Abstract: Tongzhou City experienced a process of rapid industrialization from 1996 to 2005, and the pressure on its resources and environment was getting higher. By using the method of material metabolism analysis within a system at regional scale, the evolution of natural environment load in Tongzhou City was analyzed. The results showed that in the city, the growth rates of the outputs of solid wastes, waste water, and exhausts emission were higher than those of the inputs of solid materials, fresh water, and fossil fuels, and the fixed substances accumulated quickly. The efficiency of material metabolism in Tongzhou City improved constantly, and the material metabolism rate and environmental press kept increasing. With the decreasing material and worsening environment, it was quite important to improve the efficiency of material metabolism for sustainable development sake. Under the background of rapid industrialization, we should build a reasonable industrial structure system, enhance the level of circular use of materials, set up management system of material flow, and take some other measures to increase the efficiency of material metabolism and reduce its frangibility at county scale.

Key words: Ecosystem approach, Ecosystem management, Conservation of biological diversity, Living resources