Low efficiency of earth kilns used in the carbonising process of wood to make charcoal has been reported as one of the sources of increasing charcoal wastes in the global south. However, the potential link and approaches of converting charcoal wastes-to-valuable energy and for the environmental health is not well known in Africa. Promoting local community capacity engagement in the production and reutilisation of recycled charcoal wastes at the households’ level is one of important measures to maintain environmental services for sustainability since households make decisions on the type of energy used. This paper, presents an approach of converting charcoal wastes to fuel energy for rural households and environmental health in Kilosa District, Tanzania. To achieve the objective of this research, the primary data were collected through interviews held with 298 randomly selected households, Focus Group Discussions and observations. IBM SPSS statistics version 20 Cross tab tools were used in the data analysis. Results revealed that the conversion of charcoal wastes-to-fuel energy approach used in this research demonstrates the ability of recyclable briquettes made from the locally available charcoal pollutants collected at different stages from earth kilns, to selling centers, improves tree harvest behaviour, adds another fuel energy source through reutilisation, and ultimate reduces pollution at the local level. Thus, the study provides a basis for policymakers to adopt charcoal wastes recycling strategies to address matters related to energy and ultimately enhances environmental health for sustainable development in Tanzania and beyond.

Urban trees are valuable resources for urban areas as they have the capacity to reduce ambient temperatures, mitigate urban heat island effects and reduce runoff of rainwater playing an important role in mitigating the impacts of climate change by reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). It also helps to reduce aerial suspended particulate matter, add visual appeal to the urban landscape sequestrating a significant amount of carbon from ambient atmospheric CO2. Carbon storage by urban trees in the ring road area of the Kathmandu Valley was quantified to assess the magnitude and role of urban forests in relation to mitigate the impact of global climate change. A total of 40 sample plots were placed randomly for the detailed carbon assessment. Aboveground and belowground carbon pools were considered in the detailed assessment. Furthermore, quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) were maintained through regular monitoring and capacity building of the field crews while collecting the bio-physical data. The assessment recorded a total of 33 different species of plants in the avenue’s plantation sites in ring road. The mean seedling, sapling, and tree density was found to be 2149585 and 185 per hectare. The mean carbon stock per hectare in the avenue plantation of the ring road area was 24.03 tC ha1 and the existing total carbon stock was 7785.72 tC in 2021. Likewise, the total baseline carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) in the avenue plantation was found to be 28573.60 tCO2e. The carbon dioxide emission from the transport sector in the ring road area in a full movement scenario was 312888.00 tCO2e per annum, while the net emissions was 42547 tCO2e. There was a deficit of carbon dioxide in terms of stock by avenue plantations of 14000.8 tCO2e.This study indicates that the existing urban forest plantation is unable to sequestrate or offset the carbon dioxide that is emitted through the transportation sector. Consequently, open spaces like riverbanks and any other public lands, in which urban forests could be developed has to be planned for the green infrastructure and plantation of the multipurpose trees. The distinct values of forests in and around urban areas have to be recognized in the specific policies and plans for the sustainable management of urban and peri-urban forests to meet the adverse impact of global climate change. In addition, this study provides insights for decision-makers to better understand the role of urban forests and make sustainable management plans for urban forests in the cities like in Kathmandu Valley.

Delimiting ecological space scientifically and making reasonable predictions of the spatial-temporal trend of changes in the dominant ecosystem service functions (ESFs) are the basis of constructing an ecological protection pattern of territorial space, which has important theoretical significance and application value. At present, most research on the identification, functional partitioning and pattern reconstruction of ecological space refers to the current ESFs and their structural information, which ignores the spatial-temporal dynamic nature of the comprehensive and dominant ESFs, and does not seriously consider the change simulation in the dominant ESFs of the future ecological space. This affects the rationality of constructing an ecological space protection pattern to some extent. In this study, we propose an ecological space delimitation method based on the dynamic change characteristics of the ESFs, realize the identification of the ecological space range in Qionglai city and solve the problem of ignoring the spatial-temporal changes of ESFs in current research. On this basis, we also apply the Markov-CA model to integrate the spatial-temporal change characteristics of the dominant ESFs, successfully realize the simulation of the spatial-temporal changes in the dominant ESFs in Qionglai city’s ecological space in 2025, find a suitable method for simulating ecological spatial-temporal changes and also provide a basis for constructing a reasonable ecological space protection pattern. This study finds that the comprehensive quantity of ESF and its annual rate of change in Qionglai city show obvious dynamics, which confirms the necessity of considering the dynamic characteristics of ESFs when identifying ecological space. The areas of ecological space in Qionglai city represent 98307 ha by using the ecological space identification method proposed in this study, which is consistent with the ecological spatial distribution in the local ecological civilization construction plan. This confirms the reliability of the ecological space identification method based on the dynamic characteristics of the ESFs. The results also show that the dominant ESFs in Qionglai city represented strong non-stationary characteristics during 2003-2019, which showed that we should fully consider the influence of the dynamics in the dominant ESFs on the future ESF pattern during the process of constructing the ecological spatial protection pattern. The Markov-CA model realized the simulation of spatial-temporal changes in the dominant ESFs with a high precision Kappa coefficient of above 0.95, which illustrated the feasibility of using this model to simulate the future dominant ESF spatial pattern. The simulation results showed that the dominant ESFs in Qionglai will still undergo mutual conversions during 2019-2025 due to the effect of the their non-stationary nature. The ecological space will still maintain the three dominant ESFs of primary product production, climate regulation and hydrological regulation in 2025, but their areas will change to 32793 ha, 52490 ha and 13024 ha, respectively. This study can serve as a scientific reference for the delimitation of the ecological conservation redline, ecological function regionalization and the construction of an ecological spatial protection pattern.

