Ecological network analysis of an urban energy metabolic system: Model development, and a case study of four Chinese cities

Urban metabolism research faces difficulties defining ecological trophic levels and analyzing relationships among the metabolic system's energy components. Here, we propose a new way to perform such research. By integrating throughflow analysis with ecological network utility analysis, we used network flows to analyze the metabolic system's network structure and the ecological relationships within the system. We developed an ecological network model for the system, and used four Chinese cities as examples of how this approach provides insights into the flows within the system at both high and low levels of detail. Using the weight distribution in the network flow matrix, we determined the structure of the urban energy metabolic system and the trophic levels; using the sign distribution in the network utility matrix, we determined the relationships between each pair of the system's compartments and their degrees of mutualism. The model uses compartments based on 17 sectors (energy exploitation; coal-fired power; heat supply; washed coal; coking; oil refinery; gas generation; coal products; agricultural; industrial; construction; communication, storage, and postal service; wholesale, retail, accommodation, and catering; household; other consuming; recovery; and energy stocks). Analyzing the structure and functioning of the urban energy metabolic system revealed ways to optimize its structure by adjusting the relationships among compartments, thereby demonstrating how ecological network analysis can be used in future urban system research.     

Ecological network determination of sectoral linkages, utility relations and structural characteristics on urban ecological economic system

Analyzing the structure and functioning of the urban system revealed ways to optimize its structure by adjusting the relationships among compartments, thereby demonstrating how ecological network analysis can be used in urban system research. Based on the account of the extended exergy utilization in the sector of urban socio-economic system, which is considered as the composition of extraction (Ex), conversion (Co), agriculture (Ag), industry (In), transportation (Tr), tertiary (Te) and households (Do) sectors, an urban ecological network model is constructed to gain insights into the economic processes oriented to sustainable urban development. Taking Beijing city as the case, the network accounting and related ecological evaluation of a practical urban economy are carried out in this study in the light of flux, efficiency, utility and structure analysis. The results showed that a large quantity of energy and resources have to be consumed to maintain the structure and function of a city. The thermodynamic efficiencies of individual sector in Beijing remain at a low level. The social system in Beijing is a highly competitive network, and there are 8 competitive relations and only two mutualistic ones. The Domestic and Agricultural sector are the major controlling factors of the system. Moreover, the assessment results of Beijing are compared with the other three socio-economic systems, Norway, UK and Italy, and the ecological network function and structure comparisons are correspondingly illuminated and discussed. The conclusions indicate that the exergy-based network analysis can be refined to become an integrative tool for evaluation, policy-making and regulation for urban socio-economic system management concerning structure and efficiency at urban levels.     

Emergy analysis of the urban metabolism of Beijing

Cities can be modeled as if they were superorganisms with a range of metabolic processes. Research on this urban metabolism can contribute to solving urban environmental problems by revealing details of the metabolic throughput of the system. A key issue is how to find a common basis for measuring the environmental and economic values. By providing a single unified unit, emergy theory integrates the natural and socioeconomic systems and thoroughly evaluates a system's metabolism. We analyzed Beijing's urban metabolic system using emergy synthesis to evaluate its environmental resources, economy, and environmental and economic relations with the regions outside the city during 14 years of development. We compared Beijing's emergy indices with those of five other Chinese cities and of China as a whole to assess Beijing's relative development status. These indices are the emergy self-support ratio (metabolic dependence), the environmental load ratio (metabolic loading), empower density (metabolic pressure), emergy used per person (metabolic intensity per capita), and the monetary equivalent of emergy (emdollars; metabolic intensity). Based on our emergy analysis, Beijing's socioeconomic system is not self-sufficient, and depends greatly on external environmental resources. Its GDP is supported by a high percentage of emergy purchased from outside the city. During the study period, Beijing's urban system showed an increasing dependence on external resources for its economic development. Beijing's loading and pressure on the ecological environment is continuously increasing, accompanied by continuously increasing human emergy consumption. In the future, it will become increasingly necessary to improve Beijing's metabolic efficiency.     

