Assessing Socioeconomic Metabolism Through Hybrid Life Cycle Assessment

This article applies a combined input−output and life cycle inventory (LCI) method to the calculation of emissions and material requirements of the Czech economy in 2003. The main focus is on materials and emissions embodied in the international trade of the Czech Republic. Emissions and material extraction avoided due to imports are calculated according to an input−output approach that assumes the same production technology for imports as for domestic production. Because not all products are provided by the domestic economy, the LCI data are incorporated into the monetary input−output model.
The results show that incorporating the LCI data into an input−output model is reasonable. The emissions embodied in the international trade of the Czech Republic are comparable to the domestic emissions. We compare the economy-wide material flow indicators, such as direct material input, domestic material consumption, and physical trade balance, to their raw material equivalents. The results of our calculation show that the Czech Republic exerts environmental pressure on the environment in other countries through international trade.
We argue that raw material equivalents should be used to express the flows across national boundaries. Furthermore, we recommend a raw material consumption indicator for international comparisons.     

Modern forest entomology: Directions of research, problems, and prospects

Based on analysis of publications, the principal directions of research carried out in the field of forest entomology in Russia and abroad are considered. Most of the foreign papers are published by entomologists from the USA (27%), Sweden (14%), Canada (12%), and Finland (8%), many studies are carried out by international research teams. In all, the publications considered cover over 90 species of forest insects (excluding predators and parasites) that may act as more or less important forest pests. Most of the papers are devoted to species of great economic significance. Most effort in entomological studies carried out in Russia is focused on the role of phytophagous insects in forest ecosystems, their population dynamics and the factors of its regulation, and ecology of selected pest species. In the studies carried out abroad, much more attention is paid to physiology of insects, the problems of communication, looking for pheromones, kairomones, and antifeedants to be used as new agents of plant protection and improvement of methods of their application, and also to interactions between phytophages and their host plants. The problems hindering development of forest entomology in Russia are considered; most of them result from lack of steady financial support of this field of research from the government.     

Structural Decomposition Analysis of Raw Material Consumption

The aim of this article is to quantify the drivers for the changes in raw material consumption (domestic material consumption expressed in the form of all materials extracted and used in the production phase) in terms of technology, which refers to the concept of sustainable production; the product structure of final demand, which refers to the concept of sustainable consumption; and the volume of final demand, which is related to economic growth. We also aim to determine to what extent the technological development and a shift in product structure of the final demand compensate for the growth in final consumption volume. Therefore, we apply structural decomposition analysis (SDA) to the change in raw material consumption (RMC) of the Czech Republic between 2000 and 2007. To present the study in a broader context, we also show other material flow indicators for the Czech Republic for 2000 and 2007. Our findings of SDA show that final demand structure has a very limited effect on the change in material flows. The rapid change in final demand volume was not compensated for crude oil, metal ores, construction materials, food crops, and timber. For the material category of non‐iron metal ores, even the change in technology contributes to an increase in material flows. The largest relative increases are reported for non‐iron metal ores (38%) and construction materials (30%). The main changes in material flows related to the Czech Republic are driven by exports and enabled by imports, the main source of these increased material flows. This emphasizes the increasing role of international trade.     

The impacts of data deviations between MRIO models on material footprints: A comparison of EXIOBASE,Eora, and ICIO

In various international policy processes such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, an urgent demand for robust consumption‐based indicators of material flows, or material footprints (MFs), has emerged over the past years. Yet, MFs for national economies diverge when calculated with different Global Multiregional Input–Output (GMRIO) databases, constituting a significant barrier to a broad policy uptake of these indicators. The objective of this paper is to quantify the impact of data deviations between GMRIO databases on the resulting MF. We use two methods, structural decomposition analysis and structural production layer decomposition, and apply them for a pairwise assessment of three GMRIO databases, EXIOBASE, Eora, and the OECD Inter‐Country Input–Output (ICIO) database, using an identical set of material extensions. Although all three GMRIO databases accord for the directionality of footprint results, that is, whether a countries’ final demand depends on net imports of raw materials from abroad or is a net exporter, they sometimes show significant differences in level and composition of material flows. Decomposing the effects from the Leontief matrices (economic structures), we observe that a few sectors at the very first stages of the supply chain, that is, raw material extraction and basic processing, explain 60% of the total deviations stemming from the technology matrices. We conclude that further development of methods to align results from GMRIOs, in particular for material‐intensive sectors and supply chains, should be an important research priority. This will be vital to strengthen the uptake of demand‐based material flow indicators in the resource policy context.     

