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This study aims to predict financial distress in an emerging country using data on ST listed companies in China from 2001 to 2021. A new Aalen hazard model with mixed data sampling (MIDAS) is adopted to investigate the impact of monthly macroeconomic variables and quarterly financial variables on financial distress. The empirical results show that the current ratio, operating profit ratio, current capital ratio, retention ratio, profit ratio and income ratio of listed companies have a significant impact on the time-varying intensity of financial distress. The consumer price index has a negative relation with the intensity of financial distress, while the production price index and credit spreads have a positive influence. Finally, the results of the robustness tests are consistent with those with different lag orders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industrial land supply impacts regional high-quality development, with various impacts across sectors. Considering China's Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB), this paper uses entropy weighting, spatial analysis, and the spatial Durbin model for spatiotemporal and regional analysis of the high-quality development level (HDL) and its spatial correlation with the industrial land supply. (1) The annual average HDL in all cities of the YREB increases, the regional HDL is spatially unbalanced and decreases from downstream–midstream–upstream, and HDL overlaps with economic development spatiotemporally. (2) The increase in high-tech industrial land supply promotes local HDL, and the raw material industrial land supply promotes HDL more indirectly than directly. (3) The land supply of the industrial supporting service, processing, food and light textile, and raw material industries has significant indirect effects. Processing has the strongest positive spillover effect, and food and light textile has a significant negative spillover effect. The HDL equilibrium in the YREB increased from 2010 to 2019, and the clustering of the processing, industrial supporting service, and food and light textile industries aggravated the spatial imbalance. (4) The regional structure and layout of the industrial land supply should be optimized to promote the HDL of the YREB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural settlement reconstruction is an effective means of governance of rural planning. Traditional research on the reconstruction of rural settlements fails to fully consider individual differences in the utilization of rural space, which easily leads to uneven spatial development and social and economic problems. This paper proposes an analytical framework for planning rural settlement reconstruction combining agricultural suitability with the assessment of conditions unique to individual households and verifies the feasibility of this idea through empirical research based on Pingba Village in southwest China. The results show that (1) compared with the effects of considering only land suitability, the number and scale of rural settlements that need to be optimized in the study area expanded three times after considering individual needs. (2) The inclusion of individual differences diversifies the types and modes of rural settlement reconstruction. After comprehensively considering land suitability and individual differences, the rural settlements in the study area were divided into five types: retained settlements, locally rebuilt settlements, integrated settlements, production-based relocated settlements, and travel-based relocated settlements. Among them, retained settlements are the core of rural reconstruction planning. (3) Compared with simple demolition and relocation, a reconstruction of rural settlements that takes into consideration individual factors produces an additional two modes of integration and spatial replacement. The study unveils the influence of individual differences in rural settlements and households on rural reconstruction plans and provides an exploratory tool for rural space optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an emerging business form of tourism development, homestays also play an important role in China's rural revitalization and tourism transformation and upgrading, and has attracted increasing social attention. At present, Chongqing is the city with the largest number of homestays in China. Taking Chongqing as a case-study area, based on the homestay data of the Baidu map, this paper comprehensively uses the methods of spatial analysis, multiple regression and geographical weighted regression to thoroughly analyze the regional characteristics and influencing factors of homestay distribution in Chongqing. The results show that: (1) the nearest-neighbor index R of homestay distributions in Chongqing and all regions is one, which shows an obvious agglomeration type. (2) In addition to being highly concentrated in the central urban area, three secondary high-density areas are also formed in the surrounding areas of the central urban area, and there is a trend of concentration and contiguity. The spatial distribution densities of the two urban agglomerations in Southeast and Northeast Chongqing are very low, and the overall distributions are extremely uneven. (3) The factors, such as tourism resource endowment, economic development, service industry development, traffic location, consumption demand and social development conditions, have significant impacts on the distribution pattern of homestays, and the impacts of each factor on the layout of homestays has obvious spatial heterogeneity. Analyzing and revealing the temporal and spatial characteristics and dynamic mechanism of homestays has an important theoretical value and practical significance for better serving the new urbanization plan and implementing the strategy of urban–rural integration and rural revitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is important to clarify the impact of livelihood vulnerability level on farmers' willingness to cluster their homesteads in order to promote the intensive use of homesteads and rural revitalization. This paper constructs a framework for the influence of farmers' livelihood vulnerability on their intention of homestead agglomeration, then assesses the livelihood vulnerability of farmers based on 211 questionnaire data points, and analyzes the influence of farmers' livelihood vulnerability on their intention of homestead agglomeration through binary logistic regression. The results showed that the vulnerability of farmers' livelihoods had a significant negative effect on the intention of homestead agglomeration, and the more vulnerable farmers' livelihoods were, the more significant their tendency to gather residential land. In addition, from the three-dimensional perspective of "exposure-sensitivity-adaptability", exposure and sensitivity have a negative effect on farmers' intention to agglomerate, while adaptability has a significant positive effect. Therefore, this paper argues that the vulnerability of farmers' livelihoods can be improved by reducing exposure and sensitivity and increasing adaptive capacity to enhance farmers' willingness to cluster their homesteads, thus providing some theoretical support for the preliminary work of homestead layout optimization in rural spatial governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural settlement reconstruction relies on multiobjective system engineering. The demolition and relocation of rural settlements affects agricultural production, farmers' lives, and rural ecology. However, most studies on the topic have failed to examine the relationship between production, livelihoods, and ecology. We propose a framework for rural settlement reconstruction based on multidimensional suitability, which combines ecology, production, and livelihoods. Our framework integrates objective factors reflecting the differences among settlements and considers the reconstruction of the village of Pingba. The results show that: (1) Different suitability conditions yield differences in the number, scale, and spatial distribution of relocated and reserved settlements. Our results on