Urban ecosystem health assessment based on emergy and set pair analysis—A comparative study of typical Chinese cities

Regarding various energy and materials flowing in the urban ecosystem and the merit of emergy as an embodied energetic equivalent for integrated ecological economic evaluation, an evaluation framework of emergy-based urban ecosystem health indicators (UEHI_em) was established in view of five aspects including vigor, structure, resilience, ecosystem service function maintenance and environmental impact to depict the urban ecosystem health states. Further, set pair analysis (SPA) was employed to assess the urban ecosystem health level based on the UEHI_em, by which the approximate degree of real index set to the optimal one was defined and evaluated to describe the relative health state of the concerned urban ecosystems. Choosing twenty typical Chinese cities in 2005 as cases, we evaluated and compared their urban ecosystem health levels based on UEHI_em and SPA. The results showed that health levels of Xiamen, Qingdao, Shenzhen and Shanghai are pretty well, while those of Wuhan, Harbin, Yinchuan, Beijing and Urumchi are relatively weak. Moreover, the relative health levels were analyzed by SPA to discern the influences of the mentioned five aspects on the UEHI_em. It is concluded that emergy synthesis combined with SPA can serve as an effective relative-measure to compare different ecosystem health levels of urban ecosystems.     

Emergy-based urban health evaluation and development pattern analysis

The objective of this study is to measure and evaluate the ecosystem health levels of 31 Chinese capital cities in 2004 through an emergy synthesis framework. A system of indicators was developed corresponding to the four factors of urban ecosystem health including efficiency, structure, impact and flux. Furthermore, combined with individual indices, an emergy-based urban ecosystem health index (EUEHI) was proposed to measure and evaluate the health levels among various typical cities in China, which offers an integrated evaluation tool in view of urban production, trade and consumption. The results showed that there are intrinsic differences among six clusters associated with driving mechanisms distinguishing the rankings of urban health levels. After lining the cities of similar health levels with cluster map, the spatial distribution of the urban health is found to be arch-shaped, increasing initially and then decreasing from coast to inner land. This kind of spatial hierarchy is per se compatible and consistent with the hierarchical theory of emergy synthesis. The results also revealed double restrictions of urban health between economy and environment. Moreover, the interaction analysis was used for mirroring the driving mechanism of urban ecosystem health. Three conclusions were arrived at. Firstly, environmental health is inversely related to the economic health in China, indicating that cities cannot achieve win–win between environment and economy in the current urban development mode. Secondly, based on economy-driven mode, four quadrants were divided in the city division map, wherein 43.33% of the concerned cities developed in high economy-restriction mode, which means low economic level is still an important limiting factor for the major cities of China. Finally, based on environment-driven mode, two sections were divided, of which weak environmental dominance mode expounds the special characteristics of urban environment with obvious fragility. 23.33% of the 30 cities were in the intermediate state, which means a few correspondingly unhealthy cities should develop concrete polices for the urban ecosystem restoration.     

城市绿色空间综合评价指标体系构建及应用

为科学合理地评价城市绿色空间的生态景观效益、社会效益以及经济效益,建立了一套较为科学、全面的评价指标体系,其包括基本数量特征、景观格局、社会管理因素和生态功能等4个Ⅱ级指标以及16个Ⅲ级指标,并依次对北京城市绿色空间现状进行了综合评价。结果表明:北京市绿色空间综合评价指标值为0.67,处于第Ⅱ级下游,表明北京城市绿色空间面积适当、结构较合理,生态功能发挥良好,总体建设较好;但同时也存在景观连接度较差、可达性不好、居民满意度不高等问题,从而影响了其生态功能和社会功能的有效发挥。     

Assessment and management of urbanization-induced ecological risks

The urban ecological risk incurred during the processes of urbanization has been constantly accumulating, creating a severe challenge for China to achieve sustainable urban development. At present, research on systematic evaluation of urban ecological risks is still inadequate, especially at an urban ecosystem level. In this special issue, we use Xiamen City as an example to identify the sources and receptors of urban ecological risks, to develop a methodology system of urban ecological risk assessment, and to propose a method for the management of urban ecological risks. This special issue contains 11 research articles resulting from a comprehensive research project funded by China’s National Natural Science Foundation. The innovations reported in this special issue include a framework of urban ecological risk assessment and a standardized procedure for carrying out urban ecological risk assessment using multiple stressors and endpoints.     

