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In recent years, the optimum development of land resources has become an important task for ensuring the security of food production in China. Soil microorganisms have been considered to play an important role in conferring soil fertility and productivity. In order to obtain the plant-growth-promoting bacteria in newly reclaimed land, a total of 988 bacterial strains were isolated from nine soil samples collected from different sites in wastelands in Hangzhou (Zhejiang Province, China), a rural mountainous area. Among them, five strains exhibited substantial potential of phosphate solubilization, nitrogen fixation, siderophore production and indole acetic acid production at both pH 5.0 and pH 7.0, and also promoted eggplant growth in immature soil from newly reclaimed land. Furthermore, bacterial strains ZJ62 and ZJ3-12 were identified as Pantoeadispersa and Pantoea ananatis, respectively, while strains ZJ5, ZJ9 and ZJ174 were identified as Burkholderiaarboris, Burkholderia pyrrocinia and Burkholderia pyrrocinia, respectively, based on colony morphology observation and phylogenetic analysis of 16S rDNA and the housekeeping genes sequences. Overall, the result of this study showed that the 5 obtained bacterial strains have a great potential in promoting plant growth in immature soil from newly reclaimed land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Introduced multi-tiered method to identify ecological protection priority areas. • Incorporated ecological lands with excellent ecosystem integrity into EPPAs. • The width of ecological corridors was identified based on the proportion of land use. • Aggregate Polygons tool was utilized to aggregate fragmented areas. • An ecological protection method was developed for medium-sized city. Identifying ecological protection priority areas (EPPAs) in municipal areas is essential for accurate ecological restoration and ensuring sustainable regional development. Xianyang represents a typical medium-sized city that is currently grappling with the dual challenges of ecological restoration and urban development. This study employed a multi-criteria method to evaluate ecological importance, considering both ecosystem services and ecological vulnerability. Based on this, ecological corridors and pinch points that enhance ecological connectivity were delineated using the circuit theory. Subsequently, the integrity of ecosystems is assessed from structural and functional perspectives to ensure their health and stability. With the support of Geographic Information System (GIS) technology, the three important areas for ecological protection were integrated to designate EPPAs. The results showed that: (1) the extremely important area spans 1956.44 km2, primarily made up of forests and grasslands. (2) There were found to be 19 ecological sources, 26 ecological corridors, and 23 ecological pinch points. (3) With excellent ecosystem integrity, the region was dominated by eco-lands, which accounted for 2692.71 km2. (4) In the end, this study identified 3328.83 km2 of EPPAs, 32.65 % of the study area. These are primarily located in the northern mountains and major watersheds. Human activities are found as the most important factor for the overall spatial variations in the area. A multi-level framework was developed to establish a continuous, comprehensive, and systematic method for identifying EPPAs, thereby enhancing ecological restoration, protection, and the sustainable use of regional ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]