Emergy Ecological Footprint Research Articles

BIOCAPACITY OF BRAZILIAN BIOMES USING EMERGY ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT CONCEPTS

Abstract This work aimed to assess Brazilian biomes’ biocapacity (BC) using concepts of the Emergy Ecological Footprint method. Climate and forest cover data were interpolated using the Kriging method. In 2016, the Brazilian BC was among the largest in the world, 42.11 gha / cap. The biomes’ forest coverage areas were investigated and simulated in two scenarios: optimistic (with 100% forest coverage) and pessimistic (only 10%). The Amazon’s contribution of half the Brazilian BC would reduce by 88% in a pessimistic scenario. The Atlantic Forest contribution was only 1.9% of the national BC, however, in an optimistic scenario, it would increase by 690%. The reduction of deforestation, fires and expansion of areas protected by law are measures that positively impact the BC of the studied biomes. This methodology can be used as an environmental quality indicator as it adheres to the principles of Sustainable Development.

Research on Foreign Trade of Guangdong Province Based on the Emergy Ecological Footprint

In order to understand whether Guangdong's foreign trade is coordinated with ecological environment, we use the emergy ecological footprint model to analyze the current status of emergy ecological footprint of Guangdong's foreign trade which is divided into biological resource account, energy account, and industrial products account from the year 2008 to 2018. The results show the trade of biological resources account and energy account are ecological reserve and the trade of industrial products is ecological deficit, which means the trade is coordinated with ecological environment in biological resources account and energy account and is not coordinated with ecological environment in industrial products accounts .We also propose that the coordinated development of Guangdong’s foreign trade and the ecological environment needs to focus on the protection of cropland, grazing land, forest land, fishing ground, the improvement of energy efficiency, increasing investment in high-tech research and development, strengthen the pollution control and other aspects

Sustainability assessment of urban residential consumption in China megacity

Sustainability is enduring unprecedented challenges, driven by exponential population growth and people’s ever-growing need for a better life. These increasing material and cultural needs have limited human's capability to protect ecosystems. Sustainability assessment is widely used as an effective tool to evaluate current state and propose target measure adjustment. This study constructs a series of indicators on sustainability assessment of urban residential consumption by using emergy ecological footprint method. It is applied to 17 Chinese megacities sustainability assessment of urban residential consumption from 2007 to 2016. The results showed that ecological deficit mainly exists in Jing-Jin-Ji, Yangtze River Delta region and Pearl River Delta region with developed economy. This study divided 17 megacities into four categories, including Shanghai type, Chongqing type, Suzhou type and Xian type, to help government make appropriate policies based on the local conditions.

Assessing environmental performance of eco-industrial development in industrial parks

While driving the regional economy, industrial parks also pose great threats to natural environment due to large quantities of resource consumption and intensive pollutants emissions. Eco-industrial development, including cleaner production, bioproducts or waste interchange, and infrastructure sharing, is key to improving the parks’ environmental quality and sustainability. However, how to measure the performance of eco-industrial development is an essential and hard work since the material and energy flows are complex and cannot be compared in various units. The water and non-renewable resources which are very vital materials to sustain industrial activities in the industrial parks were rarely considered in the previous traditional ecological footprint analysis. Therefore, our research depicts a real picture of all the resources including water and non-renewable resources to illustrate the actual environmental impact of a national high technology industrial development zone-Jiangyin high technology Park, using energy based ecological footprint method. Results show that the emergy-ecological footprint deficit and emergy-ecological footprint intensity of the study park decreased by 16.75% and 16.74% due to the implementation of eco-industrial development. In detail, minerals made the largest reduction, 2.00E + 2 ha/capita, followed by fossil fuels with a reduction of 1.01E + 2 ha/capita, and the resources from cropland and pasture did not make a contribution in reducing emergy ecological footprint. Policy implications such as further replenishing and improving the ecological industry chains are proposed based on this survey. This study provides a basis to improve the environmental management and performance of industrial parks.

