Energy-based marine ecological footprint in Shandong Province, China

An energy-based ecological footprint model was set up to monitor the sustainable development status of a specific marine system. This model used unit energy value and energy density to convert the consumption into ecological productive areas. It can reflect the utilization degree of resources in the regional development. Then, the quantitative analysis of sustainable development was carried out by comparing the sizes of the areas. We defined the concept of energy-based marine ecological footprint and built energy-based marine ecological footprint model. Then we applied this model to the marine ecological system of Shandong Province to evaluate its sustainable development status. The results showed that the ecological footprint of energy-based marine ecological system in Shandong Province was 1.74 ×106hm2in2010, and the energy-based ecological carrying capacity of this area was 1.60 ×107hm2per capita. Thus, the marine ecological system of Shandong Province has strong sustainability.