Assessment on water resources carrying capacity in karst areas by using an innovative DPESBRM concept model and cloud model

Comprehensive evaluation of "Three Waters" carrying capacity and path evolution study: A case of the Yellow River Basin

Research focusing solely on the carrying capacity of a single aspect of water resources, water environment, or water ecology is no longer sufficient to support the sustainable development and management of basin water systems. The study of basin carrying capacity should expand towards a comprehensive and holistic direction. Therefore, this study constructed an evaluation index system for carrying capacity based on water resources, water environment, and water ecology ("Three Waters"). Utilizing the entropy weight-TOPSIS method, System Comprehensive Index Evaluation, and ArcGIS tools, the comprehensive evaluation index of the "Three Waters" System Carrying Capacity (TWSCC) in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) from 2005 to 2020 was calculated. The evaluation index analyzed the spatiotemporal variation characteristics of subsystem carrying capacity and performed early warning identification and analysis of TWSCC. Four differentiated developmental pathways were designed based on the current status of basin carrying capacity. Leveraging System Dynamics (SD) modeling, the dynamic simulation, and emulation of carrying capacity trends in the YRB from 2020 to 2035 were conducted. The research findings indicate that from 2005 to 2020, the TWSCC levels across the nine provinces in the YRB consistently exhibited varying degrees of overload. The alert levels mostly remained in "Heavy warning" or "Medium warning" states. By 2035, TWSCC under the four development paths improved from 2020 levels, with the Green Environmental Protection-Oriented scheme reaching a safe carrying capacity. In summary, this paper offers theoretical and methodological support for developing basin-carrying capacity and the integrated governance of "Three Waters."

An innovative method based on Gaussian cloud distribution and sample information richness for eutrophication assessment of Yangtze's lakes and reservoirs under uncertainty

The precise assessment of a water body's eutrophication status is essential for making informed decisions in water environment management. However, conventional approaches frequently fail to consider the randomness, fuzziness, and inherent hidden information of water quality indicators. These would result in an unreliable assessment. An enhanced method was proposed for the eutrophication assessment under uncertainty in this study. The multi-dimension gaussian cloud distribution was introduced to capture the randomness and fuzziness. The Shannon entropy based on various sample size and trophic levels was proposed to maximize valuable information hidden in the datasets. Twenty-seven significant lakes and reservoirs located in the Yangtze River Basin were selected to demonstrate the proposed method. The sensitivity and consistency were used to evaluate the accuracy of the proposed method. Results indicate that the proposed method has the capability to effectively assess the eutrophication status of lakes and reservoirs under uncertainty and that it has a better sensitivity since it can identify more than 33-50% trophic levels compared to the traditional methods. Further scenario experiments analysis revealed that the sample information richness, i.e., sample size and the number of trophic levels is of great significance to the accuracy/robustness of the method. Moreover, a sample size of 60 can offer the most favorable balance between accuracy/robustness and the monitoring expenses. These findings are crucial to optimizing the eutrophication assessment.

Coupling coordination and driving mechanisms of water resources carrying capacity under the dynamic interaction of the water-social-economic-ecological environment system

The water resources carrying capacity (WRCC) is a complex and comprehensive system that is jointly influenced by water resources, society, the economy and the ecological environment. Previous WRCC studies have primarily focused on estimating the overall level of regional WRCC. Few studies have explored the interactions among the various elements in the WRCC system and their influence on the WRCC evolution. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is, on the one hand, to explore the dynamic interactive relationships within the WRCC system from the perspectives of water resources, society, the economy and the ecological environment using a coupling coordination degree model and a panel vector autoregressive (PVAR) model, and on the other hand, to determine the evolutionary driving mechanism of the WRCC using the geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model to improve the regional WRCC. Taking 21 cities in Guangdong Province as an example, the results show that (1) the coupling coordination degree among the four WRCC subsystems in Guangdong Province shows an overall upward trend from 2009 to 2020, and the coordination between water resources utilization and other subsystems needs to be further strengthened. (2) The economic subsystem is the core of the WRCC system with reinforcing effects on both water resources and social subsystems but significant inhibitory effects on the ecological environment subsystem. Notably, the development of the ecological environment plays a crucial role in promoting social and economic development. (3) From 2009 to 2020, the development of the WRCC in Guangdong Province is initially driven by social and economic development, followed by economic development and ecological environmental protection, and then mainly by ecological environmental protection, which gradually becomes the primary driving force. This study provides a new entry point for studying the regional WRCC and formulating targeted measures for enhancing the regional WRCC.

