IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecomod/v315y2015icp12-27.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Emergy evaluation of hierarchically nested systems: application to EU27, Italy and Tuscany and consequences for the meaning of emergy indicators

Author

Listed:
  • Morandi, Fabiana
  • Campbell, Daniel E.
  • Pulselli, Federico M.
  • Bastianoni, Simone

Abstract

What is the role of a system's size in an emergy evaluation, when we have to evaluate nested systems? To answer this question, we consider a simple nested system with three levels of organization and then examine the relationships among the emergy flows at each level and among the indicators derived from these flows. As an example of nested systems with three levels of organization, we consider a nested territorial system that is European Union–Italy–Tuscany. In particular, this system is analyzed as Italy within the European Union and Tuscany within Italy. The emergy evaluation of each hierarchical pair of system levels is presented using a new method based on set theory and, moreover, each level is analyzed as an independent system. This “double analysis” is necessary because the emergy indicators obtained for each level, are analyzed and compared to show the differences that appear when the system under study is considered as part of the larger system that contains it. In this work, data analysis shows that the set of imported flows changes its cardinality when changing the level in the hierarchically organization. In particular, with respect to EU27 and Italy, it emerges that Tuscany has a very high Environmental Loading Ratio (ELR), while EU27 has the lower value both for the Emergy Investment Ratio (EIR) and for the Emergy Yeld Ratio (EYR). It means that in Tuscany there is a big pressure on ecosystems from non-renewable flows while, in general, the EU27 might be a good place for future economic investments.