multidimensional suitability show that 74 rural settlements in Pingba must be relocated or optimized, accounting for 67% of all settlements. (2) Rural settlements that need to be demolished and relocated have formed multiple clusters, and spatial integration and optimization have occurred mostly in reserved settlements. (3) When we consider individual factors, the number and size of rural settlements that need to be relocated increases significantly compared to when we consider regional factors only. This study unveils the influence of multidimensional suitability as well as farmers' individual characteristics on rural settlement reconstruction and provides an exploratory tool for rural space governance and modernization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's social and economic development is in a critical period of transition. With the implementation of the Rural Revitalization Strategy, new rural industries and new formats have developed rapidly. Profound changes have taken place in the human–land relationship, population structure, industrial structure, and rural functions in the vast rural areas, which have a huge impact on the function and value of rural homesteads. The functional evolution of rural homesteads has a strong driving effect on the change of function value of the homestead. The functional value of rural homesteads is affected by the social and economic development conditions, location, resource endowment, land use policy, rural land trading market, the development of new industries and new formats, and the evolution of homestead function; different homestead functions have different values, especially in the non-agricultural production function and asset function of the homestead. To revitalize the idle and inefficient use of the homestead and fully manifest its value when the homestead is transferred or withdrawn, it is necessary to scientifically calculate the homestead value according to the principle of "what function is lost and what value is compensated". This paper adopts basic geographic data, rural land transaction data, and social and economic data, and it uses participatory rural appraisal, the land estimation method, and the comparative analysis method. According to the classic theory of "structure determines function and function determines value" in systems engineering, the equivalent substitution method and market value method are used to measure and compare the functional values of traditional agricultural villages and tourist homestay villages before and after the functional evolution. The results show that (1) the leading functional evolution of homestead landlords is closely related to the level of social and economic development. The change in the functional value of the homestead presents the same law as the evolution of its leading function. (2) The functional evolution of the homestead has a strong driving effect on its value change. The increase in value caused by the functional evolution of homesteads in homestay villages is significantly higher than that in traditional agricultural villages. (3) The functional value of the homestead is affected by the social economy, location, resource endowment, land use policy, rural land trading market, business development, and the functional evolution of the homestead. (4) It is suggested that the state formulates the compensation standard for voluntary and paid withdrawal of homesteads according to the "functional value theory of homesteads", to reduce the unfair value compensation caused by location differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researches on agricultural land use would help the stakeholders to make better decisions about agricultural resources. However, studies on agricultural land have been lacking. In this context, Xiangxi was chosen as a typical region, and five indicators (Kernel Density, change importance, etc.) and two models (gray forecasting model and GeoSoS-FLUS) were used, to explore the spatio-temporal evolution trends and simulate the future scenarios of agricultural land use. The results were as follows: (1) Xiangxi was dominated by agricultural land, and nearly 50% of total extent was forestry land. Extent of agricultural land decreased by about 56.89 km2 or 3.74% from 2000 to 2018; (2) The density of each agricultural land in the study area had considerable spatial heterogeneity, and showed a main trend of shrinkage, especially in the south regions; (3) In 2030, the spatial pattern and composition of agricultural land in Xiangxi will maintain the existing status, while both of the area and proportion of agricultural land will decline, with a loss of 241.34 km2 or 2.85% decrease from 2000. Nevertheless, the study believed that the slight shrinkage of the agricultural land in Xiangxi is in line with the objective law. At the same time, the study suggested to strengthen the scientific management and rational utilization of agricultural land, with emphasis on arable land and fishery land in the south, especially the administrative center. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uncertainty in the food supply continues to increase due to COVID-19 and geopolitical conflicts, and reducing farmland abandonment is an important measure for ensuring food security. In recent years, the Chinese government has promoted e-commerce demonstration projects in rural areas, so we ask does the spread of e-commerce reduce farmland abandonment? This study first constructs a theoretical framework for the effect of e-commerce on farmland abandonment and then quantifies that effect through spatial analysis and econometric models based on 12,732 households in the China Rural Household Panel Survey (CRHPS). The study found that there was a significant spatial aggregation between the popularization of e-commerce and the distribution of abandoned farmland, with a significant negative correlation between these two factors. The popularization of e-commerce has reduced farmland abandonment. The probability and size of farmland abandonment by farmers dropped by 4.1 % and 17.5 % when e-commerce was promoted in a village; the probability and size of farmland abandonment by farmers dropped by 7.8 % and 38.7 % when the rate of the popularization for e-commerce in villages increased by 1 %, respectively. E-commerce can reduce farmland abandonment in rural areas by absorbing returning labour, stimulating the land transfer market and revitalizing rural industry. With the improvement of physical infrastructure such as rural roads, the government should pay attention to the construction of digital villages including e-commerce infrastructure and continue to innovate new ways small farmers to participate in e-commerce, thus helping transform rural spaces and reusing idle land resources. • There is a significant negative relationship between e-commerce and farmland abandonment. • The popularization of e-commerce has reduced farmland abandonment. • E-commerce can reconfigure factors of production by absorbing labour, stimulating land transfer and revitalizing industry. • Digital village construction deserves to be given attention to revitalize the unused land resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the Rural Revitalization Strategy, an increasing number of Chinese villages have begun to build rural homestays to promote rural industrial transformation and drive local economic recovery. The spatial effect of and mechanism and the social response to rural homestays, which have constituted a new mode of rural development, have not been dialectically interpreted. Based on production of space theory, the process of constructing a typical Chinese rural homestay is discussed, and the spatial and social changes caused by the development of rural homestays are revealed. Rights and capital jointly dominate this development process, causing rural settlements and rural society to make major adjustments. The construction of rural homestays has not only changed the spatial layout, structure and function of rural settlements but also decreased the living space of indigenous farmers, thus causing a transformation of farmers' livelihood and changes in their daily lives. The kind of tourism-based