In the complex human and water adaptation process, river basins have become the containers and links that nurture human civilization and witness the evolution of urban and rural areas. River basin habitats refer to the adaptive systems formed by the interaction and coevolution of river basin and human settlement, characterized by integrity, dynamism, and synergy. From the multi-disciplinary common problems, the river basin habitats (riv-habitats) science encompasses three key issues: element coupling, scale correlation, and system evolution. It refines the theoretical model of the "node-setting-connection" structural theory and the "locality-adaptation" evolutionary theory and also improves a new paradigm of interdisciplinary approach and artificial intelligence for river basin habitats. As an interdisciplinary field that adapts to the needs of the times and that aims at the sustainable development goal of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature, riv-habitats science comprehensively applies the knowledge and methods of multiple disciplines to carry out interdisciplinary systematic research on river basin habitats, which will contribute to the ecological civilization and high-quality development and construction of river basins in the New Era.

The patterns of territorial spatial development determine the dynamic carbon balance in regional terrestrial ecosystems. In the context of global "carbon neutrality" and China's new urbanization transformation, it is urgent to establish development patterns that enhance terrestrial ecosystems' carbon sink capacity. To this end, the study establishes a systematic cognitive framework for the carbon balance effects of land use under urbanization. It proposes a "direct-indirect-potential" typology for the impact of urbanization-induced land use changes on terrestrial ecosystems' carbon cycling. To achieve the goal of carbon sequestration and increase in terrestrial ecosystems, the study explores the inherent logic of low-carbon optimization in territorial spatial layout. It also deconstructs the governance dimensions of low-carbon optimization in territorial spatial layout concerning "quantity, spatial layout, and spatial utilization". Finally, the study proposes policy instruments and improvement suggestions for supporting low-carbon adjustments in territorial spatial layout. In conclusion, the study's first contribution is the enhancement of low-carbon thinking in territorial spatial development and utilization. Secondly, it broadens the research path for low-carbon optimization in territorial space. The study highlights the positive role of territorial spatial layout optimization and governance in achieving regional "carbon neutrality" goals.

Since the implementation of reform and opening up policy in 1978, the combined effects of cross-border cooperation, population movement and urbanization in the border areas have exacerbated land-use conflicts. Border areas are facing the unbalanced development in terms of the differences in geostrategic environments, resource endowments, and economic development. With an aim to achieve the optimal allocation of regional territorial resources and balanced development, it is crucial that the laws of spatial differences in territorial spatial evolution and its driving mechanisms under different development gradients can be scientifically identified. Using 45 border areas in China as examples, this study analyzed the evolution process and influencing factors of the "production-living-open-ecological" space by applying models such as territorial spatial dynamics, land-use transfer matrix and geodetector. The results showed that: (1) From 1980 to 2020, the production, living and open space in Chinese border areas expanded while the ecological space shrank. The structure of "one belt, three zones and multiple points" revealed the dramatic pattern. Given that the spatial composition of the border areas is dominated by the terrestrial ecological space composed of mountains, rivers and potential ecological space, the border zone holds tremendous value and potential including the ecological value and the service capacity. (2) The conflicts of territorial space in the border areas mainly occurred during the urbanization and opening to the outside world when the population and industrial agglomeration promote the mutual transformation, competition and integration between different spaces. The conversion type of territorial space was mainly the interconversion of production space, open space and ecological space. Consequently, the conflicts would lead to the increasingly significant regional differences. (3) The driving factors affecting different territorial spatial changes have varying effects, with economic dynamics and opening to the outside world being the main influencing factors for territorial spatial evolution in the border areas. Therefore, the relevant government departments from the border areas should comprehensively consider the characteristics of different regions, leverage their geographic advantages, and formulate differentiated zoning and regulatory strategies to promote the efficient utilization of territorial space and achieve the high-quality regional development.

