Analyzing Resource and Environment Carrying Capacity of Kunming City Based on Fuzzy Matter–Element Model
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
It was a pleasure reading your manuscript titled “Analyzing Resource and Environment Carrying Capacity of Kunming City Based on Fuzzy Matter-Element Model”. Overall, I liked the idea behind this paper, which is well-executed in general. Having said that, I also believe that it has scope for improvements that I suggest below:
(1) The concept and significance of the carrying capacity are not well introduced. I would suggest that the authors elaborate on what the carrying capacity means and why this concept is of significance. Additionally, the authors should highlight their contribution in the introduction.
(2) When reviewing literature regarding the carrying capacity, the authors should note that technological advancement may play an important role impacting the carrying capacity, as extant studies have widely documented that innovation is a key driver in improving environmental quality and efficiency in resource utilization. Therefore, I recommend that the authors take into account technological innovation (see for example Chu et al.’s 2023 work in the Journal of Technology Transfer).
(3) I would suggest that the authors carefully format their manuscript for better readability. Equations and corresponding labels should be aligned. Also, Figures, such as Figure 1, should be aligned to the center.
(4) There is a contradiction in “Conclusion and discussion”. The authors concluded that “the carrying capacity of resources and the environment in Kunming City has been steadily increasing over the years …”. However, in the subsequent sentence, they stated “However, the decrease in resource carrying capacity highlights …”. The authors should make their conclusions consistent.
(5) Some expressions are illogical and hard to follow. For instance, in the last paragraph of “Conclusion and discussion”, the authors claim “To address the social and economic challenges in Kunming City, the economy has experienced growth”. This sentence lacks cohesion since the economy itself cannot address the social and economic challenges. I recommend that the authors carefully revise their manuscript, or if possible, seek professional language editing services to enhance the quality of this paper.
Moderate editing of English language required.
Author Response
Dear Reviewer 1st, the following are the author's explanations and responses to the questions you have raised.
Point 1: The concept and significance of the carrying capacity are not well introduced. I would suggest that the authors elaborate on what the carrying capacity means and why this concept is of significance. Additionally, the authors should highlight their contribution in the introduction.
Response 1: Resource and environmental carrying capacity refers to the sum of various social and economic activities of human beings that resource endowment and environmental capacity can carry within a certain period and a certain regional space under the premise that natural resources and environment are not harmed and a good ecosystem is maintained. It is the supporting basis for realizing the coordinated development of regional economy, society and environment. It is an important symbol to judge the coordination between resource exploitation intensity and environmental carrying capacity.
Point 2: When reviewing literature regarding the carrying capacity, the authors should note that technological advancement may play an important role impacting the carrying capacity, as extant studies have widely documented that innovation is a key driver in improving environmental quality and efficiency in resource utilization. Therefore, I recommend that the authors take into account technological innovation (see for example Chu et al.’s 2023 work in the Journal of Technology Transfer).
Response 2: Different research methods based on computer technology have been proposed in foreign countries, including GIS technology, emergy analysis method, artificial neural network and fuzzy inference system model based on adaptive network. In 2018, Laheab A. Jasem Al-Maliki et al. processed the raw data using an Excel program and then used the reverse distance weighting (IDW) tool to represent the data in A geographic information system (GIS) program to create an adallowed load map of soil at a depth of 0-2 meters. The urban carrying capacity of An-Najaf and Kufa was evaluated. By adopting emergy analysis method, Chanhoon Jung et al. evaluated the environmental carrying capacity of sustainable development of Jeju Island in 2005, 2015 and 2030, and proved that for tourism-intensive areas, taking Jeju Island as an example, development strategies should be proposed according to regional environmental carrying capacity. In 2020, Asadallah Karimi et al. used the concept of carrying capacity to model the spatial urban density, and used analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Delphi method to determine the parameters required by the model. Taking the sample data of a medium-sized city in Isfahan Province of Iran as an example, the 3D visualization technology was used to visually verify the sample results in a GIS environment. The resulting model helps maintain the balance between building height and density. The bearing capacity values predicted by artificial neural network and fuzzy inference system model based on adaptive network are obviously better than those of simple linear regression and multiple linear regression models. In 2021, Tugrul Varol et al. proposed the fuzzy reasoning system based on adaptive network to evaluate and predict the soil carrying capacity of forest highway. Few current studies of environmental carrying capacity consider predictions based on future conditions.
Point 3: I would suggest that the authors carefully format their manuscript for better readability. Equations and corresponding labels should be aligned. Also, Figures, such as Figure 1, should be aligned to the center.
Response 3: The equation and corresponding labels have been modified to align, and the map has been modified to center align.
Point 4: There is a contradiction in “Conclusion and discussion”. The authors concluded that “the carrying capacity of resources and the environment in Kunming City has been steadily increasing over the years …”. However, in the subsequent sentence, they stated “However, the decrease in resource carrying capacity highlights …”. The authors should make their conclusions consistent.
Response 4: Because of the lack of limitation in the previous description, it should be changed from resource carrying capacity to resource subsystem carrying capacity.
