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The construction models of smart cities and low-carbon cities are crucial for advancing global urbanization, enhancing urban governance, and addressing major urban challenges. Despite significant advancements in smart and low-carbon city research, a consensus on their coupling coordination remains elusive. This study employs mixed-method research, combining qualitative and quantitative analyses, to investigate the coupling coordination between urban smart performance (SCP) and low-carbon level (LCL) across 52 typical smart and low-carbon pilot cities in China. Independent evaluation models for SCP and LCL qualitatively assess the current state of smart and low-carbon city construction. Additionally, an Entropy–TOPSIS–Pearson correlation–Coupling coordination degree (ETPC) analysis model quantitatively examines their relationship. The results reveal that smart city initiatives in China significantly outperform low-carbon city development, with notable disparities in SCP and LCL between eastern, non-resource-based, and central cities versus western, resource-dependent, and peripheral cities. A strong positive correlation exists between urban SCP and overall LCL, with significant correlations in management, society, and economy, and moderate to weak correlations in environmental quality and culture. As SCP levels improve, the coupling coordination degree between the urban SCP and LCL systems also increases, driven primarily by economic, management, and societal factors. Conversely, the subsystems of low-carbon culture and environmental quality show poorer integration. Based on these findings, this study proposes an evaluation system for smart and low-carbon coupling coordination development, outlining pathways for future development from the perspective of urban complex systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coupling coordination of digitalization and green development has become an inevitable requirement for building a new development pattern and achieving high-quality development of China's economy. Based on the panel data of 284 Chinese cities from 2011 to 2021, this study uses the coupling coordination degree model, Dagum Gini coefficient, spatial convergence, Markov transfer probability matrix, and panel Tobit model to quantitatively analyze the spatial–temporal evolution characteristics and influencing factors of the coupling coordination degree of digitization and green development. The study results show that the coupling coordination degree (CCD) of digitalization and green development has an overall increasing trend during the study period, and the eastern region is higher than other regions which showing spatial non-equilibrium characteristics. The spatial difference of the CCD continues to downward, and inter-regional differences are the main source of the CCD. In the long run, there is a "catch-up effect" between cities with low CCD and those with high CCD, and the CCD of digitalization and green development will tend to a steady state. The transfer type of the CCD has the characteristics of "club convergence", the probability of maintaining the original state is high, and the overall CCD shows a good development trend in the future. Factors such as environmental regulation, green innovation, industrial structure upgrading and financial efficiency can significantly contribute to the CCD of digitalization and green development. The above findings provide empirical evidence of the CCD of digitalization and green development to achieve high-quality economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the main grain-producing areas worldwide that balance multi-tasks of grain production, ecological protection, and economic development, quantitatively revealing the correlation between human activity intensity (HAI) and ecosystem service value (ESV) is conducive to formulating adapted ecological protection policies and promoting the coordinated development of the regional economy, society, and ecosystem. In this paper, we took the Songnen Plain of China as an example, employed a modified Equivalent Factor Method (integrating socio-economic data, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and land use data), and the HAI Assessment Model (based on the data of land use, night-time light, and population spatial distribution) to measure the ESV and HAI in the Songnen Plain of China for the years 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020. We further applied the standard deviational ellipse method, the coupled coordination degree model, and the bivariate spatial autocorrelation models to reveal the spatiotemporal dynamics and correlation characteristics of ESV and HAI. The results showed the following: (1) Temporally, the ESV declined from 950.96 billion yuan in 1990 to 836.31 billion yuan in 2015, and then increased to 864.60 billion yuan in 2020, with the total loss attributed to the significant decline in the ESV of the natural ecosystem. Spatially, the ESV in the western and northeastern regions was relatively high, with a significant increase in the northeast. (2) HAI showed an upward trend from 1990 to 2020, while the high HAI levels gradually shrank after reaching the peak in 2000. Low HAI levels were mainly distributed in the northeast and southwest, aligning with the ecological space, while high HAI levels were distributed in the middle and southeast. (3) The interaction between ESV and HAI was marked by a negative correlation, transitioning from conflict to coordination. The spatial pattern of HAI and ESV showed H (HAI)-L (ESV) and L-H clustering, with H-H and L-L scattered distributions. This study contributes to providing a framework, methods, and suggestions for the sustainable planning and utilization of land and ecological protection in order to offer scientific references for the Songnen Plain, other major grain-producing areas, and related studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of economy and society, decision-makers need a deep understanding of the role of sustainable ecosystem management in practical application, which is crucial to the sustainable development of ecosystems. Understanding the relationship between ecosystem supply and social demand is key in overcoming the contradiction between humans and the ecosystem, as well as achieving successful ecological restoration and healthy regional development. However, there is still a lack of multi-scale and multi-method research on the supply–demand relationship of ecosystem services for key ecological-restoration zone. In this study, a typical ecological barrier (i.e., Ganzhou City of southern China) was selected as the research area, and five ecosystem services (ESs) including water yield (WY), carbon sequestration (CS), crop production (CP), soil retention (SR) and recreation service (RE) were investigated at the pixel, township and county scale in 2020. The balance and coordination analysis of ESs supply and the quantitative analysis of the supply–demand relationship (using the coupling coordination degree (CD), matching degree (MD), and supply–demand ratio (SDR)) were executed under multiple scales. Finally, based on the MD at the township scale, Ganzhou City was divided into four areas: high-demand, low-demand, low-supply and high-supply areas. The results reveal a trade-off relationship between CP and CS at the pixel scale, with no trade-off relationships observed among the ESs at the other scales. The supply–demand relationships of different districts and counties in Ganzhou City are highly uncoordinated, with distinct spatial mismatching. Areas with high CD values are located in Chongyi County and Longnan County, while the low/value SDR area is located in Zhanggong District, with a relatively high population and GDP. The results of MD division based on township level in Ganzhou City show 17 townships are classified as high-demand areas (mainly in urban areas) and 23 townships are classified as low-demand areas (mainly in the suburbs); 77 townships are classified as low-supply areas and 167 townships are classified as high-supply areas, which are mainly distributed in forest areas. This study provides guide for regional ecological space planning, enhances the understanding of ESs management, and provides a more objective reference for decision makers to plan future ecological restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intensified human activities have been seriously threatening the structure and ecological processes of ecosystems, resulting in habitat degradation. Therefore, coordinating the coupling between human activities and habitat quality (HQ) is crucial for high‐quality sustainable regional development and human well‐being. This study evaluated the human activities and HQ in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) urban agglomeration in China from 2000 to 2020 using the human footprint index (HFI) and the integrated valuation of ecosystem services and tradeoffs model. Then, we employed bivariate spatial autocorrelation and a coupling coordination degree (CCD) model to explore the synergistic relationship between human activities and HQ. The results show that spatial changes in HQ were predominantly driven by human activities. The gradual outward urban expansion resulted in significant HQ degradation. Slight HQ improvement by ecological restoration in urban outskirts cannot offset HQ losses caused by urbanization. During the study period, high‐HQ low‐HFI clusters decreased by 1.02%, while low‐HQ high‐HFI clusters increased by 4.67%, the two main clustering types in the PRD. Despite the CCD between HFI and HQ increased after 2010, the continuous changes of CCD characteristics from the HFI significantly lagged type to the HQ lagged. HFI showed an inverted U‐shaped relationship with CCD. The CCD peaks during 2000–2020 corresponded to HFI decreasing from 0.711 to 0.566. This indicates that the risk of decoupling between human activities and HQ gradually increased. Furthermore, CCD levels and characteristics in different bivariate clusters exhibited varying changes over time. These results reveal that the spatiotemporal dislocation between urbanization and ecological restoration induced the spatial nonstationarity of the coupling relationship between human activities and HQ. Urbanization exacerbates the imbalance between human development and biodiversity conservation. Therefore, we suggest reasonably delimiting urban boundaries, controlling the scale of urban sprawl, and strengthening biodiversity protection in areas undergoing rapid urbanization. In addition, we advocate for the division of ecological barrier zones, urban development buffer zones, and urban built‐up areas, each with tailored management and protection measures. Our findings can provide an important reference for the ecological restoration of urban agglomerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The green transformation of industry and sustainable economic development both require considerable investment. In this regard, green finance that is compatible with economic development can help cope with the massive demand for capital. Taken China's Yangtze River Delta (YRD) as an example, this study is to measure the coordination degree between green finance and economic development. First, the concept, content and scope of green finance is defined based on the new financial regulation mechanism. Second, a green finance measurement index is built to calculate the green finance index for 30 Chinese provinces by the CFA test. Third, based on the economic structure index, an economic development index is built. Testing the rationality of green financial index and the economic development index, this paper finally measures the degree of coordination between green finance and economic development in the YRD. The results reveal that, first, green finance is a financial instrument that integrates financial industry development, environmental improvement, and economic growth. The measurement of the green financial development index includes the sum of regional green credit, green investment, green securities, and green insurance. Second, after years' development, the comprehensive score of YRD's coupling coordination degree exceeds 0.8 in 2020, which shows a high level of coordinated development between green finance and economic