An empirical analysis of dynamic changes in ecological sustainability and its relationship with urbanization in a coastal city: The case of Xiamen in China

Many coastal cities have undergone a surge of rapid industrialization and urbanization leading to severe eco-environmental issues. Thus, establishing a systematic and scientific ecological sustainability assessment framework and ecological governance system is crucially important for coastal zone to achieve sustainable development. This study used a modified emergy-ecological footprint approach and a set of ecological sustainability evaluation indicators to comprehensively evaluate the ecological sustainability from 2000 to 2017 of Xiamen, a typical coastal city in China. Its results show that Xiamen changed from having an ecological surplus in 2008 to an ecological deficit in 2009, indicating that its demand for resources began to exceed the ecosystem threshold value in 2009. Besides, the results of the ecological sustainability analysis indicate that the ecological sustainability of Xiamen was gradually weakening due to increasing pressure on ecosystem health. We also measured four aspects of Xiamen’s urbanization level—demographic, economic, social and spatial—to investigate their relationship with ecological sustainability. These results indicate that, for Xiamen, demographic urbanization is the essential determinant of the urbanization system’s correlation relationship with ecological sustainability and it thus is the key indicator to be considered when making policy to guarantee ecological balance and sustainable development. Additionally, the relationships between the four different aspects of urbanization and ecological sustainability are all an exhibit inverse U-shaped curve during the study period. Finally, effective measures were proposed in consideration of the research findings. The results hold profound significance for the Xiamen’s sustainable development, as well as for other coastal zones with similar characteristics.

Emergy-based ecological footprint analysis of a wind farm in China

Wind power generation has always been considered as clean energy, according with national ecological civilization construction and responding to climate change. However, from the perspective of resource conservation, wind farms directly or indirectly occupy a large amount of land resources along the entire life cycle. Based on the emergy analysis, this paper estimates the ecological footprint of a wind farm in Dalian, evaluates its sustainability, and analyzes the ecological footprint of the four phases which include wind turbines production and transportation, construction, operation and maintenance, and demolition during the life cycle of the wind farm. It was concluded that the emergy carrying capacity of the wind farm was 3879.57 hm2/a, and the emergy ecological footprint was 5117.59 hm2/a. The wind farm was in an ecological deficit. Among the four phases, the ecological footprint of construction was the largest (60.93%), wind turbines production and transportation phase (33.77%) took the second, followed by operation and maintenance (4.59%) and demolition (0.71%). The main contribution of the materials was steel, followed by concrete, ecological protection investment, fiber glass, land occupation and epoxy resin. Finally, in order to illustrate the way to achieve sustainable development of the wind farm, uncertainty analysis and scenario analysis were carried out. It was found that when 62% of the recycled materials were used for wind turbines production, the wind farm realized ecological balance. Reducing the solar transformity (UEV) of steel and concrete can also decrease the ecological footprint of the wind farm.

基于能值生态足迹的长山群岛人地关系分析

基于能值生态足迹的长山群岛人地关系分析

The Dynamic Analysis and Comparison of Emergy Ecological Footprint for the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau: A Case Study of Qinghai Province and Tibet

The Qinghai–Tibet Plateau is experiencing rapid urbanization and ecological degradation, which have led to unsustainable development. It is urgent to conduct a scientifically rigorous study to evaluate its sustainability. Emergy ecological footprint (EEF) is a new modification of ecological footprint based on ecological thermodynamics. This study applied a modified EEF model and three indicators to analyze the sustainability using data collected from Tibet and Qinghai Province during 1995 to 2014. The grey model (GM) was applied to simulate and predict the ecological status of Qinghai and Tibet. Results showed that: (1) the emergy ecological footprint and ecological deficit of Qinghai province increased in general from 1995 to 2014, while Tibet was still sustainable during this period despite the fact that its ecological surplus decreased; (2) the three sustainability indicators indicate that Qinghai and Tibet are moving away from sustainability; (3) the ecological deficit of Qinghai will keep increasing and the ecological surplus of Tibet will keep decreasing from 2015 to 2024. Finally, several suggestions were proposed to protect the local environment and restore ecological functions in these regions.