consumption resulting from the development of rural homestays has fostered competitive social relations among famers and created multiple issues for rural society, such as class differentiation and contradictions. The development of rural homestays has been accompanied by spatial deprivation and exclusion as well as imbalanced development, which has been the main problem in the current development of rural China. These issues indicate that in the context of modern consumption, the relationship between urban and rural areas, once characterized by explicit deprivation, has embodied an implicit discipline. In the future, sustainability in the development of rural homestays and rural governance that conforms to spatial justice principles must be sought. • The construction of rural homestay in China's rural revitalization has changed the structure and function of traditional rural settlements. • The livelihood and daily life of villagers have changed greatly after the construction of rural homestay. • Tourism consumption brought by rural homestay breaks the communication mode and stratum relationship of traditional rural society. • Rights and capital have joined to dominate the construction process of rural homestay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the perspective of ecological construction of roads, the reduction and purifying effects of greening plants on noise, raising dust and automobile exhaust, selection principles of arbors, shrubs, ground cover plants and herbaceous flowers, and the methods of collocating arbors shrubs and grass in the construction of ecological roads were discussed in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental protection could promote ecological environment into a virtuous circle. The following measures had being taken recently to improve ecological environment in Three Gorges Reservoir Area: Yangtze River shelterbelt was being built, small watershed soil erosion was being controlled, the farmland was being returned to forest and grassland, agro-ecological engineering was being carrying out. Besides the State Council has formally given an official to the Follow-up planning of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area on June 15th, 2011, which has required to enhance ecological environment construction and protection of Three Gorges Reservoir Area, and focused to solve three issues which are improving the social economical development of Three Gorges Reservoir Area, reducing the frequency that geological disasters happened, and protecting ecological environment. This paper took Yunyang county of Chongqing, where was located at the hinterland of the Three Reservoir Area, as a case study and constructed correction coefficients of ecosystem service value in view of multi-functionality in land use among different land-use types based on the basis of Costanza' theories and ecosystem service value coefficient set by Xie Gaodi. And then quantitative analysis was being used to evaluate ecological effect of ecological barrier zone in land use planning from the perspective of ecosystem service value and landscape pattern. The results could be shown in the following aspects: 1) Ecosystem service pattern, forest is of primary importance while cultivated land, garden, grassland are supplementary, of Yunyang county' ecological barrier zone would be initially established in 2020. 2) Ecosystem service value in ecological barrier zone could be raised rapidly by land use planning guided by ecological functional construction, which also could strengthen the ability of ecological barrier zone to adjust the climate, conserve water and soil, and maintain biological diversity. The total ecosystem service value of ecological barrier zone in Yunyang county would be rising from 1.552 billons in 2010 to 1.998 billons in 2020, and average annual change rate would reach to 2.87%. 3) The ecosystem service value, especially its regulation service value and supporting service value, of ecological barrier zone in Yunyang county has shown an obvious spatial diversity. The ecosystem service value of Modao River Basin has been rising largest, and followed by Pengxi River Basin, and the ecosystem service value of Yangtze River has been maintained in a steadily increased, while little change has happened in Changtan River Basin. 4) According to the ecological effects analysis, practical guidance was designed to promote policy makers to evaluate and optimize land use pattern and spatial structure for land use planning. It should clarify the adjusting direction of land use structure through the evaluation of land-use structure adjustment among different land-use types and analysis of ecological effect produced by land structure adjustment, and then would achieve the goal of improving the scientific decision-making level in land use planning and ecological protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustained growth of non-farm wages has led to large-scale migration of rural population to cities in China, especially in mountainous areas. It is of great significance to study the spatial and temporal pattern of population migration mentioned above for guiding population spatial optimization and the effective supply of public services in the mountainous areas. Here, we determined the spatiotemporal evolution of population in the Chongqing municipality of China from 2000–2018 by employing multi-period spatial distribution data, including nighttime light (NTL) data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program's Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS) and the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (NPP-VIIRS). There was a power function relationship between the two datasets at the pixel scale, with a mean relative error of NTL integration of 8.19%, 4.78% less than achieved by a previous study at the provincial scale. The spatial simulations of population distribution achieved a mean relative error of 26.98%, improved the simulation accuracy for mountainous population by nearly 20% and confirmed the feasibility of this method in Chongqing. During the study period, the spatial distribution of Chongqing's population has increased in the west and decreased in the east, while also increased in low-altitude areas and decreased in medium-high altitude areas. Population agglomeration was common in all of districts and counties and the population density of central urban areas and its surrounding areas significantly increased, while that of non-urban areas such as northeast Chongqing significantly decreased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid urbanization of China related to fine particulate (PM 2.5) emissions has attracted global attention, and exploring how urban forms affect PM 2.5 concentration has become a hot topic for sustainable development of cites. Here, we combined multisource data and econometric models to quantify the relationships between urban forms and PM 2.5 concentration in 250 Chinese cities, with explicit consideration of urban area size, population size, economic structure, and geographical location. The results showed that urban expansion had significant positive impacts on PM 2.5 concentration in medium-sized (50–150 km2) and very large-sized cities (>250 km2). Urban form compactness tended to be beneficial for the reduction in PM 2.5 concentration in large cities (5 million < population < 10 million). The urban form-PM 2.5 concentration relationships were also dominated by economic structure change. That is, urban form irregularity/compactness played an important role in PM 2.5 concentration within second cities (the proportion of second industry > 50%) and other cities compared to third cities (the proportion of third industry > 50%). Moreover, a compact and connected urban form was found to be more beneficial for reducing PM 2.5 emissions in the northern region than in other regions. This study illustrates that the urban form-PM 2.5 concentration relationships are sensitive to the differences in urban types and suggests that flexible urban planning strategies can actually help to reduce PM 2.5 concentration in Chinese cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The uncertainty of