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Whether the digital infrastructure can resolve the conflict between environmental concerns and economic development is an urgent issue to be addressed in China. By taking the implementation of 'Broadband China' policy as a quasi-natural experiment and using 15 million policy statements to measure the environmental protection institution (EPI), this study investigates the environmental externality of urban digital infrastructure and the nonlinear supporting role of EPI. It is found that urban digital infrastructure is conducive to reducing regional energy intensity and carbon emission intensity. After a series of robustness tests, the conclusions are still credible. Mechanism analysis shows that promoting the structural upgrading of the service industry, accelerating the intensive development of the manufacturing industry and improving the quality of regional innovation are three impact channels. Furthermore, the EPI plays a nonlinear supporting role in the process of digital infrastructure's promoting regional energy saving and emission reduction. This study incorporates the supply of environmental protection institution into the analytical framework, thus providing a new perspective for comprehending the externality of digital infrastructure and environmental protection institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the energy sector is the primary source of carbon emissions, achieving low carbon emission reduction and meeting the carbon peak and carbon neutrality targets require a full grasp of the symbiotic relationship between the traditional and new energy industries. This study analyzes data from China's conventional energy industries and the new energy industry from 2005 to 2021 to examine the symbiosis between these two sectors of the economy and its implications. The Lotka–Volterra model is used to determine the symbiosis between industries and further select provinces with industrial symbiosis to analyze the relationship between industrial symbiosis and consumer demand. The results show that, first, 28 provinces in China have industrial symbiosis, of which only four provinces are commensal symbiosis and the remaining 24 provinces are parasitic symbiosis. Second, whereas the parasitic symbiosis will impede the growth of consumer demand, the commensal symbiosis between the new energy industry and the traditional energy industry can greatly encourage the growth of consumer demand. In addition, the promotion effect of commensal symbiosis on consumer demand is mainly manifested in government consumption, while parasitic symbiosis has a dampening effect on residential consumption, government consumption, and investment. Finally, under the regulation of ecological carbon sequestration, parasitic symbiosis can promote the growth of consumer demand. Therefore, the government should continue to promote industrial symbiosis and ecological carbon sequestration and, in this way, promote the growth of consumer demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conservation and restoration of wetlands have become a global priority as awareness of their importance increases. At present, efforts to restore wetlands have primarily focused on enhancing water quality and biodiversity, with little attention paid to analyzing the recovery of the food web. We investigated the differences in food web attributes between natural and restored wetlands in Qingtongxia wetlands on the upper reaches of the Yellow River, China. Our results showed that there were no significant differences in the community structure of aquatic organism (fish, macroinvertebrates, zooplankton, phytoplankton and macrophytes) and water parameters (TP, TN, DO, et al.) between natural and restored wetlands. Restored wetlands had higher total system throughput and primary productivity compared to natural wetlands, which increased the proportion of the detritus food chain in the energy supply. However, energy transfer at the system level was less efficient than in natural wetlands. Indices of cycling, path length and network analysis showed that the restored wetland was less mature but more stable than the natural wetland. Given the inconsistency of food web recovery with water variables and aquatic assemblages, integrating community and food web approaches in future wetland restoration will be critical to refining restoration goals and enhancing conservation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental innovation is an important practical exploration for enterprises to realize a win‐win situation between economic and environmental benefits. In order to explore the environmental innovation effect of enterprise digital transformation, we empirically examine the impact of enterprise digital transformation on environmental innovation based on the micro data of listed enterprises from 2009 to 2020. We find that enterprise digital transformation has a significantly positive effect on environmental innovation, and our finding still holds after considering various robustness tests. The mechanism test indicates that alleviating financing constraints and improving human capital structure serve as critical channels. In addition, the impact of firms' digital transformation on environmental innovation shows some variability with geographic location, industry factor intensity, and pollution level. Our findings provide new insights and policy implications for enterprises to balance development efficiency and environmental innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, urbanization is mainly stimulated by resource flows, and industrialization is normally accompanied by an increase in the proportion of the urban population and urban land area. During the process, urbanization at a rapid pace often induces a huge consumption of energy and environmental emissions. Nevertheless, it is also worth considering whether urbanization positively affects urban environment promotion. With a more solid economic foundation, urban subjects will carry out energy conservation and emission reduction (ECER) from various aspects, primarily focusing on technological innovation, advancement of production mechanisms and structural optimization. Along these lines, this study aims to examine urbanization's direct and indirect impact on energy conservation and emission reduction using panel data consisting of 196 Chinese cities for the period of 2011–2018 with a Slacks-based model and transmission mechanism. Study results indicate that urbanization's development can give a direct impetus to ECER, which is quite robust after employing a series of robust tests, including instrumental variable estimation. Besides, urbanization indirectly influences ECER by promoting economic growth, better allocation of resources, internet advancement, and adjusting the employment structure. Further investigation suggests that the relationship between urbanization and ECER is nonlinear, depending on the levels of the above-mentioned mediating variables. Finally, essential policy suggestions are proposed, i.e. promoting high-quality development of urban clusters, accelerating the policies for ECER, and paying more attention to economic growth, resource allocation, internet technology, and employment structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the potential of agricultural industrial agglomeration to bolster agricultural economic resilience and identifies the underlying pathways. We developed an analytical framework for agricultural economics that integrates the concept of "resilience". This framework facilitates an examination of the influence of agricultural industrial agglomeration on agricultural economic resilience, focusing on two key aspects: enhancement of income and reduction of costs. Utilizing panel data from 30 provincial-level regions in China covering the period from 2006 to 2021, this research empirically assesses the impact, underlying mechanisms, and regional variations of agricultural industrial agglomeration on agricultural economic resilience. The findings reveal that agricultural industrial agglomeration significantly boosts agricultural economic resilience. This positive influence manifests through two primary channels: firstly, "agricultural industrial agglomeration → enhancement of socialized services → agricultural economic resilience" and secondly, "agricultural industrial agglomeration → improvement of agricultural production efficiency → agricultural economic resilience". The contribution of agricultural industrial agglomeration to agricultural economic resilience is particularly pronounced in major grain-producing regions, notably enhancing capabilities for reconstruction and reinvention, as well as adjustment and adaptation. The study concludes with recommendations aimed at strengthening agricultural economic resilience. These recommendations emphasize the critical role of agricultural industrial agglomeration in fostering agricultural economic resilience, its contribution to the growth of rural economies and the enhancement of socialized services, and the need to consider regional disparities in the process of developing agricultural economic resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Altering the hydrological connectivity between river channels and their riparian wetlands is a significant threat to river ecosystems. Aquatic insects are sensitive to environmental changes. In this study, community composition and functional traits of aquatic insects were investigated in reaches of the Manjiang and Songjiang Rivers, impacted by a water diversion project in northeast China. The species diversity of the flow-reduced reaches was more than twice as much as that of