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Scholars have turned their attention to the ecological protection and high-quality development of China's Yellow River Basin in recent years. The basin is a major agricultural production area in China, hence investigating agricultural carbon emission reduction strategies in the basin is crucial. The research object in this article is the agricultural departments of China's nine provinces in the Yellow River Basin from 2005 to 2018. Agricultural carbon emissions are measured using agricultural land usage, rice planting, crop planting, straw burning, and livestock breeding as agricultural carbon sources. In addition, the GTWR model is used to examine the spatiotemporal aspects of the impact of five factors on agricultural carbon emissions in this paper. The findings reveal that the five factors have varying degrees and directions of influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The Yellow River Basin is an important national energy base and ecological protection area, and it is of great significance to promote the coordinated development of high-quality development and eco-environmental carrying capacity in the region. Methods: Taking the 73 prefecture-level cities along the Yellow River as the study unit, this paper measures the changes of high-quality development level and eco-environmental carrying capacity of municipalities from 2005 to 2020, using the coupling coordination degree model and fuzzy logic algorithm. Results and discussion: 1) The capital city and its surrounding cities have a high level of high-quality development, with the lower and middle reaches of the Yellow River having higher levels than the upper reaches. From 2005 to 2020, the level of high-quality development showed an upward trend. 2) The eco-environmental carrying capacity of cities in the lower reaches is higher than that in the upper reaches. From 2005 to 2020, the eco-environmental carrying capacity of cities in the lower reaches of the Yellow River increased first and then decreased. 3) The provincial capital cities have a high degree of coupling coordination, with cities in the lower reaches having a higher level than those in the middle and upper reaches. A high degree of coupling coordination reduces spatial differences, but dominated by primary coordination. 4) From 2005 to 2020, the eco-environmental carrying capacity tended to be coordinated with the high-quality development, close to a high level and system optimization. In the end, we conclude with policy recommendations to promote high-quality urban development and harmony between people and nature in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a national strategy, the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) and the ecological protection and high-quality development (HQD) of the Yellow River Basin (YRB) are of great significance for promoting the HQD of the regional economy. Based on the panel data in the YRB and the YREB from 2006 to 2019, this paper constructed an evaluation index system of HQD with five dimensions of "innovation development, coordination development, green development, openness development, and sharing development", and we used the entropy weight method, kernel density method, and Tobit panel model to analyze the differences in the HQD and the similarities and differences of the influencing factors between the two regions. The research findings were as follows: (1) The HQD of the YRB and the YREB was consistent with the national trend, showing a fluctuating upward trend. The HQD of the YRB was always lower than that of the YREB. The kernel density curves in both regions had a rightward trailing pattern, with polarization and unbalanced development. (2) From the perspective of the spatial distribution pattern, the HQD of the YRB presented a spatial distribution characteristic of "high at both ends and low in the middle". In contrast, the HQD of the YREB maintained the characteristic of "high in the east and low in the west". (3) The level of human capital, the level of foreign direct investment, and the economic scale played a significant positive role in improving the HQD of the YRB. The level of human capital, urbanization, foreign direct investment, and economic scale significantly improved the HQD of the YREB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water resources are crucial for the development of ecosystems and humanity. The Yellow River Basin (YRB), as an important ecological area in China, is facing significant challenges in ecological protection and high-quality development due to global climate change and intense human activities. In order to alleviate the water resources crisis in the YRB, it is necessary to calculate the resilience of the water resources system and identify the main influencing factors. This paper considered the factors of water resources, social economy, and ecological environment, then constructed an evaluation framework of the water resources system resilience (WRSR) from three aspects: resistance, restoration, and adaptability. Taking nine provinces along the YRB as a case study, the WRSR was measured by using the entropy weight TOPSIS model, and its driving factors were analyzed with Geographical Detectors (GD). The results showed that: (1) From 2010 to 2022, the WRSR in the Yellow River Basin and various provinces was showing a fluctuating increasing trend, in which Ningxia had the highest average WRSR (0.646), while Shanxi had the lowest (0.168). (2) From three dimensions, the development trends of resistance, restoration, and adaptability in the YRB and various provinces from 2010 to 2022 were relatively stable. Shandong's resistance level far exceeded that of other provinces, having the highest average resistance value (0.692), and Ningxia had the highest average value of restoration (0.827) and adaptability (0.711). However, Gansu had the lowest average value of resistance (0.119), Sichuan had the lowest average value of restoration (0.097), and Shandong had the lowest average value of adaptability (0.110). (3) In terms of impact factors, the development and utilization rate of water resources (C13) and the development and utilization rate of surface water resources (C14) in the restoration subsystem consistently ranked in the top two of influencing factors. Similarly, the water consumption per 10,000 yuan of GDP (C26) in the adaptability subsystem consistently ranked within the top ten. On the other hand, the natural population growth rate (C6) in the resistance subsystem, as well as the impact of ammonia nitrogen emissions (C9) and total precipitation (C2) in wastewater, exhibited an upward trend. Based on these, this paper provides relevant suggestions for improving the WRSR in the YRB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The uneven distribution of global navigation satellite system (GNSS) continuous stations in the Yellow River Basin, combined with the sparse distribution of GNSS continuous stations in some regions and the weak far-field load signals, poses challenges in using GNSS vertical displacement data to invert terrestrial water storage changes (TWSCs). To achieve the inversion of water reserves in the Yellow River Basin using unevenly distributed GNSS continuous station data, in this study, we employed the Tikhonov regularization method to invert the terrestrial water storage (TWS) in the Yellow River Basin using vertical displacement data from network engineering and the Crustal Movement Observation Network of China (CMONOC) GNSS continuous stations from 2011 to 2022. In addition, we applied an inverse distance weighting smoothing factor, which was designed to account for the GNSS station distribution density, to smooth the inversion results. Consequently, a gridded product of the TWS in the Yellow River Basin with a spatial resolution of 0.5 degrees on a daily scale was obtained. