Carrying Capacity and

Ecological footprint

Pilar Dorr 4°S

Carrying Capacity
On the surface carrying capacity is a very
simple concept. It is the maximum number of
a specie that an environment can support a
given area.
The human carrying capacity is therefore a
bone of contention and it is often calculated
for the whole earth not just a region or
country.
What determinates human carrying capacity?

-It is hard to asses carryimg capacity because:

- we produce non-biodegradable waste which cause
enviromental degradation
-capacity of moving goods around the world
-we employ technology to change the enviroment
Ecological Footprint
This is another measure used to asses human
impact and sustainability(EF). This is the reverse
of the carrying capacity, in this case the EF
looks at how much land is needed tu support a
particular population.It asses the Ef of a
person,city,bussines,country or the planet Its
also includes to determinate whether or not we
are living within the carrying capacity.
EF aspects
The Ef considers two aspects:
-Biocapacity:Its the earth bioproductive land and sea wich
includes forests, cropland,pastures,etc. And they also absorb
waste.
-Demand: Considers the amount of bioproductive land we need
to provide our resources for absorbing waste.
The more space settlements and infrastructure, takes up the
bigger the EF
There is an argue about the worse Ef characteristics:
-growing food that are non-native
-growing food out of season
-using hot houses and other technology
Different types of EF
Carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by
an individual, city, event, flight, country etc. GHG are emitted through transport,
land clearance production and consumption of everything
Water footprint is the amount is water in your EF. This includes the water you use
directly (washing and drinking) and indirectly such as the amount of water it takes to
grow your food. Some estimates suggest that it takes 800 liters of water to produce
one liter of milk.
Food footprint – you guessed it, a measure the way our food intake impacts the EF.
This takes into account the land used in food production (crops, grass, animal feed),
the land needed to absorb carbon emissions produced during food production and
the sea area for fishing.
EF of a population can be compared to the land area it has available to support (biocapacity). If
the EF of a human population is larger than the its biocapacity it indicates that the population
is living unsustainably and has exceeded the carrying capacity.
population
population number vary over the time but if the mean
population size can be supported then it is within
carrying capacity.If population numbers are below
carrying capacity then one of two trends will emerge.
Certain species will follow a J-shaped growth curve,
they will exeed carrying capacity and there will be a
crash that brings numbers back to sustainable levels.
Nevertheless, there are alternatives to follow that curve
wher populatrion growth slows and it mantains below
carrying capacity.
Waste Assimilation Technology
It becomes an additional factor that must Humans have employed technology to change
carrying capacity for many centuries. Some
be considered when calculating the technological developments have increased the
carrying capacity of humans. If the carrying capacity and some others could reduce
it.
environment cannot deal with the waste it
will cause damage to the complex natural
systems and their ability to function
effectively. This concept is linked to the
idea that the organisms will not harm the
area.
Local or global?
Within regions it is generally accepted that the carrying
capacity for the human population is calculated globally.

Is waste disposal a local or global carrying capacity

factor?

-surely there is a local matter- we produce waste where

we are and therefore waste is a local matter.

In the case of technology, it is local and global at the

same time. The action of one country may impact the
carrying capacity of other places.