Study on coupling coordination and spatiotemporal heterogeneity between economic development and ecological environment of cities along the Yellow River Basin

Research on coupling coordination between construction industry innovation and region economic development in China

In numerous developing nations, challenges such as insufficient investment in innovation and limited capabilities for conversion impede the growth of the construction sector, thus affecting the overall economic well-being of these regions. This paper focuses on construction industry innovation (CII) and its correlation with region economic development (RED), providing valuable insights to overcome these challenges and promote sustainable economic advancement. This study references existing literature to devise an evaluation indicator system dedicated for CII and RED. It then proceeds with an empirical analysis of the integration and synergy between CII and the economic development across 31 Chinese provinces from 2012 to 2021. Furthermore, this paper employs ArcGIS and Geoda software to meticulously dissect the spatial distribution characteristics underlying this coordination. The main conclusions are succinctly summarized as follows: CII in China is intricately connected to RED, exhibiting a strong connection that diminishes from south to north. Nonetheless, the coordination level between these factors remains relatively low, with notable regional disparities, particularly from southeast to northwest. The primary obstacles to effective coordination are related to innovation input, output, and economic scale. Additionally, spatial correlation analysis demonstrates pronounced regional clustering, showing stability despite slight fluctuations over the study period. This research underscores the concept of coupling coordination between CII and RED, underpinned by scientific analytical methods. The outcomes provide a definitive guide for advancing the transformation and enhancement of the construction industry while promoting RED.

Total nitrogen and phosphorus loads in surface runoff from urban land use (city of Lublin) under climate change

An expansion of impervious surfaces in urban areas leads to increases of nutrient loads discharged with the surface runoff to receivers. A study of a different density of urban development impact on total nitrogen (TN) and phosphorus (TP) loads from the city of Lublin (eastern Poland) with the use of the SWAT (Soil & Water Assessment Tool) model was performed. To distinguish between areas with high and low density of urban development (UHD and ULD), a special analysis of hydrological parameters has been proposed. Moreover, to investigate the impact of climate change, four variant scenarios were taken into account, combining the RCP (representative concentration pathway) 4.5 and 8.5 forecasts and the adopted time horizons (2026-2035 and 2046-2055). The results showed a much higher share of TN and TP from UHD compared to ULD (86%-32 022 kg/year and 89%-2574 kg/year, respectively). In addition, the variant scenarios showed that the forecasted increase in precipitation and temperature will result in increased loads of nutrients from UHD and ULD up to 30%. Furthermore, the current increase of inhabitant number, due to the Ukrainian war migration and the common tendency to convert agricultural land to residential areas, could contribute to further expansion of UHD and ULD areas and an additional increase of nutrient loads.

Coupling coordination of urbanization with ecological environment and influencing factors in Loess Plateau of China

The ecological damage caused by the accelerated urbanization process has continued to endanger the sustainable development of the Loess Plateau region, and the conflict between economic development and environmental protection has become increasingly critical. It is meaningful to explore the coupling coordination degree (CCD) between urbanization (UZ) and the ecological environment (EE) in the Loess Plateau and the mechanism of its influence to eliminate the locking of the rapid urbanization development paths in ecologically fragile regions, using panel data of 39 cities in the Loess Plateau region from 2010 to 2020. The empirical results have found that the level of UZ shows a fluctuating upward trend while the level of EE fluctuates and decreases. The synthesis CCD is at a barely coordinated level with an apparent upward trend, and the spatial characteristics are represented by "central depression," with low levels in the neighboring cities and high levels in the provincial capital cities. Regarding the driving factors, residents' living, industrial structure, and openness have a favorable impact on CCD, while enhancing the government's regulatory capacity has a negative blocking effect. These findings provide novel insights into the Loess Plateau's regional sustainable development.

Spatio-temporal coupling analysis and tipping points detection of China's coastal integrated land-human activity-ocean system

The coastal zone is typically highly developed and its ocean environment is vastly exposed to the onshore activities. Land-based pollution, as the "metabolite" of terrestrial human activities, significantly impacts the ocean environment. Although numerous studies have investigated these effects, few have quantified the interactions among land-human activity-ocean across both spatial and temporal scales. In this study, we have developed a land-human activity-ocean systemic framework integrating the coupling coordination degree model and tipping point to quantify the spatiotemporal dynamic interaction mechanism among the land-based pollution, human activities, and ocean environment in China from 2001 to 2020. Our findings revealed that the overall coupling coordination degree of the China's coastal zone increased by 36.9 % over last two decades. Furthermore, the effect of human activities on China's coastal environment remained within acceptable thresholds, as no universal tipping points for coastal pollution or ocean environment has been found over the 20-year period. Notably, the lag time for algal blooms, the key indicator of ocean environment health, was found to be 0-3 years in response to the land economic development and 0-4 years in response to land-based pollution. Based on the differences in spatiotemporal interactions among land-human activity-ocean system, we employed cluster analysis to categorize China's coastal provinces into four types and to develop appropriate management measures. Quantifying the interaction mechanism within the land-human activity-ocean system could aid decision-makers in creating sustainable coastal development strategies. This enables efficient use of land and ocean resources, supports coastal conservation and restoration efforts, and fosters effective management recommendations to enhance coastal sustainability and resilience.

Assessment and analysis of the balance between economic development and ecological environment protection and its implementation strategy derived from spatial planning-Take three heterogeneous and representative provinces in China as an example

Balancing ecological environment protection (EEP) and economic development (ED) (balance for short) is a difficult problem that must be solved in the development of modern society, particularly important for realizing UN Sustainable Development Goals. How to assess the regional balance situation and reveal the spatial and temporal heterogeneous characteristics of the balance (especially for the vast China) and its influencing factors are the primary scientific problems and realistic needs. Taking Zhejiang, Hunan and Gansu Provinces in the eastern, central and western region of China as a regional representative, an index system characterizing EEP and ED were established, which were processed by extreme difference method and entropy weight method. The coupling characteristics, stress factors and coordination type from 2010 to 2019 in the 3 provinces were assessed and analyzed by means of the coupling coordination model and the grey correlation degree model. Balance is the mission and responsibility of the spatial planning system for spatial planning is of the source, whole-region and comprehensiveness of public strategy, therefore, the balance strategies and its integration approaches are constructed in the 3 provincial spatial planning based on the assessment and analysis of balance characteristics. Research results show that: (1) the 3 provinces' coupling coordination degree is rising year by year, coordination type is more and more better indicating that the balance of EEP and ED is getting better and better, but coordination type differentiates at one level between 3 provinces at the east, central, western region of China, Zhejiang province is from nearby imbalance to primary coordination, Hunan Province is from nearby imbalance to narrow coordination, and Gansu Province is from medium imbalance to nearby imbalance. (2) The ED have same strong stress on EEP in the 3 provinces, and the constraints of EEP on ED are different, the current balance characteristics of Zhejiang, Hunan and Gansu province are the types of ecological environment pressure constraints primary coordination, ecological environment pressure constraints narrow coordination, and ecological environment condition constraints nearby imbalance. (3) The coordination types are the co-environmental pressure constraints primary coordination (Zhejiang Province), eco-environmental pressure constraints narrow coordination (Hunan Province) and eco-environmental condition constraints nearby imbalance (Gansu Province), and corresponding balanced planning strategy system are to promote ecological modernization, implement ecological industrialization and adhere to the ecological fundamentalization.

A study of the coupling between the digital economy and regional economic resilience: Evidence from China

The contemporary economic landscape has placed significant emphasis on the digital economy and economic resilience, progressively emerging as pivotal focal points for examining the high-quality development of economic systems. However, there remains to be more research on several critical topics. This includes the characteristics of coordinated development between the digital economy and economic resilience systems and their interdependence. In response, this study formulates a comprehensive evaluative framework for digital economy development and regional economic resilience, grounded in the intrinsic mechanisms of both domains. It conducts a thorough evaluation employing entropy weight-TOPSIS methodology. Additionally, leveraging coupling theory, a coordination model's coupling degree serves as the foundational framework for scrutinizing the symbiotic advancement of the digital economy and economic resilience, along with their interdependent nature. The research sample comprises data from 31 provinces and municipalities in China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan) from 2011 to 2020. Spatial autocorrelation and Geodetector methodologies probe the evolutionary traits and driving factors underlying the coordinated developmental relationship between these two systems. The findings indicate an upward trajectory in China's annual comprehensive development index for digital economy development (from 0.233 to 0.458) and regional economic resilience (from 0.393 to 0.497). The coupling and coordination between the two systems, measured from 0.504 in 2011 to 0.658 in 2020, demonstrate a consistent growth pattern with an average annual increase of 3.01%. These levels exhibit continuous improvement, with comprehensive economic zones manifesting hierarchical results within the coupling range of [0.5, 0.8]. Notably, agglomeration development evinces a pronounced spatial positive correlation, while local Moran scattering points are primarily concentrated in localized migration leaps. Factors such as foreign-funded enterprises' total import and export volume, online payment capability, and fiber-optic cable length greatly influence the coupling relationship. In contrast, other variables exhibit a lower and more fluctuating degree of weighted impact. This study establishes a foundation for the synergistic and effective development of the digital economy and economic resilience within the Chinese region. Simultaneously, it offers valuable insights for research of related subjects in global contexts.