Evaluation and analysis of ecological security in arid areas of Central Asia based on the emergy ecological footprint (EEF) model

Though well-positioned geographically to benefit from China's Silk Road Economic Belt initiative, Central Asia nevertheless suffers from a fragile ecological environment. Therefore, it is crucially important for the five Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to achieve sustainable development of their respective social economies and ecological environments through the evaluation of their ecological security. This paper applies the modified emergy ecological footprint (EEF) model to optimize the traditional ecological footprint model by analyzing and evaluating the ecological security of Central Asia during the time frame of 1992–2014. The paper will also use the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model to forecast changes which might occur during 2020–2025. The results indicate that the EEF mainly decreased from 1992 to 1998 but then gradually increased from 1999 onwards, with Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan showing the largest change rates of 3.93% and 2.77%, respectively, from 1999 to 2014. The highest EEF occurred in Turkmenistan (20.27 hm2/cap), followed by Kazakhstan (19.19 hm2/cap), with Tajikistan registering the lowest (2.96 hm2/cap). In Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, fossil energy consumption footprints contributed the most to total EEFs, at 38.34%, 57.06% and 46.52%, respectively, while grassland (51.52%) and building land (50.49%) contributed the most to Kyrgyzstan's and Tajikistan's total EEFs, respectively. The emergy ecological carrying capacity (EEC) largely decreased in all five Central Asian countries, with the largest decrease occurring in Turkmenistan at annual average change rates of −1.93%. The highest EEC was in Kazakhstan (30.36 hm2/cap), followed by Turkmenistan (15.85 hm2/cap), while the lowest occurred in Uzbekistan (2.86 hm2/cap). Additionally, during the period under study, the ecological surpluses and deficits in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were 11.18, 2.21, 2.04, −4.42 and −7.57 hm2/cap, respectively, with the largest ecological deficit occurring in Uzbekistan. There was also a persistent rise in ecological pressure in all five countries, especially in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Furthermore, the ARIMA model forecasts that Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan will change from ecological surpluses to ecological deficits from 2020 onwards, and that the ecological pressure grades for these countries will rise to level 3 (relatively unsafe). Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are forecast to be at level 1 (at risk). The significance of this research is optimizing the ecological footprint model and applying it in Central Asia for the first time. The work also quantitatively investigates Central Asia's ecological footprint and ecological carrying capacity on both a national and regional basis and evaluates the ecological security of each country. Overall, this research not only provides guidance for decision-makers to develop sustainable strategies in Central Asia, but also serves as a scientific reference for other arid regions to pursue ecological security and sustainable development.

Henan Ecological Security Evaluation Using Improved 3D Ecological Footprint Model Based on Emergy and Net Primary Productivity

The ecological footprint (EF) model is an effective tool for determining whether natural assets are over-utilized. The traditional EF (TEF) model and its improved model which include the emergy ecological footprint (EEF) and net primary productivity ecological footprint (NPPEF) have been widely used, but some emergy data are hard to obtain and NPP data is not stable. Therefore, in this paper, a novel three-dimensional (3D) EF model with emergy and net primary productivity (3DEF-ENPP) is proposed. The Henan province of China was chosen as the research area and commonly used statistical yearbook data and NPP data were used which are easy to obtain. We expanded a 2D EF model to a 3D EF model and took advantage of emergy analysis and net primary productivity because they have stable energy parameters, can reflect the difference in bioproductivity of different land types, and are suitable for spatial and temporal analysis. Based on our model, we obtained a rectified emergy-based ecological footprint (REEF), an ecological capacity based on net primary productivity (RNPPEC), a rectified ecological deficit (RED), an ecological footprint intensity (EFI), an ecological coordination coefficient, and a 3D-EF, which can comprehensively reflect Henan’s ecological security status. The results show that: (1) The REEF and RNPPED obtained by our proposed model are more stable than those of the former method. (2) Henan’s RED has been negative and has a downward trend, which indicates the burden of human activities on the natural environment are becoming increasingly serious. (3) The EF is increasing with time, indicating that the consumption of natural resources in Henan is gradually increasing. High EF regions are mainly distributed in the northwestern area. Southeastern regions have relatively low EFs. (4) Capital flows cannot meet the needs of current social development in Henan province and it is in a state of unsustainable development. (5) The ecological stress index is at a safe state but is still at an ecological security warning level and Henan has good ecological coordination.