the global food supply has increased, and land abandonment has affected food security. Based on nationally representative farm households in 1995, 2002, 2008 and 2020, this paper systematically reveals the extent, drivers, and production loss of farmland abandonment in China, providing a scientific basis for the comprehensive management of land abandonment. The extent of farmland abandonment has been increasing since 1995; 1/5 of farmers have abandoned their farmland, and 1/10 of farmland has been abandoned. The number of counties recording farmland abandonment increased from 34 (11.15%) at the beginning of the study period to 224 (73.44%) by the end, and these counties were mainly distributed in the hilly and mountainous areas along the Yangtze River as well as in Southeast, Southwest, Northwest, and Northeast China. Farmland abandonment is the result of a combination of multiple factors, including basic farmland conditions and socio-economic and ecological factors, among which the low agricultural comparative income caused by agricultural labour shortages and poor-quality farmland conditions is the root cause. In 2020, for example, the ratio of farmland abandonment in major grain-producing and non-grain-producing regions was 7.38% and 16.94%, respectively, resulting in a total loss of 49.23 million tons of grain, which is 7.36% of the total national grain output. The production loss experienced by China could feed 123 million people based on the per capita annual food consumption estimates of 400 kg. Currently, farmland abandonment poses a threat to China's food security, and the government should gradually improve the quality of farmland through comprehensive land management, improve rural infrastructure and develop small-scale machinery suitable for hilly and mountainous areas. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Farmland abandonment operating on soil physical and chemical properties was investigated. • Soil aggregate stability, organic carbon and nitrogen were obviously improved in surface layer. • All determined soil indicators obviously declined with increasing soil depths. • Soil aggregate stability and organic carbon content differ with durations of land conversion. • Tillage exclusion and natural vegetation succession are external factors governing this change. Farmland abandonment has continued to expand in China over recent decades due to the migration and aging of rural labour forces and the increasing industrial focus of the working population. Up till now, how farmland abandonment and vegetation secession operate on soil physical structure and chemical properties in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area featured by fragile hilly and mountainous landscapes remains incompletely understood. Accordingly, we used a space-for-time substitution approach to evaluate the changes of soil nutrients, aggregate stability, and aggregate-specific organic carbon for farmland abandonment with different durations of conversion. Composite soil samples were collected from present-day croplands (CL) and farmland abandoned for 3 years (AL3), 7 years (AL7), 15 years (AL15), and 20 years (AL20), respectively. A variety of soil metrics including soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), alkaline hydrolyzed nitrogen (AN), total phosphorus (TP), available phosphorus (AP), water-stable aggregate percentage, mean weight diameter (MWD), geometric mean diameter (GMD) and aggregate-specific organic carbon were determined or calculated. It was found that the SOC, TN, and AN in topsoil (0–10 cm) of farmland abandoned for 20 years increased by 208 %, 187 %, and 128 %, respectively, compared with those of the present-day cropland, while TP and AP exhibited no significant differences. The percentage of macro-aggregates, MWD, GMD and aggregate-specific organic carbon in surface soils increased significantly with increasing durations of conversion. Specifically, these indicators for cropland abandoned for 20 years increased by 92 %, 87 %, 346 %, 161 %, and 275 %, respectively, compared with those of present-day cropland. Changes in these indicators were statistically insignificant in farmland abandoned for 0–7 years but were significant in farmland abandoned for 15–20 years. Soil nutrients, aggregate stability, and aggregate-specific organic carbon gradually decreased with increasing soil depths. It thus can be concluded that farmland abandonment is likely to be an effective natural restoration strategy to improve soil physical structure and recover soil nutrients and carbon storage in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, but positive changes would take between one and two decades to manifest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new operational model with ant-miner algorithm was proposed to predict the risk of forest fires in cloud-rich areas. • The performance of proposed model was compared with that of the national risk prediction model of China. • The proposed model was compared to other risk prediction models with two classical machine learning algorithms. • The ant-miner algorithm-based model was more effective and reliable. Annually, millions of hectares of forest lands around the world are destroyed by fires. To minimize the fire-caused losses, more studies on the risk prediction of forest fires need to be carried out. For predicting the risk of forest fires in cloud-rich areas (e.g., the southwest of China), the synergetic use of operational forecasting systems and remote sensing-based models is expected to have a consistent performance. Therefore, we proposed in this study a new model based on ant-miner algorithm which has a good capability of solving multivariable and non-linear problems in the synergetic modeling of multi-source data. Based on historical fire data during 2000–2018 in Chongqing city, its performance was tested, and then was compared with that of other three models (i.e., meteorological data-, Artificial Neural Network-, and Support Vector Machine-based models). Results showed that, without interference from human factors, the risk predictions of proposed model were more objective. And, its mined-rules were easier to understand and also portable across multiple GIS platforms. Moreover, the proposed model has a better performance at predicting risk levels (i.e., overall accuracy was 79.02% and Kappa coefficient was 0.678) and the spatial distribution of its predictions were more detailed. This research indicated that the ant-miner algorithm-based model was more effective and reliable, and it could be used for constructing the operational system of risk predictions for forest fires in cloud-rich areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving agricultural green efficiency (AGE) is related not only to food security but also to health and the environment. It is the key to achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs). Achieving the coordinated development of AGE and food security is an important starting point to achieving the sustainable development of agriculture and promote national food security. However, at present, little analysis and research have been conducted on the coordination of AGE and food security. In this study, using the SBM model based on undesirable output and the food gap rate (FGR) to measure AGE and food security, respectively, an exploratory spatio-temporal data analysis (ESTDA) model, panel grey correlation model and coupling coordination degree (CCD) model were used to measure the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics, as well as their degree of correlation and coordination. The results show that (1) China's AGE showed downward and upward trends in 2000–2002 and 2003–2019, respectively. The high and low values of food security risks were relatively scattered, and no obvious spatial agglomeration was found. The risk level of food security decreased significantly at the end of the study period. (2) The spatial structure of AGE in central, western and northeast China is more stable than that in eastern and northwest China; Shandong and Hubei have strong temporal and spatial dependence on food security risks, which are vulnerable to external influences and