the reservoir riverine wetlands, and the species diversity of the flow-reduced reaches was less than twice as much as that of the natural riverine wetlands. Compared with the natural riverine wetlands, there was a lower abundance of scrapers in the reservoir wetlands, a higher abundance of filter collectors and shredders in the flow-reduced riverine wetlands, higher abundance of swimmers in the reservoir wetlands, and more sprawlers and swimmers in the flow-reduced wetlands. Co-occurrence network showed interspecific relationships of aquatic insect communities differed between the three types of riverine wetlands. Indicator species differed among wetland types. The environmental factors affecting the aquatic insect were water nitrate-nitrogen content, chlorophyll-a content, and electrical conductivity. In conclusion, proper hydrological connectivity between reaches wetlands should maintain to ensure ecological flow and biological connectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Soil salinization is a widespread problem, causing soil degradation and limiting agricultural productivity worldwide. However, the protection and restoration of halophyte species communities can effectively help improve and reconstruct saline–alkali land. We collected seeds of Suaeda salsa (Linn.) Pall., a highly salt-tolerant and widely distributed halophytic species, from seven different saline–alkali habitats, numbered S1–S7, of Songnen Plain, China, and tested their germination and seedling growth responses to saline–alkali stress. Results showed a strong saline–alkali tolerance in S. salsa seeds, but the germination characteristics and saline–alkali tolerance varied across provenances, highlighting the geographical variations in germination responses. The saline–alkali tolerance of S1 and S7 locations was significantly higher than that of others. Suaeda salsa has important applications in the restoration of saline–alkali soil. However, the seeds from appropriate provenances must be screened to ensure the best saline-alkaline tolerant variety. The germplasm materials from the selected varieties can also be used as high-quality sources to study the mechanism of saline–alkali tolerance in halophytes. These seeds can also serve as excellent germplasm resources for the restoration of saline–alkali soil. Salinity is a pressing and widespread abiotic stress, adversely affecting agriculture productivity and plant growth worldwide. Seed germination is the most critical stage to seedling growth and establishing plant species in harsh environments, including saline stress. However, seed germination characteristics and stress tolerance may vary among geographical locations, such as various provenances. Suaeda salsa (Linn.) Pall. (S. salsa) is a halophytic plant that exhibits high salt tolerance and is often considered a pioneer species for the restoration of grasslands. Understanding the germination characteristics and stress tolerance of the species could be helpful in the vegetation restoration of saline–alkali land. In this study, we collected S. salsa seeds from seven different saline–alkali habitats (S1–S7) in the Songnen Plain region to assess the germination and seedling growth responses to NaCl, Na2CO3, and NaHCO3, and to observe the recovery of seed germination after relieving the salt stress. We observed significant differences in germination and seedling growth under three salt stresses and among seven provenances. Resistance to Na2CO3 and NaHCO3 stress was considerably higher during seedling growth than seed germination, while the opposite responses were observed for NaCl resistance. Seeds from S1 and S7 showed the highest tolerance to all three salt stress treatments, while S6 exhibited the lowest tolerance. Seeds from S2 exhibited low germination under control conditions, while low NaCl concentration and pretreatment improved germination. Ungerminated seeds under high salt concentrations germinated after relieving the salt stress. Germination of ungerminated seeds after the abatement of salt stress is an important adaptation strategy for black S. salsa seeds. While seeds from most provenances regerminated under NaCl, under Na2CO3 and NaHCO3, only seeds from S4 and S7 regerminated. These findings highlight the importance of soil salinity in the maternal environment for successful seed germination and seedling growth under various salinity-alkali stresses. Therefore, seed sources and provenance should be considered for vegetation restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental and social responsibility has become aspect of the new definition of China's economy, and the direction of green development has been further clarified. As the financial system is the lifeblood of a substantial economy, the Chinese government proposed to increase the proportion of direct financing, match the financial structure with green innovation, and promote green economic growth. Examining the institutional framework in China from 2004 to 2020, this study empirically investigates the effect of direct finance on regional green development applying moderating effect and spatial error models to three time spans. The findings reveal significant spatial differences in China's direct financing and regional green development, with a positive impact in central and western regions and a significant negative impact in the eastern region. Finally, under the institutional environment, direct financing in the eastern region significantly promotes the regional green development. Our research provides new insights to advance sustainable green economic development in China through action to strengthen the institutional environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the annual average climate data and economic and social data from 262 prefecture-level cities in China from 2001 to 2019, this paper explores the impact of climate change on urban–rural income inequality and its mechanisms using fixed-effects (FEs) and mediated-effects (MEs) models. This study finds that (1) climate change has an inverted U-shaped relationship with the urban–rural income disparity; (2) climate change can affect the urban–rural income disparity by influencing urban and rural income levels, the regional degree of urbanization, and the labor force employment structure; (3) the impact of climate change on the urban–rural income gap is heterogeneous in East, Center, and West China; and (4) extreme heat can widen the urban–rural income gap, and extreme drought can narrow the urban–rural income gap. Climate change has a significant impact on the urban–rural income gap, and there is a need to continue to promote urbanization and the optimization of the employment structure of the workforce, reduce the vulnerability of rural residents to climate change, and narrow the urban–rural income gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The governments of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration have introduced a series of environmental policies to ameliorate pollution problems, but there are concerns that such a move can negatively impact the economy. In this article, panel data for 13 prefecture-level cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region from 2003 to 2018 are used to investigate the influencing mechanism of environmental regulation on economic growth. The empirical results indicate an inverted "U"-shaped relationship between economic growth and environmental regulation. In a sense, the non-linear relationship implies that the Porter hypothesis and the compliance cost hypothesis apply to different levels of environmental stringency, respectively, which results in an empirical supplement to the existing theoretical framework. Furthermore, energy intensity and industrial structure are valid transmission paths for the economic effect of environmental regulation, despite their opposite directions. Overall, a win–win situation of economic prosperity and ecological improvement can be achieved through the implementation of appropriate environmental regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has promoted innovation‐driven and green development to unprecedented strategic heights. However, compared to the large and rapid innovation investment, total factor productivity's (TFP) growth rate has shown a downward trend. Consequently, this study assesses the inefficiency caused by resource mismatch and discusses the impact of green innovation activities on green total factor productivity (GTFP). We use a causal forest‐based machine learning method to solve the endogenous problem. The empirically analyzes the observation samples of 272 prefecture‐level cities in China from 2008 to 2018 and obtains the asymptotic normality estimation on the average treatment effect (ATE). Simultaneously, clustering causal forest and ridge expressions, discusses the robustness of related problems. According to the results, (1) the effect of China's green innovation on GTFP is negative for a short time and positive for a long time; (2) the impact of green innovation activities on GTFP is subject to capital mismatch, while the statistical law of the impact of labor mismatch is not obvious but the adverse impact of resource mismatch is gradually improving; and (3), Green innovation has significantly improved China's GTFP, but it did not lead to ideal Growth rate of GTC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fiscal decentralization is the source of China's rapid economic growth, but inevitably leads to a surge in total carbon emissions. We verify whether the intermediary mechanism of real estate development and the urban construction investment bonds (UCIB) can share the fiscal pressure of local governments to provide