Key Ecological Function Zones Research Articles

Can China’s transfer payment in national key ecological function zones promote green poverty reduction? Quasi-natural experiment evidence from China

Can China’s transfer payment in national key ecological function zones promote green poverty reduction? Quasi-natural experiment evidence from China

Landscape evolution in China’s key ecological function zones during 1990–2015

Landscape evolution has profound effects on ecosystems. Recently, some studies suggest that China has implemented plans leading in the greening of the world by mainly describing the changes based on satellite data. However, few studies have analyzed the policy effect on ecosystem improvement from the perspective of landscape pattern evolution. Among the numerous ecological policy plans, China’s key ecological function zones plan is an important one. In this study, we focus on depicting the long-term and large-scale landscape evolution in China’s key ecological function zones, which are accounting for 40.2% of China’s land area, and include four-type ecoregions where ecosystems are fragile or important, to comprehensively explore the environmental influences of policy planning. For this purpose, we first described the landscape composition changes and conversion mechanisms in China’s key ecological function zones from 1990 to 2015. Then we captured the detailed pattern evolution characteristics by landscape indices. The results show that these ecoregions were mostly evolving in an unfavorable direction in these 25 years, i.e. destruction of habitats and increment of fragmentation. Although greening areas increased based on other recent researches, the landscape pattern became worse, indicating it is necessary for the detailed analysis of landscape ecology and more accurate ecological planning. We also found the deterioration of the ecological environment had been uncharacteristically stopped or even improved in wind prevention and sand fixation ecoregions and biodiversity maintenance ecoregions after the implementation of this plan. Furthermore, we assumed that the policy is more prominent in these prohibiting sabotages and protecting areas with fragile ecological bases, which may be caused by the differentiated transfer payments in different ecoregions. Finally, some planning suggestions, such as stricter land use control, the regional balance of ecological transfer payments and deepening of ecological migration policies, etc., were proposed for promoting better future environmental changes.

Spatiotemporal Analysis of Ecosystem Status in China’s National Key Ecological Function Zones

The National Key Ecological Function Zones (NKEFZ) serve as crucial ecological security barriers in China, playing a vital role in enhancing ecosystem services. This study employed the theoretical framework of ecological benefits assessment in major ecological engineering projects. The primary focus was on the ecosystem macrostructure, ecosystem quality, and key ecosystem services, enabling quantitative analysis of the spatiotemporal changes in the ecosystem status of the NKEFZ from 2000 to 2019. To achieve this, remote sensing data, meteorological data, and model simulations were employed to investigate five indicators, including land use types, vegetation coverage, net primary productivity of vegetation, soil conservation services, water conservation services, and windbreak and sand fixation services. The analysis incorporated the Theil–Sen Median method to construct an evaluation system for assessing the restoration status of ecosystems, effectively integrating ecosystem quality and ecosystem services indicators. The research findings indicated that land use changes in NKEFZ were primarily characterized by the expansion of unused land and the in of grassland. The overall ecosystem quality of these zones improved, showing a stable and increasing trend. However, there were disparities in the changes related to ecosystem services. Water conservation services exhibited a decreasing trend, while soil conservation and windbreak and sand fixation services showed a steady improvement. The ecosystem of the NKEFZ, in general, displayed a stable and recovering trend. However, significant spatial heterogeneity existed, particularly in the southern region of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau and at the border areas between western Sichuan and northern Yunnan, where some areas still experienced deteriorating ecosystem conditions. Compared to other functional zones, the trend in the ecosystem of the NKEFZ might not have been the most favorable. Nonetheless, this could be attributed to the fact that most of these areas were situated in environmentally fragile regions, and conservation measures may not have been as effective as in other functional zones. These findings highlighted the considerable challenges ahead in the construction and preservation of the NKEFZ. In future development, the NKEFZ should leverage their unique natural resources to explore distinctive ecological advantages and promote the development of eco-friendly economic industries, such as ecological industry, ecological agriculture, and eco-tourism, transitioning from being reliant on external support to self-sustainability.

