An evolving assessment model for environmental carrying capacity: A case study of coral reef islands

Fei Cheng; Fenzhen Su; Ming Chen; Qi Wang; Huiping Jiang; Xuege Wang

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.12.047

An evolving assessment model for environmental carrying capacity: A case study of coral reef islands

J Environ Manage. 2019 Mar 1:233:543-552. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.12.047. Epub 2018 Dec 27.

Authors

Fei Cheng¹, Fenzhen Su², Ming Chen³, Qi Wang³, Huiping Jiang³, Xuege Wang¹

Affiliations

¹ Collaborative Innovation Center of South China Sea Studies, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China; LREIS, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, Beijing 100101, China; School of Geographic and Oceanic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
² Collaborative Innovation Center of South China Sea Studies, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China; LREIS, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, Beijing 100101, China. Electronic address: sufz@lreis.ac.cn.
³ Collaborative Innovation Center of South China Sea Studies, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China; LREIS, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, Beijing 100101, China.

PMID: 30594899
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.12.047

Abstract

Environmental carrying capacity (ECC) provides an insight into measuring sustainability of the vulnerable coral reef islands. However, an integrated assessment of ECC on the social-ecological system of reef islands is rarely existence. And conventional approaches miss addressing the difference of social development, which would lead to a misinterpretation of sustainable development of reef island system. This study develops an evolving model of RI-ECC which incorporates five specific development phases, and the assessment involves (1) identification and measurement of carrying components, (2) supply/demand surplus analysis of indicators and (3) ECC states determination. A case study is conducted in Zhaoshu Island of China, indicating the efficiency of RI-ECC model and serving as a reference for adaptive management.

Keywords: Coral reef islands; Dynamic assessment; Environmental carrying capacity; Evolving conceptual model; Sustainability.

MeSH terms

Anthozoa*
China
Conservation of Natural Resources
Coral Reefs*
Ecosystem
Environmental Monitoring
Islands