The types, contents, and microstructures of clay minerals play important roles in controlling the adsorption and desorption of ion-absorbed type rare earth ores and heavy metals. By selecting a typical rare earth ore profile, we conducted a leaching experiment and used XRD (X-ray diffraction) and TEM (Transmission electron microscopy) analyses to determine the clay mineral types and microstructural changes after various leaching periods. The XRD phase analyses showed that the main minerals in the simulated rare earth ore were quartz, potassium feldspar, kaolinite, and illite. TEM images showed that the mineral aggregates were broken, disintegrated, and transformed by the leaching process, and a large number of moire fringes were visible. With continuous leaching, REEs (Rare Earth Elements) were gradually re-solved and leached. The results of the leaching experiment indicate that fine-grained minerals in rare earth ores, such as potassium feldspar and clay minerals, migrated downward with the leaching solution. Leaching also promoted the alteration of potassium feldspar to clay minerals, as well as mutual alteration of clay minerals. Under acidic or neutral conditions during the early stage, potassium feldspar was altered to kaolinite or illite, whereas during the middle and late stages of leaching it was altered as follows: illite → mixed-layer illite-kaolinite → kaolinite → mixed-layer kaolinite-illite → illite. This transformation has an important effect on the release of REEs and heavy metals and provides insights into improving the leaching process and explaining heavy metal pollution in rare earth mining areas.

In the context of sustainable development and dual-carbon construction, in order to clarify the future changes in land use and carbon storage in the GBA, this study used the PLUS and InVEST models as well as Geoda software to simulate and predict the spatial development pattern of land use as well as the changes in carbon stocks in the GBA in 2030 under multiple scenarios. The results show that (1) From 1990 to 2020, carbon storage decreased year by year. (2) In 2030, except for the EPS, the future carbon storage prediction values of the remaining scenarios are lower than those in 2020, especially the carbon storage prediction value under the EDS, which is the lowest at 8.65 × 10⁸ t. (3) The spatial distribution of carbon storage in the GBA has significant spatial heterogeneity. The high-value areas of carbon storage are distributed in the east and west wings as well as southwest of the GBA, while the low-value areas are concentrated in the middle and east. The research results can provide a reasonable scientific basis for the territorial space resource planning of the GBA under the goal of “dual carbon”.

Poyang Lake is an essential natural wetland in the Yangtze River basin and plays a vital role in maintaining the ecosystem function and ecological security in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. However, the relative importance and spatial heterogeneity of the impacts of human activities and land use changes on ecological security needs to be further explored. Here, we analyzed the habitat quality level around Poyang Lake in 2022 and explored the factors of habitat quality change from a geographical perspective. The land use structure changes around the Poyang Lake basin from 2000 to 2022 were quantitatively analyzed, and then the relative importance and spatial heterogeneity of each factor on ecological security changes were investigated using geographic probes. The results show that (1) The worst quality habitat (0–0.1) consists mainly of construction land (1624.9 km²) with an area of 1634.64 km²; (2) Construction land continues to increase with the most significant change, and the dynamic land use attitude is 0.47. Grassland and mudflats have the greatest decrease. The increase in cultivated land in different periods is mainly due to the shift of water surface and forest land; (3) The drivers of habitat quality in Poyang Lake were significantly influenced by the interaction of socioeconomic factors. The explanatory power of population density interacting with the total year‐end population and population density interacting with administrative area exceeded 0.84. These values were higher than the explanatory power of each individual factor, indicating that habitat quality was primarily associated with population density, total year‐end population, and administrative area. These results suggest that human activities contribute to the degradation of wetlands around Poyang Lake. This study has significant reference value for coordinating human–land relationships in Poyang Lake, optimizing land management policy, and improving the sustainable development of cities.

The migration and spatial distribution characteristics of topsoil rare earth elements (REEs) are significant for the risk assessment of the external environment. However, the spatial distribution of REEs in the topsoil of ion-adsorption type rare earth element (REE) mining areas is poorly studied. We aimed to determine the differences and control factors of the spatial distribution of REEs in the topsoil of typical rare earth mines in South Jiangxi, South China. Sixty-five topsoil samples and eighteen profile samples were collected and analyzed for their rare earth content to elucidate spatial autocorrelation and heterogeneity using statistical analysis software (IBM SPSS Statistics 26.0.0.0, GS+9.0, and Arcgis10.2.0.3348). Moran index analysis showed that the positive correlation between sampling points was significant within the range of 0–500 m. The best fitting models of the semi-variance variogram were the exponential model, Gaussian model, and spherical model. The sequence of the spatial structure (C0 + C) was Ho > Tb > La > Pr > Nd > Sm > Gd > Tm > Lu > Dy > Er > Yb > Ce > Eu. The spatial fractal distribution pattern was Ho > Tb > Lu > Er > Dy > Yb > Tm > Gd > Ce > La > Eu > Sm > Pr > Nd. This indicated that the light rare earth elements (LREEs) and heavy rare earth elements (HREEs) in the topsoil were significantly different from the other sediments. This study provides new evidence for the environmental quality assessment of the in situ leaching of ionic rare earth ores into the topsoil layer.

Poyang Lake is an essential natural wetland in the Yangtze River basin and plays a vital role in maintaining the ecosystem function and ecological security in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. However, the relative importance and spatial heterogeneity of the impacts of human activities and land use changes on ecological security needs to be further explored. Here, we analyzed the habitat quality level around Poyang Lake in 2022 and explored the factors of habitat quality change from a geographical perspective. The land use structure changes around the Poyang Lake basin from 2000 to 2022 were quantitatively analyzed, and then the relative importance and spatial heterogeneity of each factor on ecological security changes were investigated using geographic probes. The results show that (1) The worst quality habitat (0–0.1) consists mainly of construction land (1624.9 km2) with an area of 1634.64 km2; (2) Construction land continues to increase with the most significant change, and the dynamic land use attitude is 0.47. Grassland and mudflats have the greatest decrease. The increase in cultivated land in different periods is mainly due to the shift of water surface and forest land; (3) Wetland land use change drivers are more influenced by the interaction of socioeconomic factors. The explanatory degrees of the interaction between population density and total year-end population and population density and administrative area are greater than 0.84. The data are greater than the explanatory degrees of every single factor, indicating that the land use change is mainly coupled with population density, total year-end population, and administrative area. These results reveal that human activities influence the degradation of wetlands around the Poyang Lake area. This study has significant reference value for coordinating human–land relationships in Poyang Lake, optimizing land management policy, and improving the sustainable development of cities