Do vertical ecological compensation policies promote green economic development: A case study of the transfer payments policy for China’s National Key Ecological Function Zones

The transfer payment policy for National Key Ecological Function Zones is a typical vertical ecological compensation (VEC) policy that has been in place in China since 2008. This study treats this VEC policy as a quasi-natural experiment and utilises a slack-based measure model to calculate each county’s green economic efficiency based on China’s county-level data for the period 2003–2020. Then, the difference-in-differences method is used to evaluate the impact of the VEC policy on green economic efficiency and to verify its possible mechanisms. The results indicate that the VEC policy significantly improves the green economic efficiency of compensated areas, demonstrating that this policy promotes regional green economic development. Moreover, we find that the VEC policy may improve green economic efficiency by reducing the pollution caused by industrial development, promoting eco-industrial development and accelerating technological innovation. From the perspective of realising its three policy goals, the VEC policy not only improves the compensated areas’ ecological environment quality, but also promotes economic growth and optimises public services in the compensated areas. Furthermore, an inverted U-shaped curve relationship between the scale of VEC and green economic efficiency is identified.

Exploring the impacts of spatial regulation on environmentally sustainable development: A new perspective of quasi–experimental evaluation based on the National Key Ecological Function Zones in China

AbstractWith increasing ecological damage caused by regional development, many countries seek to promote sustainable development through spatial regulation. This study treated China's development of National Key Ecological Functional Zones (NKEFZ) as a quasi–natural experiment, applying a time–varying difference–in–differences model to data from 148 water quality monitoring cross–section points of major river systems in China from 2004 to 2018. The results revealed that NKEFZ improved the mean of comprehensive water quality (CWQ) and individual water quality indicators of dissolved oxygen and ammonia nitrogen content index by restricting urbanization and increasing government investment. The mean value of CWQ was improved by about 0.22 grades, and the optimization effect of spatial regulation on average water quality was more prominent in coastal cities, cities with high–pollution levels, and large–sized cities. Nevertheless, the impact of NKEFZ on water quality exhibited a “Matthew effect”, in which NKEFZ were not effective in improving the bottom line standard of water quality in the pilot zones, as NKEFZ did not significantly improve the peak values of CWQ or individual pollutant indicator. In addition, an economic effect estimation indicated that NKEFZ significantly facilitated local economic growth and primary industry development and had a significantly negative impact on secondary industry growth and foreign investment. This study contributes new evidence for measuring the effect of the trans–regional spatial regulation, eliciting policy implications for improving ecological spatial regulation and incentive mechanisms, and promoting the sustainable development of the regional environment and economy.

Can China’s transfer payment in key ecological function areas reduce the carbon intensity? – Quasi – Natural experimental evidence from Jiangxi, China

Reducing carbon intensity while sustaining economic growth is a major challenge for China's ecological civilization construction in the context of global warming. China’s transfer payment policy in National Key Ecological Function areas plays a crucial role in promoting ecological improvement and reducing local carbon intensity. In this study, we examine the impact of transfer payment policies on carbon intensity in Jiangxi Province, a demonstration area for national ecological civilization, and we further investigate the carbon reduction mechanism and the spatial spillover effect of the policies. Results show the following: (1) the transfer payment policy in key ecological function areas has significantly reduced the carbon intensity, and the research conclusion is still valid after the robustness test; (2) the transfer payment policy in key ecological function areas reduces the carbon intensity by promoting the upgrading of industrial structure; (3) the transfer payment policy in key ecological function areas has a significant role in promoting the reduction of carbon intensity in this region and the adjacent regions. The findings highlight the significant promoting role of transfer payment policies in key ecological function zones on carbon emission reduction in both local and neighboring areas. It also underscores the importance of expanding policy coverage, establishing horizontal ecological compensation mechanisms, exploring multidimensional approaches to carbon reduction, and fostering cross-regional exchanges and cooperation. These insights provide valuable guidance for policymakers working towards effective and sustainable carbon emission reduction.

