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In China, the rural human settlement system (RHSS) reflects the relationship between rural people and land but is affected by land use and land cover change (LUCC). Maintaining a harmonious development between RHSS resilience (RHSSR) and LUCC is an important rural development issue. However, the spatial association between LUCC and RHSSR remains unclear, constraining effective land use and rural policymaking. The association between RHSSR and LUCC was assessed from a spatial perspective. Using county-level spatial panel data for Hunan Province, China (2000–2020), an evaluation indicator system was established to measure RHSS and analyze the spatiotemporal evolution of RHSSR using a geospatial analysis and geodetector model. The average RHSSR level increased from 0.158 to 1.406. The RHSSR generally presented a three-level stepped spatial distribution feature of high in the east and low in the west, with a belt-like distribution. Additionally, the RHSSR was consistent with land use intensity (LUI), but there was significant spatial heterogeneity in the spatial relationship between LUI and RHSSR. The evolution of RHSSR occurred through industrial development, medical service improvement, increased income, and environmental protection. This has important implications for future rural development strategies, the sustainable development of rural land, and the integration of RHSS into regional planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper constructs a comprehensive evaluation system of human settlements focusing on housing conditions, urban natural environments, social economy, and public infrastructure. Principal Component Analysis and Cluster Analysis are used to analyze and rank the 2003–2013 human settlements index and create five clusters for 35 major cities in China (including municipalities, provincial capitals, and Prefecture-level cities). On the basis of four years of a spatial analysis of the human settlements index, we find that living conditions of 35 Chinese cities have significantly improved; severe air pollution persists in China, with large differences between the north and the south; weak correlation between urban human settlements and the growth rate of economic development; and the infrastructure of China's mega cities is overloaded. The results confirm and quantify growing geographic disparities and deep structural urban challenges that are associated with rapid economic growth and social change, leaving many cities in China to struggle with worsening pollution, excessive demand on existing infrastructures, and housing prices that rise faster than disposable incomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization leads to significant changes in land-use types and affects various ecosystem services. While previous studies have analyzed the interaction between urbanization and ecosystem services at the national, provincial, and city scales, there is insufficient information on the spatial interaction between urbanization and ecosystem services in urban agglomerations for different development levels. To address these research gaps, this study used hot spot analysis and spatial autocorrelation models to measure the spatial interaction between urbanization and ecosystem services in China's ten major urban agglomeration areas for the period 1995–2018. The results found that: (1) China's urban agglomerations have experienced rapid urbanization, exhibiting a rising growth trend at all development levels of urbanization. Those grouped in the growing category exhibited the fastest growth, while those in the mature category posted the slowest growth. The spatial distributions of the urbanization indicators differ significantly. The population density showed a more pronounced clustering feature, while the proportion of urban land use was distributed mainly around the core cities. (2) Different ecosystem services exhibited varying change trends. Food supply increased significantly. Carbon storage decreased in all but two urban agglomerations (Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Sichuan-Chongqing). Habitat quality services also decreased in all agglomerations, except for the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains. In terms of ecosystem service hot spots, there is distinct spatial heterogeneity. Food supply hot spots are concentrated in the plain areas, while habitat quality and carbon storage hot spots are mainly clustered in mountain and water regions. (3) Carbon storage and habitat quality are negatively correlated with the three indicators of urbanization, while food supply is positively correlated with population density and GDP density and negatively correlated with the proportion of urban land use. Urban land expansion is directly linked to the decline in ecosystem services, while population and economic growth have indirect effects. This study can contribute to understanding the correlation between urbanization and ecosystem services, and providing references for high-quality spatial development. • Effect of urban agglomerations urbanization on ecosystem services is prominent. • Urbanization of all urban agglomerations show rising growth trend. • Different ecosystem services exhibited varying change trends. • Different parameters of urbanization effects on ecosystem services varies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• City-level agricultural production efficiency is mapped by Super-Efficiency