8.4 - Human Population Carrying Capacity Flashcards
Carrying capacity
The maximum number of individuals of a given species that an area’s resources can sustain indefinitely without significantly depleting or degrading those resources
Why is carrying capacity with humans more complicated
The definition is expanded to include not degrading our cultural and social environments and not harming the physical environment in ways that would adversely affect future generations
Reasons why it is difficult to measure carrying capacity for humans
The range of resources used by humans is usually much greater than for any other species
When one resource becomes limiting, humans show great ingenuity in substituting one resource for another.
Resource requirements vary according to lifestyles, which differ from time to time and from population to population.
Technological developments give rise to continual changes in the resources required and available for consumption.
Human populations also regularly import resources from outside their immediate environment, which enables them to grow beyond the boundaries set by their local resources and increases their carrying capacity.
While importing resources in this way increases the carrying capacity for the local population, it has no influence on global carrying capacity.
All these variables make it practically impossible to make reliable estimates of carrying capacities for human populations.
What is increasing carrying capacity determined by?
The rate our resource consumption
The level of pollution
The extent of recycling
Reuse and reduction in the use of resources
Ecological footprint
The area of land and water required to support a defined human population at a given standard of living.
Ecological footprints can be increased by
Greater reliance on fossil fuels
Increased use of technology and energy (this can also reduce the footprint)
High levels of imported resources
Large per capita production of carbon waste (high energy use, fossil fuel use)
Large per capita consumption of food
A meat rich diet
Ecological footprints can be reduced by
Reducing use of resources
Recycling resources
Improving efficieny of resource use
Reducing amount of pollution produced
Transporting waste to other countries to deal with
Improving country to increase carrying capacity
Importing resources from other countries
Reducing population to reduce resource use
Using technology to increase carrying capacity
Using technology to intensify land
What is standard of living the result of?
The interaction between physical and human resources
Standard of living formula
(natural resources x technology) / population