Impact of Major Function-Oriented Zone Planning on Spatial and Temporal Evolution of “Three Zone Space” in China

Major function-oriented zone (MFOZ) planning is an important blueprint for the spatial development and protection of the Chinese national territory. The “Three Zone Space” (TZS) perspective, including agricultural space, ecological space, and urban space, is an important principle and method for the transformation and diffusion of MFOZ planning to implement territory planning from the central government to local branches. More than ten years have passed since the release of the MFOZ plan in 2010 in China, but there is still a lack of comprehensive and systematic analysis of the dynamic characteristics of the TZS under the impact of MFOZ planning. Therefore, based on high-resolution remote sensing land use data from 2010 to 2020, this paper systematically analyzes the changing characteristics of the TZS on the national scale by reasonably determining TZS areas in China. The main results are as follows: in 2020, the proportions of ecological space, agricultural space, and urban space in China were 78.635%, 20.083%, and 1.282%, respectively. The TZS areas reflected the spatial pattern of MFOZs in China. From 2010 to 2020, the spatial heterogeneity of the TZS changes was significant. In China, agricultural space and ecological space as a whole showed a decreasing trend, with dynamic degrees of −0.05% and −0.04%, respectively, while urban space showed a significant expansion trend, with a dynamic degree of 4.69%. The temporal change processes of the TZS in the periods of 2010–2015 and 2015–2020 were noticeably different. The agricultural space first showed an increasing trend and then a decreasing trend. The ecological space showed a decreasing trend in the two periods, while the urban space showed a significant expansion trend in the two periods. From 2010 to 2020, the urban spatial structure of the optimized development zones tended to be stable, and the ecological space reduction in the key ecological function zones has gradually been curbed, but the agricultural space in the main agricultural production zones has shown a slight decline. On the whole, the dynamic changes in the TZS from 2010 to 2020 in China are basically in line with the governance objectives of territorial space. The reasonable allocation and development of the “three zone space” is of great significance for protecting the natural and ecological environment.

The establishment of the national key ecological functional zone and the county’s ecological green development

Ecological green development is the development of conforming to nature and promoting the harmonious coexistence of man and nature. As the most basic and supportive grassroots political unit, the county level occupies a special key position in the overall national green development strategy. How to evaluate the ecological green development of the county, protect the green earth, and respond to climate change, have become a new problem facing various countries around the world. To this end, China is determined to implement the establishment of a national key ecological functional zone pilot policy to study its ecological green development from the perspective of the county. Based on the literature review and theoretical mechanism, this paper selects 1997 county-level data indicators in mainland China from 2007 to 2019 to explore the role of the establishment of national key ecological function areas on the ecological green development of counties. The implementation of the national key ecological function zone policy can significantly increase the vegetation normalization index by about 0.035–0.037 units. The implementation of the policy has greatly expanded the capacity and range of above-ground and below-ground biomass. The reduction of large-scale investment by the government, the improvement of quality and efficiency of enterprises in the region, and the increase artificial afforestation are important transmission mechanisms for the implementation of policies to affect the green development of counties. The implementation of the policy has a positive green spillover effect on adjacent areas, which can realize regional coordinated ecological governance. Each additional hectare of artificial afforestation can absorb about 134,800 tons of carbon emissions each year, bringing additional benefits of 730 million yuan. It releases about 98,000 tons of oxygen a year, which can be used for 1.312 billion people for oxygen respiration consumption every year.

The reallocation of water and ecosystem service values in arid ecosystems with the implementation of an ecological water diversion project