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, a correlation analysis was conducted between the inversion results and the daily TWS from the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS), yielding a correlation coefficient of 0.68, indicating a strong correlation, which verifies the effectiveness of the method proposed in this paper. Based on the inversion results, we analyzed the spatial–temporal distribution trends and patterns in the Yellow River Basin and found that the average TWS decreased at a rate of 0.027 mm/d from 2011 to 2017, and then increased at a rate of 0.010 mm/d from 2017 to 2022. The TWS decreased from the lower-middle to lower reaches, while it increased from the upper-middle to upper reaches. Furthermore, an attribution analysis of the terrestrial water storage changes in the Yellow River Basin was conducted, and the correlation coefficients between the monthly average water storage changes inverted from the results and the monthly average precipitation, evapotranspiration, and surface temperature (AvgSurfT) from the GLDAS were 0.63, −0.65, and −0.69, respectively. This indicates that precipitation, evapotranspiration, and surface temperature were significant factors affecting the TWSCs in the Yellow River Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adopting conservation tillage technology can promote sustainable agriculture development. There have been many studies on all farmers' conservation tillage behaviors, but few studies are based on a farmer's multidimensional heterogeneity perspective. Given the background, we conduct an empirical evaluation using micro survey data from 819 households in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River Basin. This paper uses the entropy method to classify farm households into three types: economically dominant, resource dominant, and socially dominant. Furthermore, we use the Heckman sample selection model to discuss the factors that affect the adoption of conservation tillage technology by different types of farmers. The results show that land fragmentation degree can inhibit economically dominant farmers conservation tillage technology adoption behavior. Social relations can positively influence resource dominant farmers. The share of non-farm income will positively impact socially dominant farmers. This paper further proposes policy implications, based on the findings that different types of farmers have various factors influencing conservation tillage technology adoption behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reservoir operation optimization is a technical measure for flood control and is beneficial owing to its reasonable and reliable control and application of existing water conservancy and hydropower hubs, while ensuring dam safety and flood control, as well as the normal operation of power supply and water supply. Considering the beneficial functions of reservoirs, namely flood control and ecological protection, this paper firstly established a two-objective optimal operation model for the reservoir group in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. We aim to maximize the average output of the cascade reservoir group and minimize the average change in ecological flow during the operation period under efficient sediment transport conditions, with the coordination degree of water and sediment as the constraints of reservoir discharge flows. The paper aims to construct an evaluation index system for reservoir operation schemes, apply a combined approach of objective and subjective evaluations, and introduce the gray target and cumulative prospect theories. By uniformly quantifying the established scheme evaluation index system, screening the reservoir operation schemes with the fuzzy evaluation method, and selecting the recommended scheme for each typical year, this paper provides a new scientific formulation of the operation schemes of reservoirs in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. The selected schemes are compared with actual data, demonstrating the effectiveness of joint reservoir operation and for multidimensional benefits in terms of power generation, ecology, and flood control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Yellow River, a critical water resource, faces challenges stemming from increasing water demand, which has led to detrimental effects on hydropower generation and ecological balance. This paper will address the complex task of balancing the interests of hydropower generation, water supply, and ecology within the context of cascade reservoirs, specifically Longyangxia and Liujiaxia reservoirs. Employing a systemic coupling coordination approach, we constructed a multi-objective synergetic model of the upper Yellow River in order to explore synergies and competitions among multiple objectives. The results reveal that there is a weak competitive relationship between hydropower generation and water supply, a strong synergy between hydropower generation and ecology, and a strong competitive relationship between water supply and ecology. The Pareto solution set analysis indicates a considerable percentage (59%, 20%, and 8% in wet, normal, and dry years, respectively) exhibiting excellent coordination. The probability of excellent coordination decreases with diminishing inflow. The optimization scheme with the highest coupling coordination demonstrates significant improvements in power generation, water supply, and ecological benefits in the upper Yellow River without compromising other objectives, fostering the sustainable operation of hydropower generation, water supply, and ecology in the upper Yellow River. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting the sustainable development of resource-based cities is of great significance for the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin. In order to solve the dilemma of the sustainable development of resource-based cities in the Yellow River Basin, this paper constructs an ecological security evaluation system. It calculates the ecological security level of 30 resource-based cities in the Yellow River Basin from 2006 to 2020 using the TOPSIS model and carries out a classification convergence analysis. The DID empirical test of ecological security factors by sustainable development planning policies is used to distinguish the development characteristics of different resource-based cities. The results show that (1) the ecological security level of resource cities in the Yellow River Basin is generally well developed, and there are differences between different types of resource cities; (2) the resource cities in the Yellow River Basin mainly rely on industrial transformation to improve the ecological security level; and (3) the local governments pay limited attention to environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water market development in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) unfolds new opportunities for alleviating water scarcity and improving water productivity. However, the further development of an effective water market in the basin faces challenges such as unclear water rights, regulatory deficiencies, market deficiencies, and insufficient compensation to third-parties, among others. Studying water market development in Western countries provides useful insights for addressing similar challenges, thus providing useful case studies despite the different cultural, economic, institutional, and political settings. This paper investigates water markets in the Murray–Darling Basin in Australia, the western United States, and Chile to synthesize cases of water market development that could potentially contribute to overcoming the challenges encountered in the YRB. After analyzing these cases, recommendations are made for enhancing the YRB's water market development from the perspectives of water rights systems, as well as the roles of the government and market, legal system, and third-party effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the national strategies of China, the ecological protection of the Yellow River basin (YRB) is vital for the promotion of the high-quality development (HQD) of the regional economy. This paper uses the data of prefecture-level cities in the YRB from 2004–2019 to analyze the effect of environmental regulation and local government competition on HQD. The findings show the following: (1) Environmental regulation can significantly promote HQD in the YRB, and local government competition can significantly reduce HQD. The interaction effect shows that the promotion effect of environmental regulation on HQD weakens with the intensification of competition between local governments. (2) A heterogeneity analysis shows that environmental regulation has a more significant positive impact on HQD for the lower reaches of the YRB. (3) Using a threshold effect test, it is found that the impact of environmental regulation on the HQD presents a significant nonlinear positive effect with an increase in local government competition. When the local government competition represented by the level of economic catch-up exceeds the threshold value of 3.037, this positive effect decreases significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has become an unavoidable problem in achieving sustainable development. As one of the major industries worldwide, tourism can make a significant contribution to mitigating climate change. The main objective of the paper is to assess the