Optimal Utilization and Management of Natural Resources

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Resources Management, Policy and Governance".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 August 2022) | Viewed by 32020

Special Issue Editors

School of Economics and Management, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
Interests: resources and environment management; climate change; regional development strategy; decision making; natural resources economics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resource Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Interests: resource and environmental information system integration; complex system modeling; coupling effects of water and soil resources and sustainable development
College of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100039, China
Interests: natural resources economics and management; natural resources poli-cy evaluation and analysis; land use competition and modeling

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Since the Industrial Revolution, the traditional growth model centered on economic growth goals has caused a large number of ecological and environmental problems, continued to damage the integrity and sustainability of the regional ecosystem, and triggered concerns about the sustainability of resource-intensive development models for national development. In particular, the discussion of the coordination relationship between the limited carrying capacity of natural resources and the growth capacity of the national economy will continue to promote the direction of sustainable development in countries around the world.

However, even if solving the social, economic and environmental development issues has become a social consensus, there are still many theoretical and practical difficulties in how to build a development and utilization plan of natural resource with theoretically feasible, technically feasible and operationally feasible. Therefore, under the guidance of the new normal development model, it is necessary to carry out a paradigm analysis of the optimal utilization and management of natural resources with the goal of sustainable development, especially

  • Water resources management,
  • The overall management of natural resources, 
  • Natural resources development and protection, 
  • Land and water use efficiency, 
  • Development capacity evaluation of natural resources,

to better serve the green practice of national economic development and natural resource utilization and management.

It is the motivation for the special issue of Water.

Prof. Dr. Gui Jin
Dr. Feng Wu
Dr. Qian Zhang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • natural resources
  • utilization efficiency
  • ecosystem services
  • comprehensive management

