Emergetic ternary diagrams: five examples for application in environmental accounting for decision-making

In a recent paper, “A combined tool for environmental scientists and decision makers: ternary diagrams and emergy accounting.” [Giannetti BF, Barrella FA, Almeida CMVB. A combined tool for environmental scientists and decision makers: ternary diagrams and emergy accounting. J Clean Prod, in press] Ternary diagrams were proposed as a graphical tool to assist emergy analysis. The graphical representation of the emergy accounting data makes it possible to compare processes and systems with and without ecosystem services, to evaluate improvements and to follow the system performance over time. The graphic tool is versatile and adaptable to represent products, processes, systems, countries, and different periods of time.The use and the versatility of ternary diagrams for assisting in performing emergy analyses are illustrated by means of five examples taken from the literature, which are presented and discussed. It is shown that emergetic ternary diagram's properties assist the assessment of the system efficiency, its dependence upon renewable and non-renewable inputs and the environmental support for dilution and abatement of process emissions. With the aid of ternary diagrams, details such as the interaction between systems and between systems and the environment are recognized and evaluated. Such a tool for graphical analysis allows a transparent presentation of the results and can serve as an interface between emergy scientists and decision makers, provided the meaning of each line in the diagram is carefully explained and understood.     

基于能值理论的农田—畜禽生产系统可持续动态

为了解我国东南丘陵山区农业生产动态及其可持续性,以福建典型山区德化县为例,构建废弃物能值比例、环境污染能值负产出等指标,运用能值理论定量分析德化县2007—2016年农田—畜禽生产系统投入产出、环境负荷及可持续性的变化。结果表明：德化县农田—畜禽生产系统能值投入以购买能值为主,占能值总投入的68%~79%,水资源能值约占21%~31%;畜禽子系统能值产出占72%以上;能值密度在2.68×10¹²~3.33×10¹² sej·m^-2之间波动上升,净能值产出率下降40%,环境负荷明显加重,2015年以来有所减轻;可持续发展指数在2007—2010年短暂上升后快速下降,由1.14降至0.42。从构建的指标来看,系统废弃物能值比例有所下降,环境污染能值产出减少约22%,综合经济效益和废弃物利用情况,近年来可持续发展状况逐渐好转。德化县目前正处于农田—畜禽系统产出结构调整期,应增加系统内部反馈能值用量,控制化肥、饲料投入,提高废弃物利用率,以实现可持续发展。     

基于能值分析的小型港口可持续发展评价:以海阳港为例

运用能值分析构建小型港口发展可持续性评价模型和指标体系,以中国山东省烟台市海阳港为研究对象,利用2015年数据分析和评价了该港口生态经济系统的特征和可持续性。研究结果表明:（1）2015年海阳港生态经济系统的能值总投入为2.91×1021 sej,不可更新工业辅助能占主体地位;（2）能值自给率、集疏运稳定性、净能值产出率、单位吞吐量能值消耗、能值生态承载力和可持续发展能力指标均低于同行业或同地区平均水平,废弃物能值比率、环境负荷率、能值交换率和能值密度指标处于较高水平;（3）存在对可更新自然资源利用少、来自外部购买能值比例过高和对污水、固体废物缺乏有效的综合利用的问题;（4）有必要在节约能源、设备降耗、利用可再生能源、水资源循环利用和构筑物造价控制5个方面采取有效措施,增强港口可持续发展能力。     

基于三元相图法的天津生态经济系统能值分析

为了更加清晰地说明天津市经济系统的资源利用及配置结构,为天津市今后的决策和发展方向提供依据,论文将三元相图法应用到能值分析中,对天津市经济系统的能值指标进行分析,并与北京、辽宁等几个省市的能值现状做了对比分析。对天津市近几年的能值相图分析表明,天津市的资源利用比例总体变化不大,外界能值的投入增多是天津市资源利用比例发生变化的主要原因;从天津市自身看,其资源利用结构分配向不合理状态发展,能值可持续性指数呈降低趋势。与其他省市相比,天津市的总体发展潜力比较大,在物质生产和服务业发展的水平较高,资源利用较为充分。天津市在发展经济引入外部资源的同时应注意开发和使用本地资源,提高天津市的经济可持续性。     

Sustainability assessment of a farm in the Chianti area (Italy)

