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ISSN:2325-6192 (print)
ISSN:2325-6206 (online)
Journal of Environmental Accounting and Management
António Mendes Lopes (editor), Jiazhong Zhang(editor)
António Mendes Lopes (editor)

University of Porto, Portugal

Email: aml@fe.up.pt

Jiazhong Zhang (editor)

School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province 710049, China

Fax: +86 29 82668723 Email: jzzhang@mail.xjtu.edu.cn

Assessment of Water Ecological Carrying Capacity based on Ecological Network Structure

Journal of Environmental Accounting and Management 2(4) (2014) 335--345 | DOI:10.5890/JEAM.2014.12.005

Turson Hairet, Weilong Wang$^{1}$, Yuan Li$^{1}$,$^{2}$, Shengsheng Li$^{3}$

$^{1}$ College of Chemical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China

$^{2}$ School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100087, China

$^{3}$ Environmental Protection Agency of Zhoushan, Zhejiang 316021, China

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Abstract

In this study, ecological network structure analysis is applied into water ecological carrying capacity assessment. Based on theory of ecological network analysis in sustainability quantification and the relationship of WECC and sustainable water use, with the application of presumed water use network model and a new index, WECC is measured from integrated perspective with Baiyang Lake Basin as a case study. The result suggests that with a distance of 28.33×108 m3 network throughflow from that of sustainable network, the network structure is unbalanced. It means that for Baiyang Lake Basin in 2007, the water use network cannot carry throughputs in a sustainable way and its overload quantity is 28.33×108 m3. Through adjusting throughflow on each pathway toward network structure balancing, this method could provide a scientific basis for the coordinated development of social economy and the water eco-environment improvement in the Baiyang Lake Basin.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation for Young Scholars (51109004), the Central Business Funds (ZY1303), and the Special Fund of State Environmental Protection Public Welfare Research (Projects 201309006).

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