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Arid Land Geography ›› 2023, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (12): 2005-2016.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2023.201

• Ecology and Environment • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Characteristics of “water-energy-carbon” coupling system in Xinjiang based on the ecological network analysis

WANG Zhiqiang(),JIANG Wenhuan(),LU Shiyue   

  1. College of Public Administration, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, Xinjiang, China
  • Received:2023-05-05 Revised:2023-06-01 Online:2023-12-25 Published:2024-01-05

Abstract:

Water, energy, and carbon exert significant influence on the intricate interconnected systems of economy, society, and ecology. Alterations in any one of these factors can instigate a cascading effect, transferring ecological pressures and impacting the sustainable development of both regions and industries. Focusing on Xinjiang, China, and utilizing input and output data from 2007, 2012, and 2017, this paper employed the environmental input-output model to calculate implicit water consumption, implicit energy consumption, and implicit carbon emissions across 18 industrial sectors in Xinjiang. Additionally, an ecological network analysis model was employed to elucidate system circulation rates, robustness, and control dependencies. The findings revealed the following insights: (1) Mixed water was predominantly allocated to domestic outflow and household consumption, whereas mixed energy and mixed carbon were primarily utilized for domestic outflow and total capital formation. (2) The circulatory rates of water networks remained below 42%, while those of energy networks and carbon networks were below 25%, indicating an overall declining trend in the network system. (3) The system robustness of water networks, energy networks, and carbon networks signified a development stagnation, portraying an unsustainable overall developmental state. (4) A weak correlation was observed among the water system, energy system, and carbon system in various departments within the “water-energy-carbon” coupling system in Xinjiang. Control and dependence relationships are currently in an incidental state, lacking the formation of a synergistic “water-energy-carbon” relationship between industries. This study elucidated the governing principles of the “water-energy-carbon” coupling system in Xinjiang, providing valuable data to support the realization of a low-carbon and efficiently integrated resource management model.

Key words: ecological network analysis, environmental input-output, “water-energy-carbon” coupling, Xinjiang