Evaluation of Regional Resources and Environmental Carrying Capacity in China: A Case Study of Shandong Province

The evaluation of resources and environmental carrying capacity (RECC) is of great significance for achieving harmony between humans and resources and the environment to realize sustainable development. However, current research has not reached a consensus on the research objects, theories, and methods for RECC evaluation. Therefore, this study defined the research object of regional RECC evaluation and designed an evaluation process for regional RECC based on the mutation progression method developed from the mutation theory. Then, the RECCs of 16 cities in Shandong Province during 2013–2022 were calculated, and their temporal and spatial evolution characteristics were analyzed. The result shows that: (1) the research object of regional RECC evaluation is essentially the concentrated reflection of the interaction between resources, the environment, the economy, and society; (2) the process of “construct a multilevel evaluation index system–determine the mutation types of the evaluation index system–standardize the lowest level indexes–evaluate the comprehensive regional RECC” could provide reference for RECC evaluation; and (3) from 2013 to 2022, the RECC in Shandong Province showed a steady increasing trend, and the RECC in eastern and central areas in Shandong Province was relatively higher. By analyzing these results, we found that the natural background conditions, the mode of production and life, and the decisions of the central government are the important factors affecting regional RECCs.