Abstract: By studying the structural characteristics and carbon storage of the mangrove island ecosystem in the 
Beibu Gulf, this study provides a scientific basis for mangrove ecological compensation in the coastal areas of 
Guangxi, South China Sea. On the basis of the unmanned aerial vehicle remote sensing images and a sample plot 
survey, the object-oriented multi-scale segmentation algorithm is used to extract the mangrove community type information, and one-way analysis of variance is conducted to analyse the structural characteristics of the mangrove 
community. The carbon storage and carbon density of different mangrove ecosystems were obtained based on the 
allometric growth equation of mangrove plants. The analysis yielded four main results. (1) The island group covers 
about 27.10 ha, 41.32% (11.20 ha) of which represents mangrove areas. The mangrove forest is widely distributed 
in the tidal flats around the islands. (2) The main mangrove types were Aegiceras corniculatum, Kandelia obovata + 
Aegiceras corniculatum, Avicennia marina + Aegiceras corniculatum and Avicennia marina communities. (3) 
Amongst the mangrove plants, Avicennia marina had the highest biomass (18.52 kg plant–1), followed by Kandelia 
obovata (7.84 kg plant–1) and Aegiceras corniculatum (3.85 kg plant–1). (4) The mangrove carbon density difference 
was significant. Kandelia obovata had the highest carbon density (148.03 t ha–1), followed by Avicennia marina
(104.79 t ha–1) and Aegiceras corniculatum (99.24 t ha–1). The carbon storage of the mangrove island ecosystem 
was 1194.70 t, which was higher than in other areas with the same latitude. The carbon sequestration capacity of 
the mangrove was relatively strong.

The innovation network of digital technology plays a significant role in reshaping innovation spaces and developing new quality productivity. This study explored the dynamic mechanism of impact of the endogenous structure of China's intercity digital technology innovation network, urban innovation endowments, and multidimensional boundary effects from the perspective of intercity collaboration between innovation entities, employing a temporal exponential random graph model (TERGM). The results indicate that: 1) In terms of the characteristics of spatial-temporal change, the innovation network exhibited a "dense in the east and sparse in the west" pattern, forming a diamond-shaped structure with five major urban agglomerations as endpoints. The core nodes of the network were primarily economic and technological centers within these urban agglomerations, and the network displayed regional imbalances. As the network evolved, the mode of connectivity shifted from long-distance dominance to a model that balanced nearby diffusion with small-scale, community-based innovation. The overall structure of the network demonstrated a certain degree of stability, with core nodes remaining unchanged, reflecting a situation where core technological cities within urban agglomerations drove innovation development in other regions. Additionally, there was a phenomenon of numerous factions existing within different regions, urban agglomerations, and provinces. 2) With regard to the mechanism of influence, the preferential linking effect of endogenous structures hindered network growth through the formation of "the strong gets stronger, the weak gets weaker" polarization. Closure and mediation effects promoted network change by facilitating link transmission among nodes and fostering closed innovation groups, indicating that the network exhibited path dependence. The expansion effect of urban innovation endowments and the matching effect of similarities and differences drove network change. Intercity relationship variables showed that geographical distance and administrative boundaries significantly obstructed network development. This study visualized the virtual aggregation of digital technology innovation elements from a geographical perspective and examined the driving mechanisms of the endogenous structure within networks on digital technology innovation. It provides an empirical support for the macro integration of virtual and geographical agglomerations in innovation spaces.

