Integrated water risk early warning framework of the semi-arid transitional zone based on the water environmental carrying capacity (WECC)

Water risk early warning systems based on the water environmental carrying capacity(WECC)are powerful and effective tools to guarantee the sustainability of rivers.Existing work on the early warning of WECC has mainly concerned the comprehensive evaluation of the status quo and lacked a quantitative prejudgement and warning of future overload.In addition,existing quantitative methods for short-term early warning have rarely focused on the integrated change trends of the early warning indicators.Given the periodicity of the socioeconomic system,however,the water environmental system also follows a trend of cyclical fluctuations.Thus,it is meaningful to monitor and use this periodicity for the early warning of the WECC.In this study,we first adopted and improved the prosperity index method to develop an integrated water risk early warning framework.We also constructed a forecast model to qualitatively and quantitatively prejudge and warn about the development trends of the water environmental system.We selected the North Canal Basin(an essential connection among the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region)in China as a case study and predicted the WECC in 25 water environmental management units of the basin in 2018–2023.We found that the analysis of the prosperity index was helpful in predicting the WECC,to some extent.The result demonstrated that the early warning system provided reliable prediction(root mean square error of 0.0651 and mean absolute error of 0.1418),and the calculation results of the comprehensive early warning index(CEWI)conformed to the actual situation and related research in the river basin.From 2008 to 2023,the WECC of most water environmental management units in the basin had improved but with some spatial differences:the CEWI was generally poor in areas with many human disturbances,while it was relatively good in the upstream regions with higher forest and grass covers as well as in the downstream areas with larger water volume.Finally,through a sensitivity analysis of the indicators,we proposed specific management measures for the sustainability of the water environmental system in the North Canal Basin.Overall,the integrated water risk early warning framework could provide an appropriate method for the water environmental administration department to predict the WECC of the basin in the future.This framework could also assist in implementing corresponding management measures in advance,especially for the performance evaluation and the arrangement of key short-term tasks in the River Chief System in China.

Analysis of the Concept of Environmental Carrying Capacity

From the concept of carrying capacity proposed in the early 20th century to as an important tool for describing development constraints in the 21st century,many scholars have conducted extensive and detailed research on carrying capacity at different levels,but the carrying capacity system has not yet formed a unified theoretical and methodological system.By summarizing and analyzing the existing literature,based on the viewpoints of Mr.Gao Jixi and Mr.Zeng Weihua,the relationship between different mainstream carrying capacities is analyzed,and finally a system for summarizing the elements of different carrying capacities is provided,which to some extent serves as a reference for scholars who have just come into contact with the concept of carrying capacity.It is thought that:①the research on ecological carrying capacity covers the scope of cities,and the research at the urban level complements the neglected and insufficient areas of ecological research.②The main difference among ecological carrying capacity,urban comprehensive carrying capacity and resource environment carrying capacity lies in the different research scopes.In the mainstream view,environmental carrying capacity and resource carrying capacity are summarized under the framework of different research scopes.Water environment carrying capacity,land resource carrying capacity and other single factor carrying capacity are special in-depth studies of environment and resource carrying capacity.③Ecological carrying capacity at the ecological level includes environmental carrying capacity and resource carrying capacity.At the urban level,urban ecology is equivalent to urban environment to a certain extent,and resources can be classified into urban environmental carrying capacity as an environmental element.

Reviews on Soil Environmental Capacity and Carrying Capacity

The research introduced the current development of carrying capacity of environment and population size. Based on analysis of atmosphere environment bearing capacity and water environment carrying capacity, it further studied and summarized the soil environmental capacity on pollutants and social activities. The soil environmental capacity on pollutants is the maximum pollutants contained in a unit of soil within a limited time. Current research mainly focuses on background values, limit and migration coefficient of soil and the relevant modeling. The soil environmental capacity on social activities refers to the limit values of soil on the size,density and pace of development of social activities, while maintaining the normal structure and function of the bio-and eco-system of the soil. In other words, it not only refers to the capacity on pollutants, but also refers to the capacity on social and economic activities. Based on the research ＂Criteria on the standards of soil system＂, this report is mainly focused on the capacity of soil system on heavy metals. Further studies are still needed to come up with a universal definition of the soil environmental capacity and its theory system, as well as the standard and complete evaluating system.

Research on Resources and Environmental Carrying Capacity

This paper, in the context of resources and environmental carrying capaci-ty, systematic reviewed resources and environmental carrying capacity in monitoring, evaluation and early warning, and then putted forward the development direction for promoting the sustainable development of China’s social and economic environment.

