Urban Ecological Carrying Capacity Research Articles

Assessment of coordinated development between urban land use efficiency and ecological carrying capacity: Case study of the cities in Inner Mongolia

With the rapid economic development, the imbalance between the economy and the environment is evident for Chinese cities. The coupling coordination degree (CCD) between urban land use efficiency (ULUE) and ecological carrying capacity (ECC) represents resource-intensive societies and is a significant tool for assessing sustainable development. Therefore, scientific evaluation of the coordinating relationship between ULUE and ECC is essential for optimizing the quality of urbanization and improving the state of the ecological environment. However, current studies on the CCD of ECC and ULUE lack quantitative assessment of the effect of ECC subsystems on overall CCD and have not yet evaluated the urban development stages. In this paper, taking 12 cities in Inner Mongolia as an example, a framework for CCD evaluation that includes comprehensive index analysis, coupling coordination quantification, coupling type identification, and coordination influence evaluation was created. This paper attempts to clarify the distinctions throughout cities and to propose distinctive development suggestions. The results indicate that the ULUE of Inner Mongolian cities has risen significantly, whereas their ECC levels fluctuate, growing at a slower rate than ULUE. As the level of coordination between the two systems increases, it changes from “basic disorders” to “basic coordination”. In terms of spatial distribution, the CCD in Inner Mongolia has a pattern of “high in the northeast and low in the southwest”. The pressure subsystem primarily performs a reverse blocking role in the CCD between ULUE and ECC, while the rest of the ECC subsystems exhibit different patterns over time. Additionally, the stages of urban development were investigated based on the temporal variations in ECC and ULUE, and several focused suggestions were provided.

ESSCC: A new multi-scale and extensively applicable evaluation system for the construction of sponge cities

Sponge cities are actively being built in China to combat urban flooding, and 30 pilot cities (regions) have been established since 2015, serving as a guide for further research. In order to examine the intrinsic links between urban (regional) characteristics, urban planning, sponge city construction metrics, urban ecological carrying capacity, and sustainable development, this study integrates big data and machine learning. For the evaluation of sponge city construction schemes, we combined Artificial Hierarchical Processing (AHP), Gray Correlation Analysis (GCA), and Back Propagation Neural Networks (BPNN) into a multi-scale model-coupled qualitative and quantitative multiple models coupling system. An evaluation system for sponge cities construction (ESSCC), which can be used on a multilingual system, and a sponge city evaluation index system based on ecological carrying capacity and sustainable development have been developed. The system could be used to advance the assessment and optimization of sponge city construction plans in accordance with local conditions from the perspectives of guaranteeing ecological function, ensuring a baseline for natural resource utilization and environmental safety and quality, safeguarding ecological carrying capacity, and ensuring sustainable development. The system is expected to serve as an effective and scientific basis for plan formulation, and to offer direction and technical support for the promotion of sponge cities.

Framework for the application of ecosystem services based urban ecological carrying capacity assessment in the urban decision-making process

Urban Ecological Carrying Capacity (UECC) is widely studied as a comprehensive measure of urban ecology. Several tools, like an ecological footprint, comprehensive index system, system dynamic models, etc., are used to study UECC. In recent times, ecosystem services (ES) have been applied in analyzing carrying capacity to promote sustainable development. ES-based analysis helps study supply-demand mismatches, identify dependencies on natural systems, and understand trade-offs between strategic plans. The ES approach effectively scopes prioritized services, collects baseline data, makes choices between alternatives, and studies cumulative impacts. However, the lack of application-oriented frameworks hinders the mainstreaming of ES in urban planning. Therefore, the study proposes a framework for using ES-based UECC assessment in urban decision-making. It employs a two-stage methodology: first, a bibliometric analysis of UECC to identify knowledge gaps and trends, and second, the development of a framework for the application of ES based UECC in urban decision-making process based on the gaps identified from bibliometric analysis. The bibliometric results reveal that further research is needed to strengthen the link between ES and UECC. ES provides a comprehensive framework that includes cultural and social subsystems, enhancing the practicality and comprehensiveness of carrying capacity assessments. Based on the literature review Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is identified as the tool that facilitates the entry of ES in the urban decision-making process. The main aim of the framework is to combine the ES cascade model, SEA, and carrying capacity to establish a comprehensive and practical approach to decision-making that promotes sustainable urban development. The proposed framework considers various aspects, including its environment, societal requirements, and resource constraints. The ES-based UECC concept can be extended to define limits to urban growth for ensuring the sustainable development of urban settlements.

