Improvement Of Ecological Environment Research Articles

Assessment and Simulation of Urban Ecological Environment Quality Based on Geographic Information System Ecological Index

The urban ecological environment is crucial to the quality of life of residents and the sustainable development of the region, and the assessment and prediction of the ecological environment quality can provide a scientific guidance for ecological environment management and improvement. We proposed a novel approach to assess and simulate the urban ecological environment quality using the Geographic Information System Ecological Index (GISEI). First, we calculated the remote sensing ecological index (RSEI) for Xi’an in 2020. Second, we selected land use data, mean annual temperature, and mean annual relative humidity as ecological indicators. We regressed these indicators on the RSEI to obtain the GISEI of Xi’an in 2020. Finally, we simulated the GISEI of Xi’an in 2030 by predicting the ecological indicators and analyzed the changes in the ecological environment quality. The results of the study show that the ecological environment quality in Xi’an in 2020 is better overall. By 2030, most of the ecological environment quality in Xi’an will be worse, and the proportion of the excellent area will decrease from 42.8% to 3.8%. The more serious ecological degradation is mainly located in the regions bordering the Qinling Mountains and the Guanzhong Plain, and the ecological environment quality in most areas of the Qinling Mountains will deteriorate from excellent to good.

Embracing Pure Electric Buses: Vision, Risks and Challenges

In this paper, we mainly focus on the current hot discussion of pure electric public transportation trends. First, we discuss the ecological environment improvement of a city if the original fuel buses are converted to pure electric buses. We use a carbon emission model, an indirect one, and a direct one. Through the quantitative consideration of different factors, the carbon emission model of the whole life cycle of a pure electric bus is finally proposed, and the model is cross-verified by sensitivity analysis. Then, taking Hong Kong as an example, we collected the operation data and cost of public transport in Hong Kong and considered the cost pressure brought by replacing its buses with pure electric buses. We considered acquisition costs, operating costs, operating maintenance and repair costs, and battery replacement costs, etc., combined with government subsidy programs, we obtained the relationship between the relevant replacement costs and the number of replacements. Then, we consider whether our model in Hong Kong, New York, and London can provide reference opinions for replacing pure electric buses in these cities. In addition, with the support of a large number of data, we have formulated a government-funded timetable for the replacement of pure electric buses in three cities within ten years, which has a certain reference value. Finally, considering the current situation of buses in Hong Kong, we propose financial and environmental recommendations to the Transport Department of Hong Kong, as well as future forecasts and prospects.

Can Green Finance Mitigate China’s Carbon Emissions and Air Pollution? An Analysis of Spatial Spillover and Mediation Pathways

China faces a multi-objective environmental governance dilemma involving achieving fundamental ecological environment improvement, carbon peaking, and carbon neutrality. In this study, we constructed indicators of the level of green finance development through the entropy-weighted TOPSIS evaluation model, and adopted the two-way fixed-effect spatial Durbin model (SDM) and the multiple spatial mediation effect model to explore the impacts and paths of green finance as a policy tool to promote environmental sustainability in carbon emissions and environmental pollution using panel data from 30 provinces in China between 2007 and 2019. The research results show that green finance (GF) can significantly reduce carbon emission intensity (CEI) and air pollution (AP). Moreover, the role of GF in reducing AP becomes weaker due to increased levels of green finance in neighboring regions negatively affecting local air quality. Mediation path analysis shows that GF reduces CEI and AP mainly by promoting the optimization of energy structures and technological progress. The results of regional heterogeneity analysis show that there is variability in the pathway of the impact of GF on CEI and AP in different regions, and the Western region is more sensitive to GF policies. Therefore, policymakers should give their full attention to the functions of GF to mitigate China’s carbon emissions and environmental pollution.

The Application of Geographic Information System in Urban Forest Ecological Compensation and Sustainable Development Evaluation

