High-quality urbanization and a healthy ecosystem are both the material basis for sustainable social development. However, the tie between terrestrial ecosystem health and urbanization is still unclear. Therefore, we assessed the spatial and temporal dynamics of urbanization and TEH at 368 cities in China from 2000 to 2020, then explored their spatial interaction and driving mechanisms by spatial autocorrelation analysis and structural equation modeling. The results showed: (1) China’s comprehensive urbanization index (UI) improved from 0.08 in 2000 to 0.10 in 2020, contributing by some national urban agglomerations such as Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, and Pearl River Delta. (2) China’s terrestrial ecosystem health index (EHI) also increased from 0.6718 to 0.6788. Ecosystem vigor improved significantly, while ecosystem organization and resilience both decreased. (3) EHI and UI appeared to be locally spatially dependent, and path dependence was presented at municipal scales. (4) At the national scale, urbanization is positive related to EHI, which were enhanced by social, economic and topography factors. The dominant drivers on EHI varied among regions, and urbanization improved EHI in all regions except for the southwest. Our study demonstrated that urbanization would promote terrestrial ecosystem health by implementing high-quality development and ecological management simultaneously, providing theoretical support for urban sustainable development and ecological management.

Secondary forest restoration can alter terrestrial ecosystem processes and potentially impact subsurface carbon dynamics. However, the effects of long-term forest restoration on the soil microbial metabolic activity remain unclear. So, the aim of this study was to explore the response of soil microbial metabolism to forest restoration. Among them, the soil basal respiration (BR), microbial quotient ( qMB), and metabolic quotient ( qCO 2) were studied. This study investigated a natural vegetation restoration sequence approximately ~160 years after farmland abandonment on the central Loess Plateau, China, corresponding to five vegetation restoration stages including farmland, grassland, shrubland, pioneer forests, and climax forests. The results showed that BR and qCO 2 were increased following forest restoration, whereas qMB showed the opposite trend. Forest restoration also increased the activities of β-1,4-glucosidase and β-D-cellobiosidase. Restoration age, litter traits such as nitrogen, cellulose and lignin decomposition rates, dissolved organic carbon contents, fungi and bacteria composition were also important indicators affecting microbial metabolic activities. Long-term forest restoration can change soil microbial community structure, reduce carbon mineralization efficiency, improve soil microbial carbon utilization efficiency, and promote soil organic carbon accumulation.