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Carrying Capacity

Definition

Carrying capacity refers to the maximum number of individuals that an environment can sustainably support without causing environmental degradation.

Analogy

Think of carrying capacity like a glass of water. The glass can only hold so much water before it starts to overflow. Similarly, an environment has a limit to how many individuals it can support before resources become too scarce and the environment is damaged.

Related terms

Sustainability: The ability to maintain or improve standards of living without damaging or depleting natural resources for future generations.

Ecological Footprint: A measure that computes the human demand on nature and compares human consumption of natural resources with earth's ecological capacity to regenerate them.

Biodiversity: The variety and variability among living organisms and the ecological complexes in which they occur.