development level of low-carbon tourism from multi-aspect, using the Yellow River Basin as an example. Firstly, this study quantified tourism carbon dioxide emissions and tourism economy, and analyzed their evolution characteristics. The interaction and coordination degree between tourism carbon dioxide emissions and tourism economy were then analyzed using the improved coupling coordination degree model. Finally, this study analyzed the change in total factor productivity of low-carbon tourism by calculating the Malmquist–Luenberger productivity index. The results showed that: (1) the tourism industry in the Yellow River Basin has the characteristics of the initial environmental Kuznets curve. (2) There was a strong interaction between tourism carbon dioxide emissions and tourism economy, which was manifested as mutual promotion. (3) The total factor productivity of low-carbon tourism was increasing. Based on the above results, it could be concluded that the development level of low-carbon tourism in the Yellow River Basin has been continuously improved from 2000 to 2019, but it is still in the early development stage with the continuous growth of carbon dioxide emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming caused by excessive emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) has become a hot topic globally in today's society, and optimizing carbon emission performance (CEP) is an effective way to alleviate CO2 emissions. Many studies have explored CEP at the global, national, provincial and sector levels. However, due to the difficulty in obtaining energy consumption data, there is a lack of studies at the urban agglomeration and city levels. Taking the urban agglomeration dimension as the starting point, this paper constructs an improved epsilon-based measure (EBM) model to measure the CEP of the Yellow River Basin. A spatial data analysis model was introduced to explore the regional spatial characteristics of CEP. The newly developed spatial statistical model was used to study the driving factors of CEP. The results showed that: (1) The overall CEP of the Yellow River Basin was relatively high, showing an upward trend of volatility. There were significant differences between the seven urban agglomerations and 69 cities. (2) The CEP of the Yellow River Basin showed a trend of spatial agglomeration. The urban agglomerations of the eastern region showed a low-value agglomeration phenomenon, and the urban agglomerations of the central and western regions showed a trend of high-value agglomeration. (3) Economic development level (PGGDP), technological progress (TP), industrialization level (IND) and human capital (HC) can play a positive role in promoting the improvement in CEP, and population structure (PD) and energy structure (ES) can play a negative role in promoting the improvement in CEP. Industrial agglomeration (IA) and CEP show a "U"-shaped relationship that first inhibits and then promotes. In addition, foreign direct investment (FDI), IND, and HC have significant spatial spillover effects on neighboring cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-quality development of socio-economic, ecological environment, tourism industry and natural resources in the Yellow River Basin is a major strategic task for national development. High-quality development in the Yellow River Basin still has a lot of room for improvement, so it is important for the coupled and coordinated development of water resources-socio-economic-ecological environment-tourism industry in the Yellow River Basin region. In this study, we focus on the major strategic issues of high quality development in the Yellow River Basin in the context of the above-mentioned background and the current forms and policies of sustainable development in China, and conduct research on the theory and methods of assessing the sustainable development of regional water resources-socio-economic-ecological environment-tourism industry. However, by analyzing the existing research literature on sustainable development assessment, we find that most of them focus on a single area or two combinations of modal development studies, and focus on exploring micro-coupling mechanisms, so the generality of macro policy support is rather mediocre, which we fill this gap through this study. The study relies on an innovative macroscopic research perspective that draws pioneeringly on the quality function deployment (QFD) theory in the field of product quality management in marketing, which, it is worth stating, allows for a framework of research perspectives from a systematic and holistic perspective. In this framework, we will propose a G1-entropy value method for indicator importance (weight) assessment. It is worth stating that the G1 method used in this paper is different from the traditional G1 method in that we will introduce the identity information weights of experts to improve the reliability of the subjective assignment method. We will also construct an indicator system for studying the regional sustainable development issues in the Yellow River Basin on this basis, so as to complete the ranking and analysis of the nine provinces and the importance of indicators in the Yellow River Basin. This study will provide a comprehensive theoretical basis for Chinese government and related departments to formulate policies for the high-quality development of water resources, socio-economic, ecological environment and tourism industry in the Yellow River Basin, and also provide theoretical and empirical references for the analysis and assessment of similar international regional sustainability cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics, as well as the driving factors, of carbon emissions in the prefecture-level cities in the Yellow River Basin (YB). The paper's findings will aid in promoting ecological conservation and high-quality development in the region. The initiatives undertaken in the YB are a significant national strategy towards achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. To fully investigate the spatiotemporal evolution process, as well as the typical characteristics of their carbon emissions, conventional, and spatial Markov transition probability matrices were developed utilizing YB's panel data for 55 prefecture-level cities from 2003 to 2019. The generalized Divisia index decomposition method (GDIM) cleverly uses this data to conduct a complete analysis of the dynamics and driving processes influencing the change in carbon emissions in these cities. However, the evolution of carbon emissions in prefecture-level cities has reached a point of stability that maintains the original state, making it challenging to make meaningful short-term progress. The data indicates that prefecture-level cities in the YB are emitting more carbon dioxide on average. Neighborhood types in these cities significantly influence the transformation of carbon emissions. Low-emission areas can encourage a reduction in carbon emissions, whereas high-emission areas can encourage an increase. The spatial organisation of carbon emissions exhibits a "high-high convergence, low-low convergence, high-pulling low, low-inhibiting high" club convergence phenomenon. Carbon emissions rise with per capita carbon emissions, energy consumed, technology, and output scale, whereas it falls with carbon technology intensity and output carbon intensity. Hence, instead of enhancing the role of increase-oriented variables, prefecture-level cities in the YB should actively engage these reduction-oriented forces. The YB's key pathways for lowering carbon emissions include boosting research and development, promoting and applying carbon emission reduction technologies, lowering output carbon intensity and energy intensity, and improving energy use effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A good grasp of the carbon emission efficiency (CEE) of the provinces in the Yellow River basin (YRB) in China, and its influencing factors, can help promote the sustainable development of the region and smooth realization of the national carbon emission reduction target. Based on stochastic frontier analysis (SFA), this paper calculates the CEE of nine provinces in the YRB from 2005 to 2019, and then, analyzes its spatial and temporal characteristics. The spatial Durbin model (SDM) with two-way fixed effects is selected to investigate the influencing factors of the CEE in the YRB. The results suggest that: (1) the overall CEE of the YRB shows a slow upward trend, and although the gap in CEE between provinces is large, it is slowly narrowing; (2) there is a significant negative spatial autocorrelation in the CEE of the provinces in