Materials and energy are transferred between natural and industrial systems, providing a standard that can be used to deduce the interactions between these systems, An examination of these flows is an essen- tial part...Materials and energy are transferred between natural and industrial systems, providing a standard that can be used to deduce the interactions between these systems, An examination of these flows is an essen- tial part of the conversation on how industry impacts the environment, We propose that biological sys- tems, which embody sustainability, provide methods and principles that can lead to more useful ways to organize industrial activity, Transposing these biological methods to steel manufacturing is manifested through an efficient use of available materials, waste reduction, and decreased energy demand with cur- rently available technology, In this paper, we use ecological metrics to examine the change in structure and flows of materials in the Chinese steel industry over time by means of a systems-based mass flow analysis, Utilizing available data, the results of our analysis indicate that the Chinese steel manufacturing industry has increased its efficiency and sustainable use of resources over time at the unit process level, However, the appropriate organization of the steel production ecosystem remains a work in progress, Our results suggest that through the intelligent placement of cooperative industries, which can utilize the waste generated from steel manufacturing, the future of the Chinese steel industry can better reflect ecosystem maturity and health while minimizing waste.展开更多
Against the background of rapid urbanization and the“Dual Carbon”goals,analyzing the impact mechanisms of land use change on carbon metabolism is crucial for regional sustainable development.Taking the Guangdong-Hon...Against the background of rapid urbanization and the“Dual Carbon”goals,analyzing the impact mechanisms of land use change on carbon metabolism is crucial for regional sustainable development.Taking the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area(GBA)as the study area,we integrate energy consumption data and the Forest Carbon Sequestration(FCS)model to clarify the land use carbon metabolism status based on Ecological Network Analysis(ENA),and systematically analyze the spatiotemporal evolution patterns of urban land use carbon metabolism,interactions between land types,as well as its driving mechanisms in the GBA from 2000 to 2023.The results show that:(1)Over the past two decades,land use changes have exhibited a significant characteristic of“natural land retreat and construction land expansion”,with areas of cropland,forest,and waterbody shrank by 16%,4%,and 4% respectively,while urban land and industrial land increased by 50%and 438%respectively;76% of the reclaimed land was transferred to construction land.(2)The imbalance of carbon metabolism was jointly affected by land use patterns and land use change processes:carbon emissions from energy consumption surged by 116%,while land carbon sequestration capacity decreased by 12%;in most periods,the negative carbon flow from land use change exceeded positive flows,with both showing sharp fluctuations.(3)Construction land in various cities dominated the carbon flow network through control or exploitation relationships,and the mutual transfer between industrial land and cropland is the primary driver;ecological land protection policies(e.g.,the forest“in-out balance”scheme)effectively reduced the intensity of competition relationship.(4)The push-pull forces of land types demonstrate the dual effect of industrialization and urbanization,but their contribution has gradually weakened as the speed of urbanization declined in various cities;the proportion of the indirect carbon flow reached a maximum of 37%(2005-2010),indicating that the indirect impact of land use change cannot be ignored.This study deepens the understanding of the land-carbon interactions,reveals the implicit effects of the“policy implementation-land use change-carbon flow generation”transmission chain,and proposes a“construction land-cropland-ecological land”constraint system and a synergistic path of industrial land intensification and inefficient land ecological restoration.It provides methodological support for low-carbon governance at the urban agglomeration scale.展开更多
Low-impact development （LID） technologies have a great potential to reduce water usage and stormwa- ter runoff and are therefore seen as sustainable improvements that can be made to traditional water infrastructure,...Low-impact development （LID） technologies have a great potential to reduce water usage and stormwa- ter runoff and are therefore seen as sustainable improvements that can be made to traditional water infrastructure, These technologies include bioretention areas, rainwater capturing, and xeriscaping, all of which can be used in residential zones, Within the City of Atlanta, residential water usage accounts for 53% of the total water consumption; therefore, residential zones offer significant impact potential for the implementation of LID, This study analyzes the use of LID strategies within the different residen- tial zones of the City of Atlanta from an ecological perspective by drawing analogies to natural ecosys- tems, The analysis shows that these technologies, especially with the addition of a graywater system, work to improve the conventional residential water network based upon these ecological metrics, The higher metric values suggest greater parity with healthy, natural ecosystems.展开更多
A new form of producing and sharing knowledge has emerged as an international(United States of America,Asia,and Europe) research collaboration,known as the Long-Term Ecological Research(LTER) Network.Although Africa b...A new form of producing and sharing knowledge has emerged as an international(United States of America,Asia,and Europe) research collaboration,known as the Long-Term Ecological Research(LTER) Network.Although Africa boasts rich biodiversity,including endemic species,it lacks the long-term initiatives to underpin sustainable biodiversity managements.At present,climate change may exacerbate hunger and poverty concerns in addition to resulting in ecosystem degradation,land use change,and other threats in Africa.Therefore,ecosystem monitoring was suggested to understanding the effects of climate change and setting strategies to mitigate these changes.This paper aimed to investigate ecosystem monitoring ground sites and address their coverage gaps in Africa to provide a foundation for optimizing the African Ecosystem Research Network(AERN) ground sites.The geographic coordinates and characteristics of ground sites-based ecosystem monitoring were collected from various networks aligned with the LTER implementation in Africa.Additionally,climatic data and biodiversity distribution maps were retrieved from various sources.These data were used to assess the size of existing ground sites and the gaps in description,ecosystems and biomes.The results reveal that there were 1089 sites established by various networks.Among these sites,30.5%,27.5%,and 28.8% had no information of area,year of establishment,current status,respectively.However,68.0% of them had an area equal to or greater than 1 km2.Sites were created progressively over the course of the years,with 68.9% being created from 2000 to 2005.To date,only 41.5% of the sites were operational.The sites were scattered across Africa,but they were concentrated in Eastern and Southern Africa.The unbalanced distribution pattern of the sites left Central and Northern Africa hardly covered,and many unique ecosystems in Central Africa were not included.To sustain these sites,the AERN should be based on operational sites,seeking secure funding by establishing multiple partnerships.展开更多
