Disentangling the influencing factors of spatiotemporal evolution of sloping farmland in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China

Sloping farmland(SpF)is not only an important space for food production and supply in China’s hilly areas,but also a major source of soil erosion.Thus,it is important to achieve a healthy balance between regional food security and environmental protection.Yangtze River Economic Belt(YREB),an important grain production base where SpF concentrated in China,is also faced with serious soil erosion.However,research at the macro scale on the spatiotemporal change of SpF and its driving forces in YREB is still lacking.To bridge the gap,we first analyzed the long-term evolution characteristics of SpF in 1069 counties in the YREB and then explored the driving mechanism of SpF changes during 1980-2020.Results showed that the SpF in the YREB continuously decreased during the study period,with a total area decreasing by 26,300 km2.SpF was primarily concentrated in the upper reaches of the YREB while SpF use dynamic degree varied significantly with the most active change in the lower reaches,reaching to a maximum of 0.324%.The spatial gravity of SpF distribution relocated 20.15 km towards the southwest.As for the driving factors,the socioeconomic factors contributed greater to SpF changes in the whole YREB and its subregions.The intensity of human activities is the most crucial,with factor contribution rate constantly above 0.76.The interactive detection revealed that the prevailing interaction format was primarily bi-enhanced,supplemented with nonlinear-enhanced,which amplified the role of different factors after interacting with them.The pair-wise interaction involving socioeconomic factors had a more potential effect on SpF changes compared to those between physical geography and locational factors.The influence of the intensity of human activities on SpF changes is greatly enhanced after interacting with any factor.It dominated SpF changes in the YREB and its interaction with GDP played an important role at all times.These findings can enlighten differential management strategies of SpF use and ecological conservation in the YREB.

Spatial-temporal Divergence Characteristics and Driving Factors of Green Economic Efficiency in the Yangtze River Economic Belt of China

The spatial and temporal variation of green economic efficiency and its driving factors are of great significance for the construction of high-efficiency and low-consumption green development model and sustainable socio-economic development.The research focused on the Yangtze River Economic Belt(YREB)and employed the miniumum distance to strong efficient frontier DEA(MinDs)model to measure the green economic efficiency of the municipalities in the region between 2008 and 2020.Then,the spatial autocorrelation model was used to analyze the evolution characteristics of its spatial pattern.Finally,Geodetector was applied to reveal the drivers and their interactions on green economic efficiency.It is found that:1)the overall green economic efficiency of the YREB from 2008 to 2020 shows a W-shaped fluctuating upward trend,green economic efficiency is greater in the downstream and smallest in the upstream;2)the spatial distribution of green economic efficiency shows clustering characteristics,with multi-core clustering based on‘city clusters-central cities'becoming more obvious over time;the High-High agglomeration type is mainly clustered in Jiangsu and Zheji-ang,while the Low-Low agglomeration type is clustered in the western Sichuan Plateau area and southwestern Yunnan;3)from input-output factors,whether it is the YREB as a whole or the upper,middle and lower reaches regions,the economic development level,labor input,and capital investment are the leading factors in the spatial-temporal evolution of green economic efficiency,with the com-prehensive influence of economic development level and pollution index being the most important interactive driving factor;4)from so-cio-economic factors,information technology drivers such as government intervention,transportation accessibility,information infra-structure,and Internet penetration are always high impact influencers and dominant interaction factors for green economic efficiency in the YREB and the three major regions in the upper,middle and lower reaches.Accordingly,the article puts forward relevant policy re-commendations in terms of formulating differentiated green transformation strategies,strengthening network leadership and informa-tion technology construction and coordinating multi-factor integrated development,which could provide useful reference for promoting synergistic green economic efficiency in the YREB.