the YRB; and (3) technological innovation capability, energy consumption structure, population density, and urban greening level are the most significant factors affecting the CEE of the YRB. Both population density and urban greening level have a positive effect on the improvement of the CEE of the provinces themselves and of the whole YRB, and there is also a spatial spillover effect on the improvement of CEE due to population density. Technological innovation capability and energy consumption structure had a negative impact on the overall CEE of the province and the basin during the research period. This study may have some reference value for improving the CEE of the YRB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-quality development (HQD) is a positive initiative in China to promote sustainable development. Promoting HQD in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) is a major national strategy for China. The YRB is an important ecological barrier and economic zone in China, which comprises nine provinces, including Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and Shandong. The objective of this paper is to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the HQD of the nine provinces in the YRB. It clarifies the basic connotation of HQD and constructs a comprehensive evaluation index system for HQD according to the principles of comprehensiveness, distinctiveness, openness, refinement and feasibility. The comprehensive evaluation index system includes four dimensions: economic development, technology innovation, society and livelihood, and ecological security, which contain 28 secondary indicators. The combined method of coupling development and entropy weight termed the "technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS)" was selected to make a comprehensive evaluation of the HQD of the nine provinces in the YRB from the time dimension and the space dimension, respectively. It was found that there are still problems, such as the differentiation of HQD, the low comprehensive development degree (CDD), and the low development coupling degree (DCD) in some provinces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing total factor carbon productivity (TFCP) is crucial to mitigate global climate change and achieve carbon neutrality target. The Yellow River Basin is a critical energy area in China, but its TFCP is relatively low, which results in particularly prominent environmental problems. This paper investigates TFCP using MCPI, Global Moran's I and kernel density estimation based on panel data of the 9 provinces along this vast basin in 2007–2017. The results demonstrate that: the average value of TFCP fluctuates around 1 and overall TFCP evolution exhibits significant spatial aggregation effect, and technological progress is the dominant impetus for TFCP growth. At regional level, regional heterogeneities of TFCP change and its dynamics exactly exist, with Qinghai the lowest performance and Shandong the highest performance. Moreover, global Moran's I index reflects there is a significant positive spatial correlation between provincial TFCP, and cumulative TFCP takes on a certain degree of club convergence features. Furthermore, specific and targeted recommendations have drawn from this paper, in particular for the Yellow River Basin, to increase TFCP and achieve sustainable development in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting the green development of resource-based cities is an essential way to achieve sustainable regional economic development. Based on 2009–2019 panel data of the Yellow River Basin cities, this study adopts the super-directional distance function model to measure the green development efficiency of these selected cities. Furthermore, based on the Malmquist-Luenberger index, this paper focuses on the dynamic change trend of green development efficiency and internal driving factors. Furthermore, the Tobit model is used to specifically explore the influencing factors affecting the green development of cities. The findings suggested that the green development efficiency of selected cities falls in the middle to high range and that the efficiency varies among all cities in the Yellow River Basin. Likewise, technical efficiency improvements and technological progress drive development efficiency, and the former contributes more to green development. However, financial development, energy structure adjustments, and environmental regulation can strongly contribute to the green development of cities, and each influencing factor has obvious temporal and regional differences. This paper proposes appropriate policy suggestions to promote the coordinated development of the economic development and environmental protection of the Yellow River Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been difficult to revise and adjust the water distribution of the Yellow River in 1987 (1987 water distribution scheme). By gathering data and studies from previous literature, this paper summarized some water distribution ideas, principles and rules in transboundary rivers. We proposed the "synthesis–dynamic–harmonious" water distribution method (SDH), and applied it to the actual conditions of the Yellow River basin. Through the SDH method, we calculated a new scheme for water distribution in the Yellow River and analyzed the results. The key findings of this study are summarized below. Firstly, the water distribution of transboundary rivers required the establishment of advanced water distribution ideas. Secondly, the proposed water distribution method took into account a variety of factors: with the change in distributable water volume, the same ratio changes and meets the minimum water demand and water efficiency constraints. Thirdly, the 1987, the water distribution scheme needed some adjustment. Fourthly, under the new Yellow River basin water distribution scheme ("19ZQT" water distribution scheme), Shandong, Inner Mongolia, and Henan account for 50% of the total water distribution. Sichuan accounts for only 0.3% of the total. Compared with the 1987 water distribution scheme, Hebei and Tianjin reduced the amount of water allocated by 51.2%, while Shaanxi increased it by 24.89%. In this paper, considering the changes in the total distributable water volume, the new Yellow River water distribution scheme ("19ZQT" water distribution scheme) assumed water distribution of 37 billion m3 and 30 billion m3, upon which calculations were performed. This study should provide a scientific and reasonable scheme for water distribution of transboundary rivers, and rational utilization of water resources. It should lay a solid foundation for the high-quality development of the Yellow River basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a detailed analysis of the impact mechanism of industrial restructuring on carbon dioxide emissions in the Yellow River Basin, this paper first calculated the carbon dioxide emission data of 57 prefecture-level cities in the Yellow River Basin from 2009 to 2019 and constructed indicators from two dimensions: the advancement and the rationalization of the industrial structure. Then, the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology (STIRPAT) model was used to empirically analyze the influencing factors of industrial structure adjustments on carbon dioxide emissions in the Yellow River Basin. Consequently, changing carbon dioxide emission trends in the Yellow River Basin under various scenarios were predicted. The research observed the following: (1) the eastern part of the Shandong Peninsula Urban Agglomeration and the Energy Golden Triangle have higher carbon dioxide emissions; (2) the advancement of industrial structures in the Yellow River Basin has a better emission reduction effect than the rationalization of industrial structures; (3) increased foreign investment will lead to an increase in carbon dioxide emissions in the Yellow River Basin, and a "Pollution Refuge Effect" will emerge; (4) accelerated industrial transformations and upgrades, high-quality economic development, and a moderate population growth rate are consistent with future development trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the sustainability impacts in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River in China after the Xiaolangdi Dam was constructed. Based on land use data interpreted from Landsat remote sensing images, covering the time period from 2000 to 2020 at 5-year intervals, this research uses a land dynamic attitude index and comprehensive index of land use degree to reveal the degree of land use type change in the study area and analyze the relationship between land use and