fluctuate drastically. The food security risks of Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Eastern Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and Tibet in the northeast are relatively stable in the direction of spatial dependence. (3) The local spatial structure of China's AGE is unstable, while the local spatial structure of FGR is relatively stable, and change in the relative position is difficult. From the perspective of transfer subjectivity or independence, the local spatial structure of China's AGE and FGR is affected by neighboring regions, but local factors still have a great impact. (4) Overall, the contribution of AGE to food security in the northeast and eastern regions is significant, and the overall degree of coupling and coordination of AGE and the food security coefficient have gradually improved. However, the degree of coupling and coordination in southwest China and most of central China has remained in a state of serious imbalance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A deeper understanding of the spatiotemporal variation characteristics of ecosystem health and its driving mechanism are important for ecosystem management and restoration. Under the complex environment in the southwestern mountainous area of China, various natural and anthropogenic factors interact with each other, complicating the mechanism driving ecosystem health. Quantitatively exploring the interaction among driving factors is challengeable but worthwhile. Based on the pressure–state–response (PSR) framework, the ecosystem health value of the study area was computed for the years of 2000 and 2018 at the grid scale. A geographical detector model was adopted to explore the factors driving ecosystem health change. We found that, compared to the year of 2000, there was an improvement in ecosystem health in 2018. The most significant improvement occurred in ample rural areas scattered in remote mountain areas. Nevertheless, there were grids experiencing ecosystem health deterioration. The appearance of a "deterioration ring" surrounding the metropolis region was the typical representative. Among the 10 selected driving factors, in-migrant population, out-migrant population, population density, elevation, and slope were found to be the most important factors. There were obvious impact thresholds of elevation, slope, distance to towns and distance to road on ecosystem health change. The out-migrant population in rural areas strongly promoted the local ecosystem health improvement by alleviating the pressure of human activity. In contrast, the in-migrant population presented the opposite effects on ecosystem health. All driving factors produced enhanced effects on the ecosystem health change through interaction effects. The largest enhanced effects occurred between the migrant population (in- and out-migrant) and the other eight driving factors. Our findings emphasize the key role of migrant population in ecosystem health change, which has not been considered in previous studies. • Migrant population played a crucial role in ecosystem health change (EHC). • A "deterioration ring" of ecosystem health surrounding metropolis region was found. • Impact thresholds of several driving factors on EHC were quantitatively identified. • In-migrant population and out-migrant population had the opposite effects on EHC. • All driving factors produced enhanced effects on the EHC through interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Techniques for controlling rural non-point source pollution (RNSP) represent cleaner production techniques that can provide an effective guarantee for regional sustainable development. The majority of studies on RNSP control technologies are mainly aimed at handling only a single pollution source. However, such studies are difficult to perform in rural areas, which have dense populations, complex terrains and extreme climates, such as the Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA), China. Therefore, this paper focuses on the application of the RNSP control technologies based on the following four aspects: crop planting, livestock production, domestic inputs and water-level-fluctuating (WLF) zone. Based on the unique topography, land features and planting patterns of the TGRA, a three-dimensional (3D) and multi-source integrated technology system for controlling RNSP was established according to the principle of source reduction, runoff regulation, and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) loss control. From the results of the long-term observations, the risk of RNSP has been significantly reduced in the study area. The nutrient capacity of the soil increased by 9–15%, while the chemical fertilizer application reduced by 30–50%. The loss of sediment, N and P were reduced by 60–80%, 30–70% and 50–90% in the sloping land at the backslope, respectively, by 30–60%, 70–90%, and 70–90% in the paddy field at the footslope, respectively, and by 75–90%, 30–50%, 65–95% in the WLF zone, respectively. The average removal rates of COD, NH 3 -N and TN in sewage in the residential area were higher than 82%, 87% and 63.3%, respectively. Overall, more than 90% of RNSP was reduced by using this 3D and multi-source technology system, and it can be widely promoted for controlling RNSP in similar ecological areas with support from local governments by implementing effective measures, such as strengthening environmental protection education and government subsidies. Image 1 • A multi-source integrated technology system was constructed to control RNSP in the TGRA. • A 3D controlling mode was adopted to intercept RNSP based on the terrain of TGRA. • More than 90% RNSP was reduced by this 3D and multi-source technology system. • This technology system promoted the sustainable development of environment in the TGRA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A method using GIS and SCS-CN was proposed to plan runoff harvesting engineering. • Runoff harvesting engineering improved irrigation and soil tilth. • Runoff harvesting engineering increased soil N and P conservation. • Runoff harvesting engineering reduced agricultural non-point source pollution. The complex terrain and concentrated rainfall results in the loss of rainwater in the form of runoff, which aggravates soil erosion and nutrient loss in hilly areas around the world. Thus, low rainwater utilization rates and severe agricultural non-point source pollution (AGNSP) from hillslope land are the main global issues of concern in agriculture. The aims of this study were to improve in situ rainfall use, retain soil nutrients from loss and reduce AGNSP. This study characterized runoff and planned its harvesting engineering in Juxing village, Guandu town, which is located in the northeastern portion of Hechuan District, Chongqing municipality, the Sichuan Hilly Basin of China, by applying a geographic information system (GIS) based on the soil conservation service (SCS) and overland flow models, revealing the effects on soil nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) conservation. The results showed that more than 97% of the total annual runoff occurred from April to October, and the total annual runoff in each catchment ranged from 373 mm to 529 mm. Slope land leveling increased the soil thickness of slope land to within approximately 20–30 cm and decreased the grades to within approximately 5–15°, thereby effectively improving the residence time and effective soil water storage by approximately 20–140% and 30–131%, respectively. Although the "soil reservoir" improved after leveling, the maximum water deficit (84.2 mm) in unirrigated land was recorded in August. Thus, considering the spatial variation in soil, land use patterns, topography, and runoff in the study area, 24 additional ponds were built. The irrigation water of these ponds could supply approximately 89% of the required water storage. In addition, compared with the values before runoff harvesting engineering (RHE) construction, the total N (TN), total P (TP), available N (AN) and available P (AP) capacities of the unirrigated land soils in the study area after RHE construction increased by approximately 25.5, 27.4, 78.4 and 