A systematic coupling analysis framework and multi-stage interaction mechanism between urban land use efficiency and ecological carrying capacity

Since urban land use efficiency (ULUE) bridges urbanization and economic efficiency while ecological carrying capacity (ECC) is the basic natural endowments support, the coupling coordination degree (CCD) between ULUE and ECC represents a combination of resource-intensive and environment-friendly, which can serve as an effective tool to evaluate sustainable development. We first quantified ULUE and ECC by super-efficiency DEA, DPSIR framework, and entropy-TOPSIS from a coupling perspective, attempting to compensate for the lack of clarity regarding urban sustainability constraint factors in the holistic perspective. On this basis, we formulate an integrated coupling coordination analysis framework comprising temporal and spatial characteristics, disorder diagnosis and interaction mechanism to synthesize the current scattered research directions into a logically clear framework and serve as a guide for future research on coupling. Moreover, to extend the macroscopic mechanism to a microscopic level at a theoretical level and facilitate more effective and sustainable urban management practices, this paper highlights a detailed multi-stage coupling mechanism corresponding to different stages of urban development, deriving an urban sustainable development spiral upward model. The results indicated that the CCD between ULUE and ECC exhibits a significant clustering pattern accompanied by a spatial spillover effect, which was closely related to economic development level and natural resource endowment. Besides, the disorder factor in the eastern Jilin province was ULUE while the western was ECC. Furthermore, the ULUE will take precedence over ECC breaking the old balance, in which technological innovation is the internal driving factor. These findings also illustrate the analysis framework and coupling mechanism mentioned in this paper can act as a nexus between interdisciplinary perspectives to enhance our understanding of changing social-ecological systems, thus serving urban sustainable development.

Experimental Study on the Carbon Sequestration Benefit in Urban Residential Green Space Based on Urban Ecological Carrying Capacity

The CO2 concentration of urban residential green space in Changsha was experimentally investigated. Based on the experimental results, the variation characteristics and influencing factors of CO2 concentration in residential areas were analyzed considering both the measuring time and ecological plant structure. Then, through the concept of urban ecological bearing capacity, the carbon sequestration index of the urban residential areas was proposed in this paper. Finally, the regulating effects of varieties of vegetation on CO2 concentration among four urban residential areas were deeply analyzed and discussed. Results showed that green space with an ecological plant structure of trees-shrubs-grass exhibited greater improvement in the environmental carbon balance than those of shrubs or grass, and the atmospheric carbon sequestration capacity was significantly affected by the total quantity of the green space.

Identification of Priority Areas for Improving Urban Ecological Carrying Capacity: Based on Supply–Demand Matching of Ecosystem Services

As the most concentrated area of human activities, cities consume many natural resources and discharge a large amount of waste into the natural environment, which has a huge environmental impact. Most of the ecological and environmental problems, such as environmental pollution, global climate change, and loss of biodiversity, are related to urban systems. How to coordinate urban development with the urban ecological carrying capacity is related to the destiny of the city itself, and also to whether its surrounding areas can successfully achieve the goal of high environmental quality and sustainable development. At present, the theory and methods of urban ecological carrying capacity research are relatively new, which has caused problems for policy makers in practical applications. This paper proposes a theoretical framework for urban ecological carrying capacity assessment based on the analysis of ecosystem services supply and demand. Combined with multi-source spatial data and spatial model methods, the supply and demand of ecosystem services were spatially quantified. The capital city of China, Beijing, was the case study area for this research. The spatial differentiation of the supply–demand relationship of ecosystem services is formed. The priority areas for ecological carrying capacity improvement at pixel scale and at the administrative level are obtained, respectively. The results show that the first priority area is concentrated in the center of the urban area, accounting for 31.11% of the total area of Beijing. According to the secondary zone and the specific ecosystem service type, the ecological carrying capacity improvement strategy of different zones is proposed. This study provides a new perspective for investigating urban ecological carrying capacity and for identifying the priority areas for ecological carrying capacity improvement, and helps the policy-makers to design tailored policy actions.

