River basins are a complex geospatial system integrating water security, water environment security, food security, ecological security, and economic and social development. In order to promote the construction of a new development pattern based on the path of coordination and high-quality governance of human activity space in river basins, we hereby invite ten experts in the research field of the river basins coordination and high-quality development to conduct interviews. The interview mainly focuses on three perspectives: global regulation and regional regulation, evolvement rule and coordination mode, practice mechanism and governance paradigm. It revolves three main lines: utilization of natural resources and environmental protection in river basins, coordinated development of human-earth relationship and spatial governance path in river basins, and green transformation of the industry and ecological services. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) Systematic engineering construction of resource allocation and pollution remediation in the whole scale river basins. From the perspective of the whole river basins, the efficient utilization and allocation system of water resources should focus on "reducing expenditure" and be supported by "open source". This should further optimize and enhance the river basin water resources allocation system from both engineering and non-engineering perspectives, integrating deeply into the development concept of innovation, coordination, green practices, openness, and sharing. The treatment and restoration project of river basin non-point source pollution system should focus on three aspects: improving the capacity of source monitoring and load estimation, strengthening the systematic design of treatment and restoration, and improving the collaborative management mechanism. (2) The evolution of human-earth relationship in river basins, the high-quality management of human activity space and the coordinated development of human-earth system. The evolution of river basin human-earth relationship has experienced the long time series and multi-scale local adaptation of urban and rural systems to environmental changes and cultural responses, showing typical characteristics of dynamic adaptation, multi-scale spatial correlation and historical dependence. The governance of human activity space in river basins should focus on resource factors, ecological environment protection, multi-scale and multi-dimensional linkage, and overall and specific aspects, and jointly promoting the governance of human activity space from fragmentation to integration and coordination. To promote the coordinated development of the river basin human-earth system, it is necessary to explore the interaction mechanism and influencing factors of the elements from a system thinking perspective, and to promote the system to form a rational element combination, efficient organizational structure and multi-function coordinated coupling state. This will achieve economic prosperity, social equity, and environmental protection in unity. (3) The green intensive transformation of agricultural production in river basins and the management mode of ecological resources. River basin ecosystem governance is based on the optimization of harmonious coexistence between human and nature. On the one hand, starting from the practice of pollution prevention and control, the transformation of agricultural production should adhere to the road of reducing agricultural chemical intensity and enhancing efficient resource utilization. Optimizing the layout of the cultivated land system and promoting the transformation of the cultivated land system into an innovation-intensive type can better support and serve the high-quality development of agriculture. On the other hand, the concept of river basin ecological governance has transitioned from focusing solely on ecology to emphasizing governance, where the development of systems like river chief system and eco-compensation plays a crucial role in the current stage of river basin governance. Nonetheless, the current implementation of eco-compensation in the river basins lacks a systematic framework, and a comprehensive protection pattern has not yet been formed for upstream and downstream areas, main stems, tributaries, rivers, and lakes. Moving forward, mechanism construction should align with the principles of ecological precedence and green, low-carbon development. It should establish a comprehensive roadmap and implementation strategy for eco-compensation from various angles, create diversified eco-compensation financing models, and clarify the beneficiaries, rights and responsibilities of eco-compensation and the benefit return model. In a nutshell, the viewpoints of the interview can provide theoretical reference and decision-making reference for ecological civilization construction, regional coordinated development and green development in the New Era.

Since the New Era began, China has further promoted the reform of the property rights for natural resources. This round of reform is a systematic innovation, including values, governances and mechanisms, policies, and management models, made on the Chinese path to modernization road of harmonious coexistence between man and nature. Ten experts and scholars from disciplines such as management, economics, resource science, sociology, geography, and the practical field of natural resource management explored the progress and theoretical significance of the reform. They discussed the background, problems, guidance, mechanism, policies, modes, and inspiration. Specifically, the reform of property rights for natural resource assets has significantly promoted institutional innovation in ecological civilization construction since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012. It aims to address the urgent need for sound institutional mechanisms for state-owned natural resources, including those between the central and local governments and between the government and the market. The value orientation of this round of reform is to promote the transformation of the single-factor values of natural resources into the overall values of the ecosystem. Currently, the country is optimizing the relationship between the central and local governments by promoting the pilot of the principal-agent mechanism, and clarifying the relationship between the government and the market by enhancing the role of the market. The 20th CPC Central Committee's Third Plenary Session further emphasized "improving the property rights system and management framework for natural resources", outlining the requirements and direction for reform. The reform belongs to the innovation of socialist public ownership, which has the significance of building China's independent knowledge and can also make new contributions to enriching property rights theory.