empirical support to clarify and solve the realistic decentralization dilemma. This study conducted a spatial analysis of panel data from 266 Chinese prefecture-level cities from 2006 to 2019 and obtains the following findings. (1) Carbon emissions are spatially correlated, displaying the characteristics of 'one glory and one loss'. (2) Fiscal decentralization drives an increase in carbon emissions over the entire spatial region. (3) The decomposition results show that although fiscal decentralization aggravates local carbon emission growth, it benefits the carbon emission reduction of neighboring regions. (4) The eastern regions' fiscal decentralization does not significantly affect carbon emissions, whereas the central and western regions' fiscal decentralization causes an upsurge in total carbon emissions. (5) Fiscal decentralization has promoted the prosperous development of the real estate industry, which positively influences carbon emissions. (6) The UCIB has a negative moderating effect on fiscal decentralization and carbon emissions, implying that it plays a role in alleviating financial pressure on local governments. Accordingly, we propose relevant countermeasures: adjusting the degree of decentralization, controlling real estate development, and issuing UCIB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the era of information economy, the integration of the internet and traditional industries is pushing the rapid transformation of the world economy in a more innovative, smarter, and greener direction. Based on the panel data for 30 Chinese provinces for the 2006–2017 period, the level of China's internet development is comprehensively evaluated using the full array polygon graphic index method. The spatial Durbin model and threshold model are used to empirically analyze the impact of internet development on environmental quality. The results indicate that China's environmental pollution has a significant spatial spillover effect. Internet development can not only significantly reduce local environmental pollution, but also environmental pollution in neighboring areas. The regression results of the mediation effect indicate that internet development mainly affects environmental pollution by improving technological innovation, industrial upgrading, human capital and financial development. Finally, policy suggestions are proposed from the aspects of strengthening collaborative environmental governance and increasing internet infrastructure investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Understanding the underlying mechanisms of biodiversity elevation patterns is a crucial issue in biogeography research. Of these mechanisms, soil fauna is closely related to above-ground vegetation, but our understanding of the patterns of elevational diversity that drive soil fauna in different plant habitats remains limited. Methods: This study aimed to investigate the diversity and community structure of soil oribatid mites and driving factors in four vegetation zones (MCBF, mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests; MCF, mixed coniferous forests; BF, birch forests; AT, alpine tundra) and three habitats (tree, shrub, and herb) within each vegetation zone in the Changbai Mountains, northeastern China, from July to August 2021. Results: Overall, the community composition and diversity indices of oribatid mites varied considerably with different vegetation zones in the Changbai Mountains. Results showed that oribatid mite community composition differed significantly between tree, shrub, and herb habitats in MCBF and MCF, whereas in BF and AT, oribatid mite community composition did not differ among habitats. The abundance of oribatid mites showed a hump-shaped distribution pattern in different vegetation zones, and both Shannon and richness indices decreased with increasing elevation. However, there was no significant difference in oribatid mite diversity indices among different habitats. Furthermore, the β-diversity of the overall oribatid mite community did not differ between the four vegetation zones, and the Sorensen dissimilarity index (βsor) was a major component of β-diversity in the different habitat types. Our study suggests that the combined effects of regional and local factors accounted for the largest variance of oribatid mite community composition among tree, shrub, herb, and total habitats, with soil pH being the most principal factor influencing oribatid mite diversity. Conclusions: Taken together, we conclude that the combined effect of elevation and local habitat characteristics on soil oribatid mite assemblage changes with increasing altitude. Such information contributes to understand the influence of above-ground vegetation shifts on below-ground communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trade liberalization for environmental goods (EG) could pave the way for a "win‐win" scenario for both the economy and the environment. This study examines the impact of environmental good exports on the comprehensive economic development and environmental protection index, green total factor productivity (GTFP), using a Chinese city‐level panel dataset from 2003 to 2015. Overall, our findings indicate that EG exports are detrimental to China's green development. Particularly, traditional EGs intended to address environmental concerns significantly impede GTFP, whereas environmentally preferable products with cleaner product life cycles have no such effect. Furthermore, EG exports do not significantly reduce conventional TFP without accounting for energy and pollution, implying that the loss of GTFP is primarily due to environmental factors. When GTFP is disaggregated into green efficiency change (GEC) and green technology change (GTC), EG exports can increase GEC while reducing GTC. However, once the value of EG exports surpasses a certain threshold, EG exports raise GTC and GTFP. Furthermore, regional resource misallocation, environmental regulation, and absorptive capacity can all help to mitigate the negative EG‐GTFP relationship. This study could be useful for stakeholders interested in leveraging synergies between the economy and the environment by participating in global EG supply chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distribution patterns of biodiversity and environmental interactions are dominant themes in ecology. In montane ecosystems, biodiversity is closely associated with altitudinal gradients. However, studies of biodiversity in montane ecosystems are focused on plants and vertebrates, with relatively less on invertebrates. Here, the present study used a Vortis arthropod suction sampler to explore the biodiversity patterns of soil surface‐dwelling Oribatida and their drivers along an altitudinal gradient (600, 800, 1600, 2000, and 2300 m) from typical temperate forests, evergreen coniferous forests, subalpine birch forests to alpine tundra on the north slope of Changbai Mountain, Northeast China. Trichoribates berlesei, Platynothrus peltifer, and Oribatula tibialis were the dominant soil surface‐dwelling species on Changbai Mountain. Generally, alpha diversity and beta diversity of soil surface‐dwelling Oribatida decreased with the rising altitude, with a peaking density value at 2000 m. The result of beta diversity showed that the structures of community were more influenced by the species turnover component than the nestedness component. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) ordination showed that the community structure of soil surface‐dwelling Oribatida varied significantly along the altitudinal gradient. The variance partitioning showed that the elevation and climatic conditions determined the soil surface‐dwelling Oribatida community. Spatial filtering represented by geographic and elevation distances was particularly associated with soil surface‐dwelling Oribatida community variation between altitudes on Changbai Mountain. However, the variation of the Oribatida community between adjacent altitudes was only associated with geographic distance. Our study provides supportive evidence for the biodiversity analyzing of soil surface‐dwelling Oribatida in montane ecosystems along an altitudinal gradient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oribatid mite genus ParapyroppiaPérez-Íñigo & Subías, 1979 (Ceratoppiidae) is reported in China for the first time. During investigation of soil biodiversity in northeast China in 2021, a new species, Parapyroppia changbaiensissp. nov., was found from soil and litter of north slope of Changbai Mountain in Erdaobaihe Town, Jilin Province. The main purpose of study is to describe and illustrate this new species. In addition, an updated generic diagnosis, a checklist and a key to world species of Parapyroppia are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of sustainable development, countries around the world shed more light on green innovation in their environmental policies, and the digital economy may take a vital part in improving green innovation. Predicted on the panel data of 278 cities in China from 2011 to 2019, this research administrates the principal component analysis (PCA) to evaluate the advancement level of the urban digital economy and employs the number of urban green patent applications to represent green innovation level. Through the benchmark regression model, the mediating effect model, the spatial Durbin model, the dynamic threshold panel model, and the gradual difference‐in‐difference model, this paper explores the direct effect, indirect effect, spatial effect, nonlinear relationship, and policy effect of that digital economy has on green innovation. The development of the digital economy can improve green innovation levels