social economy. The results show that urban and rural construction land is the land use type with the largest annual change rate, and the increase is most obvious from 2005 to 2010, growing by nearly 900 km2. The six types of land use in the research area changed sharply from 2000 to 2010, with grassland and unused land showing the most significant change. On the whole, the dynamic attitude of comprehensive land use tends to be stable. The comprehensive index analysis of land use degree indicates that the study area has developed in the direction of urban settlement. Population and GDP are the main driving factors affecting the constant change in land use types in this region, in which population growth and rapid economic development are the main factors leading to the decline of grassland area, and are also the main driving factors for the expansion of construction land. The research results provide a scientific basis for sustainable land use and development in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As human society is entering an era of scarce natural resources, realizing the welfare level of human society is a fundamental requirement to improve sustainable development, while being restrained by the ecological environment. In this paper, we divided ecological welfare performance (EWP) into an ecological economic system and an economic welfare system from the perspective of ecological welfare, and predicted the EWP in the Yellow River Basin Urban Agglomerations (YRBUAs) using the US-NSBM model in two stages. We further explored the dynamic change trend and spatial convergence characteristics in the YRBUAs using the Dagum Gini coefficient, the kernel density estimation method, and the spatial convergence models. The results indicate that there are great spatial variations in EWP in the YRBUAs, where the spatial variation in the downstream is higher than that in the upstream, and the spatial distribution pattern in large- and medium-sized cities is higher than that in small cities. The DEA efficiency could not be realized overall throughout the study period, but it shows an improving trend. At the same time, absolute β convergence and conditional β convergence were observed in the YRBUAs, both overall and between the UAs. This paper provides a basis for analyzing the spatial pattern of EWP and for promoting the coordinated development of urban agglomerations in the YRBUAs, thus serving as a reference for the sustainable development of ecologically sensitive regions in countries across the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the gradual networking of inter-city relations and the increase in acute impact and chronic stress, the measurement of the resilience of urban network structures is particularly prominent. Based on the construction of the urban network by passenger train trips in the Yellow River Basin, this paper analyzes and assesses the characteristics of the structural resilience of the urban network, and probes into the network resilience and urban response under the circumstances of node failure and line failure in Zhengzhou. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) The urban network in the Yellow River Basin was clearly hierarchical, with a significant spatial distribution of "low in the north and high in the south", and the overall characteristics of "robustness" in small areas and "fragility" in large areas. The network connection forms were diversified and open. The network transmission efficiency was high, and the edge cities depended on the core cities with prominent characteristics, and the risk load of regional core cities rose. (2) The network structure was "robust" as it maintained high operational efficiency and connectivity under random attacks. Under deliberate attacks, the city network operated efficiently with a small increase in connectivity before the 60% threshold, and after the threshold, the overall network started to split into many sub-networks, and the network fragmentation gradually increased until the network collapsed. (3) Zhengzhou node failure and line failure states in the Yellow River Basin urban network were resilient, in the sense that when suffering important nodes and lines going down it could still maintain good network operation efficiency, and the core nodes in the impact of natural disasters could adapt to the destructive nature of the network through the urban network structure self-regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the era of big data transformation, with the emergence of COVID-19, tourism has been given more social responsibilities. Tourism construction in the Yellow River Basin is an indispensable part of tourism construction in China. This paper analyzes the existing eco-tourism resources in Kaifeng City and Shandong Province, as well as the necessity and construction conditions of developing tourism. In this paper, principal component analysis is used to analyze the resource conditions, regional conditions and environmental conditions of the Yellow River tourism resources. The comprehensive evaluation model and index system of tourism resources are constructed. Big data transformation has been realized. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the current situation and potential of tourism in the Yellow River Basin, and to provide reference for the development of tourism in the Yellow River Basin during COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystem services are the beneficial goods and services that ecosystems provide to humans. Urbanization is an important feature of human social development. While promoting economic and social development, it also brings about land degradation, resource depletion, environmental pollution and other problems, intensifying the transformation of natural ecosystems into semi-natural and artificial ecosystems, ultimately leading to the loss of ecosystem service functions and declining value. The study of the impact of urbanization on the value of ecosystem services is of critical importance for the conservation of ecosystems and sustainable development. This study examined the spatio-temporal patterns of urbanization's impacts on ecosystem service value in the Yellow River Basin from the perspective of spatio-temporal heterogeneity. Findings: (1) Both the ecosystem service value (ESV) and urbanization level (UL) in the Yellow River Basin were on the rise on the whole, but they were significantly spatially negatively correlated and mainly characterized by the high–low spatial clustering of "low ESV–high UL" and "high ESV–low UL". This negative correlation was gradually weakened with the transformation of the urbanization development mode and ecological restoration projects in the Yellow River Basin. (2) The impacts of the five urbanization subsystems on the value of ecosystem services were diverse. Landscape urbanization had a negative impact on the value of ecosystem services in all regions; economic urbanization and innovation urbanization changed from having a negative to a positive impact; and demographic urbanization and social urbanization had both a positive and a negative impact. (3) To promote the coordinated development of ecological environmental protection and urbanization in the YRB, this paper proposes to change the urbanization development model, implement ecological restoration by zoning, and formulate classified development plans. This study compensates for the shortcomings of current studies that ignore the different impacts of urbanization subsystems on ecosystem service value and lack sufficient consideration of the spatio-temporal heterogeneity characteristics of urbanization and ESVs, enriches the theoretical understanding of the interrelationships between natural and human systems in basin areas, and provides a scientific basis for the rational formulation of urban planning and ecological protection policies in the region, which is of great theoretical and practical significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How to raise the ecological compensation fund for the Yellow River Basin is one of the key difficulties for executing the ecological compensation mechanism and ensuring the high-quality development of the entire basin. This paper, which is based on systems theory, analyzes the social-economic-ecological compound system of the Yellow River Basin. It makes the point that the goals of human-water harmony, ecological compensation efficiency improvement, and coordinated regional development should be achieved in raising ecological compensation funds. Guided by the raising targets, a two-layer fundraising model based on efficiency and fairness is constructed for ecological compensation. The