Rational zoning and optimization of agricultural distribution in Guangdong province based on resource carrying capacity

The carrying capacities of resources and the environment are important criteria for measuring sustainable regional development. Adjusting the layout structure of regional agricultural production is an effective measure to improve resource and environmental carrying capacities. In this study, the carrying capacities of multiple crops, livestock and poultry breeding, and fisheries were investigated in Guangdong province. The water resource potential of pineapple cultivation in Guangdong is large; rice, peanuts, bananas, and vegetables also have the potential to increase; potatoes, longan, litchi, and sugarcane need to be adjusted in some areas to adapt to the carrying capacity of local water resources; and citrus needs to be reduced urgently. The overall scale of animal husbandry has no more growth potential, and the main production areas in northern Guangdong and western Guangdong are overloaded. Zhanjiang should reasonably expand the scale and strengthen the supply capacity of livestock and poultry; the Pearl River Delta (PRD) should change breeding methods as soon as possible; and Shaoguan, Shantou, and Jieyang should be encouraged to reasonably expand the scale of livestock and poultry breeding and improve production efficiency. Fisheries should focus on supporting the development of intensive, efficient, and clean aquaculture in the coastal areas of eastern and western Guangdong, moderately increasing the scale of freshwater aquaculture in inland and mountainous ecological fishing areas, and accelerating the transformation of urban fishing areas in the PRD into multi-functional fisheries. This study will provide a theoretical reference for the layout of agricultural regional productivity in Guangdong's “14th Five-Year Plan”, and will be particularly useful to guarantee sustainable food supply in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.