–grassland transition zone. Correlation analysis, explainable random forests, and variance partitioning characterized spatial and temporal dynamics from 2000 to 2018 and identified environmental controls. Carbon value increased over time and showed marked spatial heterogeneity that mirrored productivity patterns in core mountain forests. Climate was the dominant predictor of value, while higher soil pH and clay content were negatively associated with value. The random forest model explained about 70% of the variance in carbon value (R2 = 0.695), and variance partitioning indicated substantial unique and joint contributions from climate and soil alongside secondary topographic effects. The automatable framework enables periodic updates with new satellite composites, supports ecological compensation zoning, and informs soil-oriented interventions that enhance the monetized value of forest carbon sinks in data-limited regions.

Synergistic governance is essential for addressing transregional environmental pollution challenges in the Yellow River Basin. To explore the effect of synergistic environmental pollution management in the Yellow River Basin, we constructed a four-tier index system—driving force, pressure, synergy, and effectiveness—using 2012–2020 panel data from nine provinces. A comprehensive evaluation was performed using an ecological niche suitability model, and a spatial panel econometric model was applied to identify regional spillover effects of pollution diffusion and synergistic management efforts. From 2012 to 2020, the overall effectiveness of coordinated governance in the Yellow River Basin improved from Level V to Level II. The evolution of governance levels across provinces exhibited noticeable spatial heterogeneity, with upstream areas generally exhibiting higher effectiveness than the middle and lower reaches. Spatial model results revealed a significant spatial spillover effect of cross-provincial pollution control, as indicated by the spatial Durbin model, which showed a significant spatial lag term (p<0.05). This suggests that pollution control inputs in one province enhanced its own governance efficiency and had a positive impact on neighboring provinces. In addition, robustness checks using the Bootstrap method supported the stability of the ecological niche suitability estimates. Multicollinearity diagnostics indicated no serious collinearity (all variance inflation factor values <5), and the key regression coefficients were statistically significant (p<0.01). This study proposes differentiated policy recommendations to enhance coordinated pollution management in the Yellow River Basin, including strengthening cross-regional collaboration mechanisms, establishing unified joint prevention and control assessment indices, increasing environmental inputs and technical support for weaker middle and lower basin regions, and improving ecological compensation and benefit-sharing systems to promote high-quality, sustainable basin development.

Global climate change exacerbates the synergistic effects of freeze-thaw (FT) cycles and emerging pollutants in cold-region ecosystems. To elucidate their multidimensional stress mechanisms, this study integrated a "seed-to-seed" full-life-cycle soil cultivation experiment (120 days), physio-ecological assays, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and multiomics technologies to systematically analyze the cascading damage mechanisms in rye induced by the combined stress of FT, microplastics (MPs), and diethyl phthalate (DEP). Long-term experiments demonstrated that MPs + DEP copollution led to approximately 27.5% reduction in spike length, over 36% decrease in 1000-grain weight, and an 18-23 d delay in flowering time; these indicators worsened further with the superposition of FT, indicating significant inhibition of reproductive growth. At the physiological mechanism level, DEP competitively inhibited ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) activity, impeding carbon assimilation; MPs induced thylakoid membrane lipid peroxidation, disrupting the electron transport chain; and FT exacerbated chloroplast ultrastructural damage, collectively causing a 41.1% decrease in the photosynthetic rate (Pn), a 65.8% reduction in stomatal conductance (Gs), and a 140% increase in the malondialdehyde (MDA) content. MD simulations revealed that FT enhanced the binding stability of nonspecific lipid-transfer protein (nsLTP) with DEP, promoting the upward translocation of pollutants, with the highest DEP residue in grains reaching 0.306 ± 0.038 mg/kg, posing a potential food safety risk. Metabolomic analysis indicated that MPs activated genes promoting cell wall fibrosis defense, whereas DEP inhibited lipoxygenase, leading to lipid accumulation, with Mg2+ loss and S accumulation exacerbating the oxidative damage cascade. The endophytic microbiome facilitated cooperative pollutant degradation via the Pseudomonas acidovorax module, achieving partial ecological compensation. This study reveals a "stress compensation-metabolic imbalance-oxidative damage" vicious cycle mechanism, which advances our understanding of composite pollution risks in high-latitude farmland and the synergistic effects of climate change and pollutants.