Analysis of sustainable water resource management and driving mechanism in arid region: a case study of Xinjiang, China, from 2005 to 2020

The long-term dynamic comprehensive evaluation of the water resource carrying capacity (WRCC) and the analysis of its potential driving mechanism in arid areas are contemporary research issues and technical means of mitigating and coordinating the conflict between severe resource shortages and human needs. The purpose of this study was to explore the distribution of the WRCC and the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of drivers in arid areas based on an improved two-dimensional spatiotemporal dynamic evaluation model. The results show that (1) the spatial distribution of the WRCC in Xinjiang, China, is high in the north, low in the south, high in the west, and low in the east. (2) From 2005 to 2020, the centers of gravity of the WRCC in northern and southern Xinjiang moved to the southeast and west, respectively, and the spatial distribution exhibited slight diffusion. (3) The factors influencing the WRCC exhibit more obvious spatial and temporal heterogeneity. The domestic waste disposal rate and ecological water use rate were the main factors influencing the WRCC in the early stage, while the GDP per capita gradually played a dominant role in the later stage. (4) In the next 30 years, the WRCC in Xinjiang will increase. The results provide a theoretical reference for the sustainable development of water resources in arid areas.

Compensatory response of ecosystem carbon-water cycling following severe drought in Southwestern China

Climate change has increased the frequency and length of droughts, but many uncertainties remain regarding the impacts of this aridification on terrestrial ecosystem function. Vegetation water use efficiency and carbon sequestration capacity are crucial determinants that both respond to and mediate the effects of drought. However, it is important to note that the consequences of drought on these processes can persist for years. A deeper exploration of these "drought legacy effects" will help improve our understanding of how climate change alter ecosystem carbon-water cycling. Here, we investigate the spatial patterns of drought legacy effects on remotely-sensed vegetation greenness (NDVI), net primary productivity (NPP) and water use efficiency (WUE) in southwestern China, a biodiversity hotspot that was impacted by an extreme drought in 2009-2010, with a particular focus on the tradeoff between WUE and NPP. Despite widespread negative drought legacy effects in NDVI (impacting 61.26 % of the study region), there was a general increase in NPP (58.68 %) and a decrease in WUE (67.53 %) in the year following drought (2011). This drought legacy effect was most evident in forests, while drought legacies in grasslands were less common. Drought legacies were also most apparent in relatively warm and humid areas. During the study period (2002 to 2018), we found that drought impacts on WUE also lagged behind changes in NPP by 1-2 years in forests, which highlights how drought legacies may manifest differently across ecosystem processes. Our study demonstrated that severe drought conditions may significantly affect the carbon sequestration capacity and water use efficiency of vegetation in southwestern China, and that forests may compensate for the detrimental effects of water stress by increasing water use and biomass growth after drought episodes.

Measurement and analysis of water ecological carrying capacity in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China

Water ecological carrying capacity (WECC) is a crucial index for measuring regional sustainable development. To investigate the evolution of WECC in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB), this study constructed a comprehensive index system consisting of 23 indicators from six interconnected dimensions of water systems. The back propagation neural network (BPNN) model was used to quantify WECC in YREB from 2010 to 2021, and ArcGIS was utilized to visualize the distribution of WECC. To identify sensitive indicators under subsystems, sensitivity analysis was conducted based on the one-at-a-time (OAT) method. Additionally, time-series prediction of WECC was performed using the exponential smoothing (ES) method. Finally, the coupling coordinated degree (CCD) of subsystems in each province from 2010 to 2021 was calculated. The results indicated that the average WECC in YREB gradually increased from 2010 to 2021, with significant provincial differences. Sensitivity analysis revealed that R1, U2, Q4, S2, M3 and B1 had the most substantial impacts on the WECC of subsystems (Sub-CC). The fitting curve between the CCD and WECC showed that as CCD increased, the growth rate of WECC gradually slowed down. Based on these findings, relevant suggestions were proposed to improve WECC and promote the regional sustainable development in YREB.

