Carrying Capacity and Coupling Coordination of Water and Land Resources Systems in Arid and Semi-arid Areas: A Case Study of Yulin City, China

Quantitatively assessing the carrying capacity of water and land resources systems in arid and semi-arid areas is crucial for achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.In this work,taking Yulin City in China as a case study and employing the Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation(CRITIC)method,a modified model of coupling degree was developed to evaluate the car-rying capacity of water and land resources systems endowment and utilization,as well as their coupling coordination degree from 2013 to 2020.Our findings indicate that the water and land resources of Yulin are diminishing due to declines in agriculture,higher industrial water use,and wetland shrinkage.However,reallocating domestic water for ecological sustainability and reducing sloping farmland can mitigate this trend of decline.Temporally,as the coupling coordination between water and land resources system endowment in Yulin continuously improved,the coupling coordination between water and land resources system utilization first decreased and then in-creased with 2016 as the turning point.Spatially,the carrying capacity of water and land resources systems,the coupling coordination degree between water and land resources system endowment,and the coupling coordination degree between water and land resources system utilization in Yulin exhibited the same pattern of being higher in the six northern counties than in the six southern counties.Improving the water resources endowment is vital for the highly efficient use of water and land resources.

Dynamic Changes of Land Ecological Carrying Capacity Based on the Ecological Footprint——By the Case Study of Chengdu City

Chengdu City is in the period of rapid urbanization and industrialization, and the disturbance derived from human activities on environment is increasing remarkablely in recent 20 years. The pressure on environment, economy and population is also increasing and land use in Chengdu has changed enormously. As struc- ture and function of land ecological system change obviously, sustainable development of land productivity has been an important goal and strategic task from now on, and it is necessary to systematically research land ecological carrying capacity based on ecological footprint. The ecological footprint of Chengdu City in the past ten years was calculated and analyzed from the spatial and temporal aspects according to statistical data from 1998 to 2008, as per ecological footprint method, ecological carrying capacity and the GIS spatial analysis method, and regression analysis method. The ecological footprint and ecological carrying capacity values from 2009 to 2019 in Chengdu City were predicted through calculation results in the past ten years. The results show that the ecological footprint and ecological deficit of land use from 1998 to 2008 increased in Chengdu City. The ecological deficit of land use within the city center was in high levels in the past ten years, and the ecological footprint kept raising, especially in areas, such as Shuangliu, Chongzhou, Qingyang among 9 city areas, 4 counties and 6 districts in Chengdu City. There is fanlike distribution of ecological deficit of land use. Analysis shows that the social and natural ecological system is uneven distribution, which is not in sustainable de- velopment situation. The results of the study show that the economic, social and natural ecological system in Chengdu City is not sustainable, and the ecological foot- print is uneven distribution. The analysis of the dynamic change of land ecological carrying capacity in Chengdu City is very important for city government in the pro- cess of the vigorous development in new Tianfu Xinqu, and redevelopment in the northern part of this city.

Evaluation of Water Resources Carrying Capacity in Gansu Section of Yellow River Basin Based on Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation Model

As a basic natural resource and strategic economic resource,the development and utilization of water resources is an important issue related to the national economy and people's livelihood.How to scientifically evaluate the water resources carrying capacity is the premise to improve the regional water resources carrying capacity and ensure the regional water security.The Gansu section of the Yellow River basin is an important water conservation and recharge area.Whether the water resources in this area can ensure the normal operation of the ecosystem and whether it can carry the sustainable development of social economy is the key to realize the high-quality development of the Yellow River basin.In this study,from the three dimensions of water consumption per capita,water consumption of 10000 yuan GDP and ecological water use rate,by constructing the evaluation index system and index grading standard of water resources carrying capacity,the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model was used to evaluate the water resources carrying capacity of Gansu section of the Yellow River Basin,in order to provide theoretical decision-making basis for the comprehensive development,utilization and planning management of water resources in Gansu section of the Yellow River basin and even the whole basin,and help the high-quality development of the Yellow River basin.