The rational allocation of the water resources in drylands and the scientific evaluation of their values are important for the regional sustainable development. We estimated the water consumption of each ecosystem in Ejina Oases in the arid area in northwest China based on the water balance equation, then assessed their ecosystem service values (ESVs) using the value per unit area method and the value equivalent factor per unit area method considering the cost of water consumption, respectively, and calculated their water productivities from 1990 to 2015. With the implementation of the ecological water diversion project (EWDP) in 2000, the deciduous broadleaf forest dominated by Populus euphratica had an increasing trend, meanwhile, lakes had a changing process from shrinking and drying up to recovery and expansion from 1990 to 2015. The total water consumption in Ejina Oases decreased from 5.26*108 m3 in 1990 to 4.79*108 m3 in 2000, and then increased continually to 5.97*108 m3 in 2015. The water consumption of forest, grassland and cultivated land hardly changed, while the water consumption of water or wetland changed obviously. The total ESVs estimated using the value per unit area method in Ejina Oases decreased from 1052.6 to 787.3 million ¥ in the period of 1990–2000, then increased to 1500.6 million ¥ in 2015, while the ESVs estimated using the value equivalent factor per unit area method decreased from 6368.7 million ¥ in 1990 to 5892.0 million ¥ in 2000, then increased to 7139.9 million ¥ in 2015, and the latter method was more reasonable. The results showed that the EWDP started in 2000 led to the reallocation of water resources and transfer of ESVs among ecosystems, which had obvious performance in the ecological environment and social economy. This study provided a comprehensive view of water use and management, ecological restoration and socio-economic development in this key ecological function zone, and will help decision-makers to formulate the scheme of rational allocation and efficient utilization of water resources in the basin.

Spatiotemporal Evolution of Carbon Emissions According to Major Function-Oriented Zones: A Case Study of Guangdong Province, China.

Studying the spatiotemporal evolution of carbon emissions from the perspective of major function-oriented zones (MFOZs) is crucial for making a carbon reduction policy. However, most previous research has ignored the spatial characteristics and MFOZ influence. Using statistical and spatial analysis tools, we explored the spatiotemporal characteristics of carbon emissions in Guangdong Province from 2001 to 2021. The following results were obtained: (1) Carbon emissions fluctuated from 2020 to 2021 because of COVID-19. (2) Over the last 20 years, the proportion of carbon emissions from urbanization development zones (UDZs) has gradually decreased, whereas those of the main agricultural production zones (MAPZs) and key ecological function zones (KEFZs) have increased. (3) Carbon emissions efficiency differed significantly among the three MFOZs. (4) Carbon emissions from coastal UDZs were increasingly apparent; however, the directional characteristics of MAPZ and KEFZ emissions were not remarkable. (5) Carbon transfer existed among the three kinds of MFOZs, resulting in the economy and carbon emissions being considerably misaligned across Guangdong Province. These results indicated that the MFOZ is noteworthy in revealing how carbon emissions evolved. Furthermore, spatiotemporal characteristics, especially spatial characteristics, can help formulate carbon reduction policies for realizing carbon peak and neutrality goals in Guangdong Province.

Divisional water quality management-based pollution source control in China's watersheds: an analysis by introducing economic factors.

Divisional water quality management (DWQM) is widely adopted in watershed pollution control. During 2011-2015, China zoned 708 priority controlled areas (PCAs) and 774 non-priority controlled areas (NPCAs) for key watersheds. DWQM at watershed level provides guidance on pollution source control (PSC) at local (provincial, city, and county) level. To identify the consistency between DWQM and PSC, a total of 29,688 enterprise-level data from China was analyzed with the difference-in-difference model. The economic factors that affect both are adopted to identify the causes of the disparities between them. The results show that PCAs were more effective than NPCAs and non-controlled areas (NCAs) in reducing COD emissions, thus better achieving divisional water quality goals. NPCAs were no more effective in reducing COD emissions than NCAs. Local government administration and potential subsidies are key to COD emission reductions, but they do not encourage technological progress. Lesser COD emission reductions were achieved in China's national key ecological function zones (NKEFZs) and upstream areas than in other areas. Current DWQM potentiallyaimed at relativelyshort-term economic benefits, which led to inconsistency with PSC particularly in NPCAs. To improve the coordination between them, ecological integrity should be the focus. Market-based watershed funding mechanism, especially watershed ecological compensation, transforms the short-term economic welfare from pollution control into long-term watershed ecological benefits.