Regional Brand and High-quality Development of Fruits in Ethnic Areas of the Yangtze River Economic Belt under the Greater Food Approach

Establishing the Greater Food Approach and promoting the Yangtze River Economic Belt s national major regional development strategy can better support and serve the agricultural power and Chinese-style modernization.This paper introduces the characteristics of fruit industry in 16 autonomous prefectures and 47 autonomous counties under the jurisdiction of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.It studies the intellectual property resources of brand marks from the aspects of geographical indications,collective trademarks,certification trademarks,well-known trademarks in China and national design patents,and analyzes the main problems of brand and high-quality development of fruit industry in these ethnic autonomous areas.Finally,it puts forward some strategies,such as improving the protection of intellectual property rights of geographical indications,using intellectual property rights of brand signs,building modern seed industry upgrading project,drawing lessons from the experience of thousand villages demonstration project,ensuring that large-scale poverty does not occur,and building a diversified food supply system.

Promoting High-quality Development of Grain and Oil in Ethnic Areas of the Yangtze River Economic Belt from the Perspective of Agricultural Power

Accelerating the construction of agricultural power,further promoting the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt,and better supporting and serving Chinese-style modernization are the key issues at present.This paper first introduces the Yangtze River Economic Belt and its ethnic areas,and studies the characteristics of the grain and oil industry in the ethnic autonomous areas of the economic belt,as well as the current situation of various types of intellectual property resources,such as industrial cultural heritage,scientific and tech-nological innovation,and brand marking intellectual property.Besides,it analyzes the main problems in the high-quality development of grain and oil in the Yangtze River Economic Belt ethnic areas.Finally,it comes up with recommendations,including protecting the intellectual prop-erty rights of cultural heritage in the field of grain and oil,leading the inheritance and development of excellent traditional Chinese culture,use scientific and technological innovation intellectual property rights to promote the innovation-driven development strategy of the grain and oil in-dustry,and providing counterpart assistance to ethnic autonomous areas in the Yangtze River Economic Belt to further promote the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

Economic Structure Transformation and Land Use Change of the Changjiang River Basin

Land, as a key factor of production, is an appropriate indicator of national and regional economic structure transformation. Land use in the Changjiang （Yangtze） River Basin （CRB） since the 1950s has experienced these changes. Industrialization has been the most powerful force of the change in the regional development of the CRB. Virtually all regional resources were put into this effort to modernize the industrial production and urban construction systems of the CRB whose industrialization and urbanization has been a success story, with impressive structural change in both production and land use. These changes are evident ih modem urban areas, but even more in traditionally rural areas. The regression analysis of regional development in the CRB over an extended period shows that the dominant factor in regional land use change is widespread industrialization in rural areas rather than the expansion of urban area. Thus, urbanization has had a limited influence on land use change in the CRB. A major task in realizing more sustainable land use in the future development of CRB is to relocate industrial activities from rural to urban areas.

Spatio-temporal evolution and factor explanatory power analysis of urban resilience in the Yangtze River Economic Belt

Urban resilience assesses a city’s ability to withstand unknown risks.Scholars are not comprehensive in assessing urban resilience,and they lack consideration of population resilience.This study investigated 110 prefecturelevel cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt(YREB)as study areas.We calculated the YREB’s level of urban resilience based on the aspects of“economy-society-population-ecology-infrastructure”,which ensured that the comprehensive evaluation of urban resilience is complete and sufficient.The spatio-temporal evolution of urban resilience was analyzed using exploratory spatial data.Geodetectors were used to investigate the impact of several indicators,focusing on economic,social,population,ecological,and infrastructure factors,on urban resilience.The results showed that the urban resilience of the YREB has maintained a slow upward trend from 2005 to 2018,and the average urban resilience of the YREB has risen from 0.2442 to 0.2560.The resilience gap between cities in the study region increased initially and then decreased.The dominant factor in the spatial differentiation of urban resilience was the economic factors,followed by the population factors.Urban resilience has been clarified and an evaluation index system is constructed,which can provide an effective reference for the evaluation of urban resilience among countries around the world.Based on this,factors that optimize urban resilience are configured,and the regional and national sustainable development can be promoted.