The 2018 restructuring of China's Ministry of Natural Resources initiated a New Era for natural resource discipline. Systematically advancing its positioning and knowledge framework has become imperative, integrating science, technology, and engineering to enhance conservation, green resource utilization, and sustainability. This study employs bibliometric analysis and literature review to systematically delineate the developmental trajectory, disciplinary positioning, knowledge system, and implementation pathways of natural resource studies. The findings reveal that natural resource discipline in China has advanced from its initial stage through systematic disciplinary development, evolving from multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches into a transdisciplinary field. It has now established a natural resource-centered knowledge system, underpinned by theoretical foundations in formation mechanisms, sustainability, efficiency, and property rights. The discipline integrates survey and monitoring, evaluation, simulation modeling, and policy analysis to address applications spanning territorial spatial planning, resource asset management, protected area systems, and engineering project development. The establishment of the Ministry of Natural Resources and clarification of its "Two Unifications" responsibilities, alongside reforms of natural resource asset property rights systems and unified territorial spatial planning policies, have invigorated the discipline. The field will now integrate practical needs to enhance disciplinary development, talent cultivation, and career pathways. As the knowledge system continues to be refined, the knowledge system of natural resource discipline in China will provide a robust theoretical foundation for the construction of a beautiful China and global sustainable development. Moreover, this discipline will continue to address societal demands for the utilization, protection, development, and management of natural resources by cultivating high-quality talent. In the future, professionals in natural resource discipline will integrate science, technology and engineering through transdisciplinary approaches to address national priorities directly. Leveraging artificial intelligence, big data, and blockchain technologies, they will advance Beautiful China initiatives and contribute to global sustainable development goals while tackling emerging resource challenges.

With the in-depth development of resource science research and interdisciplinary integration, improving the teaching ability of natural resources has become an important issue that higher education needs to solve urgently. Based on the concept of "Mutual Promotion of Teaching and Competition", this paper analyzes the discipline characteristics, teaching requirements and teaching mode of resource science, and probes into the role of "Mutual Promotion of Teaching and Competition" mode, which combines teaching research and discipline competition, in promoting the teaching ability of natural resources. Through the analysis of the National College Students Natural Resources Science and Technology Works Competition, the positive effect of this model on improving teachers' teaching ability and students' learning ability is verified. By participating in the discipline competition, teachers can update the teaching ideas and methods in time, integrate the frontier knowledge into the classroom, and improve the teaching quality. By combining theory with practice through competition, students can develop enhanced practical problem-solving awareness and cultivate innovation capabilities. The advantages of "Mutual Promotion of Teaching and Competition" mode in improving teaching quality and stimulating innovation ability can provide reference for resource science teaching reform.

Under the background of global climate change and intensified human activities, China's hilly and mountainous areas, as the core implementation area of the "beautiful countryside construction" strategy and the key development area of transportation arteries and hydropower hubs, have become the regions with the most complex disaster-breeding environment for flash floods, the most significant disaster-causing effects, and the highest exposure of disaster-affected elements. However, existing research lacks a systematic collation and summary of the framework of flash flood disaster prevention and control theory and technology under the new situation of frequent extreme weather events. This review article started from the spatial characteristics of flash flood disasters in China and the major deployment concepts of national prevention policies, compared international research results, comprehensively examined the important progress and practical achievements of flash flood water-sediment processes and theories and prevention and control technology research, analyzed the impact of climate change on flash flood disasters and the future trend of disaster risks and proposes five scientific challenges for flash flood disaster prevention and control under climate change. It also proposed five targeted preventive measures and suggestions from the perspectives of water-sediment process mechanism research, forecasting and warning technology, comprehensive prevention and control technology, and capacity building. aiming to continuously strengthen research on the basic theory and prevention principles of flash floods in China, promote the intelligentization, digitization, and modernization of the comprehensive defense capabilities and systems against flash floods, and comprehensively enhance the new quality productivity of disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief in the new era, as well as the resilience level of urban communities and engineering construction.

Ecosystem assets, as an important part of the natural resource assets to support human socio-economic development, are the basis for the provision of ecosystem products and services to humans, and consequently for the generation of ecological benefits and gross ecosystem product, including natural ecosystems such as forests and grasslands, artificial ecosystems based on natural ecological processes such as farmland and urban green space, as well as wildlife resources. Ecosystem asset quality is the synthesis of structural and functional characteristics of ecosystems, reflecting the capacity to provide ecosystem services sustainably. Assessing the ecosystem asset quality is one of the most complex parts in ecosystem asset accounting. As a new perspective of ecosystem accounting, ecosystem asset quality emphasizes both natural and socio-economic attributes of ecosystems, which is highly significant in promoting ecosystem valorization, ecosystem asset management and the realization of the value of ecosystem products. In this review, we systematically summarize the concepts, assessment methods and indicators of ecosystem asset quality, and also provide an overview of global relevant cases. Issues, such as the improvement of the indicator system and the comprehensive assessment, and suggestions for the assessment of ecosystem asset quality are proposed to establish a framework for future research, and to promote global ecosystem assessment and accounting with its application in ecological and environmental protection policymaking.

