The Yangtze River Economic Belt Development Strategy is a major regional development strategy after China has entered a new stage of development. The implementation has an important impact on the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Based on the panel data of prefecture-level cities from 2005-2019, this paper used the difference-in-differences method to study the effects and mechanism of the implementation of the Yangtze River Economic Belt Development Strategy on the industrial structure upgrade of this region. It was found that the implementation of the Yangtze River Economic Belt Development Strategy significantly promoted the advancement and rationalization of industrial structure in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, which was still valid after multiple robustness tests. According to the sustainable development theory, this effect was mainly achieved through three aspects: environmental regulation, innovation and infrastructure construction. Heterogeneity tests showed that the Yangtze River Economic Belt Development Strategy significantly promoted the rationalization of industrial structure in riverine cities and polluting cities, but not the advancement of industrial structure; For non-riverine cities, the Yangtze River Economic Belt Development Strategy significantly promoted the advancement of industrial structure, but not the rationalization of industrial structure; For non-polluting cities, the Yangtze River Economic Belt Development Strategy significantly promoted both the advancement and the rationalization of local industrial structure. These findings may provide theoretical support and policy enlightenment for the further implementation of the Yangtze River Economic Belt Development Strategy.

The low-carbon transformation of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration plays an important leading role in promoting high-quality development in other regions. This paper built a CO₂ emission inversion model based on nighttime lighting data, and used trend analysis, spatial autocorrelation analysis, and geographic weighted regression models to explore the temporal and spatial changes and the influencing factors of CO₂ emissions in counties of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration from 2000 to 2019. The results showed that the counties with high CO₂ emissions were located in the central regions of major cities such as Shanghai and Suzhou, while the counties with low CO2 emissions were mainly located in the southwest region. However, these counties showed a rapid upward trend since 2011. The spatial distribution of CO₂ emissions at the county level was dominated by high-high concentration and low-low concentration, with low-low concentration areas were in a trend of a continuous decreasing. The impacts of total population, per capita GDP, and total foreign capital use on CO₂ emissions was positive. The total population had the greatest impact on CO₂ emissions. The results of this paper provided scientific support for the precise implementation of emission reduction measures and higher quality integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration.

Exploring how green technology innovation drives the green and low-carbon circular development of the Yangtze River Delta is conducive to accelerating the realization of the high-quality integrated development goal of the Yangtze River Delta. Based on the multi-dimensional index system and principal component analysis method, the green and low-carbon circular development index of 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta was measured. The generalized least square method, spatial panel and threshold model were used to empirically test the driving mechanism and effect of green technology innovation on the green and low-carbon circular development of the Yangtze River Delta. The findings were as follows: (1) From the perspective of benchmark regression, green technology innovation significantly promoted the green and low-carbon circular development of the Yangtze River Delta, and there was regional heterogeneity. The upgrading of industrial structure, government competition and human capital played a positive moderating role in the impact of green technology innovation on the green and low-carbon circular development. (2) From the perspective of spatial effect, green technology innovation had positive spatial correlation and spatial spillover effect on the green and low-carbon circular development. (3) From the perspective of threshold effect, with the improvement of the financial development, the promoting role of green technology innovation on the green and low-carbon circular development of the Yangtze River Delta was constantly enhanced. The above conclusions had important policy implications for accelerating the green and low-carbon circular development and integration process of the Yangtze River Delta.

