The 2018 restructuring of China's Ministry of Natural Resources initiated a New Era for natural resource discipline. Systematically advancing its positioning and knowledge framework has become imperative, integrating science, technology, and engineering to enhance conservation, green resource utilization, and sustainability. This study employs bibliometric analysis and literature review to systematically delineate the developmental trajectory, disciplinary positioning, knowledge system, and implementation pathways of natural resource studies. The findings reveal that natural resource discipline in China has advanced from its initial stage through systematic disciplinary development, evolving from multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches into a transdisciplinary field. It has now established a natural resource-centered knowledge system, underpinned by theoretical foundations in formation mechanisms, sustainability, efficiency, and property rights. The discipline integrates survey and monitoring, evaluation, simulation modeling, and policy analysis to address applications spanning territorial spatial planning, resource asset management, protected area systems, and engineering project development. The establishment of the Ministry of Natural Resources and clarification of its "Two Unifications" responsibilities, alongside reforms of natural resource asset property rights systems and unified territorial spatial planning policies, have invigorated the discipline. The field will now integrate practical needs to enhance disciplinary development, talent cultivation, and career pathways. As the knowledge system continues to be refined, the knowledge system of natural resource discipline in China will provide a robust theoretical foundation for the construction of a beautiful China and global sustainable development. Moreover, this discipline will continue to address societal demands for the utilization, protection, development, and management of natural resources by cultivating high-quality talent. In the future, professionals in natural resource discipline will integrate science, technology and engineering through transdisciplinary approaches to address national priorities directly. Leveraging artificial intelligence, big data, and blockchain technologies, they will advance Beautiful China initiatives and contribute to global sustainable development goals while tackling emerging resource challenges.
With the development of digital technology, the construction of digital teaching resources has become an important topic in the field of professional education. This paper addresses the challenges faced by territorial spatial planning education in key areas in the New Era and explores the integrated construction of digital teaching resources for Introduction to Territorial Spatial Planning based on the virtual teaching and research office. The aim is to break the boundaries of traditional education and achieve the co-construction and sharing of high-quality teaching resources. The specific construction contents are as follows: (1) A systematic resource integration and construction model is established. It takes the knowledge graph as the core framework, and combines printed and digital materials as the presentation form of new textbooks, and uses smart courses for scenario-based demonstration. This model realizes the comprehensive digital transformation of teaching resources and the efficient co-construction and sharing of these resources. By leveraging the knowledge graph, the relationships between various knowledge points in the curriculum can be clearly presented, so as to facilitate students' understanding and teachers' organization of teaching content. The combination of printed and digital textbooks provides students with more flexible learning materials, and the smart courses offer real-world scenarios for students to apply their knowledge. (2) A cross-school collaboration mechanism is constructed. Teachers from multiple majors and industry experts cooperate to carry out the construction and sharing of digital teaching resources. This collaboration leads to the innovation of teaching models and the diversification of learning methods. Teachers from different schools can bring in their unique teaching experiences and perspectives, while industry experts can provide practical cases and the latest industry trends. Students can thus benefit from a more comprehensive and up-to-date teaching. (3) A knowledge iteration and problem feedback mechanism is built. This mechanism ensures the effectiveness and sustainability of the integrated construction of digital teaching resources. As the field of territorial spatial planning is constantly evolving, the teaching resources need to be updated in a timely manner. Feedback from students and teachers enables the identification of instructional challenges while facilitating evidence-based refinement of digital teaching materials.
