ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Study of the Evaluation of Resource
and Environmental Carrying Capacity
and Driving Factors in Arid Areas –
A Case Study in Xinjiang, China
More details
Hide details
1
Agriculture College, Shihezi University, China
2
College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, China
These authors had equal contribution to this work
Submission date: 2024-01-26
Final revision date: 2024-05-20
Acceptance date: 2024-06-12
Online publication date: 2024-10-02
Corresponding author
Jianming Ye
College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, China
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Resource and environmental carrying capacity (RECC) has far-reaching significance in protecting
the environment, managing resources, and achieving sustainable development. As a typical arid region,
Xinjiang is rich in natural resources and fragile in its ecological environment. In recent years, rapid
industrialization, urbanization, and water mismatch have resulted in socio-economic activities that
have hurt the environment and sustainable development. This study used three-dimensional tetrahedral
(3D Tetra) modeling to assess RECC in Xinjiang and analyzed its drivers in conjunction with geographically
weighted regression (GWR) modeling. The research indicates that two county-level administrative
districts in Xinjiang are experiencing an overload state, accounting for 1.22% of the total area.
Correspondingly, 2.11% of the population inhabits these regions. The comprehensive status of resource
and environmental carrying capacity is generally good, and Northern Xinjiang is better than Southern
Xinjiang, which aligns with the background conditions. The regression coefficient of the water resources
carrying index is 0.63, which is the highest driving force for the RECC of Xinjiang. The prudent
development and rational allocation of water resources are crucial to enhancing the RECC of Xinjiang.
Spatially, the land resource carrying index is the most heterogeneous.