Urban forests can alleviate the urban heat island effect, improve air quality, and improve residents’ mental health. By studying urban forests, these resources can be better used and managed to create more livable urban environments. Therefore, the urban forest in the Taishan region is taken as the research object, and the ecological compensation and sustainable development of urban forest in Tai’an City are deeply analyzed by GIS. It divided the area into forest land, water bodies, wetlands, grasslands, and shrubs as the basic ecosystem types. And through secondary interpretation and combination, a complete urban forest information database was established. To evaluate the comprehensive benefits of urban forests, the analytic hierarchy process was utilized to establish a corresponding evaluation index system. Based on the assessment outcomes of the comprehensive benefits of urban forests in the area, a standard accounting method for urban forest ecological compensation was proposed. The results showed that each index of the comprehensive benefits of urban forests and the random consistency ratio were both less than 0.1. This indicated that the matrix calculation results of various indicators of urban forest comprehensive benefits had good consistency. At the target level, the comprehensive evaluation score of urban forests in the study area was 7.69. At the factor level, the weight value of the urban forest landscape structure was 0.675, and the comprehensive score was 7.62. The weight value of urban forest comprehensive benefits was 0.325, and the comprehensive score was 7.82. The quantitative weight value of urban forest greening in the study area was 0.6138, with a comprehensive score of 7.57. Based on the analysis of the issues in urban forests and ecological compensation in the research area of Tai’an City, corresponding ecological compensation strategies have been proposed. It is of great value to study the urban forest of Tai’an city, which can help to formulate more effective urban planning and sustainable development strategies. The research results can also provide a valuable reference and inspiration for the improvement of urban forest ecological environment and biodiversity protection in other areas.

Research on urban three-dimensional greening design from the perspective of climate change—a case study of Beilin District, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China

Climate change is an important issue for cities today and in the future. At present, China has a large population and complex climate conditions, and cities are also vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change (Tian, Environ Sustain Dev 6: 153-155 2020). Three-dimensional greening can not only improve the green space system of a city but also have a far-reaching impact on the ecology, image, and economic benefits of a city. Therefore, the study of urban three-dimensional greening is an effective means to deal with climate change strategies. By exploring the influence of traditional greening and three-dimensional greening on Local Climate in Beilin District of Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, the mechanism of three-dimensional greening on urban ecological environment was discussed, and the ecological theory, urban three-dimensional greening theory, and urban local climate zone (LCZ) were referred to. Based on the methods of national climate monitoring, ENVI-met simulation, and field independent measurement, this paper selected a research sample site in the east section of Jianshe Road, Beilin District, Xi’an City, Shaanxi Province, China, and applied ENVI-met software to simulate the thermal stress relationship among building exterior surfaces, plants, and air in the street; quantified the overall ecology of the area; and used measuring instruments. The influence of different types of greening in the base on the site temperature, humidity, CO2 (carbon dioxide) concentration, wind speed, and other climate factors data was, respectively, measured and analyzed. The grid analysis was used to compare the traditional greening and three-dimensional greening, then the numerical differences of each impact factor were sorted out, and the effect of three-dimensional greening on the improvement of urban ecological environment was discussed by analyzing the climate factors with greater impact. The results show that (1) three-dimensional greening plus traditional greening is the most beneficial mode; (2) in the same environment, according to the parameter of 1.5 m from the ground in the model environment, it can be seen that the temperature of the space treated with three-dimensional greening of buildings is reduced by 3.5–3.6 ℃ compared with the control group, the relative humidity is different by 7–8%, the CO2 concentration is reduced by about 5%, and the spatial wind speed is relatively small. (3) When the urban green coverage rate is more than 40%, the improvement of temperature is more obvious, if it reaches 50%, the cool phenomenon in summer can be fundamentally changed. From the perspective of human perception, the PMV index increased by 0.27 on average. This paper discusses and analyzes the three-dimensional greening of urban streets in Beilin District, Xi’an City, Shaanxi Province, China, and studies its influence on urban ecology to different degrees. The conclusions are as follows: Different types of greening have different degrees of influence on urban climate. Meanwhile, the experimental results of this paper show that in cities like Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China, where summer is hot, adding three-dimensional greening to traditional street greening can significantly improve the environmental microclimate, which is an effective means to cope with climate change, improve the site environment, and stabilize the urban ecosystem.

Interaction between carbon emission efficiency and ecological environment from static and dynamic perspectives

Carbon emission efficiency and the ecological environment are key issues in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In this study, the three-stage epsilon-based measurement model and pressure-state-response model were used to calculate carbon emission efficiency and ecological environment index, and based on which, the coupling coordination model and panel vector autoregressive model were adopted to investigate the static coupling relationship and dynamic interaction. The results showed the following. (1) Carbon emission efficiency first decreased and then increased from 0.6633 to 0.7724, showing a decreasing spatial change pattern from east to west. (2) The ecological environment index increased from 0.4228 to 0.5993, showing a decreasing trend from the east and west to the center. (3) The state of the coupling coordination changed from barely coupling coordination to primary coupling coordination. Six provinces were high-level coupling coordination patterns promoted by the synergy of the two elements. (4) Ecological environment had a negative influence on carbon emission efficiency, showing time accumulation and buffering, whereas carbon emission efficiency could contribute to a steady and continuous improvement in ecological environment. This study provides an important reference for achieving carbon neutrality and enacting sustainable development.