能值生态足迹模型的改进——以海南为例

能值生态足迹模型的改进——以海南为例

Emergy-based ecological footprint analysis for a mega-city: The dynamic changes of Shanghai

To move towards sustainable urban development, interactions between economic and ecological systems should be further investigated due to their coupled relations. In this study, we propose an emergy-based ecological footprint (EEF) analysis framework. Shanghai was selected as a case study city to see its dynamic changes from 2007 to 2016. The results show that Shanghai had a large ecological deficit, an extremely high ecological footprint intensity and a poor coordination relationship between its ecological system and its economic system, indicating a great ecological challenge that it is facing. The uneven distribution of its emergy ecological footprint is mainly due to the large share of fossil fuels land type. But with the city's great efforts, the overall ecological pressure has been reduced and the coordination relationship has also been improved, while the local economy is still booming. Pearson correlation analysis further indicates that the city's policy on developing tertiary industry has resulted in a positive effect on improving the coordinating relationship. The ratio between the output value of heavy industry and gross industrial output value has the most negative correlation with the coordinating relationship. Finally, policy recommendations are raised by considering the local realities. These recommendations can also provide valuable insights to other megacities with similar challenges.

Quantitative analysis of the dynamic changes of ecological security in the provinces of China through emergy-ecological footprint hybrid indicators

Abstract Historical evaluation and future projection of ecological security have become increasingly important during the past decades. In this study, we establish a framework on historical evaluation and future projection of ecological security. In particular, historical ecological security evaluation based on emergy-ecological footprint, ecological security projection based on emergy-grey model and an emergy-based evaluation indicator system. This framework is applied to China's provincial ecological security evaluation during 2006–2015. In parallel, a potential projection in the future 100 years for the same area is performed. Results show that (1) Ecological deficit exists in economically developed regions, with more developed and relatively concentrated industrial production in the local; (2) Most of China's western provinces are secure, while mid-eastern China provinces are less secure, with the exception of Tianjin (slightly insecure) and Shanghai (extremely insecure). Most of the “two-screens, three-belts” regions are secure or less secure; (3) fossil fuels are the main contributors to the emergy-ecological footprint. (4) Ecological coordination and diversity index cannot entirely reflect ecological security; (5) Based on the present knowledge, in the coming 100 years ecological security might get worse in 10 provinces: Shanxi, Shaanxi, Tianjin, Inner Mongolia, Anhui, Hainan, Yunnan, Qinghai, Ningxia and Xinjiang. Policy recommendations are, then, raised to improve China's ecological security state.