By scientifically constructing an index system for urban innovation potential and using relevant data from the cities in the Yangtze River middle reaches urban agglomeration from 2001 to 2020, this study employed GIS visualization analysis, global spatial autocorrelation models, and standard deviation ellipse analysis to illustrate the spatial distribution characteristics of urban innovation potential in this region. Non-parametric kernel density estimation and Markov chain transition matrices were used to reveal its dynamic evolution trend, and σ-convergence and β-convergence analyses were conducted based on the coefficient of variation method to explain its spatial convergence law. This study found that the spatial distribution of urban innovation potential in the Yangtze River middle reaches urban agglomeration had directional, spatial correlation, and spatial diffusion characteristics. In the earlier stage, the innovation potential of eastern cities was weaker than that of western cities, while in the later stage, the western cities were slightly stronger than the eastern ones. Among the three provincial capital cities, Wuhan and Changsha had a significant advantage in innovation potential. In terms of dynamic evolution, the overall trend of urban innovation potential showed an integration and balance. Spatial convergence analysis showed that the convergence characteristics and catch-up effects of innovation potential among cities in the region were significant. Based on the research conclusions, the Yangtze River middle reaches urban agglomeration should stimulate and utilize the "growth pole" effect of innovation, fully leverage the innovation hub and the radiation role of Wuhan, Changsha, and Nanchang, jointly build cross-regional innovation resource sharing and collaborative innovation platforms, comprehensively enhance the urban scientific and technological innovation capabilities and technology transformation abilities, and achieve effective transformation of innovation potential into innovation capabilities and levels.

Effectively improving the residents' life quality in Xiang-Gan Border Area (HJBA) is not only the "direction standard" for promoting the revitalization and development of the old revolutionary base area, but also the "touchstone" for testing the common prosperity of all people. This study focused on the "red cradle" HJBA and aimed to establish a comprehensive framework to evaluate residents' life quality from the perspective of common prosperity. This study employed entropy weighting, kernel density estimation, and spatial variation function, to highlight the spatio-temporal characteristics of residents' life quality in the HJBA. Additionally, the fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis method was utilized to explore potential pathways for improving residents' life quality. The results showed that: (1) In temporal evolution, life quality in the HJBA from 0.270 3 in 2010 to 0.586 0 in 2020, and the absolute difference in the growth of life quality gradually narrowed in the later period of the study. (2) In the spatial pattern, the life quality in the HJBA exhibited "strong in the west and north, weak in the east and south". The life quality in the sub-areas of Hunan was slightly higher than the sub-areas of Jiangxi, and the high-value areas such as Liuyang, Liling, Pingjiang, Yuanzhou and Anyuan showed a "cluster shape", the non-equilibrium structure within the region was relatively stable. (3) fsQCA configuration analysis showed that there were four path models for the growth of life quality in the HJBA: Economic driven improvement, government-led improvement, urbanization-transportation dual-core driven improvement, economy-resources-government collaborative improvement. The two dependent variables of economic development level and urbanization level were identified as the necessary conditions.

The sustainable utilization of farmland resources in the Yangtze River Economic Belt is crucial for China's food security strategy. This study evaluated farmland utilization efficiency and ecosystem services in the region from 2010 to 2020, via employing an evaluation index system, a coupled coordination model, and the Dagum Gini coefficient. The coupling coordination and regional disparities were explore. This study also employed a spatial Durbin model and Shapley value decomposition to quantify regional differences. The findings revealed that: (1)Coupling coordination for 2010 to 2020 was higher in upstream than in downstream, showing a consistent basin-wide increase, with faster growth in the downstream. (2)The Dagum Gini coefficient exhibited an overall decreasing trend in coupling coordination, reducing intra-regional disparities within the upstream, middle, and downstream regions, while inter-regional disparities expanded. (3)The spatial Durbin model analysis highlighted the adverse direct effects of industrial upgrading and government fiscal expenditures on coupling coordination, and the indirect effects of per capita income and urbanization, along with a positive impact from vegetation coverage. (4)Shapley value decomposition identified that per capita income and vegetation coverage were the primary contributors to regional differences in coupling coordination, with a steadily growing influence, while the urbanization's contribution remained relatively stable.