A framework designation for the assessment of urban ecological risks

Urban ecological risks stemming from urbanization are increasing and limiting the capability of China to effectuate sustainable urban development. Therefore, addressing urban ecological risks is an urgent need. Numerous factors are involved in urban ecological risks, including air, water, and soil. Additionally, risk sources and risk receptors are complex and diverse. In this study, urban ecological risks are defined as adverse effects and possibility of impacts on urban ecosystem services resulting from urbanization. Urbanization is recognized as the risk source, and the urban ecosystem is considered the risk receptor. Based on this understanding, the components of urban ecological risks are defined, and the relationships between the components of urban ecological risks are illuminated by establishing an indicator system. Based on previous studies on urban ecological risks, an explicit framework for identification, assessment, and management of urban ecological risks is proposed. For purposes of identification, there are three types of risk sources: population growth, industrial development, and the expansion of built land. Stressors include the accumulation of contaminants, consumption of resources, and occupation of space. Assessment endpoints are divided into provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services. In response to urban ecological risks having multiple stressors and multiple assessment endpoints, we assessed risks both with a single stressor/single endpoint and comprehensive ecological risks. In our framework, the physical or material assessment of ecosystem services is adopted as the core method for the analysis of urban ecological risk, because it is believed that the analysis of urban ecological risk should be based on the physical or material assessment of ecosystem services instead of the value assessment of ecosystem services. The results of the single value assessment of urban ecosystem services will cause the deviation from the purpose of urban ecosystem services assessment. The purpose of urban ecosystem services assessment is to maintain and/or improve the capability of urban ecosystems of providing physical or material services, and further to reduce or avoid the occurrence risks of unsustainable cities. Additionally, a multi-level characterization method was adopted for the results of urban ecological risk assessment. In this study, we established a platform to manage urban ecological risks based on landscape ecology and environmental internet of things technologies, and to effectuate online urban ecological risk identification, assessment, and management via this platform.     

Current situation and development of Chinese urban forestry

This paper introduces Chinese urban forestry research in terms of the concept, forest types, ecosystem services, spatial structure, planning and construction, assessment and management. Modern Chinese urban forest had a close relationship with traditional landscape architecture. Urban forest services had been quantified in some case cities, and determined by urban forest spatial patterns and internal structures. Based on landscape ecology and urban planning, urban forest spatial patterns have been analysed and planned rationally in some cities. However, studies on urban forestry generally lack long-term, continuous and systemic observations, as well as in-depth research on ecological processes and mechanisms. The development trends in urban forestry in China might include extensive application of '3S' technology, research on the relationship between urban forest landscape spatial patterns and their ecological effects, economic assessment, ecological and economic benefits and studies on the negative effects of pollutants.     

Evaluation of urban metabolism based on emergy synthesis: A case study for Beijing (China)

Cities (“urban superorganisms”) exhibit metabolic processes. Disturbance of these processes results from the high throughput of the socioeconomic system as a result of the flow of resources between it and its surroundings. Based on systematic ecology and emergy synthesis, we developed an emergy-based indicator system for evaluating urban metabolic factors (flux, structures, intensity, efficiency, and density), and evaluated the status of Beijing's environment and economic development by diagramming, accounting for, and analyzing the material, energy, and monetary flows within Beijing's metabolic system using biophysically based ecological accounting. We also compared the results with those of four other Chinese cities (Shanghai, Guangzhou, Ningbo, and Baotou) and China as a whole to assess Beijing's development status. From 1990 to 2004, Beijing's metabolic flux, metabolic intensity, and metabolic density increased significantly. The city's metabolic processes depend excessively on nonrenewable resources, but the pressure on resources from outside of the city decreased continuously. The metabolic efficiency increased by around 12% annually throughout the study period. Beijing had a highest metabolic fluxes and density compared with the four other cities; its metabolic efficiency was lower, and its metabolic intensity was higher. Evaluating these metabolic indicators revealed weaknesses in the urban metabolic system, thereby helping planners to identify measures capable of sustaining these urban metabolic processes.     