Quantitative evaluation of Tibet’s resource and environmental carrying capacity

This study identifies the carrying state and value of Tibet’s resource and environmental carrying capacity.A new theoretical framework is proposed for exploring the resource and environmental carrying capacity based on two perspectives of“growth limit”and“stability of Human-Earth relationship system”.On this basis,an ideal growth model that accords with the“short board”effect is established to predict the population limitation.Analytical results show that the holistic state of resource and environmental carrying capacity in Tibet is in jeopardy.From 2010 to 2016,Tibet’s carrying state continued to decline,moreover,the negative forces still overwhelm the positive forces.Although the resource reserves still have room for more population,the environmental capacity and ecological capacity have been overloaded.Meanwhile,the Human-Earth relationship system is in an unstable stage.Three scenarios that respond to different socioeconomic developments are implemented to predict the population limitation of resource and environmental carrying capacity in Tibet;thus,authors argue that Tibet should keep its population size within 4 million around 2025.This research will provide reference for sustainable development and resources and environmental conservation in Tibet.

Geological resources and environmental carrying capacity evaluation review,theory, and practice in China

Evaluations of resources and environmental carrying capacities (GRECC)are the premise of land space planning and use control.Resource allocations and environmental capacity are the basic conditions that restrict development in a region.In this paper,based on a systematic review of China's geological environment,groundwater resources,mineral resources,other geological resources and the environmental carrying capacity research status,the relationship between the natural resource environmental system and the socio-economic system is studied.Then a "coordination theory of resources and environmental carrying"is proposed.Next,on the basis of an evaluation experiment performed at different scales and for different types of regions,the technical methods for an evaluation of the geological resources and environmental carrying capacity at the regional (inter-provincial)and provincial scales in China are established for the first time.This paper presents a standardized method based on technical ideas, evaluation methods,and index systems for geological resource and environmental carrying capacity evaluation.Finally,an evaluation of the groundwater resource carrying capacity in China is used as an example for the demonstration of the groundwater resource background and use of state evaluation methods.

Quantitative Evaluation of Sustainable Development and Eco-Environmental Carrying Capacity in Water-Deficient Regions:A Case Study in the Haihe River Basin,China

Quantitative assessment of development sustainability could be a challenge to regional management and planning, especially for areas facing great risks of water shortage. Surface-water decline and groundwater over-pumping have caused serious environmental problems and limited economic development in many regions all around the world. In this paper, a framework for quantitatively evaluating development sustainability was established with water-related eco-environmental carrying capacity （EECC） as the core measure. As a case study, the developed approach was applied to data of the Haihe River Basin, China, during 1998 through 2007. The overall sustainable development degree （SDD） is determined to be 0.39, suggesting that this rate of development is not sustainable. Results of scenario analysis revealed that overshoot, or resource over- exploitation, of the Basin＇s EECC is about 20% for both population and economy. Based on conditions in the study area in 2007, in order to achieve sustainable development, i.e., SDD〉0.70 in this study, the EECC could support a population of 108 million and gross domestic product （GDP） of 2.72 trillion CNY. The newly developed approach in quantifying ecoenvironmental carrying capacity is anticipated to facilitate sustainable development oriented resource management in waterdeficient areas.

Assessment of Environmental Carrying Capacity Using Principal Component Analysis

Regional environmental carrying capacity (ECC) is nonlinear and spatially specific. A hierarchy index system including resources, environmental and socio-economic elements was established using an analytic hierarchy process. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to estimate the regional size and differences of environmental carrying capacities. Main information of four principal components, i.e., carrying capacity of resources supply, carrying capacity of environmental quality, carrying capacity of social economy and carrying capacity of infrastructure construction, was extracted. The ECC evaluation value was divided into five levels of lowest carrying capacity, low carrying capacity, medium carrying capacity, high carrying capacity and highest carrying capacity, respectively. The results showed that on the whole ECC was at the medium carrying capacity level. ECC was generally highest in Guanzhong plain, followed by Loess Plateau, and was lowest in Qiba mountain. The carrying capacity of water resources and environmental quality was relatively low, and the infrastructure carrying capacity was highest among the four components. The temporal spatial variation of ECC was closely related to vulnerability of the natural resources and environment in the regions. Verification was proven that PCA was a useful tool when applied to evaluate ECC and reflect the spatial distribution of large-quantity ECC indices on a large regional scale. This study provides a basis for comprehensive understanding of resources, environment and management for regional balanced development.