How does the transformation of the energy structure impact the coordinated development of economy and environment?

The energy structure transformation is of significant practical importance as it ensures energy security, accomplishes the "dual carbon" goal and realizes high-quality economic growth. In order to explore the impact exerted by energy structure transformation on the coordinated development of economic and environmental systems, this paper employs the coupled coordination degree model to measure the coupling degree of economic and environmental systems across 30 provinces in China from 2000 to 2021. Additionally, on the basis of theoretical analysis, it adopts the fixed effect model and the mediated effect model to provide a systematic explanation of the impact energy structure transformation exerts on the coordinated development of the economic and environmental systems, as well as the underlying mechanisms. The results reveal that China's structural transformation of energy consumption significantly promotes the coordinated development of the economic and environmental systems, a conclusion that remains robust even after consideration of the explanatory variable substitutions, municipality exclusion, and tail reduction. From the perspective of heterogeneity, regions with better economic development show a more obvious dividend effect of energy structural transformation on the coordinated development of the economy and the environmental system; energy structural transformation imposes a positive impact on the coordinated development of the economy and the environmental system only in regions characterized by high levels of human capital and urbanization. In terms of the mechanism of action, energy structural transformation can facilitate of industrial structure upgrading and then drive the coordinated development of economic and environmental systems. The study proposes several policy recommendations: transform the traditional fossil energy consumption mode, reduce the proportion of traditional fossil energy, introduce corresponding subsidy policies, encourage enterprises to invest in clean energy, boost investor confidence, and enhance employment quality and income level.

The coupling coordination between tourism urbanization and ecosystem services value and its obstacle factors in ecologically fragile areas: a case study of the Wuling Mountain area of Hunan Province, China

The interrelationship between tourism urbanization (TU) and the ecological environment is extremely complex. Some studies have analyzed the interaction between them but ignored the ecosystem services. Therefore, exploring the coupling coordination relationship between TU and ecosystem services value (ESV) is significant. In this research, we established a coupling coordination degree (CCD) model between TU and ESV and used exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA), spatial variogram model, and obstacle degree model to evaluate the evolution characteristics of CCD and its obstacle factors in the Wuling Mountain area of Hunan Province (WMAHP). The results are as follows: (1) the comprehensive TU level shows an upward trend, and TU levels in the west are generally higher than in the east. The total ESV shows a fluctuating upward trend, and the average ESV is relatively low in the west and southeast. (2) The comprehensive CCD shows an increasing trend, and the coupling coordination relationship has changed from uncoordinated to coordinated in most counties. Spatially, the global spatial autocorrelation and spatial variation degree of CCD are insignificant. Wulingyuan and Yongding are uplift areas, and a subsidence area is in the southeast. It is worth noting that the problem of TU lag generally exists. (3) For the whole area, TU and economy are always the primary obstacle factors in the system and category layer, respectively, but the obstacle degree of the population has gradually increased. At the county level, TU restricts the CCD improvement in most counties, and the proportion of counties where the economy is the primary obstacle in the criterion layer exceeds 60%. Policymakers need to formulate targeted promotion strategies based on the coupling coordination and relative development level between TU and ESV for different counties. This paper provides valuable references for achieving coordinated development between TU and ESV in ecologically fragile areas worldwide.

The dynamic patterns and driving factors of land use conflict in the Yellow River basin of China

Land use conflict, as the spatial manifestation of conflicting human-land relationship, has a profound impact on sustainable use of regional land resources. Taking the Yellow River Basin (YRB) as an example, a land use conflict assessment model was constructed based on landscape pattern indices. The dynamic patterns and driving factors of land use conflict in the YRB and the corresponding driving factors were then assessed from 2000 to 2020 based on spatial autocorrelation analysis and the geodetector method. Significant spatial and temporal differences in land use conflict were observed in the YRB from 2000 to 2020. During this period, the area of stable controllable decreased by 3465 km2, whereas the areas of strong and extreme conflict increased by 34,964 and 13,057 km2, respectively. The expansion of areas with extreme and strong conflict mostly occurred in regions with high urbanization and human activity, including northern Shaanxi, Hetao Plain, and the Yellow River Delta. The distribution of land use conflict in the YRB from 2000 to 2020 was characterized by significant spatial agglomeration; high-value cluster conflict mainly extended from the midstream area to the upstream area, whereas low-value clusters tended to be concentrated in the upstream area of the Qinghai and Qilian Mountains. The spatial and temporal differentiation in land use conflict from 2000 to 2020 was influenced by factors related to the natural environment, geographic location, social economy, and regional policy in the YRB. The effects of elevation, distance to the nearest major river, population, economic density, and per capita disposable income of residents increased continuously during the study period, whereas the influences of mean annual precipitation and ecological retreat weakened. Analysis of the interactions between driving factors showed significant dual-factor and non-liner enhancement effects on the spatial and temporal differentiation in land use conflict. The findings provide a scientific reference for the comprehensive management of national land and ecological construction in the YRB.

Research on the coordination of fiscal structure and high-quality economic development: An empirical analysis with the example of Anhui province in China

Based on the panel data of 16 cities in Anhui from 2010-2018, this paper measures the index system of fiscal structure and high-quality economic development in Anhui using the entropy weight method, and empirically analyzes the coordinated development level of fiscal structure and high-quality economic development in Anhui using coupled coordination degree model. The study finds that: (1) the overall structure of Anhui's fiscal expenditure is characterized by "service-oriented and investment-oriented", and there is a phenomenon that contradicts "Wagner Principle", and there are also spatial and temporal differences in Anhui's tax structure. (2) The level of high-quality development of Anhui economy shows a steady upward trend, but is still at a low level. (3) The level of coordinated development of fiscal structure and high-quality economic development is still low, and the overall situation is "on the verge of disorder" or "barely coordinated". (4) Regionally, the overall coordination of fiscal expenditure structure, tax structure, and high-quality economic development in southern Anhui shows a decreasing trend, while the overall coordination in central and northern Anhui shows an increasing trend, so that southern Anhui has been or will be surpassed by northern and middle Anhui, and the growth rate of middle Anhui is faster than that of northern Anhui.

Study on Spatiotemporal Features and Factors Influencing the Urban Green Total Factor Productivity in the Yellow River Basin under the Constraint of Pollution Reduction and Carbon Reduction

Whether cities can attain a win-win situation with simultaneous environmental protection and economic growth is a compelling issue in current urban development. It will be of great practical significance to comprehensively evaluate the implementation effect of the multi-dimensional goals of an urban development from the perspective of a green total factor productivity (GTFP) evaluation. The paper places pollution reduction and carbon reduction into the research framework of GTFP, introduces the SBM-DDF model to evaluate the urban GTFP of 58 cities in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) from 2006 to 2020, and employs the panel regression model to empirically study the factors influencing the urban GTFP of the region. The results are obtained as follows: (1) from the perspective of time range, the urban GTFP in the basin displays an evolutionary trend of first declining and then mounting, demonstrating the highest GTFP in the downstream, the second-highest in the midstream and the lowest in the upstream; (2) regarding the spatial distribution characteristics, the urban GTFP in the basin presents obvious spatial differences, showing the regional differences by increasing from the upstream to the downstream; (3) from the perspective of the whole basin, the advancement of economic development, urbanization processes, environmental regulations and the ecological background have significantly positive effects in improving the urban GTFP, while the improvement of the industrial structure, opening-up and energy intensity affects the urban GTFP of the basin negatively; and (4) from the perspective of the regional heterogeneity of the effects of the various influencing factors, the improvement of the opening-up and industrial structure expedites the growth of the urban GTFP of the downstream, the advancement of urbanization process restrains the urban GTFP in the upstream and the impact of the ecological background on the urban GTFP in different regions is relatively complex. This study is of great importance to improve the urban GTFP and boost the high-quality development of the cities in the basin.

