Abstract
Ecological assessment plays a vital role in sustainable development of the environment, and thus exploration of specific and integrated ecological assessment methods has become a critical task. In this study, based on the concept of oxygen balance and by accommodating both natural factors and socioeconomic elements, we establish an oxygen (O2) balance index (OBI), i.e., the ratio of the O2 production from the ecosystem to the O2 consumption by human behavior, based on the net primary productivity (NPP), fuel consumption, gross domestic production (GDP), population data, and so on. The results show that the spatial distributions of OBI in China are intimately correlated to the regional vegetation and socioeconomic development. The estimated OBI values are then validated by statistical data from 27 counties in China, and it is found that the OBI reflects the ecological environment status well. Moreover, the average OBI values derived from 190 natural oxygen bars in China reveal extreme imbalance between O2 production and consumption in highly developed regions, especially in the cities, in contrast to good O2 balance in areas with high-quality ecological status and less industrialization. The findings from this study have quantitatively captured the regional ecological quality, providing guidance for sustainable natural and socioeconomic developments in local areas of China.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
References
Chen, Q., Y. H. Chen, M. J. Wang, et al., 2015: Ecosystem quality comprehensive evaluation and change analysis of Dongting Lake in 2001–2010 based on remote sensing. Acta Ecol. Sinica, 35, 4347–4356, doi: https://doi.org/10.5846/stxb201403250557. (in Chinese)
Chen, Y. L., W. H. Mo, Y. L. Huang, et al., 2021: Changes in vegetation and assessment of meteorological conditions in ecologically fragile karst areas. J. Meteor. Res., 35, 172–183, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-021-9170-x.
Costanza, R., R. de Groot, P. Sutton, et al., 2014: Changes in the global value of ecosystem services. Glob. Environ. Change, 26, 152–158, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2014.04.002.
Dawson, T. P., M. E. J. Cutler, and C. Brown, 2016: The role of remote sensing in the development of SMART indicators for ecosystem services assessment. Biodiversity, 17, 136–148, doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/14888386.2016.1246384.
de Aquino Lemos, V., R. V. T. dos Santos, F. S. Lira, et al., 2013: Can high altitude influence cytokines and sleep? Mediators Inflamm., 2013, 279365, doi: https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/279365.
Ding, L., J. P. Huang, C. Y. Li, et al., 2022: Variations in terrestrial oxygen sources under climate change. Sci. China Earth Sci., 65, 1810–1823, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-021-9956-5.
Han, D. L., J. P. Huang, L. Ding, et al., 2021: Oxygen footprint: An indicator of the anthropogenic ecosystem changes. CATENA, 206, 105501, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2021.105501.
Han, X. Z., H. Gao, J. Yang, et al., 2021: Advances in ecological applications of Fengyun satellite data. J. Meteor. Res., 35, 743–758, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-021-1027-9.
Huang, J. P., J. P. Huang, X. Y. Liu, et al., 2018: The global oxygen budget and its future projection. Sci. Bull., 63, 1180–1186, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scib.2018.07.023.
Huang, J. P., X. Y. Liu, Y. S. He, et al., 2021: The oxygen cycle and a habitable Earth. Sci. China Earth Sci., 64, 511–528, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-020-9747-1.
IPCC, 2014: Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II Contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, V. R. Barros, B. C. Field, D. J. Dokken, et al., Eds., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, 1150 pp.
Ji, P.-P., and M.-H. Gao, 2018: Estimation of carbon and oxygen balance in Xinjiang based on LUCC 1999–2014. Arid Land Geogr., 41, 608–615, doi: https://doi.org/10.13826/j.cnki.cn65-1103/x.2018.03.020. (in Chinese)
Jiang, B., Z. Y. Ouyang, H. Miao, et al., 2011: Ecosystem services valuation of the Haihe River basin wetlands. Acta Ecol. Sinica, 31, 2236–2244. (in Chinese)
Kummu, M., M. Taka, and J. H. A. Guillaume, 2018: Gridded global datasets for Gross Domestic Product and Human Development Index over 1990–2015. Sci. Data, 5, 180004, doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2018.4.
Kummu, M., M. Taka, and J. H. A. Guillaume, 2020: Da l datasets for Gross Domestic Product and Human Development Index over 1990–2015, Dryad Dataset, accessed 2 June 2023, doi: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.dk1j0.