沿海快速城市化地区能值生态足迹变化分析

PDF HTML阅读 XML下载 导出引用 引用提醒 沿海快速城市化地区能值生态足迹变化分析 DOI: 10.5846/stxb201803010409 作者: 作者单位: 中国科学院城市环境研究所,四川师范大学,四川师范大学,中国科学院生态环境研究中心,中国科学院城市环境研究所 作者简介: 通讯作者: 中图分类号: 基金项目: 国家自然科学基金项目（41501602） Analysis of emergy ecological footprint change of coastal rapid urbanization areas Author: Affiliation: Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences,,,,Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences Fund Project: 摘要 | 图/表 | 访问统计 | 参考文献 | 相似文献 | 引证文献 | 资源附件 | 文章评论 摘要:当前我国经济的快速发展和生态环境之间的矛盾日益显著，不利于城市可持续发展。生态足迹目前已成为普遍接受的可持续发展指标，选定生态足迹改进方法——能值生态足迹模型，以城市化地区厦门市为研究区进行计算分析，以期发现快速城市化过程中可能面对的问题。首次计算分析了厦门市1980年至2010年的能值生态足迹动态变化，并对其可持续发展进行了评价。结果表明，30年间厦门市人均生态足迹需求从1980年的8.6 ghm2持续增长至2010年的52.8 ghm2，而供给方面的人均生态承载力却从1980年的181.2 ghm2持续下降为47.5 ghm2，2009、2010年该市由生态盈余转为生态赤字。同时，从生态足迹组分及其比例来看，30年间化石燃料用地和建设用地的生态足迹增长迅速，二者对厦门市人均能值生态足迹变化贡献最大，并且成为2000年后总体足迹中所占比例最大的组分，各自占比超过20%。结果分析显示，厦门市开始面临逐渐加重的生态环境压力，需要开始重视其可持续发展。因此调整厦门市的产业结构和控制城市化发展非常必要。一方面，应该降低第二产业的比例，降低对化石能源的使用，同时促进第三产业的发展和第一产业的现代化，以此为城市提供更多的资源供给并降低资源需求，特别是化石能源的需求。 Abstract:At present, the contradiction between the rapid development of the economy and the ecological environment is becoming more obvious in China and is not conducive to sustainable urban development. An ecological footprint is generally accepted as an indicator of sustainable development. We aimed to find possible problems due to rapid urbanization in Xiamen City by selecting an improved ecological footprint method, the emergy ecological footprint model (EEF). We analyzed the change in the emergy ecological footprint from 1980 to 2010 and evaluated sustainable development. Over 30 years in Xiamen City, the per capita EEF demand increased from 8.6 ghm2 in 1980 to 52.8 ghm2 in 2010, while the per capita emergy bio-capacity decreased from 181.2 ghm2 in 1980 to 47.5 ghm2 in 2010. In 2009 and 2010, Xiamen's ecological reserve changed to an ecological deficit. At the same time, the ecological footprint of fossil fuels and the construction on land rapidly increased over 30 years. These two make the greatest contribution to the ecological footprint per capita in Xiamen City, which had the largest proportion after year 2000, and each of them accounted for more than 20%. The analysis showed that Xiamen city is increasing the pressure on the ecological environment, and it is important to focus on sustainable development. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust industrial structures and control urbanization in Xiamen. It is important to reduce the proportion of fossil fuels consumed by secondary industries, as well as to ensure the supply of resources and reduce the demand and consumption of resources, especially the demand for fossil energy. Xiamen should promote the development of tertiary industries and the modernization of primary industries. 参考文献 相似文献 引证文献

Sustainability evaluation based on the emergy ecological footprint method: A case study of Qingdao, China, from 2004 to 2014

Urban sustainable development is important for addressing the urgent pressure of ecological transformation in China. This study used an improved emergy ecological footprint method and four indexes to evaluate the sustainability of the complex eco-economic system in Qingdao from 2004 to 2014 by determining the area’s emergy carrying capacity and emergy ecological footprint. The results show that Qingdao’s per-capita emergy carrying capacity decreased from 12.4305hm2/cap in 2004–11.3295hm2/cap in 2014, with a decrease rate of 0.840%. In contrast, the emergy ecological footprint per capita increased rapidly from 3.0609hm2/cap in 2004–25.4010hm2/cap in 2014, with an increase rate of 21.212%. Thus, the ecological overload increased over time. Qingdao experienced an expanding emergy ecological deficit beginning in 2009. Furthermore, the four sustainability evaluation indexes together indicate that Qingdao was drifting away from sustainability. Moreover, relevant socioeconomic factors were investigated using Pearson correlation analysis, and the results indicate that the largest correlation coefficient exists between the ratio of the output value of tertiary industry to gross regional domestic product and the per-capita emergy ecological footprint. Therefore, adjusting the energy consumption structure, decreasing dependence on non-renewable energy, increasing the diversity of bioproductive land types and developing high-level tertiary industries are conducive to promoting Qingdao’s sustainability. Additionally, the results provide a scientific reference and decision-making basis for regional sustainable development.

Evaluation and Analysis of Eco-Security in Environmentally Sensitive Areas Using an Emergy Ecological Footprint.