Evaluating the role of rhizosphere microbial home-field advantage in Betula luminifera adaptation to antimony mining areas

It has been established that the coevolution of plants and the rhizosphere microbiome in response to abiotic stress can result in the recruitment of specific functional microbiomes. However, the potential of inoculated rhizosphere microbiomes to enhance plant fitness and the inheritance of adaptive traits in subsequent generations remains unclear. In this study, cross-inoculation trials were conducted using seeds, rhizosphere microbiome, and in situ soil collected from areas of Betula luminifera grown in both antimony mining and control sites. Compared to the control site, plants originating from mining areas exhibited stronger adaptive traits, specifically manifested as significant increases in hundred-seed weight, specific surface area, and germination rate, as well as markedly enhanced seedling survival rate and biomass. Inoculation with mining microbiomes could enhance the fitness of plants in mining sites through a “home-field advantage” while also improving the fitness of plants originating from control sites. During the initial phase of seedling development, bacteria play a crucial role in promoting growth, primarily due to their mechanisms of metal resistance and nutrient cycling. This study provided evidence that the outcomes of long-term coevolution between plants and the rhizosphere microbiome in mining areas can be passed on to future generations. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that transgenerational inheritance and rhizosphere microbiome inoculation are important factors in improving the adaptability of plants in mining areas. The findings have important implications for vegetation restoration and ecological environment improvement in mining areas.

Deeply Practicing the "Two Mountains Theory" to Promote Harmonious Coexistence between Humans and Nature in the New Era

This article aims to deeply explore the practice of the "Two Mountains Theory", in order to promote the harmonious coexistence of humans and nature in the new era. The concept of "Two Mountains Theory" in China emphasizes the construction of ecological civilization, achieving sustainable development and coordinated coexistence between humans and nature by protecting mountains and rivers, ecological environment, and sustainable utilization of resources. This article first introduces the core viewpoint and historical background of this concept. Secondly, the article discusses in detail the application of the "Two Mountains Theory" in practice, including ecological environment improvement, sustainable resource utilization, ecological agriculture and rural revitalization, and other aspects. Next, this article analyzes the importance of social participation and policy support, emphasizing the key role of public education and publicity, government policies and regulations, and active participation of enterprises and social organizations in achieving the goals of the "Two Mountains Theory". However, practicing the "Two Mountains Theory" is not without challenges. This article lists some environmental issues and challenges, such as environmental pollution and resource depletion, and proposes solutions and innovative methods to address these challenges. Finally, through effectiveness evaluation and future prospects, this article summarizes the achievements and impact of the "Two Mountains Theory" practice, emphasizes its importance in promoting harmonious coexistence between humans and nature in the new era, encourages more people to actively participate, and jointly build a better ecological future.

What role does global value chain participation play in emissions embodied in trade? New evidence from value-added trade

The international division of the value chain brings both opportunities and challenges to developing countries. Integration into the global value chain (GVC) has become a new driving force for economic growth in developing countries while simultaneously creating huge pressures for the reduction of carbon emissions. The existing literature focuses on the measurement of GVC embeddedness and embodied emissions, but rarely on the influencing mechanisms between them. From the perspective of value-added trade, this study recalculates the emissions embodied in exports of developing countries using the multi-regional input-output model (MRIO), and analyzes the influencing mechanisms between the GVC and embodied emissions arising from four transmission paths: export scale, industrial structure, technological progress, and environmental regulation. The results show that there is an inverted U-shaped nonlinear relationship between the degree of GVC embeddedness and the carbon emissions of developing countries. Consequently, a low degree of participation in the GVC is not conducive to the improvement of a country's ecological environment; conversely, when GVC participation exceeds the inflection point, it helps to reduce the scale of embodied emissions. Export scale and industrial structure play important positive transmission roles in the impact of GVC embeddedness on carbon emissions embodied in exports, and developing countries are locked-in at the low end of the GVC. Environmental regulation plays a non-linear intermediary role in the relationship between GVC participation and carbon emissions, while technological progress has no significant impact. Thus, developing countries should actively participate in the GVC, while focusing on learning opportunities arising out of advanced low-carbon production technologies from developed countries, thereby benefiting from the technology spillover effect.