Integrating multisource RS data and GIS techniques to assist the evaluation of resource-environment carrying capacity in karst mountainous area

The karst mountainous area is an ecologically fragile region with prominent humanland contradictions.The resource-environment carrying capacity(RECC)of this region needs to be further clarified.The development of remote sensing(RS)and geographic information system(GIS)provides data sources and processing platform for RECC monitoring.This study analyzed and established the evaluation index system of RECC by considering particularity in the karst mountainous area of Southwest China;processed multisource RS data(Sentinel-2,Aster-DEM and Landsat-8)to extract the spatial distributions of nine key indexes by GIS techniques(information classification,overlay analysis and raster calculation);proposed the methods of index integration and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation of the RECC by GIS;and took a typical area,Guangnan County in Yunnan Province of China,as an experimental area to explore the effectiveness of the indexes and methods.The results showed that:(1)The important indexes affecting the RECC of karst mountainous area are water resources,tourism resources,position resources,geographical environment and soil erosion environment.(2)Data on cultivated land,construction land,minerals,transportation,water conservancy,ecosystem services,topography,soil erosion and rocky desertification can be obtained from RS data.GIS techniques integrate the information into the RECC results.The data extraction and processing methods are feasible on evaluating RECC.(3)The RECC of Guangnan County was in the mid-carrying level in 2018.The midcarrying and low-carrying levels were the main types,accounting for more than 80.00%of the total study area.The areas with high carrying capacity were mainly distributed in the northern regions of the northwest-southeast line of the county,and other areas have a low carrying capacity comparatively.The coordination between regional resource-environment status and socioeconomic development is the key to improve RECC.This study explores the evaluation index system of RECC in karst mountainous area and the application of multisource RS data and GIS techniques in the comprehensive evaluation.The methods can be applied in related fields to provide suggestions for data/information extraction and integration,and sustainable development.

The comprehensive evaluation on resource environmental bearing capacity of central cities in the Yellow River Delta-A case study on Dongying City

Dongying City, which is the most important central city in the Yellow River Delta, is located in the estuary of the Yellow River. With a short land formation time, ecological environment is very weak in this area. To realize the sustainable economic development of the Yellow River Delta, resource environment and resource environmental bearing capacity(REBC) must be improved. This study builds assessment system of regional REBC through resource and economic characteristics in Yellow River Delta and uses principal component analysis(PCA) method to evaluate REBC of five counties and districts in Dongying City in 2011-2015 on the dimensions of time and space. Results show that, on the time dimension, Guangrao County is ranked first, Dongying district second for four years and Hekou and Kenli districts with lower ranks in 2012-2015, indicating that more attention needs to be paid to REBC of Hekou and Dongying districts and these two districts should be included into key monitoring areas. From space scale, REBC in five counties and districts has been gradually improving. In order to further develop REBC in Dongying City, measures such as intensifying protection of urban ecological environment and developing circular economy, etc. should be implemented.

The Population Carrying Capacity of Water Resources in Yulin City

Assessing the water resource carrying capacity is beneficial for measuring the scale of industry and population agglomeration,and also avoiding the contradiction between increasing people and decreasing available water resource,due to the expansion of industry and city size.Based on the prediction model of optimum population development size,by using hydrological data,also with the demographic data from 1956 to 2010,this article analyzes and predicts the urban moderate scale under the limit of the water resource in the future of Yulin City by GIS. The main conclusions are as follows. There is growing tendency of water resources overloading. According to the result of model simulation,by2015,the overload rate of population size will be 1. 04. By 2020,the overload rate of population size will grow up to 1. 08. The oversized population mainly comes from cities and towns. The overload rate for cities and towns in 2015 and 2020 is 1. 89 and 1. 73,respectively. With the expansion of cities and industries,suburban areas could have a great potential for carrying population,because lots of suburban people may move to cities and towns according to prediction. In view of the above-mentioned facts,the population size should be controlled in a reasonable range.

Evaluation of carrying capacity of city clusters in China with the example of the Blue Economic Zone of Shandong Peninsula

The conflict between city development and urban carrying capacity is getting ever prominent.In order to study and predict the restriction factors and prominent problems in the development of the Shandong Peninsula Blue Economic Zone as well as promote the transfer of economic development pattern in this region,this study starts from four single factor carrying capacity indicators of water,earth,transportation and environment in the city and its comprehensive carrying capacity indicator,evaluates and analyzes its carrying capacity and then papooses policy suggestions for improving its carrying capacity.