Streamlined approach for assessing embedded consumption of lithium and cobalt in the United States

In today's complex global supply chains, time and data intensive analyses are required to understand global flows of mineral commodities from mine to consumer, particularly for mineral commodities in products (electronics, automobiles, etc.) that contain multiple parts with many mineral commodities. National and regional analyses require additional time and data to incorporate international trade flows. However, data limitations and time constraints often prohibit global and national material flow analyses for minor metals. Here we present a methodological approach to circumvent these constraints by utilizing readily available industry-level global data from the United Nations Statistics Division and national industrial data to estimate total requirements for a mineral commodity. We apply this approach to lithium and cobalt use in the United States for the year 2018 and distinguish between apparent raw material consumption versus inferred embedded consumption of lithium and cobalt materials in all forms. The results show that more than half of the United States’ total requirements for both lithium and cobalt is in parts and products that were manufactured outside the United States. In large part, this is due to limited US manufacturing capability for lithium-ion battery materials and cells and the United States’ high import reliance for electronics that use those batteries.     

International inequality of environmental pressures: Decomposition and comparative analysis

Natural resource scarcity is no longer merely a remote possibility and governments increasingly seek information about the global distribution of resource use and related environmental pressures. This paper presents an international distributional analysis of natural resource use indicators. These encompass both territorial (national production) and footprint (national consumption) indicators for land-related pressures (human appropriation of net primary production, HANPP, and embodied HANPP), for material use (domestic material extraction and consumption and material footprint), and for carbon emissions (territorial carbon emissions and carbon footprints). Our main question is “What, both from a territorial and a footprint perspective, are the main driving factors of international environmental inequality?”. We show that, for the environmental indicators we studied, inequality tends to be higher for footprint indicators than for territorial ones. The exception is land use intensity (as measured by HANPP), for which geographical drivers mainly determine the distribution pattern. The international distribution of material consumption is mainly a result of economic drivers whereas, for domestic extraction, demographic drivers can explain almost half of the distribution pattern. Finally, carbon emissions are the environmental pressure that shows the highest international inequality because of the larger contribution of economic drivers.     

Forests as a national treasure of Russia

This paper analyzes the future of the Russian forest. Its preservation determines, to a large extent, the ethical, economic, and ecological environment of our country. The authors support the idea of a forest being not only a storage place for timber, but a specific state property that, besides its value as raw material, has an enormous ecological and social weight, since it represents a living environment for certain peoples of Russia. The ineffectiveness of the existing forest legislation in Russia was proved through the examples of forest fires. Concrete legislative and administrative solutions are proposed.     

Isolation,patch size and matrix effects on bird assemblages in forest reserves

Habitat fragmentation is one of the most studied topics in ecology but our knowledge is still limited particularly concerning matrix effects on species distribution in a human-dominated landscape. We tested the ability of random sampling hypothesis, colonization–extinction dynamics and matrix-related concepts to explain the variation in species richness, total bird density and community composition in old-forest bird assemblages in two contrasting landscapes. We collected data on breeding bird abundances from 66 old-growth forest reserves in NE Finland and six larger areas in adjacent Russian Karelia using the line transect method. In Finland, protected old-forest patches are embedded in a matrix dominated by young regeneration stands. In Russia, study areas were situated in continuous, old forest dominated landscapes. Bird assemblages in old-forest patches embedded in human-modified matrix in Finland were not random samples from Russian bird assemblages. In the Finnish assemblages, species richness was lower and total bird density higher. Species richness declined with increasing distance (isolation) to Russia. Bird assemblages in large forest reserves in Finland close to Russia were structurally more similar to assemblages in the continuous reference landscape than those in small and more distant reserves. The results support the idea that several mechanisms related to colonisation–extinction dynamics and to matrix resource availability influence species distribution in fragmented landscapes but in species-specific ways. We conclude that even though small and isolated protected areas may foster high relative bird species density their ecological integrity is compromised, and therefore, improving matrix quality around reserves may lead to considerable conservation benefits.     