The spatio-temporal characteristics of ecosystem services in Dongting Lake Basin during 2000-2020 were investigated by InVEST model and GIS spatial analysis at sub-watershed scales. The trade-off/synergy analysis of three key ecosystem services such as water yield, water purification and carbon storage was carried out using the coupling coordination degree model and the geodetector model. The results showed that: (1) Water yield services and water purification services were continuously strengthened, while carbon storage services were continuously weakened. In terms of spatial variability, water yield in the southeast was higher than that in the northwest in 2000 and 2010. In 2020, water yield in the northwest was the maximum. The distribution of N and P output was less in the upstream than in the downstream, and higher in the east than in the west. The carbon storage was the least in Dongting Lake area and the highest value was concentrated in the upstream area. (2) From 2000 to 2020, the pairwise ecosystem services in the whole basin were at a moderate level of synergy, and developed to a good level of synergy. There was an obvious difference in the spatial and temporal distribution pattern of pairwise ecosystem services. (3) The formation of nonlinear dynamic relationship between ecosystem services in Dongting Lake Basin was influenced by natural and human factors, including terrain and topography, climate change, land use type and distribution pattern, and human interference. The degree of influence of natural factors was greater than human factors. These results may provide theoretical basis for the construction of ecological protection compensation mechanism in Dongting Lake Basin.

Effective measurement and assessment of ecosystem service values are crucial for formulating ecological compensation, land remediation policies, and improving human welfare. Taking the Minjiang River Basin as the study area, based on the three periods of land use data in 2000, 2010, and 2020, the PLUS model and the dynamic equivalent method were applied to quantitatively assess the ecosystem service value of the study area in 2030. Additionally, the study formed a policy-oriented scenario based on the key indicator of arable land quality in arable land protection as an orientation. It was then analyzed in comparison with the simulation of ecological service value under the natural development scenario. The results showed that: (1)The spatial distribution pattern of land use in the Minjiang River Basin in 2030 remained consistent across different scenarios, but the trends in land use change differed. In the policy-oriented scenario, the growth rate of construction land area was effectively controlled, there was a shift from a decrease to an increase in the area of woodland and grassland. The decrease rate of arable land area was significantly slowed down. Compared with the natural scenario, 90.94 km2 of arable land of average grade or higher was protected from encroachment, ensuring the effective preservation of arable land quality; (2) In 2030, the ecological service value of the Minjiang River Basin would be 133.459 billion yuan under the natural development scenario and 134.765 billion yuan under the policy-oriented scenario. The spatial distribution showed higher values in the northern and southwestern regions, and lower values in the central and southeastern regions. In the policy-oriented scenario, the range and concentration of cold spots of ecological service value changes were significantly reduced compared with the natural development scenario, and the loss of value was effectively mitigated; (3) The interconversion of cropland and forest land was the main source of contribution to future ESV gains and losses in the Minjiang River Basin, and the contribution of cropland to construction land was significantly lower under the policy-oriented scenario, compared with the natural scenario, at 4.3%. The results of the study can provide theoretical references and assist in decision making for the construction of ecological civilization and sustainable development strategies in the Minjiang River Basin.

The impact of resource endowment on resource exploitation efficiency and its influencing path is always a key scientific problem in the process of resource exploitation. In this paper, we established an efficiency evaluation method for cascade hydropower development based on data envelopment analysis. The efficiency of cascade hydropower development was taken as the explained variable. Water resource endowment was taken as the core explanatory variable, which included the runoff amount and runoff spatial pattern. Hydropower development mode was taken as the mediating variable, which included intensive development mode and diverse development mode. We chose the main hydropower development watershed as the case areas, including 331 large and median-sized hydropower plants and formed the panel data of 22 watersheds. The mediating effect model was used to verify the influencing path of water resource endowment on efficiency of cascade hydropower development. The results showed that: (1) Taking the expected and unexpected outputs of hydropower development into consideration in the efficiency model, the efficiency of cascade hydropower development varied greatly among watersheds, most watersheds were in low or relative low efficiency, and the average efficiency was only 0.258 during 1996-2020. (2) Water resource endowment had a significant impact on the efficiency of cascade hydropower development. The runoff amount posed a positive impact on the efficiency of cascade hydropower development, and the intensive development mode played a mediating effect towards this positive impact. Meanwhile, the runoff spatial pattern posed a negative impact on the efficiency of cascade hydropower development, and the intensive development mode and diverse development mode all played a mediating effect towards this negative impact. (3) The runoff amount was beneficial to the intensive development of hydropower, but the runoff spatial pattern was indicated as disadvantageous to the cascade development of hydropower. The intensive development mode and the diverse development mode were all beneficial to improve the efficiency of cascade hydropower development under the suitable water resource endowment condition. These conclusions provided theoretical basis for optimizing the spatial pattern of watershed cascade hydropower development.