Spatio-temporal evolution analysis of the coupling situation of economic-social-ecological system in Guangdong

The economic and social structures of Chinese cities are constantly transforming in recent years. The coordinated development of economic, social, and ecological environment is an important path to achieving the construction of high-quality development. Taking Guangdong Province, the largest economic province in China, as an example, the evaluation index systems of economic development system (ED), social development system (SD), and ecological environment system (EE) are constructed, respectively. The entropy weight method and comprehensive evaluation method are applied to measure the evaluation indexes of economic, social, and ecological environment levels of each city in Guangdong Province from 2010 to 2020. The coupled coordination model is used to measure the spatial and temporal evolution of the coupled ED-SD-EE coordination of Guangdong cities and explore the impact of the epidemic on the coupling coordination degree. The results concluded that (i) the economic, social, and ecological environment of each city in Guangdong Province will be more harmonious from 2010 to 2020. ED-SD-EE coupling coordination of Guangdong cities shows a "rising and then declining" trend, but it is still in a "high coupling-low coordination" development state. (ii) The lagging development of the coupled ED-SD-EE system in Guangdong cities is mainly the ecological environment system. (iii) Epidemic harms the coupling and coordination of Guangdong cities, with the most negative effect on the coordination development of the EE. The paper findings clarify the current state of ED-SD-EE coupling and coordination in Guangdong cities, with a view to providing a reference basis for policy formulation and research on quality urban development.

Measurement and Coupling Coordination of High-Quality Development in Guangdong Province of China: A Spatiotemporal Analysis

Regional high-quality coordination plays a crucial role in promoting high-quality national development. Guangdong province is a trailblazer in China's reform and opening-up policies and high-quality development. This study analyzes the high-quality development of the economic, social, and ecological environments from 2010 to 2019 in Guangdong with the entropy weight TOPSIS model. Meanwhile, the coupling coordination degree model is used to investigate the spatial-temporal pattern of the coupling and coordinated development of the three-dimensional system in 21 prefecture-level cities. The results show that the high-quality development index of Guangdong increased from 0.32 to 0.39, a 21.9% increase during 2010-2019. The Pearl River Delta had the highest value of the high-quality development index, whereas Western Guangdong had the lowest level in 2019. Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, and Dongguan are the core cities in the high-quality development of Guangdong, with the index decreasing from the Pearl River Delta estuary cities to the province's edge. We also found that the coupling degree and coupling coordination of high-quality development of the three-dimensional system grew slowly during the study period. Half of the cities in Guangdong entered the stage of benign coupling. Except for Zhaoqing, all cities in the Pearl River Delta have a high coupling coordination degree of high-quality development of the three-dimensional system. This study provides valuable references for the high-quality, coordinated development of Guangdong province and some policy suggestions for other regions.

The evolution of ecological security and its drivers in the Yellow River Basin

Ecological security is the state achieved once an ecosystem maintains its stability under external stress. The Yellow River Basin (YRB) is the largest river basin in northwest and north China and an important area for grain and energy production. The assessment and attribution of ecological security in the YRB are important for protecting the natural environment and ensuring sustainable development. Here, the ecological security of the YRB was assessed by the ecological security index (ESI), a comprehensive index based on the oxygen cycle, and its drivers were attributed to climate change, human activities, vegetation, and soil factors. The spatial pattern of ecological security in the YRB showed high heterogeneity. Ecological insecurity occurred mainly in the middle reaches and regions where the major stream of the Yellow River passes through. The ESI decreased at a rate of - 0.82/year since 2000, which indicated the natural environment continued to be improved in the YRB. Climate change dominated the evolution of ecological security in the upper reaches. The level of ecological security has been improved in the middle reaches after a series of ecological restoration projects conducted. With higher intensity of industrial activity, human activities played a more critical role in ecological security in the lower reaches. Our results suggested that government and local people need to adopt different strategies and actions based on the dominant drivers in the upper, middle, and lower reaches to ensure protection of the natural environment and achieve sustainable development targets.

Influencing factors and improvement paths of green water use efficiency in the Yellow River Basin: a new perspective based on ecogeographical divisions

Exploring the influencing factors and improvement paths of green water use efficiency (GWUE) based on different regions is very important for the protection and utilization of water resources in the Yellow River Basin (YRB). However, previous studies focused only on the external impact of water use efficiency and did not take into account both internal and external factors. For the zoning of the YRB, the traditional upper, middle, and lower zoning methods were mostly used, and they could not show the impact of climatic and geological conditions. Therefore, based on ecogeographical divisions, the dynamic evolutionary characteristics, regional differences, and internal inefficiencies of green water use efficiency for 48 cities in the YRB from 2008 to 2018 are analyzed using a data envelopment analysis-slack-based measure (DEA-SBM) model, global Malmquist‒Luenberger (GML) index decomposition, and kernel density estimation. We further use a panel Tobit model to analyze the external influencing factors of green water use efficiency and propose ways to improve the utilization of water resources in different regions from both the internal and external perspectives. The results are as follows: (1) During the study period, the GWUE fluctuated between 0.58 and 0.67 and showed a trend of improving in the arid areas and deteriorating in the humid area. (2) Exploring the sources of inefficiency from the internal perspective reveals that the labor redundancy, capital redundancy, and wastewater redundancy in the semihumid area are higher; the energy redundancy in the semiarid area is higher; and the economic output in the arid area is insufficient. (3) From the GML perspective, the absolute difference in the green water use efficiency of the cities in the YRB is expanding. Regarding the technical efficiency (EC) index, the technical efficiency of the semiarid area has a convergence effect. Regarding the technological progress (TC) index, the gap in the arid area has been widening, and the technology in the semihumid and semiarid areas is converging backward. (4) There are significant differences in the external factors affecting GWUE in different ecogeographical regions. This study can help the government consider ecogeographical factors when formulating water resource-related policies, and it provides a scientific reference for how to better utilize water resources in different regions of the YRB from both the internal and external perspectives.

Exploring the Coordination and Spatial-Temporal Characteristics of the Tourism-Economy-Environment Development in the Pearl River Delta Urban Agglomeration, China

The rise of mass tourism has encouraged rapid economic growth; meanwhile, the eco-environmental system has come under increasing pressure. To achieve sustainable development, it is critical to deeply explore the relationship and evolution characteristics between three subsystems: tourism, the economy, and the eco-environment. This study aims to develop a more comprehensive indicator system for evaluating the coupling coordination degree (CCD) of the tourism-economy-environment (TEE) system using statistical data from nine cities in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) urban agglomeration from 2010 to 2019. We investigated the spatial-temporal evolution characteristics and driving forces of the TEE system in the PRD using the CCD model and the geo-detector model. The research results show the following: (1) The comprehensive benefits of the TEE system have increased steadily over the past 10 years, whereas the benefits of the eco-environment subsystem have fluctuated and been relatively unstable. (2) Spatially, in terms of tourism development, the eastern regions of the PRD are more developed than the western regions, and the regions with the greatest tourism benefits have gradually shifted to the northeastern regions of the PRD. Economic development presented an imbalanced but relatively stable spatial pattern. Guangzhou and Shenzhen have been the two most economically developed cities over the past 10 years. The eco-environment development has fluctuated over time, revealing a spatial pattern of cities with low environmental benefits in the center and cities with high eco-environmental benefits in the surrounding regions. (3) The PRD's TEE system has become more integrated, moving from moderate disorder to a model of high-quality coordinated development, demonstrating a spatial pattern in which the cities of high development coordination are located near the Pearl River Estuary, and the coordination decreases the further away they are from the estuary. (4) The major driving factors of heterogeneous TEE coordination development include eco-environment protection, opening-up policies, education investment, technological innovation level, and the regional economic development level. The results are expected to effectively promote economic, tourism, and environmental improvement in the PRD, as well as to provide policy recommendations for coordinated TEE development in other similar urban agglomerations.

Analysis of the Relationship between Economic Development and Water Resources-Ecological Management Capacity in China Based on Nighttime Lighting Data

Water resources are important factors limiting social and economic development, so how to ensure the coordination between economic development and water resources-ecological management capacity has become a key issue that needs to be addressed urgently for China's high-quality economic development. This paper used nighttime light data as proxy variables of economic development to calculate the coupling coordination degree between provincial economic development and water resources-ecological management capacity in China from 2004 to 2019 based on the coupling coordination degree model; w constructed a spatial econometric model to explore the spatial correlation and influencing factors between economic development and water resources-ecological management capacity. The results are shown in the following: (1) The overall level of China's economic development is on an upward trend, but the regional development is unbalanced, showing a decreasing spatial pattern distribution of the eastern coastal region-mid-western region-far-western region. (2) The level of water resources-ecological management capacity is low, and the spatial distribution shows a decreasing trend in the far west-central and western-eastern coastal regions. (3) The level of coupling and coordination between economic development and water resources-ecological management capacity rises from a mild imbalance level to a little imbalance level, and the spatial distribution is consistent with the spatial distribution of economic development. (4) The factors influencing the level of coupling and coordination of inter-provincial economic development and water resources-ecological management capacity in China mainly involve the population scale, technological progress, affluence, and foreign direct investment. Each province and city should take into account its own actual situation and develop targeted measures to promote the coordinated development of economic development and the water resources-ecological management capacity.

