Carrying capacity depends on

• A. Population density alone
• B. Resources and environmental limits
• C. Global market demand
• D. Technology alone

Answer: (B)

Carrying capacity is the largest population an environment can sustain indefinitely without degrading the resources it depends on. It depends on the availability and renewal rate of resources such as food, water, arable land, and energy, as well as the environment’s ability to absorb wastes and recover from use. Climate, soil fertility, water supply, and biodiversity set these limits; when any of these change, carrying capacity changes too. Technology and farming practices can shift how efficiently resources are used, sometimes expanding capacity, but they operate within those environmental bounds. Global market demand influences how resources are distributed and consumed, and population density shows how many people live in an area, but neither defines the sustainable limit by itself. Thus, carrying capacity hinges on resources and environmental limits.