Climate change has led to significant fluctuations in marine ecosystems,including alterations in the structure and function of food webs and ecosystem status.Coastal ecosystems are critical to the functioning of the e...Climate change has led to significant fluctuations in marine ecosystems,including alterations in the structure and function of food webs and ecosystem status.Coastal ecosystems are critical to the functioning of the earth’s lifesupporting systems.However,temporal variations in most of these ecosystems have remained unclear so far.In this study,we employed a linear inverse model with Markov Chain Monte Carlo(LIM-MCMC)combined with ecological network analysis to reveal the temporal variations of the food web in Haizhou Bay of China.Food webs were constructed based on diet composition data in this ecosystem during the year of 2011 and 2018.Results indicated that there were obvious temporal variations in the composition of food webs in autumn of 2011 and 2018.The number of prey and predators for most species in food web decreased in 2018 compared with 2011,especially for Trichiurus lepturus,zooplankton,Amblychaeturichthys hexanema,and Loligo sp.Ecological network analysis showed that the complexity of food web structure could be reflected by comprehensive analysis of compartmentalized indicators.Haizhou Bay ecosystem was more mature and stable in 2011,while the ecosystem’s self-sustainability and recovery from disturbances were accelerated from 2011 to 2018.These findings contribute to our understanding of the dynamics of marine ecosystems and highlight the importance of comprehensive analysis of marine food webs.This work provides a framework for assessing and comparing temporal variations in marine ecosystems,which provides essential information and scientific guidance for the Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management.展开更多
基金supported by the National Science Foundation (CBET-1510531 and EFMA-1441208)
文摘Materials and energy are transferred between natural and industrial systems, providing a standard that can be used to deduce the interactions between these systems, An examination of these flows is an essen- tial part of the conversation on how industry impacts the environment, We propose that biological sys- tems, which embody sustainability, provide methods and principles that can lead to more useful ways to organize industrial activity, Transposing these biological methods to steel manufacturing is manifested through an efficient use of available materials, waste reduction, and decreased energy demand with cur- rently available technology, In this paper, we use ecological metrics to examine the change in structure and flows of materials in the Chinese steel industry over time by means of a systems-based mass flow analysis, Utilizing available data, the results of our analysis indicate that the Chinese steel manufacturing industry has increased its efficiency and sustainable use of resources over time at the unit process level, However, the appropriate organization of the steel production ecosystem remains a work in progress, Our results suggest that through the intelligent placement of cooperative industries, which can utilize the waste generated from steel manufacturing, the future of the Chinese steel industry can better reflect ecosystem maturity and health while minimizing waste.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.42371027).
文摘Against the background of rapid urbanization and the“Dual Carbon”goals,analyzing the impact mechanisms of land use change on carbon metabolism is crucial for regional sustainable development.Taking the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area(GBA)as the study area,we integrate energy consumption data and the Forest Carbon Sequestration(FCS)model to clarify the land use carbon metabolism status based on Ecological Network Analysis(ENA),and systematically analyze the spatiotemporal evolution patterns of urban land use carbon metabolism,interactions between land types,as well as its driving mechanisms in the GBA from 2000 to 2023.The results show that:(1)Over the past two decades,land use changes have exhibited a significant characteristic of“natural land retreat and construction land expansion”,with areas of cropland,forest,and waterbody shrank by 16%,4%,and 4% respectively,while urban land and industrial land increased by 50%and 438%respectively;76% of the reclaimed land was transferred to construction land.(2)The imbalance of carbon metabolism was jointly affected by land use patterns and land use change processes:carbon emissions from energy consumption surged by 116%,while land carbon sequestration capacity decreased by 12%;in most periods,the negative carbon flow from land use change exceeded positive flows,with both showing sharp fluctuations.(3)Construction land in various cities dominated the carbon flow network through control or exploitation relationships,and the mutual transfer between industrial land and cropland is the primary driver;ecological land protection policies(e.g.,the forest“in-out balance”scheme)effectively reduced the intensity of competition relationship.(4)The push-pull forces of land types demonstrate the dual effect of industrialization and urbanization,but their contribution has gradually weakened as the speed of urbanization declined in various cities;the proportion of the indirect carbon flow reached a maximum of 37%(2005-2010),indicating that the indirect impact of land use change cannot be ignored.This study deepens the understanding of the land-carbon interactions,reveals the implicit effects of the“policy implementation-land use change-carbon flow generation”transmission chain,and proposes a“construction land-cropland-ecological land”constraint system and a synergistic path of industrial land intensification and inefficient land ecological restoration.It provides methodological support for low-carbon governance at the urban agglomeration scale.
