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As a critical component of the geographical divide between the northern and southern regions of China, the ecological stability of the Qinling region has profound implications for ecological balance within China and across East Asia. However, the degradation risk areas of the Qinling region remain unclear, and there are gaps in the delineation of key ecological protection areas. This study examines the improvement and decline in the Qinling region from 2000 to 2023 in terms of ecosystem patterns, quality, and functions. Moreover, key ecological function and degradation risk zones were identified, and future development paths were proposed for the Qinling region. The findings indicate that: (1) Urban area expansion was the most rapid, increasing by about 1800 km², with an average yearly growth rate of 2.43%. Ecosystem quality increased in 48.07% of the Qinling region. The degradation risk zones of ecosystem quality and function were primarily located in the Sanjiangyuan, the Minshan-Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and the Loess Plateau in Shaanxi, Henan, and Gansu. The core areas for water and soil conservation only accounted for 17.92% and 10.47%, respectively, mainly distributed across the Qinling-Daba Mountains. Based on ecological patterns, quality, functions, and ecological protection and restoration projects, the Qinling region has been divided into two majority categories and 16 subcategories: 7 ecologically key functional areas and 9 degradation risk areas. This study offers recommendations for formulating ecological protection and restoration policies, thereby promoting the sustainable development of the region’s ecology and economy.

Balancing ecosystem service supply and demand is essential for regional sustainable development. The designation of National Key Ecological Function Zones (NKEFZs) serves as a critical policy tool to strengthen ecological regulation. This study evaluates four key ecosystem services—water provision (WP), crop production (CP), carbon storage (CS), and habitat quality (HQ) —in Hubei Province from 2005 to 2022, analyzing supply-demand surpluses and deficits, spatial-temporal dynamics, and the policy impact of NKEFZs using a staggered difference-in-differences (DID) approach. The results show that the supply-demand balance exhibits notable spatial heterogeneity: (1) WP follows a ‘southern surplus–northern deficit’ pattern, CP and HQ show a ‘western surplus–eastern balance’ structure, and CS presents a ‘western surplus–eastern deficit’ configuration. (2) Temporally, from 2005 to 2022, the WP index rose from 0.12 to 0.30, CP increased from 0.63 to 0.90, CS declined from −0.03 to −0.38 despite a reduced deficit extent, and HQ remained stable though deficits expanded in eastern urban areas. (3) Comprehensive spatial-temporal analysis shows that surpluses are concentrated in western regions, while deficits dominate central and eastern cities, with most eastern and western areas improving, in contrast to declining trends in central cities; the province-wide average index rose from 0.45 to 0.51. (4) The DID results confirm that the NKEFZs policy significantly improved the balance of ecosystem services, with the effect remaining robust after multiple tests. This study offers a scientific basis for optimizing ecological protection policies and advancing sustainability through improved ecosystem service management.

Continued long-term monitoring of vegetation activity in national key ecological function zones (NKEFZs) has implications for national ecological security and sustainability in China. We used Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI3g) dataset to map and analyze the spatiotemporal patterns of change in vegetation growth and their linkage with climate change and human activities in NKEFZs during 1982–2013. Statistically significant increases of growing season, spring, and autumn NDVI were observed during all or most periods while 25 NKEFZs are taken as a whole. Non-significant decreases of NDVI were found in 7 NKEFZs during a few periods, and obvious increases were observed during fifteen periods in all other NKEFZs. Vegetation growth in NKEFZs was mainly regulated by a thermal factor, and the dominant climatic drivers varied across different regions and seasons. The influence of temperature was stronger on vegetation activity in spring and autumn for those NKEFZs located in high latitudes and high elevations, while precipitation was the main climatic control factor for NKEFZs in the arid and semi-arid regions. The effects of human activity on the NDVI of NKEFZs were not ignored; a significant decrease of NDVI in the Sanjiang Plain may be related to the rapid change in land use from wetland into farmland.

High-intensity urban development and economic exploitation have led to the fragmentation and isolation of regional habitat patches, and biodiversity is under serious threat. Scientific identification and effective optimization of ecological networks are essential for maintaining and restoring regional ecosystem connectivity and guiding sustainable socio-economic development. Taking the mountainous areas of southwest Hubei Province (MASHP) in central China as an example, this study first developed a new integrated approach to identify ecological sources based on a quantitative assessment of ecosystem services and the morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) method; it then used the Linkage Mapper tool to extract ecological corridors, applied the principle of hydrological analysis to identify ecological nodes, evaluated each ecological element to quantify its importance, and finally constructed the ecological network and further proposed some optimization countermeasures. The results show that the ecological network in the MASHP is dominated by ecological resources composed of forestland. Connectivity in the central region is significantly better than in other regions, including 49 ecological sources with an area of 3837.92 km2, 125 ecological corridors with a total length of 2014.61 km, and 46 ecological nodes. According to the spatial distribution of crucial ecological landscape elements, a complete and systematic ecological framework of “two verticals, three belts, three groups, and multiple nodes” was proposed. The internal optimization of the ecological network in mountainous areas should focus on improving ecological flow, and strategies such as enhancing the internal connectivity of ecosystems, unblocking ecological corridors, and dividing ecological functional zones can be adopted. Based on the above analyses, this study also made recommendations for ecological protection and development and construction planning in mountainous areas. This study can provide realistic paths and scientific guidelines for ecological security and high-quality development in the MASHP, and it can also have implications for the construction of ecological networks and comprehensive ecological management in other mountainous areas.

