the Green Revolution, as yields per acre in some areas increased by a factor of
three. In some areas of south Asia yields for wheat doubled in only five years.
On the other hand, the carrying capacity of much of the Sahel has declined during
the same period, due to overgrazing, drought, and soil erosion. Carrying capacity
for nonhuman species, an important concept in wildlife management and ecology,
tends to be more stable because such species do not introduce technological inno-
vations that alter the food-producing capacity, although changes in the environ-
ment can affect the carrying capacity.
Some scholars have criticized the notion of carrying capacity as a measure of
gauging sustainability, because of the highly dynamic character of the human-
environment relationship. They argue that the carrying capacity of any given
region is so fluid and so subject to alteration in the short term that to set policy
based on the concept is misleading and inaccurate. In other words, projections
and estimates of what is sustainable population growth for a region, or for the
planet as a whole, that are based on carrying capacity calculations are inherently
fallacious, because they have historically failed to account for human innovation
and technological change.
In tourism geography, carrying capacity is used in a somewhat different manner
than in ecological or demographic studies. For geographers studying the spatial
aspects of tourism, the term is used to estimate the maximum number of visitors
a given location may support, without diminishing the location’s attraction for
tourists. More formally, the World Tourism Organization defines carrying capac-
ity as “the maximum use of any site without causing negative effects on the re-
sources, reducing visitor satisfaction, or exerting adverse impact on the society,
economy and culture of the area.” Mathematical formulas are used by scholars
and managers to determine the actual carrying capacity of a tourist site.
Cartography
Cartography is the art, the skill, and the science of makingmaps. Human beings
have been creating pictorial representations of spatial information for thousands
of years. The earliest maps were probably crude temporary drawings made on
the ground in dust or mud, designed to show simple landmarks guiding a journey,
the position of a herd of animals and the points of attack a group of hunters might
pursue, or other simple data and features. Over time, the necessity of illustrating
more sophisticated and detailed spatial information became common, especially
with the rise of cities, which eventually became so large that even many of the
permanent residents were not familiar with some parts of the urban setting. The
Cartography 47