With the advancement of the national river strategy, the natural restoration of degraded riparian ecosystems, represented by the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, has emerged as a highly challenging task. However, the current ecological restoration efforts in China have yet to prioritize the restoration process of the ecosystem, resulting in the failure to achieve the anticipated goals of structural and functional improvement. The fundamental reason behind this phenomenon lies in our insufficient understanding of the fundamental characteristics and formation mechanisms of plant adaptive strategies during the natural successional process of riparian zones, as well as their crucial role in the self-organization of riparian ecosystems.
This paper aimed to provide an in-depth exploration of the unique trade-off strategies between plant growth and flood tolerance in riparian zones, by reviewing the research progress in plant ecophysiology, adaptive strategies, and related fields. Riparian plants adjusted their survival strategies to adapt to environmental changes, achieving a balance and optimization of resources between growth and flood tolerance, which was a key factor in the self-organization process of riparian systems. Therefore, this paper proposed a novel approach to natural restoration of riparian zones based on the trade-off strategy between plant growth and flood tolerance. Additionally, a "minimum intervention" ecological restoration principle based on plant adaptive trade-off strategies in riparian zones was presented. By analyzing the trade-off strategies of plant adaptation and their influencing factors, the threshold for initiating the self-organization process of riparian ecosystems was elucidated, maximizing the utilization of the ecosystem's self-recovery capacity, and achieving ecological restoration of riparian zones.
Finally, based on the exploration of the relationship between plant adaptive strategies and natural restoration in riparian zones, this paper provided several prospects for future research and development directions regarding plant adaptive trade-off strategies and natural restoration in riparian zones. A comprehensive understanding of riparian plant adaptive strategies and their implications for natural recovery can contribute to the promotion of riparian ecosystem restoration and enhancement of ecosystem quality. This research is of significant theoretical and practical implications for the ecological restoration of riparian zones.

The Hanjiang River Basin has superior ecological environment and abundant natural resources. It is an important water source area for the 'South-to-North Water Diversion' and an important link connecting the social and economic development of the central and western regions of China. In recent years, soil erosion has intensified and floods have occurred frequently, which affected the sustainable development of the basin's social economy. The scientific construction of the ecological security pattern is conducive to ecosystem protection and ecological risk prevention and control. Based on the 'patch-corridor-matrix' theory of landscape ecology, this paper constructed an ecological comprehensive network of Hanjiang River Basin from two aspects of ecosystem services and ecological risks, and identified the ecological security pattern by analyzing the structure of network elements. This study found that: (1) The extremely important areas of watershed ecosystem regulation function accounted for 25.71% of the basin, which were located mainly in the Qinba Mountains and the lower reaches of the Hanjiang River Basin; The ecologically extremely sensitive areas accounted for 9.18% of the basin, and were scattered in the Hanjiang Valley, Nanyang Basin and Jianghan Plain. (2) In terms of the ecological network, 19 ecological sources, 34 ecological corridors and 14 ecological protection nodes were identified, showing a pattern of 'large dispersion and small aggregation'. In terms of the ecological risk network, 22 risk sources, 43 ecological risk corridors and 15 ecological restoration nodes were identified, showing a pattern of 'great dispersion'. (3) The Hanjiang River Basin presented an ecological security pattern of 'high in the west and low in the east, high in the south and low in the north'. The protection patches, protection corridors and protection nodes were mostly located in the Qinba Mountains. Restoration patches, restoration corridors and restoration nodes were mostly concentrated in the Hanjiang River valley and the middle and lower reaches of the basin. The protection and restoration nodes were mostly located in the upper reaches of the Hanjiang River Basin. (4) The Qinba Mountains bore the function of ensuring the ecological security of the middle and lower reaches of the basin, and it was necessary to build a mountain ecological security barrier; The river system was the main corridor for the diffusion of stress factors in the ecological risk network, and the ecological protection and restoration of the river basin should be paid high attention. The ecological risk network constructed in this study further improved the identification method of watershed ecological security pattern, and provided reference for the improvement of ecological environment and the efficient utilization of land space in the Hanjiang River Basin.