In the study of agricultural systems, where land fertility and environmental conditions are primary factors, it is essential to consider both the efficiency and the environmental sustainability of processes. Emergy analysis, introduced by H.T. Odum [Science 242 (1988) 1132], is an approach developed at the interface between thermodynamics systems ecology. It was here used to obtain sustainability indicators and to assess the efficiency of a complex agricultural system, a farm in the Chianti area.The results for different crops were compared with Italian averages to obtain an idea of the long-term sustainability of this agricultural system. The cultivation of all the crops on the farm, except grapes, was more efficient and had less impact on the environment than the Italian standards. The Chianti grapes were compared not only with the Italian average but also with grapes of similar high quality, ‘Brunello di Montalcino’ and ‘Nobile di Montepulciano’, both grown in the same region. The production of grapes in the Chianti vineyard was more efficient and had an intermediate environmental impact, in the emergy sense, with respect to the other two systems.The proportion of emergy inputs to the farm that are local or renewable is quite high. Thus the emergy analysis demonstrated that the Chianti farm has a relatively good long-term sustainability considering both the whole system, and its individual crops.     

Assessments on emergy and greenhouse gas emissions of internal combustion engine automobiles and electric automobiles in the USA

Increasing energy consumption in the transportation sector results in challenging greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and environmental problems. This paper involved integrated assessments on GHG emissions and emergy of the life cycle for the internal combustion engine (ICE) and electric automobiles in the USA over the entire assumed fifteen-year lifetime. The hotspots of GHG emissions as well as emergy indices for the major processes of automobile life cycle within the defined system boundaries have been investigated. The potential strategies for reducing GHG emissions and emergy in the life cycle of both ICE and electric automobiles were further proposed. Based on the current results, the total GHG emissions from the life cycle of ICE automobiles are 4.48E + 07 kg CO₂-e which is 320 times higher than that of the electric automobiles. The hotspot area of the GHG emissions from ICE and electric automobiles are operation phase and manufacturing process, respectively. Interesting results were observed that comparable total emergy of the ICE automobiles and electric automobiles have been calculated which were 1.54E + 17 and 2.20E + 17 sej, respectively. Analysis on emergy index evidenced a better environmental sustainability of electric automobiles than ICE automobiles over the life cycle due to its higher ESI. To the authors’ knowledge, it is the first time to integrate the analysis of GHG emissions together with emergy in industrial area of automobile engineering. It is expected that the integration of emergy and GHG emissions analysis may provide a comprehensive perspective on eco-industrial sustainability of automobile engineering.     

基于EMA-MFA核算的县域绿色GDP及空间分异——以河南省为例

自然资本的定量货币化及空间属性是区域绿色经济发展研究的基本问题。针对绿色GDP核算中资源环境成本市场定价的缺陷,采用复合生态系统分析框架,整合能值分析(EMA)与物质流分析(MFA)方法,用能值-货币价值对资源损耗与环境退化定价,进而测度绿色国民财富的生态经济价值。以资源型大省河南为研究区域,估算2009年108个县域单元的各项能值指标及绿色经济发展水平,分析复合生态系统能值指标的空间特征,比较绿色GDP与传统GDP的差异,在此基础上划分县域绿色经济发展的地域类型。结果表明:基于EMA-MFA的绿色GDP核算是一种以生态为中心的强调可持续性的评价方法,旨在从复合生态系统的生态过程视角说明资源环境对社会经济发展的重要作用;河南省县域复合生态系统各能值指标在空间上集中分布且具有一定区域差异,基于EMA-MFA核算的绿色GDP与传统GDP相比核算结果差异大,绿色经济与传统经济发展水平空间分异变化明显;县域绿色GDP根据本地自然生态支撑能力、资源环境损耗状况可分为5类地域类型;不同地域类型的县域应根据现状水平与优势特征,因地制宜地加快绿色经济发展。     

Emergy evaluation of the environment and economy of Hong Kong

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Sustainability assessment of a giant bamboo plantation in Brazil: exploring the influence of labour,time and space