Quantitative Estimation of Ecocultural Bearing Capacity of Urban Agglomerations in Britain

Aiming at the imbalance of urban ecological carrying capacity, this paper proposes a method to estimate the ecological and cultural carrying capacity of British urban agglomeration. The difference method and standardization method are used for positive combination and dimensionless processing of the indicators to realize the data preprocessing of the indicators. Through questionnaire survey, consulting relevant scholars and experts, and referring to the specified values in relevant British policies, determine the ideal value of the index. The index weight is determined by the open-scoring method. According to the index weight, the ecological and cultural carrying capacity of British urban agglomeration is calculated by vector model method. Calculate the index weight according to the ideal value of the index and the ecological text. The strength of ecological culture carrying capacity is calculated by the actual value of carrying capacity. Taking London urban agglomeration as the experimental object, this paper calculates the ecological and cultural carrying capacity and analyzes the ecological and cultural carrying capacity of three subsystems. The results show that this method can effectively estimate the ecological and cultural carrying capacity of British urban agglomeration.

Spatiotemporal Evolution and Spatial Network Analysis of the Urban Ecological Carrying Capacity in the Yellow River Basin.

Based on the panel data of 82 cities in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) during 2008–2017, this paper calculated the urban ecological carrying capacity (UECC) index by means of the entropy method, drew a spatiotemporal evolution map using ArcGIS10.3 software, used a spatial cold–hot spot model to explore the spatial characteristics of the UECC index, and used the revised gravity model to construct the spatial network of the UECC. In addition, through social network analysis, we obtained the spatial network correlation characteristics of the UECC of 82 cities in the YRB. The study found the following: (1) The UECC index of the cities in the YRB increased steadily, and showed strong non-stationarity in space. The cold and hot spot patterns both changed greatly. Overall, the changes of the hot and cold spots were very significant. (2) The spatial correlation and linkage effects of the UECC in the YRB were not significant. The central cities with higher point centrality and closeness centrality showed the same spatial distribution, and most of them are located in the midstream and downstream of the YRB. The central cities in the midstream and downstream of the YRB had high betweenness centrality, and stood in the center of the association network. (3) The four plates in the spatial correlation network of the UECC in the YRB all showed their advantages and functions. The first plate was the net spillover plate, which was principally allocated in the upstream and midstream of the YRB. The second plate was the broker plate, which was principally located in the midstream and downstream of the YRB, and a few cities in the upper reaches. The third plate was the net inflow plate, which was distributed sporadically in the upstream and downstream of the YRB. The fourth plate was the broker plate, which was scattered in upstream, midstream, and downstream of the YRB. Therefore, it is necessary to shorten the gap of and promote the improvement of the UECC in the YRB.

Research on the Influencing Factors of Urban Ecological Carrying Capacity Based on a Multiscale Geographic Weighted Regression Model: Evidence from China

Based on the comprehensive evaluation method, a comprehensive urban ecological carrying capacity (UECC) evaluation system is established. It includes ecological support, ecological resilience, and ecological pressure. Multiscale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) was used to conduct a thorough examination of the spatial and temporal patterns, and the factors that influenced the UECC of 286 prefecture-level cities in China from 2010 to 2019. The results show that (1) China’s UECC index ranges from 0.0233 to 0.2811 in 2019, which is still at a low level. (2) The spatial distribution is relatively stable: high-value agglomerations of UECC are distributed primarily in the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta, while low-value agglomerations are primarily distributed in the regions in the Central Plains. (3) All influencing factors have a positive effect on the improvement of UECC and are heterogeneous in spatial distribution. Lastly, this paper gives corresponding suggestions, so that governments can formulate differentiated policies and effectively improve UECC.

Simulation and Analysis of Urban Production-Living-Ecological Space Evolution Based on a Macro-Micro Joint Decision Model.

