carrying capacity

In ecology, the carrying capacity of a species in an environment is the maximum population size of the species that the environment can sustain indefinitely. The term is also used more generally to refer to the upper limit of habitats, ecosystems, landscapes, waterscapes or seascapes to provide tangible and intangible goods and services (including aesthetic and spiritual services) in a sustainable way.

The upper limit of habitats, ecosystems, landscapes, waterscapes or seascapes or any other appropriate geographic unit to provide tangible and intangible goods and services (including aesthetics and spiritual services) in a sustained way without altering its bio-geo-chemical characteristics, ecosystem functions and endangering its own resilience to climate change, natural and anthropogenic perturbations.