Search

The National Ecological Barrier Zones are an important part of China’s ecological security strategy. The construction of a scientific and reasonable ecological security pattern (ESP) is important for the healthy development of national ecological barrier zones. The existing literature does not consider the impact of the potential changes in ecosystem health and land use on ESP construction. In this study, we considered a typical composite national ecological barrier area, the Sichuan-Yunnan ecological barrier, to analyze the ecosystem health of such areas; we considered the probability of future land growth change, circuit theory, and ecosystem service trade-off and synergy, to construct a sustainable ESP. Spatial heterogeneity was observed in the ecosystem health level of the Sichuan-Yunnan ecological barrier; the high-value areas of ecosystem health were mostly distributed in the central and southern parts of the study area, but the low-value areas were mostly distributed in the northeastern and western regions. The ESP contained 246 ecological sources (distributed in the forest and grassland contiguous areas in the south, central, and northeast regions), 563 ecological corridors that portrayed obvious differences in spatial distribution, 123 ecological pinchpoints, 231 ecological barriers, and topographic gradient characteristics. Based on this data, we proposed the relevant policy opinions on zoning control. The results show that incorporating trade-offs for ecosystem services into ecosystem health assessments can lead to a more effective selection of ecological sources. Meanwhile, the ESP constructed by using the probability of land growth changes to correct the resistance surface can more truly reflect the need for ESP construction under the future development trend. The research framework of “ecosystem health assessment that incorporates ecosystem service trade-offs - the probability of future land growth changes - circuit theory” could address the technical issues in constructing the ESP of compound large regional/national ecological barrier regions and key ecological function areas.

Parental reflective functioning (PRF) is important for parenting and child development. To effectively assess PRF in Chinese parents, this study aimed to revise the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (PRFQ) for the Chinese context. The original Chinese version of the PRFQ (PRFQ-C) was revised by following psychometric validation procedures in a sample of Chinese parents (N = 2,021, 1,034 mothers and 987 fathers). A series of psychometric analyses, including confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), internal consistency reliability analysis, discriminant validity, and criterion-related validity analysis, and analysis for measurement invariance between mothers and fathers, were conducted. The CFA results indicated that the final 12-item, three-factor model had a good fit {χ2(49) = 472.381; CFI = 0.929; TLI = 0.904; RMSEA = 0.065, 90%CI = [0.060, 0.071]}. The Chinese version of the PRFQ with 12 items (PRFQ-12C) showed satisfactory reliability (omega = 0.68–0.82), discriminant validity [heterotrait-monotrait (HTMT) values

Key ecological function areas are responsible for protecting and restoring ecosystems and alleviating regional ecological deterioration. Revealing the inherent relationship between land use/cover (LULC) change and ecosystem service value (ESV) in such areas is of great significance for sustainable development. We used LULC and other data from 2000, 2010, and 2018 to analyze the spatiotemporal evolution of ESV in China’s Sichuan-Yunnan Ecological Barrier based on six LULC types: Farmland, Forest, Grassland, Water, Built-up land, and Other. With the goal of maximizing both ESV and economic benefits, we used coupled gray multi-objective optimization (GMOP) and patch-generating land-use simulation (PLUS) models to assess three scenarios (business-as-usual, BAU; ecological development priority, EDP; and ecological and economic balance, EEB) in terms of the spatial distribution and optimization of LULC structure in 2026. The study area was dominated by Forest and Grassland, with major LULC changes from 2000 to 2018 mainly deriving from transfers between Farmland, Forest, and Grassland along with Farmland conversion to Built-up land. ESV trended upward during the study period, mainly due to contributions from Forest and Water. Under EDP scenario in 2026, the expansion Built-up land was eased, which expansion area is the smallest among the 3 scenarios at 643.03 km2, the Forest area increased by 673.80 km2, the overall LULC structure was improved, and the total ESV increased by 2.502 billion yuan. Under EEB scenario, Forest area decreased by 405.95 km2, but the economic benefits increased remarkably, showing the effect of supporting larger-scale economic growth with less land resource consumption. Under EDP scenario, ESV changes were most dramatic at local scales. The use of coupled GMOP-PLUS models for LULC optimization allowed improved assessment of social, economic, and environmental factors and provided a new way to address key technical problem in land-use planning in large-scale ecological function areas.

Land use changes induced by human activities change landscape patterns and ecological processes, threatening regional and global ecosystems. Terrain gradient and anthropogenic multi-policy regulation can have a pronounced effect on landscape components. Forecasting the changing trend of landscape ecological risk (LER) is important for national ecological security and regional sustainability. The present study assessed changes in LER in the Sichuan-Yunnan Ecological Barrier over a 20-year period using land use data from 2000, 2010, and 2020. The enhanced Markov-PLUS (patch-generating land use simulation) model was used to predict and analyze the spatial distribution pattern of LER under the following three scenarios. These were business-as-usual (BAU), urban development and construction (UDC), and ecological development priority (EDP) in 2030. The influence of terrain conditions on LER was also explored. The results showed that over the past 20 years, the LER index increased and then decreased and was dominated by medium and low risk, accounting for more than 70% of the total risk-rated area. The highest and higher risk areas for the three future scenarios have increased in spatial extent. The UDC scenario showed the largest increase of 3341.13 km2 and 2684.85 km2, respectively. The highest-risk level has a strong selectivity for low gradients, with high-level risks more likely to occur at low gradients. The response of ecological risk to gradient changes shows a positive correlation distribution for high-gradient areas and a negative correlation distribution for low-gradient areas. The influence of future topographic gradient changes on LER remains significant. The value of multiscale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) for identifying the spatial heterogeneity of terrain gradient and LER is highlighted. It can play an important role in the formulation of scientific solutions for LER prevention and of an ecological conservation policy for mountainous areas with complex terrain.

To examine the relationship between early number sense and later symbolic arithmetic competence and how they are connected in young Chinese children. The present study utilized a longitudinal sample of 115 Chinese children aged 3 to 6. Young children completed measures to assess number sense, visual spatial skills (in the fall of their second kindergarten year, K2), arithmetic competence (in the spring of their second kindergarten year, K3), working memory, verbal comprehension, and inhibitory control (in the fall of their first kindergarten year, K1). The results showed that number sense predicted arithmetic competence six months later. Meanwhile, visual spatial skills played a mediating role in this association, but it became non-significant when working memory, verbal comprehension, and inhibitory control were added as covariates. These longitudinal findings confirm the close association between number sense and arithmetic competence in young Chinese children.