Anthropogenic activities and coastal environmental quality: a regional quantitative analysis in southeast China with management implications

Abstract

Regional analysis of environmental issues has always been a hot topic in the field of sustainable development. Because the different levels of economic growth, urbanization, resource endowments, etc. in different regions generate apparently different ecological responses, a better description and comparison across different regions will provide more valuable implications for ecological improvement and policymaking. In this study, seven typical bays in southeast China that are a rapid developing area were selected to quantitatively analyze the relationship between socioeconomic development and coastal environmental quality. Based on the water quality data from 2007 to 2015, the multivariate statistical method was applied to analyze the potential environmental risks and to classify the seven bays based on their environmental quality status. The possible variation trends of environmental indices were predicted based on the cross-regional panel data by Environmental Kuznets Curve. The results showed that there were significant regional differences among the seven bays, especially Quanzhou, Xiamen, and Luoyuan Bays, suffered from severer artificial disturbances than other bays, despite their different development patterns. Socioeconomic development level was significantly associated with some water quality indices (pH, DIN, PO-P); the association was roughly positive: the areas with higher GDP per capita have some worse water quality indices. In addition, the decreasing trend of pH values and the increasing trend of nutrient concentration in the seven bays will continue in the foreseeable future. In consideration of the variation trends, the limiting nutrient strategy should be implemented to mitigate the deterioration of the coastal environments.

Spatio-Temporal Variation of Soil Phosphorus and Its Implications for Future Pomelo Orcharding System Management: A Model Prediction From Southeast China From 1985–2100

“…P pools displayed a sharp rise in S1 compared to past 30-year (Figure 9), consequently, the P management in S1 would have a more significant risk impact on the environment in the future. A recent study reported that the increasing trend of P concentration in the river water would continue in the foreseeable future (Chen et al, 2018). Such increasing trends have also been observed in the United States (Stackpoole et al, 2019).…”

Microplastics and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Xiamen coastal areas: Implications for anthropogenic impacts

“…A preliminary analysis was conduct, which was connected with the relationship between watershed economic level (GDP per capita and DPI per capita) and estuarine microplastics pollution of China, since some water quality indices have been frequently reported, such as nutrient (Chen et al, 2018) and dissolved oxygen (Wong and Lewis, 2013). The results of GDP per capita (r = −0.415, p = 0.487) and DPI per capita (r = −0.192, p = 0.757) offer a rough negative relationship without statistical significance.…”

Interconnected principles of ocean governance through science-policy integration under the judgements of the international dispute settlement bodies

“…It was also clear that ‘science-policy integration is a variable concept whose requirements may change over time in light of new knowledge and concerning the risks involved in the marine environment’. 27 Therefore, 60 research articles on maritime dispute resolution, ocean governance and marine environmental protection have been analysed in the context of ‘science-policy’ integration.…”