The construction of the principal-agent model for the ownership of natural resource assets owned by the whole people is an important step to implement the unified exercise of the responsibilities of resource asset owners, and it is also an inevitable requirement for further promoting the reform of the ecological civilization system. The construction of the principal-agent model includes clarifying the principal, object, nature, and operation framework and path of the model, focusing on distinguishing the subject of ownership and supervision ("two rights") and clarifying the exercise path. The results show that natural resource assets should be divided into public welfare resource assets and operational natural resource assets, and their principal-agent of ownership is realized in the form of administrative authorization and trust respectively, and the performance of the duties of the owners of operational natural resource assets is ensured to have an independent exercise subject. However, due to the intertwined responsibilities of the "two rights" held by component authorities for natural resources assets, and the high degree of overlap in their exercises subjects, the separation of the exercise of the "two rights" approached in a progressive manner. In the near future, the subjects exercising of the "two rights" should be distinguished between the institutions within the department as far as possible. In the long term, the department that performs the duties of the owner of operational natural resource assets will be separated, and a natural resources asset management committee will be established to manage matters related to natural resource assets, mainly exercising shareholder rights. To truly realize the independence and mutual cooperation of the exercise of the "two rights", it is also necessary to improve the legal basis, ascertain the physical quantity and value quantity of natural resource assets, clarify the resource list, determine the mode of revenue sharing for natural resource assets, and establish a mechanism for assessment and supervision.

In view of the five-fold dilemma caused by the economic and physical attributes of water resources ecological products, and based on literature review and connotation definition, a multi-center governance system framework for the value realization of water resources ecological products was constructed. Its design principles include the delineation of water resources property rights, the direction of water resources utilization, nested governance and development, market development and portfolio operation, the value cycle of water resources, supervision and feedback, and interest integration. Key mechanisms include providing clear ownership of water ecological products through a new system, standardizing the transaction process with credible commitments, and ensuring the realization of value through mutual supervision. Role positioning helps to clarify the functional division of each definable stakeholder, promotes the formation of a government, an effective market and a collective, and enhance the value of water resources ecological products to realize the efficient operation of a multi-center governance system. By providing a positive-sum game platform for multiple participants, the multi-center governance system addresses the conflicting interests of participants with heterogeneous institutional supply and promotes the realization of the value of water resources ecological products.

The research on land classification within agricultural space significantly falls short of meeting the practical requirements of territorial planning. Drawing upon the land use classes outlined in the "Guideline for Land Use Classification of Land Survey, Planning, and Use Control" provided by the Ministry of Natural Resources of the People's Republic of China, this study follows a logical sequence of restructuring the classification framework and then categorizing land use classes into first, second, and third levels. Consequently, a three-level land classification system for agricultural space was developed, aligning with the guideline. This system can be summarized as follows. Initially, the land use classes within agricultural space are divided into rural construction land, agricultural production land, and rural ecological land based on their primary functions. Subsequently, 14 first-level land use classes were identified through the selection, merging, and splitting of the guideline's original classes. Additionally, 85 second-level land use classes were also directly or indirectly transformed from the guideline's original classes. Notably, the agricultural production land was classified into productive, ecological, and integrated types based on their land use functions. Lastly, distinct characteristics of the rural construction land, the agricultural production land, and the rural ecological land led to the further subdivision of some second-level land use classes into third-level classes to meet the refined requirements for land use control. This new land classification system provides a detailed reflection of the intricate and varied land use practices within agricultural space, thereby satisfying the need for precise land use allocation and control in territorial planning. Furthermore, it offers a scientific foundation for the allocation of agricultural spatial elements, optimization of agricultural spatial land use layout, and the promotion of high-quality development within agricultural space.