In this paper, the overall ecological and environmental sustainability in the Cing-Jing region in Taiwan is examined. As land use and cover change has been found to be an important analysis method, an emergy ecological footprint model was applied and the eco-security assessed to ensure authorities maintain a balance between ecological preservation and tourism development. While the ecological environment in the Cing-Jing region from 2008 to 2014 was found to be within safe levels, all related indices had increased considerably. A Grey model was used to predict the 2015–2024 ecological carrying capacities, from which it was found that there is expected to be a large increase in per capita ecological footprints (EFs), meaning that in the future there is going to be a larger ecological deficit and a higher ecological pressure index (EFI), with the eco-security predicted to reach a Grade 2 intermediate level in 2022. As the Cing-Jing region is predicted to become ecologically unsustainable, local, regional, and national governments need to implement regulations to strictly control the land use in the Cing-Jing region. This study demonstrated that emergy EF (EEF) theory application can give objective guidance to decision-makers to ensure that recreational non-urban eco-security can be maintained at a safe level.

东北老工业区生态安全动态演变过程及驱动力

PDF HTML阅读 XML下载 导出引用 引用提醒 东北老工业区生态安全动态演变过程及驱动力 DOI: 10.5846/stxb201609101837 作者: 作者单位: 作者简介: 通讯作者: 中图分类号: 基金项目: 国家自然科学基金（41471116，71303230）；中国科学院青年创新促进会（2016181）；辽宁省自然科学基金（201602743，20170540898）；辽宁省博士科研启动基金（201501037）；四川省社会科学重点研究基地——四川循环经济研究中心项目（XHJJ-1505，XHJJ-1611） Dynamic evolution and driving forces of ecological security in the Traditional Industrial Area of northeastern China Author: Affiliation: Fund Project: 摘要 | 图/表 | 访问统计 | 参考文献 | 相似文献 | 引证文献 | 资源附件 | 文章评论 摘要:生态安全与国防安全、经济安全、金融安全等已具有同等重要的战略地位，并成为未来经济社会安全的主要约束。东北老工业区作为我国重要的老工业基地及粮食生产基地，其生态安全状况关系着中国可持续发展战略的实施。采用能值-生态足迹模型，对东北老工业区2000-2014年生态安全动态演变过程进行时间序列的定量分析，并采用主成分分析方法分析其驱动力。结果表明：研究期内，人均能值生态承载力从0.66 hm2/人下降到0.64 hm2/人，人均能值生态足迹由10.58 hm2/人增加到19.85 hm2/人，处于生态赤字状态，且赤字增大趋势明显；生态压力指数与生态安全等级均不断增大，生态安全状况呈恶化趋势，生态安全问题亟待解决，而这是由社会经济、人口状况、资源环境、技术水平及土地利用程度等因素共同驱动的结果。最后，提出了改善东北老工业区生态安全状况的对策建议。 Abstract:Ecological security is as important as national, economic, and financial security and has become the main constraint of future socio-economic security. The Traditional Industrial Area of northeastern China is an important traditional industrial and grain production base of China, and its ecological security is related to the implementation of sustainable development strategies. Based on the emergy-ecological footprint model, the ecological security in Traditional Industrial Area of northeastern China was quantitatively evaluated from 2000 to 2014, followed by a scenario analysis on the driving forces of the ecological security using a principal component analysis method. The results showed that, the value of emergy ecological-capacity per capita decreased from 0.66 to 0.64 hm2/cap, whereas the emergy-ecological footprint increased from 10.58 to 19.85 hm2/cap, which indicated that an ecological deficit existed in the Traditional Industrial Area of northeastern China. The ecological pressure in this area increased, showing an unsustainable development trend from 2000 to 2014. The ecological pressure index and ecological security levels gradually increasing, ecological security situation is deteriorating, ecological security issues to be urgent resolved. The ecological stress tended to be serious as a result of a combination of several factors, such as social, economic, population, resource, environmental, technological level, and land use degree. Finally, effective management strategies and suggestions to improve the ecological security of the Traditional Industrial Area of northeastern China were proposed. 参考文献 相似文献 引证文献

An integrated data envelopment analysis and emergy-based ecological footprint methodology in evaluating sustainable development, a case study of Jiangsu Province, China

