Definition: Carrying Capacity

1
Definition Carrying Capacity

• The maximum population of a given species that
  can be supported indefinitely in a defined
  habitat, without permanently impairing the
  productivity of that habitat.

2
Ecological Footprint (1)

• The maximum rates of resource harvesting and
  waste generation (the maximum load) that can be
  sustained indefinitely without progressively
  impairing the productivity and functional
  integrity of relevant ecosystems.

3
Ecological footprint (2)

• The corresponding area of productive land and
  aquatic ecosystems required to produce the
  resources used, and to assimilate the waste
  produced, by a defined population at a specified
  material standard of living, wherever on earth
  that land my be located.

4
If everyone on Earth lived like an average
American, we would need about 7 Earths to satisfy
the aggregate material demand

• US ecological standards 10 ha/person
• Global pop. 6.4 billion
• Total global ecological footprint 6.4 X 10
  60.4 billion ha
• Total global available ecologically productive
  land 8.8 billion ha
• 60.4 divided by 8.8 6.9 Earths needed