Assessing the Atmospheric Oxygen Balance in a Region of Rapid Urbanization: A Case Study in the Pearl River Delta, China

Jian Peng, An Wang, Yanxu Liu and Weidong Liu
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Jian Peng: Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, Ministry of Education, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
An Wang: Key Laboratory for Environmental and Urban Sciences, School of Urban Planning and Design, Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University, Shenzhen 518055, China
Yanxu Liu: Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, Ministry of Education, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Weidong Liu: Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China

Sustainability, 2015, vol. 7, issue 10, 1-18

Abstract: Oxygen is a product of photosynthesis and is essential for human survival. It also has a profound effect on ecosystems as the atmospheric oxygen balance is the basis for regional ecological sustainability. The Pearl River Delta (PRD) has experienced rapid urbanization and has become one of China’s three major urban agglomerations. This study focused on the oxygen balance of the PRD in 2011, and established a model to calculate the oxygen balance that was suitable for a region of rapid urbanization by applying remote sensing gross primary production data via the C-Fix model. The influencing factors for the oxygen imbalance were analyzed and it was suggested that more attention be paid to the management of oxygen emissions than oxygen consumption. The results indicated that the oxygen balance capacity of the PRD was weak, with an oxygen consumption 9.37 times that of its oxygen emission. Zhaoqing and Huizhou are the main sources of oxygen in the PRD, with an oxygen emission density more than 4.67 times that of Dongguan or Zhuhai. Guangzhou and Shenzhen are the main oxygen sinks, with a total oxygen consumption more than 5.49 times that of Zhaoqing. Moreover, the oxygen balance of the PRD is more sensitive to oxygen emissions than consumption. Therefore, it could be inferred that the land urbanization has a stronger influence on the oxygen balance than the population urbanization.

Keywords: atmospheric oxygen balance assessment; oxygen emission; oxygen consumption; C-Fix model; urban agglomeration; Pearl River Delta; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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