Since the dawn of the 21st century, global sustainable development has faced a multitude of significant challenges, including resource scarcity and environmental degradation. In response to the demands of global sustainable development and the construction of ecological civilization in China, Tsinghua University established Xiuzhong College in 2023, aimed at nurturing future leaders in global green development among undergraduate students. The Introduction to Resource Science course has been designated as a core foundational course within Xiuzhong College, emphasizing interdisciplinary learning. This course is designed to foster systematic thinking and interdisciplinary approaches among students, encouraging them to seek knowledge and engage in exploration. It aims to develop their habits and abilities for independent inquiry, problem identification, analysis, and resolution, while instilling a sense of belonging and cultivating values and methodologies centered on sustainable development. The program aspires to create a harmonious relationship between humanity and nature, as well as a shared destiny for all people, promoting a broad and inclusive mindset. To achieve these objectives, the curriculum is structured to encapsulate the core values and methodologies of sustainable development, gradually fostering a community that bridges human existence with the natural world. Drawing from the cultivation goals and experiences of similar courses at other institutions, it is proposed that the content of resource science be organized into a comprehensive, three-dimensional, interconnected knowledge framework encompassing resource dimensions, process dimensions, and evaluation dimensions. This approach encourages a multifaceted examination of resource issues through the lenses of economic, social, and ecological contexts, utilizing this methodology to maximize the comprehensive value of resources.
With the in-depth development of resource science research and interdisciplinary integration, improving the teaching ability of natural resources has become an important issue that higher education needs to solve urgently. Based on the concept of "Mutual Promotion of Teaching and Competition", this paper analyzes the discipline characteristics, teaching requirements and teaching mode of resource science, and probes into the role of "Mutual Promotion of Teaching and Competition" mode, which combines teaching research and discipline competition, in promoting the teaching ability of natural resources. Through the analysis of the National College Students Natural Resources Science and Technology Works Competition, the positive effect of this model on improving teachers' teaching ability and students' learning ability is verified. By participating in the discipline competition, teachers can update the teaching ideas and methods in time, integrate the frontier knowledge into the classroom, and improve the teaching quality. By combining theory with practice through competition, students can develop enhanced practical problem-solving awareness and cultivate innovation capabilities. The advantages of "Mutual Promotion of Teaching and Competition" mode in improving teaching quality and stimulating innovation ability can provide reference for resource science teaching reform.
In China, the utilisation of new quality productive forces (NQPF) and ecological restoration have become key priorities for economic and social development. Under the high-quality development context of new quality production and ecological priority, it is of great significance to explore the spatiotemporal evolution of China's NQPF and territorial space ecological restoration scale (TSERS), and to clarify the influence of NQPF on TSERS, so as to facilitate the modernized framework of harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature. Using the provincial panel data from 2005 to 2022, fixed effects, moderating effects and threshold models were used to determine the nonlinear correlation among them. Additionally, geographically and temporally weighted regression models were applied to analyze the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of factors. The results show that: (1) The centroid of China's NQPF and TSERS has shifted towards the southeast, exhibiting similar trajectories. (2) The NQPF has a significant positive promotion effect on TSERS with time-lagged impacts. (3) Land green use efficiency (LGUE) played a negative regulatory role in the impact of NQPF on the expansion of TSERS. (4) There was a double threshold for the influence of NQPF on TSERS with LGUE as the threshold variable. The influence of NQPF on the expansion of TSERS gradually decreases after crossing the threshold value. From the perspective of NQPF, protecting, restoring and improving the ecological environment can generate direct ecological productive forces, and also generate potential ecological productive forces. NQPF will certainly promote the large-scale implementation of China's territorial space ecological restoration and stimulate the development of potential ecological productive forces in this nation. The study shows that China's NQPF has a positive promotion effect on the territorial space ecological restoration, and the development of new qualitative productivity is conducive to the promotion of new qualitative transformations in territorial space ecological restoration.
As a unique spatial governance mechanism in China, the Major Function Oriented Zone (MFOZ) plays a crucial role in coordinating territorial space development and protection. However, it reveals limitations in effectively supporting the new development paradigm under the evolving requirements of regional coordination and high-quality development. To enhance the systematic integration of MFOZ planning into the territorial spatial planning system, this study conducts an in-depth analysis of its functional orientation, policy framework, and spatial governance logic. Through clarifying the theoretical connections between "Double Evaluation" and MFOZ, we establish an evaluation system encompassing three core dimensions: ecological services, agricultural production, and urban development. The proposed methodology integrates dominant factor identification with adaptive refinement to formulate spatial adjustment strategies. By synthesizing natural resource endowments and socioeconomic development factors, this research develops an optimized technical framework for MFOZ delineation. Taking Guangdong province as a case study, we implement functional index evaluation and propose spatially differentiated adjustment schemes based on regional characteristics. The findings provide theoretical and practical references for MFOZ optimization in regional spatial planning systems.