Li, J., and Z.-Y. Ren, 2011: Research on the values of CO2 fixation and O2 release by Landuse ecosystem in loess plateau in northern Shaanxi Province. Sci. Agric. Sinica, 44, 2943–2950. (in Chinese)
Liu, J., J. M. Chen, J. Cihlar, et al., 1997: A process-based boreal ecosystem productivity simulator using remote sensing inputs. Remote Sens. Environ., 62, 158–175, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0034-4257(97)00089-8.
Liu, X. F., Z. Y. Ren, and Z. H. Lin, 2013: Dynamic assessment of the values of CO2 fixation and O2 release in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau ecosystem. Geogr. Res., 32, 663–670. (in Chinese)
Liu, X. X., L. J. Zhang, W. L. Li, et al., 2015: Simulating the changing oxygen production of terrestrial vegetation and its influencing factors in China. Acta Ecol. Sinica, 35, 4314–4325, doi: https://doi.org/10.5846/stxb201404090692. (in Chinese)
Liu, X. Y., J. P. Huang, J. P. Huang, et al., 2020: Estimation of gridded atmospheric oxygen consumption from 1975 to 2018. J. Meteor. Res., 34, 646–658, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-020-9133-7.
Liu, Y. B., W. M. Ju, H. L. He, et al., 2013: Changes of net primary productivity in China during recent 11 years detected using an ecological model driven by MODIS data. Front. Earth Sci., 7, 112–127, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-012-0348-5.
Livina, V. N., T. M. Vaz Martins, and A. B. Forbes, 2015: Tipping point analysis of atmospheric oxygen concentration. Chaos, 25, 036403, doi: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4907185.
Ma, J. Y., K. Yin, and T. Lin, 2011: Analysis of the carbon and oxygen balance of a complex urban ecosystem: A case study in the coastal city of Xiamen. Acta Sci Circumstantiae, 31, 1808–1816, doi: https://doi.org/10.13671/j.hjkxxb.2011.08.032. (in Chinese)
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005: Ecosystems and Human Well-being. Island Press, Washington, DC, 371 pp.
Ouyang, Z. Y., Q. Wang, H. Zheng, et al., 2014: National ecosystem survey and assessment of China (2000–2010). Bull. Chinese Acad. Sci., 29, 462–466. (in Chinese)
Pan, X. P., Y. M. Chen, and Y. N. Li, 2016: Study on the balance of carbon and oxygen based on the NPP model in Beijing city zoning. Ecol. Econ., 32, 160–164. (in Chinese)
Peng, J., A. Wang, Y. X. Liu, et al., 2015: Assessing the atmospheric oxygen balance in a region of rapid urbanization: A case study in the Pearl River Delta, China. Sustainability, 7, 13,055–13,072, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/su71013055.
Schmidtko, S., L. Stramma, and M. Visbeck, 2017: Decline in global oceanic oxygen content during the past five decades. Nature, 542, 335–339, doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature21399.
Siepielski, A. M., M. B. Morrissey, M. Buoro, et al., 2017: Precipitation drives global variation in natural selection. Science, 355, 959–962, doi: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aag2773.
State Administration of Market Supervision and Administration of the People’s Republic of China, and Standardization Administration of the People’s Republic of China, 2020: Specifications for assessment of forest ecosystem services (GB/T 38582–2020). Standards Press of China, Beijing, 19 pp. Available online at http://c.gb688.cn/bzgk/gb/showGb?type=online&hcno=0AF2CF91554EA24F332D68B3483D6B6D. Accessed on 10 May 2023. (in Chinese)
Stevens, F. R., A. E. Gaughan, C. Linard, et al., 2015: Disaggregating census data for population mapping using random forests with remotely-sensed and ancillary data. PLoS One, 10, e0107042, doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0107042.
Wang, C. L., Q. O. Jiang, Y. Q. Shao, et al., 2019: Ecological environment assessment based on land use simulation: A case study in the Heihe River Basin. Sci. Total Environ., 697, 133928, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.133928.
Wang, M. N., G. F. Yan, L. Yu, et al., 2019: Effects of different artificial oxygen-supply systems on migrants’ physical and psychological reactions in high-altitude tunnel construction. Build. Environ., 149, 458–467, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2018.12.032.