construction. However, there is a 2-year timing effect between the economic development and green finance index increase, which reveals that green finance development in the YRD requires further policy guidance and support. This study's findings can provide a theoretical reference and case support for the further development of green finance and related policies in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of habitat quality, human footprint, and coupling coordination between two systems in continuous cycles and on national scales is of great significance to maintaining biodiversity and sustainable development. This study took China as an example, based on land-use data from 2000 to 2020, using the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs—Habitat Quality (InVEST-HQ) model and the human footprint framework, coupling trend analysis methods such as Theil–Sen Median Analysis, Mann–Kendall Test, and Grid Transition Matrix (GTM) Method and combining the four-quadrant model and the coupling coordination degree model (CCDM) to reveal the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of habitat quality, human footprint, and CCDM in China for 21 consecutive years and the response relationship between the two systems of habitat quality and human footprint. The results show that the land cover change area from 2000 to 2020 accounted for 4.2% of the total area. Both habitat quality and human footprints exhibit apparent spatial heterogeneity along the "Hu Line" and generally fall into two evolutionary stages: "degradation–improvement". The proportions of degradation and improvement were 14.37% and 8.36%, respectively, and the mutation point was in the year 2013; the average human footprint increased by 16.75%, and the increased and decreased area proportions were 63.40% and 21.53%, respectively. The mutation occurred in 2014. The right side of the "Hu Line" primarily hosts areas with high values of the coordinated coupling index of human footprints and habitat quality systems. The four quadrants generally have the following characteristics: "quadrant IV on the right is dominant, quadrants II and III on the left are dominant, and quadrant I is located in the transition zone of the 'Hu Line'". The coupling coordination degree (CCD) and human footprints have a weak, nonlinear "inverted U-shaped" relationship. This study provides compelling evidence for the spatiotemporal evolution and coupling relationship between habitat quality and human footprint in China, provides scientific decision-making support for biodiversity protection and sustainable economic development, and maintains the bottom line of ecological security for a beautiful China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New urbanization (NU) and ecological welfare performance (EWP) play pivotal roles in achieving sustainable urban development, with both emphasizing social equity and environmental management. Exploring the coordinated relationship between EWP and NU is invaluable for understanding the symbiotic interplay between humans and nature. We constructed a framework to elucidate the coupling mechanism of EWP and NU from the perspective of systems theory. We quantified the levels of NU and EWP utilizing the entropy weighting method and the super-efficient SBM method, respectively. Furthermore, we assessed the degree of coupling coordination between the two using the coupling coordination degree model (CCDM). Spatial and temporal evolution analysis was conducted, and factors influencing the degree of coupling coordination between EWP and NU were explored through a spatial–temporal geographically-weighted regression model (GTWR). The results indicate: (1) During the study period, the average annual increase in EWP in the study area was 2.59%, with a narrowing relative gap between cities. Conversely, the average annual increase in the level of NU was 7.6%, with demographic and economic dimensions carrying the highest weights. (2) The type of coupling coordination between EWP and NU transitions from basic coordination to moderate coordination, with the development of EWP lagging behind that of NU. (3) City size demonstrates a positive yet diminishing trend on the coupling coordination level, with economic development exerting the greatest influence and exhibiting a "V" trend, while the impact of green technology innovation diminishes negatively. Additionally, regional disparities are significant, with city size exhibiting a negative impact in areas of high population density and low economic levels, and green technology innovation showing notable polarization characteristics in core cities. These findings serve as a foundation for fostering coordinated ecological development amid the rapid urbanization process of the Chengdu–Chongqing Economic Circle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the greatest challenges in the agroecosystem is to improve cropland intensification while preserving agroecosystem services. While many studies have investigated the effect of cropland intensification on agroecosystem service, the interactive coupling and coordination among these factors remain largely unexplored. In view of this, this study performed a case study of the Loess Plateau in Shaanxi Province, China and constructed comprehensive evaluation models to quantify the cropland intensification and agroecosystem service in this area. Balance analysis and the coupling coordination degree model were used to evaluate the interactive relationship between cropland intensification and agroecosystem service, and statistical analysis and spatial autocorrelation were used to analyze the spatial characteristics and potential mechanism of the coupling coordination. Results show that both the cropland intensification and agroecosystem service in the study area were relatively low yet gradually increased from 2000 to 2020. Agroecosystem service lag was identified as the dominant unbalanced development type. Improving the supply capacity of agroecosystem services plays a key role in the balanced development of cropland in the Loess Plateau. The coupling coordination degree between cropland intensification and agroecosystem service ranges from basic coordination to serious incoordination. Therefore, cropland intensification practices in the area should be optimized to enhance this coordination degree. An upward trend was also observed in the coupling coordination degree from 2000 to 2020. The withdrawal of marginal cropland in the Grain for Green program is one of the most important reasons for this trend, especially for the northern region. Around 83.6% of the high-high clusters are concentrated in the southern region of the Loess Plateau, whereas 70.5% of the low-low clusters are distributed in the northern region. These clustering characteristics are mainly attributed to the environmental suitability of these areas for agriculture and their degree of economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of coordinated cross-regional development led by scientific and technological innovation (STI) is vital in promoting high-quality development in China. However, there is limited research on the coordination status, driving mechanism, and key influencing factors of STI in China. This study has proposed the interrelationship between STI, socio-economic, ecological environment, and energy consumption (SEEE) with coupling coordination degree (CCD) model, conducted a spatio-temporal evolution heterogeneity analysis, and identified the key barriers to meet the needs of an increasingly complex and interacting social reality. The results show that: (1) The current CCD of the SEEE system shows a clear stepped state in time sequence with an unbalance development class among cross-regional; (2) The CCD of the SEEE system has a significant spatial positive correlation, which shows a geographical distribution trend of "high in the south and low in the north," "high in the east and low in the west," and " bulging in the middle and low in the ends." The regions with high CCD are clustered in the "coastal and riverine" areas, which can drive the neighboring provinces through spatial association. Central China has great potential to rise fast; (3) STI subsystem is the key obstacle affecting CCD development. Still, the energy consumption subsystem has an insignificant impact, of which the "transaction value in technical markets" indicator is the key obstacle factor. This paper puts forward policy implications based on the study results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous development of Internet technology, all areas of social economy have undergone profound changes. The circulation and application of data elements can significantly promote the construction of infrastructure such as big data centers and mobile base stations, and stimulate the market demand for digital consumption such as digital production, e-commerce and digital trade. Data mining technology will provide sustainable impetus for economic development. There is a clearer analysis of the role of data elements in the platform economy, but there is a lack of research in macroeconomics, especially in the coupling of finance and technology. This paper developed a coupling coordination and a coupling efficiency index system, using different methods to measure outcomes and outline the path to achieving high "quantity" and "quality" of finance-technology coupling development. Based on the data mining technology in e-commerce, the fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis method is used to analyze the complex mechanisms and driving paths of data elements affecting the coordination degree and coupling efficiency of finance-technology coupling performance of China. We empirically document that data mining and data management are necessary to improve coupling coordination; in the absence of other conditions, data mining or data management can produce high coupling coordination, but not sufficient to improve coupling efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effective resolution of environmental pollution caused by carbon haze through coordinated progress in green technology and urban ecological resilience is a crucial approach towards promoting sustainable development in Chinese cities. In this study, panel data from 281 cities in China from 2007 to 2019 were analyzed using the entropy method and the coupling coordination degree model to determine the coupling coordination degree between green technology progress and urban ecological resilience. The coordinated influence model and threshold model were applied to investigate coupled coordination types and influencing factors. Results indicate that green technology progress levels have shown an upward trend with increasing volatility from east to west and decreasing volatility with urban scale expansion. Ecological resilience levels have also steadily increased, albeit at a reduced rate. The coupling coordination degree of green technology progress and urban ecological resilience has evolved overall from low to high levels; however, the coupling coordination type has regressed to some extent, with most regions exhibiting lagging green technological progress. Pressure resilience has a positive impact on the coupling coordination degree, while state resilience and response resilience have a negative impact. Green technology progress has a dual threshold effect on the coupling coordination degree. By exploring the coupling and coordination mechanism between green technology progress and urban ecological resilience, this study not only facilitates collaborative management of pollutants and greenhouse gases in cities but also provides a comprehensive reference for the construction of an institutional system for collaborative carbon and haze management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coordinated development of land urbanization and population urbanization is crucial for the advancement of new urbanization. The study applied the entropy weight method and coupling coordination degree model, taking Shaanxi—a province in China characterized by a moderate pace of economic development and volume, along with distinct geographic and demographic features within its region—as the subject. It assessed the coordination conditions of these two types of urbanization from both macro and micro scales during the years 