Land system science is dedicated to addressing complex socio-economic and ecological challenges and developing sustainable land use solutions. Food inherently serves as a critical link between human societal systems and natural systems. Ensuring food security is not only a key component of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals but also a crucial task for China's agricultural production transformation and people's livelihoods improvement. This study systematically analyzes the research topics and key advancements in land system science related to food security goals. The findings reveal that, due to the land's position at the intersection of multiple interests associated with sustainable social development, the non-linear transformations and complex feedback mechanisms within land systems endow land system science with four prominent characteristics: interdisciplinarity, systematicity, sustainability, and complexity. In the realm of food security, land system science has achieved notable successes, encompassing five core research areas: land use strategies, land use transitions, land use telecoupling mechanisms, land use demand modelling, and the optimization of land management systems. These studies present the transformative trend towards emphasizing the significance of cross-spatiotemporal spillover effects, adopting systematic and holistic perspectives, and underscoring the sustainable development goals. Future research should be grounded in the logical foundation of food "flow spaces" and the food value chain, employing systems thinking to develop sustainable land use solutions and strengthen land system science in the areas of integrated research on multi-element coupling and interdisciplinary theoretical innovations, so as to contribute to the realization of food security goals.

The energy conservation and emission reduction fiscal policy is a major institutional innovation in China's green finance sector and is crucial for achieving the "dual carbon" goals. This paper takes the pilot comprehensive demonstration cities for this policy as the exogenous policy impact, and analyzes its effects on energy and industrial structure transformation using a difference-in-differences model and a dual machine learning model. The results indicate that establishing comprehensive demonstration cities significantly enhances the optimization of energy structure and the upgrading of industrial structure in the region. These conclusions remain robust after a series of tests, including parallel trend and heterogeneous treatment effects. Mechanism analysis shows that the policy pilot can improve energy and industrial structures by promoting energy- and environment-oriented technologies and capacity utilization. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the implementation effect of the pilot policy is more prominent in core large cities, non-industrial base cities, highly market-oriented cities, and cities with low financial pressure. Further research demonstrates that constructing demonstration cities offers obvious advantages in promoting the realization of six tasks initially set by the policy, including industrial decarbonization, clean transportation, green building, service intensification, reduction of major pollutants, and large-scale utilization of renewable energy. The findings of the study provide valuable insights for designing and implementing more comprehensive green fiscal policies in China in the future.

As urbanization dynamics transform and dominant social challenges change, population migration in China has exhibited distinct new trends. Understanding the regional opportunity factors that shape migration is crucial for uncovering the driving forces behind these changes. This study builds on the theoretical framework of regional opportunity structures, developing an evaluation system that uses the entropy weight method, the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory method, and self-organizing map neural network techniques to assess and categorize the regional opportunity levels of China's prefecture-level cities. Using data from CMDS 2017, the research explores how regional opportunity levels affect both the mobility-stickiness of population migration. The main findings are as follows: (1) By introducing the geographical concept of "regional opportunities" into population migration research, this study creates a "mobility-stickiness" analytical framework. This framework investigates how spatial differences in regional opportunities shape migration behavior, focusing on four key dimensions: economic development opportunities, life service opportunities, institutional and cultural opportunities, and natural environment opportunities. (2) The overall regional opportunity levels in China are generally aligned with the levels of regional economic development and can be categorized into seven distinct clusters. (3) Major urban agglomerations and provincial capital cities are the primary destinations for population migration. Economic opportunities remain a key driver of migration from a mobility perspective, while differences in migration destinations and motivations shape the diverse impacts of various opportunity dimensions from a retention perspective. Individual characteristics also play a significant role in moderating how regional opportunities impact migration decisions. (4) Based on the influence of the dominant and limiting factors of regional opportunities on population migration, the study identifies four types of regional opportunity models: hard-factor dominant zones, hard-factor constrained zones, soft-factor dominant zones, and soft-factor constrained zones. Targeted strategies are suggested to address the unique challenges and strengths of each type. The framework for analyzing regional opportunities proposed in this study offers broad applicability beyond China, providing valuable insights for designing population management and regional development policies in other contexts.