As an ecosystem composed of natural and human elements, a watershed is a geographical area that maintains the balance within its ecosystem. It is also an area of highly sensitive relationship between anthropogenic impacts and the associated environment. A healthy watershed ecosystem is the basis for the survival and sustainable livelihoods of rural residents in the watershed. It can also provide ecological services that meet the requirements of nature and people. The eco-compensation of a watershed and sustainable livelihoods of its rural residents, is an organic whole that is interconnected and infiltrated. Only through the effective interaction of the two, can the ecosystem service function of the basin improve, and the sustainable economic and social development of the basin be promoted. This study systematically organizes and displays the development context of research results on the interaction between watershed eco-compensation and sustainable livelihoods of rural residents. The results of the study showed that: (1) Research on the interaction between watershed eco-compensation and sustainable livelihoods of rural residents is becoming increasingly abundant. Additionally, existing research focuses mainly on time or space cross-section,while the analyses on the process, characteristic and mechanism of the interaction between the two are rarely carried out from a time series perspective. It is urgent to study the interaction between them. (2) Considering both ecological civilization strategy and rural revitalization strategy proposed by Chinese Government, the overall system concept and the collaborative "win-win" idea should be used to understand the logic, process, effect and mechanism of the interaction between watershed eco-compensation and sustainable livelihoods of rural residents. It is necessary to explore an approach to a sustainable livelihood of rural residents within the spatial context of the basin, which can improve their self-development ability and achieve their self-sustainable livelihood outputs. (3) In response to new problems from the interaction between watershed eco-compensation and the sustainable livelihoods of rural residents, it has become necessary to strengthen "socio-economicalization" research on watershed eco-compensation, as well as "geographicalization" research on the sustainable livelihoods of residents in the watershed. The cross-integration of geography, economics, environmental science, ecology, sociology, demographics, catchment management and other disciplines factors, are inevitable in the interactive research of the two. The research results provide a scientific basis for alleviating the contradiction between the economic and social development of the watershed, and the ecological protection of the environment, and thereafter improving the function of the watershed ecosystem and promoting sustainable development of the watershed.

Peri-urban areas is a priority for urban-rural integrated development. Comprehensive land consolidation is an effective policy tool to address urban-rural development dilemmas in peri-urban areas, and its study is vital for urban-rural integration. Based on the symbiosis theory, this study puts forward the mechanism and model of comprehensive land consolidation to promote the integrated development of urban and rural areas in peri-urban areas. It has been shown that: (1) Urban-rural symbiotic systems include symbiotic units, environments, models, and interfaces. The main obstacles to the realization of symbiotic peri-urban systems are the non-equilibrium development in the symbiotic units, the unequal mobility of the elements in the symbiotic environment, and the asymmetry and non-reciprocity of the symbiotic models. (2) Comprehensive land consolidation reshapes the symbiotic environment through the flow of elements, reconstructs the symbiotic units through spatial reconstruction, and drives the symbiotic model through functional promotion, which is the symbiotic interface that drives the evolution of urban-rural systems to symmetric and reciprocal benefits. (3) The core concept of the symmetrical and reciprocal urban-rural integration model in peri-urban areas is the equivalence of urban-rural life, economic reciprocity, and ecological sharing. The model includes urban agriculture, characteristic industry, leisure tourism, rural complex, and liveable community. (4) Huangqiao street invigorates urban-rural elements, optimizes urban-rural spatial planning, promotes urban-rural function, and forms an urban-rural integration model with characteristic industries through comprehensive land consolidation. The results provide a scientific basis for further promoting coordinated urban-rural integration and comprehensive land consolidation.

Against the backdrop of China's poverty reduction strategy shifting from eliminating absolute poverty to alleviating relative poverty, identifying the impact of poverty alleviation relocation on the well-being of farmers in mountainous areas can help optimize subsequent support policies, achieve effective connection between consolidating and expanding poverty alleviation achievements and rural revitalization, and achieve common prosperity. Based on survey data of farmers in Pingya Tibetan Township, Longnan Mountainous Area. After evaluation of the subjective and objective well-being of farmers before and after relocation, quantile regression analysis is used to analyze the impact of poverty alleviation relocation on the comprehensive well-being of farmers. The results showed that: Both the subjective and objective well-being of farmers have shown an upward trend after relocation. The material support provided by poverty alleviation relocation has significantly promoted the improvement of farmers' comprehensive well-being at different quantiles, and financial subsidies have significantly promoted the improvement of farmers' comprehensive well-being at 0.25 and 0.50 quantiles. The effect of employment support on the comprehensive well-being of farmers showed an inverted "U" shape change. Additionally, as the comprehensive well-being improved, the endogenous motivation of farmers also played a promoting role. However, the household dependency ratio had an inhibitory effect on the improvement of comprehensive well-being of farmers. Finally, targeted measures and suggestions were proposed to enhance the well-being of relocated farmers in mountainous areas who have undergone poverty alleviation.

