Considering the notion that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”, the effective exploitation of the economic value of forest resources is an important research topic, especially in forest-rich areas. The development of the non-timber forest products (NTFPs) industry has promoted both ecological and economic benefits and has effectively improved farmers’ incomes while protecting forest resources. In order to evaluate the effects of the NTFPs industry on sustaining farmers’ livelihoods and protecting ecological environments, we constructed a performance evaluation index system to determine the poverty alleviation performance of the NTFPs industry in Yunnan Province using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), which covered three aspects: the achievement of poverty alleviation, the sustainability of poverty alleviation and satisfaction with poverty alleviation. Then, we selected Sanhe Village in Nujiang Prefecture, Yunnan Province, as an example to verify and rationalize the evaluation index system and comprehensively evaluate the poverty alleviation performance of the NTFPs industry. Based on data from questionnaires and field interviews, we found the following: (1) the overall poverty alleviation performance of the NTFPs industry in Sanhe Village was 79.33, which indicated that the effect was good; (2) the scores for the achievement of poverty alleviation, the sustainability of poverty alleviation and satisfaction with poverty alleviation were 50.56, 18.57 and 10.2, respectively; (3) there were some problems with the poverty alleviation performance of the NTFPs industry, such as limited capital investments, the weak roles of cooperatives and enterprises, the low enthusiasm of lower-income households and incomplete poverty alleviation projects. Finally, we devised some suggestions that could improve the poverty alleviation performance of the NTFPs industry. This paper presents the performance evaluation index system for the poverty alleviation performance of the NTFPs industry, which could provide a reference for evaluating the developmental effects of the NTFPs industry in other lower-income forest areas. Through our empirical analysis of the development effects of the NTFPs industry on farmers’ livelihoods and ecological environments in Sanhe Village, we found that the development of the NTFPs industry significantly improved the farmers’ livelihoods and ecological environments.

Agroforestry has gained increasing attention as a sustainable land use mode to ensure food security, mitigate global climate change, and improve farmers’ livelihoods. Likewise, agroforestry plays a key role in alleviating poverty, mitigating climate change and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in China. Lanxangia tsaoko, as a typical agroforestry species in Nujiang Prefecture, plays a vital role in improving farmers’ livelihoods. After years of development, the Lanxangia tsaoko industry (LTI) in Nujiang Prefecture has made remarkable achievements and accumulated useful experiences. Taking the development of LTI as an example, this paper analyzes the impact of agroforestry on farmers’ livelihoods and its mechanism through field survey and theoretical deduction. First, by investigating the willingness of households to choose LTI, we found that most farmers have a positive attitude toward LTI, and they actively participate in cooperative organizations. Then, by analyzing the development stage and mode of LTI in Nujiang Prefecture, we found that the industry has made significant progress under the external and internal effects. We also found that the mechanism by which agroforestry affects farmers’ livelihoods is a process in which various stakeholders, including government, enterprises, farmers, etc., participate in industrial development with their production components and advantages. Although agroforestry is an effective way to improve farmers’ livelihoods and promote sustainable agricultural development, it is also necessary to pay attention to risk prevention. This paper discusses the role of agroforestry in farmers’ livelihoods, which provides a reference for lower-income forest areas.

Vegetation, serving as the primary constituent of terrestrial ecosystems, plays a crucial role in regulating energy flow and material cycles and providing vital resources for human socio-economic activities. This study analyzes the spatio-temporal patterns of economic density and vegetation coverage in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) based on forest resource inventory and socio-economic data from 448 counties in 2008, 2013, and 2018. A three-tiered criterion layer is constructed using economic density as the core explanatory variable, encompassing social development factors, land use factors, and natural factors. A two-way fixed effects model is then utilized to analyze the impact of economic density on vegetation coverage. Results reveal that: (1) Spatially, economic density demonstrates a “low in the west and high in the east” pattern, with an overall upward trend in the YRB. Conversely, vegetation cover exhibits a “high in the west and low in the east” pattern, displaying a downward trend. (2) Over the 2008–2018 period, a significant negative correlation between economic density and vegetation cover is observed in each county of the YRB, with vegetation cover decreasing by 1.108% for every 1 unit increase in economic density. Notably, the upstream areas of the YRB experience a significant increase in vegetation coverage, while the middle and lower reaches witness a decrease. (3) Considering control variables, the proportion of the primary industry, urbanization rate, forest protection level, and cultivated land area exert a significant influence on vegetation coverage across the entire basin. Policymakers should formulate relevant policies to achieve sustainable development in the YRB, as discussed in the proposed countermeasures. This study delineates a practical pathway for high-quality economic development and high-level ecological protection in the YRB, offering a valuable reference for analogous research in other regions.

Smallholder agricultural systems in tropical and subtropical regions are threatened by climate change. This systematic review of 218 peer-reviewed studies (2000–2024) synthesizes evidence on agroforestry’s role as a climate-smart economic strategy across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Using a PRISMA-guided approach, we evaluated carbon sequestration pathways, biophysical adaptation benefits, and socioeconomic outcomes. Findings indicate that agroforestry systems can sequester 0.5–5 Mg C ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ in biomass and soils. The results show that agroforestry has the potential to improve above- and below-ground carbon stocks, moderate microclimates, decrease erosion and improve functional biodiversity. The results, however, differ greatly depending on the type of system, ecology and practice. The socioeconomic advantages can be diversification of income and stability of the yield, and adoption is limited due to barriers related to the economy, lack of security in tenure, information asymmetry, and insufficient policy encouragement. We find that agroforestry is a multifunctional and climate resistant land-use approach, but the potential that agroforestry has cannot be fulfilled without context-specific policies, better extension services and inclusive carbon financing schemes.

This paper uses a questionnaire and interviews from households in ethnic minority areas of the Jianchuan County (Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture) and Pingbian County (Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture) in Yunnan Province to explore the willingness of foresters to manage forests. Using the Sustainable Livelihoods Analysis framework, we select three indicators including the variables of individual social economic attributes, the cognition and experience of forest landowners, and policy guidance. We use a binary logistic regression model to analyze the factors affecting the willingness of foresters to participate in forest management. Through the above analysis, we found the following: (1) Forest landowners’ willingness to engage in forest management in ethnic minority regions is relatively high, at 71.98%. (2) Variables of individual social economic attributes have the most significant degree of influence on the willingness to engage in forest management. (3) Standard of living and the woodland area have a significant positive effect on forest land management intentions, while education level, whether they are compensated by public welfare forests, and whether they have participated in the project of returning farmland to forest and grassland have a significant negative effect on management intentions. (4) There are significant differences between forest landowners’ willingness to engage in forest management and the influencing factors between minority regions and non-minority regions.

Nature reserves are among the regions with the richest forest and grass resources. They face dual pressures of protection and development. The non-timber forest products (NTFPs) industry combines ecological protection with economic development. This unique function provides a key solution to this contradiction. Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), this study employs a structural equation model (SEM). We collected survey data from 361 farmers. These farmers live in communities surrounding Yunling Provincial Nature Reserve. We empirically examine how behavioral attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control influence their willingness to participate in the non-timber forest products (NTFPs) industry. The results show that subjective norm and perceived behavioral control significantly enhance participation willingness. Subjective norm emerges as the strongest predictor. In contrast, behavioral attitude has no significant effect. This suggests that external social pressure and perceived self-capability outweigh simple benefit expectations in shaping willingness. Accordingly, we recommend three measures. First, strengthen external support to translate attitudes into actual willingness. Second, leverage social networks to amplify subjective norms. Third, enhance farmers’ endogenous capacity to consolidate their participation base. These measures can foster a win–win outcome for ecological protection and community income growth.