The optimum population in Xinjiang based on ecological footprint

The ecological optimum of a region is decided by regional ecological capacity and the ecological resources needed by populations.In this paper,we firstly introduced the key conceptions and procedures of the model,and then calculated the ecological footprint and the utilizable ecological capacity from 1998 to 2008 in Xinjiang.On this base,the optimum population in Xinjiang from 1998 to 2008 was estimated.During 1998 2000,the actual population of Xinjiang gradually increased from 1747.35 thousands to 1849.41 thousands,and the ec-optimum population of Xinjiang gradually increased from 841.272 thousands to 935.744 thousands.During 2001-2007,the actual population in Xinjiang gradually increased,from 18,761,900 to 20,951,900.During this period the ecological moderate population of Xinjiang showed a decreasing trend,it declined from 8,197,210 to 5,749,400 in 2008,the surplus population in Xinjiang was less that than in 2007,mainly due to decline in ecological footprint per capita,which led to the rise of ecological optimum population.