No single hypothesis or theory has been widely accepted for explaining the functional mechanism of global alpine/arctic treeline formation. The present study tested whether the alpine treeline is determined by (1) the needle nitrogen content associated with photosynthesis (carbon gain); (2) a sufficient source-sink ratio of carbon; or (3) a sufficient C-N ratio. Nitrogen does not limit the growth and development of trees studied at the Himalayan treelines. Levels of non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) in trees were speciesspecific and site-dependent; therefore, the treeline cases studied did not show consistent evidence of source/carbon limitation or sink/growth limitation in treeline trees. However, results of the combined three treelines showed that the treeline trees may suffer from a winter carbon shortage. The source capacity and the sink capacity of a tree influence its tissue NSC concentrations and the carbon balance; therefore, we suggest that the persistence and development of treeline trees in a harsh alpine environment may require a minimum level of the total NSC concentration, a sufficiently high sugar:starch ratio, and a balanced carbon source-sink relationship.

National parks throughout the world are increasingly challenged to accommodate the dual mandates of protecting natural and cultural resources while providing positive recreation experiences for park visitors. This is particularly true for China's national forest parks (NFPs), now important destinations for both the domestic and international tourist markets. The sustainable management of the NFPs requires an understanding of park visitors' attitudes. This paper examines how visitors perceive the roles and functions, policies and appropriate uses relating to China's NFPs, based on data from an important NFP. Results suggest that visitors' attitudes towards NFPs are positive. The majority of study participants placed higher priority on the protection of the ecological integrity of NFPs than on their development and use for recreation and tourism. They were supportive of NFP policies for limiting visitor numbers and phasing out inappropriate uses. Non-consumptive activities were viewed as highly appropriate while religious activities and dancing/karaoke lounges were seen as highly inappropriate. Visitors who placed higher priority on the protection of ecological integrity were less likely to compromise protection with use, and more likely to support non-consumptive activities. Future research needs are discussed.

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Nature-based tourism is a global phenomenon, with traditional forms of use of natural areas, such as wood harvesting and agriculture, paving the way for ecotourism. However, there has been limited exploration of the role of institutions in driving this transition. Consequently, this paper sought to explore the role of institutions in producing space for tourism within National Forest Parks (NFPs) in China. To achieve this objective 68 nationallevel policy documents from 1949 to 2014 were collected and analyzed. Findings demonstrate a transformation in the role of NFPs, orchestrated by the state, capital and society for tourism. In particular, NFPs, as an ideological space in national development, were not only an outcome of economic, social, political, and ecological processes, but also balanced the power between the state, capital and society. Institutional changes mirrored the dynamic relationship between the state, capital and society in China. Future research should focus on the role of institutions in producing space for tourism for and within parks at the local level, especially in developing contexts.

Forest landscape plays a critical role in the resource management and recreational planning of forest destinations. An assessment of forest landscape quality (FLQ) could reflect the distribution of landscape resources, hence identifying the hotpots and areas with high visual quality and protection values. The objective of this study is to propose, for the first time, a methodology for assessing FLQ at the national level. Based on China's forestry inventory database, the paper identified landform patterns and vegetative patterns as determinants (including 12 indicators) to establish an evaluation index system, and further implemented and mapped FLQ using the ArcGIS Engine platform. Results show high mountain ranges and tropical areas in China often have a high-quality forest landscape, while low FLQ scores are found in low mountains and foothills. The distribution of the four FLQ levels indicates most forest areas are featured with mediocre-or low-quality landscape values, and the differences of FLQ among different forest types are obvious. Furthermore, there is a relatively low correlation between the total forest area and the area of high-quality forest landscape. Overall, this study could contribute to enriching the existing assessment system for FLQ and to guiding the planning, policy development, and decision-making for China's forestry administration.

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Scientifically analyzing the spatial pattern and spillover effect of the eco-efficiency of regional tourism embodies the green development theory. In addition, it is also of important significance for realizing the sustainable development of regional tourism and promoting regional ecological civilization. This study incorporates energy consumption and CO2 emissions of tourism into the efficiency evaluation index system. On this basis, the slacks-based measure–data envelopment analysis (SBM-DEA) with undesirable output, the spatial autocorrelation (SAC) model and the spatial Durbin model (SDM) are used to study the spatial pattern and spillover effect of the eco-efficiency of provincial tourism in China from 2008 to 2017. Results show that the following: (1) The average eco-efficiency of national tourism is 0.534, which is at the medium development level as a whole. Among the decomposed efficiencies of eco-efficiency, the scale efficiency drives the optimal development of eco-efficiency in tourism. (2) The eco-efficiency of tourism shows a spatial differentiation pattern on the regional scale as follows: it is the highest in the central region, moderate in the western region, and lowest in the eastern region. (3) The degree of clustering of the eco-efficiency of tourism first increases and then decreases. The SAC-based cluster pattern is dominated by a low-low (LL) cluster, followed successively by a high-high (HH) cluster and a low-high (LH) outlier, while a high-low (HL) outlier is the least significant (4). Among the influencing factors, the technical level shows spatial spillover effects on both the eco-efficiency and pure technical efficiency of tourism; the economic development level and traffic accessibility mainly have spatial spillover effects on the pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency of tourism; the industrial structure and environmental regulation separately have a spatial spillover effect only on the pure technical efficiency and the scale efficiency of tourism.