Evaluating the conservation effectiveness of multiple types of protected areas (PAs) on carbon sequestration services can enhance the role of PAs in mitigating global warming. Here, we evaluated the conservation status and effectiveness of national parks, nature reserves, forest parks, geo-parks, and scenic spots on carbon sequestration within the Loess Plateau throughout 2000–2020. The results show that all existing PA types have good representation and conservation effectiveness on carbon sequestration. Nature reserves are the most representative of carbon sequestration but are the least effective in protecting carbon sequestration and are the only ones that are weekly effective in protecting critical carbon sequestration. The main factors influencing these results are PA size, 2000 precipitation, slope, change rate of evapotranspiration, PA rank, and 2000 evapotranspiration. We suggest upgrading the critical carbon sequestration distribution areas in scenic spots, forest parks and geo-parks to national parks or nature reserves in the future and implementing appropriate protection and restoration measures in low carbon sequestration areas within grassland and wild plant nature reserves to help achieve the goal of carbon neutrality early.

The increasing contradiction between ecological conservation and community development is a common challenge faced in most protected areas worldwide. Since 2019, China has used a “sky window” policy to alleviate the dilemma of environmental protection and sustainable production activities in national parks. This policy’s impact on household income in national park communities has received little attention. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the impact of the sky window policy on household income in Wuyi Mountain National Park communities in China and explore its mechanism of action in order to provide policy recommendations for achieving the protection goal of the national park and enabling win–win development of the community. Based on a total of 951 samples, which were collected through face-to-face interviews with 518 households in two periods, we used the difference-in-differences (DID) model to obtain consistent results and conducted robustness tests on the model by employing propensity score matching (PSM). The results showed that the “sky window” policy had a significant negative impact on the income of households in national park communities, which was mainly caused by the relaxation of restrictive regulations on farmers’ planting and breeding activities within national parks. The findings indicate that government departments in China need to further improve the laws and regulations regarding national park construction, establish a dynamic evaluation mechanism to regularly review the effects of the “sky window” policy, and make timely adjustments based on changes in the ecological environment of national parks and the development needs of local communities. At the same time, to ensure a stable source of income for residents, it is also necessary to establish a platform for realizing the value of ecological products, strengthen support for livelihood transformation, and establish long-term benefit linkage mechanisms. This study contributes to the research on the effective management of national parks, community welfare improvement, and sustainable development in developing countries.

Given the ongoing global decline in biodiversity, species reintroduction has become an important strategy for the conservation of endangered wildlife. Père David’s deer (Elaphurus davidianus), a historically extinct-in-the-wild species successfully reintroduced in China, represents a useful model for evaluating ecological responses following reintroduction into different habitats. Increasing evidence suggests that fecal microbiota can serve as a non-invasive indicator of host-associated microbial communities and their variation under different conditions. In this study, we investigated the fecal microbiota of a reintroduced population in the Daqingshan National Nature Reserve (Inner Mongolia). A total of 90 fresh fecal samples were collected between December 2021 and October 2023 across different seasonal periods. High-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing was used to characterize microbial community structure, and comparative analyses were conducted alongside published datasets from populations in Beijing and Shishou. The results revealed significant seasonal variation in microbial community composition and diversity, with distinct clustering of rainy, dry, and transitional (October) samples. Several taxa exhibited differential enrichment between seasons, suggesting temporal shifts in microbial community structure. A comparative analysis with other populations (Beijing and Shishou) revealed differences in microbial composition at broad taxonomic levels, suggesting potential variations related to regional environmental conditions, diet, and management practices. Overall, the observed patterns are consistent with seasonal variation in plant resource availability and highlight the potential influence of geographic context on microbial community structure. This study provides baseline data on the fecal microbiota of Père David’s deer in a semi-arid steppe environment and the potential indication of host suitability from the perspective of the microbiome.