Search Results (7)

Mining-resource-based cities, as distinctive human–environment systems, face urgent challenges from intensified urbanization and mining, leading to land imbalance and ecosystem service degradation. To enhance resilience, it is essential to identify the evolution and drivers of ecosystem services and construct targeted ecological compensation models. This study focuses on Xinzhou, a representative mining city in China, and systematically analyzes three aspects: (1) spatiotemporal dynamics of land use and ecosystem service value (ESV) from 2000 to 2023 using Markov chains, equivalent factor method, hotspot and sensitivity analyses; (2) identification of ESV driving mechanisms through an integrated “stepwise regression + geographical detector” framework; and (3) formulation of ecological compensation models via quantification of priority indices, demand intensity coefficients, and compensation standards. Key findings indicate that land conversion was concentrated in coalfield zones and surrounding built-up areas, involving 2,518,341.75 hm² (35.76% of total area), primarily characterized by a reduction in farmland and expansion of forest, grassland, and construction land. ESV showed a striped spatial pattern, with higher values in mountainous zones and lower values in valleys and basins with frequent human activity. The northwest coalfield region experienced an initial decline followed by a recovery in ESV. Annual mean temperature emerged as the dominant driver, while DEM influence increased annually. All factor interactions exhibited synergistic effects, with natural variables exerting greater influence than socio-economic ones. Ecological compensation demand was high overall, especially in Wutai, Kelan, and Pianguan counties, with high-value compensation areas mainly distributed in the eastern and central parts of Xinzhou. Looking ahead, a compensation framework prioritizing ecological–economic optimization should be developed, guided by zoned, typological, and dynamic configurations. By analyzing ecosystem governance from the perspective of a mining-resource-based city, this study enhances global ecosystem service evaluation frameworks and offers a replicable model to advance transnational ecological cooperation and green urban transformation. Full article

Understanding how plant community characteristics and soil properties vary along altitudinal gradients is essential for ecosystem conservation, restoration, and for predicting ecosystem responses to global environmental change. This study investigated altitudinal patterns and their potential drivers in mountain meadow communities on the southern slope of Wutai Mountain, Northern China. Community characteristics and soil physicochemical properties were measured along an altitudinal gradient ranging from 1800 to 3000 m a.s.l. Most community characteristics exhibited clear altitudinal trends. Species richness, Shannon–Wiener index, Simpson index, aboveground biomass and average plant height all declined significantly with increasing altitude. In contrast, vegetation cover showed a unimodal pattern, initially decreasing and then increasing at higher elevations. Soil physicochemical properties also varied significantly along the altitudinal gradient and were closely associated with changes in community characteristics. Variation partitioning analysis revealed that environmental factors, including altitude and soil properties, explained 71.9% of the total variation in mountain meadow communities. Altitude alone contributed more to community variation than soil factors, indicating its dominant role in shaping community structure. Nevertheless, specific soil properties, particularly soil depth, soil bulk density and soil pH, also exerted significant influences on community characteristics. Overall, our results demonstrate that altitude is a key driver of both vegetation and soil variation in mountain meadows on the southern slope of Wutai Mountain. In addition to altitudinal effects, soil physicochemical properties should be considered when developing conservation and management strategies for mountain meadow ecosystems. Full article

From the mid-Ming to early Qing dynasties, Mount Jizu 雞足山 in Yunnan achieved unexpected prominence within China’s Buddhist sacred landscape—an event of regional, national, and transnational significance. Employing an explicit comparative lens that juxtaposes Jizu with China’s core-region sacred sites like Mount Wutai and Emei, this study investigates the timing, regional dynamics, institutional mechanisms, and causal drivers behind the rapid ascent. Rejecting teleological narratives, it traces the mountain’s trajectory through four developmental phases to address critical historiographical questions: how did a peripheral Yunnan site achieve national prominence within a remarkably compressed timeframe? By what mechanisms could its sacred authority be constructed to inspire pilgrimages even across vast distances? Which historical agents and processes orchestrated these transformations, and how did the mountain’s symbolic meaning shift dynamically over time? Departing from earlier scholarship that privileges regional and secular frameworks, this work not only rebalances the emphasis on religious dimensions but also expands the analytical scope beyond regional confines to situate Mount Jizu within national and transnational frameworks. Eventually, by analyzing the structural, institutional, and agential dynamics—spanning local, imperial, and transnational dimensions—this study reveals how the mountain’s sacralization emerged from the convergence of local agency, acculturative pressures, state-building imperatives, late-Ming Buddhist revival, literati networks, and the strategic mobilization of symbolic capital. It also reveals that Mount Jizu was not a static sacred site but a dynamic arena of contestation and negotiation, where competing claims to spiritual authority and cultural identity were perpetually redefined. Full article

