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Enhancing the sustainability of the non-timber forest products industry has dual significance for both the management of local forest resources and socio-economic development. This paper adopts a systems theory perspective to construct an analytical model for the sustainable development of non-timber forest products, based on a "social-economic-natural" framework. By analyzing case studies of non-timber forest products industry sustainability from four underdeveloped counties in China, the paper derives the following main conclusions and insights: The sustainability of non-timber forest products development models is influenced by factors such as resource endowments and institutional environments and includes both single and composite models. Underdeveloped regions can achieve considerable sustainability in the development of non-timber forest products, but this requires a rational allocation of six key elements—policy, model, stakeholders, natural resources, funding, and technology—to stimulate industry growth. To promote the sustainable development of this industry, optimization should be pursued across five aspects: "policy leadership and top-level design to guide industry development", "selection of appropriate development models based on local natural endowments and socio-economic foundations", "large enterprise-driven mechanisms to form multi-stakeholder interest connections", "focus on product technology research and development, and establishment of technical training mechanisms", and "market-driven funding to develop product sales markets". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological products refer to the natural elements crucial for sustaining life support systems, ecological regulation functions, and environmental comfort. These products encompass clean air, water, pollution-free soil, lush forests, and maintaining favorable climates. In this study, we assessed the spatial distribution of ecosystem service functions in the Jizhou District of Tianjin using the suitability evaluation method, InVEST model calculations, and ArcGIS spatial visualization analysis. This study operates within the framework of "ecological industry selection", involving suitability evaluations for ecological product development, and formulates industrial development planning and control strategies. To construct the evaluation index system for exploiting and utilizing ecological products in the Jizhou District, three key aspects were considered: ecosystem services, land use, and limiting factors. Leveraging the district's resource endowments, this study conducted a quantitative analysis of the spatial distribution pattern of ecological product exploitation potential. The findings revealed a regional aggregation characteristic in the development potential of ecological products. The appropriate direction for developing eco-agriculture, eco-industry, eco-health, and eco-compensation products in the Jizhou district is influenced by the spatial distribution of ecosystem service functions. Building upon the analysis, specific types of ecological products suitable for development in the Jizhou District were further identified. By evaluating the suitability of ecological product development and utilization and verifying the results through industrial model division, the mechanism for comprehending the value of ecological products was realized. This study contributes to the realization of the "two mountains" ideology, wherein the transformation of green water and green mountains into assets of economic value is emphasized, thus fostering sustainable development practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research highlights: Ecological policies must balance ecosystem protection by promoting the sustainable livelihoods of farmers living in or near protected areas; however, the intrinsic motivations of farmers to adopt green production behaviors (GPBs) are poorly understood. Background and objectives: We explored how ecological policies affect the GPBs of farmers in agroforestry. Materials and methods: We conducted questionnaires of farmers in 11 counties of Sichuan Province, China, with abundant protected areas and large-scale agroforestry, after which a structural equation model of farmers' ecological awareness, policy perception, and GPBs was constructed. Results: (1) Ecological policies can stimulate farmers' GPBs by improving their ecological awareness, creating positive subjective norms, and inducing the "herd effect". Increases in protection intensity and scope amplify the pressures on farmers to maintain more than long-term policy consistency. (2) Green production is more time-consuming, laborious, expensive, and difficult to learn compared with traditional production methods, which have somewhat limited GPBs adoption. (3) In the rural "acquaintance society", information and communication from others have a substantial impact on farmers' perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors; thus, positive subjective norms from formal and informal channels could promote GPB adoption. Conclusions: Future policies should prioritize environmental education over environmental publicity by helping farmers understand the long-term relationship between ecological protection and economic development, teaching individual environmental responsibility, enhancing positive feedback to farmers who adopt GPBs, actively exploring mechanisms for realizing the value of ecological products, and improving farmers' management skills and learning ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous long-term measurements of carbon fluxes have been obtained by improved technology at the ecosystem scale and under natural conditions. Nevertheless, these are still point measurements with limited geographic coverage Quantitative extrapolations and scaling-up of tower station measurements are now urgently needed for carbon cycle research. This paper attempts to solve this problem by combining the technologies of CO2 flux measurements, mathematic modeling, Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS). It is well known that the light-response function allows partitioning net ecosystem exchange (NEE) into gross primary production (GPP) and total ecosystem respiration (Re). The GPP and Re can be estimated from continuous CO2 flux measurements using non-linear identification of the non-rectangular hyperbolic model of ecosystem-scale, light response curves. Patterns of the relationships of GPP and Re with the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and other factors, indicate possibilities to establish multivariate functions, allowing scaling-up of local fluxes to larger areas with GIS technology, temporal NDVI inversed from RS images, and other tools. Our study is based on continuous CO2 flux data, which were measured at the Haibei Alpine Meadow Ecosystem Research Station (Haibei Research Station) on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Chinese Academy of Science. Using the above methods, we achieved good flux-NDVI relationships at the site and applied these relationships in the scaling-up of site-specific CO2 flux measurements to regional levels. Consequently the annual spatial and temporal variation of CO2 flux was obtained for this plateau and eco-region. Characterizing spatial and temporal dynamics of CO2 flux will facilitate investigations of the carbon source or sink status of grassland ecosystems on the plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]