Abstract
As a cornerstone of national geological endeavors, environmental geological mapping requires scientifically rigorous budgeting standards to enhance resource allocation efficiency and ensure survey quality. This study establishes a multidimensional budget calculation model tailored for 1:50,000 environmental geological mapping, integrating the cost-quota theory, which links resource inputs to standardized work units, within a structured four-phase methodology comprising data collection, quota determination, model development, and empirical validation. We extracted key productivity metrics—such as work efficiency (e.g., a standardized group-day efficiency of 4.8 km²/day), personnel deployment, material consumption, equipment allocation, and transportation quotas—from 12,843 field logs provided by 16 national survey teams. The model applies fundamental engineering economics principles (“quantity–price–cost”) underpinned by cost-quota theory to compute theoretical budget values, which are further refined through a dual-dimensional adjustment mechanism incorporating geological complexity (coefficients ranging from 1.0 to 1.5) and regional cost coefficients. Empirical validation shows that the proposed model reduces budget deviations to below 3% (specifically 2.1%, 1.7%, and 2.5% across three distinct geological settings), markedly surpassing traditional budgeting approaches. This study offers a scalable and scientifically grounded framework for budget management in geological surveys, with substantial practical implications for optimizing fiscal resource allocation and promoting standardization within the industry.
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The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to express our respect and gratitude to the anonymous reviewers and editors for their valuable comments and suggestions.
Funding
This research was funded by the Dynamic Update and Research on Budget Standards for Geological Survey Projects of China Geological Survey Projects (Grant No.DD20230559); the Third Xinjiang Scientific Expedition, Grant No. 2022xjkk0804, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Grant No. 42471324.
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Conceptualization and methodology, Gan Luo, Mingqi Tao; formal analysis, Shuai Zhong and Gan Luo; investigation, data curation and resources, Gan Luo, Mingqi Tao; writing—original draft preparation, Gan Luo and Shuai Zhong; writing—review and editing, Gan Luo and Shuai Zhong; project administration and funding acquisition, Wanyi Zhang, Chunqian Cao, and Gan Luo. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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Luo, G., Tao, M., Zhang, W. et al. An integrated budget calculation model for environmental geological mapping. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-42327-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-42327-z
