This paper aims at investigating the change over time in the environmental awareness in rural Chinese communities and its correlation with environmental management measures implemented at the local level. We identify three main components of awareness, namely: perception, behavior, and attitude toward environmental management measures. Data were collected from two surveys in three villages in northern China in 2006 and 2015 that interviewed 125 and 129 respondents, respectively, and were analyzed employing an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach. The results discussed in the paper show that environmental awareness increased between 2006–2015, and was mainly manifested in better environmental behavior and understanding of environmental status due an improvement in rural infrastructure and a greater amount of information provided to rural residents about the environment. Place of residence had a considerable influence on respondents’ environmental awareness: residents in eco-villages had a higher environmental awareness than those living in common agricultural villages. This appears to indicate a positive nexus between the comprehensiveness of environmental management measures implemented locally, and environmental awareness. Also, the universality of environment issues reduced the importance of socioeconomic and demographic factors in determining the degree of environmental awareness. However, more attention should be paid to villagers’ external behavior and inner feelings, such as their attitude to governmental management policies. These findings yield important policy implications that are relevant to the promotion of environmental awareness in China’s rural communities, and the adoption of more effective environmental management measures.

Leveraging circular regression, this study analyzed phenological data from China spanning the period 2003 to 2015, meticulously examining the effects of temperature, precipitation, and CO₂ concentrations on the phenological patterns of woody and herbaceous plants. For woody plants, the results showed that rising temperatures and increased precipitation notably advanced early growth phases, such as budburst, leaf unfolding, and first flowering (p < 0.001). Specifically, CO₂ concentrations had a pronounced impact on the leaf unfolding phase (p < 0.001). In contrast, autumnal events, particularly fruit maturity, autumn coloring, and leaf fall, were delayed by warmer temperatures and higher precipitation (p < 0.001), Of these events, only fruit maturity demonstrated sensitivity to CO₂ concentration variations. In the realm of herbaceous plants, elevated temperatures and precipitation collectively hastened the budburst phase (p < 0.001), which is an effect further accentuated by high CO₂ levels (p < 0.001). Moreover, rising temperatures and augmented precipitation were instrumental in advancing the flowering phase (p < 0.001). Conversely, warmer conditions slowed down the fruiting process (p < 0.001), with this delay somewhat mitigated by the effects of increased precipitation. Interestingly, while CO₂ concentrations had negligible influence on the flowering and fruiting stages, they noticeably delayed seed dispersal and the initiation of senescence (p < 0.001). Overall, the prevailing trend suggests that plants, whether woody or herbaceous in nature, tend to prolong their growth season under warmer and more humid conditions. The influence of CO₂ concentration, however, is contingent upon the specific phenological phase and plant type. Our findings emphasize the nuanced and stage-specific responses of plant phenology to temperature, precipitation, and CO₂, highlighting the value of using circular regression in ecological studies.

The conflict between economic development and ecological protection continues to intensify, highlighting the necessity for constructing regional ecological security patterns (ESPs) to reconcile the relationship between development and protection effectively. This study used the GMOP and PLUS model to simulate future land use changes by 2030 under the following three scenarios: natural development (ND), ecological protection (EP), and economic development (ED). Employing the MSPA model and circuit theory, it identified ecological source areas and constructed the ESP for the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei urban agglomeration (BTH) from 2000 to 2030. The results indicate that the proportion of ecological source areas increased from 22.24% in 2000 to 23.09% in 2020, the EP scenario showing the highest proportion of ecological source areas compared with the other two scenarios. These areas are densely distributed in the northern and western mountainous regions, with sparse distributions in the southern plains. The number of ecological corridors grew from 603 in 2000 to 616 in 2020, with the EP scenario having more corridors than the other two scenarios. From 2000 to 2030, corridors in the northern and western mountainous areas were denser, shorter, and more variable, while those in the southern plains were less dense, longer, and relatively stable. Over two decades, habitat areas for species in BTH increased, while landscape connectivity decreased. Compared with 2020 and the other two scenarios, the EP scenario saw an increase in habitat areas and improved landscape connectivity. The impact on ecological corridors and improvement areas primarily arose from a combination of socio-ecological drivers (e.g., elevation, slope, population), while the influence on restoration and key areas mainly stemmed from ecological factors (e.g., elevation, temperature, NDVI, precipitation). The findings demonstrate that distinguishing different geomorphological units to improve and restore the regional environment, while considering socio-ecological drivers, is crucial for restoring the overall ESP and landscape connectivity of BTH.

Purpose: Nitrate/nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation (N-DAMO) connects the global cycle of carbon and nitrogen in aquatic ecosystems. The aims of this study were to investigate the spatiotemporal variation of N-DAMO bacteria and its driving factors in a drinking reservoir which are strongly affected by human consumption. Methods: Cloning analyses were used to study the pmoA and 16S rRNA genes of N-DAMO bacteria. Sequencing and phylogenetic analyses were used to investigate the bacterial composition and structure. Redundancy analyses (RDA) and spearman’s correlations analyses were applied to analyze the relationships between bacterial distribution and environmental factors. Result: There were remarkable spatial variations of N-DAMO bacteria in winter. Shannon biodiversity of 16S rRNA genes was higher in winter than that in summer. Compared with other freshwater ecosystems, there was higher diversity of N-DAMO bacteria in Miyun Reservoir. The N-DAMO bacterial communities (16S rRNA and pmoA genes) in sampling sites near to dam were different from the bacterial communities in other sampling sites. The N-DAMO bacterial community structure in dam areas may be associated with the water column depth in front of the dam. Moreover, Spearman’s correlations revealed that DO, NO₃⁻ -N, NO₂⁻-N, and NH₄⁺-N in interstitial water and sediment were potential determinant factors influencing the diversity of N-DAMO bacteria (16S rRNA and pmoA genes). Conclusion: There were distinct seasonal variations in 16S rRNA and spatial variations in pmoA genes. N-DAMO bacterial communities contained novel Methylomirabilis oxyfera-like pmoA genes in Miyun Reservoir. Nitrogen (NO₂⁻-N, NO₃⁻-N, and NH₄⁺-N) were the dominant factor influencing the N-DAMO bacterial community structure in the drinking reservoir. N-DAMO bacterial community structure in dam areas indicates that water depth and DO might be the dominant factor influencing the N-DAMO bacterial communities in the reservoir.