Published Papers (12 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

17 pages, 8636 KiB  
Article
A Linear Programming Model for Operational Optimization of Agricultural Activity Considering a Hydroclimatic Forecast—Case Studies for Western Bahia, Brazil
by Igor Boninsenha, Everardo Chartuni Mantovani, Marcos Heil Costa and Aziz Galvão da Silva Júnior
Water 2022, 14(22), 3625; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14223625 - 10 Nov 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2204
Abstract
The water crisis is a reality in Western Bahia. In this region, a hydroclimatic monitoring system capable of providing water availability information in advance for water users was implemented objectively to avoid water conflicts. In this study, we proposed the integration between the [...] Read more.
The water crisis is a reality in Western Bahia. In this region, a hydroclimatic monitoring system capable of providing water availability information in advance for water users was implemented objectively to avoid water conflicts. In this study, we proposed the integration between the hydroclimatic monitoring system and a linear programming method to optimize the agricultural net benefit considering the scenarios of rainfall delay or reduction. Case studies were demonstrated in five farms and three municipalities of Western Bahia. The results show that in irrigated areas, the model optimizes the net economic benefit by the possibility of a continuous or double-cropping system, even in rainfall delay or reduction, where irrigation can supply the water demand of crops. In rainfed areas, it is noticeable that in rainfall delay or reduction scenarios, the model response is not to crop, due to the accentuated water deficit in crops, which may cause a significant yield reduction. It was found in a farm-level analysis, where the model response was not to crop, and farmers had a yield reduction of 61% in rainfed areas. This study opens the integration between the optimization methodologies and the hydroclimatic monitoring system with new insights into how this integration can guide water governance actions in regions where the water crisis is a reality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimal Utilization and Management of Natural Resources)
Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 1306 KiB  
Article
Impacts, Diversity, and Resilience of a Coastal Water Small-Scale Fisheries Nexus during COVID-19: A Case Study in Bangladesh
by Mohammad Muslem Uddin, Petra Schneider, Dibash Deb, Mehedi Hasan, Tansu Ahmed, Sharmin Sultana Mim and Mohammad Mojibul Hoque Mozumder
Water 2022, 14(8), 1269; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14081269 - 14 Apr 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2745
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected many world regions’ coastal social-ecological systems (SESs). Its extensive consequences have exposed flaws in numerous facets of society, including small-scale coastal fisheries in developing countries. To this extent, by focusing on two coastal districts in Bangladesh, namely [...] Read more.
The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected many world regions’ coastal social-ecological systems (SESs). Its extensive consequences have exposed flaws in numerous facets of society, including small-scale coastal fisheries in developing countries. To this extent, by focusing on two coastal districts in Bangladesh, namely Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar, we investigated how the lockdown during COVID-19 impacted small-scale coastal fishers in Bangladesh and which immediate measures are required to develop and implement insights, on the role of the scale of governance attributes, in facilitating or impeding the resilience of small-scale fisheries (SSFs). We analyzed both qualitative and quantitative data obtained through semi-structured, in-depth individual interviews (n = 120). Data were further validated using two focus group discussions in the study areas. The impact of the pandemic on the fishers’ livelihood included halting all kinds of fishing activities; limited time or area for fishing; livelihood relocation or alternative work; low fish price; fewer fish buyers, causing difficulty in selling; and travel or free-movement restrictions. Additionally, the study discovered several coping skills and found that the most prevalent coping strategy against the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic was to take out loans (48%) from different organizations and NGOs and borrow money from relatives, neighbors, friends, or boat owners. Finally, the current research analysis identified possible recommendations to enhance the resilience of coastal fishers during COVID-19, emphasizing arrangements that should be made to provide alternative livelihood opportunities for coastal fishermen via need-based training, technical and vocational education and training, and microcredit to keep them afloat and earning during the pandemic, not relying only on fishing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimal Utilization and Management of Natural Resources)
Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 1999 KiB  
Article
Analysis of Blue Infrastructure Network Pattern in the Hanjiang Ecological Economic Zone in China
by Pengfei He and Kunlun Chen
Water 2022, 14(8), 1234; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14081234 - 12 Apr 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1528
Abstract
As a crucial part of urban development, blue infrastructure (BI) provides multiecosystem services. Using the Hanjiang Ecological Economic Zone as the study area, the potential benefits of a BI network were constructed using morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) and minimum cumulative resistance model [...] Read more.
As a crucial part of urban development, blue infrastructure (BI) provides multiecosystem services. Using the Hanjiang Ecological Economic Zone as the study area, the potential benefits of a BI network were constructed using morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) and minimum cumulative resistance model (MCR) for three periods in order to assess network structure. The main conclusions are: (1) The total BI area of the study location increased at first and then decreased from 2010 to 2020, during which the area of the core and loop was continually rising while the islet and bridge were gradually dropping. These results reveal that landscape fragmentation was well controlled; (2) Both the Integral Index of Connectivity(IIC) and Probability of Connectivity(PC) of the landscape showed an increasing trend, but the integral connectivity level was still low; (3) The comprehensive resistance value decreased gradually from west to east. The potential corridors were concentrated in the middle and lower reaches of the Hanjiang and extended upstream. The amount decreased first and then increased. (4) The structure of the BI network was simple first and then complex, which is in line with changes in the number of BI sources. Thus, changes in the BI network pattern are closely linked to the changes in the study area and the number of BI sources. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimal Utilization and Management of Natural Resources)
Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 2909 KiB  
Article
Coupling Coordination and Influencing Factors of Land Development Intensity and Urban Resilience of the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration
by Xiang Luo, Chao Cheng, Yue Pan and Tiantian Yang
Water 2022, 14(7), 1083; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14071083 - 29 Mar 2022
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2189
Abstract
The rapid urbanization of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration has led to the convergence of population, land and capital. The coordination between land development intensity and urban resilience has become a key issue in the post-urbanization period. From the perspective of regional [...] Read more.
The rapid urbanization of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration has led to the convergence of population, land and capital. The coordination between land development intensity and urban resilience has become a key issue in the post-urbanization period. From the perspective of regional overall and coordinated development, we constructed an evaluation index system of land development intensity and urban resilience. Then, the comprehensive evaluation model, coupling coordination degree model and panel Tobit regression model were adopted to systematically study the temporal and spatial differentiation of and influencing factors on the coupling coordination degree between land development intensity and urban resilience in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration from 2009 to 2019. The results show that from 2009 to 2019, the land development intensity exhibited a slow and fluctuating increase, while the urban resilience displayed continuous growth, and the level of land development intensity generally lagged behind that of urban resilience. From 2009 to 2019, the average coupling coordination degree between land development intensity and urban resilience in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration increased from 0.5177 to 0.6626, which generally changed from bare coordination to moderate coordination. In terms of spatial distribution, the coastal cities and cities along the Yangtze River were characterized by high coupling coordination degrees, which formed a “T” shape distribution pattern. In addition, the coupling coordination types showed certain spatio-temporal heterogeneity among cities. Finally, land economic benefit, green industrial development, scientific and technological innovation, social management and infrastructure all had significant impacts on the coupling and coordination between land development intensity and urban resilience in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimal Utilization and Management of Natural Resources)
Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 9910 KiB  
Article
Agricultural Water Utilization Efficiency in China: Evaluation, Spatial Differences, and Related Factors
by Kai Liu, Yuting Xue, Yu Lan and Yuxuan Fu
Water 2022, 14(5), 684; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14050684 - 22 Feb 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2302
Abstract
Agricultural water utilization efficiency (AWUE) reflects the rational utilization of water resources in agricultural production. Improving AWUE is important for both improving the levels of agricultural production and reducing consumption of water resources, and it is significant to explore the spatial differences between [...] Read more.
Agricultural water utilization efficiency (AWUE) reflects the rational utilization of water resources in agricultural production. Improving AWUE is important for both improving the levels of agricultural production and reducing consumption of water resources, and it is significant to explore the spatial differences between different cities and regions and the various factors related to AWUE, both theoretically and practically. The AWUE of totally 281 cities at the prefecture level or above in China between 2003 and 2018 was evaluated using the super-efficiency slacks-based measure (SBM). The spatial differences in AWUE were simulated by exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA), and the various factors affecting AWUE were simulated using the graphical statistical tool, Geodetector. The results of this study are as follows: (1) The mean value of AWUE across the country was merely 0.23 when it registered a record high in 2018, indicating that the AWUE in China was low; (2) AWUE showed significant spatial differences judging from the results of ESDA, and the low-low type was the principal spatial type, which was distributed mainly in the North China Plain and the Loess Plateau; and (3) agricultural technology was the main factor affecting AWUE. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimal Utilization and Management of Natural Resources)
Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 4552 KiB  
Article
Spatiotemporal Heterogeneity of Agricultural Land Eco-Efficiency: A Case Study of 128 Cities in the Yangtze River Basin
by Yihang Hu, Xuan Liu, Zhengyu Zhang, Shengpeng Wang and Haoyu Zhou
Water 2022, 14(3), 422; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14030422 - 29 Jan 2022
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2844
Abstract
Analysis of spatiotemporal heterogeneity and evolutionary characteristics of agricultural land eco-efficiency is of great significance for achieving a rational use of natural resources and coordinated development of the agricultural economy as well as the ecological environment. In this study, we construct the “ecological [...] Read more.
Analysis of spatiotemporal heterogeneity and evolutionary characteristics of agricultural land eco-efficiency is of great significance for achieving a rational use of natural resources and coordinated development of the agricultural economy as well as the ecological environment. In this study, we construct the “ecological space–agricultural production–carbon emission” framework, incorporate carbon emission intensity as an undesired output into the evaluation index system of agricultural land eco-efficiency, calculate the eco-efficiency of agricultural land in 128 cities in the Yangtze River basin from 2009 to 2018 by adopting the super-efficiency SBM model, and discuss the spatial and temporal changes using methodology such as hotspot analysis and kernel density estimation by ArcGIS. The results show the following. The overall trend of agricultural land eco-efficiency in the Yangtze River basin is increasing year by year and still has potential for improvement. However, there are significant discrepancies among cities, with the eco-efficiency of the downstream being much higher than that of the midstream and upstream regions, and demonstrating the pattern of “big dispersion–small agglomeration”. Some cities are still facing pressure to improve the eco-efficiency of agricultural land. Correspondingly, this paper puts forward optimization recommendations: Firstly, the downstream cities should give full play to their geographical advantages, actively introduce advanced production technologies, and reasonably allocate agricultural resources. Secondly, the upstream and midstream regions should formulate reasonable regional strategies in accordance with their natural resource endowments to improve the ecological benefits of agricultural land and narrow the regional disparities. This paper gives targeted policy recommendations at the levels of paying attention to education of farmers, providing incentives for ecological planting, strengthening agricultural infrastructure construction, reasonably controlling the use of agricultural materials, and increasing investment in agricultural pollutant emission management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimal Utilization and Management of Natural Resources)
Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 2890 KiB  
Article
Assessing the Vulnerability of Agricultural Systems to Drought in Kyrgyzstan
by Li Liang, Fan Zhang and Keyu Qin
Water 2021, 13(21), 3117; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13213117 - 04 Nov 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2276
Abstract
As climate change worsens, the frequent occurrence of extreme drought events will further threaten the agricultural systems of all countries in the world. Kyrgyzstan is a country with agriculture and animal husbandry as its main industries, with a weak industrial base, and agriculture [...] Read more.
As climate change worsens, the frequent occurrence of extreme drought events will further threaten the agricultural systems of all countries in the world. Kyrgyzstan is a country with agriculture and animal husbandry as its main industries, with a weak industrial base, and agriculture plays an important role in the national economy. Kyrgyzstan is located in Central Asia and suffers from a dry climate and frequent droughts. Thus, an integral analysis of the vulnerability of Kyrgyzstan’s agricultural system is of great significance for this country’s socio-economic stability. In this study, we comprehensively analyze the agricultural system drought vulnerability of Kyrgyzstan from three dimensions of sensitivity, adaptability and exposure. The results show that the areas of higher vulnerability in Kyrgyzstan’s agricultural system are distributed in the eastern mountainous, northwest and southwest areas. In addition, regions with low vulnerability are mainly concentrated in the central area. Kyrgyzstan has abundant water resources, but the supporting infrastructure construction is relatively backward. The imperfect irrigation facilities have greatly restricted the development of agriculture and have also increased the vulnerability of the agricultural systems. In the face of climate change, the region may face more severe drought disasters, so increasing infrastructure investment and building a complete irrigation system and water use plan are the keys to reducing the vulnerability of Kyrgyzstan’s agricultural system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimal Utilization and Management of Natural Resources)
Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 1434 KiB  
Article
An Integrated Assessment and Factor Analysis of Water Related Environmental Risk to Cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt
by Xiaolin Cui, Jia Wu, Zhihui Li, Lu Peng, Zhan Shen and Jia Bi
Water 2021, 13(16), 2140; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13162140 - 04 Aug 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2065
Abstract
With rapid development of the economy and urbanization, water-related environmental risk in urban areas has increased and hindered social-economic development and ecological protection. The assessment of water-related environmental risk is of vital importance to the sustainable development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt [...] Read more.
With rapid development of the economy and urbanization, water-related environmental risk in urban areas has increased and hindered social-economic development and ecological protection. The assessment of water-related environmental risk is of vital importance to the sustainable development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB). This study constructed a comprehensive assessment index system for water-related environmental risks from three perspectives: the hazards posed by risk sources, the effectiveness of the control mechanisms, and the vulnerability of the risk receptors. Employing the entropy method, the water-related environmental risks of cities in the YREB from 2000 to 2015 were comprehensively evaluated, and the obstacle degree model was used to analyze the associated influencing factors of the water-related environmental risk. The results showed that the overall level of water-related environmental risk of the YREB presented a significant spatial gradient characterized by “downstream risk > midstream risk > upstream risk”. The areas with higher risks were mainly distributed in the Yangtze River Delta in the downstream area, and Wuhan and Changsha in the midstream area, where their risk receptors were highly vulnerable, and efforts should be made to improve the resilience of these areas. In terms of temporal change, the average value of the comprehensive water-related environmental risk of the YREB dropped from 0.493 in 2005 to 0.392 in 2015, with a reduction rate ranging from about 16.55 to 25.76%. The number of cities with medium-high to high risk had gradually decreased, and the number of cities with medium, medium-low, and low risk continued to increase. The water-related environmental risk of the YREB as a whole is in the transition stage from high risk level to medium and low risk level. Specifically, the hazards posed by risk sources had increased continually, and especially increased significantly in the midstream of the YREB; the effectiveness of risk control mechanisms had increased throughout the region, with downstream cities mainly having a high level of effectiveness; the areas with high vulnerability of the risk receptors were mainly concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta and showed an upward trend. Overall, the main source of water-related environmental risks and differences among the upstream, midstream and downstream cities had shifted from the hazards posed by risk sources to the effectiveness of risk control mechanisms and the vulnerability of the risk receptor. The main factors affecting the water-related environmental risk in the order of average obstacle degree were per capita GDP (34.43%), the number of beds per thousand people (18.70%) and the industrial structure height (15.55%). Therefore, promoting the adjustment of industrial structure, improving economic efficiency, developing the regional social economy, and improving and perfecting the construction of environmental protection infrastructure are effective ways to realize the mitigation and resolution of water-related environmental risks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimal Utilization and Management of Natural Resources)
Show Figures