Comprehensive land consolidation is a national spatial governance tool that practices the concept of a living community of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, and grasses. It can directly connect with the construction of rural climate adaptation capacity. However, few studies have been conducted from this perspective. Using literature review, theoretical analysis, and inductive deduction methods, this article attempts to explore the integration of comprehensive land consolidation and rural adaptation to climate change, as well as systematically explain the impact path and evaluation framework of comprehensive land consolidation on rural climate change adaptation. It will help to better understand the rich connotations of comprehensive land consolidation and assist in sustainable rural development. The main research findings are as follows: (1) In the practical process, comprehensive land consolidation has formed a linkage system of "planning, consolidation, and operation", which has the characteristics of multi-functionality and spatial constructions, enabling it to be embedded in the cultivation system of rural adaptation capacity to climate change. It can develop into a cross-departmental spatial governance tool in responding to natural disaster risks from the perspective of rural adaptation to climate change. (2) The comprehensive land consolidation and rural adaptation to climate change forms an interactive relationship named Tool-Field-Habit. The comprehensive land consolidation tool affects the rural climate adaptability through the chain of "climate adaptation and shaping of rural spatial field and the formation of climate adaptation habits of multiple subjects", specifically forming a differentiated impact path for the rural agricultural management system, the rural human settlements system and the rural ecosystem. (3) A framework for assessing the impact of comprehensive land remediation on rural climate change adaptation, with "resilience potential" as the core, has been established. Among them, rural climate resilience assessment is the foundation, and the difference between rural climate resilience before and after remediation is the impact potential. The study has opened up a new theoretical research perspective for understanding the relationships and impact paths between comprehensive land consolidation and rural climate change adaptation, and can provide theoretical reference for promoting sustainable development in rural areas under the background of climate change adaptation.

Cultivated land protection not only improves agricultural production capacity in quality, but also expands production space in quantity. The grain production capacity released by "improving quality and expanding capacity" of cultivated land is of great significance to ensuring food security. A partial equilibrium model is used to simulate the effects of high-standard farmland construction, black soil protection and comprehensive utilization of saline-alkali soil on grain production. The results show that, by 2030, (1) high-standard farmland construction will increase grain yield by 4%, reduce carbon emissions by 3.8%, and the production-increasing effect of upgrading is greater than that of new construction. (2) Black soil protection will significantly increase corn and soybean yields. If 50% of black soil protection areas adopt the corn and soybean rotation technology model, soybean yields will increase by 1.9%-5.8%. (3) The comprehensive utilization of saline-alkali soil will further release the potential for increasing grain production, and the effect of investment in upgrading saline-alkali soil is greater than that of new high-standard farmland, but it will still face multiple challenges such as water resource constraints and difficulty in development and utilization. In the future, we should attach great importance to the protection of the quantity and quality of cultivated land, pay attention to the comprehensive utilization of saline-alkali soil, and promote the improvement and expansion of cultivated land resources, so as to consolidate the foundation of food security.

Food security is the most important for China. However, we often see abnormal phenomena such as "main grain-producing counties with low economic level", and "larger grain output with less income of farmers". In view of the lack of research on the resources curse of grain and farmland, and the lack of quantitative analysis of the impact of resource abundance on residents' income, in this paper, we use the method in combination of the provincial and county scale analysis to carry out the empirical test of China's relationship between farmland & grain abundance and households' income on the basis of collected respectively panel data of 31 provincial-level regions in 2001-2021 and 2843 counties in 2014-2021. The paper also analyzes the spatial difference of the suppression degree of the farmland & grain abundance on the income of the residents in the provincial and county scales, and reveals its influence mechanism by using econometric model. The results show that: (1) The farmland & grain of the main grain-producing areas has a significant suppression effect on the income of rural and urban residents. (2) The farmland & grain abundance has a different degree of suppression effect on the income of more than 70% of the rural and urban residents in the provincial scale, and 56.81% of the rural residents and 64.09% of the urban residents in the county scale, among which 8.58% of the rural residents and 10.06% of the urban residents in the counties reach the "serious suppression" and "extremely-serious suppression" levels. (3) The abundance of grain does not obviously promote the development of the primary industry in the main grain-producing areas, but increases the dependence of the primary industry on grain, and it also obviously inhibits the development of the sectors of the secondary and tertiary industries. Based on the above, this paper proposes countermeasures to solve the problem.