To safeguard national ecological security and optimize territorial spatial planning, the Chinese government has introduced and implemented the ecological red line (ERL) strategy. Since the delineation of ERL was completed in 2022, ensuring effective and sustainable long-term management has become a critical challenge. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the fundamental logic, conceptual framework, and implementation pathways of ERL management. The findings indicate that although the ERL delineates explicit spatial boundaries in territorial spatial planning, effective management requires adherence to three key principles: baseline thinking, systematic thinking, and flexible thinking. It is crucial not only to focus on the internal protection of ecological functions but also to consider ecological synergy with surrounding areas. Additionally, while strict regulatory enforcement is essential, management strategies must balance ecological conservation with socio-economic development needs. Given the complexity of coordinating ecological protection across diverse regions and stakeholders, a structured approach to ERL management is essential. To achieve this, the management framework should at least encompass three levels: protecting critical ecological spaces by strictly controlling land-use changes and minimizing human disturbances, optimizing ecological security patterns through the restoration and enhancement of ecosystem functions, and enhancing ecosystem services to maximize their long-term environmental and economic benefits. Furthermore, an integrated governance support system is necessary to ensure effective implementation. This system should include legal mechanisms to establish regulatory authority, define responsibilities, and enforce compliance; administrative measures to strengthen spatial planning supervision, land-use control, and ecosystem restoration initiatives; and technological innovations such as remote sensing monitoring, ecological assessment models, and early warning systems to enhance real-time oversight and adaptive management. Ultimately, the implementation of ERL management is a comprehensive, systematic, complex, and long-term task.
Establishing the China Spatial Planning Observation Network (CSPON) is not only the essential to ensure the operation of the territorial spatial planning system but also the key support for the digital transformation of spatial governance. It is the current requirement from spatial planning system establishment, urban development mode transformation and spatial governance upgrade that the working logic of planning should transform from the origin blueprint design mode to governance mode. Towards the challenge for territorial planning system in the aspects of operation systems, reaction mode and system response, this study proposes that the CSPON should transform the logic of planning practice from feed-forward to rear-feed control and from information production to information use. In the logic of activity perception, planning backtracking and system feedback, emphasis should be put on the relation between planning and spatial activities, planning and systems, to establish three application scenarios including the overall real-time observation on territorial spatial activities, the self-adjustment of the territorial spatial planning and systematic responses in the joint effort of territorial spatial planning and the governing bodies, which could make up the whole loop of digital spatial governance together with blueprint design logic consisting of system recognition, planning establishment and status evaluation.
As a pivotal institutional innovation within China's ecological civilization reform, the national park system plays a critical role in enhancing biodiversity conservation, improving environmental quality, and safeguarding national ecological security. Enhancing ecosystem health in national parks contributes significantly to both ecological security and human well-being. Based on the Vitality-Organization-Resilience (VOR) model, this study explored the spatio-temporal variation characteristics of ecosystem vitality, ecosystem organization, ecosystem resilience and ecosystem health in the first batch of national parks from 2000 to 2023. The results show that: (1) From 2000 to 2023, except for the slight decrease in the ecosystem health level of Wuyishan National Park (WYM), the ecosystem health level of the other four national parks showed an overall upward trend. Among them, Sanjiangyuan National Park (SJY) showed the greatest increase in ecosystem health level, while Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park (NCTL) showed the smallest improvement. (2) The ecosystem health of SJY was dominated by medium and higher levels, while the rest of the national parks were dominated by high levels. (3) The ecosystem health level of SJY presented a spatial distribution pattern of "low in the northwest and high in the southeast", while that of the rest of the national parks showed a trend of "high expansion and low contraction". (4) Human activities exerted both inhibitory and facilitative effects on ecosystem health improvements across China's first batch of national parks. In the future, national parks management should pay particular attention to the level of ecosystem health in areas that are vulnerable to human activities.
