Dynamic Characteristics of Water Footprint and Water Resources Carrying Capacity in Heihe River Basin during 2004-2010

China is facing serious water resources problems such as shortage in volume and uneven distribution in space and time.In the typical Heihe River basin in northwest China,water resources problems are restricting its social and economic development.With the Ecological Footprint Model we constructed five water resources accounts,they are agriculture water,urban public water,industrial water,domestic water,and eco-environmental water;and calculated and analyzed the water resources carrying capacity,water footprint and load situation of water resources in the Heihe River basin during 2004-2010.Results showed that the water resources carrying capacity gradually increased from 16.36 hm2 to 24.40 hm2;agriculture water footprint decreased from 541.48 hm2 to 443.65 hm2,industrial water footprint increased from 19.11 hm2 to 22.95 hm2,domestic water footprint increased from 10.85 hm2 to 14.93 hm2,urban public water footprint increased from 2.75 hm2 to 3.28 hm2 and eco-environmental water footprint increased from 0.37 hm2 to 5.19 hm2 during 2004-2010,and the total water resources ecological footprint gradually decreased from 571.81 hm2 to 486.73 hm2;water resources ecological deficit decreased from 555.45 hm2 to 462.33 hm2;and load index of water resources increased from 9.62 to 12.11 during 2004-2010.The load index of water resources is high and the exploitation potential is low in the Heihe River basin.The water resources carrying capacity is related with precipitation.