Exploring Spatio-Temporal Variations of Ecological Risk in the Yellow River Ecological Economic Belt Based on an Improved Landscape Index Method

Intense human activities have led to profound changes in landscape patterns and ecological processes, generating certain ecological risks that seriously threaten human wellbeing. Ecological risk assessment from a landscape perspective has become an important tool for macroecosystem landscape management. This research improves the framework and indices of the ecological risk assessment from a landscape perspective, evaluates the land use pattern and landscape ecological risk dynamics in the Yellow River Ecological Economic Belt (YREEB), analyzes the spatiotemporal variation, and identifies key areas for ecological risk management. The results indicate the following: The main land use types in the region are grassland and cropland, but the area of cropland and grassland decreased during the study period, and with the accelerated urbanization, urban land is the only land use type that continued to increase over the 20-year period. The ecological risk in the YREEB tended to decrease, the area of low ecological risk zones increased, while the area of high ecological risk zones gradually decreased. Most areas are at medium risk level, but the risk in central Qinghai and Gansu is obviously higher, and there is a dispersed distribution of local high- and low-risk zones. A total of 37.7% of the study area is identified as critical area for future risk management, and the potential for increased risk in these areas is high. These results can provide a basis for sustainable development and planning of the landscape and the construction of ecological civilization in ecologically fragile areas.

Coupling coordination analysis and spatiotemporal heterogeneity of the agricultural eco-economic system in the main grain-producing areas of Jilin Province

Jilin is a major agricultural province and an important grain-producing area in China. Under the requirements of ensuring national grain security and green development for regional agriculture, the coordinated development of agricultural ecology and the economy in grain-producing areas is a crucial issue. Sixteen major grain-producing counties in Jilin Province were selected and a comprehensive evaluation index of the agricultural eco-economic system was established to analyze the relationship between the two subsystems in the main grain-producing areas from 2004 to 2018. The study aimed to determine the relationship between agricultural ecology and the economy in the grain-producing areas of Jilin and how to promote high-quality development of the agricultural system according to the local conditions. The results showed that (1) the coupling coordination degree (CCD) in the main grain-producing areas was steadily improved during the study period and was closely related to the impact of agricultural policies; (2) the CCD of the central area was less than that of the west, mainly because the agricultural ecological development lagged far behind the economy; (3) agricultural modernization, environmental protection, and increasing grain added value were important ways to promote CCD development in the grain-producing areas. This study emphasized the importance of the coordinated development of agricultural ecology and the economy and provides an important reference for formulating regionally differentiated development strategies and achieving sustainable agriculture in main grain-producing areas.

Spatial-temporal pattern evolution and influencing factors of coupled coordination between carbon emission and economic development along the Pearl River Basin in China

The Pearl River Basin (PRB) is a significant area for economic development (ED) and ecological protection in China. Studying the relationship between carbon emission (CE) and ED is crucial for China and the world to cope with climate change and achieve CO₂ reduction. For 48 cities in the PRB, we used the coupling coordination model and geographically weighted regression model to analyze the coupling coordination degree (CCD) between CE and ED and investigate the main influencing factors. The results suggested that (1) the CCD presents spatial heterogeneity, with the Pearl River Delta having the highest value and the middle reaches having the lowest value; (2) the coupling coordination type between CE and ED changes from incoordination to coordination in general; and (3) the resident income and population size have a positive influence on the CCD of the cities in the lower reaches, while the secondary industry scale has a beneficial impact on the upstream. Finally, we put forward corresponding policy suggestions to achieve sustainable development in terms of reducing economic inequities, enhancing public expenditure and innovation capability, and streamlining the industrial structure.

Dynamic Evolution, Regional Differences, and Spatial Spillover Effects of Urban Ecological Welfare Performance in China from the Perspective of Ecological Value

Ecological welfare performance (EWP) is a necessary condition for achieving sustainable economic development and is a crucial initiative for resolving the dilemma of balancing economic development, social welfare, ecology, and the environment. This paper constructs and enhances a comprehensive evaluation system of ecological welfare performance (EWP) from an ecological value viewpoint for the purpose of making the results of the evaluation both comprehensive and objective. In the meantime, the Dagum Gini decomposition, kernel density, and the spatial Durbin model were initiated to measure and analyze urban EWP, which supplies new empirical results for studies on the dynamic evolution, regional differences and driving factors of urban EWP. The findings indicate the following: (1) In each spatial dimension, the urban EWP roughly demonstrates first a decreased and then an increased trend. There is a discrepancy in the east-central-west distribution of urban EWP in space, in which urban EWP in the east and west is larger than that in the central area. (2) For relative differences, intra-regional and inter-regional differences in urban EWP are significantly spatially uneven. Supervariable density is the main source of regional differences. For absolute differences, the EWP demonstrates a significant polarization effect. (3) The urban EWP does not have σ-convergence; nonetheless, it has spatial absolute β-convergence and spatial conditional β-convergence. (4) The urban EWP has a significant spatial correlation. Industrial structure, science and technology innovation, foreign investment, urbanization, government intervention, finance development, and environmental regulations all have influence effects and spatial effects on urban EWP; notwithstanding, the direction and magnitude of the effects vary across the different spatial dimensions.

Coupling and Coordination Relationship between the Tourism Economy and Ecosystem Service Value in Southern Jiangsu, China

The relationship between the tourism economy and the ecosystem service value (ESV) is crucial for sustainable regional development. This study takes southern Jiangsu as a research object. Firstly, the development level of the tourism economy and ecosystem service value in southern Jiangsu from 2000 to 2020 are evaluated with the entropy method, ecosystem service value is estimated and the dynamic degree of land use is computed. Secondly, the coupling coordination degree model is used to explore the coupling coordination degree between the two systems. Finally, the interaction mechanism between the tourism economy and ecosystem service function is elaborated. The result shows that: (1) There are disparities in the levels of a comprehensive tourism economy in different cities, and the overall development level of the tourism economy in southern Jiangsu shows a cyclical fluctuation pattern. (2) Spatial variation of ecosystem service value exists in different cities in southern Jiangsu, with an overall trend of increasing in the beginning followed by a decline. (3) The coupling coordination degree between the tourism economic system and ecosystem service functions in southern Jiangsu demonstrates an inverted U-shaped development pattern from 2000 to 2020, evolving from mild disorder to intermediate coordination and then back to mild disorder, and the development of two subsystems is unstable and imbalanced. Within the region, Nanjing, Suzhou and Zhenjiang have experienced a rise in coupling coordination degree followed by a decline. This study also reveals the coupling mechanism between ecological service functions and the tourism economic system, and provides suggestions for ecological preservation and sustainable development of tourism industry in southern Jiangsu. This research can be a reference for tourism and regional development in southern Jiangsu and the whole Yangtze Delta region.

A sandstorm extreme event from the Yellow River Basin in March 2021: Accurate identification and driving cause

Sandstorm is a natural meteorological disaster that can appear suddenly and is often extremely destructive. In areas with small number of meteorological observation stations, it is difficult to effectively monitor sandstorm. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data have the characteristics of high resolution and wide coverage, making it possible to monitor dynamic weather changes in a large area over time, and such data are widely used in sandstorm monitoring. The purpose of our research was to achieve a more accurate identification of sandstorm according to the differences in reflectance and brightness temperature between sandstorm and other phenomena, and to better understand the formation, movement track and driving cause of sandstorm extreme event. Taking the intense sandstorm event that occurred in the Yellow River Basin from March 13th to 18th, 2021 as an example, sandstorm process was analyzed based on MODIS data and meteorological monitoring data. The threshold of Normalized Difference Dust Index (NDDI) and Normalized Brightness Temperature Dust Index (NBTDI) realized accurate sandstorm monitoring and quantification of the sandstorm coverage areas. Sandstorm covered 32.89 % and 37.23 % of the total areas of the Yellow River Basin on March 15th and 16th, 2021, respectively. In addition, observation data from 22 meteorological stations also provided an important reference for further understanding of sandstorm weather. The intense sandstorm event in China on March 15th, 2021 originated from the dust in Mongolia. This sandstorm event caused great damage to the ecological environment and caused serious losses to people's lives and properties. This study improved the monitoring of sandstorm by remote sensing technology, and the results had importance for the long-term monitoring and prevention of sandstorm.

