Ecological impact assessment of land use in eco-industrial park based on life cycle assessment: A case study of Nanchang High-tech development zone in China

Abstract

As the main unit of developing a circular economy, and an important way of realizing the ecological industry (eco-industry), the eco-industrial park (EIP) is the way forwards for industrial park development in China. As land is the carrier of industrial parks, the ecological effects brought about by its use patterns, and the evolution process play an important role in the sustainable park development. Based on 3S technology, using Nanchang High-tech Development Zone as a case-study, the life cycle assessment (LCA) is used to quantitatively analyze the ecological impact of land use change, and the characteristics of its evolution or laws at different stages of the EIP life cycle. The results showed the following: (1) In the life cycle development period, the annual average ecological effect was −2.15 × 104 CNY, and during the mature life cycle period, the value rose to −2.01 × 104 CNY, an increase of 6.44%; (2) During the mature period, as a result of changes in quantity and quality, the cultivated, forest, and unutilized land types, had all increased in both total value and annual average value of the ecological effect, showing an improvement in the overall ecological environment of the park. These three types of land were the main contributors to the improvement of the ecological effect. The contribution size was: forest land > cultivated land > unutilized land. On the contrary, the construction land and grassland showed negative ecological effects compared with the previous life cycle stage. Construction land was the main contributor to the decline in ecological park quality, and its negative ecological effect increased by 1.66 times; (3) In the two life cycle stages, amongst the ecological effects caused by the transformation of various land usees, only the conversion to forest land brought significant ecological benefits. Others showed either a certain degree of improvement, or the accumulation of negativizes in ecological effects. Therefore, the EIP generally showed the state of ecological destruction; (4) Finally, there is a relevant discussion about the applicability, scientificity, and innovation of the LCA applied to evaluate the ecological effects of industrial land.