To systematically quantify the ecosystem service values in aquaculture ponds and reveal their temporal dynamics, this study provides a scientific basis for promoting sustainable green aquaculture and enhancing ecological and economic benefits. Using a 0.4 hm2 grass carp pond in Songjiang District, Shanghai as the study site, we developed an evaluation framework of “base equivalent—dynamic equivalent—value quantification” and incorporated temperature spatiotemporal adjustment factors and social development coefficients to refine traditional models. The results indicate significant seasonal fluctuations in ecosystem service values for grass carp ponds. The highest value occurs in July at 21,868.21 CNY, and the lowest occurs in February at 4110.22 CNY, with a peak-to-trough ratio of 5.3. Among the five service functions, hydrological regulation accounts for the largest share (approximately 55%), followed by gas regulation (20%) and climate regulation (10%), while environmental purification and aesthetic landscapes, though contributing smaller proportions, remain indispensable. Temperature adjustment factors significantly enhance aquatic plant photosynthesis and microbial metabolism during high-temperature periods (>25 °C), whereas low temperatures suppress these ecological processes. The integration of social development coefficients effectively corrects underestimations of willingness to pay for cultural services. Compared to traditional seasonal-scale assessments, the monthly-scale approach substantially improves the explanatory power for pond ecological processes, offering quantitative support for differentiated ecological compensation mechanisms and optimized aquaculture management practices.

Interpreting Ecological Compensation from the Perspective of Ecosystem Service Flows

Understanding the spatial flows of ecosystem services (ES) is essential for designing effective ecological compensation mechanisms. This study examines the spatial characteristics and evolution of ES flows in the Yangtze River Basin and their implications for transverse ecological compensation. Using the InVEST model to quantify ES supply and demand and a gravity model to simulate flow paths, we combined network analysis to identify critical nodes and bottlenecks. The results reveal a distinct “upstream supply–midstream transfer–downstream demand” gradient pattern. Upstream regions serve as primary suppliers and compensation beneficiaries, midstream regions function as transfer hubs, and downstream regions act as major demand areas and compensation contributors. From 2010 to 2023, the ES network evolved from a sparse structure into a complex polycentric system, with core nodes consolidating and secondary nodes emerging. Spatiotemporal analysis of ecological compensation shows a clear gradient with a general mitigation of supply–demand mismatch, indicating positive policy outcomes. This study recommends optimizing compensation criteria, enhancing the capacity of peripheral nodes, strengthening regional coordination, and balancing ecological and economic benefits to support sustainable ecological civilization development in the Yangtze River Basin.

Amid intensifying challenges of global climate change, China—as the world’s largest carbon emitter and a major manufacturing hub—occupies a pivotal position in the global industrial green transformation. Drawing on environmental federalism theory and China’s decentralized governance model, this study develops a framework of “green finance–local government competition–industrial green transformation.” Using panel data from 283 cities in China, we employ spatial econometrics and mediation effect models to test the dual mechanisms by which green finance promotes industrial green transformation. The findings indicate that (1) green finance promotes industrial green transformation; (2) green finance advances industrial green transformation by dismantling China’s traditional local government competition–based development model and removing the institutional suppression arising from “race-to-the-bottom competition”; (3) the effect of green finance exhibits long-run characteristics and a “benchmark–imitation” pattern; (4) baseline environmental conditions strengthen the influence of green finance on industrial green transformation; (5) incorporating ecological civilization development into officials’ performance evaluations can effectively reshape policy incentives and amplify the positive role of green finance. Thus, we propose differentiated green finance policies, the construction of a governance mechanism that integrates fiscal–financial–ecological compensation, and the optimization of ecological civilization assessment indicators to curb campaign-style governance.