Bailian River Reservoir is one of the key drinking water sources in eastern part of Hubei Province. With the economic development and the repaid improvement of urbanization level in this basin, water quality of Bailian River Reservoir has been degraded within the last decades, which seriously affected the water safety in this basin. As one of the main pollutants, total phosphorus (TP) should be controlled strictly in Bailian River Basin. This study used data sets of land use and agrotype from the 2011-2021, and performed simulations for the spatial distribution characteristics of TP load in the Bailian River basin. Moreover, the unit area loading index method was used to identify critical source areas and to simulate the effect of Best Management Practices (BMPs) on the reduction of TP load in the Bailian River basin. Results revealed that: (1) The TP load in Bailian River basin was higher in the downstream areas than upstream, with the critical source areas located in Fangjiazui Township and the three sub-basins with higher agricultural activity intensity. The three sub-basin areas accounted for 1.7% of the total basin area and 24.9% of the TP load in the basin; (2) The average annual TP load in the Bailian River basin from 2018-2021 was 180.17 t/a, and the TP source areas showed apparent spatial discrepancies, with the subbasin located in Fangjiazui Township demonstrating the largest average annual TP load of 18.9 t/a. (3) Among the single BMPs, the most two efficient reduction in TP load were the “vegetated buffer strip with an area ratio of “5% between fields” and “2 km river grassing”, which had reduced by 50.5% and 50.2% of TP load, respectively. The integrated BMPs are effective in reducing TP load intensity, particularly in critical source areas, with 60.9% reduction of TP load. This study provided a scientific reference for using the integrated BMPs to reduce the TP load in the Bailian River basin.

After the impounding of the Three Gorges Reservoir, flows from the tributaries formed the backwater area. It is important to understand the distribution characteristics of nitrogen and phosphorus in the backwater under the interaction of main stream and tributaries for a better understanding of the formation mechanism of tributary algae bloom. Xiangxi River, a typical tributary of the Three Gorges Reservoir, was taken as the study object. The distribution characteristics of nitrogen and phosphorus concentration, composition and N/P ratio were analyzed by stratified sampling in the backwater area during flood period and storage period. The results showed that during flood seasons, the water body showed vertical stratification, TP(0.04-0.33 mg/L), TN (0.57-2.36 mg/L) and NH₃-N(0.03-0.20 mg/L) were higher in the upstream and estuarine than that in the middle reach. DTP(0.01-0.23 mg/L), DTN(0.2-2.0 mg/L) and NO₃-N (0.96-1.77 mg/L) decreased gradually from upstream to downstream. The phosphorus was mainly in the form of particles (DTP/TP 0.13-0.19), and nitrogen was mainly in dissolved state (DTN/TN 0.88-0.91). The N/ P ratio (TN/TP 1.3-139) was the highest in the middle. During storage periods, the vertical stratification was weakened, and the difference of nitrogen and phosphorus concentration was decreased (TP 0.05-0.17 mg/L, TN 1.48-1.91 mg/L). Nitrogen and phosphorus were mainly in the dissolved form (DTN/TN 0.57-0.77, DTP/TP 0.63-0.68). N/ P ratio (TN/TP 23-86) gradually decreased from estuary to upstream. The gradient difference of N and P was more significant in flood seasons than in storage seasons. The decrease of sediment particle recharge from the Yangtze River main stream during impoundment periods resulted in a higher proportion of dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus than that in flood seasons. The change of N/P ratio may be resulted from the combined effects of the main stream overburden, the sedimentation of sediment particles and the upstream inputs. The results show that the interaction between main stream and tributary plays an important role in driving nitrogen and phosphorus distribution in the backwater of tributaries.