Wei, Y., J. G. Wu, J. P. Huang, et al., 2021: Declining oxygen level as an emerging concern to global cities. Environ. Sci. Technol., 55, 7808–7817, doi: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c00553.
Xu, H. Q., Y. F. Wang, H. D. Guan, et al., 2019: Detecting ecological changes with a remote sensing based ecological index (RSEI) produced time series and change vector analysis. Remote Sens., 11, 2345, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11202345.
Yang, L., J. H. Zhang, Q. Wang, et al., 2014: Carbon and oxygen balance in Nanjing’s ecological economic system. Resour. Sci., 36, 2223–2230. (in Chinese)
Yao, P. P., W. Wang, R. Sun, et al., 2018: Ecosystem health assessment of wetlands in Yangtze River Basin. Meteor. Environ. Sci., 41, 12–18, doi: https://doi.org/10.16765/j.cnki.1673-7148.2018.01.002. (in Chinese)
Yao, Y., S.-X. Wang, Y. Zhou, et al., 2012: The application of ecological environment index model on the national evaluation of ecological environment quality. Remote Sens. Inf., 27, 93–98, doi: https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1000-3177.2012.03.016. (in Chinese)
Yin, K., Q. J. Zhao, X. Q. Li, et al., 2010: A new carbon and oxygen balance model based on ecological service of urban vegetation. Chinese Geogr. Sci., 20, 144–151, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-010-0144-7.
Yin, K., D. S. Lu, Y. C. Tian, et al., 2015: Evaluation of carbon and oxygen balances in urban ecosystems using land use/land cover and statistical data. Sustainability, 7, 195–221, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/su7010195.
Yu, W. Y., R. P. Ji, X. Z. Han, et al., 2020: Evaluation of the biodiversity conservation function in Liaohe Delta wetland, northeastern China. J. Meteor. Res., 34, 798–805, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-020-9186-7.
Zhang, L.-J., C.-Y. Jiang, J. Ma, et al., 2013: The century dynamics comparison of oxygen production of the natural vegetation in Heilongjiang province. Sci. Geogr. Sinica, 33, 581–587, doi: https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.2013.05.013. (in Chinese)
Zhang, M., D.-L. Mo, and H.-X. Wang, 2017: An analysis of carbon-oxygen balance in Chengdu city based on RS and statistic data. Geomatics Spat. Inf. Technol., 40, 60–62, 65. (in Chinese)
Zhang, Y., Z. F. Wei, and Y. Huang, 2016: Evaluation of vegetation Net Primary Productivity and its carbon sequestration value in three-river headwaters region during 1999–2012. Bull. Soil Water Conserv., 36, 100–105, doi: https://doi.org/10.13961/j.cnki.stbctb.2016.01.018. (in Chinese)
Zhang, Z., Z. C. Cai, J. H. Yang, et al., 2022: Ecological environmental quality assessment of Chinese estuarine wetlands during 2000–2020 based on a remote sensing ecological index. Front. Mar. Sci., 9, 981139, doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.981139.
Zhao, G. Q., L. W. Chen, J. Mu, et al., 2018: Discussion on construction of ecological environment quality evaluation system. Meteor. Environ. Sci., 41, 1–11, doi: https://doi.org/10.16765/j.cnki.1673-7148.2018.01.001. (in Chinese)
Zhou, F.-C., X. Z. Han, S. H. Tang, et al., 2021: An improved model for evaluating ecosystem service values using land use/cover and vegetation parameters. J. Meteor. Res., 35, 148–156, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-021-9199-x.
Zhou, G. S., and L. Zhou, 2021: Ecological meteorology: Origin, concept, and prospects. Chinese Sci. Bull., 66, 210–218, doi: https://doi.org/10.1360/TB-2020-1274. (in Chinese)
Acknowledgments
The authors thank the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS), WorldPop, and the local governments for providing the datasets. The authors are grateful to the editors and anonymous reviewers for providing insightful comments that have significantly improved the quality of this paper.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFB3901002), GaoFen Project (32-Y30F08-9001-20/22), National Natural Science Foundation of China (41977191), and Innovation Fund of Public Meteorological Service Centre, China Meteorological Administration (K2021003).
Supplementary materials
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gao, H., Han, X., Wang, X. et al. Ecological Assessment of Oxygen Balance: A Case Study of China’s Natural Oxygen Bars. J Meteorol Res 37, 404–416 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-023-2138-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-023-2138-2