139.4%, respectively, and the TN, NH 4 +-N, TP and total dissolved P (TDP) contents in the runoff decreased by approximately 32.2, 59.7, 36.2 and 59.6%, respectively. Therefore, RHE, including slope land leveling and pond construction, improved the efficiency of water resources, increased the capacity for soil N and P conservation, and reduced AGNSP in the Sichuan Hilly Basin of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heatwaves have been intensified worldwide due to climate change, posing great health risks, especially to elderly populations. However, in China, limited studies have employed the heat index to decipher the spatiotemporal trends of heatwaves and their impacts on the elderly population. By comparing the three heatwave definitions, this study aimed to evaluate the long-term spatiotemporal variations in heatwaves from 1964 to 2022 across China using the Excess Heat Factor (EHF). We took advantage of high-resolution reanalysis temperature data on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform to efficiently calculate the heatwaves. Our results revealed that the frequency and duration of heatwaves increased significantly in approximately 77 % of China's total area, with South China experiencing the most frequent and prolonged heatwaves. Conversely, in most areas, no significant trend was discerned in the growth of the maximum and average heatwave intensities. The total number of elderly people affected by heatwaves surged from approximately 11.96 million in 2001 to over 30.31 million in 2020, with an estimated additional 1.12 million older adults exposed to heatwaves annually across the nation (R 2  = 0.60, p < 0.05). The population factor exhibited largest effect on the exposure of heatwaves, followed by climate effects and combined factors, with the corresponding explanatory power about 42.84 %, 34.85 % and 22.31 %, respectively. These individuals predominantly resided in the Northeast China, Southwest China, and South China. We also found geographical variations in heatwave exposure along elevations and land use types. These insights underscore the pressing necessity for formulating strategic interventions to mitigate the health threats presented by mounting heatwave exposure, especially for susceptible groups like the elderly in China., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Introduction: Current randomized trial evidence on the effect of physical activity (PA) intervention on cognitive function is scarce and mainly found in well-educated populations, limiting its generalizability. Furthermore, the modification effect of education levels remains understudied. We conducted a cluster randomized trial to evaluate the effects of PA intervention on cognitive function in a general older population, and whether education modifies such effects., Methods: Eight villages were randomized to the intervention (four villages, n = 240) or the control (four villages, n = 271). The intervention group received an 8-week multilevel PA intervention based on a socio-ecological model, while the control did not. The intervention has been condensed to three levels with activities occurring at the individual (telephone counseling, printed material, and training sessions), interpersonal (peer group), and community levels (group sharing and coaching). The primary outcome was changes in global cognition (overall cognitive function) measured by the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS-10) at 12-month follow-up. Repeated measurements were modeled using the linear mixed model, which assumed that the missing values were missing at random., Results: The mean age was 70.94 years (standard deviation 5.71) and 55.6% were women. Compared to the control, the orientation improved from baseline at 12-month follow-up (0.24 points [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.03 to 0.46 points; P = 0.03]). Stratified analysis showed that the global cognition and orientation improved at 12-month follow-up among illiterate participants in the intervention (for global cognition, mean difference, 0.57 points [95% CI, 0.03 to 1.10], P = 0.04; for orientation, mean difference, 0.31 points [95% CI, 0.04 to 0.58], P = 0.03)., Discussion: These results confirm the improvements in orientation in older adults, as well as in global cognition and orientation in the illiterate at 12-month follow-up., (© 2023 the Alzheimer's Association.)

Land urbanization (LU) and population urbanization (PU) maintain the nature of spatiotemporal heterogeneity in China. As a municipality directly administered by the central government in the mode of "large cities and large rural areas", Chongqing's urbanization process is the epitome of China's urbanization process. This paper examines the spatiotemporal variability of LU and PU in Chongqing on the basis of nighttime light data, the elasticity coefficient of the coupling relationship, and GWR. The results show that (1) the urban land and urban population in Chongqing grew notably from 2008 to 2018, with average annual growth rates of 9.4% and 2.3%, respectively. (2) The coupling coordination coefficient of LU and PU in Chongqing was 0.24, and the total number of districts and counties with uncoordinated development increased, but the overall uncoordinated situation gradually improved over the period. (3) The influence of PU on LU in each district and county increased year by year, and it showed a decreasing trend from southwest to northeast in Chongqing, which indicates that LU was increasingly adapted to the construction needs of PU. The gap between LU and PU widened due to the household registration system, land fiscal policies and other policies. After the reform of the household registration system and the adjustment of new pilot policies targeting the construction of new-type urbanization, the coupling relationship between LU and PU was gradually improving to the coordinated mode. The findings indicate that Chinese urban areas should adhere to the principle of new-type urbanization construction and carry out scientific land planning strategies, strictly controlling land expansion to promote the reasonable development of population growth.

Mixed land use provides an important means of promoting the intensive and efficient use of land resources and stimulating endogenous development power in rural areas. This paper selected Pingba Village in Chongqing as the research area; the land use status data and the social and economic data on rural settlements in the study area for 2021 were obtained through field visits and interviews. Moreover, the land use types in the rural settlements were subdivided according to the principle of dominant function. Based on these subdivisions, a land mixed-use measurement system for rural settlements was constructed to analyze their levels of mixed land use. Furthermore, the influences of natural environmental, social, economic and other factors on mixed land use were comprehensively explored. The results showed that, (1) the mixed land use of rural settlements in the study area was at a medium level and showed significant spatial variability, and rural settlements in the high, medium and low mixed land use index zones accounted for 12.5%, 35% and 52.5% of the total, respectively. (2) The differences in the natural environment determined the level of mixed land use and the basic pattern of its spatial differentiation. Social and economic factors, such as resident population and average household income, were key impact factors. Rural tourism resources, homestead agglomeration policies and other factors had important impacts on the level of mixed land use. In conclusion, the research suggests that mixed land use is an important way to boost rural revitalization. In the future, village planning could introduce the concept of mixed land use to improve the efficiency of land use, optimize the land use structure according to local conditions and promote the integrated development of rural primary, secondary and tertiary industries. In addition, it is necessary to scientifically and rationally guide rural settlements to agglomerate appropriately to improve the utilization efficiency of land resources and public service resources.