Coupling Coordination Analysis of Regional IEE System: A Data-Driven Multimodel Decision Approach

Coordinating regional innovation–economy–ecology (IEE) systems is an important prerequisite for overall continuous regional development. To fully understand the coordination relationship among the three, this study builds a data-driven multimodel decision approach to calculate, assess, diagnose, and improve the regional IEE system. First, the assessment indicator system of the regional IEE system is established. Secondly, the range method, entropy weight method, and weighted summation method are employed to calculate the synthetic developmental level. Thirdly, a multimodel decision approach including the coupling degree model, the coordination degree model, and the obstacle degree model is constructed to assess the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of the regional IEE system coupling coordination and diagnose the main obstacles hindering its development. Finally, the approach is tested using Anhui Province as a case study. The results show that the coupling coordination degree of the Anhui IEE system presents a stable growth trend, but the coupling degree is always higher than the coordination degree. The main obstacle affecting its development has changed from the original innovation subsystem to the current ecology subsystem. Based on this, some countermeasures are put forward. This study, therefore, offers decision support methods to aid in evaluating and improving the regional IEE system.

Coupling coordination degree and driving factors of new-type urbanization and low-carbon development in the Yangtze River Delta: based on nighttime light data

The coordination relationship between new-type urbanization and urban low-carbon development under the goal of carbon neutrality has become a hot issue that needs to be focused on when formulating policies. Based on the estimation of urban CO2 emissions by night light data, this study used spatial autocorrelation, spatial Markov chain and geographically weighted regression model to measure the spatial correlation and spillover effects of the coupling coordination degree of two systems in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration from 2005 to 2018 and analyzed the influencing factors. The results showed that (1) the coupling coordination degree showed an increasing trend, but the club effect was quite obvious, and the regional pattern was higher in southeast and lower in northwest; (2) the spatial spillover effect of coupling coordination degree is significant, which aggravates the long-term persistence of the imbalance pattern; (3) regional economic level, government fiscal regulation, and industrial upgrading are the main driving forces for the increase of coupling coordination degree, while over-concentration of population and low energy efficiency are the main obstacles. Finally, on the basis of these conclusions, we provide targeted policy planning suggestions for policy makers.

Spatio-Temporal Urban Land Green Use Efficiency under Carbon Emission Constraints in the Yellow River Basin, China

In the context of rapid urbanization and limited land amount, it is essential to scientifically evaluate the urban land green use efficiency (ULGUE) to promote regional sustainable development. Current studies are of great value for enriching the theoretical system and application research of ULGUE. Still, most of them only consider industrial pollution but ignore carbon emission as an essential environmental influencing indicator. This paper introduced carbon emissions into the input-output indicator system, measured ULGUE of 57 cities in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) over the 2004-2017 periods using the super-efficiency slacked-based measure (Super-SBM) model, analyzed its spatio-temporal patterns with the kernel density estimation (KDE) model and spatial autocorrelation model, and then identified the influencing factors with the Spatial Durbin model (SDM). As shown by the results, firstly, the ULGUE in the YRB over the 2004-2017 periods showed a trend of first decreasing and then increasing. Secondly, the ULGUE exhibited spatio-temporal imbalance characteristics across the YRB. Thirdly, ULGUE was the interaction of multiple indicators, and its influencing factors had spatial spillover effects. All in all, this paper is fundamental to the high-quality development of cities in the background of the Chinese policy of "carbon peak, carbon neutralization".

Data-driven evaluation and optimization of the sustainable development of the logistics industry: case study of the Yangtze River Delta in China

In this study, a data-driven way is proposed to evaluate and optimize the sustainable development of the logistics industry (LI). Based on a comprehensive consideration of economic, societal, and environmental factors, an evaluation index system was established for the sustainable development of the logistics industry (LISD). Logistics industry-related data were collected from the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) from 2011 to 2020. The anti-entropy method was used to determine the index weight and process the data. Furthermore, the coupling harmonization degree and barrier degree models were used to analyze the coordinated development of each subsystem and identify key obstacles. Our results indicate that there are significant temporal and spatial differences in the level of LISD in YRD, with Shanghai (score 0.4834) being the best and Anhui (score 0.4553) the worst, showing a wave-like evolution in time. The coupling and coordination states among the subsystems are significantly different, with that of environmental benefits and other subsystems being poor. Moreover, innovation ability and environmental benefits are the main obstacle factors of this system. Based on the results of this study, targeted optimization countermeasures are put forward and evaluation indicators and research methods are suggested, which will provide the government and practitioners decision support, as well as provide theoretical and methodological support for LISD.

Study on the Spatial Interaction between Urban Economic and Ecological Environment-A Case Study of Wuhan City

In order to study the interactive relationship between urban economic and ecological environment, taking Wuhan as an example, Landsat and MODIS remote sensing satellite data and social and economic data were fused with multisource data, and multidimensional indicators were selected to construct the comprehensive evaluation index system of urban economic and ecological environment. The weights were determined by combining subjective and objective methods. Then, the decoupling elasticity coefficient method and spatial autocorrelation model were used to evaluate the dynamic relationship and spatial relationship between economic development and ecological environment in Wuhan from 2014 to 2020. The results showed that there was an interaction between the urban economic and the ecological environment in Wuhan. The ecological level index had a spatial effect, the adjustment of industrial structure had a positive effect on the improvement of the ecological level, and the improvement of the ecological level was also helpful to promote economic development. The typical districts of Huangpi District, Xinzhou District, Jiangxia District, Hannan District, Caidian District, and Hongshan District had superior location and ecological advantages, as well as high development potential. Lastly, on the basis of the empirical analysis results, policy suggestions are made from four aspects: regional differentiated construction, green development, energy consumption, and wetland construction.

What Affects the Economic Resilience of China's Yellow River Basin Amid Economic Crisis-From the Perspective of Spatial Heterogeneity

This paper contributes to the study of regional economic resilience by analyzing the dynamic characteristics and influence mechanisms of resilience from the perspective of spatial heterogeneity. This paper focuses on the resistance and recoverability dimensions of resilience and analyzed the dynamic changes in economic resilience in China’s Yellow River Basin in response to the 2008 economic crisis. The multi-scale geographical weighted regression model was utilized to examine the effect of key factors on regional economic resilience. Our findings show the following: (1) The resistance of the Yellow River Basin to the financial crisis was high; however, the recoverability decreased significantly over time. (2) The spatial heterogeneity of driving factors was significant, and they had different effect scales on economic resilience. Related variety, government agency, environment, and opening to the global economy had a significant effect on economic resilience only in a specific small range. Specialization, unrelated variety, and location had opposite effects in different regions of the Yellow River Basin. (3) Specialization limited the area’s resistance to shock but enhanced the recoverability. Related variety improved regional economic resilience. Unrelated variety was not conducive to regional resistance to shock and had opposite effects on the recoverability in different regions. (4) Government agency and financial market promoted regional economic resilience. Environment pollution and resource-based economic structure limited regional economic resilience. Opening to the global economy and urban hierarchy limited regional resistance to shock, but strong economic development had the opposite effect of improved regional resistance. The location in the east of the Yellow River Basin enhanced the recoverability; however, the location in the west limited the recoverability.

Regional Differences and Convergence of Carbon Emissions Intensity in Cities along the Yellow River Basin in China

Since the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin (YRB) in China have become a primary national strategy, the low-carbon economy is crucial. To formulate effective emission mitigation policies for the YRB, we need to comprehensively understand the characteristics of the spatial agglomeration of the carbon emissions intensity in the YRB and its regional heterogeneity. Therefore, based on the relevant data from 2005 to 2017, we first scientifically measure the carbon emissions intensity of 57 cities along the YRB. Then, we analyze the spatial agglomeration characteristics and long-term transfer trends of carbon emission intensity using exploratory spatial data analysis methods and Markov chains. Finally, the Dagum Gini coefficient and the variation coefficient method are used to study the regional differences and differential evolution convergence of the carbon emissions intensity in the YRB. The results show that the carbon emissions intensity of the YRB has dropped significantly with the spatial distribution characteristics “high in the west and low in the east”, and there is a significant spatial autocorrelation phenomenon. In addition, the probability of a shift in urban carbon intensity is low, leading to a “club convergence” and a “Matthew effect” in general and across regions. Inter-regional differences have always been the primary source of spatial differences in carbon emissions intensity in the YRB, and the intra-regional differences in carbon emissions intensity in the lower YRB show a significant convergence phenomenon. The research results may provide a reference for the regional coordinated development of a low-carbon economy in the YRB, and serve to guide the win-win development model of ecological environment protection and economic growth in the YRB.