Evaluating the Resources and Environmental Carrying Capacity in Laos Using a Three-Dimensional Tetrahedron Model

(1) Background: The quantitative evaluation and comprehensive measurement of resources and environmental carrying capacity (RECC) are key links in the study of RECC from classification to synthesis. Laos, as the only landlocked country of Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA), is an important economic corridor (i.e., China-MSEA Economic Corridor) of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). (2) Methods: Based on the human settlements index (HSI), resource carrying index (RCI), and socio-economic development index (SDI), here, a three-dimensional tetrahedron model for the comprehensive assessment of RECC with equilibrium significance was constructed, including HSI-based suitability classification, RCI-based restrictive classification, and SDI-based adaptability classification. Taking provinces as the basic unit, we quantitatively assessed and comprehensively evaluated RECC in Laos using a three-dimensional tetrahedron model. (3) Results: The human settlement environment in Laos is mainly characterized by the moderate suitable category (85%), while the high suitability area (merely 5%) supports more than 30% of the total population. Laos had over 90% of its area in good condition in resources and environmental carrying status (surplus or balanced state), translating into more than 95% of the population. The social and economic development level is mainly characterized by low-level development (43%), with nearly 30% of the population living in these low-level areas. The comprehensive bearing state of resources and environment is characterized by surplus, and 85% of the population is distributed in the surplus area, which occupies 63% of the land. (4) Conclusions: It is possible to better explore the adaptation strategies and countermeasures for enhancing RECC in Laos and provide a scientific reference for regional sustainable development. We believe that the three-dimensional tetrahedron method can be applied to quantitatively evaluate and comprehensively measure RECC at larger scale, e.g., the BRI regions.

Multi-Phase Environmental Impact Assessment of Marine Ecological Restoration Project Based on DPSIR-Cloud Model

In order to achieve a comprehensive evaluation of the environmental impact of ecological restoration projects (ERP) under the current destruction and restoration of coastal ecological areas, this paper takes into account the impact of positive and negative indicators on the environment; analyzes the positive and negative benefits of ERP; and establishes a comprehensive environmental impact index system for marine ERP from ecological, economic, and social perspectives through the DPSIR model. On this basis, the cloud model and Monte Carlo simulation are used to obtain the comprehensive assessment grade of the construction period, short-term operation, and long-term operation in the project life cycle. The results show that the benefits of ERP, considering the impact of negative factors, are significantly reduced, and the benefits of ERP will increase remarkably in the long-term operation period. In engineering practice, the environmental pressure factor caused by excessive human activities during construction and operation periods is a key negative factor affecting the overall benefits of ERP. For project decision makers and other stakeholders, the comprehensive assessment grade considering negative impacts is more practical. At the same time, decision makers should take active response measures in the framework of long-term sustainable development, set a tolerance threshold for negative pressure indicators, and strengthen the management of ERP.

Research on water resources environmental carrying capacity (WRECC) based on support-pressure coupling theory: A case study of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

Water scarcity and water pollution problems are becoming increasingly serious in many regions of the world due to rapid socioeconomic development. Water resources environmental carrying capacity (WRECC), which embodies the attributes of social, economic, resource and environmental aspects, is usually considered as a significant metric to guide regional sustainable development. Most existing studies on WRECC mainly focus on conceptual discussions and evaluation methods, lacking a systematic insight into the theoretical connotations of WRECC and neglecting the interaction mechanisms within the WRECC system. Therefore, this study aims to propose a new WRECC evaluation method based on support and pressure theory to deeply reveal the state change and driving mechanisms of WRECC. Firstly, a WRECC evaluation system incorporating support and pressure is constructed and the WRECC performance is determined by both the support index and pressure index. Subsequently, the catastrophe progression method and the obstacle degree model are introduced to quantify the WRECC and identify the primary influencing factors. Lastly, the feasibility and validity of this methodology are verified through an empirical application in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). The results indicate that the WRECC of the GBA presents an upward trend from 2010 to 2019, shifting from a low-value load state to a low-value surplus state. Moreover, the WRECC performance varies significantly among cities in the GBA, especially for edge cities that generally exhibit higher support, pressure and WRECC indices than central cities. In addition, common obstacles that affect WRECC are total water resources, water resources per capita, water consumption per hectare for agriculture and proportion of the tertiary industry. Furthermore, this study reveals that the coupling relationship between support and pressure develops towards a positive direction, and water environment protection and economic development are the main drivers of WRECC development. This new proposed methodology can provide a theoretical reference for investigating regional WRECC and formulating appropriate sustainable development strategies.