upper-level model is built to calculate the ecological compensation efficiency of each compensation subject from an input–output perspective. The initial fundraising scheme was further determined to implement the efficiency principle. Within the framework of sustainable development theory, the lower-level model adheres to the fairness principle based on efficiency. The social-economic development level of the compensation subject is considered to discriminate and optimize the initial scheme. Additionally, the two-layer model was utilized to conduct an empirical analysis with the data of the Yellow River Basin from 2013 to 2020. The results show that the optimized fundraising scheme is in line with the actual development level of the Yellow River Basin. This study can provide a reference for the fundraising of horizontal ecological compensation and promote the sustainable development of the whole basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The clean utilization of traditional energy and renewable, clean energy utilization are the key points of the energy structure transition in the Yellow River Basin. This paper constructs an evolutionary game model, with the participation of local governments and energy companies, to analyze the dynamic evolution of each game subject. The results from the study highlight three important facts about the energy mix transformation in the Yellow River Basin: (1) the high ratio of traditional clean energy utilization and the low ratio of renewable, clean energy utilization align with the actual energy use in the Yellow River Basin, which can better promote the inclusive development of both types of energy; (2) increasing the capacity to utilize both energy sources can improve the energy system resilience gains of game players, for example, at the immature stage of renewable, clean energy utilization technologies, local government's willingness to subsidize renewable clean energy utilization is positively related to their energy system resilience gains; and (3) under the premise of ensuring the energy supply, the introduction of penalty parameters can ensure a reasonable share of both types of energy utilization, and an increase in the penalty parameters makes the game participants increase their willingness to implement energy structure transformation policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research on high-quality development of the manufacturing industry (HQDMI) in the Yellow River Basin is in the exploratory stage, and little literature has systematically analyzed its influencing factors. Based on the grounded theory, this paper makes an exploratory analysis of the influencing factors of the HQDMI in the Yellow River Basin. This study finds that the influencing factors of the HQDMI mainly include six aspects: innovation capability, organization construction, industry resources, institutional environment, industry collaboration, and market demand. By using the HQDMI's endogenous and exogenous factors as the core, the realization mode of the HQDMI in the Yellow River basin is put forward, and the influencing factors and action model of the HQDMI in the Yellow River Basin are constructed. The findings have significant reference value for promoting the HQDMI in the Yellow River Basin and are helpful for improving the HQDMI research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: The Henan section of the Yellow River Basin plays an important role in the economic zone of the middle reaches of the Yellow River. However, ecological environmental geological problems such as soil erosion have seriously affected the lives of residents and economic development, resulting in increasingly prominent conflicts between humans and the environment. Therefore, this paper made use of remote sensing images and other reference data, integrated image classification, remote sensing inversion and statistical analysis methods to explore the ecological environmental geological problems and their causes in the Henan section of the Yellow River Basin. (2) Results: the main eco-environmental geological problems in the Sanmenxia–Zhengzhou section are serious soil erosion, degradation of water conservation function and being prone to geological disasters. The main eco-environmental geological problems in the Zhengzhou–Puyang section are poor water and soil conservation function, degradation of water conservation function and poor biodiversity maintenance function. In the last 19 years, the eco-environmental geological problems in the Henan section of the Yellow River Basin have shown a significant improvement trend as a whole. Along the main stream of the Yellow River in Sanmenxia, Luoyang, Jiyuan, Jiaozuo, Zhengzhou and other areas, the eco-environmental geological problems are still prominent; altitude, vegetation and rainfall are the key driving factors of eco-environmental geological problems in the Sanmenxia–Zhengzhou section and rainfall, vegetation and land-use type are the key driving factors in the Zhengzhou–Puyang section. (3) Conclusions: This study comprehensively considered the three aspects of ecology, environment and geology in a total of five research topics. The temporal and spatial distribution characteristics and driving factors of ecological environmental geological problems in the Yellow River Basin were analyzed, which could provide technical support for ecological environmental protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For mankind's survival and development, water, energy, and food (WEF) are essential material guarantees. In China, however, the spatial distribution of WEF is seriously unbalanced and mismatched. Here, a collaborative governance mechanism that aims at nexus security needs to be urgently established. In this paper, the Yellow River Basin in China with a representative WEF system, was selected as a case. Firstly, a comprehensive framework for WEF coupling coordination was constructed, and the relationship and mechanism between them were analyzed theoretically. Then, we investigated the spatiotemporal characteristics and driving mechanisms of the coupling coordination degree (CCD) with a composite evaluation method, coupling coordination degree model, spatial statistical analysis, and multiscale geographic weighted regression. Finally, policy implications were discussed to promote the coordinated development of the WEF system. The results showed that: 1) WEF subsystems showed a significant imbalance of spatial pattern and diversity in temporal changes; 2) the CCD for the WEF system varied little and remained at moderate coordination. Areas with moderate coordination have increased, while areas with superior coordination and mild disorder have decreased. In addition, the spatial clustering phenomenon of the CCD was significant and showed obvious characteristics of polarization; and 3) the action of each factor is self-differentiated and regionally variable. For different factors, GDP per capita was of particular importance, which contributed most to the regional development's coupling coordination. For different regions, GDP per capita, average yearly precipitation, population density, and urbanization rate exhibited differences in geographical gradients in an east-west direction. The conclusion can provide references for regional resource allocation and sustainable development by enhancing WEF system utilization efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual water flows have a profound impact on the natural water system of a country or region, and they may help conserve local water resources or exacerbate water scarcity in some areas. However, current research has only focused on the measurement of virtual water flows, without analysis of the causes of virtual water flow patterns. This study first obtained virtual water flow patterns across provinces by constructing a multi-regional input–-output (MRIO) model of the Yellow River basin in 2012 and 2017, and then analyzed its driving factors by applying the extended STIRPAT model to provide directions for using virtual water trade to alleviate water shortages in water-scarce areas of the basin. We found the following: (1) The Yellow River basin as a whole had a net virtual water inflow in 2012 and 2017, and the net inflow has increased from 2.14 billion m3 to 33.67 billion m3. (2) Different provinces or regions assume different roles in the virtual water trade within the basin. (3) There is an obvious regional heterogeneity in the virtual water flows in different subsectors. (4) Per capita GDP, tertiary industry contribution rate, consumer price index, and water scarcity are the main positive drivers of virtual water inflow in the