Spatiotemporal Patterns of Light Pollution on the Tibetan Plateau over Three Decades at Multiple Scales: Implications for Conservation of Natural Habitats

Light pollution (LP), induced by human activities, has become a crucial threat to biodiversity on the Tibetan plateau (TP), but few studies have explored its coverage and dynamics. In this study, we intended to measure the spatiotemporal patterns of LP on the TP from 1992 to 2018. First, we extracted the annual extent of LP from time-series nighttime light data. After that, we analyzed its spatiotemporal patterns at multiple scales and identified the natural habitats and the species habitats affected by LP. Finally, we discussed the main influencing factors of LP expansion on the TP. We found that the LP area increased exponentially from 1.2 thousand km2 to 82.8 thousand km2, an increase of nearly 70 times. In 2018, LP accounted for 3.2% of the total area of the TP, mainly concentrated in the eastern and southern areas. Several national key ecological function zones (e.g., the Gannan Yellow river key water supply ecological function zone) and national nature reserves (e.g., the Lalu Wetland National Nature Reserve) had a large extent of LP. The proportion of LP area on natural habitats increased from 79.6% to 91.4%. The number of endangered species with habitats affected by LP increased from 89 to 228, and more than a quarter of the habitats of 18 endangered species were affected by LP. We also discovered that roadways as well as settlements in both urban and rural areas were the main sources of LP. Thus, to lessen LP’s negative effects on biodiversity, effective measures should be taken during road construction and urbanization on the TP.

Deconstructing the driving factors of land development intensity from multi-scale in differentiated functional zones

Land development intensity (LDI) is an important indicator of how much human exploitation of land resources. Against the background of rapid urbanization and industrialization, in order to curb the over-occupation of agricultural and ecological space by urbanized space, China has proposed the Major Functional Zoning Planning (MFZP) as a new spatial governance model, which attempts to implement differentiated LDI control according to the functional positioning of different regions. To observe the spatio-temporal evolution and drivers of LDI in the first five years since the implementation of the MFZP, we chose the Yangtze River Delta, the most urbanized region in China, as a case area. The multi-scale distribution pattern of LDI was analyzed by combining macro and micro scales, and a new spatial measurement method integrating global and local regression models was developed to quantitatively deconstruct the natural-human drivers of LDI in different functional zones. Results demonstrate that LDI decreases in a gradient of the urbanized zone (UZ) > main agricultural production zone (MAPZ) > key ecological function zone (KEFZ). In the UZ, LDI is influenced by natural-human multi factors, e.g., terrain conditions (SLP), proportion of cultivated land area (PCL), proportion of ecologically important area (EID), population urbanization rate (PUR), GDP per capita (PGDP), fixed asset investment size per land (FAI) and fiscal expenditure as a percentage of GDP (FD). The LDI in the MAPZ is mainly affected by the facilitating role of PCL, EID, FAI, and the prominent role of FD, while that in the KEFZ is mainly inhibited by SLP, EID, and driven by the PGDP. The diverse drivers of LDI in different functional zones remind us to implement differentiated spatial control according to functional positioning and to adopt refined policy tools of zoning and classification to ensure that land resources within each type of functional zone can be used sustainably.

Improvement of ecosystem quality in National Key Ecological Function Zones in China during 2000–2015

Improving ecosystem quality is the ultimate goal of ecological restoration projects and sustainable ecosystem management. However, previous results of ecosystem quality lack comparability among different regions when assessing the effectiveness of ecological restoration projects on the regional or national scales, due to the influence of geographical and climatic background conditions. Here we proposed a new index, ecosystem quality ratio (EQR), by integrating the status of landscape structure, ecosystem services, ecosystem stability, and human disturbance relative to their reference conditions, and assessed the EQR changes in China's counties and National Key Ecological Function Zones (NKEFZs) from 1990 to 2015. The results showed that the average ecosystem quality of China's counties deviated from the reference condition by 28%. EQR decreased by 1.2% during 1990–2000 but increased by 3.7% during 2000–2015. Those counties with increasing EQR in 2000–2015 occupy 64.7%, with obviously increasing counties mainly located in the water conservation, biodiversity maintenance, and water and soil conservation types of NKEFZs. The EQR increase in counties within NKEFZs was 3.65 times that outside of NKEFZs. Remarkable improvement of ecosystem quality occurred in the forest region in Changbai Mountain, biodiversity and soil conservation region in Wuling Mountains, and hilly and gully region of Loess Plateau, where EQR increases mainly resulted from the conversion of farmland to forest or grassland and consequent increases in ecosystem services and stability. The magnitude of EQR enhancement showed a positive relationship with the increase in forest and grassland coverage in NKEFZs. Our results highlight the important role of ecological restoration projects in improving ecosystem quality in China, and demonstrate the feasibility of the new index (EQR) for the assessment of ecosystem quality in terms of ecosystem management and restoration.