Riparian wetland, the transitional zone of river and terrestrial ecosystems, is a potential hotspot for microbial methane production and oxidation. Here, a 13CH₄-based stable isotope nucleic acid probe (DNA-SIP) microcosm incubation experiment combined with high-throughput sequencing and chemical analysis was employed to reveal the methane oxidation potential and active aerobic methane-oxidizing microorganisms in sediment collected from a riparian wetland soil of the Jialing River (Nanchong section). The results showed that the soil methane oxidation rate was 11.94 μg g^-1 d^-1 after incubation with 6% (v/v) CH4. Analysis of the pmoA gene distribution in DNA obtained by ultra-high speed density gradient centrifugation showed that the DNA of the aerobic methane-oxidizing bacteria was significantly labeled with 13C. Sequencing of the 13C-labelled DNA revealed that methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB) belonging to Type I, and Type II dominated the aerobic methane oxidation process. Type I MOB accounted for 78.49% of the labelled MOB, which including Methylomicrobium, Methylogaea, and Crenothrix. Methylomicrobium accounted for 61.37% of the labelled Type I MOB. Methylocystis affiliating to Type II MOB was the main responder in methane oxidation in the soil. In addition, FAPROTAX functional annotation of 13C-DNA showed that the function of microbial communities involved in the carbon and nitrogen cycles were stimulated, such as chemoheterotrophy, methanol oxidation, methyl compound metabolism, and nitrogen fixation. This result suggested that microbial methane oxidation could be correlated with other biogeochemical cycling processes. This study highlighted that the aerobic methane oxidation in the riparian wetland soil was performed by a variety of metabolically flexible microorganisms, and provided basic data for physiological ecology study of methanotrophs in riparian wetlands.

The complete utilization of carbon compensation in the plantation system can facilitate the realization of a "carbon neutral" strategy. The study examined the spatiotemporal evolution of the carbon compensating rate in the plantation industry across 31 provinces (municipalities and autonomous regions) of China from 2006 to 2020. The regional differences, spatial correlation, and the impact of social, economic, environmental, and developmental factors were investigated. The analysis framework incorporated a system dynamics (SD) simulation model to assess the carbon-compensating potential of the plantation industry. The results showed that: (1) China's plantation industry exhibited a carbon compensating rate consistently above 1, with an overall fluctuating upward trend and an average level of around 5.3. (2) The carbon compensating rate of the plantation industry exhibited significant regional disparities, with the highest rate observed in the northeast region, followed by the western region, the national average, the eastern region, and the central region. At the provincial level, there was considerable variations in the level of carbon compensation, with a maximum difference of 11.60. (3) In terms of temporal changes, the carbon compensating level in Liaoning Province, Shandong Province, Hebei Province, Shanxi Province, Sichuan Province, Yunnan Province, and Guizhou Province had experienced a significant increase. However, it was worth noting that Beijing City had shown a decreasing trend in the carbon compensating level. (4) The carbon compensating potential of the plantation industry exhibited variations across different scenarios. The carbon offset rate showed an increasing trend from low to high in the following scenarios: ensuring food security development, conventional development, integrated development, and enhanced energy conservation and emission reduction development. However, the carbon compensating rate in the enhanced agricultural input development scenario demonstrated a decreasing trend. Based on these findings, the following recommendations were proposed as to optimize the structure of the plantation industry, to promote differentiated regional development, to establish a financial support system related to the reduction of agricultural pollutants, and to formulate reasonable and effective policies for the development of carbon reduction and sink enhancement. These recommendations support the utilization of the plantation industry's carbon compensation capacity and contribute to achieving a balanced carbon footprint in society.

