Abstract:

Based on the current climate condition, the characteristic of environment and the intensity of human activities during the social and economic development in Beijing area, an evaluation index system of climatic carrying capacity was built in Beijing area. The climatic carrying capacity influenced by human activities was assessed, the spatial distribution of climatic carrying capacity and its elements were analyzed, the comparative carrying capacity of different districts/counties and the main restriction factors of carrying capacity were highlighted. The results suggest that the index of Beijing climatic carrying capacity in this research changes between 0.24 and 2.24, which is high in the districts of Yanqing county, Miyun county and Changping districts, but low in center six citys and Shunyi and Fangshan districts, and moderate in Haidian, Daxing, Huairou, Mentougou, Pinggu and Tongzhou districts. The spatial difference of climatic carrying capacity is small in Dongcheng, Xicheng, Fengtai, Shunyi and Chaoyang districts, but it is large in these suburb districts such as Yanqing county, Huairou district and Mentougou district, due to the differences of geographical characteristics and ecological environment primarily. As to the elements of climatic carrying capacity, Huairou district, Yanqing county, and Mentougou district mainly are restricted by climate resources; the main restriction factors of climatic carrying capacity in city/town area and Fangshan district are because of the intensity of human activities and ecological environment. In terms of specific indicators, the climatic carrying capacity in the city/town area is mainly caused by population density, greenbelt area and the production and living emissions. The main influence factor of climatic carrying capacity in the Shijingshan district is poor air quality, but in Fangshan district, besides poor air quality, higher energy consumption is another important factor.

Key words: climatic carrying capacity, climate resources, human activities, ecological environment, climate impact assessment, Beijing area