Drivers of Regional Environmental Pollution Load and Zoning Control:A Case Study of the Yangtze River Economic Belt,China

The high environmental pollution load caused by the massive pollutant emissions and the accumulation of endogenous and cross-regional pollution has become an important obstacle to the current ecological civilization construction in the Yangtze River Economic Belt(YREB)in China.Taking the YREB as an example,by using four environmental pollutant emission indicators,including chemical oxygen demand(COD),ammonia nitrogen(NH_(3)-N),sulfur dioxide(SO_(2)),and nitrogen oxides(NO_(x)),this paper established an environmental pollution load index(EPLI)based on the entropy-based measurement.Moreover,the Spatial Durbin Model was used to quantitatively analyze the drivers and spatial effects of environmental pollution load.Finally,specific scientific references were provided for formulating environmental regulations of pollution source control in the YREB.The results showed that:1)During2011-2015,the EPLI in the YREB was reduced significantly and the environmental pollution load increased from upstream to downstream.Among them,the pollution load levels in the Upper Mainstream subbasin,Taihu Lake subbasin,and Lower Mainstream subbasin were the most prominent.2)The environmental pollution load situation in the YREB was generally stable and partially improved.High load level areas were mainly concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta Region and the provincial borders in upstream,midstream,and downstream areas.The high load level areas already formed in Chengdu and Chongqing were also the key regulatory points in the future.3)The degree of local environmental pollution load was apparently affected by the adjacent cities.The population size,industrialization level,and the fiscal decentralization not only drove the increase of the local environmental pollution load level,but also affected the adjacent areas through the spatial spillover effects.The land development intensity mainly drove the increase in the local EPLI in the YREB.While factors such as economic development level and agricultural economic share could only act on the environmental pollution load process in adjacent cities.4)According to the differentiation characteristics of drivers of each city,the YREB was divided into seven zones based on k-medoids cluster method,and targeted zoning control policy recommendations for alleviating environmental pollution load in the YREB were proposed.

Study of the Urban Coordinated Development Capability Index in the Yangtze River Economic Belt

Coordinated development is a major concern in the construction strategy of the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB).However,there were few studies which have quantitatively measured the level of coordinated development in the YREB.This paper aimed to propose an comprehensive index system of coordinated development based on the theories of growth pole and complex ecosystem and new guidelines of development from the central government.The index system was composed by 18 indicators within 4 domains including economic development,technology & innovation,communication & transportation,and ecological protection.The scores of coordinated development capability of the 110 prefecture-level cities in the YREB were calculated and examined using natural break point analysis,spatial autocorrelation analysis and rank-size analysis.It was shown that Shanghai,Nanjing and Wuhan were leading the coordinated development in the YREB.Generally,the scores of coordinated development capability were higher in the eastern region of the YREB,in which the cities performed well in the domains of economic development,technology & innovation and communication & transportation yet showed poor performance in ecological protection.Most cities in the middle reaches of Yangtze river ranked in the middle in the YREB in all the domains,except the provincial capitals.The western region of the YREB got the lowest score in the coordinated development capability besides the largest cities such as Chongqing,Chengdu,Kunming and Guiyang.The correlation coefficients between ecological protection and other domains were very low,suggesting that few cities have achieved a win-win situation between environment protection and socio-economic development.We suggested 3 ways to promote coordinated development in the YREB:establish multi-level institutional designs;enhance the innovation in green industries;and strengthen the joint prevention and control of ecological risks.

Research on the Financial Maturity of the Yangtze River Economic Belt

The Yangtze River Economic Belt is a key development project in China,and financial development is the core driving force for economic growth in the Yangtze River Economic Belt.At present,the financial development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt is not balanced,and there is an urgent need to quantify the differences in financial development.Drawing on the research of"maturity model"at home and abroad,from the two new perspectives of subjective and objective,the financial development difference is introduced into the maturity model as an organic whole,forming financial maturity and its indicator system,then taking the Yangtze River Economic Belt as the research object,the principal component analysis method is used to calculate the maturity.The results show that the financial development of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Economic Belt has obvious gradient differences both subjectively and objectively.The financial acceptance of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the total financial structure and structure are significantly higher than the middle and upper reaches,while financial efficiency is lower than the middle and upper reaches due to factors such as financial costs.Therefore,the financial development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt needs to improve the systematicness of finance,coordinate the growth of financial volume and structural adjustment,and improve the overall financial operation efficiency.