Alternative Framework for Tourism Environmental Carrying Capacity Planning in Wulingshan,Xinglong Geopark,China

Tourism Environmental Carrying Capacity Planning (TECCP)is a regulated part of the Geopark General Planning in China.But,because the exact numerical carrying capacities are difficult to confirm and the effects of tourism can take many forms,some of which are only loosely related to amount of users, the efforts of estimating of the maximum amount of tourists would mislead the manager and operator

Relation between Economic Development Level and Resource and Environment Carrying Capacity of Central Area of Yunnan Province Based on Decoupling Analysis

Based on the decoupiing theory and method, an indicator system was built for the relation between economic development level and resource and environment carrying capacity. And the study was carried out on decoupling degree and temporal changes of economic development level and resource and environment carrying ca- pacity in the central area of Yunnan Province. Results indicated that （i） the economic development level and resource and environment carrying capacity in the central area of Yunnan Province mainly experienced strong decoupling, weak decoupling, and ex- pansive negative coupling, and in general it was strong decoupling, and it took on re- verse ＂N＂ in temporal changes. （ii） Change rate of economic development level in the central area of Yunnan Province was greater than zero, but the amplitude of change was not large, while the change rate of resource and environment carrying capacity was negative in 2007-2008, and it was positive in the rest years; from 2007, it took on gradual expansion trend, and scissors difference gradually increased after experi- encing reverse ＂V＂ change. （iii） The strong decoupling was the main situation and it reached the peak value in T5 period and T6 pedod.

Evaluation of Tourism Environmental Carrying Capacity of Pai Town-Medog County Hiking Route

Based on the actual situation of Pai-Medog hiking route, the tourism environmental carrying capacity of this route was calculated in this study. According to the analysis and calculation results and referring to the common control measures of tourism environmental carrying capacity, corresponding control measures were put forward for the Pai-Medog hiking route.

Comprehensive Measurement for Carrying Capacity of Resources and Environment of City Clusters in Central China

Studying the carrying capacity of resources and environment of city clusters in the central China has important practical guidance significance for promoting the healthy, sustainable and stable development of this region. According to their influencing factors and reciprocity mechanism, using system dynamics approaches, this paper built a SD model for measuring the carrying capacity of resources and environment of the city clusters in the central China, and through setting different development models, the comprehensive measurement analysis on the carrying capacity was carried out. The results show that the model of promoting socio-economic development under the protection of resources and environment is the optimal model for promoting the harmony development of resources, environment, society and economy in the city clusters. According to this model, the optimum population scale of the city clusters in 2020 is 42.80×106 persons, and the moderate economic development scale is 22.055×1012 yuan (RMB). In 1996-2020, the carrying capacity of resources and environment in the city clusters took on obvious phase-change characteristics. During the studied period, it is basically at the initial development stage, and will come through the development process from slow development to speedup development.

Risk-based evaluation on geological environment carrying capacity of mountain city - A case study in Suide County, Shaanxi Province, China

With the rapid development and expansion of the cities in China, the carrying capacity of resource and environment has become a huge concern for local governments. From the perspective of geological environment, geological disasters are the main restraining factor of the development in mountain cities. This study was conducted in Suide County of Shaanxi Province with a risk-based approach as followed: a hazard analysis on geological disasters based on a slope geological survey at a scale of 1:10,000; a consequence analysis based on unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV) aerial survey data; integrating the results of hazard analysis and consequence analysis, a risk zonation and analysis of geological disasters in urban areas were completed considering urban planning, land use planning and the safety of infrastructure and major engineering. Subsequently, taking the acceptable levels of human life and property risks incurred by landslides as the criteria of the evaluation of geological environment carrying capacity, a comprehensive assessment of current and future urban carrying capacity was conducted based on the results of the risk analyses. Accordingly, the prior development zone, the restricted development zone and the prohibited zone were delineated, with corresponding suggestions for future urban development. The technological and methodological system used in the study can be applied to geological environment carrying capacity evaluation of other important mountain cities, which can provide scientific basis for the optimization of land and space.

Carrying Capacity of Water Leisure Environment in Eco-cities-A Case Study of Ancient Canal Scenic Area in Yangzhou City

Water leisure tourism is an emerging theme in urban planning, and its planning mode and operation level directly influence the eco-cycle degree of urban development. Tourism activities inevitably impact environmental quality of urban water spaces, and the research on the environmental carrying capacity of such spaces has also become an important prerequisite of tourism planning. Taking the Yangzhou Ancient Canal Scenic Area for an example, the paper constructed the estimated indicators of water leisure tourism environmental carrying capacity on the basis of analyzing scenic geographical resources and tourism economic conditions, and calculated the scenic area's water leisure tourism environmental integrated carrying capacity by the method of barrel extrapolation, providing a reasonable foundation for evaluating the planning conditions in the eco-cycle urban water leisure tourism planning.

Carrying capacity of water environment in public tourism resources based on matter-element model

When water environmental carrying capacity of public resource tourist attraction is studied, the two action subjects of tourists and local residents should be discussed, and comprehensive consideration must be given to the influence of these two on water environment. On the basis of water resource carrying capacity and water quality carrying capacity, water environmental carrying capacity index of public resource tourist attraction was constructed, the model for the water environmental carrying capacity of public resource tourist attraction was established on the basis of matter-element model and analytical hierarchy process. By applying this method, water environmental carrying capacity situation of a certain public resource tourist attraction can be gained, moreover, situations about several aspects of water environmental carrying capacity can be evaluated.