Based on the tracking survey data of 500 poverty-alleviated households in mountainous areas of Guizhou, this study empirically examines the mechanism by which the construction of high-standard farmland promotes income growth for poverty-alleviated households from the perspectives of resource endowment improvement, agricultural production aggregation, and scale effects using a double difference fixed effects model. The results indicate that: (1) The fragmented nature of cultivated land in mountainous areas hinders the large-scale planting of high-standard farmland, but centralized agricultural machinery services save labor input, utilize fallow land resources, and expand income sources. (2) Annual damage to high-standard farmland in mountainous areas due to disasters leads to seasonal growth in wage income for poverty-alleviated households through repeated repairs, prompting households to value the limited land resources for ensuring food security and strengthening their willingness to return to hometowns for work. (3) In mountainous areas, the use of agricultural machinery is more significant for daily maintenance, disaster prevention, and replanting than for cultivation and harvesting, and labor substitution through machinery can promote the scale of farming practices. Therefore, the construction of high-standard farmland in mountainous areas should focus on the characteristics of impoverished households having barren land resources and being located in mountainous areas, utilize agricultural machinery services, diversify income sources, overcome limitations on scaling cultivation, and achieve the scale of operational models.

Rural villages within remote and disadvantaged agricultural areas are more vulnerable to the adverse impacts of environmental change and more difficult to recover, while enhancing the resilience of the human settlements system is a powerful way to get rid of the adverse impacts and to realize the transformation and revitalization of rural areas. This study deconstructed the resilience of RHSS in traditional agricultural areas into three dimensions, that is buffer capacity, adaptive capacity, and transformation and innovation capacity, and constructed the framework for RHSS resilience. Further, the study constructed an index system for assessing the resilience of RHSS in traditional agricultural areas of the Loess Plateau, and carried out a village-scale empirical study with 62 sample villages in Jiaxian county, Northern Shaanxi province. Based on the first-hand information obtained from the field survey, the spatial differentiation characteristics and the key factors of RHSS resilience were revealed by using Arcgis spatial analysis, the contribution model, and the obstacle model. The study found that: Firstly, the proportion of villages in the study area with resilience in RHSS below 0.5 reached 61.29%. As for the subsystems, the resilience of the natural ecosystem is generally higher than that of the socio-economic system and the support system, while there are large spatial differences in the resilience of the support system. Secondly, the resilience of the RHSS in the study area is mainly derived from the adaptive capacity dimension of the natural ecosystem and support system, and the buffering capacity dimension of the socio-economic system. The transformation and innovative capacity, which is of transformational significance, is extremely low and highly spatially differentiated, and an obstacle to the formation of the resilience of the socio-economic and the support systems in more than 85% of the villages. Thirdly, among the key indicators for the formation of the resilience of the RHSS in the study area, the contributors are ecological service experience, sense of community, neighborhood friendliness, and community management services, while the barriers are agro-cultural landscapes, family farms, agricultural cooperatives, cultural heritage support, and logistics and delivery services.