The precise simulation of urban space evolution and grasping of the leading factors are the most important basis for urban space planning. However, the simulation ability of current models is lacking when it comes to complicated/unpredictable urban space changes, resulting in flawed government decision-making and wasting of urban resources. In this study, a macro–micro joint decision model was proposed to improve the ability of urban space evolution simulation. The simulation objects were unified into production, living and ecological space to realize “multiple planning in one”. For validation of the proposed model and method, remote sensing images, geographic information and socio-economic data of Xuzhou, China from 2000 to 2020 were collected and tested. The results showed that the simulation precision of the cellular automata (CA) model was about 87% (Kappa coefficient), which improved to 89% if using a CA and multi-agent system (MAS) joint model. The simulation precision could be better than 92% using the prosed model. The result of factor weight determination indicated that the micro factors affected the evolution of production and living space more than the macro factors, while the macro factors had more influence on the evolution of ecological space than the micro factors. Therefore, active policies should be formulated to strengthen the ideological guidance towards micro individuals (e.g., a resident, farmer, or entrepreneur), and avoid disordered development of living and production space. In addition, ecological space planning should closely link with the local environment and natural conditions, to improve urban ecological carrying capacity and realize urban sustainable development.

水生态文明城市建设对城市水生态承载力的影响——以武汉市为例

城市水生态承载力能较好反映水资源-水环境-水生态-经济社会复合系统间多要素互馈关系，水生态文明城市建设对城市水生态系统具有多方面影响，对城市水生态承载力在水生态文明城市建设前后的变化进行定量研究具有重要意义。以城市"社会-经济-自然"复合生态理论为指导，充分考虑人类活动与城市水生态系统的响应关系，基于DPSIR框架构建城市水生态承载力评价指标体系，以水生态文明建设试点城市武汉市为例，综合运用熵权法、TOPSIS和障碍度诊断模型等方法，分析2008-2019年武汉市水生态承载力的变化趋势和影响因素。结果表明，水生态文明城市试点建设期间（2015-2017年）的水生态承载力平均水平（0.552）明显高于建设前（0.361）和建设后（0.438），建设成果主要体现在压力和影响指标的改善以及响应指标的大幅度提升上。阻碍武汉市水生态承载力提升的主要指标为生态环境状况指数、建成区绿化覆盖率、农田灌溉亩均用水量、酸雨量和饮用水源地水质达标率。根据评价结果提出水城共生共荣发展模式、引导产业结构转型等提升武汉市水生态承载力的建议。;Urban water ecological carrying capacity can effectively reflect mutual feedback relationship of various factors in the compound system of water resources-water environment-water ecology-economy and society. The construction of a water ecological civilization city (WECC) has a multi-faceted impact on the urban water ecosystem. It has important theoretical value and practical significance to scientifically analyze the changes in the urban water ecological carrying capacity before and after the construction of the WECC. This paper took the society-economy-nature compound ecological theory as the guidance, fully considered the response relationship between human activities and urban water ecosystem, selected DPSIR model to build the evaluation index system of urban water ecological carrying capacity. Moreover, taking Wuhan City as an example, we comprehensively used entropy weight method, TOPSIS Model and obstacle diagnosis model to analyze the change trend and influencing factors of water ecological carrying capacity of Wuhan City from 2008 to 2019. The results of the TOPSIS model showed that the construction achievements were mainly reflected in the improvement of indicators in the pressure and impact rule level, as well as the substantial improvement of indicators in the response rule level. This revealed that while the economy and society of Wuhan City are achieving rapid development, the pressure on urban water ecosystem was gradually increasing, and the changes in the aquatic environment of Wuhan City had a certain impact on production and life. Moreover, the average level of water ecological carrying capacity (0.552) of Wuhan City during the pilot construction period (2015-2017) was higher than that before (0.361) and after (0.438) the pilot construction. How to maintain the positive impact of the construction achievements of the WECC construction was an urgent problem to be solved. Based on the obstacle diagnosis model, we found the main factors hindering the improvement of water ecological carrying capacity of Wuhan City were indicators of ecological environment index, the green coverage rate of built-up area, the average water consumption per mu of farmland irrigation, acid rain frequency, and the water quality compliance rate of drinking water source. The results provided decision-making reference for the planning, management and protection of urban water ecosystems, and can also explore the achievements and obstacles of the construction of a water ecological civilization city. Furthermore, the suggestions were proposed to improve the water ecological carrying capacity of Wuhan City, such as the symbiotic and co-prosperity development model of water city and the transformation of industrial structure.