2010–2022. Utilizing the Analytic Network Process (ANP), the study ranked and analyzed the causes of issues stemming from uneven development, thus connecting a crucial link from theoretical analysis to decision-making implementation. The results showed that: (1) The province's land urbanization index was between 0.075 and 0.203, whereas the population urbanization index ranged from 0.221 to 0.408, with the development of the former significantly lagging behind the latter. (2) The coupling degree between land and population urbanization ranged from 0.835 to 0.854, with a coordination degree between 0.148 and 0.306. This indicated that a close connection had been formed between the two, yet a benign coupling relationship had not been established, displaying a spatial distribution characterized by "high in the middle, low in the north and south". (3) The limitation on further urban expansion was identified as the primary issue to be addressed (with a weight of 0.324), followed by insufficient infrastructure (with a weight of 0.261). The extent of ecological environmental damage was comparatively lower (with a weight of 0.225), and the degree of social injustice was the lowest (with a weight of 0.191). Therefore, to alleviate the problems associated with the imbalanced development between land urbanization and population urbanization, measures such as optimizing land spatial layout, enhancing urban ecological service functions, and strengthening the central cities' radiating effect should be implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, rapid urbanization has contributed to an increasingly dominant trend of people congregating around river basins. As a result, significant changes in land use structure occur, leading to alterations in ecosystem structure and gradual degradation of ecological service functions. Using the DLB (Dianchi Lake Basin) in southwestern China as the research area, this essay analyzed its land use structure in 2020 and constructed an urban eco-resilience evaluation system based on the three dimensions of "resistibility, adaptability, and recuperability" derived from the eco-resilience theory. Meanwhile, the physical coupling model was used to calculate the coupling coordination degree of land use and eco-resilience in the area. Research shows: (1) the DLB is a complete and relatively independent ecosystem, with diverse land use types in the watershed, and the land use structure of the watershed is related to altitude and economic development; (2) the overall eco-resilience of the area has significant spatial differences in distribution. The eco-resilience of the lakeside built-up area is the lowest eco-resilience, and the regions with higher resilience are primarily those surrounding the lake or hills. (3) According to the coupling coordination degree model, the calculated coupling degree of land use and eco-resilience is 0.49, and the coordination degree is 0.38, indicating early stages of the coupling coordination progress. This paper developed a comprehensive evaluation model of land use and river basin eco-resilience, and studied the coupling relationship between the two. This holds theoretical and practical significance for ecological protection and sustainable development of DLB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the background of educational commodification, the premium price phenomenon of school district houses (SDH) is prevalent and the comprehensive livability of SDH warrants further exploration. The comprehensive livability of SDH should consider the objective livability and the subjective satisfaction of residents. This paper evaluates the objective livability of SDH from four aspects (i.e., safety of living space, convenience of public facilities, convenience of transportation, comfort of living environment) and the residents' satisfaction of SDH from five dimensions (i.e., living environment, architecture design, spatial planning, infrastructure, and community service). The entropy method is used to determine the weight of each index. To assess the comprehensive livability, the coupling coordination degree model between objective livability and residents' satisfaction of SDH is constructed. Furthermore, the matching degree among comprehensive livability, housing price, and educational resources is discussed. The results show that the distribution pattern of objective livability is high in the center and low in the periphery. The SDHs with high residents' satisfaction are mostly distributed in Xincheng District and Saihai District, and the residents' satisfaction of new SDHs is higher than that of the old one. Saihan District and Xincheng District, characterized by better economic development and well-established infrastructure, exhibit a greater number of SDHs with high comprehensive livability. Conversely, Yuquan District and Huimin District, marked by lower economic development and relatively inadequate facilities, have fewer SDHs with high comprehensive livability. These findings can provide decision-making basis for the construction of livable city and the balance of the high-quality educational resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past decades, resource shortage and environmental degradation due to rapid economic development have become a severe challenge while limiting China's regional sustainable and coordinated development. This paper provides a case study of Jiangsu Province in China employing the coupling coordination model and geo-detector model to seek solutions for realizing the region coordinated development from the interaction of technological innovation (TI ), industrial upgrading (IU ) and eco-environment (EE ). This study reaches the following conclusions. (1) The coupling coordination degree (D ) of TI - IU - EE system (TIIUEES) in Jiangsu Province was general in the stage of mild unbalance. (2) The D value exhibited a positive evolutionary trend in time series. However, the backwardness of EE constrained the regional coordination development, which led to the slow and small growth with fluctuation. (3) Spatially, the D value generally conformed to a gradient distribution from south to north, which was caused by regional internal extremely unbalanced development. (4) Economic benefits had a decisive effect on the coordinated development in TIIUEES, and the interaction of two factors could gain an "enhanced, bilinear" or even "enhanced, nonlinear" result. This study contributes to exploring the driving determinants of D value in TIIUEES based on the description of the temporal and spatial features and providing a credible reference for future research and decision-makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coupling coordination development of environmental regulation and scientific and technological innovation can provide strong support for economic growth and ecological civilization. This paper constructed the evaluation index system of environmental regulation and scientific and technological innovation, then measured the coupling coordination degree of environmental regulation and scientific and technological innovation in 30 Chinese provinces (municipalities and autonomous regions) from 2009 to 2020, and finally analyzed the spatial and temporal distribution pattern of the coupling coordination degree. The results showed that the coupling coordination degree of environmental regulation and scientific and technological innovation in China showed an increasing trend, and the growth rate was characterized by "high in the west and low in the east". But the coupling coordination degree was low and had not yet reached the state of benign coupling coordination development. There are regional differences in the coupling coordination degree, with an overall spatial distribution pattern of "high in the east and low in the west, high in the south and low in the north". The high-level coupling coordination areas gradually expand from the eastern coast to the inland. According to the coupling coordination level and characteristics, Chinese provinces (municipalities and autonomous regions) are divided into five categories, namely, innovation initiative mode, technological progress mode, environmental constraint mode, traditional passive mode and innovation lag mode, and it is proposed that environmental regulation should implement differentiated regional policies according to regional innovation capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the impact mechanisms of territorial space composition and landscape pattern changes on carbon storage is critical to balance the development and utilization of territorial space and the conservation of the ecosystem. Thus, taking the Fujian Delta urban agglomeration (FDUA) of China as an example, this paper analyzed the impact of the transference in territorial space composition and the change in the coupling coordination degree (CCD) of landscape patterns on carbon storage based on the urban–rural gradient and grid scales. Results illustrated that the areas of agricultural, green, and blue spaces continued to decline, while the intensity of economic space expansion increased from 20.86 to 42.45% during 2000–2020. The grids with CCD change of landscape patterns declined mainly (accounting for 64.31%) in the first decade and rose mainly (accounting for 76.79%) in the second decade. The carbon loss of each under rural gradient was gradually serious. The percentage of grids with moderate and significant decrease in carbon storage escalated from 27.83 to 70.21%. Additionally, grids experiencing high carbon loss moved from the northeast coast to the southwest inland. The response of carbon storage change showed that the expansion of agricultural space occupied by economic space played a crucial role in the carbon loss in each urban–rural gradient. The carbon loss caused by supplementing agricultural space with green space increased from the urban to the field. Enhancing the CCD of landscape patterns can boost carbon storage, and the scattering expansion of economic space needs to be avoided. This paper provides a novel perspective to explore the spatial response of carbon storage change to the territorial space composition and landscape pattern evolution, which is important to optimize the territorial space pattern and improve the regional carbon sink capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid urbanization (UR) and industrialization in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) have resulted in a significant scarcity of water resources (WRs), highlighting the need to investigate the complex and dynamic relationship between UR and WR for sustainable urban development in ecologically fragile areas. This study utilizes the coupling coordination degree model (CCDM), spatial correlation analysis, and Tobit model to examine the coupling coordination relationship, spatial effects, and key factors between UR and WR in sixty prefecture-level cities within the YRB. The empirical findings reveal that the development of the WR subsystem lags behind the UR subsystem and that there is a significant spatial disequilibrium in the CCD between UR and WR. Specifically, the high-high clusters are located in the northwest and east, while the low-low clusters are spread in the southwest. Furthermore, investment in science and technology and economic development have a positive impact on the CCD, while government capacity, urban construction, and industrial structure have a negative impact. These results can provide valuable guidance for decision-making in urban planning for ecologically fragile areas facing water supply constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a considerable challenge to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of ending poverty and maintaining ecosystems' function in rural areas, largely due to that the rural people's livelihood relied heavily on fragile ecosystems. China is ambitious to solve this issue by enacting economic stimulus policies such as ecological protection compensation and payment for ecosystem services (ESs). However, these interventions are generally based on stockholders' willingness and lack of scientific basis. Here, we firstly combined InVEST model and social-economic data to evaluate the ecosystem services supply and demand (ESSD), by taking 25 key counties to receive assistance in pursuing rural revitalization