从系统到景观:区域物质流分析的景观取向

物质流过程是考察系统属性的重要维度。区域物质流分析在研究框架、指标体系、数据集成、管理应用等方面的发展困境,都不同程度地反映了"黑箱假设"以及"系统隐喻"等产业生态学理论的应用局限性。基于整合复杂性科学、广义进化论的生态学组织层次理论,对区域物质流分析开展理论探讨,指出应在原有的"系统"思维之外引入"景观"概念,以拓展区域物质流分析的空间与认知维度。基于"从系统到景观"的理念,将景观生态学原理引入区域物质流分析,建构区域物质流分析的景观取向,并从空间结构与认知图式两个方面对这一取向的核心涵义做以解读。结合区域物质流分析的最新研究案例,从多尺度MFA的综合研究框架、物质流动过程的时空集成研究、物质流动过程的空间行为管理等几个方面,对区域物质流分析的景观取向做了进一步探讨。

From system to landscape: the other orientation of regional material flow analysis

Material flow analysis (MFA) is an objective, quantifiable and concise tool for system assessment. As the core content of industrial ecology, it includes bulk-MFA and substance flow analysis (SFA), has been widely applied in different environmental-economic systems at global-level, nation-level, region-level and city-level, and developed into a significant tool in quantifying circular economy, eco-efficiency, low-carbon society and other concepts of sustainable development. In recent years, as MFA at the nation-level come to be a standard research method on the basis of studies carried by World Resources Institute and European Commission, research importance of MFA at smaller scale highlights, and studies of material flow, metabolism and resource flow at regional level become the focus and hotspots of MFA. Based on analysis of existing studies, current status of regional MFA is briefly reviewed from perspectives of research framework, indicator system, data integration and management application, and "black box hypothesis" and "systematic metaphor" turned out to be the theoretical root of current difficulty of regional MFA. Based on levels of organization integrated with complexity science and grand evolutionary theory, metaphor of "ecosystem" in industrial ecology as well as regional MFA is generally analyzed, and the necessity of introduction of "landscape" into regional MFA is raised to improve the spatial and cognitive dimension of regional MFA. From "system" to "landscape" ,landscape ecology principles are introduced in the regional MFA, contributions of landscape ecology in regional MFA are generalized in 6 tenets: 1) emphasizing the structural difference between natural ecosystem and socio-economic system, and providing a hierarchical and integrative ecological basis; 2) the landscape (or region) as a basic spatial unit for studying human-nature interactions, providing a holistic approaches to socio-ecological systems; 3) combine "flow" in MFA with "source" and "sink" in landscape, combine "stock or reservoir" with "patch", and "flow or flux" with "corridor", and transfer "material flow in system" into "material flow in space"; 4) developing material flow observation, investigation and experiment in landscape, combine subjective and objective data in a mechanistic method; 5) combine material flow of great amount with patch dynamic and assess the environmental impact based on spatial variation; 6) combine MFA with other tools of sustainability assessment like ecological footprint and sustainable livelihood, and providing implications for regional management. Based on "Patch-Corridor-Matrix Model", "patch dynamics", "Hierarchy theory", as well as the "Hierarchical Patch Dynamic Paradigm (HPDP)", spatial structure of regional material flow process is established and interpreted. Meanwhile, cognitive schemata of regional material flow process is analyzed and compared from psychological and logical perspectives. For further interpretation of the landscape orientation of regional MFA, multi-scale integrated assessment of material flow analysis, spatial-temporal modeling of material flow process and spatial management of material flow process are discussed deeply. At the end of this paper, regional MFA is further considered from a perspective of interdisciplinary, it concludes that rather than reflects the competition between ecosystem ecology and landscape ecology, paradigm shift from system to landscape of regional MFA solidifies the theoretical basis of MFA, and expands the research field of landscape ecology.