Abstract: Ecological footprint (EF) model, as an indicator of sustainability, has received broad attention and wide use. With the development and refinement of the research work on EF theory and methodology, it appeared various methods which can be applied at different scales. Ecological footprint analysis has been combined with material flow analysis, life cycle assessment or input-output analysis, and especially, the newest progress in EF methods called allocating EF to final consumption categories with input-output analysis helps to develop a “standardized” EF. In this paper, the underlying causes of these methods were interpreted theoretically, and the research methods were classified into progress analysis and input-output analysis (IOA). In addition, the compound and component-based methods as well as IOA were introduced, with their respective features, application, and development progress discussed. A prospect on the development of EF in term of the tendency and application of EF methods in China and abroad was given,i.e., the common framework should be built at the national and regional scales by using compound analysis, IOA and component-based analysis are expected to develop their application in China, and time series research and multi-scenarios analysis of EF forecast ability must be strengthened.

Key words: Leymus chinensis grassland, Soil, Catalase activity, Environmental factors