Evaluation of Urban Ecological Carrying Capacity Based on State-space method

Urban ecological carrying capacity is an important standard to measure the sustainable development of urban ecology. In this paper, the evaluation index system of urban ecological carrying capacity is established from three aspects of the ecological elastic force, the supporting force of carrying media and the pressure of carrying objects. A new expression of state-space method for evaluation carrying capacity is presented innovatively. The new method and index system were applied to the evaluation of five provinces in the lower reaches of the Yangtze river. The results showed that the order of urban ecological carrying capacity was Jiangxi > Shanghai > Zhejiang > Jiangsu > Anhui. Finally, some suggestions for future development are put forward according to the evaluation results of each province, which is helpful to the formulation of ecological civilization construction policies.

Prediction of Ecological Pressure on Resource-Based Cities Based on an RBF Neural Network Optimized by an Improved ABC Algorithm

Resource-based cities are those where resource-based industries comprise a large proportion of all industries. Sustainable development implies that cities make full use of their own resources to support current development initiatives and take sustainability into account both during and after resource consumption. To promote investment in the sustainable development of resource-based cities and to a provide a decision system for these cities, this paper uses an ecological footprint model to evaluate and analyze the per capita ecological footprint, per capita ecological carrying capacity and per capita ecological deficit of a representative resource-based city, Yulin. The data are collected from 2001 to 2015. In addition, due to the complexity of the influencing factors for ecological carrying capacity and the variety of situations that are difficult to accurately predict, this paper proposes a new urban ecological carrying capacity prediction model, which consists of a radial basis function (RBF) neural network that is optimized by an improved artificial bee colony algorithm. The prediction results show that energy consumption is the major factor affecting the urban ecosystem; moreover, the model precision of the training results and the simulation accuracy of the test results achieved by the RBF neural network model are 97.91% and 94.16%, respectively, and in 2020, the per capita ecological footprint, biocapacity, and ecological deficit of Yulin are predicted to reach 4.892 hm 2 , 3.317 hm 2 , and 1.575 hm 2 , respectively. Accordingly, effective proactive measures should be taken in advance to maintain or reduce the ecological pressure on this resource-dependent city. This paper strives to provide a scientific basis for local government decision-making to realize the healthy, stable, and rapid sustainable development of resource-based cities.

Urban Economy Development and Ecological Carrying Capacity: Taking Beijing City as the Case

A city can obtain most of natural resources from outside of city for its development, but the ecological carrying capacity of it is limited. Urban economic development in some countries or areas is still maintained a high speed, but their ecological environment has deteriorated sharply. That means their economic has grown out of the limit of ecological carrying capacity. In the paper, the urban ecosystem is divided into population subsystem, economy subsystem, and resources and environment subsystem; the relationship among the three subsystems is analyzed based on eco-economic theories; after then, a theoretical framework of urban ecological carrying capacity is established. Due to urban ecosystem is a dynamic system with complex feedbacks, a System Dynamics model including three subsystems for is set up to measure urban ecological carrying capacity. Finally, the relationship between ecological carrying capacity and economic development in Beijing city from 1996 to 2012 were analyzed. Three scenarios in different economic growth pace are designed; the tendencies of deterioration of ecological environment in Beijing under different Scenarios are analyzed to explore the balance between economic development and ecological protection.

Review on Urban Hydrology

Urban hydrology, which officially became an independent subject in the 1980s, is an important branch of hydrology focusing on urban drainage design and other issues of computational hydrological engineering. The advance of global urbanization has meant that both urban hydrology and its associated effects have become increasingly prominent because the hydrological processes of cities have undergone profound change, such that the rain island effect, wet/dry island effect, urban storm-water logging, water pollution, and other water-related events now occur more frequently in urban areas. Urban hydrology must address increasingly complex problems in such rapidly developing areas. Current research on urban hydrology can be divided broadly into two main directions: hydrological effects of urbanization and the simulation of urban hydrological processes. There has been much research on the various aspects of hydrological effects of urbanization, and the mechanism of the rain island effect is relatively well understood. However, research conclusions regarding the urban wet/dry island effect in different regions are inconsistent. Since the second half of the 20th century, research on the water environment has received considerable attention and water-related ecological effects of urbanization have been highlighted, resulting in establishment of water-quality models and theories of urban ecological carrying capacity. Regarding the simulation of urban hydrology, most of the researches are focused on the "natural" aspects of the rainfall-runoff yield in urban areas; while the few researches on the "social" aspect are limited in urban-water-demand forecasting. A quantitative precipitation-evaporation- runoff simulation model has also been established, which includes urban roofs, hardened ground, urban green spaces, and other complex urban surfaces. However, studies on the mechanism of "artificial" water consumption by cities are less comprehensive. Future development of urban hydrology requires a breakthrough with respect to the mechanism of water consumption by cities, in terms of predicting extreme events and simulating urban hydrological responses, and the quantitative assessment and prediction of the hydrological effects of urban cluster development.