Data Envelopment Analysis model. • The agricultural production efficiency is featured as spatial agglomerations. • The OLS and GWR models are used to explore the spatial heterogeneity and driving mechanisms of agricultural production efficiency. • Series of policy recommendations are provided. The level of agricultural production efficiency (APE) affects farmers' livelihood decisions and the transformation and reconstruction of the rural territorial system. This paper constructs an evaluation index system of China's APE from the perspective of input–output. The spatial autocorrelation model and econometric model are used to calculate the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics and influencing factors of China's APE in 1990 and 2017. The results show that China's APE level is relatively low, and there are significant spatial differences. The extremely high efficiency regions are distributed in the eastern plains of China; the regions with extremely low efficiency are mainly distributed in the southwest and the western regions of China. The results of the spatial correlation effect show that the H-H agglomeration regions of APE are usually distributed in the eastern coastal areas and northeastern areas, while the L-L agglomeration regions are mainly distributed in the central mountainous areas and the border areas of western Yunnan. From 1990 to 2017, the influencing factors of APE have gradually changed, and showing a more complex trend, mainly including farmland management scale , multiple crop index, rural per capita net income, population density, and precipitation per unit area. Finally, the corresponding policy and suggestions are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the relationship between ecosystem service value and ecological risk evolutions holds great theoretical and practical significance, as it helps to ensure the quality management of ecosystems and the sustainable development of human-land system interactions. We analyzed this relationship in the Dongting Lake area in China from 1995 to 2020 using data from remote sensing-interpreted land use with ArcGIS and Geoda. We used the equivalent factor method to estimate the ecosystem service value, constructed a landscape ecological risk index to quantitatively describe the ecological risk of Dongting Lake, and analyzed their correlation. The results show that: (1) over the last 25 years, the ecosystem service value decreased by 31.588 billion yuan, with higher values in the middle of the area and lower values in the surroundings-the highest value was found in forested land and the lowest was for unutilized land; (2) the ecological risk index also decreased slowly over time, from the perspective of single land use type, the ecological risk value of construction land was the lowest, followed by woodland, grassland, and cultivated land, with water area being the highest-the ecological risk level presents the distribution state of whole piece and local aggregation; and (3) the ecological risk index in Dongting Lake area demonstrated positive spatial correlation, and the spatial agglomeration of land with similar risk levels showed a decreasing trend. Areas with strong partial spatial correlations between ecosystem service value and ecological risk index are mainly distributed in the central water areas and their surrounding areas. This study investigates the rational utilization of land resources, and the sustainable development of regional ecological security in Dongting Lake area.

The Human Genome Project was launched at the end of the 1980s. Since then, the cloning and identification of functional genes has been a major focus of research across the world. In China too, the potentially profound impact of such studies on the life sciences and on human health was realized, and relevant studies were initiated in the 1990s. To advance China's involvement in the Human Genome Project, in the mid-1990s, Committee of Experts in Biology from National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (863 Program) proposed the "two 1%" goal. This goal envisaged China contributing 1% of the total sequencing work, and cloning and identifying 1% of the total human functional genes. Over the past 20 years, tremendous achievement has been accomplished by Chinese scientists. It is well known that scientists in China finished the 1% of sequencing work of the Human Genome Project, whereas, there is no comprehensive report about "whether China had finished cloning and identifying 1% of human functional genes". In the present study, the GenBank database at the National Center of Biotechnology Information, the PubMed search tool, and the patent database of the State Intellectual Property Office, China, were used to retrieve entries based on two screening standards: (i) Were the newly cloned and identified genes first reported by Chinese scientists? (ii) Were the Chinese scientists awarded the gene sequence patent? Entries were retrieved from the databases up to the cut-off date of 30 June 2011 and the obtained data were analyzed further. The results showed that 589 new human functional genes were first reported by Chinese scientists and 159 gene sequences were patented (http://gene.fudan.sh.cn/introduction/database/chinagene/chinagene.html). This study systematically summarizes China's contributions to human functional genomics research and answers the question "has China finished cloning and identifying 1% of human functional genes?" in the affirmative.