An Ecologically Based System for Sustainable Agroforestry in Sub-Tropical and Tropical Forests

Modeling the city-level synergistic effect of low-carbon economic development in China's Yangtze River Delta

The development of a low-carbon economy has been the focus of attention from all walks of life in recent years. Using data from 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) from 2005 to 2019, this study constructed a low-carbon economic development coupling and coordination degree model and indicator system to measure the synergistic effect. Starting from the resource, economy, society, and innovation system, it was found that the coupling degree of low-carbon economic development in the YRD region has increased steadily. Generally, it is in a running-in period, and the improvement rate shows a high trend in the west and a low trend in the east. Also, the YRD is in a moderate incoordination stage, but the synergy effect has improved. Among these cities, Shanghai and Hangzhou had higher synergy efficiency in 2019 compared to other cities. Regarding city heterogeneity, the synergy effect of non-resource-based cities is significantly higher than that of resource-based cities but a narrowed gap. The research provides a theoretical and factual basis for the design of a path toward low-carbon economic development in the YRD region.

Progress on the Integrity Protection in the Natural World Heritage Site and Agroforestry Development in the Buffer Zone: An Implications for the World Heritage Karst

In the face of increasing development pressure, how to fulfill the obligations under the World Cultural and Natural Heritage Convention and maintain the integrity of the Natural World Heritage Site (NWHS) is a major problem to be solved at present. Agroforestry (AF) development in the buffer zone maintains the integrity of NWHS and promotes sustainable ecological and economic development in the buffer zone. Still, few studies on the knowledge system of integrity protection of NWHS and AF development in the buffer zone research have been conducted. To fill this gap, this study conducts a systematic literature review based on 128 related articles retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS) database and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database. Firstly, quantitative studies were conducted to analyze the annual numbers, content and study regions of the published literature. Secondly, the main research progress and achievements of integrity protection of WNHS and AF development in the buffer zone are classified and summarized. On this basis, this paper proposed key scientific issues that remain to be addressed in future, as well as exploring the implications for the World Heritage (WH) karst. This study is a scientific reference for the balanced development of NWHS integrity protection and AF in the buffer zone.