in Sichuan province as the study cases. The coupling coordination degree model was then employed to measure the coordination relationship of ESSD. Finally, the driving factors were analyzed based on correlation analysis and stepwise regression method. The results showed that all ESs, except carbon sequestration, were oversupplied with significant spatial heterogeneity. From 2000 to 2020, the supply of all ESs increased, in which the food production had the most notable increase ratio amounting to 48.20%, while the demand of water retention and air purification decreased substantially. Due to the inconsistency between cultivated land area and population changes, significant spatial heterogeneity existed in the coordination relationship of food production. The counties with the highest and the lowest annual average coordination index were Yanyuan (0.9950) and Rangtang (0.1208), respectively. The rural employees and the agricultural gross output value were the key positive factors influencing the quantity and coordination of ESSD, while ecological compensation and financial expenditure had no significant impact, further indicating that these policies were not linked to the performance of ecosystems' function. Finally, policy implications were raised. This study provides a scientific framework for enacting the interventions towards ecological sustainability and poverty ending from ESSD perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital inclusive finance (DIF) has been growing fast in recent years in China, and green technology innovation (GTI) is strongly promoted by the Chinese government. The coordinated development of DIF and GTI is important for China's economic transition to high-quality development. Therefore, utilizing the panel data of 288 prefecture cities from 2011 to 2020 in China, the research evaluates the coupling coordination degree between DIF and GTI (CCD-DG), analyzes spatial–temporal characteristics of CCD-DG, explores its regional disparities and finally analyzes its spatial effects. Results demonstrate that CCD-DG at the prefecture-city level showed a rise from 2011 to 2020, but the degree was only in the stage of basic coordination till 2020, which was mainly driven by the development of DIF in recent years. The regional disparities in CCD-DG remarkably existed but gradually narrowed down during the observation period, which mainly originated from the between-subregions differences as a result of the huge difference in GTI. Additionally, there was a significant spatial spillover effect of CCD-DG and its spatial distribution was roughly consistent with the spatial effect layout. Policy implications based on these results are finally proposed, including formulating policies with local characteristics to promote CCD-DG, emphasizing the discrepancies of CCD-DG between the East and the Northwest, and that within the Northwest and the South, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Qinghai–Xizang Plateau is one of the important units of the major project of ecosystem protection and restoration in China's "three zones and four belts"(2021–2035), and balancing its ecological security with rational regional development is the basis for ensuring China's ecological stability. In this paper, the coupling mechanism between regional development intensity and ecological security is explained, and a measurement system of the relationship is designed, from which the coordination degree and type division of the coupling between regional development intensity and ecological security on the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau from 2011 to 2020 is measured. The results show the following: (1) During the study period, the regional development intensity of the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau has been increasing, with Xining and Lhasa as the "core" that drives the development and expansion of the surrounding areas. The ecological security index has been also on the rise, showing a pattern of "belt-shaped depressions in the central and western parts of the Plateau, and vertical clusters in the eastern part of the Plateau". The depression moves toward the southern part of Xinjiang. (2) The degree of coupling and coordination between development intensity and ecological safety in each city (prefecture) on the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau has increased by different degrees, but many cities (prefectures) still show a lag in development intensity or ecological security. (3) The evolution of the pattern of coupling and coordination between regional development intensity and ecological security on the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau varies significantly, forming a pattern of "high in the east and low in the west, with multiple clusters side by side". To some extent, this paper reveals the correlation between the spatial and temporal distributions of regional development intensity and ecological security on the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau, which can provide a basis for the regulation of human activities in the construction of ecological security barriers at the city (prefecture) level on the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigating the regional difference is of enormous practical value in the context of the new normal. Only a few studies, however, explored the regional difference in high-quality development from the perspective of coupling coordination. Based on the panel data set covering China's 30 provinces during 2003-2020, this study explores the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics, regional differences, and obstacle factors of the coupling coordination degree of high-quality development. The results show that: (1) Innovation is the main factor limiting high-quality development. Greenness is the main weak point of the eastern regions; The disadvantages of the central, northeast, and western regions are mainly openness. (2) The coupling coordination degree of high-quality development is low, with a significant spatiotemporal differentiation. The regional difference of coupling coordination degree is reduced, and the main source is the inter-regional difference. (3) The obstacle factors of coupling coordination degree have changed over time. Obstacle factors of the national, eastern, central, and northeast regions are the subsystem of carbon emissions; Obstacle factors of the western regions are distributed in the economy, greenness, coordination, and innovation. Based on the perspective of coupling coordination, this paper proposes policy recommendations for the synergy evolution of China's high-quality development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sci-Tech Popularization (STP) and Sci-Tech Innovation (STI) are two significant components to realize China's innovation development. STI provides direction and content for STP, while STP creates an intense atmosphere for STI. By establishing two evaluation index systems of STP and STI, the STP index and the STI index of China and Chinese 31 provinces from 2010 to 2019 was calculated, and the STP index and the STI index from 2020 to 2024 were predicted. Finally, the relative development degree (RDD), the coupling coordination degree (CCD) and the dynamic degree of STP and STI were figured out. The results showed that: (1) From 2010 to 2024, the STP index and the STI index of China and Chinese 31 provinces showed a growing trend. The growth rate of STI was higher than that of STP, but the STP and the STI were low. (2) The RDD results showed that the development of STP lagged behind that of STI after 2018, and the gap between them showed a growing trend. (3) The CCD of STP and STI in China spanned three grades: moderate imbalance, slight imbalance, and approaching imbalance. The CCD in Chinese each province spanned five grades: severe imbalance, moderate imbalance, slight imbalance, approaching imbalance, reluctant coordination. The CCD was developing in a good direction, China and most Chinese provinces were still in an unbalanced level instead. Finally, suggestions on infrastructure, technical means, personnel, and social responsibility were put forward to promote the coordinated development between STP and STI in China. Plain Language Summary: The study between Sci-Tech Popularization and Sci-Tech Innovation in China The science and technology of countries and regions is not only shown by the high level of Science and Technology Innovation (STI), but also by the strong ability of Science and Technology Popularization (STP). STI and STP are two aspects of scientific and technological work, which should be integrated and coordinated. This study refers to the concept of physics coupling theory to explore the principle and coupling mechanism of STP and STI. The coupling degree of STP and STI is studied in each province, and the regional status quo and characteristics of the coupling are analyzed between STP and STI in China. Based on that, the study explores the development path STP and STI in China, and provides reference for correctly understanding the development status of STP and STI, as well as formulating and implementing relevant policies to promote the development of STP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was based on the theories of industry integration, industry chain value, and coupling coordination, as well as previous research results. Taking the development level of the tea industry and tourism industry in the eight main tea-producing areas in China from 2011 to 2020 as the empirical research object, a quality evaluation index system for the development of the tea and tourism industry was constructed, and the coupling coordination model and spatial analysis method were used to evaluate and present the effect of tea tourism integration. And regression models were used to explore the driving mechanism of tea tourism integration development. The results indicate that the tea and tourism industries in the main tea-producing areas over the past decade were highly coupled, which were present in the middle to late stages of integrated development. The overall trend shows a spatial feature of "high in the middle and low on both sides", with an inverted "U" shape in the east-west direction. The high value area at the provincial level has always been Yunnan Province. The driving force mechanism is the joint influence of internal and external factors: the internal driving force is the internal coupling between the tea and tourism industries, which drives the formation of a new business model: the integration of tea and tourism. In terms of external macro environment, policy guidance and support are the leading forces, sustained economic development is the driving force, social and cultural prosperity is the pulling force, and technological innovation and application are the supporting forces. Suggestions were also made on further promoting the integrated development of tea tourism consisting of strengthening government guidance and support to improve factor protection, promoting the improvement of industry quality and efficiency to consolidate the foundation of development, digging and highlighting cultural connotations to expand the depth of development, applying technology to cultivate talents and thus strengthen development support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve high-quality development, it is crucial to encourage the coordinated development of new infrastructure (NI) and regional sustainability (RS). Based on the coupling mechanism of NI and RS, this study develops a comprehensive evaluation index system, coupling coordination degree model (CCDM), spatial autocorrelation model, and standard deviation ellipse model used to estimate the coupling coordination degree (CCD) of NI-RS in China mainland between 2013 and 2020 and analyze the temporal and spatial evolution characteristic. The results showed the following: (1) The NI index fluctuated and increased, while the RS index increased year by year, showing a gradient-decreasing distribution pattern from east to west; (2) CCD increases year by year, but the spatial distribution is unbalanced, and CCD in eastern coastal areas is significantly higher than that in western areas. (3) The CCD of NI and RS showed a significant spatial positive correlation, showing that the high-value cluster in the