Zoning regulation and development model for water and land resources in the Karst Mountainous Region of Southwest China

Land degradation, water shortages, and low utilization of water and land resources (WLR) in the karst mountainous region of Southwest China have become key factors restricting socioeconomic development. Therefore, it is necessary for rural revitalization to study the zoning regulation and development model of WLR in the karst mountainous region from the perspective of WLR coupling coordination and resource and environmental carrying capacity (RECC). The coupling coordination degree model and the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model were used to evaluate the coupling coordination degree of WLR and the RECC, respectively. The framework for WLR coupling and regulation was proposed, and the corresponding zoning and development model for WLR was proposed based on the different spatial combinations of coupling coordination degree and RECC level. The overall level of WLR coupling and coordination was good, with high coordination as the main area, medium coordination as the second area, and low coordination as the smallest area. The coupling coordination degree of WLR was consistent with the spatial distribution of rocky land desertification. The higher the degree of rocky desertification is, the lower the degree of coupling coordination, indicating that land degradation has a significant impact on the coupling coordination level of WLR. The RECC was mainly a medium carrying capacity, followed by a high carrying capacity, and the low-carrying capacity area was the smallest. High carrying capacities were mainly distributed in areas with developed socioeconomics, good environments and rich resources; medium carrying capacities were widely distributed in areas with common resources, environments and socioeconomic conditions; and low carrying capacities were mainly distributed in areas with poverty, obvious rocky desertification and fragile ecological environments in the northwest and northeast. Six WLR regulation zones were designated, and corresponding development models were proposed from the perspectives of industrial development, improvement of WLR utilization efficiency, and protection of the ecological environment. The research results have important reference value for the formulation of rural revitalization strategies and socioeconomic development in karst mountainous region, especially for research on the methods and approaches of WLR regulation and rural revitalization in China and even in global karst poverty-stricken mountainous region.