Assessment Of Eco-Environment Carrying Capacity Of Shale Gas Development

As an efficient and clean energy source,the shale gas mining process will bring about a certain degree of damage to the ecological environment.The development of shale gas and the possible ecological environment impact have aroused widespread concerns cross the world.Priority must be given to green and sustainable development when planning the shale gas resource exploitation in an area.So,it is particularly important to scientifically evaluate the ecological environment carrying capacity of the shale gas development area.The present study systematically analyzed factors describing regional characteristics,resistance to stresses and impacts of shale gas mining process on ecological environment and developed an indicator system framework for the assessment of eco-environment carrying capacity of regional shale gas development based on the general situations of natural gas exploitation in China.The proposed indicator system screened out 30 specific indicators constituting three hierarchic levels.They are ecosystem elasticity,resource-environment carrying capacity and ecosystem stresses.All the 30 indicators have been weighted,normalized for standardization by using analytic hierarchy processes.A shale gas mining project area(Named “project area A” hereafter)in southwest China was taken for the validation and application of the indicator system proposed in this study.The assessment of ecoenvironment carrying capacity in the project area A has been completed,and the results showed:(?)the eco-environmental elasticity was valued 0.45 out of 1.0(maximum),suggesting a ecological stable state;(?)the resource-environment carrying capacity was calculated 0.69 out of 1.0(maximum),which implies higher loads from the shale gas mining;and(?)the ecosystem stress 0.56 out of 1.0(maximum),showing a medium stress to the project area A.The comprehensive assessment of the ecoenvironment carrying capacity in project area A will help better understand the impacts of shale gas mining on the local ecological environment.The project area A is ecologically stable and advantageous for shale gas exploitation,while tends to turn unstable if stresses from human activities are continuously posed on.Because the resource-environment carrying capacity was assessed nearly 70%,the extent and intensity of shale gas exploitation must be well managed and protective measures should be taken to prevent the deterioration of environmental quality.It is recommended to take consideration of raising vegetation coverage,strengthening soil erosion control and saving on water into planning shale gas development.