east and the low-value cluster in the west. (4) The standard deviation ellipse of the national CCD showed a northeast-southwest distribution, the center of gravity migrated to the southwest, and the spatial clustering characteristics were significant. (5) Finally, the GM (1,1) model indicates a steady increase in CCD from 2021 to 2025. Based on the location distribution and evolution of the CCD between NI and RS in China, corresponding policy suggestions are put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Risk assessment is an effective means to alleviate urban flood disasters and has attracted the attention of many studies. However, most previous studies about urban flood risk assessment often focused more on urban inundation area and depth, less on the inter-relationship of the components of risk. In this study, an urban flood risk assessment approach that characterizes the relationship among the three components of risk "hazard-exposure-vulnerability" (H-E-V) is developed. Firstly, eleven flood risk indicators are selected based on the flood simulation results of urban flood model and statistical data to establish the urban flood risk assessment index system. Then, the combination of analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and entropy weight method is employed to determine the weight of each indicator and the comprehensive urban flood risk is assessed. Most importantly, the coupling coordination degree model (CCDM) is used to reveal the relationship among H-E-V. After applying this method to Haikou city, China, the results show that the comprehensive effect and the coupling coordination degrees among H-E-V have a multidimensional impact on urban flood risk. For example, some sub-catchments, although at high risk of flooding, may experience a potential waste of resources. Urban flood assessment can be made more detailed and three-dimensional by comparing hazard, exposure, and vulnerability horizontally. Understanding and grasping the internal relationships among these three risk components can help implement flood prevention measures, optimize the allocation of flood prevention resources, and effectively reduce urban flood risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decoupling of cropland and livestock due to the industrialization of livestock production is a difficult problem for sustainable agricultural development in many global locations, including China. As population and urbanization increase, this decoupling is likely to become more serious. To date, the relationship between cropland and livestock has been mainly studied from a single perspective, and mostly at the regional and the local scales. Thus, the objective of our study is to systematically assess the coupling relationship between cropland and livestock from multiple aspects on a large scale. Here, we used a complex system covering cropland, livestock and environment subsystems to comprehensively analyze the spatio-temporal variation of the coupling coordination between cropland and livestock and its influencing factors in China over the past two decades. Elaborating on the data, we constructed a comprehensive system of evaluation indexes for cropland–livestock systems. We used a coupling coordination degree model to evaluate the coupling coordination relationship between cropland and livestock in 31 provinces of China during 2000–2020. The results show that the range of cropland–livestock and cropland–livestock–environment coupling coordination degree was 0.4–0.9. In most of the provinces, there was no risk of cropland and livestock decoupling; however, the coupling coordination degree needed to be increased. More attention should be paid to the coordinated development of cropland and livestock coupling in urbanized areas such as Beijing and Tianjin, where cropland and livestock decoupling was more likely to occur. Among the assessed 29 factors, 15 and 16 had an impact on the cropland–livestock and the cropland–livestock–environment coupling coordination degrees, respectively. Our study provides science-based evidence to support estimating the coupling relationship between cropland and livestock in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The regional economy of desertification area plays a pivotal role in the land economy. Therefore, the rational development of deserticulture is of paramount significance to the economic, social, and ecological benefits of sand areas in western China. In this paper, we constructed a comprehensive evaluation index system for the development of deserticulture and the benefits of desertification land use. The entropy method was used to calculate the weight of each index, which was then used to evaluate the level of development in Ordos City from 2010 to 2017. Additionally, we analyzed the coupling relationship between these two subsystems. The results indicate a gradual increase in the input, output, and environmental evaluation value of deserticulture development, as well as the economic, social, and ecological benefits of desertification land use from 2010 to 2017 in Ordos City. Additionally, there has been an overall improvement in the comprehensive evaluation value of both systems. The level of coupling and coordinated development between deserticulture development and desertification land use benefits has been further enhanced, with a significant increase in the degree of subsystem coordination. Initially, there was serious internal and external developmental discoordination in the system, which gradually improved to an overall state of barely coordinated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coordination of urbanization with the ecological environment has become a significant sustainable urban development problem given the current acceleration in China's urbanization. The existing research lacks in-depth discussion on the coordination relationship between urbanization and energy eco-environment from the perspective of urban agglomeration. This paper takes the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration as its research area. The combination of CRITIC and entropy weight methods is used to measure the comprehensive urbanization level (CUL) from the four dimensions of population, economy, land, and society, and the SBM-Undesirable model is used to measure the energy eco-efficiency (EE). The spatiotemporal pattern and dynamic evolution law of the coupling coordination degree (CCD) between CUL and EE are analyzed using the coupling coordination model and the spatial Markov chain. The research results reveal that (1) from the comprehensive development level standpoint, both CUL and EE are on the rise from 2010 to 2021; however, a problem of unbalanced development is observed. (2) The overall CCD displays an upward trend and evinces significant spatial differentiation characteristics from the coordinated development level viewpoint. (3) The CCD transition state is not isolated to certain geographic spaces: adjacent cities will impact changes in the coupling coordination types of an urban center. Therefore, we propose strategies to improve the CCD between CUL and EE to offer theoretical and policy inferences for the formulation of sustainable urban development strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism is a significant way for the public to enjoy the cultural ecosystem services provided by protected areas (PAs). However, with PAs being expected to make much wider ecological, social and economic contributions to sustainability and human well-being, PA managers face challenges in coordinating tourism with other goals, such as ecological conservation and local community development. To address this challenge, we developed a sustainability assessment framework that considers the PA, local community, and tourism as a complex system comprising social, economic, and ecological subsystems from the perspective of subsystem relationships. The coupling coordination degree model and the obstacle degree model were applied to assess sustainability of the tourism system in Qinghai Lake Nature Reserve of China. The assessment results indicate that the sustainability index fluctuated between 2010 and 2019, but generally exhibited an upward trend, undergoing three stages and reaching the stage in 2019 where ecological sustainability took the lead. At this stage, the coupling coordination degree between the economy and society subsystems was at its lowest, and the economic subsystem faced the highest obstacle degree. The study demonstrates that involving scholars and administrators in the index selection process and considering both index information and management concerns when determining index weight makes the coupling coordination degree model more suitable for PA tourism systems. The assessment method developed in this study effectively reflects the temporal evolution of PA tourism system sustainability and provides valuable implications for coordinated ecological-economic-social management by analyzing obstacle factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the coupling coordination degree between water and land resources matching (WLRM) and cultivated land use eco-efficiency (CLUE) is crucial to ensuring national food security and constructing an ecological civilization. This study is based on the data of 71 prefecture-level cities in the major grain-producing areas in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River from 2008 to 2020. The unit area water resource method, the slacks-based measurement (SBM)-undesirable, the Theil–Sen median analysis, the Mann–Kendall trend test, the coupling coordination degree model, and the spatial autocorrelation model are adopted to measure and analyze the WLRM, the CLUE, and the coupling and coordination level, and their spatial–temporal evolution characteristics quantitatively. Results show the following: (1) From 2008 to 2020, the average value of WLRM in the study areas is 18,200 m3/hm2, which is at a medium level, and the provinces show the characteristics of "high in the south and low in the north, with decreasing gradients". (2) The annual average of CLUE is 0.777, which is in the medium level, and each province has the remarkable characteristics of "one high and four low". (3) The coupling coordination degree of WLRM and CLUE is in the primary coordination level, which shows a significant positive correlation in space. In the local perspective, it shows the agglomeration characteristics of "high in the south and low in the north, nodule distribution". In the future, the neighboring prefecture-level cities should actively build a synergistic mechanism for agricultural development, strengthen the reasonable use of water and land resources and pollution control techniques, drive the transformation of low–low aggregation areas to high–high aggregation areas, and improve the overall coordination of the study areas. This approach aims to promote the construction of ecological civilization and guarantee grain security and sustainable development of agriculture in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the spatial-temporal evolution and driving factors of cultivated land multifunctional coupling coordination development, this paper applying the data of 30 provinces in China from 2000 to 2018 evaluated cultivated land production-living-ecological functions and revealed the spatial-temporal evolution of cultivated land multifunction with kernel density estimation and visualization mapping. Furthermore, this paper adopted coupling coordination degree model to analyze the cultivated land multifunctional coupling coordination development. Finally, this paper explored driving factors and driving mechanism of cultivated land multifunctional coupling coordination development by geographical detector. The results showed that: 1) from the perspective of temporal evolution, cultivated land production function level showed a fluctuation evolution trend of “rising-falling-rising”, the living function level showed an evolution trend of “rising-falling”, and the ecological function level increased slightly. All cultivated land functions had polarized characteristics. From the perspective of spatial pattern, the cultivated land production function level changed within [0.030, 0.608], showing a non-equilibrium spatial pattern of “high in the east, low in the west”. The living function level changed within [0.042, 0.672], showing a non-equilibrium spatial pattern of “high in the north, low in the south”. The ecological function level changed within [0.058, 0.897], showing a non-equilibrium spatial pattern of “high in the west, low in the east”. The areas with high level of production and living function were concentrated in the Northeast Plain, the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain and the Yangtze Region. The areas with low level of production function were located in the northwest and southwest regions, and the areas with low level of living function were located in the Beijing-Tianjin, Yunnan-Guizhou and southern regions in China. The area with high level of ecological function areas were located in the northeast and southwest regions, while the low-level areas were located in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta region and the central region of the Yangtze River. 