东北—蒙东经济区绿色植保在实施“一带一路”倡议中面临的挑战与发展

东北—蒙东地区包括辽宁、吉林、黑龙江和内蒙古东部五盟市,是我国东北地区对外经贸、科技和文化交流的重要窗口,也是我国粮食生产最集中的地区之一。该地区农业管理水平和灾变应对能力相对滞后,多种重要入侵性和迁飞性有害生物在东北省区间和与其接壤的国家间重叠或交替发生,导致农产品产量和质量下降,严重影响了我国农产品的国际贸易量。随着我国"一带一路"倡议的实施,上述问题势必日益突出,如何保证东北省区粮食生产安全,促进农产品国际贸易发展是我们共同面临的巨大挑战。本文重点阐述了东北—蒙东地区全链式有害生物预警、智能化监测和绿色防控技术体系,在此基础上,拟整合东北—蒙东地区有害生物综合治理优势力量,重点联合俄罗斯、韩国等周边国家植物保护机构、科研人员及技术推广人员共建东北—蒙东地区国际植保联盟,构建农业安全生产的生态屏障。     

Life cycle assessment tool for estimating net CO2 exchange of forest production

The study describes an integrated impact assessment tool for the net carbon dioxide (CO₂) exchange in forest production. The components of the net carbon exchange include the uptake of carbon into biomass, the decomposition of litter and humus, emissions from forest management operations and carbon released from the combustion of biomass and degradation of wood‐based products. The tool enables the allocation of the total carbon emissions to the timber and energy biomass and to the energy produced on the basis of biomass. In example computations, ecosystem model simulations were utilized as an input to the tool. We present results for traditional timber production (pulpwood and saw logs) and integrated timber and bioenergy production (logging residues, stumps and roots) for Norway spruce, in boreal conditions in Finland, with two climate scenarios over one rotation period. The results showed that the magnitude of management related emissions on net carbon exchange was smaller when compared with the total ecosystem fluxes; decomposition being the largest emission contributor. In addition, the effects of management and climate were higher on the decomposition of new humus compared with old humus. The results also showed that probable increased biomass growth, obtained under the changing climate (CC), could not compensate for decomposition and biomass combustion related carbon loss in southern Finland. In our examples, the emissions allocated for the energy from biomass in southern Finland were 172 and 188 kg CO₂ MW h^?1 in the current climate and in a CC, respectively, and 199 and 157 kg CO₂ MW h^?1 in northern Finland. This study concludes that the tool is suitable for estimating the net carbon exchange of forest production. The tool also enables the allocation of direct and indirect carbon emissions, related to forest production over its life cycle, in different environmental conditions and for alternative time periods and land uses. Simulations of forest management regimes together with the CC give new insights into ecologically sustainable forest bioenergy and timber production, as well as climate change mitigation options in boreal forests.     

武汉市造纸行业资源代谢分析

资源代谢问题是造成产业系统生态环境影响的主要原因.在分析武汉市造纸行业资源代谢的基础上从资源输入-资源使用-环境胁迫-系统循环共生4个方面构建武汉市造纸行业资源代谢分析指标体系.运用模糊综合评判法和问题树模型对2007年武汉市造纸业的原材料、水、能源等资源的代谢与全国造纸行业平均水平进行了比较分析.结果表明:(1)武汉市造纸业资源代谢水平总体上评价等级为优,但某些指标与全国平均水平比还略有差距;(2)从资源输入角度分析,原材料输入生态效率及水资源输入生态效率等级为优,能源输入生态效率等级为良;(3)从资源使用角度分析,单位产品的原材料消耗及单位产品的水资源消耗等级为优,单位产品的能源消耗等级为良;(4)从环境胁迫角度分析,单位污染物工业总产值及单位产品污染物排放等级均为优,污染物达标排放率等级为良;(5)从系统循环共生分析,企业清洁生产达标率等级为良,资源持续利用及污染物治理等级为优,而中水回用率等级为差.通过代谢分析可得,武汉市造纸行业能源输入生态效率、单位产品能源消耗与全国平均水平比还有一定距离,整个行业中企业清洁生产比例还具有提升的空间;中水回用方面较弱,需要特别加强.     

Estimation of forest area and its dynamics in Russia based on synthesis of remote sensing products

We review up-to-date, open access remote sensing (RS) products related to forest. We created a hybrid forest/non-forest map using geographically weighted regression (GWR) based on a number of recent RS products and crowdsourcing. The hybrid map has spatial resolution of 230 m and shows the extent of forest in Russia in 2010. We estimate area of Russian forest as 711 million ha (in accordance with Russian national forest definition). Compared to official data of the State Forest Register (SFR), RS estimates the area of forest to be considerably larger in European part (+12.2 million ha or +8%) and smaller in Asian (–39.8 million ha or–7%) part of Russia. We report the changing forest area in 2001–2010 and discuss main drivers: wildfire and encroachment of abandoned arable land. The methodology used here can by applied for monitoring of forest cover and enhancing the forest accounting system in Russia.     

