Mapping the emission of air pollution sources based on land-use classification: A case study of Shengzhou, China

At-source pollutant control is an effective way to systematically address the environmental problems associated with air pollution. The spatial scale of China’s environmental management is often at the province or city level, which makes precise governance difficult. Taking Shengzhou, China, as an example, this study defines the control unit (CU) as the spatial location of a anthropogenic pollution source based on land-use classification. For each CU, the pollution behaviours of sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter with a diameter of < 2.5 µm (PM2.5) and ammonia (NH3) are identified, and the emission factor methods and the entropy weight method are then used to calculate a single and comprehensive pollution emissions figure. The results show that the CUs in Shengzhou can be divided into 14 types. Combining these types with the characteristics of air pollutant emissions, seven main pollution behaviours are identified. The comprehensive characteristic value (CCV) of air-mixed pollutants is between 0.0 and 2.11, and all CUs can be classified into five levels on the basis of their CCV as follows: ≥ 1.0, 0.5–1.0, 0.2–0.5, 0.0–0.2 and 0.0. The CUs with CCV ≥ 1.0 are transportation land, high-polluting industrial production site, livestock farm, landfill and sewage treatment plant. The CU reclassification and pollution calculation method proposed in this study follows the three main land-use functions of production, living and ecology and serve as a reference for research in other regions of China and in other countries. Moreover, the spatial units in this study are controlled to the smallest administrative scale in China, which can provide the spatial precision required for the implementation of differentiated environmental policies.