Sustainability Assessment of Water Resources Use in 31 Provinces in China: A Combination Method of Entropy Weight and Cloud Model

As a fundamental and strategic resource, water is a crucial controlling element of ecosystem and natural environment and it plays an irreplaceable role in maintaining and promoting the sustainable development of the economy and society. To achieve the sustainable development of society, the economy and ecology, it is necessary to assess and improve the sustainability of water resources use. Based on the Human-Resource-Nature approach, this paper constructed an indicator system for the sustainability assessment of water resources use (ISSAWRU) in China from three perspectives: water resources condition, socio-economy and ecological environment. A five-level hierarchy of assessment indicators was established. Based on the entropy weight method and the cloud model which took both fuzziness and randomness into account, this paper established an entropy-cloud-based assessment model for the sustainability assessment of water resources use in 31 provinces in China in 2019. The assessment results were compared with results obtained by the TOPSIS method to test their reliability. Finally, a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the sustainability of water resources use in China was conducted. According to the results, water resources per capita had a weighting of 0.306 and the greatest impact on the sustainable use of water resources. In addition, water structure, agricultural water use efficiency, forest coverage, and so on, had a significant impact on the sustainable use of water resources in China. The overall level of sustainability of water resources use in 31 provinces in China was not high-42% of the regions have unsustainable water resources use and there was a clear spatial distribution trend. The sustainability level of water resources use was higher in the southeast and economically developed regions. Therefore, each region should develop measures to guarantee water security based on the local conditions. This research helps policy makers to figure out the contributing factors associated with sustainability of water resources use and to set relevant rules and regulations to promote the use of water resources in a sustainable way.

Rapid migration of mainland China's coastal erosion vulnerability due to anthropogenic changes

With the global rise in sea levels caused by climate change and frequent extreme weather processes, high-density population aggregation and human development activities to enhance coastal areas vulnerability, populations, resources, and the ecological environment are facing huge pressure. Natural coastlines are being destroyed, and increasingly serious problems, such as coastal erosion and ecological fragility, have become disasters in coastal zones. The coastal vulnerability changed by climatic variables has created a major concern at regional, national and global scales. By comparing the data of two periods in the past 40 years, coastline vulnerability of coastal erosion in mainland China were evaluated by use of reverse cloud model and AHP with 10 indicators, including natural, anthropogenic, social and economic factors, etc. The main factors controlling coastal erosion included the proportion of Quaternary strata, the gradual reclamation of marine areas as land areas (in kilometres) and the percentage decrease in coastal sediment entering the sea. The secondary impact factors included the high proportion of artificial coastlines and the impacts of waves and storm surges under the influence of relative sea level changes. Human activities could further influence coastal vulnerability, making the erosion risk a considerable concern. Legislation, coordinated management system and technology are proposed to improve the quality of the marine ecological environment.

Integrating water-related disaster and environment risks for evaluating spatial-temporal dynamics of water security in urban agglomeration

Water security is a compound concept coupling multi-dimensional perspectives, such as resource utilization, environmental protection, and disaster prevention. With this concern, this study focuses on the spatial-temporal dynamics of water security with considering water disaster risk index (WDRI), water environment risk index (WERI), and water supply-demand. WERI centers on risk source's hazard, control effectiveness, and risk receptor's vulnerability. Indices related to hazard, exposure, and vulnerability are used for evaluating WDRI. A multi-objective fuzzy membership function is presented for determining the indices' weight, and the distribution pattern of water security is illustrated based on cluster analysis. A real-world case study of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration (BTHUA) is given for verifying availability of the evaluation framework. Results indicate the general water security in BTHUA with a critical safe state yet a downward trend. Opposite change characteristics of water security exist between its southern and northern cities. WDRI and WERI show the trends of increasing (with a growth rate of 0.48%) and decline (with an average decrement rate of 0.56%), respectively. Beijing has high-value WDRI and WERI, and the order of WDRI and WERI is presented as follows: Beijing (0.67) > Tianjin (0.54) > Hebei (0.33) and Beijing (0.69) > Tianjin (0.58) > Hebei (0.16), respectively. Cluster analysis reveals a poor match relation between water security and regional socio-economic development. Areas with high-level economic development (e.g., Beijing and Tianjin) have poor environmental performances, with WDRI and WERI of 0.54 ~ 0.68 and 0.57 ~ 0.70, respectively. Additionally, water resources overload index of BTHUA is 8.513, which is higher than Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration (1.431), Triangle of Central China (0.228), and Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration (0.742). Findings can provide a theoretical reference for promoting sustainable utilization of water resources in BTHUA and the other areas with prominent water problems.