Mount Wutai, China’s earliest Buddhist center, dating to the Han Dynasty’s first century (206 BCE–220 CE), boasts over a hundred monasteries, numerous monuments, and ruins, drawing global pilgrims and travelers. Over its long history, as the geographical focus of imperial support shifted, the ideological underpinnings for structuring the monastic habitation on Mount Wutai also underwent a transformation, consequently altering the pilgrimage paths, monasteries, and mountain gates. However, there remains a paucity of understanding regarding these changes. This paper aims to map out the representative dynamic pilgrimage routines influenced by geo-capital shifts and to reveal the changeable Buddhist ideology of monasticism on Mount Wutai. Through archival studies on ancient transcripts and maps, the interpretation selects the three most significant periods in the development of Buddhism in Mount Wutai: the Northern Wei (386–534 CE), the Sui Tang (581–907 CE), and the Qing Dynasty (1630–1912 CE). The article indicates that Mount Wutai’s monastic strategies have transformed significantly, progressing from free monasticism to the Mañjuśrī maṇḍala mode and ultimately adopting a predominant Tibetan Buddhist character. These changes were driven by shifting Buddhist ideologies and heritage, with pilgrimages and monastic construction responding to these shifts. Full article

Guxin Ruxin 古心如馨 (1541–1616) is credited with the revival of monastic ordinations, which ranks among the major breakthroughs of the late Ming Buddhist renewal. Despite the long-standing ban on ordination ceremonies, he managed to win the trust of fellow monastics, attract local patrons, and eventually gain imperial approval. This paper aims to unravel the reasons that this Vinaya master was recognized as legitimate by contemporaries and descendants, focusing on two key episodes in his hagiographies. In the first of them, Guxin Ruxin had a vision of Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī transmitting monastic precepts to him, whereas in the second one his identity as a reincarnation of Upāli was revealed through a miracle he performed during the restoration of Porcelain Pagoda in Nanjing. The research has shown that the second account was a later interpolation designed on the basis of the hagiography of another prominent monk, Xuelang Hong’en 雪浪洪恩 (1545–1607). By contrast, the first of the narratives, although heavily laden with the elements of local lore, could be a reflection of real experience. The inspiration Guxin Ruxin drew from it might explain his commitment to the cause of Vinaya revival and the ensuing charisma. Full article

The present study aimed to explore traditional farming and its role in sustainable development of the mountainous area based on the indigenous community of Wutai in Taiwan as a case study. It adopted qualitative methods with an ethnographic orientation, to conduct in-depth interviews, participant observation, and focus groups as an integral component of public participation geographic information system (PPGIS), and aerial photo analysis to collect and analyze field data, mainly in 2013 and 2017. The results revealed the continuation of traditional farming practices guided by the traditional farming calendar and characterized by mixed cropping, inter cropping, and rotation, which optimized the use of limited arable lands in the area. These practices also contributed to maximizing and securing local food supply, and maintaining endemic crop varieties. The results suggested that traditional farming offered a way to overcome the limitation of modern agriculture and support ecotourism as a sustainable alternative to mass tourism, by preserving crop diversity, social institutions and cultural traditions, and stabilizing the local environment. Furthermore, our findings showed that traditional farming, in keeping with local capacity, was adaptable to the impacts of climate change. In the last two decades, a returning tide of young residents and retired people involved in traditional farming might play a key role in the slowing down of the loss of agricultural lands in Wutai, influenced by the fashion of healthy foods and environments, as well as development of local ecotourism industry. Learned from this study, while there would be some opportunity for traditional farming to be recognized as one of the key components to promote the sustainable development of indigenous villages in mountain areas, more policy incentives might be considered. Full article