Calculation of Agricultural Production Efficiency Based on a Three-stage Data Envelopment Analysis Model and Analysis of the Spatial-temporal Characteristics: A Case Study of the Yangtze River Economic Belt

In response to the strategic call for the " Great Protection" of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and to fulfill the important historical tasks assigned by the state to the provinces and cities of the area,the Yangtze River Economic Belt is adjusting the agricultural industry structure,optimizing the input-output ratio,and ensuring stable and sustainable agricultural production. Based on the combination of the three-stage Data Envelopment Analysis( DEA) model and cluster analysis,this study examined the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2008 to 2018 to measure its agricultural production efficiency and to analyze its temporal and spatial characteristics. Studies showed that exogenous environmental factors significantly( P < 5%) impacted agricultural production efficiency in the Yangtze River Economic Zone,and there were temporal and spatial differences. These included:(1) after excluding environmental factors,the overall agricultural production efficiency of the Yangtze River Economic Zone had improved. Sichuan Province and Jiangsu Province were at the forefront of efficiency,whereas the agricultural production efficiency of Shanghai had declined obviously.(2) The agricultural production efficiency of the Yangtze River Economic Belt varied year by year,with fluctuating development. The middle reaches of the Yangtze River had advanced agricultural production efficiency more than the upstream and downstream regions,and the agricultural production efficiency of the individual provinces did not match their economic and social development.(3) Increases in labor,land,irrigation,and other input factors increased agriculture production efficiency,and there was no correlation between fiscal investment,per capita gross domestic product( GDP) and agricultural production efficiency,while the disaster-affected area had a significantly negative impact on agricultural production efficiency.

Industrial Green Spatial Pattern Evolution of Yangtze River Economic Belt in China

We use the directional slacks-based measure of efficiency and inverse distance weighting method to analyze the spatial pattern evolution of the industrial green total factor productivity of 108 cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt in 2003–2013.Results show that both the subprime mortgage crisis and ‘the new normal' had significant negative effects on productivity growth,leading to the different spatial patterns between 2003–2008 and 2009–2013.Before 2008,green poles had gathered around some capital cities and formed a tripartite pattern,which was a typical core-periphery pattern.Due to a combination of the polarization and the diffusion effects,capital cities became the growth poles and ‘core' regions,while surrounding areas became the ‘periphery'.This was mainly caused by the innate advantage of capital cities and ‘the rise of central China' strategy.After 2008,the tripartite pattern changed to a multi-poles pattern where green poles continuously and densely spread in the midstream and downstream areas.This is due to the regional difference in the leading effect of green poles.The leading effect of green poles in midstream and downstream areas has changed from polarization to diffusion,while the polarization effect still leads in the upstream area.

Green development of industries in Yangtze River Economic Belt

Green development is the keynote of Yangtze River Economic Belt. It must insist on ecology preferential and green development which is not only respectation of natural laws but also the economic laws and social laws. The article uses SWOT analytic method to analyze the internal and external surroundings of the green development of Yangtze River Economic Belt on the basis of getting a clear understanding of its present developing status. Based on this the article puts forward the strategy pattern and path selection of green development of Yangtze River Economic Belt.

THE POSITION AND ROLE OF WUHAN CITY IN THE REGIONAL ECONOMIC MACRO-STRATEGIES OF CHINA

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Regional Ecological Vulnerability Assessment of the Guangxi Xijiang River Economic Belt in Southwest China with VSD Model

The interactive effects of natural and human factors on ecosystems have been well studied, and the quantitative assessment of large-scale ecological vulnerability caused by natural and human factors is now one of the most active topics in the ifeld. Taking the Guangxi Xijiang River Economic Belt in southwest China （GXEB） as a case study, we assess ecological vulnerability based on the Vulnerability Scoping Diagram （VSD） model. The indices system is decomposed into three sub objects, ten elements and 25 indicators layer by layer, which included factors from both natural and human ifelds. Results indicate that zones with lower, middle-lower, middle, middle-higher and higher vulnerability account for 11.31%, 22.63%, 27.60%, 24.39%, and 14.07%, respectively. The western and eastern parts of GXEB are more vulnerable than the central part and the mountain and urban areas are of higher vulnerability than the basins and river valleys. Compared with a vulnerability assessment based on natural factors only, it is concluded that human activities indeed cause the transition from naturally stable zones to vulnerable zones. The nature-dominated vulnerable zones are different with human-dominated ones in size and distribution, the latter being smaller, more scattered and distributed in urban areas and their surroundings. About 53%of total construction land is distributed in zones with middle and middle-higher ecological vulnerability;less vulnerable zones should attract construction in the future. Relevant suggestions are proposed on how to reduce vulnerability according to inducing factors. The VSD model has a signiifcant advantage in the quantitative evaluation of ecological vulnerability, but is insufficient to distinguish nature- or human-dominated vulnerability quantitatively.