基金This work was supported by a grant for ＂Resilient Interdependent Infrastructure Processes and Systems （RIPS） Type 2： Participatory Modeling of Complex Urban Infrastructure Systems （Model Urban SysTems）＂ （#0836046） from the National Science Foundation, Division of Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovations （EFRI）. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. The authors acknowledge the work of Jeong et al. for the use of data and support in this analysis.
文摘Low-impact development （LID） technologies have a great potential to reduce water usage and stormwa- ter runoff and are therefore seen as sustainable improvements that can be made to traditional water infrastructure, These technologies include bioretention areas, rainwater capturing, and xeriscaping, all of which can be used in residential zones, Within the City of Atlanta, residential water usage accounts for 53% of the total water consumption; therefore, residential zones offer significant impact potential for the implementation of LID, This study analyzes the use of LID strategies within the different residen- tial zones of the City of Atlanta from an ecological perspective by drawing analogies to natural ecosys- tems, The analysis shows that these technologies, especially with the addition of a graywater system, work to improve the conventional residential water network based upon these ecological metrics, The higher metric values suggest greater parity with healthy, natural ecosystems.
基金Under the auspices of National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.31161140355)
文摘A new form of producing and sharing knowledge has emerged as an international(United States of America,Asia,and Europe) research collaboration,known as the Long-Term Ecological Research(LTER) Network.Although Africa boasts rich biodiversity,including endemic species,it lacks the long-term initiatives to underpin sustainable biodiversity managements.At present,climate change may exacerbate hunger and poverty concerns in addition to resulting in ecosystem degradation,land use change,and other threats in Africa.Therefore,ecosystem monitoring was suggested to understanding the effects of climate change and setting strategies to mitigate these changes.This paper aimed to investigate ecosystem monitoring ground sites and address their coverage gaps in Africa to provide a foundation for optimizing the African Ecosystem Research Network(AERN) ground sites.The geographic coordinates and characteristics of ground sites-based ecosystem monitoring were collected from various networks aligned with the LTER implementation in Africa.Additionally,climatic data and biodiversity distribution maps were retrieved from various sources.These data were used to assess the size of existing ground sites and the gaps in description,ecosystems and biomes.The results reveal that there were 1089 sites established by various networks.Among these sites,30.5%,27.5%,and 28.8% had no information of area,year of establishment,current status,respectively.However,68.0% of them had an area equal to or greater than 1 km2.Sites were created progressively over the course of the years,with 68.9% being created from 2000 to 2005.To date,only 41.5% of the sites were operational.The sites were scattered across Africa,but they were concentrated in Eastern and Southern Africa.The unbalanced distribution pattern of the sites left Central and Northern Africa hardly covered,and many unique ecosystems in Central Africa were not included.To sustain these sites,the AERN should be based on operational sites,seeking secure funding by establishing multiple partnerships.
基金The Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation under contract No.ZR2023MD096the National Key R&D Program of China under contract Nos 2018YFD0900904 and 2018YFD0900906.
文摘Climate change has led to significant fluctuations in marine ecosystems,including alterations in the structure and function of food webs and ecosystem status.Coastal ecosystems are critical to the functioning of the earth’s lifesupporting systems.However,temporal variations in most of these ecosystems have remained unclear so far.In this study,we employed a linear inverse model with Markov Chain Monte Carlo(LIM-MCMC)combined with ecological network analysis to reveal the temporal variations of the food web in Haizhou Bay of China.Food webs were constructed based on diet composition data in this ecosystem during the year of 2011 and 2018.Results indicated that there were obvious temporal variations in the composition of food webs in autumn of 2011 and 2018.The number of prey and predators for most species in food web decreased in 2018 compared with 2011,especially for Trichiurus lepturus,zooplankton,Amblychaeturichthys hexanema,and Loligo sp.Ecological network analysis showed that the complexity of food web structure could be reflected by comprehensive analysis of compartmentalized indicators.Haizhou Bay ecosystem was more mature and stable in 2011,while the ecosystem’s self-sustainability and recovery from disturbances were accelerated from 2011 to 2018.These findings contribute to our understanding of the dynamics of marine ecosystems and highlight the importance of comprehensive analysis of marine food webs.This work provides a framework for assessing and comparing temporal variations in marine ecosystems,which provides essential information and scientific guidance for the Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management.