Management implications of spatial-temporal variations of net anthropogenic nitrogen inputs (NANI) in the Yellow River Basin

It is an important content of environment management to accurately identify the time change and spatial distribution of net anthropogenic nitrogen inputs (NANI) in the river basin. In order to develop a unified management and diverse control strategy that fits the characteristics of the basin, this study establishes the NANI-S model combining the NANI model with the spatial autocorrelation analysis method, which is a quantification-analysis-control process, and takes the 70 prefecture-cities in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) as the study area. The result shows that (1) the NANI of YRB increased first and then decreased with an average NANI value of 6787.59 kg/(km²·a), showing that the overall N pollution situation of the YRB shows a trend of improvement in nitrogen (N) fertilizer input as the main source, and the average contribution rate was 47.45%. (2) There were obvious spatial differences in the NANI in the YRB because the global Moran's I fluctuated between 0.67 and 0.78. Cities with high NANI clustered in the middle and lower reaches, while low NANI clustered in the upper reaches. (3) Improving fertilizer utilization rate and industrial and domestic sewage treatment capacity was the key point of N control. Based on the results, practical policy recommendations for water pollution management were constructed, which provides a scientific basis for pollution prevention and high-quality development in the basin. In addition, this analysis method can also be applied to other basin N management studies.

Conflict or Coordination? Analysis of Spatio-Temporal Coupling Relationship between Urbanization and Eco-Efficiency: A Case Study of Urban Agglomerations in the Yellow River Basin, China

The coordination and coupling of new urbanization and the ecological environment is of great significance for the high-quality development of the Yellow River basin, China. In this paper, the urbanization efficiency and ecological efficiency of seven urban agglomerations in the Yellow River basin, China, from 2006 to 2019 are calculated at the city level. Spatial correlation analysis between urbanization efficiency and ecological efficiency is carried out by applying the spatial association model. Then, the spatio-temporal coupling relationship is estimated based on the relative development and spatial coupling models. The results show that urbanization efficiency has been rising, from 0.83 in 2006 to 0.91 in 2019. Ecological efficiency first stabilized and then rose from 1.03 in 2006 to 1.23 in 2019. Spatially, cities with high urbanization efficiency development are increasing from west to east. Cities with high eco-efficient developments are increasing from northwest to southeast. The coupling relationship between the two is an N-type relationship, with the trend of first rising, then falling, and then rising. Spatially, the coupling degree of the upper and lower reaches of the Yellow River basin, China, is higher than that of the middle reaches of the Yellow River basin, China. Finally, this paper puts forward policy recommendations on the coordinated and coupling development of urban agglomerations in the Yellow River basin, China, from the perspective of the future differentiated development of different urban agglomerations.

The Impact of Coordinated Development of Ecological Environment and Technological Innovation on Green Economy: Evidence from China

Promoting the coordinated development of ecological environment and technological innovation is significant to the development of a green economy. In this study, we construct an index system of ecological environment, technological innovation, and green economy based on the panel data of 30 provinces and cities in China from 2005 to 2016, using the entropy weight method, the coupling coordination model, and the panel vector autoregressive model (PVAR) to calculate the comprehensive development levels of ecological environment, technological innovation, and green economy and the coordination degree between ecological environment and technological innovation, and then further explore the impact of the coordinated development level of ecological environment and technological innovation on the development of a green economy. The research results include: First, from 2005 to 2016, the comprehensive development levels of ecological environment, technological innovation, and green economy in China’s 30 provinces and cities achieved different degrees of improvement as a whole. Among them, the comprehensive development level of green economy was the highest, followed by the development level of technological innovation, and the comprehensive development level of ecological environment was the lowest. Second, from 2005 to 2016, the coordination degree between ecological environment and technological innovation in China’s provinces and cities increased year by year, but on the whole, the coordination degree between ecological environment and technological innovation in various regions was in a state of imbalance. Third, there was a long-term equilibrium relationship among the coordinated development levels of ecological environment, technological innovation, and green economy. Fourth, through pulse analysis and Monte Carlo simulation, we found that the coordinated development level of ecological environment and technological innovation had a lagging positive impact on green economy. Finally, we provide a summary of the results of this study.

The Coordinated Development and Regulation Research on Public Health, Ecological Environment and Economic Development: Evidence from the Yellow River Basin of China

The dual problems of the public crisis from the global epidemic and the deterioration of the ecological environment constrain the economic development in the Yellow River Basin. To promote the sustainable and balanced development in the Yellow River Basin, this paper takes public health, ecological environment, and economic development, as a whole, to study the coordinated development of the Yellow River Basin. Based on coupling coordinated theory, we use the SMI-P method to evaluate the coordinated development index of public health, the ecological environment, and economic development in the Yellow River Basin. Moreover, we use the coordinated regulation and obstacle factor diagnosis to identify the main influencing factors and design regulation methods to optimize the coordinated development index. The results found that (1), during the research period, there is spatiotemporal heterogeneity in the coordinated development level in the Yellow River Basin. From 2009 to 2019, the overall development index increased steadily, while the regional disparity in the coordinated development level was obvious. (2) The ecological environment indicators contribute more to the relevance and obstacle factors, such as the average concentration of fine particulate matter, per capita arable land area, afforestation area, etc. (3) After regulating the overall development level of the Yellow River Basin, we prove that Path 4, which comprehensively considers the relevance and obstacle factors, performs better.

Spatial correlation among cultivated land intensive use and carbon emission efficiency: A case study in the Yellow River Basin, China

Considering the current global goal of carbon neutrality, the relationship between cultivated land intensive use (CLIU) and carbon emission efficiency (CEE) should be explored to address the global climate crisis and move toward a low-carbon future. However, previous work in this has been conducted at provincial/regional scales and few have identified the spatial correlation between CLIU and CEE at the scale of large river basins. Therefore, this study explored the spatiotemporal characteristics of CLIU, cultivated land carbon emissions (CLCE), and CEE, as well as the spatial correlation between CLIU and CEE in the Yellow River Basin (YRB), China. A comprehensive evaluation model, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) coefficient methodology, existing data envelopment analysis model, and bivariate spatial autocorrelation models were used to analyze statistical data from 2005 to 2017. We found that the overall CLIU and CLCE values in the YRB exhibited a continuous increase; the average carbon emission total efficiency and carbon emission scale efficiency first decreased and then increased, and the average carbon emission pure technical efficiency gradually decreased. Areas of high CLCE were concentrated in eastern areas of the YRB, whereas those of high CLIU, carbon emission total efficiency, carbon emission scale efficiency, and carbon emission pure technical efficiency predominantly appeared in the eastern areas, followed by central and western areas of the YRB. Spatial analysis revealed a significant spatial dependence of CLIU on CEE. From a global perspective, the spatial correlations between CLIU and CEE changed from positive to negative with time. Moreover, the aggregation degree between CLIU and CEE gradually decreases with time, while the dispersion degree increases with time, and the spatial correlation gradually weakens. The local spatial autocorrelation further demonstrates that the number of high-low and low-high clusters between CLIU and CEE gradually increases over time, while the number of high-high and low-low clusters gradually decreased over time. Collectively, these findings can help policymakers formulate feasible low-carbon and efficient CLIU policies to promote win-win cooperation among regions.

Can Green Innovation and New Urbanization Be Synergistic Development? Empirical Evidence from Yangtze River Delta City Group in China

Green innovation has become the mainstream of the era, and new urbanization is an inevitable choice in China’s urbanization development. Focusing on the topics of green innovation and new urbanization, much work has been done to analyze their influencing factors separately, while the relationship between the two remains to be explored. This paper selects the representative indicators to study the new urbanization and green innovation of the Yangtze River Delta city group from the perspective of the whole and individual cities, in terms of spatiotemporal evolution traits, by using the SBM, entropy method, coupling model, spatial econometric and geographical detector. The results reveal the following: (1) there is a synergistic effect between green innovation and new urbanization development, and the role has been increasing; (2) green innovation and new urbanization present positive spatial autocorrelation and regional agglomeration; (3) in the detection of driving factors, economic development > social conditions > natural resources; most groups (40/66) of factor interactions present nonlinear enhancement, and the digital economy factor accounts for the largest proportion. Finally, according to the findings, we offer a suggestion and a conclusion.

A perspective of ecological civilization: research on the spatial coupling and coordination of the energy-economy-environment system in the Yangtze River Economic Belt

The concept of sustainable economic development as the core promotes socio-economic progress and rapid economic development. Nevertheless, in the new era of China, the contradiction between socio-economic development and environmental sustainability is still prominent. In order to deal with the coordinated development relationship among regional economy, energy, and environment, this paper constructs an energy-economy-environment (3E) index system from the perspective of green development and ecological integrity. On this basis, the distance-based coupling coordinated degree (CCD) model and dynamically comprehensive coordination degree model were used to evaluate the coupling coordinated development levels of 11 provinces (cities) along the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) from 2008 to 2017. Then, a spatial econometric model was used to explore the spatial effects of the regional 3E system of the YREB. The results indicated that (1) the overall coordination of the 3E system in the provinces (cities) along the YREB shows an increasing trend. However, change paths varied with the provinces (cities) due to the influence of regional policies; (2) the CCD of the 3E system in the YREB differed spatially significantly, showing a stepped distribution of "high in the east and low in the west"; (3) the 3E system in the YREB had a positive spatial correlation and showed the characteristics of aggregation, with Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces mainly showing "high-high" agglomeration and Sichuan showing "high-low" aggregation, while the rest of the provinces had the characteristics of random distribution in terms of spatial effects. The research process and results show that combining the ecological civilization concept and the CCD model can provide the vision and indicators for evaluating and researching the regional 3E system.

