Rocky desertification in ecologically-fragile karst areas limit regional socio-economic development in the face of significant human–earth conflict. Coordination of ecological restoration and agricultural development is critical for sustainable development in karst areas. From the perspective of the human–earth areal system, the framework of sustainable agricultural development was proposed in typically karst areas. We integrated principles of ecological vulnerability, resource and environmental carrying capacity, agricultural foundation, suitability of agricultural land, and the farmers’ willingness. In this study, we found the ecological vulnerability of Guangnan County was slight, but the proportion of moderate and severe vulnerability areas was high, with significant differences between the two sides of the line “Zhe (Zhetu)-Lian (Liancheng)-Yang (Yang Liu-jing)-Ban (Banbang)”. Then, we divided Guangnan County into three ecologically vulnerable zones. Following that, we proposed sustainable agricultural models for various zones. In slightly to mildly vulnerable zones, we propose constructing economic–ecological agricultural models, including woody oil, plateau characteristic fruiting forest, ecological tea plantations, suburban agriculture, and cultural–ecological tourism. In moderately to severely vulnerable zones, we recommend developing a stereoscopic agriculture model that combines planting and breeding, vegetation restoration, and herbivorous animal husbandry. In extremely vulnerable zones, we suggest constructing an ecologically natural restoration model and an agricultural ecological–tourism model. Our research provides references for ecological restoration, agricultural development, poverty alleviation consolidation, and rural revitalization in ecologically vulnerable karst areas of southeast Yunnan and similar regions.

Absolute poverty has historically been solved in China, and the focus on poor areas has shifted to addressing relative poverty. To realize the organic combination of the rural revitalization strategy and relative poverty governance, multi-dimensional relative poverty identification and governance path research at the village scale in an alpine-gorge region is required. For this study, the Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture’s research area in a typical alpine-gorge was chosen. This paper constructed an evaluation index system for the rural regional system based on location conditions, ecological environment, productive resources, economic base, and public service, based on the theory of multi-dimensional regional poverty and the human–land relationship. The level of poverty, types of poverty, and spatial distribution characteristics of 255 administrative villages were systematically analyzed, and poverty governance paths were proposed. The results show that: (1) There were 215 multi-dimensional relative poverty villages in Nujiang Prefecture, accounting for 84.31% of the total. The relatively poor villages with poverty grades I and II, which are classified as mild poverty, account for 77.21% of all poor villages; this demonstrated that the relatively poor villages in Nujiang Prefecture had a high potential for poverty alleviation. (2) There are 19 different types of constraints in poor villages. Grades III and IV poor villages were mostly found in high-altitude areas. The economic foundation was very weak, the infrastructure was imperfect, the land use type was relatively single, and traffic conditions were relatively backward. (3) The priority model accounted for 16.67% of relative poverty governance, the steady improvement accounted for 28.79%, and key support accounted for 54.54%. Relative poverty governance paths for various counties have been proposed, including rural revitalization priority demonstration, ecological environment governance, eco-tourism, modern agriculture + mountain agroforestry, and improved people’s livelihood and well-being. The findings provided scientific support and direction for future research on the mode and course of relative poverty governance in poor villages in the alpine-gorge area, as well as the rural revitalization strategy’s implementation.

