Zhi, XiaojunAnfuding, GulishengmuYang, GuangGong, PingWang, ChunxiaLi, YiLi, XiaolongLi, PengfeiLiu, ChenxiQiao, ChangluGao, Yongli2022-02-112022-02-112022-02-07Sustainability 14 (3): 1905 (2022)https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12588/791Water resource carrying capacity (WRCC) is essential for characterizing the harmony between humans and water resources in an area. Investigation of the WRCC is useful for guiding the sustainable development of a region. The northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains is an important area for the economic development of Xinjiang, China. In recent years, the supply of water in the area barely satisfies the demand. To quantitatively evaluate the WRCC, data for four indicators including the water resources, social and economic development, and ecological environment of the area were utilized. The comprehensive weighting method, which combines the entropy and analytic hierarchy processes, was used to assess these indicators. A fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model was employed to evaluate the urban WRCC of the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountain for 2018. The results showed urban WRCC values varying between good and moderate for the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains, and this indicates that the study area is in a loadable state. Although the water supply can meet the development of cities on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains to a certain extent at this stage, because it is located in the arid region of western China, the shortage and uneven distribution of water resources are one of the biggest limiting factors for the future development of this region. The findings of the present study provide a basis for the development, rational allocation, and sustainable utilization of urban water resources on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains.Attribution 4.0 United Stateshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/water resources carrying capacityfuzzy comprehensive evaluation modelcomprehensive weighting methodnorthern slopeTianshan MountainsArticle2022-02-11