Sustainability analysis of the urban ecosystem in Guangzhou City based on information entropy between 2004 and 2010

• Published in: Journal of geographical sciences 2013-06, Vol.23 (3), p.417-435
• Main Authors: Lin, Zhenming, Xia, Bin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Asia; Bgi / Prodig; China; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecosystems; Entropy; Geographical Information Systems/Cartography; Geography; Human geography; Nature Conservation; Physical Geography; Remote Sensing/Photogrammetry; Socioeconomics; Sustainability; Sustainable development; Urban areas; 信息熵; 分析基; 可持续发展能力; 城市生态系统; 广州市; 经济生态系统; 自然生态系统; 评价指标体系
• ISSN: 1009-637X; 1861-9568
• DOI: 10.1007/s11442-013-1019-5

The urban ecosystem possesses dissipating structures that can absorb substances and energy from the external environment and export products and wastes to maintain order within the system. Given these circumstances, this paper analyzed the ability of the urban ecosystem in Guangzhou City to sustain development from the perspective of entropy. The research was carried out in three steps. First, an evaluation index system that considers the ability of the urban ecosystem for sustainable development was formed based on the struc- tures and functions of the urban ecosystem and the change in the entropy of the urban so- cioeconomic ecosystem. Second, the sustainable development ability assessment model for the urban ecosystem was built using information entropy. Last, by combining the time series variation of the evaluation indicators with the entropy weights, this paper analyzed the influ- ence of the combined factors on the sustainable development ability of the urban ecosystem in Guangzhou and suggested some measures to promote the sustainable development of the urban ecosystem in Guangzhou. The conclusions of this study can be summarized as follows： （1） The urban ecosystem has developed in an orderly and healthy direction, with effective control over the urban environmental pollution problems in Guangzhou between 2004 and 2010. （2） The sustainable development ability of the urban ecosystem had been on an up- ward trend in Guangzhou during the study period. The ability of the natural urban ecosystem to support the urban socioeconomic ecosystem increased continuously, and the improved ecoenvironment enhanced the harmony and vitality of the urban ecosystem in Guangzhou.