in indirect ways, such as by boosting the degree of economic openness, optimizing the industrial structure, and expanding the market potential, and as economic openness, industrial structure, and market potential advance, the promotion intensity of digital economy on green innovation is becoming lower and lower. The development of green innovation has an obvious spatial spillover effect. Still, the enhancement of green innovation in more developed regions may inhibit green innovation in less developed regions due to talent flow and industrial transfer. Finally, the gradual difference‐in‐difference model founded on the 'Broadband China' pilot policy supplementarily verifies that digital economy enhancement can substantially advance urban green innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grain Scale Management (GSM) is a crucial factor in ensuring national food security. However, in countries facing rigid resource constraints and complex land tenure relationships, the strategy of promoting large-scale grain management through land management rights transfer may not be sustainable. Therefore, based on the traditional agricultural division of labor theory, we analyze the mechanism and rationality of Agricultural Production Socialization Services (APSS) with scale characteristics to promote GSM and propose a new approach to GSM with empirical evidence from China. Using county-level panel data from Hubei province spanning from 2010 to 2021, we construct a multi-period double difference model based on the difference in the time of the establishment of pilot agricultural production socialization service counties in Hubei province. Our empirical results demonstrate the role of APSS in promoting GSM at the macro level. Specifically, the establishment of pilot counties for APSS significantly improves the level of local GSM. Furthermore, our study reveals that the degree of local financial intervention, regional industrial structure, and regional topography have heterogeneous effects on the implementation of the policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is widely used in all walks of life, the signal structure of satellite navigation is open, and the vulnerability to spoofing attacks is also becoming increasingly prominent, which will seriously affect the credibility of navigation, positioning, and timing (PNT) services. Satellite navigation signal authentication technology is an emerging technical means of improving civil signal anti-spoofing on the satellite navigation system side, and it is also an important development direction and research focus of the GNSS. China plans to carry out the design and development of the next-generation Beidou navigation satellite system (BDS), and one of its core goals is to provide more secure and credible PNT services. This paper first expounds on the principles and technical architecture of satellite navigation signal authentication, then clarifies the development history of satellite navigation signal authentication, and finally proposes the BDS authentication service system architecture. It will provide technical support for the construction and development of the follow-up Beidou authentication service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has a profound impact on human survival and development. Climate change is an energy and economic issue, which should be driven by technology. Total factor energy efficiency (TFEE) improvement is undoubtedly a breakthrough in solving energy problems. In this paper, the fixed effect model, impulse response function, and threshold regression model are used to test the complex relationship between export sophistication and TFEE. The results reveal that export sophistication improvement leads to higher TFEE. The impulse response results verify the existence of a phased and positive correlation between export sophistication and TFEE. Finally, the relationship between export sophistication and TFEE significantly varied across different threshold levels of regional corruption score, economic development, and openness. This article led the foundation for supporting China's export sophistication promotion strategy and also provides a reference for energy efficiency improvement and energy crisis response in the post-pandemic era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new energy demonstration city policy (NEDC), an essential economic system aiming to implement innovative development strategies and energy structure transformations in China, is crucial for solving the current plight of resource-based cities. This paper studies the effect of the implementation of the NEDC on the green total factor productivity (GTFP) of resource-based cities in China; understanding this relation is of great significance for the further promotion of the NEDC. For this purpose, the SBM-undesirable model is employed to measure GTFP. The propensity score matching and difference-in-difference (PSM-DID) model and the mediation effect model are also utilized to empirically examine the impact of the NEDC on GTFP across a dataset of 106 resource-based cities between 2005 and 2016. The empirical results indicate that the NEDC can significantly improve the GTFP of resource-based cities. After both counterfactual and common trend tests are performed, the research conclusion of this paper is still robust. Moreover, the NEDC promotes the GTFP of resource-based cities through structural effects, technological innovation effects, and fiscal support effects. Furthermore, the effect of the NEDC on GTFP is also affected by the regions, sizes, and types of the different resource-based cities. This research provides evidence for the ability of the NEDC to improve GTFP and optimize the spatial layout of new energy demonstration cities in resource-based cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the outbreak of the COVID‐19 pandemic and China's "digital power" strategy, the realization of a green shift of manufacturing has become a necessary condition to promote the economy, and the digital factor has increasingly become a new driving force. The DEA‐Malmquist index and entropy method were used to measure the manufacturing green total factor productivity (GTFP) and the level of digital economy level from 2011 to 2018, respectively. This study then explored the impact of digital economy on manufacturing GTFP based on the system generalized method of moments (GMM) model, as well as the adjustment effects of talent aggregation and financial scale according to the moderating model. This research came to four conclusions. (1) The digital economy can significantly improve the manufacturing GTFP of China, and the influence shows the characteristic of a "marginal increase"; (2) notably, the perspective of manufacturing GTFP decomposition indicates that the digital economy exerts a significant positive effect on manufacturing technical efficiency during the current period but obviously hinders technical progress; (3) interestingly, a mechanistic test showed that the two dimensions of innovation environment—talent aggregation (0.385) and financial scale (0.359)—play critical moderating roles in the influencing process; and (4) the influence has evident regional heterogeneity—it is significantly positive in the east and negative in the central region and west. Finally, corresponding policy suggestions are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity‐ecosystem function relationships have been widely studied in the field of microorganisms in recent years. The research findings revealed that microorganisms positively influence multiple ecosystem functions in diverse ecosystem types. However, the previous studies have neglected the fact that biodiversity at higher trophic levels is also required in order to maintain ecosystem multifunctionality. Here, in this study, the relationships among soil macro/meso faunal diversity, soil functions (C, N, and P functions), and ecosystem multifunctionality under different artificial disturbance conditions were investigated. The results revealed a positive relationship between the soil meso‐faunal diversity and ecosystem multifunctionality in primary forest (PM), secondary forest (SF), and deforested land (DL). However, correlations between macro‐faunal diversity and ecosystem multifunctionality decreased as the intensity of artificial disturbances increased, and no significant relationships were found in the DL and cultivated land (CL). We suggested that the soil faunal size was the main factor affecting the predictive ability of meso‐ or macro‐ faunas, and the soil meso‐faunal diversity was more suitable than soil macro‐fauna to orchestrate the ecosystem multifunctionality. Further, we demonstrated that the relative effects of the soil functions on ecosystem multifunctionality were changed with the increasing disturbance intensities. We proposed that soil function and meso‐/macro‐faunas contribute to ecosystem multifunctionality in different ways under natural or artificial disturbances. It was concluded that the relative contributions of the soil meso‐/macro‐fauna to the ecosystem multifunctionality were manipulated by their size, soil functions, and disturbance intensities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building a green and healthy economic system and achieving high‐quality economic growth have long been the development goals pursued by the Chinese government. Under the local government competition system, coordinating the relationship between economic growth and ecological sustainability is a decisive factor for China's high‐quality development. As a former state planned economy, China inherited a legacy of setting economic growth targets at various levels of