Yellow River Basin provinces, while primary industry contribution rate, per capita water resources, and water use per unit arable area promote virtual water outflow. The results of this paper present useful information for understanding the driving factors of virtual water flow, which could promote the optimal allocation of water resources in the Yellow River basin and achieve ecological protection and high-quality development in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Realizing the decoupling development between the economic expansion and carbon dioxide emissions of the transport sector is of great importance if the Yellow River basin is to achieve green and low-carbon development. In this paper, we adopt the Tapio decoupling index to examine the decoupling relationship within the transport sector in the Yellow River basin, and then introduce the standard deviational ellipse to dynamically analyze the spatial heterogeneity of carbon emissions and economic growth at the provincial level. Furthermore, based on the decoupling method, we expand the traditional logarithmic mean Divisia index decomposition (LMDI) model to decompose the decoupling index into eight sub-indices, and we identify the impact of each factor on the decoupling relationship. The results indicate that the carbon emissions of the transport sector in the Yellow River basin show the non-equilibrium characteristics of "upstream region < midstream region < downstream region". The decoupling state of the transport sector shows obvious spatial differences. The less-developed regions are more likely to present non-ideal decoupling states. The growth rate of carbon emissions in Sichuan, Qinghai, and Shandong provinces is relatively fast, and the azimuth of the transport sector's carbon emissions shows a clockwise trend. Moreover, the inhibitory effects of urbanization on decoupling in the Yellow River basin are much greater than the non-urbanization factors. In addition to the effect of urbanization, the transport structure has a major negative effect on decoupling development in the upstream and midstream regions, while energy intensity and energy structure are key to realizing a decoupled status in the downstream region. Finally, we propose some differentiated policy recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Yellow River Basin plays an important role in economic and social development and ecological security; therefore, its ecological protection and high-quality development are vital. In order to understand the level of synergistic development between environment and industry in the Yellow River Basin, and to understand the change in synergy degree through spatial and temporal analysis, and finally to propose suggestions to provide a basis for the policy formulation of environmental protection and industrial development, informing the initiatives of the relevant parties—companies and residents, so as to ensure the high-quality development and sustainable development of the Yellow River Basin, this paper is based on the theory of synergetic and dissipative structure, and it expounds the synergetic mechanism by constructing the compound system of environment and industry in the Yellow River Basin and revealing their internal and external interactions. Based on the panel data of 57 prefecture-level cities in the Yellow River Basin from 2010 to 2020, the synergy degree of environment and industry in the Yellow River Basin and its temporal and spatial characteristics are discussed by using the synergy model of compound systems. The results show that: (1) the overall degree of environmental and industrial synergism in the Basin develops from mildly non-synergistic to mildly synergistic, but the level is still low; there are significant temporal and regional differences in synergy degree in the upper, middle and lower reaches of the Basin and among cities. (2) The number of cities in the basin that are in mild synergy is increasing; the synergy degree shows an overall positive global spatial autocorrelation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Yellow River Basin assumes an important ecological and economic function in China. The study of carbon emissions from land use in the nine provinces (regions) of the pathway is important to achieve carbon reduction. Based on the dynamic data of land use, energy, and economic changes in nine provinces (regions) for the past 30 years from 1990 to 2018, this study analyzed the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of land-use carbon emissions by using the carbon emission coefficient method in the IPCC inventory method and evaluating the low-carbon development model of the nine provinces (regions) by land-use carbon emission intensity. Finally, the LMDI model was used to analyze the factors influencing land-use carbon emissions. The results showed that: (1) in the past 30 years, the net carbon emissions have shown a continuously increasing trend, and the difference in the spatial distribution of carbon emissions in different periods was obvious. The carbon sink effect was not significant enough to offset the carbon emissions generated. (2) The continuously decreasing carbon emission intensity values per unit of GDP indicate that the coordination between land-use and economic development was getting better. (3) The factors of population size, economic size, and land-use structure accelerated land-use carbon emissions, whereas land-use efficiency limited land-use carbon emissions. Accordingly, this paper puts forward some corresponding policy suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Establishment of a watershed ecological compensation mechanism between multiple subjects is an effective means to realize the collaborative governance of water pollution and maintain the security of water ecology. This paper breaks through the conventional upstream and downstream perspectives of watershed ecological compensation design research and combines them with uncertainty factors. The watershed ecological compensation mechanism for the mainstream and branches was established based on the evolutionary game and the random process. Then, taking the midstream of the Yellow River as an example, some constraint conditions and influencing factors were explored. Results show that: (1) The branch government (i.e., the Shanxi provincial government) is the key to establishing an ecological compensation mechanism between the river mainstream and branches. (2) The proportion of pollution transferred by other branches, the initial probability and the random factors are the main factors affecting the decision-making of branch governments (Shanxi and Shaanxi provincial governments). (3) The compensation and reward of the mainstream government to the branch government and the compensation of the branch government to the mainstream government are the main factors affecting the decision-making of mainstream and branch governments (Shanxi–Henan provincial governments, Shaanxi–Henan provincial governments). The study may provide scientific guidance for the construction of a watershed ecological compensation mechanism between mainstream and multiple branches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an essential way to enhance farmers’ self-development ability, off-farm employment plays an indispensable role in farmers’ multidimensional poverty reduction in many countries. Employing a survey of 1926 farmers in five provinces of the Yellow River Basin in China, this paper examined the multi-dimensional poverty reduction effect of off-farm employment and the heterogeneous influence of different dimensions of off-farm employment (modes, levels, distances and frequency). The results showed that (1) although absolute poverty in the income dimension was largely eliminated in the Yellow River Basin, the poverty in social resources, transportation facilities, employment security were the key bottlenecks restricting farmers’ self-development. (2) The province with the best multidimensional poverty reduction effect for non-farm employment was Shaanxi, with the largest contribution to employment security. (3) Improving off-farm employment level, distance and time can significantly alleviate the multi-dimensional poverty of farmers. Therefore, to lessen the multi-dimensional poverty of farmers in the Yellow River Basin, it is necessary to focus on the governance of multi-dimensional key poverty-stricken areas, such as the middle and upper courses of the Yellow River, adopting multidimensional poverty alleviation strategy of off-farm employment according to local conditions, working on the farmers’ deficiencies in social resources, mobility, employment security, and deepening