Government intervention and non-agricultural employment would have an important impact on the welfare inequality of peasant households having transferred out farmland. Based on the survey data of the 553 peasant households having transferred out farmland in Shanxi, the welfare levels of these households under government-intervened farmland transfer were measured, and their welfare inequality having transferred out farmland of different types of government intervention was compared and analyzed. The method of Kakwani index, IV approach and Quantile Regression Model were adopted in analyzing the influence of different types of government intervention and non-agricultural employment on the welfare inequality of peasant households having transferred out farmland. The results show that the overall welfare of the peasant households having transferred out farmland was slightly improved under the government-intervened farmland transfer, but the welfare of health, social security and environmental declined. The increase of welfare inequality of such households under government-dominated farmland transfer was greater than that of the peasant households under government-serviced farmland transfer. The government-dominated farmland transfer significantly expanded the welfare inequality of the peasant households having transferred out farmland, while non-agricultural employment significantly alleviated this phenomenon, and non-agricultural employment had a negative moderating effect on the relationship between government intervention types and welfare inequality of the peasant households having transferred out farmland. The government-dominated farmland transfer expanded the welfare inequality of peasant households having transferred out farmland who previously had a large welfare gap with others, and the non-agricultural employment alleviated the welfare inequality of peasant households having transferred out farmland who previously had a narrow welfare gap with others. When the government intervenes in the farmland transfer, it should establish a monitor system and a early warning mechanism of the welfare levels and welfare inequality of peasant households having transferred out farmland, prudently promote the government-dominated farmland transfer, rationally utilizing the regulating role of non-agricultural employment, and strengthening the welfare security of peasant households having transferred out farmland who had a large welfare gap with others.

Paying attention to labor transfer market and grassland transfer market is one of the important ways to encourage farmers to reduce livestock. Based on the survey data of 393 households in 6 townships of Henan Mongolian Autonomous county in, Qinghai province, OLS regression model was adopted to quantitatively analyze the current situation of labor transfer market and grassland transfer market in pastoral areas, and empirically study the influence of non-pastoral employment and grassland transfer on livestock reduction behavior of pastoral households, and further examine the heterogeneity of the influence. The results showed that the non- pastoral employment level of labor force in pastoral areas was relatively low, mainly local non- pastoral employment, and the grassland transfer market was relatively perfect, so the transfer-in grassland market was more active. The empirical results showed that non- pastoral employment in other area and transfer-out of grassland had significant livestock reduction effects, and the livestock reduction effects were more obvious for younger and more educated pastoral households. At the same time, the higher the non-pastoral employment income, the more likely they are to adopt the behavior of reducing livestock. Therefore, increasing the non-pastoral employment income is an important way to promote livestock reduction. Finally, as a voluntary selection behavior of herders, when the grassland is freely transferred and traded among different herders, the optimal allocation of resources between different herders will be realized, and the rational distribution of the carrying amount of livestock in the herders group will be finally realized, so as to achieve the real balance between grassland and livestock.

The systematic study of the spatio-temporal coupling relationship between construction land and population serves as a theoretical basis for optimizing and adjusting policies related to construction land and population, ultimately enhancing the efficiency of land resource utilization. Utilizing four sets of census data since 1990 and multi-temporal land use remote sensing monitoring data, this study analyzes the spatial and temporal changes and coupling relationships between construction land area and population in Shanghai's urban area and its 16 administrative districts from 1990 to 2020, based on the population-construction land change rate model. The research findings are as follows: (1) Over the past 30 years, both construction land and population in Shanghai have expanded significantly, marked by intense change intensities, and exhibiting typical sprawl characteristics. (2) The population and land use changes in all 16 districts of the city simultaneously show spatial differentiation and geographic adjacency features. (3) While the intensity of changes in the suburban and outer suburban areas first increases and then decreases, some central urban areas experience a decrease in both population and land use. The results of the study reflect a phased characteristic of "compensatory initiation, expansive development, and contraction equilibrium" in the population and land use changes in Shanghai over the past 30 years. The study introduces concepts and calculation methods such as change intensity and elasticity for the first time, and incorporates geographic information to enhance result visualization. The research conclusions provide an evaluation method and value orientation for the relationship between people and land in mega-cities, offering reference for relevant policy formulation and planning.