Revisiting the linkage between green finance and China’s sustainable development: evidence from the pilot zones for green finance reform innovations

Based on the fundamental logic of “green finance – improvement of ecological environment and new kinetic energy of economic development – sustainable development of economy and society”, this paper conducts quasi-natural experiments using panel data from 30 provinces and cities in China between 2013 and 2021. It explores the effects of pilot policies of the green finance reform and innovation pilot zone on the sustainable development of the economy and society through a double difference model. The study reveals that the establishment of the green finance reform and innovation pilot zone has a significant promoting effect on the sustainable development of the economy and society. This conclusion remains valid even after conducting a series of robustness tests. In further analysis, it is found that the promotion effect of the green finance reform and innovation pilot zone on sustainable development exhibits some temporal characteristics. It is particularly significant in regions with lower levels of financial development and industrialization but higher levels of technological innovation. Mechanism analysis indicates that the pathways through which the green finance reform and innovation pilot zone facilitates economic and social sustainable development are relatively singular, primarily revolving around the improvement of the ecological environment. The key contribution of this paper lies in demonstrating the crucial role of pilot policies in the field of sustainable economic and social development. Additionally, it offers new insights for strengthening the implementation effectiveness of green finance pilot policies.

清代济源地区的民间环境意识初探

As one of the most densely populated areas in the ancient Central Plains, Jiyuan was adjacent to Jishui at that time. Its social and economic development was rapid, and the growth of economy and population made the local environmental problems increasingly severe. This study is based on the content of stele inscriptions in Jiyuan and focuses on exploring the environmental awareness of people in Jiyuan from the perspective of water resource management. The stele inscriptions in the Jiyuan area of the Qing Dynasty indicate that the area began to attach importance to land protection and ecological environment improvement, and at that time, this folk environmental awareness in the Jiyuan area was closely related to the governance of the Yellow River. Studying the inscriptions reflecting folk environmental awareness in Jiyuan in that time can provide certain historical basis and reference value for contemporary environmental governance.

Chromosome-level reference genome assembly provides insights into the evolution of Pennisetum alopecuroides.

Pennisetum alopecuroides is an important forage grass resource, which plays a vital role in ecological environment improvement. Therefore, the acquisition of P. alopecuroides genome resources is conducive to the study of the adaptability of Pennisetum species in ecological remediation and forage breeding development. Here we assembled a P. alopecuroides cv. 'Liqiu' genome at the chromosome level with a size of approximately 845.71 Mb, contig N50 of 84.83Mb, and genome integrity of 99.13% as assessed by CEGMA. A total of 833.41-Mb sequences were mounted on nine chromosomes by Hi-C technology. In total, 60.66% of the repetitive sequences and 34,312 genes were predicted. The genomic evolution analysis showed that P. alopecuroides cv. 'Liqiu' was isolated from Setaria 7.53-13.80 million years ago and from Cenchrus 5.33-8.99 million years ago, respectively. The whole-genome event analysis showed that P. alopecuroides cv. 'Liqiu' underwent two whole-genome duplication (WGD) events in the evolution process, and the duplication events occurred at a similar time to that of Oryza sativa and Setaria viridis. The completion of the genome sequencing of P. alopecuroides cv. 'Liqiu' provides data support for mining high-quality genetic resources of P. alopecuroides and provides a theoretical basis for the origin and evolutionary characteristics of Pennisetum.

Industrial Agglomeration and Corporate ESG Performance: Empirical Evidence from Manufacturing and Producer Services

Global climate change has emerged as a persistent global crisis. Under the dual pressures of industrial structure upgrading and ecological environment improvement, enhancing enterprise ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) performance can contribute to achieving sustainable development of the global economy. Selected a sample of 285 prefecture-level cities in China from 2005 to 2020 and panel data of listed companies to empirically examine the impact of industrial agglomeration on corporate ESG performance and its heterogeneity effects. We found that industrial agglomeration generally positively affects corporate ESG performance, with the significant promotion of ESG performance in manufacturing and a “U”-shaped relationship between producer services. Influence channel analysis found that industrial agglomeration acts on corporate ESG performance through the micro-transmission mechanisms of financing constraints, investment levels, market competitiveness, and internal control. Heterogeneity research found that the impact of manufacturing agglomeration on corporate ESG performance is more significant in capital-intensive and high-end technology industries, while producer service agglomeration has a more significant effect on ESG performance for knowledge-intensive industries. This study contributes to a better understanding of the microeconomic consequences of industrial agglomeration and expands the research perspective on the internal mechanisms and external incentives of corporate ESG performance. It provides a basis for local governments to analyze the different characteristics and microeconomic consequences of industrial agglomeration and provide empirical evidence for listed companies to adjust their ESG performance structure dynamically.