Urban ecological risk assessment management platform

Due to rapid socioeconomic development in recent years, the influence of human activities on the urban ecosystem and environment is becoming more pronounced, causing increases in accumulated pollutants, resource consumption, and built-up land area. At this time, cities are facing complex ecological threats. We designed a platform to classify and assess the various types of ecological risks that cities and urban agglomerations may encounter. We used PHP to develop a web-based application, with nginx as the platform server, and MySQL to manage the background database. The platform provides users with a clearly structured, visual platform to manage ecological risk. By using this platform, users can quickly identify regional risk sources, find and describe risk factors, and predict possible consequences caused by these risks based on simulation modeling. The forecasting model and database can be synchronously updated and adjusted according to the actual situation. The visual web management platform and user security login system employ the MD5 encryption algorithm. The platform is designed to provide convenient, accurate, and scientific decision-making services for urban planning, construction, environmental protection, and other related areas.     

城市绿地系统生物多样性保护的策略探讨

生物多样性是提高城市绿地系统生态功能的前提和城市多样化景观的基础。通过保护自然遗留地,建立绿色生态网络,开发利用地带性物种,尤其是乡土植物,并有节制地引进外域特色樾的,扩大多样性物种的种群增加绿地规模,促进公园和环城绿带的自然化,营造生物多样性高的复层群落结构,形成具有地域性植被征的城市生物多样性格局提高绿地系统的生物多样性。     

基于主成分分析的云南省生态脆弱性评价

人口资源环境矛盾造成了脆弱生态环境问题突出。以典型生态脆弱区云南省为研究区,根据导致该省生态环境脆弱的自然-结果表现因素,构建科学客观地评价指标体系,运用主成分分析法进行生态脆弱性分析评价。以生态脆弱度大小为依据,对云南省16个地（州）、市生态脆弱性进行了分区,划分为极强度、强度、中度、轻度脆弱区4个区。评价结果显示,极强度、强度、中度、轻度生态脆弱区分别占全省面积的5.84%、27.84%、43.08%、23.24%。为生态脆弱性评价提供了一个可行的方法,同时应用生态脆弱性分区结果可为后续的生态环境恢复重建工作、制定综合治理策略及区域可持续发展规划提供依据。     

Network mutualism: Positive community-level relations in ecosystems

Empirically observable energy and matter transfers in ecosystems create network structures commonly called food webs. The relation or interaction type associated with each link between pair-wise objects can be classified as (+, −) or (−, +) depending on the net gain or loss experienced by each object. If objects are not adjacent in the food web, then their observed direct interaction is neutralism (0, 0). From this perspective, a zero-sum balance exists between the number of positive and negative relations in the ecosystem. However, community-level relations arise from observable direct and unobservable indirect pathways within a food web, giving rise to indirectly mediated relations, mutualism (+, +) and competition (−, −). Determination of community-level relations requires a systemic or holistic approach. Utility measures from environ analysis in the broader frame of ecological network analysis (ENA) provide such a methodology to investigate the relations resulting from all observed and indirect transfers. This research demonstrates the methodology and shows three important results from the analysis. First, all objects in ecological networks are related either through their input and output environs, and therefore all objects interact with and influence the others in the web: there are no null community-level relations. Second, the community-level relations can and do differ from direct relations: what you see is not always what you get. Third, due to the web of trophic and non-trophic interactions, community-level relations usually have a greater occurrence of mutualism than competition making them more positive than the direct relations that produced them: this is the property called network mutualism.     

我国城市土壤重金属的污染格局分析

收集了国内43个大中城市的3688个城区土壤重金属数据,通过描述性分析、评价分析、聚类分析等,初步确定了我国城市土壤重金属的污染格局.结果表明,我国城市土壤As、Cd、Cr、Cu、Hg、Ni、Pb、Zn的平均赋存量分别为13.39、0.68、63.04、38.17、0.31、26.18、47.34、137.72 mg·kg-1.Nemerrow指数、地质累积指数和潜在生态危害指数评价表明,污染最严重的城市是太原、南京、开封,主要污染重金属是Hg、Cd、Pb.43个城市中,上海、武汉、淄博、昆明、抚顺、昌吉、郑州、贵阳、成都、攀枝花、天津、珠海、大庆、北京、南宁、广州、香港、长春、太原等19个城市属于Cd强度污染;徐州、长沙、开封、重庆、乌鲁木齐、沈阳、西安、杭州、南京、兰州、洛阳等11个城市属于Hg-Cd强度污染、Pb中度污染;其余13个城市属一般轻度污染.长江以南城市土壤重金属污染比长江以北城市严重,中小城市土壤重金属污染低于特大城市.     