The agricultural heritage embodies multiple values, including social, cultural, economic, and ecological dimensions. Unearthing and leveraging these functions are of paramount significance for narrowing the rural-urban income gap and fostering common prosperity. This study employs a quasi-natural experiment framework, treating the establishment of agricultural heritage projects between 2013 and 2021 across 62 counties in Zhejiang province as such. Employing propensity score matching and difference-in-differences methodologies (PSM-DID), the analysis scrutinizes the impact of agricultural heritage project establishment on the common prosperity level in heritage sites. The findings reveal that the establishment of agricultural heritage projects significantly stimulates the common prosperity levels in the designated areas, and over time, the policy effects become increasingly pronounced. Mechanism analyses indicate that heightened non-farm employment and industrial integration serve as significant pathways for agricultural heritage sites to generate a common prosperity effect. Heterogeneity analyses revealed that agricultural heritage projects had a stronger impact on increasing levels of common prosperity in regions with higher grades of heritage type and better economic development. It is recommended to fully explore the diverse resource advantages of agricultural cultural heritage and implement differentiated policies for its protection and development to enhance its vitality and contribute to common prosperity.

Cultivated land consolidation suitable for agricultural mechanization is a crucial pathway to promote high-quality agricultural development in hilly and mountainous areas. Taking Chongqing city as the study area, this paper firstly establishes the evaluation index system of cultivated land ecological security level, and then calculates and predicts the spatiotemporal variations of cultivated land ecological security levels before and after the implementation of the cultivated land consolidation suitable for agricultural mechanization by using the radial basis function model. Finally, this paper identifies the dominant limiting factors, and subsequently proposes some improvement paths of cultivated land ecological security level in hilly and mountainous areas facing the land consolidation suitable for agricultural mechanization. The results show that: (1) From 2010 to 2020, the ecological security level of cultivated land in the study area exhibits a U-shaped trend with an initial decline followed by an increase. Spatially, it presents a significant distribution pattern of "high in the east and low in the west". (2) The prediction results show that there is a gradual upward trend of cultivated land ecological security level from 2021 to 2025, increasing from 0.53 to 0.54. (3) In the early stage of land consolidation, the dominant limiting factors include the internal production and ecological condition of cultivated land, such as slope and landscape pattern index. During the implementing process of land consolidation, the destructive impact of the land consolidation project on the surface vegetation is a dominant limiting factor affecting cultivated land ecological security. In the end stage of land consolidation, imbalanced allocation of agricultural production factors, such as labor and total agricultural machinery power, becomes the dominant limiting factors for cultivated land ecological security. Guided by the concept of "Two Mountains", we should improve the eco-construction of cultivated land based on the life cycle of land consolidation, and adopt some region-specific strategies. The paper can provide the scientific references for implementing the "Three Integrations" requirements for cultivated land protection as well as realizing ecological civilization of cultivated land utilization in hilly and mountainous areas.

The assessment and prediction of watershed ecological security (ES) provides support for the construction and optimization of the ES pattern, which is an effective means for ecosystem management and decision-making. Here, we established an ES assessment framework from three dimensions of ecological risk, ecosystem health, and ecosystem services to reveal the spatio-temporal distribution of ES in the Huaihe River Basin (HRB) of China, from 2000 to 2020. We identified key internal and external factors affecting ES and predicted potential risk zones using the patch-generating land use simulation model. The results indicated that the ES in the HRB showed an increasing and then decreasing trend from 2000 to 2020, with an overall distribution pattern of high in the northeast-southwest and low in the northwest-southeast. Relatively safe level and generally safe level had the largest percentage of the study area (both above 30%), and both transfer the most area. Internal factors of ES (i.e., risk, health, and service factors) were influential than external factors (i.e., natural and socio-economic factors), largely due to regulating ecosystem service and human footprint factors. The ES status of the HRB in 2030 declined compared with that in 2020, with significant spatial changes in safe level in the mountainous and hilly areas of the northeast and the farming-forest interface of the southwest. Our findings are not only an important complement to existing studies on ES assessment and prediction, but also a guide to the ecological security construction of the HRB.