The impact of green finance on the optimization of industrial structure: Evidence from China.

Green finance promotes the optimization of industrial structure and continuous improvement of ecological environment by supporting the development of green industries. Based on the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2012 to 2020, this paper uses the entropy weight TOPSIS method to measure the development level of green finance and the level of industrial structure optimization in China, and constructs a panel data model to empirically test the impact of green finance on the upgrading of China's industrial structure. The study finds that there is still an imbalance and insufficiency in the development of green finance and industrial structure optimization in China. From 2012 to 2020, the development level of green finance and the level of industrial structure optimization in China have been continuously rising, but there is obvious heterogeneity, showing an eastern>central>western spatial pattern. Empirical analysis results show that at the significance level of 1‰, the development of green finance has a significant promoting effect on the rationalization and upgrading of the industrial structure. However, there is significant heterogeneity in the impact of green finance on industrial structure optimization. In terms of regional heterogeneity, at the significance level of 1‰, the role of green finance in promoting the optimization of industrial structure in central and western China is higher than that in eastern China, and the impact of green finance on China's industrial structure shows a spatial pattern of western>central>eastern China. In terms of industry heterogeneity, at the significance level of 1‰, green finance has a significant promoting effect on the development of green industries, and a significant inhibiting effect on the development of high-energy-consuming industries. Specifically, in the green industry, green finance has the greatest promoting effect on the communication and other electronic equipment manufacturing industry; in the high-energy-consuming industry, green finance has the greatest inhibiting effect on the black metal smelting and rolling processing industry, and the smallest impact on the petroleum, coal and other fuel processing industry. Finally, based on this, policy suggestions for green finance to support the optimization of industrial structure are proposed from two dimensions: government and financial institutions.

Does Green Finance Expand China’s Green Development Space? Evidence from the Ecological Environment Improvement Perspective

It is important to explore the intrinsic mechanism of green finance’s role in widening the green development space for China, in order to optimize the structure of green financial development and accelerate the construction of a modernized economic system. Taking ecological environment improvement as a new research perspective, this paper presents the impacts and mechanisms of green finance on the green development space of the economy and society through the fixed-effect model and moderating-effect model, based on panel data from 30 provinces and municipalities in China from 2011 to 2020. The findings show that green finance development in China significantly expands the green development space of the economy and society, and this conclusion did not change after robustness tests such as replacing the main variables, adjusting the study interval, and considering endogeneity. In terms of its mechanism of action, ecological environment improvement plays an important mediating and regulating role in the process of green finance, essentially magnifying the green development space of the economy and society. In terms of a heterogeneity analysis, the effect of green finance on the expansion of the green development space is the largest in the eastern region, followed by the northeastern region, and the smallest in the central and western regions. In addition, the positive effect of green finance is relatively larger in regions with a higher urbanization level, government fiscal expenditure level, foreign investment level, and advanced industrial structure. The main contribution of this paper is to the field of green development, revealing the important role of the ecological benefits of green finance, which can help to achieve high-quality sustainable development in the economy and society.

Correlations between plant and soil for their C, N, P contents and stoichiometry on the steep gully slopes

Steep gully slope is the primary geomorphic composition on the Loess Plateau with serious soil erosion. The impact of plant (leaf, litter and root) on soil nutrients and their stoichiometric characteristics, and the correlations between them are not yet fully understood on steep gully slopes. This study was conducted to identify the correlations of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) contents and their stoichiometry between soil, and leaf, litter and root under typical plant communities on Chinese Loess Plateau's steep gully slopes. Total six communities (two shrubs and four grasses) and one farmland planted with Zea mays (control) were tested. Within the selected quadrat (shrub of 2 m × 2 m, grass of 1 m × 1 m), the fresh and mature leaves were firstly taken in different positions of the plant, and then all the surface litters were gathered. Root and soil were taken from the 0–120 cm depth, which was divided into seven soil layers (0–10, 10–20, 20–30, 30–40, 40–60, 60–80 and 80–120 cm). Our results revealed that significant differences were detected in C, N, P contents and stoichiometry of plant (leaf, litter and root) and soil among most of plant communities. For various plant communities, shrub communities had higher contents of C, N and P in leaves, litter and roots. Soil organic carbon and total nitrogen contents declined with soil depth by 61% to 87% and 45% to 77%, respectively. Total contents of soil P and root C, N, P varied irregularly along with soil. It was proved that shrub communities were relatively P-deficient, while farmland and grass communities were N-limited. Besides, partial N and P nutrients were released to soil from litter on steep gully slopes. Significant correlations between soil C, N, P contents and that of the root and litter were examined. Furthermore, the correlations became more significant when C, N and P nutrients of root and litter were quantified by their storages. This study offers a deep understanding of the interactions between soil and plant nutrients, which is conducive to future ecological environment management and improvement in the semi-arid region.

