AUTHOR=Rong-bo Zhang , Chang-biao Zhong TITLE=The establishment of the national key ecological functional zone and the county’s ecological green development JOURNAL=Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution VOLUME=11 YEAR=2023 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ecology-and-evolution/articles/10.3389/fevo.2023.1144245 DOI=10.3389/fevo.2023.1144245 ISSN=2296-701X ABSTRACT=

Ecological green development is the development of conforming to nature and promoting the harmonious coexistence of man and nature. As the most basic and supportive grassroots political unit, the county level occupies a special key position in the overall national green development strategy. How to evaluate the ecological green development of the county, protect the green earth, and respond to climate change, have become a new problem facing various countries around the world. To this end, China is determined to implement the establishment of a national key ecological functional zone pilot policy to study its ecological green development from the perspective of the county. Based on the literature review and theoretical mechanism, this paper selects 1997 county-level data indicators in mainland China from 2007 to 2019 to explore the role of the establishment of national key ecological function areas on the ecological green development of counties. The implementation of the national key ecological function zone policy can significantly increase the vegetation normalization index by about 0.035–0.037 units. The implementation of the policy has greatly expanded the capacity and range of above-ground and below-ground biomass. The reduction of large-scale investment by the government, the improvement of quality and efficiency of enterprises in the region, and the increase artificial afforestation are important transmission mechanisms for the implementation of policies to affect the green development of counties. The implementation of the policy has a positive green spillover effect on adjacent areas, which can realize regional coordinated ecological governance. Each additional hectare of artificial afforestation can absorb about 134,800 tons of carbon emissions each year, bringing additional benefits of 730 million yuan. It releases about 98,000 tons of oxygen a year, which can be used for 1.312 billion people for oxygen respiration consumption every year.