Spatial and Temporal Differences of Urban Land Comprehensive Carrying Capacity in Guangxi

The comprehensive carrying capacity of urban land can reflect the re- source level, economic scale, social development and environmental pressure of ur- ban land carrying. The assessment indicator system of urban land comprehensive carrying capacity was constructed from the 4 aspects of resource, economy, society, environment, and principal component analysis and cluster analysis were used to evaluate the urban land comprehensive carrying capacity of Guangxi and the 14 cities in 2005-2014, and analyzed its spatial and temporal characteristics as well as the driving forces, with the aim to provide references for improving the urban land comprehensive carrying capacity. The results showed that, the overall urban land comprehensive carrying capacity in Guangxi increased in 2005-2014, and there were significant differences in the land comprehensive carrying capacities among the cities in Guangxi in 2005-2014, in which Liuzhou, Guilin, Nanning belonged to the regions with the highest carrying capacity, while Beihai, Yulin, Wutong belonged to the regions with high carrying capacity, and the carrying capacities of the other cities changed with the changes of time. The economic development degree was an important factor influencing urban land comprehensive carrying capacity, but could not directly represent the urban land comprehensive carrying capacity level.

Assessment of Land Comprehensive Carrying Capacity in Lin'an City

According to regional characteristics and the actual situation in Lin ’an City, an evaluation index system of land comprehensive carrying capacity composed of three support subsystems （eco-environment, social and economic carrying capaci-ties） containing 22 evaluation indexes was established to evaluate the comprehen-sive carrying capacity of land resource in Lin’an City during 2005-2012. Meanwhile, based on the target data of overal land use plan, the level of land comprehensive carrying capacity was predicted at the end of the plan period （2020） .The results showed that land comprehensive carrying capacity had a significant growth in Lin ’an from 2005 to 2012, and the development trend was basical y sustainable. The sub-systems also had been greatly improved, in which the constant improvement of ec-ological environment carrying capacity made the largest contribution to the constant raising of land comprehensive carrying capacity. The degree of coordination between the systems was poor, in which eco-environment carrying capacity had the maxi-mum growth, far more than the social and economic carrying capacities. According to the land comprehensive carrying capacity in 2020, utilization of land resources in Lin＆#39;an city can achieve sustainable development in general. Final y, proposals of im-proving comprehensive carrying capacity were put forward in terms of the enhance-ment of eco-environment protection, accelerating economic development and policy guidance.

Performance Evaluation of Urban Comprehensive Carrying Capacity of Harbin, Heilongjiang Province in China

Urban comprehensive carrying capacity is an important guarantee and external representation of regional sustainable development. Based on urban comprehensive carrying capacity, this paper constructed a performance evaluation index system of urban comprehensive carrying capacity, and used entropy method, urban comprehensive carrying capacity measurement model and urban sustainable development model to measure spatial and temporal comprehensive carrying capacity of Harbin City in Heilongjiang Province from 2012 to 2017. The results show that: 1) index weight analysis suggested the regional development mode in Harbin still followed an epitaxial development mode, which pursued the expansion of scale and the growth of total amount of regional development, neglecting the effective utilization of resources and the improvement of structural benefits. 2) In the pressure system, the index of resource support has dropped sharply. The index of environmental capacity and social progress has risen circuitously, while the degree of agglomeration and the value of transportation facilities have risen steadily;in the pressure system, the index of population development and economic growth tended to fluctuate, while energy consumption and environmental pollution showed a more synchronous change in characteristics, and the livable demand remained at a high level. 3) The carrying capacity index of resources and environment in Harbin has been declining, and the acquired carrying capacity index fluctuated. The long-term regional development model has severely impaired the carrying capacity of resources and environment. 4) The comprehensive carrying capacity of Harbin has clear spatial differentiation characteristics. Finally, the paper proposes that location conditions, economic development level, government regulation, and science and technology are the main factors influencing the spatial differentiation of urban comprehensive carrying capacity.

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.