government. This paper analyzes the relationship between economic growth targets and ecological efficiency by using panel data models and spatial econometric techniques. Moreover, the mediating effect model and dynamic threshold effect model are used to study their influence mechanism and the possible nonlinear relationship. The results indicate that there is an inverted U‐shaped relationship between economic growth targets and ecological efficiency. Optimizing industrial structure and R&D investment can improve regional ecological efficiency. The economic growth targets in neighboring regions have a "U"‐shaped relationship with local ecological efficiency. The mechanism test results suggest that economic growth targets affect ecological efficiency by influencing financial development, foreign direct investment, infrastructure investment, environmental regulation, and technological innovation. The impact of economic growth targets on ecological efficiency shows a significant threshold effect when economic growth targets, industrial structure, R&D levels, financial development, foreign direct investment, infrastructure investment, and environmental regulation are at different threshold values. Therefore, to promote regional healthy competition and ecological efficiency, the government should formulate scientific and reasonable economic growth goals and improve the official evaluation system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faced with the dual challenges of "achieving carbon peaking by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060" and "continuing the battle against pollution," the concept of synergistic reduction of pollution and carbon (SRPC) has emerged as a novel approach for China to tackle climate change and achieve comprehensive ecological improvement. In terms of the increasingly profound influence of the digital economy (DE) on China's economy and society, what impact will DE have on the SRPC? This is a realistic issue worth in-depth discussion. Using the super efficiency SBM model and the coupling coordination degree model (CCDM) to measure the SRPC level in 278 Chinese cities from 2007 to 2019, the influence of DE on the SRPC is investigated from the perspectives of industrial transformation and upgrading (ITU) and the transfer of polluting industry (TPI). The results show that, first, the SRPC in most Chinese regions showed a gradual upwards trend. Second, DE can effectively improve the local SRPC. The improvement is achieved through local ITU (especially industrial upgrading and industrial rationalization). Third, DE notably reduces the SRPC level in neighboring regions. The negative spillover effect has an inverted U-shaped change, and 300 km is the turning point. Spatial mechanism analysis shows that local DE inhibits the SRPC in neighboring regions through the spatial transfer of polluting industries. This study not only helps to assess the effect of DE development on the SRPC but is also highly important for determining how to effectively promote the interregional ITU to realize the SRPC. • Synergistic reduction of pollution and carbon (SRPC) in China showed a gradual upwards trend. • Digital economy (DE) can effectively improve the SRPC through industrial transformation and upgrading. • DE notably inhibits the SRPC level in neighboring regions through the spatial transfer of polluting industries. • The negative spillover effect has an inverted U-shaped change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addressing how to achieve carbon neutrality without hindering economic growth is critical. As the world's largest CO 2 emitter and heavily reliant on imported crude oil, China faces challenges in shifting toward new energy sources to meet its 2060 carbon neutrality goal. This study introduces a novel decarbonized pathway for on-road fuel, considering economic and technological uncertainties. Our analysis reveals that achieving the 2060 target is improbable with the current energy structure trends, highlighting a potential energy crisis due to a growing oil demand gap. We assess the cost and economic feasibility of this new pathway compared to three major carbon neutrality approaches, finding that carbon substitution and capture pathways encounter significant sustainable development challenges. Our pathway suggests transferring and absorbing 20–25 Gt of CO 2 from concentrated emission sources, offering a sustainable alternative by potentially reducing CO 2 emissions by over 20–25 Gt through carbon circulation. This approach presents an economically viable solution, minimizing opposition from fossil fuel sectors. For a smooth oil sector transition to carbon neutrality, China needs stronger emission reduction policies and should enhance the new carbon‑hydrogen fuel's competitiveness through subsidies, both technologically and economically. • The carbon circular development model for oil energy is assessed from a dynamic stochastic perspective. • A new zero-emission pathway for Chinese petroleum is explored. • This pathway could potentially offer a negative carbon contribution to other concentrated emission sources in China. • The cost and effectiveness of this zero-emission pathway have been evaluated and compared with other pathways. • An enhanced Markov Chain model is integrated into an E -DSGE approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution is an important factor affecting the quality and sustainability of the development of China's economy, and urban sprawl is also a typical by-product of the non-intensive development of urban land. At the same time, Chinese-style fiscal decentralization promotes urban sprawl through top-down yardstick competition, which has a serious impact on air pollution. Therefore, exploring the effect of fiscal decentralization and urban sprawl on air pollution is of great significance for regulating local government behavior, curbing urban sprawl, and accurately identifying the causes of air pollution. The dynamic spatial Durbin model with economic geography weight matrix is employed to analyze the direct and moderating effects of fiscal decentralization and urban sprawl on air pollution on the basis of 269 prefecture-level cities in China from 2004 to 2018. The results show that air pollution has a significant retarded time effect and space spillover effect. Both fiscal decentralization and urban sprawl have contributed significantly to air pollution. The moderating effect of urban sprawl and fiscal decentralization on air pollution is significantly positive. From the short-term effects, the coefficients of the total spillover effect, direct spillover effect, and indirect spillover effect of urban sprawl and fiscal decentralization on air pollution are significantly positive, respectively. In terms of long-term effects, the total spatial spillover effect of urban sprawl and fiscal decentralization on air pollution is significantly negative, while the direct and indirect effects of those are negative but not significant. Further research finds that there is significant regional heterogeneity in the influence of urban sprawl and fiscal decentralization on air pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is widespread, rapid, and is intensifying. Using Chinese disaster data and the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data, this study examines the impact of climate shocks on the vulnerability of farm households to poverty and the mechanism of household resource allocation in this process. The results show that (a) climate shocks can significantly increase the poverty vulnerability of farm households. (b) The effect of climate shocks on farm household poverty vulnerability is regionally and individually heterogeneous. Climate non-security zones, risk-averse farmers, and low social capital farmers are more vulnerable to climate shocks and fall into poverty. (c) The mediating effects suggest that climate shocks affect the poverty vulnerability of farm households by influencing their developmental investment, productive investment, and precautionary saving. The paper finally concludes and discusses some policy implications in the national response to climate change and transformation of farmers' livelihoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study develops a theoretical framework of how irrigation and drainage infrastructure and rural transportation infrastructure influence poverty. Using panel data on 31 provinces in China from 2002 to 2017, this paper estimates basic and continuous difference-in-differences (DID) models to investigate the preliminary impact of irrigation and drainage infrastructure and rural transportation infrastructure on poverty and further explores the influence mechanisms of these rural infrastructures on poverty by using the mediating effect model. The results show that irrigation and drainage facilities infrastructure can directly reduce poverty. On the one hand, rural transportation infrastructure directly leads to rural hollowing out and aggravates rural poverty; on the other hand, it indirectly promotes poverty reduction by stimulating economic growth. Overall, the positive and negative effects of rural transportation infrastructure on poverty offset each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to identify and highlight the positive and negative indirect environmental impacts of COVID-19, with a particular focus on the most affected economies (USA, China, Spain, and Italy). In this respect, the empirical and theoretical dimensions of the contents of those impacts are analyzed. Research findings reveal a significant relationship between contingency actions and positive indirect impacts such as air quality improvements, clean beaches, and the