Suggested Citation

  • Morandi, Fabiana & Campbell, Daniel E. & Pulselli, Federico M. & Bastianoni, Simone, 2015. "Emergy evaluation of hierarchically nested systems: application to EU27, Italy and Tuscany and consequences for the meaning of emergy indicators," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 315(C), pages 12-27.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:315:y:2015:i:c:p:12-27
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.04.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304380015001313
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.04.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Morandi, Fabiana & Campbell, Daniel E. & Bastianoni, Simone, 2014. "Set theory applied to uniquely define the inputs to territorial systems in emergy analyses," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 271(C), pages 149-157.
    2. Bastianoni, Simone & Morandi, Fabiana & Flaminio, Tommaso & Pulselli, Riccardo M. & Tiezzi, Elisa B.P., 2011. "Emergy and emergy algebra explained by means of ingenuous set theory," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 222(16), pages 2903-2907.
    3. Brown, M. T. & Herendeen, R. A., 1996. "Embodied energy analysis and EMERGY analysis: a comparative view," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 219-235, December.
    4. Morandi, Fabiana & Campbell, Daniel E. & Pulselli, Riccardo M. & Bastianoni, Simone, 2013. "Using the language of sets to describe nested systems in emergy evaluations," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 265(C), pages 85-98.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Berrios, Fernando & Campbell, Daniel E. & Ortiz, Marco, 2017. "Emergy evaluation of benthic ecosystems influenced by upwelling in northern Chile: Contributions of the ecosystems to the regional economy," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 359(C), pages 146-164.
    2. Fonseca, Ana Margarida P. & Marques, Carlos A.F. & Pinto-Correia, Teresa & Guiomar, Nuno & Campbell, Daniel E., 2019. "Emergy evaluation for decision-making in complex multifunctional farming systems," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 1-12.
    3. Yu, Xiaoman & Geng, Yong & Dong, Huijuan & Ulgiati, Sergio & Liu, Zhe & Liu, Zuoxi & Ma, Zhixiao & Tian, Xu & Sun, Lu, 2016. "Sustainability assessment of one industrial region: A combined method of emergy analysis and IPAT (Human Impact Population Affluence Technology)," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 818-830.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Saladini, Fabrizio & Patrizi, Nicoletta & Pulselli, Federico M. & Marchettini, Nadia & Bastianoni, Simone, 2016. "Guidelines for emergy evaluation of first, second and third generation biofuels," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 221-227.
    2. Zarbá, Lucía & Brown, Mark T., 2015. "Cycling emergy: computing emergy in trophic networks," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 315(C), pages 37-45.
    3. Agostinho, Feni & Almeida, Cecília M.V.B. & Bonilla, Silvia H. & Sacomano, José B. & Giannetti, Biagio F., 2013. "Urban solid waste plant treatment in Brazil: Is there a net emergy yield on the recovered materials?," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 143-155.
    4. Wang, Xiaolong & Li, Zhejin & Long, Pan & Yan, Lingling & Gao, Wangsheng & Chen, Yuanquan & Sui, Peng, 2017. "Sustainability evaluation of recycling in agricultural systems by emergy accounting," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 117(PB), pages 114-124.
    5. Le Corre, O. & Truffet, L., 2015. "Emergy paths computation from interconnected energy system diagram," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 313(C), pages 181-200.
    6. Patterson, Murray, 2014. "Evaluation of matrix algebra methods for calculating transformities from ecological and economic network data," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 271(C), pages 72-82.
    7. Amaral, Luís P. & Martins, Nélson & Gouveia, Joaquim B., 2016. "A review of emergy theory, its application and latest developments," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 882-888.
    8. Le Corre, O. & Truffet, L. & Lahlou, C., 2015. "Odum–Tennenbaum–Brown calculus vs emergy and co-emergy analysis," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 302(C), pages 9-12.
    9. Le Corre, O. & Truffet, L., 2012. "Exact computation of emergy based on a mathematical reinterpretation of the rules of emergy algebra," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 101-113.
    10. Coscieme, Luca & Pulselli, Federico M. & Marchettini, Nadia & Sutton, Paul C. & Anderson, Sharolyn & Sweeney, Sharlynn, 2014. "Emergy and ecosystem services: A national biogeographical assessment," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 7(C), pages 152-159.
    11. Lugaric, Luka & Krajcar, Slavko, 2016. "Transforming cities towards sustainable low-carbon energy systems using emergy synthesis for support in decision making," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 471-482.
    12. Marvuglia, Antonino & Benetto, Enrico & Rios, Gordon & Rugani, Benedetto, 2013. "SCALE: Software for CALculating Emergy based on life cycle inventories," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 248(C), pages 80-91.
    13. Kamp, Andreas & Østergård, Hanne, 2013. "How to manage co-product inputs in emergy accounting exemplified by willow production for bioenergy," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 253(C), pages 70-78.
    14. Seghetta, Michele & Østergård, Hanne & Bastianoni, Simone, 2014. "Energy analysis of using macroalgae from eutrophic waters as a bioethanol feedstock," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 288(C), pages 25-37.
    15. Mayumi, Kozo & Tanikawa, Hiroki, 2012. "Going beyond energy accounting for sustainability: Energy, fund elements and the economic process," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 18-26.
    16. Giannantoni, Corrado, 2009. "Ordinal benefits vs economic benefits as a reference guide for policy decision making. The case of hydrogen technologies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(12), pages 2230-2239.
    17. Lixiao Zhang & Qiuhong Hu & Fan Zhang, 2014. "Input-Output Modeling for Urban Energy Consumption in Beijing: Dynamics and Comparison," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(3), pages 1-11, March.
    18. Haoran Wang & Toshiyuki Fujita, 2023. "A Review of Research on Embodied Carbon in International Trade," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-15, May.
    19. Arbault, Damien & Rugani, Benedetto & Tiruta-Barna, Ligia & Benetto, Enrico, 2014. "A first global and spatially explicit emergy database of rivers and streams based on high-resolution GIS-maps," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 281(C), pages 52-64.
    20. Puca, Antonio & Carrano, Marco & Liu, Gengyuan & Musella, Dimitri & Ripa, Maddalena & Viglia, Silvio & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2017. "Energy and eMergy assessment of the production and operation of a personal computer," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 124-136.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Hierarchical emergy evaluation; Set theory; EU27; Italy; Tuscany;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:315:y:2015:i:c:p:12-27. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/ecological-modelling .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.