Abstract
The urbanization process all over the world has caused serious ecological and environmental problems which have recently become a focus for study. Ecological footprint analysis, which is widely used to assess the sustainability of regional development, can quantitatively measure the human occupation of natural capital. In this study, the ecological footprint based on net primary production (EF-NPP) and MODIS data were used to measure the ecological footprint in Xuzhou central area from 2005 to 2014. The results showed that from 2005 to 2014, the per capita ecological footprint increased from 1.06 to 1.17 hm2/person; the per capita ecological capacity decreased from 0.10 to 0.09 hm2/person; the per capita ecological deficit increased from −0.96 to −1.09 hm2/person; and the ecological pressure index increased from 6.87 to 11.97. The composition of the ecological footprint showed that grassland contributed most to the ecological footprint and deficit, and cultivated land contributed most to the ecological capacity. The spatial distribution of the ecological footprint changed significantly, especially in the expansion of the area of lower value. The ecological capacity and deficit changed little. The ecological situation in Xuzhou central area was unbalanced. Based on this study, Xuzhou city was recommended to control the increase of the ecological footprint, improve the ecological capacity and balance the ecological pattern for sustainable development.
Highlights
Since the Industrial Revolution, the rapid development of cities and countries has caused an ecological and environmental disaster that is directly threatening human survival and sustainable social development
The ecological footprint in Xuzhou central area was analyzed in two aspects: Temporal evolution and spatial evolution
CCoommppoossiittiioonn ooff tthhee EEccoollooggiiccaall FFoooottpprriinntt iinn XXuuzzhhoouu CCeennttrraall AArreeaa To analyze the temporal change of the ecological footprint in Xuzhou central area more accurately, we studied the composition of the ecological footprint, ecological capacity, and ecological deficit from 2005 to 2014
Summary
Since the Industrial Revolution, the rapid development of cities and countries has caused an ecological and environmental disaster that is directly threatening human survival and sustainable social development. With the rapid advancement of urbanization and the accelerated growth of urban populations per year, the demand for land and natural resources in production and life has increased rapidly, and a significant amount of cultivated land, forestland and other types of ecological land have been occupied for real estate [1,2]. Similar to in other countries, after the reform and opening up, China’s urbanization level has increased from 17.92% in 1978 to 58.52% in 2017, with an average annual growth rate of more than 1%. Ecological problems have increased continually during the last 30 years, accelerating the depletion of resources and the environment that China’s economy and society rely on, and seriously hindering the dream of ordinary people to pursue a beautiful and livable life [9]. To achieve sustainable development, accurately defining the land carrying capacity, rationally using land, and easing the contradiction between people and land are essential challenges to face, and this is a notable focus of research and policy innovation at present
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