This study explored the role of viable cells and active metabolites in the seed-coating preparations of living Streptomyces globisporus in plant growth promotion and disease control against Verticillium wilt of cotton. Pot experiments were carried out to evaluate the effects of seed coating with living (LA), inactivated (IA), and 10-fold diluted living (DLA) preparations of S. globisporus Act7 and Act28 on plant growth performance and disease index of cotton seedlings under attack by Verticillium dahliae. Compared with the control, leaf greenness was increased by 50.0–70.1% across all the three treatments of Act7 (LA7, IA7, and DLA7), and the leaf area of LA7- and DLA7-treated seedlings was increased by more than twice (p < 0.05). DLA7 also increased shoot weight by 62.2%, while IA7 and DLA7 improved plant biomass by 30.4% and 72.1%, respectively (p < 0.05). The root vitality of IA7- and DLA7-treated seedlings was enhanced by 69.1% and 75.8%, respectively. The disease index of Verticillium wilt was reduced by 31.9% (LA7), 25.0% (IA7), and 66.7% (DLA7) after treatments. The effects of Act28 preparations were similar to those of Act7 preparations. Through the combined action of viable spores and active metabolites, seed coating with an appropriate dose of living S. globisporusan can considerably promote plant growth and improve root vitality, while reducing the incidence of Verticillium wilt in cotton seedlings under attack by V. dahliae.

Land space underpins an ecological civilization. A thorough grasp of regional natural resources and subsequent optimization of the ecological security pattern are both essential for the comprehensive development and overall planning of the management of natural resources. In this study, we established and optimized the ecological security pattern in Shaanxi Province, China. Landscape patches distinguished by high importance of ecosystem services (carbon fixation and oxygen release, water conservation, habitat maintenance, and soil conservation) and high sensitivity of ecological environment to human interference (ecological sensitivity index) were extracted as ecological sources. An ecological resistance surface was built based on the following resistance factors: land-use type, topographic position index, and soil erosion intensity. A minimum cumulative resistance model was used to identify ecological corridors. Our results showed that those ecological sources with high to extreme ecological importance and sensitivity together covered an area of 67,457 km2 (32.8% of the total land area of Shaanxi Province). A total of 32 ecological nodes were identified at the center of important ecological sources to serve as main areas for implementing ecological protection projects. In addition, 72 ecological corridors were identified, towards which efforts should be targeted to maintain their functions for the inter-connection and serial connection of ecological nodes and source patches. The ecological corridors create favorable habitats for wildlife and superior spaces for ecological migration based on the blue and green linear corridor system. According to these findings, we propose establishing an ecological security pattern featuring “two barriers, three belts, and multiple corridors” in Shaanxi Province and that the green ecological security barriers should be strengthened based on their natural background and resource endowments.

The urban heat island (UHI) is a typical environmental problem that affects people’s health and restricts urban development. Understanding the cooling effect of ecological landscapes and residents’ perceptions of the cooling effect can help guide urban planning and mitigate environmental risk. This study analyzed the spatiotemporal evolution of UHI in the central area of Xi’an City in 1999, 2006, 2014, and 2019, and compared the cooling effect of green space and water among 13 urban parks in 2019. Furthermore, we investigated the constraining effect of landscape patterns on UHI and residents’ perceptions. Our results show that the area of moderate temperature region increased significantly in the past 20 years, and the UHI of old urban areas has been reduced. The UHI hot spots generally migrated to the northwest, and a shrinking–transferring–diffusing trend was observed across three periods (1999–2006, 2006–2014, 2014–2019). In addition, the cooling effect of parks increased with the proportion of water area, and the average cooling intensity and cooling amplitude were measured at 3.00 °C and 241.43 m, respectively. It was identified that a larger area, a longer circumference, and a more regular shape were more beneficial in reducing the urban thermal environment. Based on 325 questionnaires, we found that 73.23% of residents believed that the cooling effect of green space and water has become better in recent years, but less-educated people tended to be pessimistic about this. Among the residents, 79.08 and 40.92%, respectively, believed that the area and shape of the ecological landscape had an influence on the cooling effect. The comparison of remote sensing inversion results and questionnaire responses revealed that it is critical to incorporate residents’ perceptions into urban construction planning for heat risk prevention.

Linear cultural heritage—a heritage system spanning time and space—is a large-scale cultural settlement that accommodates various heritage types. Here, we comprehensively explored the Straight Road (Zhidao) of the Qin Dynasty in Shaanxi Province, China, as a gene of traditional cultural connotations and geographical features, and provided holistic conservation strategies and effective utilization paths. From an ecological security pattern perspective, 4399.89 km2 of ecological sources and 19 ecological nodes were identified based on the importance of four ecosystem services—carbon sequestration and oxygen release, water conservation, habitat maintenance, and soil retention. Then, 45 ecological corridors with a total length of 2938.49 km were determined using the minimum cumulative resistance model. The intersections of ecological corridors were distinguished and the key areas of cultural landscape construction were extracted by taking into account the spatial distribution of existing relics as well as the spatial network relationship of prohibited-development areas and existing gray corridors (roads), blue corridors (rivers), and green ecological corridors (shade zones, green belts, recreational greenways). A plan was proposed to construct 98.45 km2 of new parks (country parks: 28.38 km2, forest parks: 70.07 km2) and 101.26 km of new landscape corridors (urban type: 32.08 km, countryside type: 26.49 km, ecological type: 42.69 km). Multilevel landscape complexes should be built to form a functional and networked ecological–cultural spatial structure system. Findings of this study could provide ecological ideas for promoting the reservation and active utilization of linear cultural-heritage corridors on a regional scale.

The Human Critical Area (HCA) is an area that characterizes the surface landscape created by human beings in the Anthropocene. Based on the signatures left by major human activities over the Earth′s surface, this research demarcates an arid inland region of Northwest China, the “Three Water Lines”, into four HCA types: Agricultural Area, Built-up Area, Ecological Area, and Bare Area. This paper explores the HCA′s distribution and changes in the “Three Water Lines” region between 2000 and 2020 with land use/cover data, as well as the impact of socioeconomic factors on the HCA dynamics with statistics sourcing from authoritative yearbooks. To achieve this, the Land Use Transition Matrix is used to investigate the changes in area and distribution, while binary linear regression and stepwise multiple linear regression are applied to examine the single and joint effects of the socioeconomic factors. The main findings are as follows: (i) The four HCA types are distinguished quantitatively and by their distribution patterns. Ecological Area and Bare Area cover most (more than 90% in total) of the territory with extensive and continuous distribution. Agricultural Area is mainly found on the eastern and western parts of the region, with flat terrain, abundant water resources, and moderate temperatures. Built-up Area is the most concentrated but has an unbalanced distribution and the lowest quantity. (ii) Despite some discernible spatial and quantity changes at regional and county levels between 2000 and 2020, the general characteristics in HCA’s structure and distribution pattern have mainly remained consistent. (iii) Transitions between HCA types occur constantly, and the primary source type of the transitions differs from one another. Ecological Area and Bare Area form the sources of the most evident transitions. (iv) Agricultural Area and Built-up Area are more prone influence from some socioeconomic dynamics. By contrast, there is no evidence that socioeconomic factors directly affect Bare Area. As the first empirical study of the newly conceived concept, Human Critical Area, this paper sheds light on the renovation of geographic traditions of studying the evolution of the human-environment system through the lens of human activities-driven landscape changes.