Bamboo presents physical and mechanical characteristics, which turn it an alternative option for product development, replacing native or reforested wood. The sustainability assessment of a Dendrocalamus Giganteus species plantation in Brazil through the emergy methodology evidences a great weight of renewable (30% sej/sej) and human labour contributions (33% sej/sej). These contributions account for the great interface with environment and to the intensive work, respectively. The transformity value of bamboo production is 2.42E + 04 sej/J. The influence human labour has on the total emergy flow and on indicators is evaluated by taking into account different country locations (Brazil, Australia and China). Thus, a different transformity value for labour is assumed for each country. A ranking based on emergy sustainability index (ESI) values shows that bamboo production in China was the first placed, followed by Brazil and Australia (values of 1.18, 0.50 and 0.09, respectively). The insertion of indirect renewability embedded in labour results in the ranking modification, leading to plantation in Brazil in the first place, followed by the Australian and Chinese ones. The relative position of the bamboo systems is visualized in the ternary diagram expressed in terms of emergy. In an attempt to explore the relationship between sustainability and time, a graphic of ESI vs. global productivity is discussed in terms of a prospective evaluation. Indirect support areas of the bamboo production are calculated as a way to evaluate the sustainability-space relationship.     

环境经济综合核算的环境资源价值问题的研究

随着人类社会经济的发展,环境污染日益严重以及环境资源的日趋短缺问题的出现,环境资源也逐渐显示出其稀缺性。在环境经济综合核算体系中,环境资源价值估算是环境核算的核心问题。环境资源价值问题的研究对资源管理、生态建设和环境保护具有重要的理论和现实意义。通过查阅国内外文献,探讨环境资源价值的研究现状、理论及其评估方法。在总结现有的环境资源价值评估方法的基础上,提出了应用能值分析方法来客观核算环境资源价值,从而能够更接近环境资源的真实价值。     

Using structured systems analysis to design an integrated system for transport planning and environmental analysis

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不同资源环境梯度下吉林西部生态经济系统能值分析

利用能值方法,从东南-西北方向选取吉林西部长岭、乾安、大安、镇赉四县市进行不同资源环境梯度下生态经济系统演变的对比分析。结果表明1989-2001年研究区多项能值指标差异明显:①系统稳定性方面,降水相对较多的长岭和乾安稳定性强于镇赉和大安。能值密度及能值投入率为长岭>乾安>大安>镇赉。能值产出以及能值积累量呈增大趋势,增幅长岭>乾安>大安>镇赉;②系统产出结构变化显著,虽然种植业比例有所下降,但一直是长岭、乾安的主导产业,镇赉、大安畜牧业超过种植业成为主导产业,系统平均能值产出率为长岭(1.89)<乾安(1.96)<大安(1.99)<镇赉(2.29);③环境负载率长岭<乾安<大安<镇赉,可持续发展指数则相反;④资源环境条件尤其是降水是该区生态经济系统状态的重要影响因素。     

能值分析理论在耕地可持续利用评价中的应用研究——以南京市为例

评价指标体系是耕地可持续利用评价研究的难点,正确选择评价理论与方法,构建科学、合理的评价指标体系,为正确认识耕地利用的可持续性及制定相应政策提供理论与实践依据。文章引入能值理论,在传统评价方法基础上对耕地利用中物流、能流等以太阳能值为统一衡量标准,建立新的指标体系,并对南京市1995~2004年的耕地利用进行评价。结果表明,研究时段内南京市耕地利用是向可持续方向发展的,且其可持续利用经历了两个阶段:①1995~1998年可持续性下降阶段,综合系数从1995年的1逐渐下降到1998年的0.9570;②1998~2004年可持续性上升阶段,综合系数逐年上升到2004年的1.1123。与传统评价方法相比,引入能值理论后的评价结果更能全面、客观地反映耕地利用的可持续状况。     

西藏生态经济系统的能值分析与可持续发展研究

在简要分析西藏的自然、社会经济概况及其在中国的战略地位基础上，运用能值理论与方法，对其主要资源的贮存价值、总能值用量、能值的流入流出情况、人口承载力、能值投入率、能值使用强度、环境负荷等指标进行了系统研究，并与其他国家的有关指标进行了比较研究，提出了进一步开发西藏资源、实现可持续发展目标的政策建议。     

基于能值分析理论的生态足迹模型及应用——以江苏省为例

在对传统生态足迹模型进行简要分析的基础上,提出基于能值分析理论的生态足迹计算模型。该改进生态足迹模型通过将生态经济系统中的各种能量流换算成对应的生物生产性土地面积,并比较计算得到的生态足迹和生态承载力,从而衡量研究区域的环境可持续发展状况。论文以江苏省为例,应用改进生态足迹模型分析其2003年生态经济系统的环境状况,得到人均生态承载力为0.2997hm₂/人,人均生态足迹为4.7228hm₂/人,生态足迹超过生态承载力,与传统生态足迹模型的计算结果相一致。但与传统生态足迹模型相比,改进生态足迹模型的计算结果能更真实地反映生态经济系统的环境状况。     