Virtual Water Flow Pattern in the Yellow River Basin, China: An Analysis Based on a Multiregional Input-Output Model

Research on the Yellow River Basin's virtual water is not only beneficial for rational water resource regulation and allocation, but it is also a crucial means of relieving the pressures of a shortage of water resources. The water stress index and pull coefficient have been introduced to calculate the implied virtual water from intraregional and interregional trade in the Yellow River Basin on the basis of a multi-regional input-output model; a systematic study of virtual water flow has been conducted. The analysis illustrated that: (1) Agriculture is the leading sector in terms of virtual water input and output among all provinces in the Yellow River Basin, which explains the high usage. Therefore, it is important to note that the agricultural sector needs to improve its water efficiency. In addition to agriculture, virtual water is mainly exported through supply companies in the upper reaches; the middle reaches mainly output services and the transportation industry, and the lower reaches mainly output to the manufacturing industry. Significant differences exist in the pull coefficients of the same sectors in different provinces (regions). The average pull coefficients of the manufacturing, mining, and construction industries are large, so it is necessary to formulate stricter water use policies. (2) The whole basin is in a state of virtual net water input, that is, throughout the region. The Henan, Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Qinghai Provinces, which are relatively short of water, import virtual water to relieve local water pressures. However, in the Gansu Province and the Ningxia Autonomous Region, where water resources are not abundant, continuous virtual water output will exacerbate the local resource shortage. (3) The Yellow River Basin's virtual water resources have obvious geographical distribution characteristics. The cross-provincial trade volume in the downstream area is high; the virtual water trade volume in the upstream area is low, as it is in the midstream and downstream areas; the trade relationship is insufficient. The Henan and Shandong Provinces are located in the dominant flow direction of Yellow River Basin's virtual water, while Gansu and Inner Mongolia are at the major water sources. Trade exchanges between the midstream and downstream and the upstream should be strengthened. Therefore, the utilization of water resources should be planned nationwide to reduce water pressures, and policymakers should improve the performance of agricultural water use within the Yellow River Basin and change the main trade industries according to the resource advantages and water resources situation of each of them.

Predictive analysis of water resource carrying capacity based on system dynamics and improved fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method in Henan Province

The water resource carrying capacity (WRCC) is a carrying capacity of natural resources. It affects the application and expansion of the carrying capacity of water resources. This subject involves various elements, such as water resources, the ecological environment system, humans and their economic and social systems, and a wider range of biological groups and their survival needs. Based on the objective recognition of the complex relationship between the water resource system, ecological environment system, and economic and social system, the support scale of water resources and the ecological environment for economic and social development is studied. Current research on the carrying capacity of water resources has mostly shifted from the previously limited support capacity of water resources to include factors such as the population, economy, and ecology, establishing the internal relationships between the economics, water resources, and ecological environment. This reflects the comprehensive carrying capacity of the entire region (or river basin) of water resources and the ecological environment system on an overall economic and social scale. Based on the conceptual connotation of the WRCC and the actual problems facing water resources in Henan Province, the paper uses a system dynamics method to develop information feedback between the four subsystems of Henan Province: economic, population, water resource, and water environment subsystems. The index system of the WRCC in Henan Province is also determined. The weight of each index is comprehensively determined by a combination weighting method of the analytic hierarchy process and an entropy weight method, and then a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method is used to evaluate the WRCC of Henan Province under four different development models. The validation period of the model is 2010-2020, and the forecast period is 2021-2030. The results indicate that during the period 2021-2030, the WRCC of Henan Province showed a slight upward trend overall under the four models, but the increase rates were different under the different models. Among the four models, the comprehensive model's benefit was the best, which not only maintained the healthy and stable development of the economy and society but also improved the pressure on the water resources and the quality of the water environment.