2) The cultivated land multifunctional coupling coordination level changed within [0.093, 0.554], and the overall level had steadily improved but was still low. The cultivated land multifunctional coupling coordination levels of most provinces were still out of balance. The spatial pattern of cultivated land multifunctional coupling coordination level showed an evolution trend of agglomeration and promotion. In detail, the cultivated land multifunctional coupling coordination level of the northeast China, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Yangtze River Delta were relatively high, while that was low in the northwestern part of China. 3) The evolution of cultivated land multifunctional coupling coordination level was significantly affected by the business entities conditions, agricultural development level, industrial development level and urbanization level. In short, the driving force of the business entities conditions and urbanization level were more significant than that of the agricultural development level and industrial development level. Moreover, the interaction type of two driving factors was two-factor enhancement or nonlinear enhancement, which indicated that the driving force of various factors had obvious divergence and interaction of factors positively strengthened the single-factor driving force, indicated that the divergence and interaction of various driving factors positively strengthened the single-factor driving force. In conclusion, the research results provide the guiding effect for deepening the study on cultivated land multifunction and decision support for promoting the differential governance of cultivated land resources and mutual promotion of cultivated land functions. To explore the spatial-temporal evolution and driving factors of cultivated land multifunctional coupling coordination development, this paper applying the data of 30 provinces in China from 2000 to 2018 evaluated cultivated land production-living-ecological functions and revealed the spatial-temporal evolution of cultivated land multifunction with kernel density estimation and visualization mapping. Furthermore, this paper adopted coupling coordination degree model to analyze the cultivated land multifunctional coupling coordination development. Finally, this paper explored driving factors and driving mechanism of cultivated land multifunctional coupling coordination development by geographical detector. The results showed that: 1) from the perspective of temporal evolution, cultivated land production function level showed a fluctuation evolution trend of “rising-falling-rising”, the living function level showed an evolution trend of “rising-falling”, and the ecological function level increased slightly. All cultivated land functions had polarized characteristics. From the perspective of spatial pattern, the cultivated land production function level changed within [0.030, 0.608], showing a non-equilibrium spatial pattern of “high in the east, low in the west”. The living function level changed within [0.042, 0.672], showing a non-equilibrium spatial pattern of “high in the north, low in the south”. The ecological function level changed within [0.058, 0.897], showing a non-equilibrium spatial pattern of “high in the west, low in the east”. The areas with high level of production and living function were concentrated in the Northeast Plain, the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain and the Yangtze Region. The areas with low level of production function were located in the northwest and southwest regions, and the areas with low level of living function were located in the Beijing-Tianjin, Yunnan-Guizhou and southern regions in China. The area with high level of ecological function areas were located in the northeast and southwest regions, while the low-level areas were located in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta region and the central region of the Yangtze River. 2) The cultivated land multifunctional coupling coordination level changed within [0.093, 0.554], and the overall level had steadily improved but was still low. The cultivated land multifunctional coupling coordination levels of most provinces were still out of balance. The spatial pattern of cultivated land multifunctional coupling coordination level showed an evolution trend of agglomeration and promotion. In detail, the cultivated land multifunctional coupling coordination level of the northeast China, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Yangtze River Delta were relatively high, while that was low in the northwestern part of China. 3) The evolution of cultivated land multifunctional coupling coordination level was significantly affected by the business entities conditions, agricultural development level, industrial development level and urbanization level. In short, the driving force of the business entities conditions and urbanization level were more significant than that of the agricultural development level and industrial development level. Moreover, the interaction type of two driving factors was two-factor enhancement or nonlinear enhancement, which indicated that the driving force of various factors had obvious divergence and interaction of factors positively strengthened the single-factor driving force, indicated that the divergence and interaction of various driving factors positively strengthened the single-factor driving force. In conclusion, the research results provide the guiding effect for deepening the study on cultivated land multifunction and decision support for promoting the differential governance of cultivated land resources and mutual promotion of cultivated land functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Rainfall erosivity and vegetation cover are two of the most important factors in regional soil erosion. The greater the rainfall erosivity is, the more favorable the soil erosion is, whereas, the better the vegetation coverage is, the less favorable the soil erosion is. Moreover, the Yangtze River Economic Belt has been a prominent ecological and national strategic area in China. It is of great practical significance to determine the relationship between rainfall erosivity and vegetation cover, in order to protect the ecological environment. In this study, the daily-scale rainfall erosivity model and the Mann-Kendall trend test were applied to analyze the temporal and spatial evolution of monthly-scale rainfall erosivity and NDVI using daily precipitation and monthly NDVI data. The Pettitt test and coupling coordination degree theory were then used to identify the temporal and spatial variation of the coupling coordination relationship between rainfall erosivity and NDVI. Finally, the reasons were proposed for the change of the coupling coordination relationship between them. The results showed that: 1) Multi-year average rainfall erosivity from July to October was evenly distributed in the whole region, while there was a decrease from the southeast to the northwest in the rest months from 1965 to 2019. A significant increasing trend of rainfall erosivity was also found in the eastern region in July and September (P<0.05). The rainfall erosivity in the central region showed a significant decrease in January, whereas, there was a significant increasing in the central and southern regions in March. The rainfall erosivity in the southwest showed a significant decrease trend in May. 2) On a multi-year scale, the NDVI of the whole gradually increased from June to September, and it reached the highest level in August. The ratio of the area where the NDVI increased significantly in different months to the total area of the study area all exceeded 30% (P<0.05) from 1999 to 2019. The regions with the significant NDVI increase were distributed mainly in the southwest, central and southern regions. But, the NDVI in the eastern region decreased significantly, where the soil erosion risk was also high. 3) There was a high multi-year average in the coupling coordination degree of rainfall erosivity and NDVI in the east, but a low in the west. A significant decrease was detected in the coupling coordination degree in the central and southwestern regions, while a significant increase was in the eastern regions (P<0.05). The significant change-points were found in the coupling coordination degree of rainfall erosivity and NDVI, which were distributed mainly in the southwest, central and eastern regions in the occurrence period from 2003 to 2014. 4) The reduction of forest area (such as evergreen coniferous forest, evergreen broad-leaved forest, mixed forest, and closed shrub forest) was the important reason for the significant increase of coupling coordination degree in the east, indicating a high percentage of vegetation cover but a very small percentage of the area. Consequently, it is a high demand to rationally increase the forest land in space pattern for the ecological environment. The finding can greatly contribute to further understanding the risk of soil erosion in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The degree of coordination between ecosystem services and the level of socioeconomic development has essential implications for regional sustainability. The coordinated development of ecology and economy is a major theoretical and practical problem for the Qinba Mountains, which is once one of the 14 contiguous destitute areas in China. Based on the land use and cover change (LUCC) data interpreted by medium-resolution remote sensing images, this study adopted the modified equivalent factor method to calculate ecosystem service value (ESV) and its temporal and spatial variation in the Qinba Mountains. A comprehensive index system was constructed to measure the socioeconomic development level and to reveal the coupling relationship between the ESV and socioeconomic development. The results show that: (1) for 2000–2015, the ESV in these areas was increasing, the proportion of forest ESV was the largest, and it increased significantly. (2) The level of socioeconomic development was constantly improving, and the differences within the region were gradually emerging. (3) Except for the Hantai District, which has been in a highly uncoordinated state, the degree of coordination between ESV and socioeconomic development has improved year by year, and most counties were in a state of medium coordination, or above. The results contribute to a scientific basis for decision making regarding ecological environmental protection and green economic development in the Qinba Mountains, and have positive significance for promoting the construction of ecological civilization and sustainable development in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coordinated development of farmland transfer (FT) and labor migration (LM) is of great efficiency significance to facilitate the development of rural economy and implement the rural revitalization strategy. The study used socioeconomic data from 30 provinces/autonomous regions/municipalities (hereafter referred to as provinces) in China to measure the coupling coordination degree (CCD) of FT and LM. It adopted the coupling coordination degree model (CCDM), exploratory spatial data analysis method (ESDA), and gray relational analysis model (GARM) to investigate the spatial differences in the CCD and its influencing factors. The results indicate the following: (1) Regional differences are evident despite the fact that the comprehensive evaluation level of FT and LM in the various provinces is relatively low and displaying a rising trend. (2) The CCD of FT and LM exhibits a fluctuating upward trend and is at the primary coupling coordination stage, with a significant difference in coupling coordination levels between regions, and a spatial distribution pattern of central region > eastern region > northeast region > western region. (3) The CCD shows a strong global spatial positive correlation with clear fluctuations, demonstrating the agglomeration dispersion development tendency over time; the local spatial agglomeration state emerges and stabilizes. According to the distribution pattern, the Western region exhibits weak agglomeration type, whereas the eastern and central regions exhibit strong agglomeration type. (4) There are significant variations between provinces in terms of the intensity of the CCD of FT and LM, as well as the level of concurrent employment business, the level of non-agricultural industry development, the level of urbanization, the level of agricultural equipment, and the land approval. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To clarify the coupling coordination degree relationship between the construction industrialization system and the green development system, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region of China is used as the research object to design the evaluation index system of the two systems. The comprehensive development index, coupling degree, and coupling coordination degree of the two regional systems from 2016 to 2020 are measured by constructing the coupling coordination degree model. It is found that the comprehensive level of construction industrialization and green development in the region is on the rise, and the relative relationship is mainly synchronous. Still, the proportion of comprehensive development index greater than 0.5 is only 40% and 30%, respectively, and the comprehensive development level still needs further improvement. From the chronological point of view, the coupling coordination degree keeps rising, with a maximum value of 0.85. Although the stage of coordinated development has come, the level of quality coordination has not been reached. From the spatial point of view, the synergistic development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in terms of construction industrialization and green development still needs to be further deepened. The research findings can provide a reference for the organic combination and synergistic promotion of construction industrialization and green development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coordinated development of green finance (GF) and the renewable energy industry (REI) is crucial for accelerating energy transition and mitigating climate change. However, the existing literature has overlooked the bidirectional relationship between GF and REI. Using provincial data from 2007 to 2019, this study investigates the coupling coordination degree of GF and REI (GRCC) and its spatiotemporal distribution characteristics and driving factors. The findings indicate that both GF and REI experienced stable growth during the study period, but REI lagged behind GF, and their spatial distribution displayed asymmetrical characteristics. Although GRCC exhibited a stable growth trend and slight coordination at both national and regional levels, it displayed large interprovincial differences and spatial agglomeration characteristics. Notably, high GRCC values were primarily concentrated in a few provinces in southwest and south-central regions, spreading to the east. Furthermore, financial development, renewable energy endowment, economy scale, technological innovation, environmental regulation, and fiscal expenditure were identified as the main drivers of GRCC. This study provides a Chinese case study for global energy transition and introduces new ideas for synergy between REI and GF policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metropolitan areas in China are not only the core spatial carriers of urbanization development but also the main generators of land use carbon emission (LUCE). However, existing research lacks comparative studies on the differential patterns and impact factors of LUCE in different stages of metropolitan areas. Therefore, this paper deeply analyzes the spatial characteristics of LUCE and the coupling coordination degree (CCD) of the economy contributive coefficient (ECC) and ecological support coefficient (ESC) in three different stages of metropolitan areas in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB), China. Moreover, quantitative modelling of the impact factors of LUCE in these different stages of metropolitan areas is furtherly revealed. Results show that: (1) The more mature stage of the metropolitan area, the higher the amount of LUCE, and the more districts or counties with high carbon emissions levels are clustered. (2) At the metropolitan area scale, the more mature the metropolitan area is and the lower the CCD between ECC and ESC is, while at the finer scale, more developed counties have lower CCD. (3) Resident population, per capita GDP, and urbanization rate have good explanatory effects on carbon emissions in these three metropolitan areas; however, except for the urbanization rate, which has a negative effect on LUCE in Nanchang metropolitan area (NMA), the other two factors have positive effects on LUCE in these three metropolitan areas. This study has important implications for different stages of metropolitan areas to formulate targeted LUCE reduction policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land use change affects the supply and demand of water, energy and food and the integration of land elements into the common water-energy-food (WEF) nexus, which is an effective way to strictly adhere to the bottom line of natural resources. First, this study used the entropy method and coupling coordination model to measure the coupling coordination degree of the water-energy-land-food (WELF) nexus in 30 provinces in China during the period of 2006–2019. Then, the regional differences and distribution dynamics were examined with the Dagum Gini coefficient and Kernel density estimation, respectively. Finally, the spatial correlation was analyzed using the global Moran's I, and a spatial β convergence model was constructed to empirically test its spatial β convergence characteristics. The results show that the coupling coordination degree of the WELF nexus in most of the provinces was at the stage of barely coordinated, with a decreasing trend; the intensity of transvariation was the main source of regional differences in the coupling coordination degree of the WELF nexus, followed by intra-regional differences, while inter-regional differences were small. The national, eastern and central regions had a slight gradient effect, showing regional dispersion characteristics, albeit less obvious; there was a spatial absolute-β convergence and spatial conditional-β convergence nationally and in the three regions. On this basis, policy recommendations were made to realize the synergistic development of land planning, water resources allocation, energy utilization, and food production and to balance regional differences in resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing scarcity of cultivated land resources necessitates the continuous change in cultivated land functions. Cultivated land has gradually changed from being used for a single function to multiple functions. The use of cultivated land for multiple functions has become an important way to achieve the sustainable use, management, and protection of cultivated land. In this, the development of different functions of cultivated land must be coordinated. Thus, clarifying the evolution trend of the use of cultivated land for various functions, calculating the coupling and coordination degrees of these multiple functions, and identifying the driving factors in these uses play important roles in realizing the orderly development of cultivated land multifunctionality. This paper defined multifunctioning cultivated land as containing a production function, a social function, and an ecological function. Based on the socioeconomic panel data and geospatial data of Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning, which are the major grain-producing areas of northeast China, in the years 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020 we calculated the multiple function coupling coordination degree of cultivated land using the Coupling Coordination Degree Model and identified the driving forces in the evolution of the spatial-temporal pattern of cultivated land multifunctionality using Geodetector. The results show that from 2005 to 2020, there were significant regional differences in terms of the production, social, and ecological functions of cultivated land in the research areas. The multifunctional coupling coordination degree of cultivated land in the study areas was gradually improved. The spatial-temporal evolution of the multifunctional coupling coordination degree of cultivated land was found to mainly be influenced by the level of agricultural development, such as the level of per capita disposable income and the rate of effective irrigation of cultivated land. The government should attempt to guarantee the comparative benefits of agricultural production to increase the income level of farmers; increase investment in agricultural infrastructure construction to improve the level of agriculture development; and implement a strict farmland protection policy to achieve the continuous improvement of the productivity of cultivated land, realize the ordered development of coupling, and improve the coordination of the use of cultivated land for multiple functions. The results of this study are applicable not only to northeast China but also to other major grain-producing areas that are under pressure to protect their cultivated land and achieve the suitable use of cultivated land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Forestry modernization (FM) and High quality economic development (HED) are two major goals that must be achieved in the process of economic development from low to high, and they are closely related to each other in their respective internal development mechanisms., Methods: Based on the analysis of the coupling coordination mechanism between FM and HED, this paper empirically studies the coupling coordination degree and influencing factors of "forestry modernization and high quality economic development" ("FM-HED") using panel data from 30 provinces and cities in China (except Xizang, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) from 2012 to 2020. First, the entropy method and the coupling coordination degree model were used to analyze the temporal changes and spatial differentiation of the coupling coordination between FM and HED. Second, the Tobit model is used to find out the factors affecting the coupling coordination degree of FM and HED., Results: The following conclusions are obtained: (1) The coupling coordination degree of the "FM-HED" system increased rapidly in the early stage and slowly increased in the later period from 2012 to 2020. (2) The level of FM and HED in China in 2012 was obviously unbalanced and insufficient, the coupling coordination degree between the eastern and western provinces and cities was improved in 2015, and the imbalance between regions was alleviated, and the difference in the coupling coordination degree between coastal provinces and cities and inland provinces and cities in 2020 was prominent, and the coastal areas were significantly better than the inland areas. (3) From the national level, the intensity of R&D investment and the burden of the older adult population have a significant effect on the coupling and coordinated development of the two systems. From the perspective of the four regions, the role of R&D investment intensity is reflected in Northeast China and Central China. The role of labor force level is reflected in East China, Northeast China and Northwest China. The role of industrial agglomeration is reflected in Northeast China. The role of the burden of the older adult population is reflected in Northeast China. The role of government intervention is reflected in East China and Northeast China. Accordingly, this paper puts forward corresponding policy suggestions to better promote the coupling and coordinated development of FM and HED., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Zhou, Wan, Liu, Ma, Zheng and Chen.)

