What Is Bearing Capacity?

Carrying capacity is a concept borrowed from the field of engineering geology, which originally meant the ability of the foundation to bear the weight of a building, and has now evolved into one of the most commonly used concepts describing the extent of development restrictions. Ecology first introduced this concept into this subject area.

In 1921, Parker and Burgess proposed the concept of ecological carrying capacity in the journal Human Ecology, that is, "under a specific environmental condition (mainly a combination of ecological factors such as living space, nutrients, sunlight, etc.), There is a maximum limit for the number of individuals. " Nowadays, with the extensive application of the concept of carrying capacity, it has been extended to different degrees in various fields of the environment, economy and society, resulting in a large number of various carrying capacities with different names. In the past period of time, although some problems have been encountered in the development of bearing capacity, its applicability, intuitiveness, and image make it always widely used in different fields at home and abroad. ^[1-2]

For the concept of ecological carrying capacity in a certain region, it is a specific ecosystem in a certain region in a certain period of time. Under the conditions of ensuring the rational development and utilization of resources and the development of a virtuous circle of ecological environment, the sustainable population carrying capacity and economic strength And social capacity. ^[3]