Assessment and Diagnosis of the water resources carrying capacity in the Huaihe River basin of Anhui Province

This study aims to expand the evaluation theory and application methods of water resources carrying capacity (WRCC) and to measure regional WRCC in multiple dimensions. To this end, a WRCC evaluation system based on a system perspective is proposed. This system is divided into three subsystems, comp...

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Main Authors: Hui Zhang, Tianru Ma, Zhengwei Pan, Lan Yang, Dejian Wang, Guangye Yu, He Li, Kezhi Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-07-01
Series:Ecological Indicators
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25005266
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author Hui Zhang
Tianru Ma
Zhengwei Pan
Lan Yang
Dejian Wang
Guangye Yu
He Li
Kezhi Zhang
author_facet Hui Zhang
Tianru Ma
Zhengwei Pan
Lan Yang
Dejian Wang
Guangye Yu
He Li
Kezhi Zhang
author_sort Hui Zhang
collection DOAJ
description This study aims to expand the evaluation theory and application methods of water resources carrying capacity (WRCC) and to measure regional WRCC in multiple dimensions. To this end, a WRCC evaluation system based on a system perspective is proposed. This system is divided into three subsystems, comprising 23 key indices. By combining the Improved Coefficient of Variation Method (ICVM) with the Improved Analytic Hierarchy Process (IAHP), both the subjective and objective weights are calculated, effectively accounting for expert experience and data variability. Meanwhile, the Fuzzy Connection Number (FCN) method is introduced to address the uncertainties in the evaluation process. Taking the Huaihe River Basin of Anhui Province (HRBIAP) as a case study, this work conducted a WRCC evaluation across nine districts during the period from 2014 to 2022. The results show that the overall WRCC level of HRBIAP is at Ⅰ-Ⅲ, with the ecological environment subsystem performing the worst. The WRCC level shows a fluctuating upward trend. Cities in the northeastern and southwestern have higher WRCC rating. In contrast, the northwestern region has more barriers than the southeastern region, although the number of barriers in the northwestern region is decreasing. Therefore, there is an urgent need to strengthen ecological environmental management, such as increasing the amount of ecological water replenishment and utilizing recycled water. This study can promote the development of water resources research and provide an effective guarantee for regional WRCC assessment and development.
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spelling doaj-art-a6eb8a9047e545778b4e701f484ad4642025-08-20T02:35:47ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2025-07-0117611359610.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113596Assessment and Diagnosis of the water resources carrying capacity in the Huaihe River basin of Anhui ProvinceHui Zhang0Tianru Ma1Zhengwei Pan2Lan Yang3Dejian Wang4Guangye Yu5He Li6Kezhi Zhang7College of Civil Engineering, Bengbu University, Bengbu 233030, China; Corresponding author.The Huaihe River Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources, Bengbu 233030, ChinaCollege of Civil Engineering, Bengbu University, Bengbu 233030, ChinaCollege of Civil Engineering, Bengbu University, Bengbu 233030, ChinaCollege of Civil Engineering, Bengbu University, Bengbu 233030, ChinaInstitute of Huai River Water Resources Protection, Bengbu 233030, ChinaCollege of Civil Engineering, Bengbu University, Bengbu 233030, ChinaBengbu Water Conservancy Bureau, Bengbu 233030, ChinaThis study aims to expand the evaluation theory and application methods of water resources carrying capacity (WRCC) and to measure regional WRCC in multiple dimensions. To this end, a WRCC evaluation system based on a system perspective is proposed. This system is divided into three subsystems, comprising 23 key indices. By combining the Improved Coefficient of Variation Method (ICVM) with the Improved Analytic Hierarchy Process (IAHP), both the subjective and objective weights are calculated, effectively accounting for expert experience and data variability. Meanwhile, the Fuzzy Connection Number (FCN) method is introduced to address the uncertainties in the evaluation process. Taking the Huaihe River Basin of Anhui Province (HRBIAP) as a case study, this work conducted a WRCC evaluation across nine districts during the period from 2014 to 2022. The results show that the overall WRCC level of HRBIAP is at Ⅰ-Ⅲ, with the ecological environment subsystem performing the worst. The WRCC level shows a fluctuating upward trend. Cities in the northeastern and southwestern have higher WRCC rating. In contrast, the northwestern region has more barriers than the southeastern region, although the number of barriers in the northwestern region is decreasing. Therefore, there is an urgent need to strengthen ecological environmental management, such as increasing the amount of ecological water replenishment and utilizing recycled water. This study can promote the development of water resources research and provide an effective guarantee for regional WRCC assessment and development.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25005266Water resource carrying capacityFuzzy connection numberBarrier factorsIAHP-ICVMHuaihe River Basin
spellingShingle Hui Zhang
Tianru Ma
Zhengwei Pan
Lan Yang
Dejian Wang
Guangye Yu
He Li
Kezhi Zhang
Assessment and Diagnosis of the water resources carrying capacity in the Huaihe River basin of Anhui Province
Ecological Indicators
Water resource carrying capacity
Fuzzy connection number
Barrier factors
IAHP-ICVM
Huaihe River Basin
title Assessment and Diagnosis of the water resources carrying capacity in the Huaihe River basin of Anhui Province
title_full Assessment and Diagnosis of the water resources carrying capacity in the Huaihe River basin of Anhui Province
title_fullStr Assessment and Diagnosis of the water resources carrying capacity in the Huaihe River basin of Anhui Province
title_full_unstemmed Assessment and Diagnosis of the water resources carrying capacity in the Huaihe River basin of Anhui Province
title_short Assessment and Diagnosis of the water resources carrying capacity in the Huaihe River basin of Anhui Province
title_sort assessment and diagnosis of the water resources carrying capacity in the huaihe river basin of anhui province
topic Water resource carrying capacity
Fuzzy connection number
Barrier factors
IAHP-ICVM
Huaihe River Basin
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25005266
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