Correction: Study on the path of green total factor productivity improvement in forestry in China under spatio-temporal heterogeneity: based on dynamic QCA analysis

Introduction: Under the common agenda of addressing global climate change and promoting sustainable development, forestry has become a key area for achieving carbon neutrality and ecological product value. Forestry green total factor productivity (GTFP) is a core indicator for measuring the low-carbon transformation and green growth capacity of forestry. Methods: Based on panel data from 30 provinces (regions) in China from 2005 to 2022, this study uses the global super efficiency SBM model to measure forestry GTFP in each province, combines the center of gravity model and spatial autocorrelation analysis to reveal the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics and evolutionary trends of forestry GTFP, applies the Dagum Gini coefficient to decompose regional differences and their sources, and identifies multidimensional configurational paths for enhancing provincial forestry GTFP through the dynamic qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) method, revealing the forestry green growth patterns and their driving mechanisms under different combinations of conditions. Results: (1) The overall trend of forestry GTFP showed a fluctuating upward trend, with the mean increasing from 0.75 to 1.27. The spatial pattern evolved from local point aggregation to multipolar diffusion, and high-value areas exhibited significant spatial spillover effects; (2) The overall differences in forestry GTFP show a fluctuating convergence trend, with the overall Gini coefficient decreasing from 0.275 to 0.198. Regional differences are the main source of overall imbalance, and some low-value areas exhibit catch-up effects; (3) The seven conditional variables are not necessary conditions, and six configuration modes are identified for four paths: resource capital driven, capital driven, resource industry driven, and management industry driven. Discussion: Based on these findings, this study proposes to build a new pattern of new quality productivity of forestry that is oriented toward consolidating foundational capacity, centered on improving quality and efficiency, with institutional innovation as the guiding thread, and ensured through full-process regulation and management. KEYWORDS configuration perspective, dynamic QCA, forestry green total factor productivity, IMO model, upgrading pathwaysAgainst the backdrop of accelerating climate change, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem degradation, forests, as the dominant component of terrestrial ecosystems, play an irreplaceable role in carbon sequestration, ecosystem stability, and green economic growth (Gorain et al., 2025). Reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) emphasize that reliance on forest area expansion alone is no longer sufficient to meet global climate targets (Psistaki et al., 2024) enhancing the efficiency of forest resource allocation and ecological output under resource and environmental constraints has become a critical pathway for achieving Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Seddon et al., 2021;Murphy et al., 2025). Nevertheless, whether ecological protection objectives can be achieved in tandem with improvements in resource use efficiency remains a central and unresolved challenge in global sustainable forestry. As the world's largest artificial afforestation nation with continuously expanding forest resources, China has advanced green forestry development amid rapid industrialization and ecological civilization construction. It's practices offer a representative real-world case study for examining the synergistic relationship between enhancing green efficiency and ecological conservation. Accordingly, examining the level and driving mechanisms of forestry green efficiency in China provides valuable insights for developing countries pursuing climate mitigation and green transition. It also offers empirical evidence for understanding trade-offs and synergies among multiple objectives in global sustainable forest governance.The realization of forest ecological function and multiple benefits is not a natural spontaneous process, but largely depends on the forestry management mode, resource allocation structure and management efficiency level. Forestry is an important ecological cornerstone for the harmonious coexistence of humans and nature, and its development has significant implications for people's well-being and ecological security. As an ideal carrier for cultivating and developing new productive forces, forestry shoulders the mission of the times given by the construction of ecological civilization, which is the key path to realize the transformation from "lucid waters and lush mountains" into "mountains of gold and silver" (Feng and Cao, 2021). In recent years, General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized the necessity of coordinating the integrated protection and systematic management of mountains, waters, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts, and has called for the accelerated development of green and low-carbon industries to enhance the diversity, stability, and sustainability of ecosystems. These directives have endowed high-quality forestry development with new contemporary significance and systematic practical requirements. However, at present, China still faces the problems of forest land resource degradation, ecosystem service function decline, extensive development of forestry industry and insufficient management efficiency (Liu et al., 2023), which seriously restrict the optimal allocation of forestry resources, ecological function improvement and green transformation and upgrading. In order to realize the sustainable development of forestry and the coordinated growth of ecological economy, improving the level of Green Total Factor Productivity (GTFP) has become the core scale and key breakthrough to promote the new quality productive forces in forestry (Liu et al., 2025;Qiu and Yang, on forestry efficiency has a from a economic to green on the of factor to economic In recent years, has resource environmental and ecosystem service into the a of The can be into on the on the and spatial of forestry GTFP as regional spillover convergence and structure (Liu et al., et al., the is to the analysis of the of forestry The the of ecological et al., et al., et al., as and and forest protection and and et al., 2023), and factor allocation et al., the and economic as et al., 2023), construction et al., green and 2024) and green et al., as as of mechanisms as environmental regulation and et al., 2024) and forest resource protection et al., on the driving mechanisms of forestry green total factor productivity (GTFP) can be into of a efficiency as et al., et al., et al., and et al., to efficiency and dynamic These are by spatial as the spatial model and the spatial model to spatial spillover and regional et al., et al., by panel to the of The a of (QCA) to from multiple and paths to the has to different of and forestry economic and forestry efficiency improvement et al., et al., that forestry development is by and the of a of has to dynamic in on forestry forest ecological product and carbon efficiency et al., et al., et al., 2025). These reveal that to forestry efficiency improvement are not but in to in conditions, and factor the of key driving and their to be its to multiple real-world to the the of dynamic have largely on with to key at the regional forestry GTFP level. 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