decline in environmental noise. Besides, negative indirect impacts also exist, such as the rise in waste level and curtailment in recycling, further threatening the physical spaces (land and water), besides air. It is expected that global businesses will revive in the near future (though slowly), but the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions during this short time span is not a sustainable way of environmental mitigation. Thus, long-term mitigation policies should be strengthened to cope with the undesirable deterioration of the environment. Research findings provide an up-to-date glimpse of the pandemic from the perspectives of current and future indirect environmental impacts and the post-pandemic situation. Finally, it is suggested to invent and prepare action plans to induce a sustainable economic and environmental future in the post-pandemic world scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Actual environmental pollution will worsen people's perception of environmental problems, which may affect people's perception of government corruption, and thus affect the governments' credibility and social stability. From the micro perspective of residents' comprehensive feelings on environmental issues, this paper uses panel data for the period 2014–2018 obtained from a large‐scale dynamics survey in China to investigate the impact of environmental issues on corruption perception. The empirical results suggest that residents' perception of environmental problems has a significantly positive linear correlation with their corruption perception. Moreover, the causal explanation of this correlation is strengthened after the introduction of exogenous environmental condition variables that profoundly affect residents' environmental perception and after mitigating endogenous bias via the instrumental variable method. The findings of this study deeply reveal the political value of environmental governance, suggesting that the deterioration of environmental problems can increase public perception of government corruption, and this relationship is distinct in different demographic groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inclusive green growth, which considers green growth, inclusive growth and growth, is a sustainable development model that aims to pursue the comprehensive and harmonious growth of humans, the economy, society, and the environment. Against the backdrop of the pandemic as well as sluggish economic development, the global economy is endowed with a driving mission that may affect inclusive green growth. This research primarily discusses the influence of digital economy agglomeration on inclusive green growth and its transmission mechanism in China. Specifically, the slacks‐based measure of directional distance functions (SBM‐DDF) model was integrated with the global Malmquist–Luenberger index (GML) to calculate inclusive green growth at the city level for 282 cities in China during 2004–2019. A measurement system for the digital economy level was constructed, and the degree of digital economy agglomeration in each region was further measured through geographic concentration. Based on these analyses, this research points out that digital economy agglomeration exerts a positive influence on inclusive green growth. The transmission mechanism analysis indicates that inclusive green growth is influenced by digital economy agglomeration through energy consumption, environmental pollution, economic growth, human capital, industrial structure, and technological progress. Moreover, taking the "Broadband China" pilot policy as the starting point, a spatial difference‐in‐differences (SDID) model was used to analyze the policy effect. The results suggest that the "Broadband China" policy is conducive to enhancing local inclusive green growth, while it inhibits inclusive green growth in neighboring cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the digital economy develops rapidly and the network information technology advances, new development models represented by the network economy have emerged, which have a crucial impact on green economic growth. However, the relevant previous studies lacked the role of analyzing the direct and indirect effects of internet development on green economic growth at the prefecture-level city level. For this purpose, this paper aims to examine the intrinsic mechanism of the impact of internet development on green economic growth and provide empirical support for cities and regions in China to increase internet construction. Furthermore, the mixed model (EBM), which includes both radial and non-radial distance functions, is applied to calculate the green economic growth index. Fixed effect model and mediation effect model are also employed to test influence mechanisms of the internet development on green economic growth using panel data of 269 prefecture-level cities in China from 2004 to 2019. The statistical results reveal that internet development has contributed significantly to green economic growth. When the internet development level increases by 1 unit, the green economic growth level increases by an average of 5.0372 units. However, regional heterogeneity is evident between internet development and green economic growth, that is, the promoting effect of internet development on green economic growth is gradually enhanced from the eastern region to the western region. We also find that internet development guides industrial structure upgrading improves environmental quality and accelerates enterprise innovation, which indirectly contributes to green economic growth. And internet development mainly achieves green economic growth through enterprise innovation. Based on the above findings, we concluded that policymakers should not only strengthen the guiding role of social actors to promote the stable development of the internet industry, but also foster the construction of the three models of "internet+industry integration," "internet+environmental governance," and "internet+enterprise innovation" to promote green economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is currently undergoing an important stage wherein it is adjusting its development mode and upgrading its industrial structure. Green investment has become a major driving force through which China can achieve green and sustainable development. Based on the panel data of 30 Chinese provinces for the 2006–2017 period, this paper uses a spatial Durbin model and a dynamic threshold model to empirically analyze the impact of green investment and institutional quality on environmental pollution. The research results show that China's environmental pollution is significantly characterized by spatial dependence. Local environmental pollution is negatively impacted by green investment, but it is not affected by green investment in neighboring areas; this conclusion remains valid after a series of robustness tests. Green investment can reduce environmental pollution by improving efficiency of energy conservation and emission reduction, expanding technological innovation capabilities and upgrading the industrial structure. The regression results of the dynamic threshold model show that green investment has a nonlinear impact on environmental pollution that is dependent on institutional quality. A higher degree of regional corruption can lead to a gradual decrease in the role of green investment in reducing environmental pollution. However, improvements in marketization and intellectual property protection can increase the positive influence of green investment in reducing environmental pollution. Significant regional heterogeneity is also found in the impact of green investment on environmental pollution, and this impact gradually decreases from the eastern coast to the western region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is gradually changing its pursuit of rapid economic growth into a pursuit of economic development quality. In this context, whether "cyberpower" and "digital China" strategies are truly conducive to China's sustainable development still needs to be further tested. This paper constructs China's provincial information and communication technology (ICT) comprehensive development level index from the four dimensions of penetration, coverage, information resources, and business and then innovatively undertakes a theoretical framework integrating ICT, environmental regulations, and green total factor energy efficiency (GTFEE) for the analysis. Using panel data from China's 30 provincial administrative regions from 2006 to 2017, this study explores the direct impact, moderating effect, nonlinear relationship, and regional differences of ICT development on GTFEE. It is indicated that ICT development plays a positive role in promoting GTFEE and that this role is moderated by environmental regulations. The regression results of the dynamic threshold model indicate that diverse environmental regulation intensities lead to different influences of ICT development on GTFEE. Moreover, the impact of ICT development on GTFEE is heterogeneous among different regions. Specifically, the western region may gain more benefits from ICT development by virtue of the late‐mover advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a new production factor, digitalization plays a vital role in society, economy, and the environment. Based on the expanded STIRPAT model, this paper empirically tests the impact of energy structure and digital economy on carbon emissions by panel data from 2011 to 2017 in 30 provinces of China. The results show that the energy structure mainly based on coal has a significant driving effect on carbon emissions. Compared with