An economic tie network-structure analysis of urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of Changjiang River based on SNA

Due to its great strategic significance in integrating regional coordinated development and enhancing the rise of Central China, urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of Changjiang （Yangtze） River has attracted much attention from both theoretical and practical aspects. Such research into the area＇s economic network structure is beneficial for the formation of an urban- and regional-development strategy. This paper constructs an economic tie model based on a modified gravitation model. Subsequently, referring to social network analysis, the paper empirically studies the network density, network centrality, subgroups and structural holes of the middle reaches of Changjiang River＇s urban agglomeration economic network. The findings are fourfold： （1） an economic network of urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of Changjiang River has been formed, and economic ties between the cities in this network are comparatively dense; （2） the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of Changjiang River can be divided into four significant subgroups, with each subgroup having its own obvious economic communications, while there is less economic-behavioral heterogeneity among subgroups - this is especially true for the two subgroups that exist in the Poyang Lake Ecological Economic Zone; （3） an economy pattern driven by the central cities of Wuhan, Changsha and Nanchang has emerged in the urban agglomeration of the middle reaches of Changjiang River, while these three capital cities have exerted great radiation abilities to their surrounding cities, the latter are less able to absorb resources from the former （4） the Wuhan Metropolitan Areas and the Poyang Lake Ecological Economic Zone have more structural holes than the Ring of Changsha, Zhuzhou and the Xiangtan City Clusters, meaning that cities at the periphery of these two areas are easily constrained by central cities. The Ring of Changsha, Zhuzhou and the Xiangtan City Clusters have fewer structural holes; thus, the cities in this area will not face as many constraints as those in the other two areas.

Spatiotemporal variations of cultivated land use efficiency in the Yangtze River Economic Belt based on carbon emission constraints

In this study,the carbon emissions(CEs)from cultivated land(CL)were included as an undesirable output in the utilization efficiency of such land.A slack-based model was used to calculate the CL use efficiency(CLUE)for 11 provinces and cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt(YREB)from 2007 to 2016,and then a kernel density estimation map was drawn to analyze the spatiotemporal variations of CLUE.The Tobit model was also employed to analyze the factors affecting the CLUE.The results show the following.1)In the YREB,the CEs from CL showed a rising and then a slowly decreasing trend.In this paper,we calculate CEs by carbon emission factors and major carbon sources,and the CEs from CL in the YREB totaled 25.2354 million tons in 2007.By 2014,the value had increased gradually to 28.4400 million tons,and by 2016 it had declined to 27.8922 million tons,suggesting that the carbon-emission reduction measures of the government had an impact.2)The CLUE of various provinces and cities in the YREB showed an upward trend in the time dimension,while for the spatial dimension,the kernel density was high in the east and low in the west,and the areas with high kernel density were mainly located in the Yangtze River Delta.3)The per capita gross domestic product,the primary industrial output,and the number of agricultural technicians per 10,000 people had positive effects on the CLUE.The CL area per capita and the electrical power per hectare for agricultural machinery had significant negative impacts on CLUE.In addition,every 1%increase in the number of agricultural technicians increased the CLUE by 0.057%.