Neo-endogenous development is an important way to realise the modernization of agriculture and rural areas, and the reform of the land property rights system plays an important role in activating the internal and external development momentum of agriculture and rural areas. Based on the multi-period double-difference method, the study analyses and examines the impact of "Three Rights Separation" of agricultural land on the neo-endogenous development of agriculture and rural areas and its mechanism of action using balanced panel data of 206 prefecture-level cities in China from 2008 to 2022. The study finds that: (1) "Three Rights Separation" of agricultural land significantly improves the level of neo-endogenous development in agriculture and rural areas. (2) Promoting land scale and attracting capital investment are two important channels through which we can exert the policy effect of "Three Rights Separation" of agricultural land. (3) "Three Rights Separation" of agricultural land has significantly raised the level of neo-endogenous development in agriculture and rural areas. (4) "Three Rights Separation" of agricultural land will enhance the level of neo-endogenous development of agriculture and rural areas to a greater extent in areas with a lower degree of deepening of agricultural capital and better scientific and educational environments, and the policy effect will not be significantly different due to the loss of rural labour and the differences in natural resource endowment. This paper provides more theoretical support and empirical evidence for the use of land property rights reform to accelerate agricultural and rural development and thus achieve agricultural and rural modernization.

The co-occurrence of droughts at multiple time scales in the water source area (Upper Hanjiang River, UH) and receiving area (northern North China, NNC) of the Middle Route of the South-to-North Water Diversion project highlights the need to identify common climatic drivers for these concurrent phenomena. Using reconstructed drought/flood grade data and sunspot series from 1700 to 2023, this study analyzed the correlations of droughts/floods in the Upper Hanjiang River and northern North China with sunspots at 11-, 30- and 50-year scales. The results show that the correlation between sunspots and droughts/floods in these two areas varied in stages over time. During high sunspot periods, the frequency of extreme drought events increased in both areas. The phase change of the correlation between sunspots and droughts/floods in the Upper Hanjiang River and northern North China significantly influenced the shift in the drought-flood correspondence between the two areas. When droughts/floods in the Upper Hanjiang River and northern North China align with or oppose sunspot variations, the droughts/floods in the two areas are predominantly positively or negatively correlated. Both droughts/floods in the Upper Hanjiang River and northern North China as well as sunspots share inter-annual cycles of about 2-4 years, inter-decadal cycles of about 11-12 years, and multi-decadal cycles of about 20-30 years and 50 years. Sunspot variations may influence the droughts and floods in these two areas across multiple time scales. Additionally, when sunspots increase significantly and abruptly, the Upper Hanjiang River and northern North China tend to be more drought-prone.

The spatiotemporal evolution of settlements during historical periods is of great significance for a better understanding of past environment changes, land use, and the dynamics of human-land relationships. Chinese historical documents contain abundant information on settlements, serving as an important proxy for the study on the evolution settlements over the past century. Historical documents typically employ place names to record the spatial location of settlements, but the existing historical place names spatial databases often fall short in automating the precise localization of micro-scale place names, such as settlements, which in turn impedes the advancement of research on the spatial reconstruction and spatiotemporal evolution of these historical settlements. This study focuses on the automated matching method of historical settlement place names, utilizing Suzhou Prefecture during the late Qing Dynasty (1820-1911) as the research area. It selected 11340 settlement place names and their associated primary-level division data extracted from local chronicles, and combined contemporary place names matching techniques to construct a conceptual model for correlating ancient and modern place names. The study identifies characteristics of place names evolution, establishes rules for place names matching, and proposes an algorithm for the aggregation and matching of settlement names predicated on similarity metrics, thereby accomplish the spatial reconstruction of historical settlements within the research area. On this basis, the spatial distribution and urban-rural relationships of the reconstruction results were analyzed. The results indicated that approximately 98% of the settlements, relative to the total number documented in the literature, were reconstructed using an automated place names matching method. The spatial resolution of the reconstruction was approximately 1.4 km × 1.4 km, and the consistency between the automatic matching outcomes and the manually verified results was about 96%. During the late Qing Dynasty, the distribution of settlements in the study area exhibited agglomerative characteristics, with a hierarchical structure of settlement networks centered on the western suburbs of Suzhou city. However, urban-rural connections within the network were sparse. The findings from this study have enhanced the technical methods for the spatial reconstruction of historical settlement space and deepened the scientific understanding of the characteristics and influencing factors of long-term settlement evolution.