non-resource-based provinces, the increase of energy structure dominated by coal has a greater effect on carbon emission in resource-based provinces. It is worth noting that this kind of influence has a greater impact on the central region of China, followed by the western region and the eastern region. Besides, the digital economy has a significant moderating effect. With the development of digital economy, the impact of coal-based energy structure on carbon emissions is gradually decreasing. This effect is more significant in non-resource-based provinces and eastern China, but not significant in resource-based cities and central and western China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An economic growth target is a declaration by policy authorities of commitment to that target and the corresponding allocation of resources. The constraints created by economic growth target are an important economic management method in China, which has helped China's economy to achieve remarkable achievements. However, it has also brought about serious environmental problems, threatening China's sustainable development. Using the data about economic growth targets in the work reports of 30 Chinese provincial governments from 2006 to 2017, this paper constructs several spatial measurement methods, such as the spatial Durbin model, to examine the constraints created by economic growth target's impacts on air pollution. The main conclusions are as follows. First, a significant "U‐shaped" relationship exists between the constraints created by economic growth targets and air pollution. Second, the spatial Durbin model analysis revealed that PM2.5 across China's provinces display significant positive spatial spillover effects and spatial agglomeration characteristics. Third, the direct, indirect, and total effects of constraints created by economic growth targets on air pollution are all statistically significant and depict a "U shape." Finally, the constraints created by economic growth targets have an apparent threshold effect on air pollution, and the inhibiting effects increase with human capital and industrial restructuring. However, with the increase in foreign direct investments, constraints created by economic growth targets may increase air pollution. The conclusions of this paper are of great significance for improving the management of local government economic growth targets and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of China's economy, the problem of environmental pollution has become increasingly serious. Given that China's current environmental quality threatens its long-term sustainable economic development, certain attention must be paid to curb environmental pollution in China. As a developed country with a high level of environmental quality in the world, Germany has experienced "Treatment after Pollution". To promote China's environmental quality, this study considers the historical lessons offered by Germany and examines the relationship between environmental pollution and economic development as well as the effective environmental governance mode in Germany and China. Based on the panel data of 30 provincial administrative regions in China and 16 states in Germany from 2000 to 2017, this study quantitatively investigates the nexus of economic growth and environmental pollution in the two countries. Empirical results demonstrate that, during the sample period of 2000–2017, the emissions of four pollutants in both countries increase initially and then decrease as the economy grows. The levels of per capita gross domestic product (GDP) that correspond to the emission peaks of sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen oxides are comparable in the two countries. Some economic and industrial policies may help to accelerate the occurrence of the turning point, including the following: decreasing the importance of a secondary industry; taking full advantage of the structural and technical effects brought about by foreign trade; reducing the reliance on non-clean energy; and carrying out more effective energy policies. In this regard, coordinating environmental policies with economic growth, formulating strict environmental policies, improving industrial structure, optimizing energy structure, and improving the quality of foreign trade are pivotal for China's sustainable development goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying the character and importance of invertebrates in thawing wetlands is useful, since they are the main food resource for migratory waterfowl during spring. We investigated aquatic invertebrate composition in the spring-thaw and compared it with the summer in wetlands of the Sanjiang Plain, China. NMDS analysis showed that the composition of aquatic invertebrates in the spring-thaw is significantly different from in summer. Aquatic invertebrate diversity (including Shannon–Wiener index; Margalef's species richness; Pielou's evenness) was lower in the spring-thaw, and Network analyses indicated that it was a simpler community. Indicator species were different between spring-thaw and summer. The scraper functional feeding group (i.e., snails) dominated both seasons, but especially in the spring-thaw. Snails and other invertebrates such as asellid crustaceans abounded in spring, are rich in both calcium and protein, making them to be an especially important food source for migratory waterfowl. Therefore, the spring-thaw should be a focus when assessing aquatic invertebrate function for waterfowl production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainable development of China's economy and society has been restricted by energy and environmental issues. With the implementation of the Rise of Central China strategy, Henan, a populous province in China, is facing the threat of an energy shortage as its economy grows steadily and the urbanization process accelerates. Using panel data of 18 cities in Henan Province for the period of 2006–2018, this study investigates the relationship between energy consumption and economic and social development variables based on the extended Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology (STIRPAT) model and threshold regression method. The empirical results indicate that economic and social development are significantly positively correlated with total electricity consumption, although there is regional heterogeneity in this relationship. Moreover, there is evidence for a nonlinear relationship between economic and social development and urban energy consumption. These conclusions not only promote the healthy and sustainable economic development of Henan Province but also provide a reference for other provinces and cities that are experiencing rapid development in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The impact of environmental pollution on China's crime rate is investigated. • Local government official corruption is an important threshold variable. • Generalized method of moments and Dynamic threshold panel model are used for empirical test. • Environmental pollution can promote provincial crime rate. • The promotion effect increases as the level of local government official corruption increases. Environmental pollution and its effects have attracted increasing attention, but few studies have examined the impact of environmental pollution on the crime rate. This study adopted panel data of 30 provinces in China for the period 2005 to 2016 to examine the relationship between environmental pollution and the crime rate. In addition, a mediating effect model is used to study the mechanism through which environmental pollution influences the crime rate. This study considers the threshold effect of government official corruption on the link between environmental pollution and the crime rate. The generalized method of moments and a newly developed dynamic threshold panel model are employed to manage potential endogeneity problems. The estimation results indicate that environmental pollution significantly promotes China's crime rate. Environmental pollution can indirectly affect the crime rate through residents' health level, education level and inequality. The magnitude of the effect of environmental pollution on the crime rate will be greater after corruption reaches the threshold value. Regional heterogeneity analysis shows that a significant positive impact of environmental pollution on the crime rate exists in the eastern and western regions of China but not in the middle region. Based on the findings, we propose a series of policy implications to reduce criminal activities in China from the perspective of environmental pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though one of the most vulnerable terrestrial ecosystems, wetlands provide multiple ecosystem services, most notably storing carbon. It is now widely recognized that climate change could have a large impact on high‐latitude wetlands. A key question is how climate change will affect the distribution pattern of wetland plant communities, and to what extent the transitions among different wetland plant communities respond to regional warming? To answer this question, we estimated the total SOC storage with 139 soil profiles in the Xing'anling Mountains and performed ensemble species distribution modelling for 11 dominant wetland plant communities by using numerous vegetation plots. Results show that 4.5–23.8% of the high‐latitude wetlands in the study area would be lost following widespread thawing of permafrost under different climate warming scenarios by the end of this century. The total wetland SOC in the Xing'anling Mountains is estimated to be 1.58 Pg, about 25.5–29.3% of the total of China's