Exploring the spatiotemporal change characteristics of ecosystem service value (ESV) under the influence of national land space pattern (NLSP) changes is of great significance for promoting the rational use of land resources and the optimization of ecosystems. In this study, Fengdu County in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area was selected as a case study. We analyzed the changes in NLSP using land use data from 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2018. Then, we used the equivalent factor method and exploratory spatial data analysis method to explore the spatiotemporal change characteristics of the ESV of Fengdu County. The results show that: (1) From 1990 to 2018, the changes in NLSP in Fengdu County generally manifested in the transformation of agricultural space into urban space and ecological space; (2) The spatiotemporal change of ESV is a process that positively responds to the increase in ecological space and negatively responds to the expansion of urban space. From 1990 to 2018, the total ESV of Fengdu County showed a trend of continuous growth, with a total increase of CNY 11.10 × 10 8 , and the change rate was 9.33%. The ESV gain area is mainly located along the Yangtze River and the southernmost part of the county, and the loss area is mainly located near the south bank of the Yangtze River; (3) ESV and its changes in Fengdu County have a significant positive spatial autocorrelation. The cold and hot spots of ESV change are mainly distributed along the Yangtze River and to the south of the Yangtze River. Therefore, it is suggested to integrate ESV as an important indicator into the decision-making of national land space planning. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen the intensive use of urban space and protect the important ecological space from decreasing. Our study results provide useful insights for the development of regional NLS management and environmental protection policies. However, it is worth noting that the results of this paper are more applicable to areas where the terrain is dominated by mountains.

Backgroud: This study is to explore the prevalence of different stages of bone loss and the potential risk factors in rheumatic patients., Method: A cross-sectional study recruits 1398 rheumatic patients and 302 healthy subjects. Demographic data, blood, and bone mineral density (BMD) tests are collected. Risk factors for bone loss in rheumatic patients are analyzed by logistic regression., Results: (1) Rheumatic patients are consisted of 40.0% rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 14.7% systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 14.2% osteoarthritis (OA), 9.2% ankylosing spondylosis (AS), 7.9% gout, 7.0% primary Sjogren syndrome (pSS), 3.8% systemic sclerosis (SSc), and 3.2% mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD). (2) In male patients aged under 50 and premenopausal female patients, the bone mineral density score of AS (53.9%, P < 0.001) and SLE (39.6%, P = 0.034) patients is lower than the healthy controls (18.2%). (3) Osteopenia and osteoporosis are more prevailing in male patients aged or older than 50 and postmenopausal female patients with RA (P < 0.001), OA (P = 0.02) and SLE (P = 0.011) than healthy counterparts. (4) Those with SLE, RA and AS gain the highest odd ratio of 'score below the expected range for age', osteopenia and osteoporosis, respectively. (5) Age, female, low BMI and hypovitaminosis D are found negatively associated with bone loss. Dyslipidemia and hyperuricemia could be protective factors., Conclusion: Young patients with AS and SLE have a significant higher occurrence of bone loss, and older patients with RA, OA and SLE had higher prevalence than healthy counterparts. SLE, RA, SSc and AS were founded significant higher risks to develop into bone loss after adjustment. Age, BMI and gender were commonly-associated with bone loss in all age-stratified rheumatic patients. These findings were not markedly different from those of previous studies.

High-intensity utilization of sloping farmland causes serious soil erosion and agricultural, non-point source pollution (AGNSP) in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA). Crop-mulberry systems are important agroforestry systems for controlling soil, water, and nutrient losses. However, there are many different mulberry hedgerow planting patterns in the TGRA. In this study, soil structure, nutrient buildup, and runoff nutrient loss were observed in field runoff plots with five configurations: P1 (two longitudinal mulberry hedgerows), P2 (two mulberry contour hedgerows), P3 (three mulberry contour hedgerows), P4 (mulberry hedgerow border), and P5 (mulberry hedgerow border and one mulberry contour hedgerow), as well as a control (CT; no mulberry hedgerows). P1 had the smallest percentage of aggregate destruction (18.8%) and largest mean weight diameter (4.48 mm). P5 led to the greatest accumulation of ammonium nitrogen (NH 4 + -N) and total phosphorus (TP) (13.4 kg ha -1 and 1444.5 kg ha -1 on average, respectively), while P4 led to the greatest accumulation of available phosphorus (AP), nitrate nitrogen (NO 3 - -N), and total nitrogen (TN) (114.0, 14.9, and 1694.1 kg ha -1 , respectively). P5 was best at preventing soil erosion, with the smallest average annual runoff and sediment loss of 112.2 m 3 ha -1 and 0.06 t ha -1 , respectively, which were over 72.4% and 87.4% lower than those in CT, respectively. P5 and P4 intercepted the most N in runoff, with average NH 4 + -N, NO 3 - -N, particulate N, and TN losses of approximately 0.09, 0.07, 0.41, and 0.58 kg ha -1 , respectively, which were 49.7%, 76.2%, 71.3%, and 69.9% lower than those in CT, respectively. P5 intercepted the most P in runoff, with average TP and total dissolved phosphorus (TDP) losses of 0.09 and 0.04 kg ha -1 , respectively, which were 77.5% and 70.4% lower than those in CT, respectively. Therefore, the pattern with one mulberry hedgerow border and one mulberry contour hedgerow (P5) best controlled AGNSP, followed by that with only a mulberry hedgerow border (P4)., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Exploring the coupling relationship between urban land and carbon emissions (CE) is one of the important premises for coordinating the urban development and the ecological environment. Due to the influence of the scale effect, a systematic evaluation of the CE at different scales will help to develop more reasonable strategies for low-carbon urban planning. However, corresponding studies are still lacking. Hence, two administrative scales (e.g., region and county) in Chongqing were selected as experimental objects to compare and analyze the CE at different scales using the spatiotemporal coupling and coupling coordination models. The results show that urban land and carbon emissions presented a significant growth trend in Chongqing at different scales from 2000 to 2015. The strength of the spatiotemporal coupling relationship between urban land and total carbon emissions gradually increased with increasing scale. At the regional scale, the high coupling coordination between urban land and total carbon emissions was mainly concentrated in the urban functional development region. Additionally, the high coupling coordination between urban land and carbon emission intensity (OI) was still located in the counties within the metropolitan region of Chongqing, but the low OI was mainly distributed in the counties in the northeastern and southeastern regions of Chongqing at the county level. This study illustrates the multiscale trend of CE and suggests differentiated urban land and carbon emission reduction policies for controlling urban land sprawl and reducing carbon emissions.