Figure 1

24 pages, 8357 KiB  
Article
Study on the Comprehensive Improvement of Ecosystem Services in a China’s Bay City for Spatial Optimization
by Ying Fang, Tianlin Zhai, Xiaodong Zhao, Kun Chen, Baishu Guo and Jing Wang
Water 2021, 13(15), 2072; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13152072 - 29 Jul 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1887
Abstract
Ecosystem services are characterized by region and scale, and contribute to human welfare. Taking Yantai city, a typical bay city in China, as the example, its three representative ecosystem services: food supply (FS), carbon sequestration (CS) and water yield (WY) were chosen as [...] Read more.
Ecosystem services are characterized by region and scale, and contribute to human welfare. Taking Yantai city, a typical bay city in China, as the example, its three representative ecosystem services: food supply (FS), carbon sequestration (CS) and water yield (WY) were chosen as study targets. Based on analyzation of six different aspects of the supply and variation characteristic of demand, this study tried to propose advices for comprehensive improvement of ecosystem services for spatial optimization. The results showed that: (1) ecosystem services supply was strong in central and southern areas of Yantai, while the northern coastal areas were relatively weak; (2) synergistic relationships were found of FS-CS, FS-WY and CS-WY both in 2009 and 2015, with the strongest one for FS-WY. Additionally, in the synergistic relationships, each pair of ecosystem services was dominated by one ecosystem service; (3) most of the three pairs of synergistic relationships had the tendency to strengthen with larger scales; (4) four ecosystem demands changing areas were observed and comprehensive improvement suggestions for them were proposed. This work provides a new attempt to improve ecosystem services based on its supply-demand relationship, which will give a baseline reference for related studies in Yantai city, as well as other similar bay cities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimal Utilization and Management of Natural Resources)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

