An analytical method of regional water resources carrying capacity in karst area – a case study in Guizhou province, China

The uneven temporal and spatial distributions and the unreasonable development and utilization of water resources have caused increasingly severe water resources shortage around the world. Studying on regional water carrying capacity is beneficial for the optimal management of water resources, and can provide assistance for the sustainable utilization of water resources. The typical karst area in China – Guizhou province was applied as the research area in the paper. Meanwhile, twelve indexes were selected from three perspectives including water supply, water demand and social economy to establish the evaluation index system of regional water carrying capacity. Afterwards, the analysis hierarchy process was utilized to construct the evaluation model of regional water resources carrying capacity, so as to evaluate, compare and analyze the regional water carrying capacity in each city of Guizhou province, China. This model verified the feasibility of the evaluation method. Relevant studies can provide certain theory evidence and method support for the investigation on regional water carrying capacity.