Promoting rural revitalization is a major task for realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and identifying the types of rural settlement development and formulating targeted development countermeasures are the basis and key to effectively advancing comprehensive rural revitalization. The study examines three types of rural settlements in Suzhou city: agglomeration enhancement, characteristic protection, and suburban integration. Focusing on the three key support elements for rural revitalization: ecological empowerment, transportation facilities empowerment, and public services empowerment, the study investigates the differentiation characteristics of support empowerment in rural settlements within economically developed areas at the village scale. Utilizing a spatially constrained multivariate clustering method, the study identifies development types and proposes corresponding countermeasures based on support empowerment. The study shows that: (1) Under the role of support elements such as ecological environment, transportation facilities, and public services, spatial differentiation in support empowerment is evident across Suzhou's rural settlements. Specifically, ecological elements including topography, water bodies, and forests exhibit proximity to the three settlement types, forming a ring-shaped zonal distribution; transportation facilities empowerment shows regional variation, with high values concentrated along road networks in dendritic patterns; public services empowerment displays a spatial pattern characterized by an overall sporadic point distribution, with high values adjacent to township centers. (2) Quantitative analysis of the three support elements classifies Suzhou's rural settlements into six development zones: comprehensive promotion zone, ecological promotion zone, cultural and tourism promotion zone, governance promotion zone, key governance zone, and comprehensive governance zone. Based on the development idea of "driving weak elements with advantageous elements and promoting overall improvement with local mutual promotion", the study puts forward the countermeasures for the development of Suzhou's rural settlements under the support empowerment.
Advancing the coordinated and mutually beneficial development of green development and common prosperity is an objective requirement for constructing modernization with Chinese characteristics. Based on clarifying the mechanisms of the coordinated evolution, this study employs the Haken model to quantitatively measure the relationship between green development and common prosperity and characterize the spatial and temporal patterns of the synergistic relationship between the two. Finally, the random forest model is used to analyze the driving factors affecting their coordinated evolution. The results indicate that: (1) From 2011 to 2022, China's green development efficiency and common prosperity index showed a fluctuating growth. The national green development has progressed to form a distinct northwest to southeast gradient differentiation pattern, with the Beijing and the Yangtze River Delta leading in advancing common prosperity. (2) During the study period, the level of synergy between green development and common prosperity rose significantly, presenting a spatial pattern of "stronger in the east and weaker in the west", a continuous narrowing of regional differences, and the type of synergistic evolution in each region showing phased positive development. (3) The economic foundation, industrial structure, environmental regulation, financial development and digital economy can more stably promote the benign synergy and interaction between green development and common prosperity, while the driving role of government regulation first rises and then falls. The results of the study can provide a reference for China's collaborative promotion of comprehensive economic and social green transformation and common prosperity.
Faced with the challenges of adapting to complex and diverse changing environments, the study on the adaptability of human settlement space is not only a key direction in sustainable living environment research, but also the key to resolve the conflict between people and land in natural tourist destinations. To some extent the adaptive state can reflect the complexity, heterogeneity, and sustainability of the evolution of human settlement space systems in balancing ecological protection and tourism development. Applying adaptability theory and the Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) research paradigm, this study develops an analytical framework for human settlement spaces in complex changing environments,and constructs a conceptual framework and research system for the adaptability in natural tourism destinations. On the basis of clarifying the connotation of the concept of adaptability, the research content on the assessment, characteristics, mechanisms, and effects of human settlement space adaptability has been systematically sorted out. A multidimensional adaptability evaluation system from the dimensions of ecological adaptability, functional adaptability, and subject adaptability is built. Ecological adaptability is the appropriate expression of natural space based on ecological civilization, reflecting the adaptive relationship between human settlement space and the external natural ecological environment. Functional adaptability is the multifunctionality, reflected in the balance of various functions within human settlement space constrained by limited land resources. Subjective adaptability emphasizes the agency of the subject, reflecting the adaptive behavior and internal functional transformation ability of human as the subject to respond to the external environment. On this basis, further research directions are proposed from the perspectives of theoretical updates, operational laws, comprehensive mechanisms, human well-being effects, and research methods. This article aims to enrich the research content of geography disciplines, providing scientific support and empirical models for promoting sustainable development of human settlement environment and ecological civilization construction in natural tourist destinations, as well as comprehensive rural revitalization.