Spatial Non-Stationarity-Based Landslide Susceptibility Assessment Using PCAMGWR Model

Landslide Susceptibility Assessment (LSA) is a fundamental component of landslide risk management and a substantial area of geospatial research. Previous researchers have considered the spatial non-stationarity relationship between landslide occurrences and Landslide Conditioning Factors (LCFs) as fixed effects. The fixed effects consider the spatial non-stationarity scale between different LCFs as an average value, which is represented by a single bandwidth in the Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) model. The present study analyzes the non-stationarity scale effect of the spatial relationship between LCFs and landslides and explains the influence of factor correlation on the LSA. A Principal-Component-Analysis-based Multiscale GWR (PCAMGWR) model is proposed for landslide susceptibility mapping, in which hexagonal neighborhoods express spatial proximity and extract LCFs as the model input. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve and other statistical indicators are used to compare the PCAMGWR model with other GWR-based models and global regression models, and the PCAMGWR model has the best prediction effect. Different spatial non-stationarity scales are obtained and improve the prediction accuracy of landslide susceptibility compared to a single spatial non-stationarity scale.

Study on the Coupling Coordination and Spatial Correlation Effect of Green Finance and High-Quality Economic Development—Evidence from China

The article aims to study the coupling coordination and spatial correlation effects of green finance (GF) and high-quality economic development (HQED) in 30 Chinese provinces. The index system of GF and HQED is constructed by selecting relevant index data from 2007 to 2017. The index of GF and HQED is measured by the entropy value method. Next, the coupling coordination degree (CCD) and spatial association strength are calculated based on the index using the coupling coordination degree model and the gravity model. Then the driving factors of the CCD between GF and HQED are analyzed by using geographic detectors. Finally, the spatial association network is constructed and its robustness is studied. The research results show that the coupling coordination degree between GF and HQED in each province is generally low, with strong regional heterogeneity, and the coupling coordination degree shows a trend of decay from the eastern region to the western region, but the western region has more room for development. Green credit, green, coordination, and sharing are the strong driving factors of the CCD between GF and HQED. The network of spatial association between GF and HQED in each province is gradually tightened, making the western peripheral provinces more closely connected with the eastern provinces through the intermediate node provinces. The network robustness of GF and HQED is more influenced by provinces with higher node degree values. Accordingly, the article proposes that China should continuously improve relevant GF policies, environmental disclosure systems, enhance green innovation technology and guide private capital to enter the GF market.

Assessment and Forecast of Green Total Factor Energy Efficiency in the Yellow River Basin—A Perspective Distinguishing the Upper, Middle and Lower Stream

As the fifth-longest river globally, the Yellow River is of great importance to the world’s ecological protection. Due to its location as an essential ecological barrier and economic zone, it is imperative to balance energy support and ecological management in the basin. In this process, improving energy efficiency is crucial solution. Distinguished into upstream, midstream, and downstream, we measured the trajectory of green total factor energy efficiency over the past fifteen years using the Super-Epsilon-based model. Further, we identified the heterogeneity of energy efficiency within different river basins with the help of kernel density estimation. We used it to analyze the geographical and policy reasons affecting energy efficiency fluctuations. Finally, we constructed high, medium, and low GDP growth scenarios, and used a long short-term memory neural network model to predict energy efficiency forecasts in each scenario. The study results clarified that the overall energy efficiency showed an upward trend since 2013. Among them, the most significant improvement in energy efficiency was observed upstream, while the energy efficiency in the middle and lower stream showed a decreasing trend. Regarding future development trends, an economic growth rate of 6.5% was most favorable for energy efficiency compared to 6% and 7%. This finding reminded us to be alert to the ecological condition of the lower Yellow River basin. In addition, maintaining an appropriate economic growth rate is helpful for the balance between development and ecology.

Coupling Coordination of the Regional Economy, Tourism Industry, and the Ecological Environment: Evidence from Western China

The economic–tourism–environment (ETE) is a complex system with extensive connotations and coupling characteristics. The exact understanding of these systems forms the prerequisite and basis for regional development. This study explores the impact of the coupling coordination of the ETE system on the level and influencing factors of sustainable development in western China. An evaluation index system has been developed for assessing the coupling coordination (CC) of the ETE system based on the context of 12 provinces and cities in western China. Entropy and spatial autocorrelation methods have been used to evaluate the comprehensive benefit value and influencing factors of the ETE systems in the region. The spatial Durbin model has been used to assess empirical data from 2010–2019. The coupling coordination degree (CCD) of each subsystem was used as the main explanatory variable to quantify the spatial spillover effect. The research results show that the ETE system of the provinces and cities in western China have a strong correlation. The three subsystems interact, restrict, and promote each other, operating together in contradictory unity. The degree of coupling and coordination of the ETE systems are mainly stable but fluctuate from the time perspective. From the spatial perspective, the level of coupling and coordination have clear spatial correlation and spatial dependence. However, since 2013, the spatial dependence has significantly weakened, indicating that the level of coupling coordination is moving towards a balanced direction. The ETE subsystems not only promote the improvement of the coupling coordination of the region itself, but also optimize the coupling coordination of neighboring areas. The promotion effect of each subsystem on the degree of self-coupling and coordination is greater than the promotion effect on neighboring areas.

Spatial Transformation Characteristics and Conflict Measurement of Production-Living-Ecology: Evidence from Urban Agglomeration of China

The land development by human beings has changed from the initial small-scale and low-level transformation to the comprehensive utilization of large-scale and high-intensity implementations. The contradiction between production-living-ecology space (PLES) has become increasingly prominent while drawing land dividends. As one of the important birthplaces of Chinese civilization and the ecological barrier in the northern region, the rapid urbanization and industrialization of the Yellow River Basin (YRB) make the ecological environment very fragile, and the imbalance of land and space development is extremely serious. Therefore, according to the multifunctional characteristics of land use, this paper establishes a classification system of production space (PS), living space (LS) and ecology space (ES), and discusses the spatiotemporal evolution and conflict distribution characteristics of the PLES with the help of the transfer matrix and spatial conflict index (SCI). The results are as follows. In 1990–2020, agricultural production space (APS), grassland ecology space (GES) and other ecology space (OES) yielded the largest proportion of PLES in the YRB. However, compared with 1990, the area of these spatial types decreased in 2020, while the urban living space (ULS) expanded rapidly. The distribution pattern of PLES was generally consistent, and the transformation between PLES in Ningxia, central Inner Mongolia, Loess Plateau and downstream areas was relatively intense. The conflict index of PLES showed an upward trend, but it was generally in a controllable range. The stable and controllable areas were concentrated in the upstream of the urban agglomeration, and the midstream and downstream were basic out of control and seriously out of control, respectively.

Spatiotemporal Evolution and Spatial Network Analysis of the Urban Ecological Carrying Capacity in the Yellow River Basin

Based on the panel data of 82 cities in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) during 2008–2017, this paper calculated the urban ecological carrying capacity (UECC) index by means of the entropy method, drew a spatiotemporal evolution map using ArcGIS10.3 software, used a spatial cold–hot spot model to explore the spatial characteristics of the UECC index, and used the revised gravity model to construct the spatial network of the UECC. In addition, through social network analysis, we obtained the spatial network correlation characteristics of the UECC of 82 cities in the YRB. The study found the following: (1) The UECC index of the cities in the YRB increased steadily, and showed strong non-stationarity in space. The cold and hot spot patterns both changed greatly. Overall, the changes of the hot and cold spots were very significant. (2) The spatial correlation and linkage effects of the UECC in the YRB were not significant. The central cities with higher point centrality and closeness centrality showed the same spatial distribution, and most of them are located in the midstream and downstream of the YRB. The central cities in the midstream and downstream of the YRB had high betweenness centrality, and stood in the center of the association network. (3) The four plates in the spatial correlation network of the UECC in the YRB all showed their advantages and functions. The first plate was the net spillover plate, which was principally allocated in the upstream and midstream of the YRB. The second plate was the broker plate, which was principally located in the midstream and downstream of the YRB, and a few cities in the upper reaches. The third plate was the net inflow plate, which was distributed sporadically in the upstream and downstream of the YRB. The fourth plate was the broker plate, which was scattered in upstream, midstream, and downstream of the YRB. Therefore, it is necessary to shorten the gap of and promote the improvement of the UECC in the YRB.

