Suitability evaluation of carrying capacity and utilization patterns on tidal flats of Bohai Rim in China

Tidal flats in the Bohai Rim are facing threats from human activities. Quantifying the carrying capacity and suitability of tidal flats is of great significance to the regional environment and resource management. In this study, the existing social and natural data were collected and the natural conditions of tidal flats, e.g., the distributions and utilization patterns, were investigated through remote sensing image interpretation and field investigation in the Bohai Rim. Then, a multi-index evaluation system was developed with indexes organized under the framework of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the Drivers-State-Impact (DSI) framework, processed by fuzzy evaluation, and weighted by the entropy method. The studies show that the rapid expansion of industry-port-town, salt pans or aquafarms in the Bohai Rim during 1990-2020 squeezed the space of tidal flats. Despite the limitation of the declining resource condition, the carrying capacity of tidal flats in the Bohai Rim increased slightly during 2000-2018 because of the great improvement in economic and ecological conditions. We estimate 59.93% of the land resources are suitable for economic development while others are temporarily unsuitable for reclamation due to their high ecological importance. The land use data and macro-evaluation system of tidal flat utilization patterns herein can provide references for coastal resource management and ecological restoration.