the effect of off-farm employment on benefiting farmers and helping the poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of promoting high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) of China, urgent action is needed to achieve the “Dual Carbon” goal through energy savings, emission reductions, and industrial upgrading. This study measures carbon emissions from eight types of energy consumption across 43 industries from 2000 to 2019. Using the KayaLMDI model, factors affecting carbon emissions are analyzed, and the relationship between industrial structure and carbon emissions is explored through the coefficient of variation (CV). The findings reveal that coal consumption remains significantly higher than other energy sources, and the effect of energy structure adjustment on carbon emission reduction is limited compared to the impact of energy consumption increase on carbon emission growth. Moreover, the economic output effect is identified as the primary driving factor of carbon emissions, while energy utilization rate is crucial in achieving energy savings and emission reductions. Finally, the CV of carbon emissions across 43 industries is increasing. Based on these results, we suggest several policy recommendations, including prioritizing ecological concerns, developing comprehensive and scientifically sound plans, optimizing energy consumption structure, improving energy utilization efficiency, and adjusting industrial structure to promote sustainable development in the YRB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the most basic physical geographic elements, basin terrain and river networks have high spatial complexity and are closely related. However, there is little research on the correlation between terrain and river networks. In this paper, the Yellow River Basin was selected as the study area. Topographic factors of multiple dimensions were calculated. The influence of different topographic factors on the river network structure at different scales and their correlation from a multifractal perspective based on geographical detectors and a geographically weighted regression model were determined. The explanatory power of topography on the river network structure at different scales was: multifractal spectrum width > multifractal spectrum difference > slope > average elevation > elevation maximum > elevation minimum, which generally indicated that the topographic factor that has the greatest influence on the river network structure is the complexity and singularity of the terrain. The second-order clustering of regression coefficients from the results of the geographically weighted regression model revealed that the Yellow River basin was divided into three types of high-aggregation areas, which are dominated by the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Loess Plateau, and the Huang-Huaihai Plain, respectively. The clustering results also revealed that the river network structure was affected by different key topographic factors in the different types of areas. This research studies and quantifies the relationship between basin topography and river network structure from a new perspective and provides a theoretical basis for unraveling the development of topography and river networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the response of vegetation to drought is of great significance to the biodiversity protection of terrestrial ecosystem. Based on the MOD13A2 NDVI, GOSIF, and SPEI data of the Yellow River Basin from 2001 to 2020, this paper used the methods of Theil–Sen median trend analysis, Mann–Kendall significance test, and Pearson correlation analysis to analyze whether the vegetation change trends monitored by MODIS and GOSIF are consistent and their sensitivity to meteorological drought. The results showed that NDVI and SIF increased significantly (p < 0.001) at the rate of 0.496 × 10−2 and 0.345 × 10−2, respectively. The significant improvement area of SIF (66.49%, p < 0.05) is higher than NDVI (50.7%, p < 0.05), and the spatial distribution trend of vegetation growth monitored by NDVI and SIF is consistent. The negative value of SPEI-12 accounts for 65.83%, with obvious periodic changes. The significant positive correlation areas of SIF-SPEI in spring, summer, and autumn (R > 0, p < 0.05) were 7.00%, 28.49%, and 2.28% respectively, which were higher than the significant positive correlation areas of NDVI-SPEI (spring: 1.79%; summer: 20.72%; autumn: 1.13%). SIF responded more strongly to SPEI in summer, and farmland SIF was significantly correlated with SPEI (0.3424, p < 0.01). The results indicate that SIF is more responsive to drought than NDVI. Analyzing the response of vegetation to meteorological drought can provide constructive reference for ecological protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to promote the sustainable development of a social economy and ecology, the social–economic–natural compound ecosystem (SENCE) conceptual framework was used to construct the water environmental carrying capacity index system. Taking the Gansu section of the Yellow River basin as an example, 18 indexes were selected from the 3 subsystems of social, economic, and natural ecology. Based on the unascertained measure theory and the obstacle factor model, the comprehensive level of water environmental carrying capacity in the Gansu section of the Yellow River basin from 2015 to 2020 was empirically evaluated, and the obstacles that hindered the water environmental carrying capacity were identified and analyzed. The results showed that the comprehensive level of water environmental carrying capacity fluctuated and increased overall, and it was grade III (critical load) from 2015 to 2017 and in 2019 and grade IV (weak load) in 2018 and 2020. Considering the ranking of the obstacle degree of each index, the obstacle factors were concentrated in the natural ecological subsystem, among which the obstacle factors were the discharge of wastewater, the population density, the urbanization rate, and the water resources development and utilization rate, which should be examined in the future. The research results and methods described in this paper could provide a theoretical reference for the evaluation of water environmental carrying capacity for other rivers and lakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digital economy (DIE), a new economic form with digitalization at its core, has become an important driving force for promoting regional economy development. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, exploring the impact path of the DIE on carbon emission efficiency (CEE) is conducive to giving full play to the "carbon-reduction-and-efficiency-enhancement" role of the DIE, and to promoting the realization the "dual carbon" goal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. In this paper, the Yellow River Basin (YRB) and the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) are taken as study areas, the panel Tobit model is used to explore the impact of the DIE on CEE, and the intermediary-effect model and threshold-effect model are constructed to test the intermediary and threshold effects of technological innovation, respectively. The results show that the DIE has a U-shaped nonlinear impact on CEE in both the YRB and the YREB and that the impact has regional heterogeneity. Technological innovation can play a mediating effect between the DIE and CEE, whereas the mediating effect in the YRB is stronger than that in the YREB. Technological innovation has a threshold effect on the DIE to improve CEE, while the threshold value in the YREB is higher than that in the YRB. Furthermore, this paper proposes some suggestions to guide regional low-carbon and sustainable development. Impact path of digital economy (DIE) on carbon emission efficiency (CEE) in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) and Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB). [Display omitted] • The Super-SBM model is used to evaluate the urban carbon emission efficiency (CEE), and the entropy weight method is used to evaluate the development level of urban digital economy (DIE). • The DIE has a U-shaped nonlinear impact on CEE in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) and the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB). • The intermediary model and threshold model are used to test the intermediary effect and threshold effect of technological innovation between DIE and CEE. • Technological innovation can play a mediating effect between DIE and CEE, whereas the mediating effect in the YRB is stronger than that in the YREB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]