Environmental risks of low-altitude economy and bioengineering-based mitigation strategies: a multi-dimensional empirical analysis

Weitao Meng; Yihan Zhang; Weitao Meng; Yihan Zhang

doi:10.3934/bioeng.2026015

AIMS Bioengineering

2026, Volume 13, Issue 3: 315-332. doi: 10.3934/bioeng.2026015

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Environmental risks of low-altitude economy and bioengineering-based mitigation strategies: a multi-dimensional empirical analysis

Weitao Meng ^{1
,
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Yihan Zhang ^{2
,
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1.
Faculty of Political Science and Law, Zhaoqing University, Zhaoqing, Guangdong 526061, China
2.
Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, China

Received: 15 April 2026 Revised: 15 June 2026 Accepted: 24 June 2026 Published: 03 July 2026

With the rapid expansion of low-altitude economy, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircrafts have triggered severe multi-dimensional environmental risks, including noise pollution, carbon emission accumulation, and ecological disturbance, which have become bottlenecks restricting its sustainable development. Researchers have mostly focused on physical/chemical governance methods and legal regulation, while the application potential of bioengineering technology in this field is seriously underexplored. In this paper, we conducted a quantitative analysis of environmental impacts based on multi-source empirical data from four typical pilot areas (Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Hainan) during 2022–2025. The results showed that eVTOL operating noise exceeded the WHO safety threshold by 25–35 dB, and the cumulative growth rate of environmental complaints (263.5%) was 95.1 percentage points higher than that of registered UAVs (168.4%). Lithium-battery eVTOL emitted 18–22 kg CO₂ per 100 km, 2.5 times that of new energy vehicles, with significant cumulative pollution potential. On this basis, we systematically evaluated the feasibility of four core bioengineering mitigation technologies through technical readiness level (TRL) and life cycle assessment (LCA) methods. A staged technical roadmap for bioengineering-led comprehensive environmental governance is proposed, which provides a new technical paradigm for the green development of low-altitude economy.
- low-altitude economy,
- environmental risk,
- bioengineering,
- bionic noise reduction,
- microalgae carbon sequestration,
- ecological restoration,
- biosensor monitoring
Citation: Weitao Meng, Yihan Zhang. Environmental risks of low-altitude economy and bioengineering-based mitigation strategies: a multi-dimensional empirical analysis[J]. AIMS Bioengineering, 2026, 13(3): 315-332. doi: 10.3934/bioeng.2026015

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Abstract

With the rapid expansion of low-altitude economy, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircrafts have triggered severe multi-dimensional environmental risks, including noise pollution, carbon emission accumulation, and ecological disturbance, which have become bottlenecks restricting its sustainable development. Researchers have mostly focused on physical/chemical governance methods and legal regulation, while the application potential of bioengineering technology in this field is seriously underexplored. In this paper, we conducted a quantitative analysis of environmental impacts based on multi-source empirical data from four typical pilot areas (Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Hainan) during 2022–2025. The results showed that eVTOL operating noise exceeded the WHO safety threshold by 25–35 dB, and the cumulative growth rate of environmental complaints (263.5%) was 95.1 percentage points higher than that of registered UAVs (168.4%). Lithium-battery eVTOL emitted 18–22 kg CO₂ per 100 km, 2.5 times that of new energy vehicles, with significant cumulative pollution potential. On this basis, we systematically evaluated the feasibility of four core bioengineering mitigation technologies through technical readiness level (TRL) and life cycle assessment (LCA) methods. A staged technical roadmap for bioengineering-led comprehensive environmental governance is proposed, which provides a new technical paradigm for the green development of low-altitude economy.

Acknowledgments

This paper is an interim research outcome of the 2026 Guangdong Provincial Special Innovation Project for Regular Higher Education Institutions: “Institutional Integration and Differential Synergy: An Innovative Study on Low-altitude airspace access in ecologically constrained cities within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area” and Guangdong Provincial Education Science Planning Higher Education Special Project (2025GXJK0578).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Author contributions

Weitao Meng and Yi Zhang contributed equally to this work. Both authors designed the research, analyzed data, drafted and revised the manuscript, and approved the final version for publication, in line with ICMJE definitions of authorship.

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