Background: System coordination is an effective way to achieve high-quality development, and the debate on the interaction between health investment and economic development is still ongoing. To strengthen previous research and offer feasible advice and references for relevant stakeholders, we provide empirical evidence for exploring intersystem coordination and enhancement pathways using data from China., Methods: Based on the data published by the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the current status of the interaction and coordination between health investment and economic development in China was measured by calculating the comprehensive evaluation index, relative development degree, and coupling coordination degree. Subsequently, a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis method was introduced to explore pathways for enhancing system interaction and coordination., Results: There are obvious inter-provincial and regional differences between health investment and economic development in China. Provinces in the west and north are lagging in economic development, while provinces in the east and south are lagging in health investment. There is a clear synergy between health investment and economic development, and there is still much room for improving the degree of coupling coordination between systems. The five conditional configurations derived from the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis yield three pathways for enhancing system coordination: a health expenditure-driven path, an economic development-driven path, and a balanced health investment and economic development-driven path., Conclusion: Health expenditure is sufficient for high coordination, and the level and equity of investment in health expenditure should be improved. The gross regional product is a necessary and sufficient condition for high coordination, and consideration must be given to strengthening the regional economic support capacity. Health investment and economic development can drive the coordinated development of the system in a balanced way. This enlightens us to give full play to the positive synergy between health investment and economic development based on promoting the benign interaction of subsystems., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Wang, Liu, Chai, Chen, Yang, Feng, Li and Mi.)

With the accelerating urbanization and steady economic development in China, the urban built-up area is expanding and the population in the core area is proliferating. The pressure of insufficient urban infrastructure, especially public transportation capacity, is becoming increasingly evident, and urban rail transit (URT) systems are crucial to the sustainable development of cities. This paper collects data related to URT and sustainable urban development (SUD) in 42 cities in China in 2020, constructs a comprehensive evaluation index system, and quantitatively analyzes the coupling coordination degree of the two systems using the TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution) method and coupling coordination degree model. Then, the influencing factors of the coupling coordination degree of URT and SUD are analyzed by combining the grey correlation analysis method. The results of this study show that: (1) There are significant differences between URT system development and SUD in 42 cities in China. (2) The average coupling coordination between URT development and SUD is 0.4406. More than half of the cities are in the slightly unbalanced category. (3) Factors, such as resident population, income level and urban built-up area, significantly influence the coupling and coordination level of URT and SUD. It is hoped that the research in this paper will advance the in-depth research on the level of coordination between URT and SUD coupling, provide a solid basis for future URT planning and construction in China and even other countries in the world, and make the planning and construction of URT in China more scientific and reasonable, to promote the sustainable development of cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interactions among society, water resources, and environment systems have become increasingly prominent with the progressively far-reaching impact of human activities. Therefore, this paper aims to construct a co-evolution model to establish the mutual feedback relationship among society, water resources, and environment from the perspective of socio-hydrology. Firstly, social factors such as environmental sensitivity, environmental protection awareness, and technological level are introduced to this model to describe the coevolutionary trajectory of society, water resources and environment subsystems. Then, this model is implemented in 11 provincial administrative regions in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and the degree of coordination of their coupling is evaluated. Results show that the water-use efficiency of each provincial administrative region in the Yangtze River Economic Belt gradually increases during the forecast period. The coupling-coordinated degree of each provincial administrative region of the Yangtze River Economic Belt has greatly improved during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, reflecting that policy support has played a significant role in the coordinated development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. The dynamic fluctuation process of environmental sensitivity effectively depicts the co-evolution process of the coupling system, which provides a reference for the subsequent exploration and cognition of the human-water coevolutionary mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the basis of the panel data of 31 provinces in China from 2011 to 2020, this paper first constructs an index system through the Pressure-State-Response (PSR) model and conducts a comprehensive evaluation of China's agricultural environment according to the entropy weight TOPSIS model. Second, a coupling coordination degree model is established to calculate the degree of coupling coordination between the agricultural economy and the environment in each province. Finally, a spatial Durbin model is established to analyze the influencing factors of China's agricultural economy. Results show that: ① the overall environment in the eastern region has little change, and the overall level is relatively backward; the agricultural environment in the central region is uneven; the agricultural environment in the western region is quite different from north to south. ② The regions with a high level of coupling coordination are mainly concentrated in the central and southern regions, and the performance is relatively intensive. The agricultural economy and the environment in the western region are extremely uncoordinated, and as is the overall coupling coordination between the agricultural economy and the environment in the eastern region in general. Further improvement is also needed. ③ Fixed asset investment, total power of agricultural machinery, rural electricity consumption, rural population, and rural per capita disposable income all have important influences on China's agricultural economy. ④ The rural population size has a positive and the largest effect on the agricultural economy, whereas rural per capita disposable income has a negative effect on the agricultural economy. Moreover, improving farmers' enthusiasm for farming is one of the key issues to be solved urgently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inclusive green growth (IGG) offers an effective alternative to pursue sustainable development. The core of the IGG system lies in the coordination of inclusive, green, and growth subsystems. However, there is little quantitative assessment on IGG based on subsystem collaboration. This study proposes a holistic scheme of inclusive-green-growth nexus in Anhui province from 2009 to 2018 by using an integrated approach, namely, the entropy weight approach (EWA), coupling coordination degree model (CCDM), grey prediction model (GPM), and obstacle factor diagnostic model (OFDM). The results show that: (1) The proposed integrated approach could be viable to measure the synergistic interactions among internal IGG subsystems; (2) At the provincial level, a relatively high IGG performance but a low coupling coordination degree (CCD) of the IGG nexus are seen. Although the predicted value of CCD will show an upward trend, it will not be able to cross the start stage. The obstacle factors on the coordinated development of IGG can be divided into two stages: (3) At the prefectural level, the cities in which CCD is rising outnumber those it is falling. However, the CCD is also low, and the gap between cities is getting wider. The obstacles that affect the CCD of cities see a dynamic evolution trend from "inclusive obstacle type" to "inclusive and growth obstacle type" then to "green obstacle type" over the decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chongli is one of the venues for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Since 2009, the government of Chongli has emphasized the development of a tourism strategy, which gradually contributed to alleviating regional poverty. With data collected from 2009 to 2019, ski tourism and the regional economy in Chongli were analyzed using the Coupling Coordination Degree (CCD) Model. This analysis indicated, first, there were three stages in the relationship between ski tourism and the regional economy in Chongli, including weak coordination (2009–2011), starting coordination (2012–2015), and strong coordination (2016–2019). Second, sport tourism, such as ski tourism, is likely to contribute to the regional economy and alleviate poverty. Third, the case of Chongli illustrates that policy and sports events are significant for helping a place to develop sports tourism, in addition to making full use of local resources. Finally, the development of skiing tourism has had a positive impact on citizens' and farmers' incomes, though it may have impacted citizens more. This research suggests that regional resources are essential for the development of sport tourism and the promotion of regional economies. Developing regions should seize the bonus period of sports events and policies. More attention should be paid to the differences between urban citizens and farmers in order to establish a better redistribution system. Considering the climatic factors, more studies need to analyze the sustainability of ski tourism in developing regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green development is the cognition of geography to human-nature nexus under the background of the new era. As China is facing various eco-environment problems, green development has become a key approach towards ecological progress, and it is ultimately an explicit means to respond to support sustainable development in China. Quantifying green development performance is essential to track efforts towards sustainability and guide policymakers. However, applying the balanced property of 'Economy-Ecology-Society' of green development to its performance assessment is rarely discussed. Here we elaborated the connotation of green development and developed a quantification model with coupling coordination degree to assess green development performance of the largest old industrial base of China, Northeast China. We found that the green development performance has been improved from a score of 0.443 in 2003 to 0.530 in 2019 but the disparities of green development performance were enlarging over time, especially for the cities in Heilongjiang. A positive spatial autocorrelation phenomenon of green development performance was confirmed, and Low-Low clusters in the northeastern Heilongjiang and High-High clusters in the central-eastern Liaoning were discovered. This study suggests the need to track the spatio-temporal dynamics of green development performance to provide references for achieving sustainable development goals in northeast China and other regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]