The health of farmland system is closely related to the goal of "quantity-quality- ecology" in farmland protection, which is of great significance for ensuring sustainable development of the social economy. Therefore, this article takes the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, a major grain producing region, as an example. The farmland system health evaluation model based on system theory and ecosystem health theory is constructed. The spatiotemporal evolution of farmland system health in the study area from 2000 to 2020 is quantified using methods such as Sen-MK trend analysis, landscape pattern index, multi-scale geographic weighted regression, and GIS spatial analysis. Then, this research revealed the impact of multiple factors such as natural and socio-economic factors on the health of the farmland system. The research results indicate that: (1) From a temporal perspective, the overall health of the farmland system in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River from 2000 to 2020 showed a slight downward trend, which is related to the deterioration of the organizational structure stability and resilience of the farmland system. From a spatial perspective, the health status of the farmland system in the Northern Anhui, Northern Jiangsu, and eastern coastal areas continues to improve. The farmland in the Yangtze River Delta, Hunan, and Southern Jiangxi shows a trend of turning from poor to good, but the Jianghan Plain shows a clear deterioration trend. (2) The impact of natural environmental changes and human activities on the health of the farmland system exhibits significant spatial heterogeneity. Among them, changes in surface temperature, sunshine hours, relative humidity, and annual precipitation have a negative impact on the health of the entire farmland system in the region, while changes in annual GDP and spatial density of farmland have a positive impact on the health of the farmland system. The farmland system health assessment model constructed by this research can provide reference for constructing a "quantity-quality-ecology" performance evaluation of farmland protection. It is of great significance for improving the theoretical research of farmland system assessment and promoting regional farmland health management.

To solve the problem of high overlap between rural poverty and black soil degradation in Northeast China, it is necessary to explore the systematic strategy of integrated implementation of black soil protection and utilization and rural revitalization, and find the causal relationship behind it. Based on the analysis of the integration mechanism between the protection and utilization of black soil and rural revitalization in Northeast China, the process tracking method was used to investigate typical villages, clarify the mutual feeding path between the two, and clarify the internal causal transmission paths. The findings are as follows: (1) The two are highly unified in terms of objectives, highly integrated in terms of connotations, coordinated in terms of interests and complementary in terms of measures. (2) Analyze the mutual feeding path among the driving mechanism, linking mechanism and boosting mechanism, requiring to promote the integration and optimization of the factor layer, the intermediary link of the policy layer, and the transformation and improvement of the resource layer. (3) The development process of the three types of villages-factor driven, policy oriented and resource empowered-have differentiated causal transmission paths. The results show that it is necessary to support the overall development of black soil resources from four aspects: protecting the background of black soil resources, accelerating the driving of production factors, perfecting the policy coordination mechanism, and adopting differentiated development paths.

Grassland carbon sink/source is an important part of carbon budget and carbon balance in vegetation ecosystem. Distinguishing the response of carbon sink and carbon source to climate change can provide a scientific basis for reducing sources and increasing sinks. Based on MODIS NPP data and the soil respiration model, we quantified the spatial and temporal variability of Net Ecosystem Productivity (NEP) and carbon sink/source patterns in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) grassland ecosystem from 2001 to 2019, and analyzed the impact of climate change on grassland carbon sink/source using path analysis. The results show that the NEP in the grassland of the QTP presents a distribution pattern of higher in the east and lower in the west, with the average annual NEP of 54.41 g C m^-2. Most of the grassland area in the QTP has functioned as a carbon sink since 2001. The areas of carbon sink are about 72.26×10⁴ km², with an average carbon sequestration of 79.61 Tg C a^-1. The carbon source areas are about 47.82×10⁴ km², with an average carbon release of 14.26 Tg C a^-1. Over the past 19 years, the trend of NEP in grassland of the QTP has been increasing. The trend of warming and humidification in the QTP was conducive to the increase of grassland NEP and the enhancement of carbon sinks. However, the effects of warming and drying trends on NEP varied greatly in different eco-geographical region systems.

Based on the panel data of 31 provincial-level regions in China from 2004 to 2021, this paper constructs a Time-varying DID model from dual perspectives of scale and structure to examine the impact of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project (hereafter the Project) on agricultural water use in the water-receiving areas. The results show that: (1) The water supply of the project has reduced the scale and proportion of agricultural water use in the receiving areas, and the mechanism analysis of the result is the reduction of the planting area and proportion of economic crops, and the increase of the proportion of grain crops. (2) Compared with the eastern route, the negative impact of the Project on the agricultural water use in the receiving areas is more serious in the middle route areas. (3) There is an effect of "indirect return of agricultural water through water supply" of the Project, but at this stage it is neglected by the direct impact of the Project on agricultural water use in the water-receiving areas. Therefore, it is necessary to clearly understand the impact of the Project on the agricultural water use of the water-receiving areas from a strategic perspective, to strengthen the support of agricultural water use to ensure national food security, and to promote the high-quality development of follow-up projects of the Project.