Analysis of city centrality based on entropy weight TOPSIS and population mobility:A case study of cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt

Based on statistical data and population flow data for 2016,and using entropy weight TOPSIS and the obstacle degree model,the centrality of cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt(YREB)together with the factors influencing centrality were measured.In addition,data for the population flow were used to analyze the relationships between cities and to verify centrality.The results showed that:(1)The pattern of centrality conforms closely to the pole-axis theory and the central geography theory.Two axes,corresponding to the Yangtze River and the Shanghai-Kunming railway line,interconnect cities of different classes.On the whole,the downstream cities have higher centrality,well-defined gradients and better development of city infrastructure compared with cities in the middle and upper reaches.(2)The economic scale and size of the population play a fundamental role in the centrality of cities,and other factors reflect differences due to different city classes.For most of the coastal cities or the capital cities in the central and western regions,factors that require long-term development such as industrial facilities,consumption,research and education provide the main competitive advantages.For cities that are lagging behind in development,transportation facilities,construction of infrastructure and fixed asset investment have become the main methods to achieve development and enhance competitiveness.(3)The mobility of city populations has a significant correlation with the centrality score,the correlation coefficients for the relationships between population mobility and centrality are all greater than 0.86(P<0.01).The population flow is mainly between high-class cities,or high-class and low-class cities,reflecting the high centrality and huge radiating effects of high-class cities.Furthermore,the cities in the YREB are closely linked to Guangdong and Beijing,reflecting the dominant economic status of Guangdong with its geographical proximity to the YREB and Beijing's enormous influence as the national political and cultural center,respectively.

长江经济带大气污染密集型企业时空格局演变及影响因素

产业集聚具有促进区域经济增长和产生环境污染的双重效应。基于“两控区”政策期间工业企业污染匹配数据,以长江经济带1998年、2005年、2012年大气污染密集型企业为研究对象,利用百度地图API接口进行企业地址匹配,运用GIS空间邻近分析、空间自相关分析和空间计量模型研究大气污染密集型企业分布模式、空间集聚特征及其影响因素。研究发现:(1)长江经济带大气污染密集型企业数量不断增长,空间分布呈现明显的集聚特征,总体符合“中心—外围”结构模式;(2)区县大气污染密集型企业数量变化存在显著的正向空间自相关,热点区域为上海、江苏、浙江;(3)产业集聚对其企业数量时空变化的影响随时间逐渐增强,劳动力和边界效应与企业新增量关系显著,环境规制作用存在地区差异。

Simulation and prediction of multi-scenario evolution of ecological space based on FLUS model: A case study of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China

Building the Yangtze River Economic Belt(YREB)is one of China’s three national development policies in the new era.The ecological environment of the Yangtze River Economic Belt must be protected not only for regional economic development but also for regional ecological security and ecological progress in this region.This paper takes the ecological space of the Yangtze River Economic Belt as the research object,based on land use data in 2010 and 2015,and uses the FLUS model to simulate and predict the ecological space of the research area in 2035.The variation of the research area’s ecological space area and its four sub-zones has remarkable stability under diverse situations.Both the production space priority scenarios(S1)and living space priority scenarios(S2)saw a fall in ecological space area,with the former experiencing the highest reduction(a total reduction of 25,212 km^(2)).Under the ecological space priority scenarios(S3)and comprehensive space optimization scenario(S4),the ecological space area increased,and the ecological space area expanded even more under the former scenario(a total growth of 23,648 km^(2)).In Yunnan-Guizhou,the ecological space is relatively stable,with minimal signs of change.In Sichuan-Chongqing,the Sichuan Basin,Zoige Grassland,and Longmen Mountains were significant regions of area changes in ecological space.In the middle reaches of the Yangtze River,the ecological space changes mainly occur in the Wuyi Mountains,Mufu Mountains,and Dabie Mountains,as well as the surrounding waters of Dongting Lake.The Yangtze River Delta’s changes were mainly observed in the eastern Dabie Mountains and Jianghuai Hills.

The development of China's Yangtze River Economic Belt:how to make it in a green way?

The Yangtze River is one of the largest and longest rivers in Asia.The river originates in the Tibet-Qinghai Plateau(headwater reach),passes through the mountainous provinces of Sichuan,Yunnan and Chongqing(upper reach),flows into the Central Plain(middle reach)and Lower Plain(lower reach),and finally empties into the East China Sea in Shanghai(estuary).The Yangtze River Economic Belt(YREB;Fig.1)has a surface area of 2.1