The concept, connotation and method of representation of watershed water environment carrying capacity （WWECC）

Based on the relationship between water environment system and human society, water environment carrying capacity （WECC） probes into supporting ability of complex water environment system to the human society. Recent years, due to the shortage of water resources and serious water pollution in several watersheds in China, the research of watershed water environment carrying capacity （WWECC） becomes very important. The conception, connotation and method of representation of WWECC are discussed deeply in this paper. It shows that WWECC is a kind of index that instructs whether the water environment system in watershed can continue to support the development of social economy and ecology, it is dimensionless number.

Comprehensive Assessment of Water Environment Carrying Capacity of Yunnan Province

Based on the concept and connotation of water environment carrying capacity, taking Yunnan Province as a case, this paper built water environment carrying capacity evaluation system from the perspectives of water resources, water environment carrying capacity and socio-economic development, and applied the index evaluation model to analyze the trends of water environment carrying capacity in Yunnan from 2006 to 2014. The results showed that, during those years, the evaluation value of water environment carrying capacity ranged from 0.23 to 0.46 in Yunnan Province.The minimum value was 0.23 in 2013, the maximum value was 0.46 in 2010. From 2006 to 2014, the evaluation value of water environment carrying capacity was less than 0.5 in general, and the water environment in a fragile state on the whole.

Safety Evaluation of Water Environment Carrying Capacity of Five Cities in Ningxia Based on Ecological Footprint of Water Resources

[Objectives]To make safety evaluation of water environment carrying capacity of five cities in Ningxia based on ecological footprint of water resources.[Methods]With the help of the grey relational model,15 indicators were selected from the natural,economic,and social aspects,and the most influential factors in the three fields were selected.Based on the concept of ecological priority,the water resources carrying capacity of the five cities in Ningxia from 2010 to 2019 was calculated with the help of the water resources ecological footprint model.Then,the indicators of the water resources ecological footprint model were coupled with the existing indicators to establish a comprehensive evaluation indicator system.Finally,the changes of the water environment carrying capacity of the five cities in Ningxia were analyzed with the help of the principal component analysis(PCA).[Results]The ecological pressure of water resources and the ecological deficit of water resources in the five cities were relatively large.Specifically,Yinchuan City had the most obvious deficit of water resources but good carrying capacity;Zhongwei City had a large ecological deficit of water resources,poor carrying capacity,and the largest ecological pressure index of water resources;Guyuan City had low water resources ecological deficit,water resources ecological carrying capacity and water resources ecological pressure index.[Conclusions]Through the analysis of the coupling indicator system,it can be seen that the water environment carrying capacity of the five cities is in an upward trend,indicating that the water environment in each region tends to become better.

The Impact of Marine Aquaculture on the Environment;the Importance of Site Selection and Carrying Capacity

A growing increase in the world’s population and a gradual decline in poverty necessitate a search for new sources of protein in order to guarantee food security. Aquaculture has been identified as a potential sector capable of meeting the requirements for increased protein production without making excessive demands on the ecosystem. Although water makes up 70% of the earth’s surface, aquaculture cannot feasibly be practised everywhere;it requires a unique set of natural, social and economic resources to be managed in an environmentally responsible way. Finding suitable sites for aquaculture is becoming an ever increasing problem in the development of the sector as precautions need to be taken in setting up sites to ensure appropriate environmental characteristics exist and that good water quality can be maintained. Additionally, the effects of aquaculture on coastal and inland resources must be clearly determined to implement policies and regulatory frameworks to control its impact. Marine cage farming is gaining momentum, specifically in the Mediterranean and Black Sea coastal regions. For these sites to be further developed there is a need to minimize the effects on the environment and conflicts with other coastal users. To this aim the concept of allocated zones for aquaculture (AZA) is being adopted to provide specific areas for marine aquaculture to avoid environmental degradation. When choosing an (AZA) suitable site, it is vital to calculate ‘carrying capacity’ to reduce the risks and to protect the marine ecosystems. In this study the MERAMOD model was used to investigate the carrying capacity of marine fish farms. Modelling offers the possibility to simulate and predict the environmental impact of fish farms.

Retrospective Environment Carrying Capacity Assessment and Comparison for Marine Reclamation

For improving the managed level and guiding the environmental management of reclamation engineering, a synthetic assessment method based on cloud theory is applied to evaluate the environment carrying capacity of part of Tianjin Port in this paper. This retrospective assessment of carrying capacity aims to obtain the historical development situation of reclamation domain. The research is meaningful and efficient for judging the feasibility of marine reclamation.