Study on Ecological Footprint Calculation of Beijing Urban Agricultural Fertilizer and Agricultural Straw

Beijing urban agricultural fertilizer dosage is large, low utilization efficiency, serious pollution, according to the two different disposal status of combustion and gasification of agricultural straw, combining with the calculation method of greenhouse gas recognized by 2006 IPCC which related scholars had studied, ecological footprint calculation of Beijing urban agricultural fertilizer and agricultural straw was summarized and developed systematically, to laid foundation for the study of Beijing urban ecological carrying capacity.

Study on Ecological Footprint Calculation of Beijing's Urban Domestic Garbage

This article was based on Beijing urban garbage collection and disposal methods, namely, vehicle transport, landfill, composting and incineration, etc. According to garbage collection and processing methods and combining with the 2006 IPCC internationally cognition and greenhouse gas calculation that related scholars studied, ecological footprint calculation of Beijing's urban domestic garbage was summarized and developed, thus laid foundation for the study of Beijing urban ecological carrying capacity.

Study on Ecological Footprint Calculation of Beijing Urban Animal Waste

This article was based on Beijing treatment of urban Livestock and poultry manure, namely, composting and anaerobic treatment. According with the practical treatment and disposal and combining with the 2006 IPCC internationally cognition and greenhouse gas calculation that related scholars studied, ecological footprint calculation of Beijing urban animal waste was summarized and developed ,thus laid foundation for the study of Beijing urban ecological carrying capacity.

Study on Ecological Footprint Calculation of Beijing Urban Sewage / Industrial Wastewater

This article was based on Beijing urban sewage and industrial wastewater treatment, namely, aerobic treatment and anaerobic treatment. According to actual collection and processing methods of sewage and industrial wastewater in rural areas , combined combining with the 2006 IPCC internationally cognition and greenhouse gas calculation that related scholars studied, ecological footprint calculation of Beijing urban sewage and industrial waste water was summarized and developed ,thus laid foundation for the study of Beijing urban ecological carrying capacity .

The urban ecological regulation based on ecological carrying capacity

The urban ecosystem is a Social-Economic-Natural Complex system consisting of human beings and their surrounding. Because the integrity of function and structure is crucial to the stability and development of urban ecosystem, it is necessary to carry out urban ecological regulation to optimize urban ecological function and structure to promote urban sustainable development in prior situation. Urban problems can be caused by the imbalance between supply and demand, inadequate resilience to pressure, In this paper, the urban ecological carrying capacity is introduced to improve the comprehensive understanding of urban structure and functions, which reflects the capability in urban supportive system to respond the pressure induced by human activities. And urban ecological regulation is established on urban ecological carrying capacity, thereof we select the threshold value and driving factors in analyzing the feature of urban carrying capacity, which can be acted as breakthrough points in regulation. Moreover the integrity of structure and function can be equal to the spatial-temporal dynamic balance in structure and function, views as the pre-condition in ecological regulation, therefore it is essential for regulation to focus on the spatial-temporal balance of carrying capacity. Based on the relationship between ecological security and ecological carrying capacity, the ecological security can be regarded as the goal or standard of urban regulation. In process of urban ecological regulation, driving factors are recognized and some relevant measures referring to three aspects such as technology, human activities and external factors combined with the feedback in process, are improved ecological carrying capacity, herein it is significant for us to regulate the direction, speed and scale of urban development in order to achieve the urban sustainable development.