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The Yellow River Basin (YRB) is an important ecological defense and economic zone in China and occupies a very important position in the economy and society of China. Premise condition of ecological protection and development of high quality in YRB is the greening of the industry. Based on the data of 35 cities in YRB in 2012, 2015, and 2018, this paper constructs an evaluation index system for the industrial green development (IGD) and explores spatial differentiation characteristics of the IGD by the exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) method. On this basis, this paper uses the geographical weighted regression (GWR) model to analyze the influencing factors. The results indicate the following: (1) in general, IGD in YRB shows an upward trend. (2) The Global Moran's I index of IGD shows a small increase; the distribution of local spatial correlation is basically unchanged. (3) There are obvious regional differences in the influencing factors of IGD. The degree of influence of each factor on IGD is openness > industrial upgrading index > urbanization rate > science and technology expenditures > reduction rate of energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating the spatial‐temporal dynamics in ecological risk and understanding its impact on water quality in reservoirs could optimize watershed land use and protect reservoir water quality. However, this impact remains elusive due to the lack of long‐term field data, the heterogeneity of land use, and scale effects. Therefore, Danjiangkou Reservoir area was selected as the study area, where rapid urban expansion and ecological conservation and restoration measures have significantly changed the ecological environment, altering the water quality. We investigated the spatial‐temporal changes of land use from 1990 to 2020 and evaluated how landscape ecological risk changed, as well as explored the impact of landscape ecological risk changes on water quality. The landscape ecological risk was calculated by landscape vulnerability and landscape disturbance (based on fragmentation, separation, and fractal dimension). The results indicated that the growth rate of water bodies surged (7.65 km2/a) and cropland experienced an apparent reduction (14.39%) over the past 30 years. These landscape changes decreased ecological risk, especially after the water transfer. The results revealed that the impacts of ecological risk on water quality were better explained at the riparian scale than at the reach and catchment scales. Specifically, the ecological risk was strongly relevant to dissolved oxygen, Turbidity, Cl− and NO3− ${{\text{NO}}_{3}}^{-}$, and moderately correlated to Ca2+ and pH. While it was not correlated with total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and F−, possibly due to the irregular reservoir operations, occasional excessive use of fertilizers, and rock weathering. This study preliminarily discloses the impact of landscape ecological risk on water quality in a basin reservoir and provides a theoretical basis to take measures in advance for the sustainable development of a reservoir basin. Plain Language Summary: Assessing the spatial and temporal dynamics of ecological conditions (denoted by ecological risk) and understanding their impact on reservoir water quality is not only important for optimizing land use in the basin, but also for protecting reservoir water quality. However, this impact remains elusive due to the limitations of existing studies and data. Therefore, the Danjiangkou Reservoir area was selected as the study area, where rapid urban expansion and major ecological conservation and restoration measures around the reservoir have significantly altered the ecological environment and water quality. We evaluated the changes in landscape ecological risk based on an investigation of spatial and temporal changes in land use between 1990 and 2020, and explored the impact of changes in landscape ecological risk on water quality. The results show that the rate of growth of water bodies has increased dramatically and the area of cropland has decreased significantly following the implementation of the dam raising project and water transfer. These landscape changes reduced ecological risk, improved ecological conditions and ultimately improved water quality. This study provides preliminary insights into the effects of landscape ecological risk on water quality and provides a theoretical basis for sustainable development of reservoir basins. Key Points: The ecological conditions and water quality in the rainy season were generally better than in the dry season during the same yearThe effect of the water transfer project on local ecological quality and water quality has been positiveThe improvement in eco‐environment quality reduced pollution sources and improved water self‐purification capacity, improved water quality [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of China's urban agglomerations has been accompanied by enormous ecological costs. Based on the perspective of ecological constraints, this paper constructed a "quantity-efficiency-structure" evaluation framework for sustainable urban development. Taking the π-shaped Curve Area in the Yellow River Basin as the study area, the improved ecological footprint model and the information entropy method were adopted to evaluate the sustainable development potential (SDP) of the 17 cities in the Area from three aspects: ecological supply and demand (quantity comparison), ecological well-being performance (efficiency assessment), and ecological carrying structure (structure evaluation). From 2005 to 2019, ecological constraints of the three aspects exhibited obvious east-west and north-south spatial heterogeneity and even formed spatial clusters. Through multivariate systematic correlation analysis, openness degree, economic level, population, urbanization rate, industrial structure, scientific innovation, energy consumption, and the role of government were found to have different effects on the SDP and its three aspects. Given the results of the "quantity-efficiency-structure" evaluation and the influencing mechanism of SDP, cities in Area were grouped into weak sustainable, weak unsustainable, strong sustainable, and strong unsustainable types using systematic clustering method, and development suggestions were proposed accordingly. This study was expected to provide new ideas for studying sustainable development and policy proposals for urban development in the Curve Area. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phrase 'green cities' refers to an idealised and modernised urban development model that features harmonious development among the environment, ecology, society, culture, and the inhabitants of a city. Harmonious humanistic relations and green pathways have become predominant models in modern urban development. Green city construction has drawn considerable attention. However, the construction and development of green cities involves numerous problems. The various needs of different populations must be coordinated to foster the green development of a city. In this study, the analytic hierarchy process was used to classify factors related to green city construction into different levels. The scope of the empirical verification was eight cities alongshore the drainage area of the Jiangsu section of the Beijing–Hangzhou Canal. Data from 2009, 2014, and 2019 were selected for analysis. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were performed using these data, and standards were established to serve as a reference for city administrators in the process of decision-making regarding green city construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]