Study on ecotourism environmental carrying capacity in Wuyishan National Park

Abstract

Ecotourism environmental carrying capacity, as a necessary tool for the management of national parks, is an important indicator for the protection of the ecological environment in national parks. Taking Wuyishan National Park as the research object, this study established an index system for ecotourism carrying and utilized the minimum limiting factor method to evaluate the carrying capacity of national park's resources space, natural environment, economic environment, and social environment. Based on this, natural disturbance factors were considered to further assess the ecotourism carrying capacity. The results indicated three aspects: 1) Resource space carrying capacity was the primary limiting factor for ecotourism carrying capacity; 2) The daily ecotourism environmental carrying capacity of Wuyishan National Park was 87,216 person-time/day, and the annual environmental carrying capacity was 26.1648 million person-time/year; 3) The utilization intensity of ecotourism environmental carrying capacity in Wuyishan National Park would weak carrying capacity over a long period. The research findings aimed to provide practical reference for the management decisions of ecotourism carrying capacity in national parks and natural reserves.