Ecological footprint and carrying capacity of agricultural water-land-energy nexus in China

Agriculture is the largest water and land using sector in China. From the perspective of energy utilization, agriculture serves both as a carbon source and a carbon sink sector. This paper employs the methods of agricultural water pollution ecological footprint and carrying capacity, biology ecological footprint and carrying capacity, as well as energy ecological footprint and carrying capacity to measure the spatio-temporal patterns of resource utilization and ecological pressure index of agricultural water-land-energy in china. The main conclusions are: (1) In 2020, China’s agricultural biological ecological footprint (BEF) was the highest, constituting nearly 66 % of the total and demonstrating an upward trend. The agricultural water pollution ecological footprint (PEF) was also significant, at approximately 33 %, but it exhibited a declining trend. In contrast, the agricultural energy ecological footprint (EEF) was the lowest. (2) Over the past 20 years, the per capita agricultural total ecological footprint (TEF) increased by 114.63 %. The per unit area agricultural ecological footprint changed slightly, ranging from 3.16 to 3.63 hm². The ecological efficiency of agricultural economy had been greatly improved. (3) The TEF in Henan, Heilongjiang and Shandong provinces ranked among the highest level in China. However, the regions with the highest level of agricultural total ecological capacity (TEC) were Sichuan, Tibet and Hunan. (4) Tianjin and Henan provinces experience the highest agricultural ecological stress, with stress indices (TEF/TEC) reaching 1.42 and 1.14, respectively, indicating that the supply of agricultural ecological resources within these regions significantly lags behind their exploitation and utilization, which is unfavorable for the agricultural sustainable development. The results can unveil the temporal and spatial dynamics of agricultural resource pressure along with its underlying causes, while also offering strategies and recommendations for fostering sustainable agricultural development.