Anthropogenic activities have altered ecosystem service functions in the karst mountainous areas. The implementation of ecological restoration projects by the government, the behavior, attitude, and willingness of farmers to participate in their implementation, the application of pesticides and fertilizers, in addition to other socio-economic activities, have had a significant impact on the ecosystem services (ESS) of the region. Taking Guangnan County, a typical karst mountainous area in Yunnan Province, as an example, this study analyzes the evolutionary characteristics of six types of ESS and the driving mechanism of the change in ESS from the anthropogenic macro and micro perspective using questionnaire surveys and the multivariate logistic model. The results showed that (1) ecological restoration projects in the past 20 years have promoted an overall ecological transformation in the typical karst mountainous areas of the Yunnan Province (2) from the macro perspective, and the implementation of such ecological projects is beneficial in increasing soil conservation, carbon sequestration, habitat support, and cultural services. The reduction in agricultural population is beneficial in improving habitat support services, and the increase in the annual average tourism income and the tertiary industry is beneficial in increasing cultural services. Among them, the impact of hydraulic engineering on water production and the tertiary industry on cultural services are the most significant, with the change in the human disturbance index having the most substantial impact on soil conservation, carbon sequestration, and habitat support (3) at the micro level. Increasing pesticide and fertilizer application, willingness and use by farmers has a positive impact on food supply and a negative impact on habitat quality. An increase in the number and willingness of farmers participating in restoring farmland to forests and water conservancy projects was observed. This has a positive impact on soil conservation, water production, and carbon sequestration. Among them, the application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has the most significant impact on food supply and habitat support, and the willingness to implement the projects on restoring farmlands to forests has the most significant impact on carbon sequestration. The willingness to implement terracing has the greatest impact on water production and soil conservation, and aesthetic value has the greatest impact on cultural services.

The ecological barrier is a complex ecosystem that couples the human–nature relationship, and the ecologically critical area is an irreplaceable area with a special value in the ecosystem. Therefore, protecting the ecologically critical area is vital for maintaining and improving regional ecological security. Limited research has been conducted on the evolution of ecologically critical areas, and none of the studies have considered the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of the driving factors for different evolution modes and types. Therefore, this research adopts the ecologically critical index, landscape expansion index, and the random forest model to analyze the pattern, driving factors, and its spatial-temporal heterogeneity to the evolution modes and specific types of ecologically critical areas in the Sichuan–Yunnan ecological barrier area in the last 15 years. The results showed that: (1) the ecologically critical areas in the Sichuan–Yunnan ecological barrier have changed dramatically, with the area reduction being 61.06%. Additionally, the spatial distribution characteristics of the ecologically critical area from north to south include planar, point, and linear forms. (2) The evolution trend of the ecologically critical area is ‘degradation–expansion–degradation’. Spread is the predominant type of expansion mode, whereas atrophy is the predominant type of degradation mode, indicating that the evolution mainly occurs at the edge of the original ecologically critical areas. (3) In general, precipitation, area of forest, area of cropland, and GDP have contributed significantly to the evolution of ecologically critical areas. However, the same driving factor has different effects on the expansion and degradation of these areas. Expansion is driven by multiple factors at the same time but is mainly related to human activities and land use change, whereas for degradation, climate and policy are the main driving factors. The present research aimed to quantitatively identify the evolution modes and specific types of ecologically critical areas and explore the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of driving factors. The results can help decision-makers in formulating ecological protection policies according to local conditions and in maintaining and enhancing the regional ecological functions, thereby promoting the sustainable development of society-economy-ecology.

The process of eliminating absolute poverty is inevitable for China’s social and economic transformation. However, there are currently few studies on the relationship between land use transformation (LUT) and rural income under different stages of poverty governance. This study, therefore, uses spatial autocorrelation analysis and a multiscale geographic weighted regression (MGWR) model to explore the mechanisms of LUT on rural income and its spatiotemporal heterogeneity in Yunnan Province during the comprehensive poverty alleviation (CPA) period and the targeted poverty alleviation (TPA) period at the county scale. The results demonstrate that: (1) the numbers of both low-income and high-income counties continued to decrease, while the number of middle-high-income counties increased, and rural income demonstrated a positive spatial correlation. (2) Most of the variables in the dominant recessive increased in the CPA and decreased in the TPA period. As for recessive morphology, the ecological function variables decreased first and then increased. (3) The driving force of dominant morphology is strong and sustained, and the driving force of recessive morphology is gradually enhanced. The results are vital for consolidating the results of poverty eradication and bridging rural revitalization. They may also provide useful references for sustainable land use and effective poverty alleviation in other developing countries.