Assessment of coal mining land subsidence by using an innovative comprehensive weighted cloud model combined with a PSR conceptual model

Research on land subsidence is a global topic. In recent years, the environmental problems caused by coal mining have received great attention. In particular, mining land subsidence caused damage to villages, buildings, farmland, etc., which seriously threatened the mining area's living environment and ecological environment. This study proposes a pressure-state-response concept model based on mining land subsidence to build an evaluation index system in coal mines. Based on this index system, given the uncertainty in the evaluation process, the cloud model is used to represent the index weight and comprehensive evaluation calculations, which fully consider the randomness and ambiguity in the evaluation process. The mining land subsidence of several mining areas in China was evaluated and classified into three grades (slight-medium-strong). The cloud model assessment results are compared with the result of the probability integration method and the actual situation. The assessment results of the cloud model are closer to the actual situation than the probability integration method. This shows that the established mining land subsidence evaluation method based on the cloud model in this study is reasonable and feasible. The mining width and height ratio, depth and height ratio, and coal seam dip angle affect mining land subsidence. Therefore, improving the mining method to deal with the goaf reasonably and optimizing the mining design to control the influence range of mining are essential measures to reduce mining land subsidence and protect the ecological environment of mining areas.

Lake ecosystem health assessment using a novel hybrid decision-making framework in the Nam Co, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Lake health assessment (LHA), a powerful tool for lake ecological protection, provides the foundation for sustainable water environment management. However, existing methods have not yet considered the effects of fuzziness and randomness on LHA. In addition, most of the current studies on LHA focus on the plain areas, lack of quantitative studies in mountain areas, such as the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The Pythagorean fuzzy cloud (PFC) integration algorithm drawing on the advantages of Pythagorean fuzzy sets (PFS) and cloud model was proposed. A novel hybrid decision-making framework combining PFC integration algorithm and TOPSIS model was developed to determine the lake health levels with fuzziness and randomness. An indicator system incorporating ecosystem integrity (physical habitat, water quantity and quality, aquatic life) and non-ecological performance (social services) was established. To comprehensively investigate the lake health level in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Nam Co was selected as study area. Our results confirm that the developed framework in this study can overcome the shortcomings of existing methods and provide a more effective approach for LHA with fuzziness and randomness. In Nam Co, the non-ecological performance was significantly better than the ecosystem integrity. Health levels exhibited a remarkable spatial variation influenced by tourism and grazing, with decreasing health status from the northwestern to southeastern Nam Co. Approximately 85% of the sampling sites were at excellent or healthy levels, 15% were subhealthy, and no sampling sites were unhealthy and sick. Our results highlight that tourism has affected health levels at Nam Co, and effective measures are needed to minimize the impact in ecological fragile areas.

Rough Set Construction and Entropy Weight Evaluation of Urban Higher Education Resource Carrying Capacity Based on Big Data

With the popularization of higher education, the scale of urban higher education continues to expand, and the contradiction between the supply and demand of educational resources becomes increasingly prominent, which restricts the steady development of urban higher education. Based on the rough set theory, this paper constructs a rough set of big data of urban higher education resource carrying capacity from the three levels of higher education core resources, urban economic resources and urban basic resources, and evaluates the entropy weight of the city where the university is located. According to the theoretical knowledge of higher education resource carrying capacity, the system deconstructs and expounds the balance mechanism of higher education resource carrying capacity, which provides solid theoretical support for the development of the paper. The research shows that the agglomeration development of higher education resources can improve the carrying capacity of urban higher education resources. The second section performed well on the whole, and the index distribution was more uniform. The third interval index structure distribution is complex and uneven, and the overall performance is general. The fourth section belongs to the poor section of educational carrying capacity with a low overall index. It can be seen that the carrying capacity of higher education resources varies significantly, which provides a scientific basis for improving the carrying capacity of higher education resources and theoretical and policy basis for realizing rational allocation and sustainable carrying capacity of higher education resources.