Downscaling of planetary boundaries and sustainability management: A nexus analysis of water, land and major functions at the national-provincial level

This study introduces planetary boundaries as a global sustainability benchmark to expand the evaluation of the major function zoning. We established the relationship between the resource boundaries and China's sustainability management system while calculating the national and provincial indicators of land and water boundaries and major functions. The results showed that the efficiency of land resources was related to the distribution of forest, grassland, and wetland ecosystems; the efficiency of water resources was related to the basin and economic distribution. Linear downscaling methods are less applicable and effective in studies of planetary boundaries. The provincial water and land boundary are not consistent with the top-down decomposition results of planetary boundaries. The spatial mismatch between regional development and population will lead to the overexploitation of national resources and the environment. For basin regions rich in water resources and biome regions rich in ecological resources, the boundary threshold should be increased for major function clustering based on efficiency advantages. For main agricultural production zones and key ecological function zones beyond the water boundary, water allocation should reduce industrial and residential water use, and improve agricultural and ecological water efficiency to ensure food security and ecological safety. For optimization development zones, industrial transfer to the surrounding areas would optimize the industrial water structure and reduce virtual water consumption.

Do the National Key Ecological Function Zones Promote Green Development? Evidence from the Yanshan–Taihang Mountainous Area in Hebei Province, China

National key ecological function zones (NKEFZs) in China are critically important to maintain ecological security and accelerate the construction of the ecological civilization system. The quantitative impact of NKEFZs on green development at the county level has not received much attention. In this study, the county-level statistics of the Yanshan–Taihang Mountainous area in Hebei province from 2013 to 2018 were selected as samples. The symbiotic relationship between economy and ecology was measured and development patterns were identified using an improved Lotka–Volterra model. Then, a difference-in-differences (DID) model was used to empirically test the green development effects of establishing NKEFZs, as well as the dynamic changes of the effects and the heterogeneity of different development patterns. The results show that: (1) Green development in the sample area can be classified into four patterns: Low-High, High-Low, High-High, and Low-Low; (2) NKEFZs reduce the level of green development in the study interval and have a persistent negative effect on the level of green development; and (3) NKEFZs have a significant negative effect on areas of Low-High and High-Low development patterns, while the effect on areas of Low-Low development patterns is not significant. Overall, the results indicate that NKEFZs have a negative impact on the green development of the Yanshan–Taihang Mountainous area in Hebei Province. Finally, to promote green development in mountainous areas, the paper makes the following recommendations: Firstly, to improve the transfer payment system for NKEFZs and bring into play a long-term mechanism for the compensation effect of transfer payments. Secondly, to cultivate special industries to achieve the differentiated development of county economies. Thirdly, to accelerate the optimization and adjustment of industrial structures and promote the coordinated development of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries.