With the advancement of urbanization and the profound transformation of socio-economic development in China, land use transition has become a complex research field involving multiple disciplines and dimensions. This paper comprehensively uses bibliometric analysis and systematic review methods to systematically sort out the research progress of land use transition in China from following dimensions: development context, theoretical framework, model and methodology, effect and mechanism, and regulation path. The study finds that: (1) Since the introduction of land use transition research to China in 2001, the field has flourished in the aspects of project funding, publication of monographs, and talent cultivation. Through hotspot analysis, it is found that research has shifted from being technology-driven to policy and economic-driven, and finally focused on multi-functional synergy and sustainable development. (2) Theoretical research can be divided into three levels: description-explanation, process characterization and diagnosis, and mutual feedback mechanism and regulation, forming a research paradigm of "dominant morphology-recessive morphology" coupling. The transition measurement method presents a three-dimensional characteristic of integration of 3S technology, mathematical model simulation, and field investigation. (3) Driven by the dual strategies of rural vitalization and food security, the socio-economic effects of land use transitions are manifested as a cascading response of farmers' livelihoods, factor flow, and industrial upgrading; related ecological and environmental effects show the bidirectional characteristics of negative effects and positive synergistic effects. (4) The driving mechanism of land use transitions is analyzed from the "element-structure-system" perspective, and its regulation system is discussed from multiple dimensions such as engineering technology innovation, institutional innovation, policy intervention, and multi-dimensional collaborative governance. (5) Future research needs to focus on breakthroughs in multi-scale transition threshold identification, complex system feedback simulation, regional model extraction, and optimization and regulation of transition through theoretical and methodological innovations. This study provides not only knowledge support for the construction of a land use transition research theoretical system with Chinese characteristics, but also decision-making support for the modernization of national territorial space governance and urban-rural integrated development.

Promoting social green transformation is an inherent requirement and a key task in the national strategy for a comprehensive green transformation of the economy and society. However, research on the quantitative characterization and spatiotemporal patterns of social green transformation remains relatively lacking. To address this gap, this paper introduces social psychology theory to construct a quantitative characterization framework for social green transformation. Using 19 urban agglomerations in China as the study area and following the "pattern-process-effect" research logic, the study integrates methods such as entropy-weighted TOPSIS, spatial Markov chains, and Random Forest model to sequentially reveal the spatiotemporal evolution patterns, spatiotemporal transformation, and dynamic impacts of the social green transformation on the economic green transformation. Finally, a comprehensive quantitative framework for regional green transformation is proposed. The results show that: (1) During the study period, the level of social green transformation in China's urban agglomerations showed a fluctuating upward trend, with the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, and Pearl River Delta urban agglomerations leading in social green transformation, while those along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains, Lanzhou-Xi'an region, and Ningxia along the Yellow River were relatively lagging. (2) There is a phenomenon of club convergence and spatial spillover effects in the social green transformation of urban agglomerations, and the transformation exhibits path dependence and spatial dependence, with low probabilities of cross-level and cross-regional transitions. (3) Social green transformation serves as a significant driving force for the green transformation of urban economies, and this driving effect has been strengthening over time. The role of social green transformation in advancing the strategy of ecological prioritization and green development is increasingly profound. Furthermore, this study helps to improve existing research on regional green transformation evaluation, providing new methods and ideas that better align with and respond to the current comprehensive green transformation strategy.

At present, global and regional security issues are complicated and volatile, and as a frontier field of strategic games between major powers, geopolitical competition in the Asia-Pacific region has shown a multidimensional trend, and the construction of a new security pattern has become a strategic cornerstone of China's modernization and development. As the core carrying area of the "five major securities" (national defense, food, ecological, energy, and industrial securities), the Northeast region's strategic barrier function and geopolitical pivot role are irreplaceable for the country's overall security. However, there are three limitations in the existing research on the spatial practice of security governance: first, the cross-scale transmission mechanism of security elements has not yet been deconstructed, resulting in the disconnection of the governance chain of "national strategy-regional function-local practice"; second, the analysis of the coupling effect of multiple security elements is insufficient, and there is a lack of spatial interaction models based on geographic embeddedness; third, the lack of spatial and temporal refinements in risk simulation makes it difficult to support the dynamic optimization of the resilience system. In view of these, this study attempted to break through the obstacles and address deficiencies of existing studies from a geospatial perspective based on the disciplinary characteristics of geography and the geographic embeddedness of the "five major securities". On the basis of summarizing and analyzing the existing studies, this study constructed an exploratory analysis framework mainly based on core structure identification-regional dominant security function division-multiscenario and security risk simulation, and suggested that the Northeast region should comprehensively evaluate the security function system and leading role of each regional unit based on the core structure of "one side, one corridor, one network, one zone, three belts, three bases, and four channels", and simulate the security geographic spatial pattern of the Northeast region under different development scenarios and security risks from a dynamic perspective, in order to discover the dynamic changes in security service value. Finally, this study proposed optimized governance strategies focusing on the three aspects of giving full play to the regional advantages, coordinating regional development, and integrating policy objectives, so as to provide useful references for the concrete implementation of the "five major securities" in the Northeast region.