陕北生态脆弱区小尺度生态恢复的生态经济承载力研究

为了研究生态恢复过程中复合承载力变化,以陕北县南沟小流域的生态恢复试验为例,应用能值方法揭示了该流域的动态可持续性.同时,应用情景模拟方法研究了在不同能值生活标准下的承载力变化,探讨了生态恢复对承载力的影响.结果显示,2002~2005年流域环境负载率（ELR）总体上有所下降,持续性指数（ESI）有所增加.流域可更新资源承载力、中国1996年生活标准下以及全球1999年生活标准下的人口承载力分别为938人（下限）、10853人和3020人（上限）.根据基于面积的承载力计算方法,流域可更新资源承载力和中国1996年生活标准下承载力分别为17844hm2和6572hm2,分别为流域面积的3倍和1.1倍.上述结果表明,生态恢复提高了流域资源利用和转换效率,环境负载率下降,流域现有人口及其生产规模基本在其承载力范围内,但已经接近上限.鉴于当前较低的生活标准,流域的承载力有待进一步提高.     

Emergy evaluation of Sicilian red orange production. A comparison between organic and conventional farming

This study examines, by using emergy analysis, the production of red orange in Sicily in order to evaluate resource use, productivity, environmental impact and overall sustainability. Four different sicilian farms were studied in order to compare conventional with organic production. Several indices derived from the emergy evaluation were used: the emergy yield ratio (EYR); the environmental loading ratio (ELR); the index of sustainability (SI). Organic orange production appears to use more renewable resources and less purchased energy and materials.     

Emergy,nutrients balance,and economic assessment of soybean production and industrialization in Brazil

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the soybean production and industrial processing stages in Brazil using the emergy accounting methodology and economic cost and revenue estimation in order to assess the environmental and economic inputs to the soybean chain and to evaluate the amount of emergy and nutrients exported to European countries. The main findings of this work were that the agricultural stage uses the highest amount of resources. The emergy exchange ratio shows that farmers are delivering around six times more emergy in the soybean that is being sold than the emergy they are receiving with the money paid for it. Results demonstrate that producing raw soybean and soy meal for international markets makes Brazil lose a great amount of emergy and nutrients. Besides that, soybean production is nowadays providing low profitability to farmers because of low prices for soybean products and high prices for the chemicals used in soybean farming. Therefore, at present conditions, exporting soybean as a commodity results in low profit per unit of area.     

庆阳市环境-经济耦合系统动态演变趋势分析:基于能值理论与计量经济分析模型

分析了1978～2007年庆阳市环境-经济系统的能值流量与能值效率的演变轨迹.并以环境负荷率(ELR)、能值废弃率(EWR)作为环境压力指标,运用协整检验、Granger因果检验和向量误差修正模型(VECM),通过分析人均GDP与环境压力指标变量之间在时序维度上的因果关系和相互影响程度,进一步阐述经济与环境系统的耦合关系及其动态特征.结果表明,庆阳市经济发展对不可更新资源的依赖度大,环境-经济系统的产出效率总体下降,但环境负荷不断上升.计量分析表明,经济增长与环境压力之间存在单向因果关系,且已形成"恶性循环圈",环境-经济耦合系统表现出不可持续的发展态势.     

Efficiency and sustainability analysis of grain production in Jiangsu and Shaanxi Provinces of China

Efficiency and sustainability of grain production has now been an important issue in China. Aiming at analyzing such efficiency and sustainability in different parts of China, the grain production system of Jiangsu and Shaanxi Provinces was analyzed and compared by means of using emergy method in this study. The results showed that deterioration of emergy input structure (inorganic assistant emergy inputs increased drastically while organic ones decreased or increased little) affected the grain production system's efficiency and sustainability of both provinces, and the situation of Jiangsu Province is more serious than that of Shaanxi Province. According to the results of efficiency and sustainability analysis, this paper suggests that we should utilize environmental resources abstemiously and dramatically to reduce the assistant emergy input structure into the grain production system.