Though the major grain-producing areas policy was introduced to motivate farmers’ enthusiasm for grain production and ensure national food security, we should further emphasize the development of green and ecological agriculture to meet the consumers’ requirements for high-quality products under the new situation. Based on a research region carried out in the 13 major grain-producing areas established by the government, we performed double difference model and mediation effect model to evaluate the comprehensive incentive policy’s impacts on farmers’ enthusiasm for grain production and explored its inner mechanism. We found that the policy had stimulated farmers’ enthusiasm for grain production with a dynamic cumulative effect. The policy could enhance farmers’ willingness to grow cereal but had no significant influence on the cultivation of legumes and potatoes. Additionally, the increase of non-agricultural income and welfare income would reduce the impacts of the policy. In spite of the above results, the major grain-producing areas policy could not improve the agricultural ecological efficiency significantly, and hence impeded the intermediary transmission process of the policy. To cope with this dilemma, it was proposed to guarantee the long-term stability of the major grain-producing areas policy, to be aware of the income and occupation differentiation of famers, to provide precise subsidies to large grain-producing farmers and the professional farmers who cultivated with the new type. It was also proposed to adjust the subsidies differentiation between ordinary and green high-quality grain to encourage farmers to produce high-quality agricultural products, to highlight the goal of increasing farmers' income, and to consider the direct subsidies for grain-producing farmers as the focus of the policy.

This paper studied the spatial and temporal characteristics of non-grain cultivated land and the driving factors in Jiangsu Province, in order to provide reference for non-grain cultivated land management. This study took Jiangsu Province, a major grain producing area and a rapidly urbanizing area, as the study area. The principal component analysis method was used to analyze the spatial and temporal pattern of non-grain cultivated land in the county from 1996 to 2020. The driving mechanism and the regional differences of the driving force were explored. The results showed that: (1) the area and ratio of non-grain cultivated land in Jiangsu Province showed an inverted "U"-shaped trend, with the area increasing from 2 322.49 to 2 704.78 thousand hectares and then decreasing to 2 072.76 thousand hectares. The ratio increased from 19.28% to 35.46% and then decreased to 27.72%. (2) The distribution of non-grain cultivated land in counties across the province had significant spatial agglomeration characteristics, with the overall high and high aggregation in Southern Jiangsu and the low and low aggregation in Central and Northern Jiangsu dominating, the low in Northern Jiangsu and the high in the near-Shanghai area in the early stage, and the low in Central Jiangsu and the high in Southern Jiangsu in the late stage. (3) Based on the long time-series panel data analysis, it was found that per capita GDP and disposable income ratio of urban and rural residents were significantly positively correlated with the non-grain cultivated land rate, and the aging degree was significantly negatively correlated with the non-grain cultivated land rate. (4) Less economically developed regions were more likely to be affected by economic development, non-grain cultivated land in more economically developed regions was more likely to be affected by operators' production decisions. The regions with poorer resource endowment were more inclined to non-grain cultivated land.

Farmers are both builders and beneficiaries of the rural living environment. Their active participation and initiative are great guarantors of successfully promoting the improvement of the rural living environment. Based on the theory of perceived value and stimulus-organism-response (SOR) model, the theoretical analysis framework of farmers' willingness to participate in rural habitat improvement was constructed from the angles of both social capital and perceived value. The empirical test was carried out through farm household research data in Jiangxi Province. The results showed that: (1) Social network, social trust and social norms had a significant positive effect on the willingness of farmers to participate in the improvement of rural human settlements, with the social network effect being the largest. Functional value, emotional value and cognitive value all had a significant positive effect on the willingness of farmers to participate in the improvement of rural habitat, with functional value obtaining maximum effect. (2) Social network significantly affected the level of functional, emotional, and perceived value. It was shown that social network was the most critical factor influencing farmers' perceived value. (3) Perceived value played a partly intermediary role in the influence of social capital on farmers' willingness to participate in rural habitat improvement. On these grounds, in the process of promoting the improvement of rural human settlements, it is necessary to make great efforts to cultivate the social capital of rural households and to raise the level of their perceived value of the improvement of rural living environment governance, so as to increase the motivation of farmers to participate in the improvement of rural human settlements.