Population carrying capacity and sustainable agricultural use of land resources in Caoxian County (North China)

In this study, an attempt is made to assess the potential sustainable agricultural use of the land resources in Caoxian County in north China. Based on a land resources inventory (physiography, climate, soil, land use and management), the rotation of winter wheat-summer maize was selected as the major land utilization type of grain production in the study area. Land use requirements were adapted to the local conditions and hierarchical production potentials were estimated using the collected data. Satisfactory results have been achieved for six scenarios combining local management practices and input levels. The population carrying capacity has been obtained and guidelines for a sustainable use of land resources were formulated. Conclusions were drawn with regard to the methodologies applied. (C) 2002 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.