Establishing a mechanism for realizing the value of ecological products is important for implementing the concept of an ecological society in China. It is a key means of acting upon the idea that green mountains and clear waters are as valuable as gold and silver, and it is a necessary requirement to promote sustainable green development and encourage harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. This article summarizes the connotations of ecological products, the accounting of ecological product value, and the progress made nationally and in Shandong province in promoting the mechanisms for realizing the value of ecological products. Based on the analysis of Shandong’s practice in various means of realizing ecological product value, such as the “forest chief system +”, “two mountain banks”, “mining ecological restoration”, “health tourism”, “ecological agriculture, culture, and tourism”, and “forest ecological compensation”, this article summarizes and proposes three types of ecological product value realization paths: government-led, government + market, and market paths. It also proposes four types of ecological product value realization modes: ecological resource indicators and equity exchanges, ecological governance and value enhancement, ecological industrial operations, and ecological protection compensation. Furthermore, this article puts forward targeted suggestions and methods for value realization in four areas: policy, technology, industry, and markets, providing an experiential reference for exploring diversified ecological product value realization in various regions of China.

Promoting coordinated development of resources and environment is an important aspect of building a harmonious society and ecologically sustainable civilization. Here we provide scientific basis to promote the development of ecologically sensitive civilization, via a mathematical statistics method that calculates the degree of coordinated development. This model is of great practical and social significance, providing strength to research around coordinated development of resources and economy. Based on evaluation of characteristics of the present resource environment and economic development of Shandong Peninsula city group, a coordinated measure of resource environment and economic development was calculated. Overall, the highest coordination measurement was found for Weihai, followed by Yantai, Qingdao, Ji’nan, Weifang, Rizhao, Zibo and Dongying. According to evaluation results of coordination measures for each city, we put forward suggestions for sustainable development of Shandong Peninsula region.

The Yellow River Delta adjacent to the Bohai Sea is located in the monsoon region of northern China, which is sensitive to global climate change. The core data of KY-01 borehole in the Yellow River Delta and the published records were used to reconstruct the climate environment. Based on the analysis of carbonate content, magnetic susceptibility, Ostracoda, foraminifera, sporopollenin and AMS 14C dating on the KY-01 borehole sediment core, the evolution of both the climate and sedimentary environment has been discussed. The results show that: 7656–4145 cal.aBP, seawater moved toward the land surface and the climate was generally warm and humid, when there were small-scale extreme climate fluctuations; 4145–2544 cal.aBP, transgression and recession occurred, the climate changed from warm-wet to dry-cold and there were small-scale extreme climatic events; and 2544 cal.aBP–1855 AD, the sea level was relatively low, transgression and retreat alternately occurred, the climate was drier and colder than the previous stage and the warming and cooling alternated. During the middle Holocene, cold-dry events occurred between 5737–5422 and 4451–4081 cal.aBP, which is consistent with both Chinese and worldwide climate records.

Research on the carrying capacity and security of water resources is vital for its contribution to implementing sustainable development goals. The limitation of water resources is one of the most important factors that influence the sustainable utilization of resources. Studying the carrying capacity of water resources will not only facilitate monitoring and forecast of national resources and environmental carrying capacity, but also be valuable for building ecological civilization. According to the principles of evaluation system, the carrying capacity of water resources on Shandong peninsula is explored. A comprehensive evaluation model of the carrying capacity of water resources is constructed based on the carrying capacity of water resources index and the composite of water resources index. The results show that the capacity of water resources on Shandong peninsula is generally consistent with overexploitation, and that the development and utilization of water resources has reached a considerable scale under existing economic and technological conditions. The carrying capacity of water resources in this region is relatively small, and the contradiction between supply and demand of water resources is alarming. Relative countermeasures are put forward, to improve the water resources carrying capacity and to provide a basis for future sustainable development and utilization of water resources in this region.

Loess deposits are widely distributed across the globe and provide detailed records of climatic changes since the Quaternary period. Their geochemical element characteristics are important indicators of paleoenvironmental evolution and provenance. Therefore, four typical loess sections from four different islands of the Miaodao Islands were selected for systematically geochemical analysis of major and trace elements. The geochemical data of major and trace elements are very similar, indicating that the loess of all islands on the Miaodao have a common provenance. The geochemical test results show that t SiO₂, Al₂O₃, Fe₂O₃ and CaO are the major chemical components of loess, with an average total content of 85–90%. The average Eu/Eu*, ΣLREE/ΣHREE, La_N/Yb_N, Gd_N/Yb_N values of the Miaodao Islands loess range from 0.65 to 0.69, 7.84 to 8.31, 8.02 to 9.99, 1.40 to 1.76. These data are similar to and different from those of the Chinese Loess Plateau, indicating the diversity of Miaodao Islands Loess provenance. The CIA (Chemical Index of Alteration) (50–65) and Na/K results suggest that the loess here had experienced incipient chemical weathering. The A-CN-K (Al₂O₃-CaO* + Na₂O-K₂O) diagram indicates that the weathering trend of the loess sections is consistent with that of continental weathering. The local loess data points are close and parallel to the A-CN line, suggesting that the loess dust material on the Miaodao Islands originated from the extensive upper continental crust, and was highly mixed in the process of wind transport and deposition. The relationships of Log[(CaO + Na₂O)/K₂O] versus Log(SiO₂/Al₂O₃), Na₂O/Al₂O₃ versus K₂O/Al₂O₃, LaN/YbN versus Eu/Eu*, Sc-Th-La and Zr-Sc-Th plots of major and trace elements reveal that the loess sources for the Miaodao Islands are similar to those of the Loess Plateau, which were derived from alluvial fan deposits flanking the Qilian Shan in China, the Gobi Altay and Hangayn Mountains in Mongolia. However, the loess of the Miaodao Islands is coarser in average grain size and contains abundant marine fossils, with gravel layers, indicating it is allochthous and near-source, which suggests it mainly originated from the adjacent exposed sea floor sediments of the Bohai Sea during glacial periods. Finally, we conclude that the loess of the Miaodao Islands is the result of a gradual accumulation process, in which the relative amount of distant-source material decreased and the near-source material increased in response to changes in sea level and paleoclimate. Our findings support that the loess of the Miaodao Islands was formed by mixing material from distant and proximal sources.