Many cities are experiencing rapid urbanization and ecological degradation, which has resulted in unsustainable development. It is essential to conduct a scientifically rigorous method to assess the regional sustainability. Among many indicators, eco-efficiency could be an effective instrument to promote a transformation towards sustainability. This study applied the emergy ecological footprint analysis and data envelopment analysis to evaluate the eco-efficiency using data collected from 1993 to 2012 for Jiangsu Province, China. The results showed that Jiangsu’s emergy ecological footprint and ecological deficit experienced an ascending trend in general during the period 1993–2012, indicating that the regional development of Jiangsu has been moving away from sustainability for a long time. In six types of biologically productive areas, fossil land and arable were the major parts of emergy ecological footprint. Furthermore, the growth of green gross domestic product was only about 52% of the conventional gross domestic product, and the pollutants emission, energy and resources consumption increased yearly as the gross domestic product increased. Finally, the result of the data envelopment analysis model showed that the effective years only accounted for 20% during the 20 years. In the inefficient years, biological resources, energy resources, pollutant emission (wastewater, gas and solid) and labor were overmuch, and the efficiency of fund usage achieved the optimal in Jiangsu Province. Therefore, improving the level of agricultural modernization, increasing the proportion of non-fossil energy, developing renewable energy and reducing pollutant emission are recommended to promote the regional sustainability.

An emergy-ecological footprint model based evaluation of ecological security at the old industrial area in Northeast China: A case study of Liaoning Province.

Based on the integrated model of emergy-ecological footprint approaches, the ecological security of Liaoning Province, a typical case for the old industrial area, was quantitatively evaluated from 2003 to 2012, followed by a scenario analysis on the development trend of the ecological secu-rity by employing the gray kinetic model. The results showed that, from 2003 to 2012, the value of emergy ecological-capacity per capita in Liaoning Province decreased from 3.13 hm2 to 3.07 hm2, while the emergy-ecological footprint increased from 13.88 hm2 to 21.96 hm2, which indicated that the ecological deficit existed in Liaoning Province and the situation was getting worse. The ecological pressure index increased from 4.43 to 7.16 during the studied period, and the alert level of ecological security changed from light to middle level. According to the development trend, the emergy ecological capacity per capita during 2013-2022 would correspondingly decrease from 3.04 hm2 to 2.98 hm2, while the emergy ecological footprint would increase from 22.72 hm2 to 35.87 hm2, the ecological pressure index would increase from 7.46 to 12.04, and the ecological deficit would keep increasing and the ecological security level would slide into slightly unsafe condition. The alert level of ecological security would turn to be middle or serious, suggesting the problems in ecological safety needed to be solved urgently.

Emergy-Ecological Footprint Hybrid Method Analysis of Industrial Parks Using a Geographical and Regional Perspective

Over the past 30 years of rapid development, industrial parks have been an important sustained resource for economic development in China. However, due to economic yield-oriented policy and deficient scientific planning, excessive resource consumption and environmental pollution caused by industrial activities in industrial parks has led to ecological degradation and loss in the local areas. To respond to this issue, many researchers have focused on studying the overall efficiency of industrial parks from the perspective of metabolism of material and energy and have proposed some methods such as life cycle assessment, system of environmental economic accounting (SEEA), material flow analysis, and emergy synthesis, which indeed have improved the methods of evaluating industrial activities shift from only an economic perspective to a more comprehensive direction. However, these approaches have only focused on the efficiency of industrial activities while ignoring ecological conditions of the local areas. This article addressed this issue by proposing an emergy-ecological footprint hybrid model to show how this method could be applied to demonstrate both the energy metabolism of industrial parks' activities and ecological capacity of the local areas. We took the Shenyang economic technological development area (SETDA) and the Fuzhou Qingkou investment zone (FZQKIZ) as case studies to validate this method. Results showed that although the environmental burden of SETDA was heavier than FZQKIZ, the ecological capacity of surplus for SETDA was also stronger than FZQKIZ, which caused ecological surplus of SETDA compared with FZQKIZ. This study indicated that we should pay more attention to ecological capacity of the local areas surrounding industrial parks rather than only focusing on environmental impacts caused by industrial activities.