Abstract: Carrying capacity of the land in Gezhen′er watershed has been calculated.The results show that all the farmland with slope exceeding 15° should be surrendered to forestry,and the acreage of basic cropland per capita should be kept no less than 0.066 hm 2.In this case,after returning land for farming to forestry,the maximum land carrying capacity of the watershed is 2 802 persons,much higher than the predicted population,and the remaining farmland is adequate to ensure food supply.Thus the policy of returning land for farming to forestry can be implemented.

Key words: returning land for farming to forestry, carrying capacity of land, crop potential productivity, Gezhen′er watershed