Influence of Population Concentration in Urban Agglomeration on Corporate Green Innovation

Green innovation is considered to be able to coordinate economic development with ecological environment improvement. Scholars are increasingly focusing on the factors influencing corporate green innovation capability. The analysis is based on the panel data econometric model with fixed effects to examine the relationship between population concentration in urban agglomeration and corporate green innovation. By analyzing company-level data of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2009 to 2019, it was discovered that: (i) Population concentration in urban agglomerations has a significant positive impact on corporate green innovation in the domain. (ii) This relation is stronger for firms in central and western regions, low marketization regions and small cities. (iii) This relation is stronger for small and medium-sized and state-owned enterprises. The finding will provide new insights into the relationship between population concentration in urban agglomeration and corporate green innovation in the domain, which will provide empirical evidence for exploring new urbanization in China.

Research on Landscape Ecological Evaluation and Landscape Ecological Planning Based on Land Consolidation Engineering

The development of land renovation has obtained good effect in our country. At the same time, it has created conditions for the improvement of rural ecological environment. But in practice, people put more emphasis on the concept of hard infrastructure construction, leading to many projects in landscape ecology construction shows deficiencies. Analysis of the reasons, one is the lack of landscape, ecological theory and technical guidance, the second is the system has not been reasonable guarantee. In some areas, the excessive pursuit of standardized construction of "fields forming squares, roads forming networks, canals connecting and trees forming lines" ignores the protection and promotion of rural landscape style, which leads to the gradual loss of local cultural landscape characteristics and plain local flavor after land consolidation.

Co-benefits of the National Key Ecological Function Areas in China for carbon sequestration and environmental quality

IntroductionThe National Key Ecological Functional Areas (NKEFAs) are location-oriented ecological engineering of China, which rely on the main functional area planning. The co-benefits of ecological product supply and ecological environment improvement of NKEFAs has not been fully assessed in the literature.MethodsNKEFAs is considered a quasi-natural experiment, and the time-varying difference-in-differences (DID) model is used to assess the impact of NKEFAs on carbon sequestration (CS) and environmental quality (EQ) based on the panel data of 330 cities in China from 2001 to 2019. Then, we explore whether the co-benefits of ecological product supply and eco-environment protection can be achieved.Results and discussionNKEFAs can enhance CS and EQ and thus achieve co-benefits for both. NKEFAs can achieve the co-benefits of CS and EQ through territory spatial allocation and labor force aggregation, but industrial structure upgrading only positively mediates the impact of NKEFAs on CS. The co-benefits of CS and EQ are heterogeneous across functional area types, geospatial locations, and quantiles, while only CS at windbreak-sand fixation area, northwestern region, and low quantile regions is enhanced. This study makes a theoretical and methodological contribution to the existing literature on the policy effect assessment of ecological engineering. It also provides a comprehensive framework for evaluating the ecological effects of relevant policies in other countries by integrating the co-benefits of ecological products and eco-environment, analyzing regional heterogeneity, and exploring the underlying mechanisms.

Does environmental regulation affect capital-labor ratio of manufacturing enterprises: Evidence from China

Currently, China faces the dual pressures of finding ways to address the unstable ecological environment improvement and rising labor costs. All sectors of society are concerned about how to perfect the structure of enterprise factors input to improve production efficiency and adapt to high-quality economic development. This paper examines the impact of environmental regulation on the capital-labor ratio of manufacturing enterprises in China. The results indicate that the implementation of the new EPL (Environmental Protection Law) increases the capital-labor ratio of heavy polluting manufacturing enterprises. This conclusion is still robust to parallel trend tests, considering sample selection bias, random factors, as well as expected effects. Enterprises response to the new EPL by increasing capital factors input and hiring high-skilled labor, which is in line with the capital-skill complementarity hypothesis and reflects the views of Karabarbounis and Neiman (2014). In addition, this study investigates the effects of capital deepening on the production and operational efficiency of heavy-polluting manufacturing firms. Results show that the implementation of the new EPL can facilitate the reduction of enterprise's production costs and the improvement of total factor productivity.