Coupling and Coordinating Relationship between Tourism Economy and Ecological Environment-A Case Study of Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan

The tourism environment is the basis of sustainable development in the tourism economy. Exploring the coupling relationship between tourism economy and ecological environment systems can promote not only ecology-based tourism, but also contribute to the sustainable development of tourism economy. Based on data from Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, from 2010–2019, this paper aims to introduce an indicator system and develop an integrated approach to assess the coupling and coordination between the tourism economy and the environment. The indicator system consists of two levels, six aspects, and eighteen indicators, based on entropy method. A Pressure-State-Response (PSR) model framework of the coupling and coordination mechanism of tourism economy and ecological environment was constructed based on the development status of Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. Then, the degree of coupled coordination of its tourism economy and ecological environment is evaluated, providing a comprehensive evaluation index of the system. In conclusion, suggestions for promoting the sustainable development of tourism and environment in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, are proposed. The purpose of this research is to reveal dynamic trends that exist between the coupled development of tourism economy and the ecological environment. A further aim of this paper is to provide a reference for macro policy formulation in small and medium-sized cities regarding the sustainable development of the tourism economic system and ecological environment system.

Conflict or coordination? Assessment of coordinated development between socioeconomic and ecological environment in resource-based cities: evidence from Sichuan province of China

The relationship between socioeconomic and ecological environment becomes a significant factor influencing the regional sustainable development of resource-based cities (RBCs); how to coordinate the relationship between socioeconomic growth and ecological environment is the key problem to achieve sustainable development goals of RBCs. A comprehensive evaluation indicator system was constructed to research the coupling coordination level of RBCs in this paper; the dynamic DM model and the CCD model were adopted to measure the comprehensive level of the coupling coordination degree between socioeconomic and ecological environment of the 9 resource-based cities from 2008 to 2018 in Sichuan province. The results showed that the coupling coordination level was not ideal. Only two cities were located to the moderate coordination, and other cities were located to the primary coordination or tiny coordination. In addition, there was a significant difference between SE and EE, and the comprehensive evaluation score of SE was lower than that of EE in eight RBCs, which accounts for 88.89%. Based on this, we analyzed the reasons for the backward development of the socioeconomic system of the resource-based cities in order to provide relevant references for the transformation of the RBCs. Finally, the policy suggestions for the sustainable development of different types of RBCs were provided, involving improving the policy and financial support for enterprise transformation, promoting high-new technology to improve production efficiency, strengthening government guidance on industrial layout, stabilizing employment, and improving the social security system. This study offers a model of China's experience that might be beneficial for achieving sustainable development goals (SGDs) of other cities and countries.

Influence of socioeconomic development on river water quality: a case study of two river basins in China

Social and economic development processes require large amounts of natural resources and in some cases seriously deteriorate river water quality. Since the reform and expansion era began, China has vigorously pursued socioeconomic development but neglected environmental protection. However, in recent years, improvements in environmental awareness and the implementation of environmental protection measures have led to a balanced relationship between economic development and the environment. In this study, the Yangtze River Basin and the Yellow River Basin were selected as research areas. We used a combination of canonical correlation analysis (CCA) and a distance-based influence assessment method to quantitatively assess the influence of socioeconomic development on river water quality. The results revealed a strong correlation between socioeconomic development and river water quality. The degree of influence of socioeconomic development on water quality varied not only temporally but also spatially due to differences in socioeconomic development and hydrometeorology in the two basins in North and South China. The average degree of influence in the Yangtze River Basin was between 0.22 and 0.27, and that in the Yellow River Basin was between 0.2 and 0.36. Moreover, the degree of influence in the Yangtze River Basin in the wet season was greater than that in the dry season, whereas the opposite pattern was observed in the Yellow River Basin. The degree of influence in both basins gradually declined after 2011, indicating that the coupling and coordination between socioeconomic development and environmental protection have continuously improved and that the water quality has gradually improved. By analysing the influences of various socioeconomic indicators on water quality, we found that the main factors that influence water quality are per capita GDP and urbanization rate in the Yangtze River Basin and urbanization rate in the Yellow River Basin. The results provide a basis for future sustainable development in the Yangtze River Basin and the Yellow River Basin.

Analysis of China's Industrial Green Development Efficiency and Driving Factors: Research Based on MGWR

With increasingly severe constraints on resources and the environment, it is the mainstream trend of economic development to reduce industrial pollution emissions and promote green industrial development. In this paper, a super-efficiency slacks-based measure (SBM) model is adopted to measure the industrial green development efficiency (IGDE) of 289 cities in China from 2008 to 2018. Moreover, we analyze their spatiotemporal differentiation pattern. On this basis, the multiscale geographical weighted regression (MGWR) model is used to analyze the scale differences and spatial differences of the driving factors. The results show that the IGDE is still at a low level in China. From 2008 to 2018, the overall polarization of IGDE was relatively serious. The number of high- and low-efficiency cities increased, while that of medium-efficiency cities greatly decreased. Secondly, the IGDE presented an obvious spatial positive correlation. MGWR regression results show that the technological innovation, government regulation, and consumption level belonged to the global scale, and there was almost no spatial heterogeneity. Other driving factors were urbanization, industrial structure, economic development, and population density according to their spatial scale. Lastly, the influence of economic development and technological innovation had a certain circular structure in space; the influence of population size mainly occurred in the cities of the southeast coast and northeast provinces; the influence of urbanization was more obvious in the most northern provinces of the Yangtze River, while that of industrial structure was mainly concentrated in the most southern cities of the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB). Spatially, the influence of consumption was manifested as a distribution trend of decreasing from north to south, and the government regulation was manifested as increasing from west to east and then to northeast.

Spatio-Temporal Coupling Coordination Analysis between Urbanization and Water Resource Carrying Capacity of the Provinces in the Yellow River Basin, China

With the rapid expansion of the Chinese economy in recent years, the urbanization process of the provinces in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) has put serious pressure on the sustainability of the water resources carrying capacity (WRCC). It is necessary to analyze and diagnose the coordination state between urbanization and the WRCC. In this study, based on the Population-Economic-Social-Spatial (PESS) framework and Pressure-State-Response (PSR) model, we developed two index systems for the urbanization and WRCC, respectively. At the basis of the two index systems, the coupling coordination degree (CCD) of the two systems is calculated by applying the improved CCD model. Based on the calculated CCD for each province, the spatio-temporal analysis was performed to analyze the characteristics of CCD in the YRB. The obstacle factor model is utilized to obtain the main obstacle factors. The results show that: (1) the coordination state between the urbanization and WRCC systems was improved to some extent in 2017, compared to 2008, but there are differences in the coordination state of the different provinces in the YRB. (2) In terms of the level of urbanization, the gap between the seven provinces’ performance levels widened because urbanization grew at different rates. The WRCC system’s performance presented a fluctuating downward trend from 2008 to 2017 in the YRB. (3) The pressure subsystem had a significant impact on the two systems’ coordination state in the YRB, while the social urbanization and response subsystem had a less significant impact on the urbanization system and the WRCC system, respectively. Due to the growth of urbanization, the imbalanced development of the WRCC and urbanization has become the principal contradiction that must be solved in order to achieve sustainability in the YRB. The analysis of the coupling relationship between urbanization and WRCC may guide the policy makers in planning for realistic goals. The results provide a guide for high-quality development in the YRB.

Research on Spatiotemporal Differentiation and Influence Mechanism of Urban Resilience in China Based on MGWR Model

Urban resilience in the context of COVID-19 epidemic refers to the ability of an urban system to resist, absorb, adapt and recover from danger in time to hedge its impact when confronted with external shocks such as epidemic, which is also a capability that must be strengthened for urban development in the context of normal epidemic. Based on the multi-dimensional perspective, entropy method and exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) are used to analyze the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of urban resilience of 281 cities of China from 2011 to 2018, and MGWR model is used to discuss the driving factors affecting the development of urban resilience. It is found that: (1) The urban resilience and sub-resilience show a continuous decline in time, with no obvious sign of convergence, while the spatial agglomeration effect shows an increasing trend year by year. (2) The spatial heterogeneity of urban resilience is significant, with obvious distribution characteristics of "high in east and low in west". Urban resilience in the east, the central and the west are quite different in terms of development structure and spatial correlation. The eastern region is dominated by the "three-core driving mode", and the urban resilience shows a significant positive spatial correlation; the central area is a "rectangular structure", which is also spatially positively correlated; The western region is a "pyramid structure" with significant negative spatial correlation. (3) The spatial heterogeneity of the driving factors is significant, and they have different impact scales on the urban resilience development. The market capacity is the largest impact intensity, while the infrastructure investment is the least impact intensity. On this basis, this paper explores the ways to improve urban resilience in China from different aspects, such as market, technology, finance and government.