Habitat Suitability Assessment of Black-Necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) in the Zoige Grassland Wetland Ecological Function Zone on the Eastern Tibetan Plateau

Habitat suitability assessment is critical for wildlife population conservation and management planning. The MaxEnt model is widely used in species habitat suitability modeling. In order to investigate the habitat status of the black-necked crane in the Zoige grassland wetland ecological function area, this study evaluated the habitat suitability of the black-necked crane using the MaxEnt model with 152 occurrence records and 13 environmental variables. Based on the Akaike information criterion corrected for the small sample size, the best optimal parameter combination (feature class LQPHT, regularization multiplier 3.0) was selected. The results show that the Maxent model had good accuracy with an area under the curve (AUC) value of 0.895. Distance to roads, average summer precipitation, distance to lakes, and altitude are the dominant environmental variables affecting the potential distribution of black-necked cranes, with the contribution rates of 31.6%, 29.8%, 14.3%, and 8.2%, respectively. The suitable habitat area of black-necked cranes is mainly distributed in and around the Zoige Wetland National Nature Reserve, accounting for 46.49% of the Zoige Grassland Wetland National Key Ecological Function Zone. The potential distribution area has a tendency to spread to Hongyuan County in the south of the functional zone, and the unsuitable habitat is mainly distributed in the high-altitude area in the southwest of the functional zone. This study recommends focusing on the distribution area of black-necked cranes around Zoige Wetland National Nature Reserve and Hongyuan County to improve conservation strategies and strengthen protection efforts.

The Spatiotemporal Evolution and Prediction of Carbon Storage in the Yellow River Basin Based on the Major Function-Oriented Zone Planning

Land use/cover change is the main reason for the variation of ecosystem carbon storage. The study of the impact of land use on carbon storage has certain reference values for realizing high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin. In this paper, the InVEST model was used to simulate the variation of carbon storage in the Yellow River Basin in 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020, and to predict the carbon storage in 2030 in combination with the CA-Markov model, as well as to discuss the impact of land use on carbon storage. The results showed that: (1) The variation trend of carbon storage for different land use types in the Yellow River Basin was different and was mainly manifested as a decrease of cultivated land and unused land, and an increase of forest land, grassland, water, and construction land. The carbon storage in the provincial key development prioritized zone, national development optimized zone, and provincial development optimized zone showed decreasing trends, while the national key development prioritized zone and national major grain producing zone presented a fluctuating downward trend. (2) The ecosystem carbon storage function weakened after 2000, and part of the carbon sink area transformed into a carbon source area. The area with low carbon storage was distributed in the west of the provincial key ecological function zone, and the area with high carbon storage was concentrated in the south and middle of national key ecological function zone and the east of the provincial key ecological function zone. (3) The carbon loss was largest in the urban expansion scenario (UES), followed by the natural development scenario (NDS) and ecological protection scenario (EPS). The carbon storage of different scenarios presented significant positive correlations with land use intensity.

Does Forest Resource Protection Under the Carbon Neutrality Target Inhibit Economic Growth? Evidence of Poverty-Stricken County From China

Given the overlapping characteristics of poverty-stricken counties within key ecological function zones and ecologically fragile areas in China, this study takes the sample of 393 state-designated poverty-stricken counties from 2011 to 2018 and uses the differences-in-differences model to test the influence of forest resource protection on economic growth and its mechanism under the carbon neutrality target. The empirical research proves how to break the “green paradox” and “poverty curse” in the process of Chinese ecological civilization construction and targeted poverty alleviation and how policy tools integrate emission reductions with carbon-sequestration increase and achieve sustainable development. The results show that 1) the economic growth of poverty-stricken counties cannot be separated from industrialization, urbanization, and financial system; 2) China’s poverty-stricken counties have achieved an initial decoupling of carbon emissions from economic growth; 3) forest resource protection represented by forest coverage and stock changes the carbon emissions through emission reductions with carbon-sequestration increase and affect the economic growth of poverty-stricken counties; and 4) the reduction of total carbon emissions in poverty-stricken counties further enhances the role of forest resource protection in promoting county economic growth. Taking the 13th Five-Year Plan for eco-environment protection as the starting point, this research reveals different paths and impacts selected by Chinese local governments in poverty alleviation.

The spatial effect of transfer payments for key ecological function zones on the development of ecological industry:A case study of 80 counties in Jiangxi province

The spatial effect of transfer payments for key ecological function zones on the development of ecological industry:A case study of 80 counties in Jiangxi province