Based on the comprehensive evaluation method and sensitivity model, the sensitivity of green agricultural development level to the change of grain production capacity from 2010 to 2022 was analyzed with Hubei province as an example. The findings are as follows: (1) The green agricultural development in Hubei presented an "N-shaped" change pattern, that is, the average score of resource utilization and output level decreased and the average score of environmental protection increased. (2) The grain production in the province experienced the stage of "increasing-decreasing-high yield-stable yield", and the average annual output was Central Hubei>Western Hubei>Eastern Hubei. There were different response relationships between grain production capacity and various dimensions of green agricultural development. (3) On the whole, the sensitivity of green agricultural development in the province to the change of grain production capacity decreased first and then increased, the sensitivity of resource utilization to the change of grain production capacity continued to decrease, the sensitivity of environmental protection to the change of grain production capacity continued to increase, the sensitivity of output level to the change of grain production capacity decreased first and then increased, and the number of sensitive areas fluctuated with obvious spatial differences. We should further improve the utilization efficiency of agricultural resources, enhance the capacity of green agricultural development to ensure food security, and optimize the agricultural development pattern.
The cooperation between villages and enterprises has evolved into an important pathway for capital to flow into rural areas, driving rural revitalization, and represents a model innovation for the flow of urban-rural elements and the development of county-level industries that enrich farmers. Taking Zhonghaoyu village as a case study, based on qualitative research methods and introducing the theory of community capacity, this study constructs a logical analysis framework of "resources-organization-network-governance" to examine the practical pathways and mechanisms of village-enterprise cooperation in driving common prosperity in tourism-oriented villages. The study finds that: (1) The embedding of enterprises into villages has facilitated the flow and aggregation of urban and rural resource elements, with the driving force of industrial development evolving from endogenous to collaborative both internally and externally, establishing a collaborative, co-constructed, and shared integrated development model of agriculture, culture, and tourism. (2) Village-enterprise cooperation has promoted the return of capital, labor, technology, and other elements to rural areas, enabling interactive empowerment among actors and enhancing community capacity; the embedding of enterprises into rural society has formed a dual governance model of collaborative co-governance between corporate management and rural governance, improving rural governance efficiency; through pathways such as interest alignment and fair distribution of benefits, village-enterprise cooperation has constructed a new type of rural social relationships and actor networks, driving the orderly operation of the tourism industry. (3) The collaborative cooperation between villages and enterprises has promoted the capitalization of resources, the prosperity of the tourism industry, and the empowerment and capacity enhancement of farmers, shaping a space for good rural governance and constructing an innovative development logic of "revitalizing villages through enterprises" and "enriching villages through enterprises," achieving integrated development of industry promotion, village strengthening, and farmer enrichment, and advancing the process of rural material prosperity and spiritual affluence. This study expands the application of the theory of community capacity in the field of rural common prosperity and provides practical insights for the high-quality development of capital flowing into rural areas and rural tourism.