Water Carrying Capacity Evaluation Method Based on Cloud Model Theory and an Evidential Reasoning Approach

The scientific and reasonable evaluation of the carrying capacity of water resources is of guiding significance for solving the issues of water resource shortages and pollution control. It is also an important method for realizing the sustainable development of water resources. Aiming at an evaluation of the carrying capacity of water resources, an evaluation model based on the cloud model theory and evidential reasoning approach is studied. First, based on the existing indicators, a water resources evaluation index system based on the pressure-state-response (PSR) model is constructed, and a classification method of carrying capacity grade is designed. The cloud model theory is used to realize the transformation between the measured value of indicators and the degree of correlation. Second, to obtain the weight of the evaluation index, the weight method of the index weights model based on the entropy weight method and evidential reasoning approach is proposed. Then, the reliability distribution function of the evaluation index and the graded probability distribution of the carrying capacity of water resources are obtained by an evidential reasoning approach. Finally, the evaluation method of the carrying capacity of water resources is constructed, and specific steps are provided. The proposed method is applied to the evaluation of water resources carrying capacity for Hunan Province, which verifies the feasibility and effectiveness of the method proposed in the present study. This paper applies this method of the evaluation of the water resources carrying capacity of Hunan Province from 2010 to 2019. It is concluded that the water resources carrying capacity of Hunan Province belongs to III~V, which is between the critical state and the strong carrying capacity state. The carrying capacity of the province’s water resources is basically on the rise. This shows that the carrying capacity of water resources in Hunan Province is in good condition, and corresponding protective measures should be taken to continue the current state.

Geographical distinctions of longevity indicators and their correlation with climatic factors in the area where most Chinese Yao are distributed

Longevity research is a hot topic in the health field. Considerable research focuses on longevity phenomenon in Bama Yao Autonomous County, which has a typical karst landform and is located in Southwest China. This study aims to illustrate the spatial feature of longevity indicators in other Yao areas, to analyze the correlation between climatic factors and longevity indicators, and to provide new clues and targets for further longevity studies. We collect and integrate population, climate, and terrain data into a spatial database. The main analysis methods include spatial autocorrelation, high/low clustering, and multiscale geographically weighted regression (MGWR). Two longevity clusters are identified in Guijiang River Basin (longevity index (LI%): 2.49 ± 0.63) and Liujiang River Basin (LI%: 2.13 ± 0.60). The spatial distribution of longevity indicators is autocorrelative (Moran's I = 0.652, p < 0.001) and clustered significantly (Z score = 4.268, p < 0.001). MGWR shows that the atmospheric pressure significantly affects the spatial distribution of LI% (estimate value (EV) =  - 0.566, p = 0.012), centenarity index (CI%) (EV =  - 0.425, p = 0.007), UC (EV =  - 0.502, p = 0.006), and CH (EV =  - 0.497, p = 0.007). Rainfall significantly affects the spatial distribution of LI% (EV = 0.300, p = 0.003) and CI% (EV =  - 0.191, p = 0.016). The spatial distribution of the main longevity indicators shows significant heterogeneity and autocorrelation, and they cluster in the Guijiang River and Liujiang River basins. Atmospheric pressure and rainfall may contribute to the longevity phenomenon through complex mechanisms. The longevity phenomenon in the Yao nationality in Guijiang River Basin requires further study to improve our understanding of the health effect of meteorological, environmental, and social conditions on longevity.

Evaluation and Simulation of Water Security in the Circum-Bohai Sea Region of China

The function and necessity of water resources make them an important factor affecting economic and social development. To explore various water security issues impacting water use, the pressure-state-response model was applied in this study to construct a water security evaluation indexing system for the Circum-Bohai Sea Region (CBSR) in China. In this study, the game method was used to balance the two weighting methods, and the water security grades were calculated by the forward cloud model. Compared with the previous work, this study tried to analyze the simulated scenarios using the ELECTRE III method, determined the optimal development scenario mode based on the water security grade, and put forward water security measures and suggestions based on the results. This study put forward three scenarios of development models. Under the scenario of “pressure reduction”, it can be proposed to build suburbs and transfer urban functional areas to relieve the pressure of urban population. Under the “ideal state” scenario, water diversion projects and water storage projects can be proposed to relieve the regional water shortage. Under the scenario of “efficient response”, strengthening ecological environment construction and improving sewage treatment capacity can be proposed.