Food security remains a primary concern because of the large population and scarce land resources in China, and it is a core task to determine the appropriate proportion and scale of fallowing for fallow systems. The aim of this study was to systematically estimate the grain production potential (GPP) of existing and unexcavated cultivated land due to land use change from 1990 to 2017 and calculate the theoretical fallowing scale by using a population carrying capacity model. The reserved GPP from cultivated land to be excavated was 7470 × 10 4 t in China, and the GPP stored by the change in grain yield per unit, multiple crop index (MCI) decline, and agricultural structure adjustment were 921 × 10 4 t, 4321 × 10 4 t, and 7760 × 10 4 t, respectively, and the lost GPP caused by construction land expansion was 5287 × 10 4 t. The population carrying capacity of cultivated land in China was estimated to be 1.469 to 1.515 billion in 2017 on the basis of the national average living standard. The proportion of the population that could be fed more was between 6.28% and 9.54% depending on the number of people included, which provided an opportunity to implement the fallowing system in China. Meanwhile the proportions of the theoretical fallow scale were 6.28% and 9.54%, and the fallow scale ranged from 850 × 10 4 hm 2 to 1296 × 10 4 hm 2 under the premise of fully tapping the potential of cultivated land. In addition, taking the decline in MCI as an example, the grain yield reduction was equivalent to the grain yield of 829 × 10 4 hm 2 of newly reclaimed cultivated land over the past 30 years, which saved 621.48 billion yuan. The costs and benefits when formulating relevant policies of land utilization should be considered, and exploiting the productive capacity of cultivated land that exists is better than reclaiming new cultivated land., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Due to remarkable socioeconomic development, an increasing number of karst rocky desertification areas have been severely affected by human activities in southern China. Effectively analyzing human activities in karst rocky desertification areas is a critical prerequisite for managing and restoring areas with tremendous negative impacts from desertification. At present, a timely and accurate way of quantifying the spatiotemporal variations of human activities in karst rocky desertification areas is still lacking. In this communication, we attempted to quantify human activities from the corrected Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Day/Night Band (DNB) nighttime light composite data from 2012 to 2018 based on statistical analysis. The results show that a significant increase of night lights could be clearly identified during the study period. The total nighttime lights (TL) related to severe karst rocky desertification (S) were particularly concentrated in Guizhou and Yunnan. The nighttime light intensity (LI) related to the S areas in Chongqing was the strongest due to its rapid socioeconomic development. The annual growth rate of nighttime lights (GL) has been slow or even negative in Guangdong because of its various karst rocky desertification restoration programs. This communication could provide an effective approach for quantifying human activities and provide useful information about where prompt attention is required for policy-making on the restoration of the karst rocky desertification areas., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

The lack or instability of the pension system for the elderly in rural China has become a paramount obstacle for sustainable land transfer, namely land use right transfer among farmers, in the context of aging. The New Rural Pension System (NRPS), a pilot project that provided basic security for the elderly, was implemented in 10% of counties in 2009 and rapidly promoted nationwide in China. This study evaluates the impact of NRPS on farmland transfer by developing econometric models by employing the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) from 2011 to 2015. The participation rate in NRPS increased from 25.87% in 2011 to 80.85% in 2015, and the participation rate in farmland transfer rose from 11.56% to 24.04%. Everything else being held equal, the probability of farmers who transferred out their land increased by approximately 13% and the land area has been transferred increased by 11.2% due to participation in NRPS, indicating that the NRPS improved the operation efficiency of land rental market. Furthermore, the heterogeneity analysis showed that the probability and area mentioned above had a significant upward trend with the increase of the time and insured amount of participation in NRPS, which reduced dependence on farmland for the elderly and promoted the sustainability of land transfer. The government should further encourage farmers to increase the coverage and insured amount of pension system in the context of aging. Meanwhile, a platform to promote land transfer should be established to provide information about land supply and demand and reduce the transaction cost of land rental market.

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) infection causes postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome and porcine circovirus-associated diseases in many regions. A total of 77 sequences, including 31 sampled from Henan province of China, were retrieved from GenBank and subjected to amino acid variation and phylogenetic analyses. The two PCV genotypes prevailing in Henan were PCV-2a and PCV-2b with PCV-2b accounting for 93.5 % (29/31) of the Henan isolates. The 31 Henan isolates all shared between 92.7 and 100 % sequence similarity. Amino acid variation analysis of the capsid protein revealed that Henan PCV2 strains tended to accumulate more substitutions within epitopic regions-a substitution pattern consistent with host immune system-mediated selection of virus immune escape variants. The analysed PCV sequences carry evidence of at least six unique recombination events. Selective pressure analysis of the relative recombination-free ORF2 sequences of these viruses revealed evidence of sites that are likely evolving in response to host-driven immune pressures-a finding that coupled with information on the prevalent diversity in Henan PCV2 isolates of known immunoreactive genomic loci will aid in future studies aiming to assess the evolutionary responses of PCV2 in China to the widespread deployment of anti-PCV vaccines in the country.