In this paper, we use the multi-regional input-output model to calculate the embodied energy intensity of fishery in countries along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (MSR) and embodied energy in fishery trade among countries along the MSR. On this basis, we construct the embodied energy flow network in fishery trade among countries along the MSR, measure the network characteristics with the complex network analysis method, and quantitatively analyze the influencing factors of the network through the QAP regression model. The results show that: (1) The indirect energy intensity of fishery is the major component of the embodied energy intensity of fishery, and the improvement of energy use efficiency of fishery in countries along the MSR is primarily attributed to the reduction of the indirect energy intensity of fishery in these countries. Fossil energy is the main energy used both directly and indirectly in fishery production in countries along the MSR, while the energy sector and transport sector are the major sectoral sources of indirect energy use in fishery production in countries along the MSR. (2) The scale and density of the embodied energy flow network in fishery trade among countries along the MSR are relatively stable, and the network shows the characteristics of complexity and the small world. There are disequilibrium characteristics in the nodes of the embodied energy flow network in fishery trade among countries along the MSR, and the high-strength nodes account for more than 80% of the total embodied energy flow of the network. (3) Block model analysis shows that the "two-way spillover" plate with Asian countries (excluding West Asia) as the main body and the "net spillover" plate with South Africa as the core play a leading role in the network, and the "net benefit" plate with West Asian countries and African countries as the main body plays the role of "beneficiary", which is in a marginal position in the network, while the "broker" plate of Mediterranean European countries as the main body plays an intermediating and bridging role in the network. (4) The QAP regression results show that driven by factors such as the economic development level, fishery trade, fishery embodied energy intensity, resource endowment, and trade cost, the embodied energy flow network in fishery trade among countries along the MSR tends to be complex and stable. Among them, differences in the economic development level have the greatest impact on the embodied energy flow network in fishery trade among countries along the MSR. There are differences in the effects of influencing factors on different plates.

As a key means to implement the multiple goals of water ecological civilization construction, it is particularly important to explore the relationship between sponge city construction and urban water ecological environment. The article examines the improvement effect of the pilot policy on urban water ecological environment by using entropy method to measure the water ecological environment quality of each city and through a multi-period difference in differences (DID) method based on panel data from 284 cities in China from 2010 to 2020. The propensity score matching-difference in differences (PSM-DID) model was further validated. The research results indicate that the implementation of the national sponge city construction pilot policy can significantly promote the improvement of urban water ecological environment quality, and remains valid under a series of robustness tests. There is significant urban and regional heterogeneity in the improvement effects of pilot policy on urban water ecological environment. In the central and eastern regions and larger cities, the pilot policy has a more significant positive impact on improving the quality of urban water ecological environment. The research results have important policy benefits and reference value for promoting the sponge city construction throughout the region to create a beautiful urban water ecological environment.

In order to reveal the spatiotemporal distribution patterns and influencing mechanisms of soil labile organic carbon (LOC) in the reclamation area of opencast coal mines, we selected nine different vegetation combinations and sample plots spanning four reclamation years from the soil dumping grounds in the Pingshuo opencast mining area, using an undisturbed elm forest as a control area. We employed one-way ANOVA to investigate the distribution patterns of soil LOC within the sample plots. Furthermore, we explored the influencing factors of soil LOC using Structural Equation Modeling and Redundancy analysis methods. and further examined the functional relationship between soil physicochemical properties and soil LOC through regression analysis. The results indicate that: (1) Soil LOC in various areas has obvious surface aggregation characteristics and the trend decreases with the increase of soil depth. (2) Land reclamation can significantly increase soil LOC content, but significant differences in soil LOC exist under various reclamation modes, with mixed forests>original landforms>pure forests, and the Pinus tabulaeformis×Robinia pseudoacacia×Elm tree combination demonstrating the most effective restoration compared to other soil LOC. (3) Soil LOC significantly increases with reclamation time, and the recovery rate of soil LOC is higher than that of soil organic carbon, but even after 26 years, LOC/SOC levels do not reach those of the original landform. (4) Direct factors affecting soil LOC are soil physicochemical properties>soil depth>reclamation time>reclamation mode. (5) The overall explanatory power of soil environmental factors for soil LOC is 68.52%. The order of explanatory power is clay>available potassium>soil moisture content>sand>pH>powder>alkaline nitrogen>bulk density>available phosphorus. The explanatory power of clay particles, available potassium, and water content for LOC is higher than other factors. The above results indicate that multi-level and diversified vegetation planting strategies should be adopted during vegetation reconstruction, with an appropriate increase in the proportion of local advantageous vegetation and attention paid to protecting the original microbial community of the reclaimed land. At the same time, improving soil texture and strengthening water and fertilizer management are key to promoting ecological restoration in mining areas. The above research can provide carbon sequestration and sink enhancement proposals and corresponding theoretical support for the reclamation of opencast mining areas.