wetlands, however, predicted wetland loss could put 5.4–20.5% (0.08–0.32 Pg C) of the total SOC storage at risk of instability. Our results also predicted a significant northward migration of southern Deyeuxia angustifolia communities driven by future climate changes. This wetland succession could profoundly reduce future carbon sequestration capacity of wetlands in the study area. The findings presented here are helpful for both current reserve management and future conservation planning of wetlands in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban industrial intelligence (ININ) has been given great impetus to in China because it may boost urban high-quality development (HQD), which does not overlook the "quality" and "quantity" of development but focuses on the results and benefits of growth in multiple dimensions, including economic development, social equity, and the ecological environment. Three factors are suggested to explain the phenomenon: green innovation, market potential, and industrial pollution. Spatial correlations between ININ and HQD are also worthy to be detected for further strategic policy implications. On the basis of a panel of 278 Chinese cities from 2009 to 2020, this paper focuses on how ININ contributes to HQD, in hopes of advancing the process of sustainable urban development in China. Our results show that ININ is positively correlated with HQD, and significant and positive influence of ININ spillovers are found, which denotes the possibility and benefits of synergetic city development in China. • Urban industrial intelligence has impacted the high-quality urban development of China. • Urban green innovation, market potential and urban industrial pollution can be the mediating factors. • Strong spatial correlation exists among China's urban high-quality development. • A policy spillover effect of industrial intelligence on high-quality development exists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The index system of internet comprehensive development in China has been established. • The influence of China's internet development on environmental pollution is investigated. • Spatial correlation of haze pollution is fully considered. • The impact of internet development on China's environmental pollution shows an inverted "U" shaped. With the continuous development of cloud computing and internet of things technology, the integration of internet and haze governance has broad prospects and infinite potential. Through the internet platform and technology, environmental monitoring can be done by the internet, and realize the intellectualization of environmental management, improve the early warning ability of environmental pollution emergencies, and facilitate the public's in-depth participation in environmental supervision. The dynamic spatial Durbin model and the quantile regression model are employed to analyze the effect and mechanism of the internet development on China's haze pollution on the basis of provincial panel data in China from 2006 to 2017. The results indicate that there is an inverted "U" curve between internet development and haze pollution in China, and the conclusion is still valid after a series of robustness tests. There is significant heterogeneity between direct and indirect spillover effects. Meanwhile, from the perspective of different regions in China (such as the east-central region and western regions), the inverted "U" curve between internet development and air pollution still exists. Besides, quantile regression results also show that the suppression effect of the internet on haze pollution is getting stronger with the increase of haze concentration. The regression results of the mediation effect indicate that internet development mainly affects haze pollution by improving technological innovation and environmental governance efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wetland restoration has been implemented widely but evaluation of the effectiveness of wetland restoration has been limited. In this study, we aimed to investigate the utility of aquatic invertebrate assemblages as potential indicators of restoration condition in wetlands of the Sanjiang Plain, Northeastern China. Results from non‐metric multidimensional scaling analysis of invertebrate assemblages showed that study wetlands (n = 16) divided into two groups: natural wetlands and wetlands that have been restored for 4 years were classified as a group, and impaired wetlands and wetlands restored for only 1 year were classified into another group. After 4 years of recovery, 47.9% of invertebrate taxa found at the natural wetlands could also be found at the restored wetlands, primarily insects with aerial dispersal capabilities for rapid colonization. Indicator species analysis identified differences in community composition among wetland types, and Amphiagrion sp. and Bezzia sp. were indicators of the restored wetlands. In Northeastern China, aquatic invertebrate assemblages and certain indicator species may provide robust measures of wetland restoration. It is urgent for further exploration to monitor restored wetlands in the long‐time series and fully assess the efficiency of the restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to explain why China performed better than India in reducing poverty. As two of the most populous countries in the world, China and India have both experienced fast economic growth and high inequality in the past four decades. Conversely, China adopted a more export-oriented development strategy, resulting in faster industrialization or urbanization and deeper globalization, than India. Consequently, to conduct the comparative study, we first decompose poverty changes into a growth and an inequality components, assessing the relative importance of growth versus distributional changes on poverty in China and India. Then, Chinese data are used to estimate the impacts of industrialization, urbanization and globalization on poverty reduction in rural China. The major conclusion of this comparative study is that developing countries must prioritize employment generation in secondary and tertiary industries through industrialization and globalization in order to absorb surplus agricultural labor, helping reduce poverty in the rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking advantage of the electrification strategy, Northwest China has made full use of its natural resources endowment, to develop renewable energy as the substitution of thermal power. To evaluate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from electric power sector, an extended Kaya identity equation and the Logarithmic mean Divisia index decomposition method are applied to Northwest China from 1998 to 2017. Six explaining factors are analyzed, including carbon intensity, energy mixes, generating efficiency, electrification, economy and population. The results show that driving forces of CO2 emissions from electricity system varied greatly among provinces. Generally, economic growth has mainly contributed to increase CO2 emission, while the improvement in the power‐generating efficiency has crucially decreased CO2 emission. In 2017, Promoting electrification directly increased CO2 emissions from electric system, but indirectly reduced CO2 emissions from the whole region by 5.10% through the estimation of a clean development mechanism method. Therefore, local governments are suggested continuing to promote electrification to guide future emission reduction, while enterprises and individuals need to make their own contributions to low‐carbon development. Recommendations for Resource Managers:Variations of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of all five provinces in Northwest China are analyzed.Logarithmic mean Divisia index analysis is used to study the main drivers of CO2 emission change.Improvements in the generating efficiency significantly reduced CO2 emissions.Due to electrification effects, CO2 emissions from electric power increased, but CO2 emissions from the region decreased.Economy effects were still the biggest drivers affecting CO2 emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The impact of land finance on carbon emissions in China is quantitatively examined. • A specially designed two-stage regression method that could well address endogeneity is employed. • The direct and indirect influences of environmental effects of land finance are distinguished and evaluated. • The direct influences are estimated to dominate the total influences. • The total impact of land finance on carbon emissions is dependent on the level of GDP per capita. In the past two decades, land finance, a phenomenon of the financing arrangement based on land development, has gradually become a fiscal model that profoundly affects China's economic development. Based on the theory of fiscal decentralization and environmental federalism, this study employs a specially designed two-stage regression method to capture both direct and indirect (through economic development and industrial structure) influences of land finance on carbon emissions. Using the provincial panel data for the period of 1998–2016, the empirical results indicate that the direct influences are dominant, and the total impact of land finance on carbon emissions is non-linear and is dependent on the level of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. After 2003, the total effect is that carbon emissions increase continuously along with the economic development. To balance economic development and environmental protection and to enhance sustainable development, the traditional style of land finance should be changed as soon as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]