Network analysis is increasingly widely applied, but its intrinsic research gradually encounters bottlenecks due to challenges in data acquisition, complexity, and diversity. This study reviewed network thinking and network analysis methods, proposes potential boundaries of network research, systematically examines and deconstructs the developmental trajectory and various levels of geographical network research, analyzes its research trends and breakthroughs, and identifies key issues and future research directions. The study highlighted that network analysis is both a scientific way of thinking emphasizing abstract, systematic, and relational perspectives and a scientific method for analyzing complex system structures; but network research has certain boundaries. Since its introduction to geography in the 1960s, network analysis has evolved into three levels—theory, object, and method—playing a differentiated role in geographical knowledge production and forming a research trend primarily focused on non-social connections between non-social nodes. Breakthroughs have been achieved in four areas: cognition and thinking, scientific theory and mechanism analysis, methods and data, and real-world perspectives and significance. Geographic network research faces four key challenges: 1) insufficient application, 2) development of network thinking, 3) theoretical models, inadequate mechanism analysis, difficulties in data collection and incomplete representation, and 4) singular perspectives in network measurement coupled with outdated methodology and techniques. Future directions include exploring five areas of research: 1) constructing and integrating comprehensive geographical network theories, 2) developing new methods tailored for geographical network analysis, 3) enhancing data acquisition pathways for geographical network research, 4) improving measurement perspectives in geographical network studies, and 5) advancing the application and practical methodologies of research outcomes.

Main function zoning (MFZ) is the fundamental system of China's territorial development and protection. Through differentiated functional orientation, the core objectives of MFZ are to guide the orderly flow of resources across regions and optimize the spatial pattern of national development. This study evaluates the impacts, their heterogeneities among four types of zones, and underlying mechanisms of MFZ planning on China's population redistribution using county-level data from the three latest national population censuses and causal inference tests through difference-in-differences models. The results show that: The MFZ effects generally align with policy orientation. Post-implementation, optimized development zones, prioritized development zones, main agricultural zones and key ecological zones experienced declining population growth rates, accelerated population agglomeration, accelerated population decline, and growth-to-decline transition, respectively. Using main agricultural zones as reference, the planning reinforced the population concentration advantages of prioritized development zones. The policy effect exhibits dual heterogeneity across regions and hierarchical levels. Population changes in agricultural and ecological zones mostly complied with planning guidance, whereas only 40% of county-level units within prioritized development zones achieved the policy goal of accelerated agglomeration. National-level prioritized development zones demonstrated approximately twice the impact of provincial-level counterparts. Population migration from restricted development zones to urbanized areas predominantly occurred through cross-regional migration rather than intra-prefecture movements, making the policy goal of "concentrated equilibrium" within prefecture-level cities difficult to achieve. The planning promoted shifts in influencing factors of population redistribution within each type of MFZ. The diminished role of secondary industries and enhanced influence of tertiary sectors in optimized zones, along with weakened economic drivers in ecological zones, aligned with planning objectives. However, industrialization in prioritized development zones failed to significantly boost population agglomeration, while agricultural zones remained profoundly influenced by industrialization and economic development, both deviating from intended planning orientations. The findings suggest that the new-round planning could moderately concentrate urbanized area layouts, clarify development sequences for prioritized development zones, and implement more targeted differentiated governance requirements for restricted development zones.

Urban informality is a common phenomenon in rapidly developing cities, and the "Three Olds" redevelopment is an important aspect of achieving high-quality urban development in the later stages of urbanization in China. Addressing the current lack of academic attention to the redevelopment of informal land use in the context of the "Three Olds" initiative, this paper, based on the theories of urban informality and scalar politics, selects a typical case of "Three Olds" redevelopment in Dongguan city. Using qualitative research methods such as document analysis and in-depth interviews, this study explores the processes and mechanisms involved. The research finds that Dongguan's "Three Olds" redevelopment policy has undergone a scalar political process consisting of three stages: policy application, policy piloting (including normalization), and policy revision. This process is accompanied by a shift in the roles of the main actors from "dominant" to "subordinate" and vice versa, as well as the interactive evolution of the land parcels from "informal-formal-informal" states. During the implementation of the "Three Olds" redevelopment, two pathways emerge: one where the interests of all actors align, leading to smooth redevelopment, and the other where, in cases of conflicting interests, local governments revise policies and redistribute benefits. These pathways cycle to achieve a new equilibrium. The study contributes to further enriching the theoretical understanding of urban informality and provides practical insights for the "Three Olds" redevelopment and urban renewal and governance.