This research reveals the impact of the spatial correlation network of rural digital transformation on agricultural carbon emission reduction, and provides a theoretical basis for promoting the spatial linkage of rural digital transformation to enable agricultural carbon sequestration and emission reduction. Based on the "efficiency equity" framework, with the help of carbon emission reduction potential model, social network analysis model and benchmark regression model, this paper explores the impact of rural digital transformation spatial correlation network on agricultural carbon emission reduction potential in 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) in China from 2011 to 2022. The results show that: (1) The rural digital transformation index has continued to grow, showing a decreasing pattern from eastern to central to western regions. (2) The agricultural carbon emission reduction potential index has fluctuated and risen, with a spatial characteristic of decreasing from central to eastern to western regions. (3) The spatial correlation network of rural digital transformation shows the polar core diffusion law of dense in the central region and decreasing layer by layer in the periphery, and the network density and correlation number fluctuate and rise. Shandong, Henan, Hubei and some other regions have high node centrality. (4) The node centrality of spatial correlation network of rural digital transformation has a significant positive impact on agricultural carbon emission reduction potential, and the impact has regional heterogeneity. In the future, it is essential to solidify a networked mindset to promote the coordinated spatial development of rural digital transformation, break down barriers to the sharing of low-carbon agricultural elements, and achieve a positive interaction between efficiency and equity in agricultural carbon emission reduction.
In the new period, the comprehensive land consolidation has been an important policy tool to promote agricultural transformation and rural revitalization. Focusing on the problem of cultivated land fragmentation, this paper aims to explain the mechanism of comprehensive land consolidation in promoting agricultural scale operation from two dimensions of resource reallocation and operating mode transformation, and then refine the path model and innovation mechanism of the comprehensive land consolidation in the case area. The research methods include theoretical analysis and exploratory case study. The research findings are as follows: Firstly, with the commercialization of household management and livelihood, the interest goal of household has changed from the pursuit of maximizing land output rate to the pursuit of maximizing labor productivity, and the labor force has been separated from agriculture or even completely withdrawn from agriculture to engage in non-agricultural employment in order to obtain higher labor remuneration, resulting in farmland abandonment or non-agriculture. This is an endogenous impulse, a process of farmers' reallocation of family resources, which objectively deconstructs the management mode of smallholder farmers, but also creates conditions for large-scale management. Secondly, the transformation and reconstruction of agricultural operation mode must deal with two major issues, the innovative allocation of resource elements (production problem) and the allocation of management surplus (accumulation problem). By establishing two links, the link between small farmers and village collectives, and the link between village collectives and new management subjects, the whole domain regulation can realize the horizontal integration and large-scale management of cultivated land. Thirdly, based on the current conditions of resources, the case town has explored a feasible path and model, guided the transformation of small farmers' decentralized management to the large-scale management of the new main body, and improved the land use efficiency and comprehensive benefits. In conclusion, the case town's practice shows that the comprehensive land consolidation can promote agricultural scale operation, the key lies in the mechanism innovation of interest linkage and profit distribution, and the related trend problems should be dealt with well.
Evaluations of urban land use economy-intensive level rarely focus on its relative performance within the urban system. Adjusting and modifying urban land use economy-intensive levels based on urban scaling laws helps to identify and quantify the potential improvement within the current urban population size more accurately. Based on the urban scaling laws and Scale-Adjusted Metropolitan Indicators (SAMIs), this paper measures the urban land use economy-intensive performance (ULUP) from 2012 to 2022, and analyzes its correlation with land input performance (LIP), land output performance (LOP) and green pollution emissions reduction performance (GEP). Results show that: (1) Urban scaling and SAMIs effectively correct the scaling effects on evaluation results, providing a more objective and quantitative measurement standard for urban land use economy-intensive level. (2) Spatial distribution patterns show that regions with high ULUP in China are concentrated in coastal regions such as the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta. In contrast, the ULUP of small and medium-sized cities in Northeast, Southwest, and Northwest China has yet to fully realize its scaling potential, indicating the potential for improvement. From 2012 to 2022, 77.4% of cities maintained stability or showed positive changes in terms of ULUP, indicating an overall trend of stabilization and steady improvement nationwide. (3) From the perspective of regional and scale heterogeneity, ULUP is relatively high in eastern China and megacities, while there is still potential for improvement in Northeast China and medium-sized cities. (4) Cities with comparable population sizes that generate higher outputs using fewer inputs while producing lower emissions demonstrate higher ULUP. This study can help correct the biases of traditional linear evaluation methods, providing a targeted framework and empirical basis for scientifically evaluating ULUP and urban efficiency, and formulating differentiated land management policies.
