A Dynamic Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Urban Expansion and Pollutant Emissions in Fujian Province

Exploring the Dynamic Spatio-Temporal Correlations between PM2.5 Emissions from Different Sources and Urban Expansion in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region

Due to rapid urbanization globally more people live in urban areas and, simultaneously, more people are exposed to the threat of environmental pollution. Taking PM_2.5 emission data as the intermediate link to explore the correlation between corresponding sectors behind various PM_2.5 emission sources and urban expansion in the process of urbanization, and formulating effective policies, have become major issues. In this paper, based on long temporal coverage and high-quality nighttime light data seen from the top of the atmosphere and recently compiled PM_2.5 emissions data from different sources (transportation, residential and commercial, industry, energy production, deforestation and wildfire, and agriculture), we built an advanced Bayesian spatio-temporal autoregressive model and a local regression model to quantitatively analyze the correlation between PM_2.5 emissions from different sources and urban expansion in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Our results suggest that the overall urban expansion in the study area maintained gradual growth from 1995 to 2014, with the fastest growth rate during 2005 to 2010; the urban expansion maintained a significant positive correlation with PM_2.5 emissions from transportation, energy production, and industry; different anti-haze policies should be designated according to respective local conditions in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei provinces; and during the period of rapid urban expansion (2005–2010), the spatial correlations between PM_2.5 emissions from different sources and urban expansion also changed, with the biggest change coming from the PM_2.5 emissions from the transport sector.

An Empirical Study on the Ecological Economy of the Huai River in China

The Huai River is an important flood control and discharge river in the middle and east of China, and the development of ecological economy with regional advantages is significant for the protection and improvement of the resources and environment of the basin. On the basis of defining the connotation of an ecological economic system, this study constructed an index system, and it applied the methods of data envelopment analysis (DEA) and exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) to study the ecological economy of the Huai River. This study concluded that (1) the efficiency in most areas was efficient, but inefficient in a few areas; (2) the causes of inefficiency were unreasonable production scale and unqualified production technology, which led to redundant input of resources, insufficient output of days with good air quality, and excessive output of particulate matter with less than or equal to 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5); and (3) the efficiency was different in different regions, so it was necessary to respectively formulate and implement strategies for protection and development of resources and environment. The research results can be used as an important reference for formulating ecological economic policies around the world.