Analysis of water–carbon–ecological footprints and resource–environment pressure in the Triangle of Central China. (June 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chen, Yizhong; Lu, Hongwei; Yan, Pengdong; Yang, Yiyang; Li, Jing; Xia, Jun
• Is Part Of: Ecological indicators. Volume 125(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-06
• Subjects: Footprint family -- Footprint depth and size -- Ecological pressure -- Carbon emissions -- Water resources stress; Environmental monitoring -- Periodicals; Environmental management -- Periodicals; Environmental impact analysis -- Periodicals; Environmental risk assessment -- Periodicals; Sustainable development -- Periodicals; 333.71405
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107448
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1470-160X

Abstract

Highlights: Footprint Family indicators are used for identifying resource and environment pressure. A three-dimensional ecological footprint model is developed with footprint depth and size. Spatial-temporal variations in water-carbon-ecological footprints of TOCC can be discussed. Relationships among water-carbon-ecological footprints from 2000 to 2015 can be analyzed. Findings can promote the sustainable development of Urban Agglomerations. Abstract: Existing index system on the resource–environment pressure (REP) measure is mostly based on the multi-index comprehensive evaluation method. However, the selection of evaluation indices is highly affected by subjective factors, potentially resulting in poor comparability of results. With these concerns, this study proposes Footprint Family indicators to quantitatively evaluate the spatial– temporal variations in REP. Water–carbon–ecological footprints are grouped together to form a suite of indicators of ecological pressure, carbon emission, and water resource stress indices. A three-dimensional ecological footprint model is developed with considering footprint depth and size. The proposed method is then applied to the Triangle of Central China (TOCC). Results indicate that the average REP values in Poyang City Group, Chang-Zhu-Tan City Group, and Wuhan City Group reach 1.05, 1.27, and 3.05, respectively. The REP in Poyang City Group increases from 0.511 in 2000 to 1.846 in 2015, with an annual increase of 6.5%. The REP in Chang-Zhu-Tan City Group increases from 2.27 in 2000 to 4.18 in 2015, with an annual increase of 4.1%, whereas that in Wuhan City Group is relatively high, especially in Ezhou (9.17), Qianjiang (6.96), and Wuhan (8.95). Increased trends of ecological footprint exist in Poyang City Group, Chang-Zhu-Tan City Group, and Wuhan City Group, with average growth rates of 5.55%, 4.41%, and 5.70%, respectively. The carbon footprint in the northcentral TOCC (such as Wuhan and Loudi) is high, whereas that in the southeast TOCC is relatively low, especially in Fuzhou. The general performance of water resource system in TOCC is relatively ideal, with average surpluses of 0.546 × 10 4, 2.234 × 10 4, 6.311 × 10 4 m 2 /cap in Wuhan City Group, Chang-Zhu-Tan City Group, and Poyang City Group, respectively.