Ecological Footprint Analysis Of A Semi-Arid Grassland Region Facilitates Assessment Of Its Sustainability

The development and testing of regional sustainable development indicators is an active research area. We analyzed and evaluated sustainable development of a semi-arid grassland of Xilinguole at multiple scales by calculating the ecological footprint and ecological carrying capacity of Xilinguole League assessed for the time period 1981-2008 and Xilinhaote city for 1998-2009.Our findings suggest the following. (1) Rapid industrialization and urbanization dramatically altered the per capita ecological footprint of this area, which was not only the highest in the region but also exceeded the national's average. The per capita ecological footprint of Xilinguole League increased 22-fold from 1.0868 hm2 in 1981 to 24.2176 hm2 in 2008. Xilinhaote City's per capita ecological footprint exhibited a 7-fold increase from 8.8253 hm2 in 1998 to 63.4679 hm2 in 2009. The main driver of these increases was the rapid expansion of areas involved in the extraction of fossil fuels and other grassland uses. (2) Rapid population growth resulted in the decline of per capita ecological carrying capacity of this region, with grassland and cropland capacities being affected the most. The total per capita ecological carrying capacity of Xilinguole League decreased from 3.1565 hm2 in 1981 to 2.3915 hm2 in 2008. The total per capita ecological carrying capacity of Xilinhaote City decreased from 1.3759 hm2 in 1998 to 1.1062 hm2 in 2009. (3) The development of this area has changed its status of a region characterized by a regional ecological surplus to the one being in ecological deficit. The ecological surplus of Xilinguole League decreased from 2.0697 hm2 in 1981 to 0.5162 hm2 in 1989, while its ecological deficit increased from 0.1378 hm2 in 1990 to 21.8261 hm2 in 2008. The ecological deficit of Xilinhaote City increased from 7.4494 hm2 in 1998 to 62.3617 hm2 in 2009. These increases of ecological deficit are very significant.With the stimulation of industrialization and urbanization, the energy and grassland footprint ecological dramatically increased. Xilinguole's development has been accompanied by a shift from a regional ecological surplus to an ecological deficit and the ecological deficit increased fast.Substantial ecological deficit of Xilinguole Grassland is the evidence of that the impact of human activities on natural resources here exceeded its ecological carrying capacity. Resolving the issue of deficiency of ecological carrying capacity should be based on local natural resources. The conflict between rapid population growth, industrialization, and urbanization, on one hand, and limited natural resources, on the other, can undermine further social and economic development. In thesis final, provided the strategies to resolve the sustainability development problem of Xilinguole.