Point 5: Some expressions are illogical and hard to follow. For instance, in the last paragraph of “Conclusion and discussion”, the authors claim “To address the social and economic challenges in Kunming City, the economy has experienced growth”. This sentence lacks cohesion since the economy itself cannot address the social and economic challenges. I recommend that the authors carefully revise their manuscript, or if possible, seek professional language editing services to enhance the quality of this paper.
Response 5: The expression here is inappropriate, should be changed to “In light of the social and economic problems of Kunming city, Kunming city's economic development has been growing trend, but the increase of population has also brought certain pressure on the city's infrastructure resources and urban space allocation”.
Reviewer 2 Report
In this research, an evaluation system was developed using the entropy weight method to determine the weight of the evaluation indicators. The European closeness model of Kunming’s resource and environmental carrying capacity was then constructed using the fuzzy matter-element analysis method. The correlation between the carrying capacity of resources and environment and sub-carrying capacities was analyzed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient to determine the degree of influence of different aspects on the carrying capacity of resources and environment in Kunming. In general, the contribution of the article is small, and the study of Kunming problem is not representative.
general.
Author Response
Dear Reviewer 2nd, the following are the author's explanations and responses to the questions you have raised.
Point: In this research, an evaluation system was developed using the entropy weight method to determine the weight of the evaluation indicators. The European closeness model of Kunming’s resource and environmental carrying capacity was then constructed using the fuzzy matter-element analysis method. The correlation between the carrying capacity of resources and environment and sub-carrying capacities was analyzed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient to determine the degree of influence of different aspects on the carrying capacity of resources and environment in Kunming. In general, the contribution of the article is small, and the study of Kunming problem is not representative.
Response: Thanks to the reviewers' comments, this paper selects 35 indicators, some of which refer to the Technical Guide for Evaluation of Resource and Environment Carrying Capacity and Suitability of Territorial Space Development issued by the Bureau of Land and Spatial Planning of the Ministry of Natural Resources, and the other part comes from the comprehensive consideration of the study area and the reading and summary of a large number of literatures. The preliminary research work is based on a relatively sufficient foundation. Through the impact of agricultural resources, forestry resources, living resources, water environment, atmospheric environment, solid waste environment, population size, economic level and infrastructure on the carrying capacity, entropy weight method is used to calculate the weight of evaluation indicators, and the carrying capacity values are calculated and compared according to the European distance proximity model. The present situation of resources and environment of Kunming is well demonstrated, and the existing resources and environment problems of Kunming are relatively exposed, which can provide reference for the next step of urban spatial planning of Kunming.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Reviewer 3 Report
The proposed research « Analyzing Resource and Environment Carrying Capacity of Kunming City Based on Fuzzy Matter-Element Model» falls within the scope of Sustainability. According to the reviewer’s opinion, minor revisions are required in order to accept this research study for publication in Sustainability. Please, comply with the following suggestions and comments:
Comment 1: The paper is in general well accompanied of clear explanations. I think that some additional figures would help to the better analysis of the subject.
Comment 2: How it extend the existing knowledge on the issue/topic? Concluding remarks – authors must elaborate more on what is their contribution to the literature.
Comment 3: Finally, when you submit the corrected version, please do check thoroughly, in order to avoid grammar, syntax or structure/presentation flaws - please seek for professional English proofreading services or ask a native English-speaking colleague of yours in order to refine and improve the English in your paper.
The proposed research « Analyzing Resource and Environment Carrying Capacity of Kunming City Based on Fuzzy Matter-Element Model» falls within the scope of Sustainability. According to the reviewer’s opinion, minor revisions are required in order to accept this research study for publication in Sustainability. Please, comply with the following suggestions and comments:
Comment 1: The paper is in general well accompanied of clear explanations. I think that some additional figures would help to the better analysis of the subject.
Comment 2: How it extend the existing knowledge on the issue/topic? Concluding remarks – authors must elaborate more on what is their contribution to the literature.
Comment 3: Finally, when you submit the corrected version, please do check thoroughly, in order to avoid grammar, syntax or structure/presentation flaws - please seek for professional English proofreading services or ask a native English-speaking colleague of yours in order to refine and improve the English in your paper.
Author Response
Dear Reviewer 3rd, the following are the author's explanations and responses to the questions you have raised.
Point 1: The paper is in general well accompanied of clear explanations. I think that some additional figures would help to the better analysis of the subject.
Response 1: The introduction adds literature introduction about different research methods used in foreign countries for carrying capacity, including GIS technology, emergy analysis method, artificial neural network and fuzzy inference system model based on adaptive network.
Point 2: How it extend the existing knowledge on the issue/topic? Concluding remarks – authors must elaborate more on what is their contribution to the literature.
Response 2: At the end of the article, combined with the completion of the national "13th Five-Year Plan", the problems that have been solved and realized in Kunming are summarized. In the "14th Five-Year Plan", the next development plan of Kunming City is prospected from the aspects of resources, environment and social economy.
Point 3: Finally, when you submit the corrected version, please do check thoroughly, in order to avoid grammar, syntax or structure/presentation flaws - please seek for professional English proofreading services or ask a native English-speaking colleague of yours in order to refine and improve the English in your paper.
Response 3: The article has been modified in English grammar and overall structure with the help of professional editing editors.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report
can be accepted.