Evaluation of water resources carrying capacity of Gonghe basin based on fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method

Gonghe Basin belongs to arid and semi-arid climatic zone, where water resource is relatively scarce and desertification is serious, so it is necessary to find out water resources carrying capacity. By using fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method, the assessment on water resources carrying capacity in Gonghe Basin was conducted: Water resource carrying capacity of Gonghe County is less, while that of Guinan County and Chaka Town of Wulan County are greater; water resources of Gonghe Basin could sustain cultivated land of 652.6 thousand acres and grassland of 2 368.6 thousand acres respectively in 2020, water resources of Gonghe Basin could sustain cultivated land of 948.2 thousand acres and grassland of 2 247.6 thousand acres respectively in 2030.

Evaluation of regional water resources carrying capacity based on binary index method and reduction index method

Based on the regional water resources carrying capacity(WRCC)evaluation principles and evaluation index system in the National Technical Outline of Water Resources Carrying Capacity Monitoring and Early Warning(hereafter referred to as the Technical Outline),this paper elaborates on the collection and sorting of the basic data of water resources conditions,water resources development and utilization status,social and economic development in basins,analysis and examination of integrity,consistency,normativeness,and rationality of the basic data,and the necessity of WRCC evaluation.This paper also describes the technique of evaluating the WRCC in prefecture-level cities and city-level administrative divisions in the District of the Taihu Lake Basin,which is composed of the Taihu Lake Basin and the Southeastern River Basin.The evaluation process combines the binary index evaluation method and reduction index evaluation method.The former,recommended by the Technical Outline,uses the total water use and the amount of exploited groundwater as evaluation indices,showing stronger operability,while the latter is developed by simplifying and optimizing the comprehensive index system with greater systematicness and completeness.The mutual validation and adjustment of the results of the above-mentioned two evaluation methods indicate that the WRCC of the District of the Taihu Lake Basin is overloaded in general because some prefecture-level cities and city-level administrative divisions in the Taihu Lake Basin and the Southeastern River Basin are in a severely overloaded state.In order to explain this conclusion,this paper analyzes the causes of WRCC overloading from the aspects of basin water environment,water resources development and utilization,water resources regulation and control ability,water resources utilization efficiency,and water resources management.

System dynamics model of Suzhou water resources carrying capacity and its application

A model of Suzhou water resources carrying capacity （WRCC） was set up using the method of system dynamics （SD）. In the model, three different water resources utilization programs were adopted： （1） continuity of existing water utilization, （2） water conservation/saving, and （3） water exploitation. The dynamic variation of the Suzhou WRCC was simulated with the supply-decided principle for the time period of 2001 to 2030, and the results were characterized based on socio-economic factors. The corresponding Suzhou WRCC values for several target years were calculated by the model. Based on these results, proper ways to improve the Suzhou WRCC are proposed. The model also produced an optimized plan, which can provide a scientific basis for the sustainable utilization of Suzhou water resources and for the coordinated development of the society, economy, and water resources.

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.

Empirical Research on Carrying Capacity of Human Settlement System in Dalian City, Liaoning Province, China

Using the theories of population carrying capacity and ecological elasticity in other fields for reference, the connotation of regional human settlement system was defined from the viewpoint of the complex relationship among the factors such as regional population, resources, environment and economic and social development in the context of China′s rapid urbanization. Then the concept and characterization methods of the regional human settlement carrying capacity were proposed by means of population scale. Furthermore, a model of carrying capacity-pressure-state-response(CPSR) on regional human settlement system was established by referencing pressure-state-response(PSR) model, and the Catastrophe Theory was introduced to determine the corresponding standards of multi-criteria programming and evaluation. Taking Dalian City, Liaoning Province, China as an example, an empirical analysis on evaluation of human settlement system from 2000 to 2012 was carried out. The results showed that the carrying capacity of human settlement system in Dalian was fluctuating between 9.6 × 106 to 10 × 106 persons with a quantitative stage of the dynamic regulation. During the research period the load index of human settlement system in Dalian dropped from 0.96 to 0.84 with a lower pressure of human settlement system than the national average level. And the emergency response grades of human settlement system in Dalian were kept in grade Ⅱ(orange warning) or grade Ⅲ(yellow warning). Human settlement system of Dalian was in slight security state as a whole, but the load had a tendency of increase in recent years. The related departments should pay close attention to regional human settlement system and take active measures to improve human settlement by both intensity control and total quantity control. By comparison, analysis and discussion, it was considered that the results were basically accordded with the current situations of human settlement in Dalian, and the evaluation results were more reliable, visualized and easily applied in practice. Therefore, the above-mentioned concepts, characterization and evaluation methods of the regional human settlement system and carrying capacity could provide a new thought and method for quantitative evaluation of human settlement.