Calculation of the minimum ecological water requirement of an urban river system and its deployment: A case study in Beijing central region

The minimum ecological water requirements of an urban river system and water deployment are key elements in integrated water resources planning and urban ecological construction. Based on a review of ecological water requirement calculation methods and considering the different ecological functions of an urban river system, the ecological function method was used in this paper to calculate the components of the ecological water requirements of an urban river. An envelope curve-based method was proposed for assessing the minimum ecological water requirements of an urban river system. Water resources deployment strategies designed to meet the minimum ecological water requirements were described. Then, the minimum ecological water requirements of the urban river system in Beijing central region, selected as a case study, were investigated. The key parameters for assessing the minimum ecological water requirement in the Beijing urban river system were determined. Based on the ecological objectives and the current status of the different urban river systems within the Beijing central region, the minimum ecological water requirements were calculated. Different types of water sources, including rainwater, upstream water, and reclaimed water, were deployed to meet the ecological water requirements for the urban river system in the Beijing central region.     

陕西省生态城市建设评价指标体系

从陕西省各城市的社会状况和地域情况入手,选择和构建了适合陕西省自身情况的生态城市指标评价体系,并进一步建立了描述城市生态系统发展状况的标准化处理方法和计算方法,最后使用以上方法,对陕西省2008年的生态城市建设进行综合分析和评价。结果表明:陕西省10个城市的生态城市建设基本可以分为3类,其中西安等3个城市生态建设水平较高;铜川市等5个城市生态建设水平一般;延安市等2个城市生态城市建设水平较低。各个城市都应该依照自身情况明确生态建设的发展方向,制定生态建设方案,大力开展城市生态建设,从而使整个陕西省生态实现一体化发展。     

城市景观生态价值的边际效用分析法

本文从城市景观价值量的测定出发,引入经济学的效用和边际效用概念．提出城市景观价值量边际效用分析法,在理想状态下,以城市景观结构边际效用递减率为依据。通过面积-效益损益比,揭示城市景观经济效益与环境效益之间的内在联系．结果表明：在城市自然景观面积按比例递减的条件下,不但使环境效益损失趋于无穷大,而且使增加人工景观面积带来的城市经济效益锐减。     

Environ indicator sensitivity to flux uncertainty in a phosphorus model of Lake Sidney Lanier, USA

Effective environmental impact assessment and management requires improved understanding of the organization and transformation of ecosystems in which independent agents are linked through an intricate network of energy, matter, and informational interactions. While advances have been made, we still lack a complete understanding of the processes that create, constrain, and sustain ecosystems. Network environ analysis (NEA) provides one approach for building novel ecosystem insights, but it is model dependent. As ecological modeling is an imprecise art, often complicated by inadequate empirical data, the utility of NEA may be limited by model uncertainty. Here, we investigate the sensitivity of NEA indicators of ecosystem growth and development to flow and storage uncertainty in a phosphorus model of Lake Sidney Lanier, USA. The indicators are total system throughflow (TST), total system storage (TSS), total boundary input (Boundary), Finn cycling index (FCI), ratio of indirect-to-direct flows (Indirect/Direct), indirect flow index (IFI), network aggradation (AGG), network homogenization (HMG), and network amplification (AMP). Our results make two primary contributions. First, they demonstrate that five of the indicators – FCI, Indirect/Direct, IFI, AGG and HMG – are relatively robust to the flow and storage uncertainty in the Lake Lanier model. This stability lets us draw robust conclusions about the Lake Lanier ecosystem organization (e.g., phosphorus flux in the lake is dominated by internal processes) in spite of uncertainties in the model. Second, we show that the majority of the indicators co-vary and that most of their common variation could be mapped onto two latent factors, which we interpret as (1) system integration and (2) boundary influences.