Carrying capacity is a general concept based on the idea that every ecosystem has a limit for use that cannot be exceeded without damaging the system. Whatever the specified use of an area might be, whether for grazing, wildlife habitat, recreation, or economic development, there is a threshold that cannot be breached, except temporarily, without degrading the ability of the environment to support that use. Examinations of carrying capacity attempt to determine, with varying degrees of accuracy, where this threshold lies and what the consequences of exceeding it might be.

The concept of carrying capacity was pioneered early this century in studies of range management and wildlife management. Range surveys of what was then called "grazing capacity" were carried out on the Kaibab Plateau in Arizona as early as 1911, and this term was used in most of the early bulletins issued by the U.S. Department...