One coastal resilience map was not enough for China’s local bays

A national land-and-water index and a nested Rongcheng diagnosis differed in what they could resolve; scores measured capacity, not observed recovery.

Wild Lands Ecological Intelligence Editor
Wild Lands Institute · 14 October 2026

Evidence: Peer-reviewed
Geography: Mainland China and Rongcheng, Shandong, China
System: Coastal social-ecological land–sea system

WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS

A three-tier, ten-attribute spatial framework combined nominal-2025 national indicators with a separately weighted local case study. National means were 0.359 for coastal land and 0.470 for coastal waters; more detailed Rongcheng maps exposed within-bay variability, including aquaculture-influenced areas.

WHY IT MATTERS / OUR READ

A national index can screen for places that need attention, but monitoring and management limits must be set at the scale of local ecological and institutional processes.

CAVEATS / UNCERTAINTY

These are model-derived composite capacity scores, not verified post-storm recovery or a causal test. National and local values cannot be compared directly because their indicators and weightings differ.

SOURCE

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution — primary coastal index analysis
View original evidence ↗