Understanding the spatial differentiation of ecosystem service (ES) interactions and their underlying driving mechanisms is crucial for effective ecosystem management and enhancing regional landscape sustainability. However, comprehensive analyses of the effects of key influencing factors on ES interactions remains limited, especially regarding the nonlinear driving mechanisms of factors and their regional heterogeneity. We assessed and validated five key ES in the National Key Ecological Function Zones (NKEFZs) of China—net primary productivity (NPP), soil conservation (SC), sandstorm prevention (SP), water retention (WR), and biodiversity maintenance (BM). By integrating the optimal parameter geographical detector with constraint line methods, we further explored the complex responses of ES interactions to driving factors across different functional zones. The results showed that most ES exhibited significant spatial synergistic clustering. In contrast, widespread spatial trade-off clustering was detected in ES pairs related to WR, mainly distributed in the Tibetan Plateau, northeast China, and the Southern Hills region. Due to the improvement in ES, the overall synergies of ES enhanced from 2000 to 2020. The dominant factors in different functional zones influenced ES interactions in a non-stationary manner, with the same factors potentially showing diverse effect types in different sub-regions. Additionally, we detected the dominant role of landscape configuration factors in sub-regions for specific interaction types (e.g., WR-NPP interaction in the SP zones), suggesting the potential for achieving multi-ES synergies through landscape planning without altering landscape composition. This research provides valuable insights into understanding ES interactions and offers a scientific foundation for the implementation of ecological protection and restoration plans.

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.

Against the backdrop of urban–rural integrated development, special ecological function zones, as spatial carriers with significant regional ecological value and rural development functions, are confronted with a striking conflict between ecological conservation and regional advancement. This contradiction is comprehensively reflected in the interactions among land use functions (LUFs) that differ in nature and intensity. Therefore, exploring the trade-off and synergy (TOS) among regional LUFs is not only of great significance for optimizing territorial spatial patterns and advancing rural revitalization but also provides scientific evidence for the differentiated administration of regional land use. Taking 185 townships in the Funiu Mountain area of China as research units, this study constructs a land use assessment system based on the ‘Production–Living–Ecological’ (PLE) framework, utilizing multi-source datasets from 2000 to 2020. Spearman correlation analysis, geographically weighted regression (GWR), and bivariate local spatial autocorrelation methods are employed to examine the spatio-temporal dynamics of LUFs and the spatial non-stationarity of their TOSs. The findings indicate that, throughout the research period, the production function (PF) displayed a fluctuating declining trend, whereas the living function (LF) and ecological function (EF) demonstrated a fluctuating increasing trend. Notably, EF held an absolute dominant position in the overall structure of LUFs. This is highly consistent with the region’s positioning as a special ecological function zone and also a direct reflection of the effectiveness of continuous ecological construction over the past two decades. Spatially, PF is stronger in southern, eastern, and northern low-altitude townships, correlating with higher levels of economic development; LF is concentrated around townships near county centers; and high EF values are clustered in the central and western areas, showing an opposite spatial pattern to PF and LF. A synergistic relationship is observed between PF and LF, while both PF and LF exhibit trade-offs with EF. The TOSs between different function changes demonstrate significant spatial non-stationarity: linear synergy was the primary type for PF-LF, PF-EF, and LF-EF combinations, but each combination exhibited unique spatial characteristics in terms of non-stationarity. Notably, towns identified as having different types of trade-off relationships in the study of spatial non-stationarity are key areas for township spatial governance and optimization. Through the allocation of regional resources and targeted policy tools, the functional relationships can be adjusted and optimized to attain sustainable land use.

Against the backdrop of growing attention being paid to both ecological compensation and the digital economy, this paper explores the impact of digital financial inclusion on green economic growth in counties within China’s National Key Ecological Functional Zones (NKEFZs) from 2014 to 2022, using panel data from 393 counties. Employing a two-way fixed-effects model, the study finds that digital financial inclusion promotes both traditional and green economic growth. The study results are robust, even after a series of robustness tests. The mechanisms identified include agricultural technology progress, industrial structure upgrading, and enterprise innovation and entrepreneurship. However, the effect is less significant in western and northeastern regions, as well as in windbreak and sand-fixing zones. The study highlights the potential of digital finance to help resource-rich, underdeveloped regions overcome the “resource curse” and foster sustainable economic growth.

China’s National Key Ecological Function Zones (NKEFZs) currently represent the largest and most extensive ecological conservation policy in China, with one of the core objectives of this policy being to improve eco-environmental quality (EEQ). This study regards the establishment of NKEFZs as a quasi-natural experiment. Based on panel data from 130 counties in Sichuan Province from 2001 to 2021, a multi-period difference-in-differences (DID) model was employed to evaluate the impact of NKEFZ establishment on EEQ. The findings indicate the following: ① The establishment of NKEFZs can significantly enhance the EEQ of the covered areas, albeit as a gradual long-term process. This conclusion not only meets the parallel-trends assumption but also holds true in a series of robustness tests such as placebo tests. ② Mechanism analysis reveals that NKEFZs can enhance EEQ through the effects of optimizing land spatial allocation and upgrading industrial structure. ③ Heterogeneity analysis demonstrates that the beneficial effect of NKEFZs on EEQ varies across different functional zone types, geographic spaces and ethnic regions. Our study not only contributes to the accumulation of empirical evidence and institutional refinement in the sustainable implementation of ecological policies in China but also offers valuable insights and references for other countries in formulating policies for eco-environmental protection.

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.