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Forest mammal diversity declined rapidly due to the widespread loss and fragmentation of primary forest habitats, requiring further research on forest mammal diversity. China is a country with diverse forest types, large climate and elevation gradient, high mammal diversity, but massive anthropogenic disturbance on natural landscapes. However, few studies have assessed the associations between forest mammal diversity and these natural and anthropogenic factors. Therefore, this study tried to explore the relationships between forest mammal diversity captured by camera traps with elevation range, contemporary climate, paleoclimate change and human activities in China. We firstly collected mammal species lists from published literatures, calculated different diversity indices, and related these indices with explanatory variables using the multiple linear regression models. The results showed that forest sites with higher elevation range had higher species richness. Higher contemporary precipitation and cropland area promoted phylogenetic diversity and over-dispersed phylogenetic and functional structure. These findings suggest that the mammal diversity in Chinese forest ecosystems is mainly associated with natural environmental variables, supporting the habitat heterogeneity hypothesis, the energy availability hypothesis and tropical conservatism hypothesis. Meanwhile, the associations between forest mammal diversity and cropland area indicate that although these forest ecosystems play important role in conserving forest mammal diversity, further anthropogenic activities should be avoided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the concept of ecological civilization in China, which has been integrated into policy since 2012 and included in the Chinese constitution in 2018. Ecological civilization is an ideological framework that aims to enable society to live in harmony with nature and address twenty-first century challenges. It encompasses actions such as pollution reduction, circular economy, low-carbon economy, ecological conservation, and green development. The article explores the implementation of eco-civilization, including indicators to track progress, the restoration of degraded ecosystems, financial dimensions such as green finance, and the global relevance of the concept. The authors hope that by learning from China's successes and challenges, other nations can consider their own modes of sustainable development. [Extracted from the article]

Context: Maintaining connectivity is critical for fragmented habitat networks to retain native species. The tropical forest in Xishuangbanna, Southwest China, is a biodiversity hotspot for China, but is also vulnerable to deforestation due to rapid expansion of rubber plantations, thus better understanding of connectivity may be crucial to species persistence. Objectives: To quantify the functional connectivity changes in the forest in Xishuangbanna from 1976 to 2014, and identify the conservation and restoration priorities for effective forest conservation and management. Methods: Using the graph theory (in Conefor sensinode 2.6), forest connectivity from 1976 to 2014 was quantified using probability of connectivity and number of components indexes. The importance of each forest patch during each period and the potential contribution of low-profit rubber plantation patches in 2014 was quantified and ranked by delta values for PC (dPC) index. Results: Connectivity of forest in Xishuangbanna has progressively decreased over the last 40 years. The ten forest patches which had the highest dPC value remained almost the same for all five periods between 1976 and 2014, though relative importance varied. The 50 most potentially important low-profit rubber plantation patches were identified and mapped, and provide a target for effective restoration efforts to facilitate efficient use of funding to best improve conservation outcomes. Conclusions: Targeted and effective interventions for landscape scale conservation and management can be made based on graph theory and connectivity analysis. Restoring low-profit rubber provides a mechanism for reconnecting the forest as an effective conservation tool. Here we show the application of this approach to restore forest and most effectively increase connectivity at minimum economic cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protecting and restoring the degraded arid lakes are globally urgent issues. We document a potential recovery of the dried salt-lake, Lop Nur called "the Sea of Death" which is located at the terminus of the largest inland basin in China, the Tarim River Basin. The changes and relationship of surface water with climate parameters and groundwater in the basin over the last 30 years are analyzed, by using satellite remote sensing and land data assimilation products. We find that with increased surface water in the basin, the groundwater level in Lop Nur began to show an obvious positive response in 2015; and the rate of decline of the groundwater level is slowing down. We argue that after a balance is achieved between regional groundwater recharge and evapotranspiration, the Lop Nur ecosystem will gradually recover. This study shows an encouraging case for the protection and restoration of degraded lakes in dryland regions around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]