Ecological resilience refers to an urban agglomeration's ability to resist, adapt, and recover from external disturbances. Enhancing ecological resilience is crucial for promoting high-quality development in the modern era. However, few studies have evaluated the ecological resilience of urban agglomerations from the perspective of human-land interactions or explored its evolutionary mechanism. This study assesses the interannual variation of ecological resilience in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River urban agglomeration, focusing on resistance, adaptation, and recovery. The Least Squares Structural Equation Model is employed to analyze the impact degree and pathways through which human-land interactions affect ecological resilience. The results indicate that from 2000 to 2020, resistance, adaptability, and recoverability exhibited fluctuating trends over time and an unbalanced spatial distribution. Ecological resilience initially decreased but later improved, with significant spatial heterogeneity, forming a "higher in the southeast and lower in the northwest" pattern. Natural environment improvement (coefficient: 0.42) and regional policies (coefficient: 0.18) had significant positive direct effects on ecological resilience, while urbanization exerted a significant negative effect (coefficient: -0.26). Although green innovation had no significant direct effect, it exhibited significant indirect influence, with the most significant pathway being green innovation→regional policy→natural environment→ecological resilience (coefficient: 0.18). This study enhances our understanding of how the natural environment, green innovation, and regional policies shape ecological resilience, providing a scientific reference for urban agglomeration development that fosters harmony between humans and nature.

This study clarifies the basic connotation of the value of natural resources under ecological security, constructs a theoretical analytical framework of "policy-technology-market-society", and systematically explores new models and pathways for enhancing the value of natural resources under ecological security, in order to provide theoretical support and practical guidance for promoting the high-quality management of natural resources in the New Era. The new models for enhancing the value of natural resources under ecological security mainly include the digital empowerment model, the combined supply model, the circular regeneration model and the resource ecology-oriented development model, so as to realize the digital management throughout the entire life cycle, optimized allocation, circular utilization, and efficient use of natural resources. The pathways for enhancing the value of natural resources under ecological security include the institutional innovation pathway, the technology-empowerment pathway, the market activation pathway, and the social co-governance pathway. These pathways are aimed at promoting development with a combination of rigidity and flexibility, enhancing efficiency through full-chain efforts, enlivening the market with diverse measures, and aggregating strength through collaborative cooperation, thereby propelling the construction of ecological civilization to a new level.

With the rapid growth of the digital economy, integrating the cultural and tourism industries has become a key driver of regional economic development and industrial upgrading. As a vital component of the cultural and digital sectors, the gaming industry facilitates integration through digital innovation and creative design. While existing research on cultural-tourism integration is extensive, little attention has been paid to how virtual cultural symbols transform and drive this process in the digital era. Recent advancements in gaming have blurred the boundaries between virtual and real experiences through virtual scene construction, cultural symbol reproduction, immersive interactions, and social media dissemination, accelerating the transformation of cultural resources into tourism assets. Understanding how the gaming industry promotes cultural-tourism integration enhances existing research frameworks, deepens insights into the dissemination and reproduction of cultural symbols in the digital economy, and offers new regional cultural tourism development strategies. Using Black Myth: Wukong as a case study, this research applies the field conversion theory to examine the flow and transformation of cultural symbols between virtual and real-world tourism contexts. It explores two key questions: (1) How does the gaming industry reconstruct traditional cultural symbols through digitalization and integrate them into real-world tourism using field conversion mechanisms? and (2) How does the participation and feedback of different groups influence the effectiveness of this integration, shaping the gaming industry's role in regional cultural tourism development? The findings indicate that digital technologies not only overcome spatial constraints on cultural resources but also enhance interactivity and dissemination, promoting the transformation of symbolic capital into cultural, social, and economic capital. However, engagement levels varied across groups. Players deeply immersed in virtual cultural symbols strengthened the connection between gaming and real-world tourism through social media, offline activities, and digital communities. In contrast, non-players rely on traditional tourism information sources and respond passively and indirectly to game-driven cultural symbols. This study identifies capital accumulation, habit migration, and stakeholder collaboration as the core mechanisms facilitating cultural-tourism integration. While gaming fosters cultural identity, tourism consumption, and economic diversification, it also presents challenges, such as infrastructure strain and tourism industry homogenization due to sudden visitor influxes. This research expands the scope of the theory's application by integrating the field conversion theory into the study of gaming and cultural-tourism integration. It examines how cultural symbols gain value through cross-field transformations. Furthermore, it highlights how digital games that leverage virtual reality, short videos, and social media facilitate cultural symbols' cross-regional flow and reproduction. Moving beyond static cultural transmission models, this study reveals the dynamic evolution of virtual culture and offers fresh perspectives on the development of the cultural industry in the digital economy.