Dynamic Change of Ecological Footprint in Xingtai City in the Years 2003-2009

Quantitative estimation of the ecological footprint in Xingtai City in the years 2003-2009 is carried out by using the Ecological Footprint Model and the Time Series.Result shows that the per capita ecological footprint demand increases in Xingtai City from the year 2003 to 2009;and land use for energy shows a significant increase,accounting for the maximum proportion in per capita ecological footprint demand.Per capita ecological footprint supply gradually decreases.Ecological supply provided by cultivated land occupies the greatest proportion in the supply of per capita ecological carrying capacity,which is the main factor determining the supply of ecological carrying capacity in Xingtai City.In the years 2003-2009,ecological footprint of Xingtai City is at the state of ecological deficit.This indicates that the economic and social development of Xingtai City is based on the over-exploitation of resources,especially the cultivated land and energy land.Thus,the development mode of Xingtai City has already been in a state of unsustainable development.Based on this,corresponding countermeasures are put forward for the sustainable development in future,so as to implement the healthy control of the sustainable development in Xingtai City,China.

Water Environment Carrying Capacity of New Zhengdong District in Zhengzhou City

Taking sections of the Dongfeng Canal, the Xionger River and the Wei River in New Zhengdong District for example, this paper applied water environment capacity to analyze the carrying capacity of surface water environment in the east development zone of the city. The analysis shows that carrying capacity of surface water environment in the study area is not good, carrying capacity of 3 studied waters for TP, BOD_5 and COD is approaching to the limit. New Zhengdong District, in terms of industrial structure, should promote the projects with less water consumption, less or no discharge of wastewater, and also should enhance the sewage treatment, improve recycling rate of the reclaimed water, and reduce the negative impact of sewage and pollutant discharge on environment.

Land Potential Productivity and Population Carrying Capacity of Yan'an City

The productivity attenuation method is adopted to calculate land potential productivity of counties of Yan'an City and calculate population carrying capacity at current productivity level. Result shows that high photosynthetic potential productivity area and high light and temperature potential productivity area are mainly situated in the north,while high climatic potential area and high land potential productivity area are mainly concentrated in the south. From solar radiation,moisture and landform,the attenuation amplitude of land potential productivity in northern counties ( districts) is greater than that in southern counties ( districts) . In the whole city,the population carrying capacity of 9 counties reaches well-off living level,and 1 district still does not reach the level of adequate food and clothing. These results can provide reference for land resource use,agricultural production distribution and population growth control.

The Progress of Resources and Environment Carrying Capacity: from Single-factor Carrying Capacity Research to Comprehensive Research

As a concept to describe development restrictions,resources and environment carrying capacity（RECC）research has developed over more than 100 years since it was first proposed at the beginning of the 20th century.It is now regarded as a significant factor in evaluating the level of cooperation between regional population,resources,and environment;and it is currently used as an effective and operational tool to guide regional sustainable development.This article first reviews the origin of RECC and its early headway.It then reviews the historical development of RECC from single factors,such as land resources carrying capacity,water resources carrying capacity and environmental carrying capacity（environmental capacity）,to more comprehensive research,such as comprehensive evaluation,emergy analysis,and ecological footprint analysis.In general,it appears that comprehensive research will become increasingly important in RECC research.However,there are several deficiencies in the current state of comprehensive research.Firstly,comprehensive RECC research lacks a common measurement standard,though some scholars have attempted to create one.Secondly,the RECC evaluation of open systems and dynamic studies should be strengthened.Thirdly,more attention should be paid to standardization,digitalization,and systematization to promote the applicability of RECC research to national practical demands.