10 pages, 3653 KiB  
Article
Stream Network Modeling Using Remote Sensing Data in an Alpine Cold Catchment
by Hong Cao, Zhao Pan, Qixin Chang, Aiguo Zhou, Xu Wang and Ziyong Sun
Water 2021, 13(11), 1585; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13111585 - 04 Jun 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2665
Abstract
The hydrological information derived from a digital elevation model is very important in distributed hydrological modeling. As part of alpine hydrological research on stream network modeling using remote sensing data in the northeast of the Tibetan Plateau, three digital elevation model (DEM) datasets [...] Read more.
The hydrological information derived from a digital elevation model is very important in distributed hydrological modeling. As part of alpine hydrological research on stream network modeling using remote sensing data in the northeast of the Tibetan Plateau, three digital elevation model (DEM) datasets were obtained for the purpose of hydrological features, mainly including channel network, watershed extent and terrain character. The data sources include the airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) with point spacing of 1 m, the High Mountain Asia (HMA) DEM and the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) DEM. Mapping of the watershed and stream network was conducted using each of the three DEM datasets. The modeled stream networks using the different DEMs were verified against the actual network mapped in the field. The results show that the stream network derived from the LiDAR DEM was the most accurate representation of the network mapped in the field. The SRTM DEM overestimated the basin hypsometry relative to the LiDAR watershed at the lowest elevation, while the HMA DEM underestimated the basin hypsometry relative to the LiDAR watershed at the highest elevation. This may be because, compared with the SRTM DEM and the HMA DEM, the LiDAR DEM has higher initial point density, accuracy and resolution. It can be seen that the LiDAR data have great potential for the application in hydrologic modeling and water resource management in small alpine catchments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimal Utilization and Management of Natural Resources)
Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 8905 KiB  
Article
Construction of Ecological Network Based on Multi-Scale Conversion and Nesting
by Haoran Yu, Yongzheng Wang, Chan Eme, Xin Fan, Yuejing Rong, Qiang Zhang and Zhe Liang
Water 2021, 13(9), 1278; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13091278 - 30 Apr 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2358
Abstract
Ecological protection and the restoration of full-array ecosystems is an important part of ecological civilization construction, which is a powerful measure to implement the concept of green development and help bridge the gap between the respective inevitable requirements of the current ecological environment [...] Read more.
Ecological protection and the restoration of full-array ecosystems is an important part of ecological civilization construction, which is a powerful measure to implement the concept of green development and help bridge the gap between the respective inevitable requirements of the current ecological environment and economic development. To solve this problem, a multi-scale index system was constructed to identify ecological sources comprehensively. The minimum-cost path method, the circuit theory, and the cyclic window search method were adopted to quantitatively identify the important ecological sources and corridors in scale nesting and pinch points and barrier points that affect multi-level connectivity. Furthermore, the specific optimization layout strategy of the ecological network structure of the Hefei metropolitan area was proposed. According to the results, if ecological sources and corridors at two scales are overlaid, the coincident area of ecological sources at two scales is 1719.95 km2. As important ecological sources, Chaohu Lake Basin, Niuwangzhai, and Wuding Mountain, which are important areas to maintain the ecological network, need to be protected. Ten overlapping ecological corridors, which are mainly distributed in Changfeng County, are easily damaged long term. As a result, ecological nodes should be set up as temporary habitats for species transfer. In addition, based on the circuit theory and the cyclic window search method, calculating areas of pinch points at two scales yields 1637.75 km2 and 434.22 km2, respectively, and for areas of barrier points yields 2182.75 km2 and 126.97 km2, respectively. The ecological pinch points at two overlapping scales among them are important areas for future protection. Due to the small and fragmented spatial distribution in the urban area, pinch points with an average size of 0.58 km2 are easy to be restored and will greatly improve the connectivity of the ecological network after restoration. Furthermore, through the quantitative identification of ecological network elements of two scales, the paper puts forward an optimization strategy for an ecological network in the Hefei metropolitan area from three aspects of “point-line-polygon.” The research results can reference decision-making concerning the delineation of urban growth boundary, regional ecological security pattern, land space renovation, and ecosystem restoration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimal Utilization and Management of Natural Resources)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

17 pages, 1005 KiB  
Review
Performance Management of Natural Resources: A Systematic Review and Conceptual Framework for China
by Zhengyu Zhang, Gui Jin, Yihang Hu, Nianci He and Jinye Niu
Water 2022, 14(20), 3338; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14203338 - 21 Oct 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2429
Abstract
In recent decades, the issue of “Performance management of natural resources” has received increasing attention. To explore the optimization of performance management of natural resources is of great significance to the sustainable development of a country’s society and economy. Based on the relevant [...] Read more.
In recent decades, the issue of “Performance management of natural resources” has received increasing attention. To explore the optimization of performance management of natural resources is of great significance to the sustainable development of a country’s society and economy. Based on the relevant literature of “Performance management of natural resources” and “performance management and evaluation of nature resources” in Web of Science from 1990 to 2021, this study reviews the research progress of performance management of natural resources (including water resources) with the help of the CiteSpace V. Through literature review and inductive analysis, the authors found that the pursuit of sustainable utilization and management of natural resources has become the frontier direction of research. However, performance management of natural resources still lacks a general conceptual interpretation and analysis framework, and its evaluation system and methods still need to be further improved. The existing research on influencing factors of natural resources management performance still lacks depth, and the application of quantitative models needs to be strengthened in the future. The combination of research and quantitative models also needs to be further strengthened. Based on the existing literature and the practical experience of countries all over the world, this study constructs the research framework of performance management of natural resources for China. On the basis of multiple evaluation objectives, subjects and means, the authors describes the process and mechanism of performance management of natural resources, and gives some feasible evaluation methods for the performance management of natural resources, in order to provide decision support for the sustainable utilization of natural resources for China. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimal Utilization and Management of Natural Resources)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop