Grazing affects plant community characteristics and the relationship between above-ground biomass and diversity, which has become a hot topic in grassland ecosystem research in recent years. The present study investigated grassland vegetation in the Two Rivers pastoral area based on 60 sampling points using sampling methods. The effects of grazing on the structural characteristics of plant communities were analysed using the α-diversity index, and the relationship between species diversity and the above-ground biomass of plant communities, as well as their changes, was explored. The results showed that grazing disturbance decreased the number of family species in the grassland plant communities and the similarity between communities; grazing activities significantly decreased the above-ground biomass of the grassland plant communities; the height and cover also showed a decreasing trend (p < 0.01), but the density of the grassland plant communities improved (p < 0.01). The Margalef index, the Shannon–Wiener index, and the Simpson index of the grassland plant communities all showed different degrees of decrease after grazing, while the Alatalo index showed an increase; biomass was positively correlated with the Margalef, Shannon–Wiener, and Alatalo indices and negatively correlated with the Simpson index (p < 0.01). Therefore, in the management and maintenance of grasslands, the impact of grazing on the structural characteristics of plant communities should be taken into account, and reasonable response policies should be implemented according to the actual local situation. This study provides a theoretical basis for grassland maintenance and management and the sustainable development of ecosystems in the pastoral areas of the two river sources of the Altay Mountains.

As a key project of China’s western development, the West-East Natural Gas Transmission Project (WENGT) has effectively alleviated China’s uneven energy distribution and supply-demand issues. It has promoted the optimization of China’s energy structure and sustainable development in the new era, helping to achieve the goal of “double carbon”. Based on pollution data from Chinese industrial enterprises from 2000 to 2012, this paper analyzes the impact of the West-East Natural Gas Pipeline Project on the air pollution emissions of industrial enterprises using a difference-in-difference model and explores the moderating role of local government environmental regulations. The findings indicate that the project significantly reduced air pollutant emissions from industrial enterprises in cities along the route, with a more pronounced reduction effect in areas with higher environmental regulation intensity. Additionally, the emission reduction effect varied among different types of enterprises and regions, with private enterprises showing the smallest reduction impact and the eastern coastal region exhibiting the most significant effect. This paper delves into the relationship between sustainable cross-regional energy development and air pollution emissions from industrial enterprises, providing a theoretical basis for energy conservation and emission reduction policies in China.

In order to explore the changes and interrelationships of grassland plant community species diversity and soil physicochemical properties with elevation gradient, this study takes the grassland in the Burzin forest area of Xinjiang as the research object and analyzes the responses of grassland species diversity, aboveground biomass, and soil physicochemical properties to the changes of elevation gradient within the altitude range of 1000~2200 m in this area. The results of the study show that: (1) The number of species and aboveground biomass reached the highest levels at elevation gradient III and showed a tendency of increasing and then decreasing with elevation. The Margalef and Shannon–Wiener indices were the largest at elevation III, while the Simpson and Alatalo indices were the largest at elevation I. (2) With the change of elevation, the available nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP), soil electric conductivity (SEC), and soil pH showed a trend of increasing and then decreasing, while soil temperature decreased with elevation. Available potassium and soil water content reached their maximum values at elevation I and elevation IV, respectively. (3) The soil conductivity and diversity index were negatively correlated in elevation gradients I to III. In elevation gradient I~III, soil conductivity was positively correlated with the diversity index and aboveground biomass. Available nitrogen had a significant effect on plant diversity and biomass in elevation gradients IV to VI. (4) Aboveground biomass was significantly positively correlated with the Simpson’s index, while the relationship with the Shannon–Wiener index was less significant, and Margalef’s and Alatalo’s indices were not significant. Soil conductivity and pH significantly affected the Margalef and Simpson indices. Available nitrogen was closely related to the aboveground biomass and Margalef and Alatalo indices. Soil moisture content significantly affected Simpson’s index and the aboveground biomass. This study provides a solid theoretical foundation for the conservation and management of grassland plant community ecosystems along the elevation gradient, and has important reference value for study of the impact of environmental change on species diversity and biodiversity conservation.

The lower reaches of the Tarim River in Xinjiang, China are home to desert riparian vegetation dominated by Populus euphratica, which play an important role in windbreak and sand fixation, as well as maintaining the ecological balance of arid regions. Based on dendrochronology, this study analyzed the response of Populus euphratica radial growth to hydrothermal factors in the lower Tarim River region, assessed its resistance and resilience to extreme drought events, developed a multivariate regression model for resilience–hydrothermal factor relationships, and revealed the differential response of its ecological resilience to these factors. The results showed that the maximum, minimum, and mean temperatures and saturated water VPD (vapor pressure deficit) during the spring and growing season were the most significant and positively correlated with Populus euphratica growth. The radial growth of Populus euphratica was negatively correlated with maximum and mean summer temperatures. By region, Yingsu (YS) and Kaerdayi (KE) were more sensitive to seasonal climatic factors. The effect of groundwater on the radial growth of Populus euphratica was the strongest factor, with a highly significant negative correlation (p < 0.01), showing that the radial growth of Populus euphratica slowed with increasing depth of groundwater. The VPD, spring drought severity, and growing season groundwater variability all had a significant effect on Populus euphratica resistance, whereas Populus euphratica resilience was mainly significantly associated with growing season drought severity and summer groundwater variability. Radial growth was positively correlated with spring temperatures and the VPD and negatively correlated with summer temperatures (p < 0.01).

Understanding the coordination between ecosystem service value (ESV) and landscape ecological risk (ERI) is essential for ecological management in arid inland river basins. However, their spatiotemporal coupling and nonlinear driving mechanisms remain poorly understood. Using the main stem of the Tarim River as a case study, this study integrated multi-source data from 1990 to 2020 with a coupling coordination degree (CCD) model and the XGBoost-SHAP interpretable machine learning framework to investigate the evolution and drivers of ESV–ERI coordination. The results revealed a significant and intensifying spatial clustering of CCD, with Global Moran’s I increasing from 0.741 to 0.793. The basin showed a distinct spatial gradient, with high-value clustering in the upper reaches, transitional differentiation in the middle reaches, and low-value clustering in the lower reaches. Land use intensity (LUI) was identified as the dominant driver, explaining 68.9% of CCD variation. The driving mechanisms varied by river section: the upper reaches were mainly influenced by socioeconomic disturbances, the middle reaches were jointly controlled by LUI and deep soil moisture, and the lower reaches were more sensitive to climate variability and land-use change. Nonlinear analysis further showed an inverted U-shaped relationship between LUI and CCD, with a threshold near 1.53. These findings provide new insights into the spatially heterogeneous and nonlinear mechanisms of ESV–ERI coordination and offer scientific support for ecological risk control and land–water resource management in arid inland river basins.