Uncertain Analysis of Fuzzy Evaluation Model for Water Resources Carrying Capacity: A Case Study in Zanhuang County, North China Plain

The scientific and accurate evaluation of water resources carrying capacity has good social, environmental and resource benefits. Reasonable selection of evaluation parameters is the key step to realize efficient and sustainable development of water resources. Taking Zanhuang County in the North China Plain as the research area, this study selected fuzzy comprehensive evaluation models with different weights in the established evaluation index framework to explore the sources of uncertainty affecting the evaluation results of water resources carrying capacity. By using the sensitivity analysis method of index weight, the index with the biggest influence factor on the evaluation result is selected to reduce the uncertainty problems such as index redundancy and small correlation degree. The results show that the correlation and reliable of comprehensive evaluation value obtained by different weight methods is different. The evaluation result obtained by using the analytic hierarchy process is more relevant than the entropy weight method, and it is more consistent with the actual load-bearing situation. The study of sensitivity index shows that water area index is the biggest factor affecting the change of evaluation results, and water resources subsystem and socio-economic subsystem play a dominant role in the whole evaluation framework. The results show that strengthening the data quality control of index assignment and weight method is helpful to reduce the error of water resources carrying capacity evaluation. It can also provide scientific basis for the improvement of fuzzy evaluation model.

Quantitative analysis of soil sustainability after applying stabilizing amendments in long-term Cd-contaminated paddy soils

Considering the biomagnification in food chains, cadmium (Cd) contamination in paddy fields has become concerning. The remediation of soil cadmium by the addition of amendments is a common agricultural practice. However, it remains ambiguous whether amendment use decreases soil environmental quality (SEQ) and sustainability. In this study, five compound amendments with different pH were utilized in long-term Cd-contaminated paddy soils. The SEQ of all treatments was quantitatively assessed according to a comprehensive evaluation mathematical model (Criteria Importance Through Inter-criteria Correlation (CRITIC)-Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS)), and the indicators involved in microbial functional gene (MFG) abundance, soil physicochemical and microbiological properties (CMP) and soil microbial function (N-related enzyme and transformation rate, N-ET) were measured. The results show that the SQE and remediation effect (expressed by the decrease in available Cd (A_Cd), %) in our treatments were alkaline > natural > acidic except for D alkaline treatment. The significant contradiction between soil SQE and remediation effect in D treatment attribute to its dose effects, which inhibiting microbial nitrogen assimilation and dissimilation and therefore counteracts the promoting effect of the decrease in A_Cd. Based on this discussion, three alkaline amendments (A, B and D) with similar effective remediation effect were employed in four other Cd-contaminated soils. Results indicated that both negative effect (D treatment) and promoting effect (A and B treatment) existed in the next 3 years.

Research on Comprehensive Evaluation and Coordinated Development of Water Resources Carrying Capacity in Qingjiang River Basin, China

The protection of a water resource’s ecological environment is one of the most important tasks in the watershed in China. The evaluation of water resources carrying capacity (WRCC) is the foundation for the suitability of territorial space development. It is necessary to further analyze the weaknesses of the coordinated development of various dimensions of WRCC and explore the basis of territorial space development and optimization. This paper considers Chinese unique policy tasks, namely, “three water management together”, the types of main function areas, “red lines” control, and national spatial suitability evaluation, to construct the evaluation index system of WRCC. Monomial evaluation, integrated evaluation, and coupling coordination analysis methods are used separately to evaluate the carrying index, comprehensive carrying index, and coupling coordination degree of WRCC in the Qingjiang River Basin. The results show that: (1) As far as monomial evaluation is concerned, water resource supplies are often overloaded on the overall economy, industrial, and agricultural development; (2) The comprehensive indices of WRCC of the counties in the southwest are obviously better than that of the counties in the northeast; (3) The degree of coupling coordination of WRCC in the Qingjiang River Basin is not high, and is essentially in the primary or barely coordinated level; (4) the short board of WRCC in the Qingjiang River Basin presents obvious spatial characteristics, which from west to east are water environment, water resources and water ecology lagging, respectively. This paper measures WRCC for industry, agriculture, life, and ecology, which is helpful in promoting the suitability evaluation of land space development. Meanwhile, the case study of the Qingjiang River Basin provides reference for other regions to implement the “double evaluation”.