| As the influence of human activities on marine ecosystems is increasing, themarine ecological problems continue to appear. Due to limited carrying capacity ofmarine ecosystems, researches focus on the proper balance between economicdevelopment and ecological environment become a hotspot.Based on previous researches, an integrated methodology to assess marineeco-environment carrying capacity was developed, which includes conceptualframework, indicator system, weights, standards and computing formulas. Combininghistorical data with field survey, the coastal waters along Shandong Peninsula andLaizhou Bay were studied. The main research results are listed as follows:⑴As an example, the eco-environment in25coastal water bodies along the BlueEconomic Zone of Shandong Peninsula of China was studied. The results showed that,generally, the environmental factor index was0.67(from0.41to0.84) and theecological response index was0.45(from0.17to0.75), which means it was at thegood level but approaching moderate. The main eco-environmental problems wereoverload dissolved inorganic nitrogen, contamination of heavy metals and extremelylow zooplankton density. The eco-environment status varied in different areas, withthe higher ones (60%), which were rated as high or good level, mainly located in theeast and southwest of the Shandong Peninsula. Analysis indicated that16%of coastalwater bodies were moderate,16%were poor, and8%were bad.⑵Another research results showed that, the average impact value was0.425inthe whole of Laizhou Bay, which means it was at the medium level. More specifically,the strong human activities, which intensively impact the Laizhou Bay ecosystem,were sewage disposal, reclamation engineering and harbor transport. The humans’impact status varied in different areas. There is no extremely strong impacted area,but the strong took40%of the whole study area, with44%medium and16%weak. Spatial analysis indicated that the impact of human activities on the coastal water wasstronger than its closed seawater, and the strong mainly distributed in the southwest ofthe Laizhou Bay, while the weak distributed in northern seawater.⑶The methodology to assess marine eco-environment carrying capacity incoastal waters was developed, which was based on the pressure-state-responseframework and the state space model. By comparing the standard state, the carryingcapacity was classified into four levels: load, full load, overload and serious overload.This method had been successfully applied to the Laizhou Bay.⑷The environmental carrying capacity of Laizhou Bay was0.599(from0.455to0.684), which means it was in general state. Dissolve inorganic nitrogen and heavymetals in organisms were the main influencing factors. The high was in the east, butthe low was in the west. The ecological resilience was0.284(from0.198to0.475),which means the ecosystem structure and function had many problems, especially theextremely low density of fish eggs and larvae. The human activities were0.425(from0.086to0.695), which means a middle influence degree. Spatial differences showedthat diminishing trend from the southwestern coast to the northern seawater.⑸Integrated assessment results showed that, Laizhou Bay’s eco-environmentcarrying capacity was0.471(from0.415to0.552), which means it was at the level ofoverload, because of the ideal status0.64and bad status0.42in2006-2013. Analysisindicated that ecological resilience was the major restrictive factor for Laizhou Bay.Spatial analysis indicated that the low mainly distributed in the southwest of theLaizhou Bay, while the high distributed in northern seawater, which meansenvironmental carrying capacity and human activities may be the key factors.Purpose of this study is to reveal marine eco-environment carrying capacity inthe coastal waters of Shandong Peninsula. The analytical process and result providean integrated tool for coastal management of the Blue Economic Zone of ShandongPeninsula of China. |
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