Mapping first to final uses for rare earth elements,globally and in the United States

Estimating the material flows of rare earth elements (REEs) is essential to understanding which industries are most vulnerable to potential REE supply disruptions which, in turn, may inform policy recommendations aimed at reducing the supply risk. However, the REEs are a group of mineral commodities characterized by highly uncertain estimates of supply and demand due to the REE market's complexity, opacity, and small size. In this study, a streamlined methodology was applied to map mineral commodity first-use to final-use applications and to estimate total requirements at the national level based on available industrial data for final-use finished goods. This analysis examines REEs both as a group and individually, showing that total US requirements are between 15% and 16.5% of world requirements for the year 2015, the latest year with the most complete information available. The findings shed light on US industrial capabilities by revealing the discrepancy between the types of REEs that go into US raw material consumption and those that are contained in embedded consumption. For instance, given the United States’ large oil refining industry, US raw material consumption of lanthanum is quite high. In contrast, US raw material consumption of neodymium is relatively low, whereas embedded demand is comparatively high. This reflects the lack of industrial capacity to process REE concentrates into magnet material combined with the US's high imports of products that contain rare earth permanent magnets.     

Ecological factors influencing survival and growth of human pathogens on raw fruits and vegetables

Outbreaks of human infections associated with consumption of raw fruits and vegetables have occurred with increased frequency during the past decade. Factors contributing to this increase may include changes in agronomic and processing practices, an increase in per capita consumption of raw or minimally processed fruits and vegetables, increased international trade and distribution, and an increase in the number of immuno-compromised consumers. A general lack of efficacy of sanitizers in removing or killing pathogens on raw fruits and vegetables has been attributed, in part, to their inaccessibility to locations within structures and tissues that may harbor pathogens. Understanding the ecology of pathogens and naturally occurring microorganisms is essential before interventions for elimination or control of growth can be devised.     

Environmental Impact Assessment of Wood Use in Japan through 2050 Using Material Flow Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment

In this study, we used material flow analysis and life cycle assessment to quantify the environmental impacts and impact reductions related to wood consumption in Japan from 1970 to 2013. We then conducted future projections of the impacts and reductions until 2050 based on multiple future scenarios of domestic forestry, wood, and energy use. An impact assessment method involving characterization, damage assessment, and integration with a monetary unit was used, and the results were expressed in Japanese yen (JPY). We found that environmental impacts from paper consumption, such as climate change and urban air pollution, were significant and accounted for 56% to 83% of the total environmental impacts between 1970 and 2013. Therefore, reductions of greenhouse gas, nitrogen oxide, and sulfur oxide emissions from paper production would be an effective measure to reduce the overall environmental impacts. An increase in wood use for building construction, civil engineering, furniture materials, and energy production could lead to reductions of environmental impacts (via carbon storage, material substitution, and fuel substitution) amounting to 357 billion JPY in 2050, which is equivalent to 168% of the 2013 levels. Particularly, substitution of nonwooden materials, such as cement, concrete, and steel, with wood products in building construction could significantly contribute to impact reductions. Although an increase of wood consumption could reduce environmental impacts, such as climate change, resource consumption, and urban air pollution, increased wood consumption would also be associated with land‐use impacts. Therefore, minimizing land transformations from forest to barren land will be important.     

The environmental effectiveness of the beverage sector in Norway in a Factor 10 perspective

Scope and Background

The environmental effectiveness of the Norwegian beverage sector has been studied in a Factor 10 perspective. The objective of the study was to identify strategies that could make the beverage sector radically more effective from an environmental and resource perspective, leading to a Factor 10 improvement. Another main purpose of the work was to test the potential for using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology on an economic sector with a network of product chains, rather than for a single product.

Methods

Life Cycle Assessment data from STØ’s own studies and literature studies have been used as a basis for analysis of the environmental status of the beverage sector in Norway. The functional unit was defined as the amount of beverage products consumed per capita in Norway in the year 2000. The study includes raw material production, production of the beverage product, packaging manufacture, distribution, use and waste management of the products. The study has, for practical reasons, been limited to the environmental impact indicators total energy consumption and global warming potential. This was done as other types of data have been difficult to obtain for all of the products that were studied (tap water, coffee, milk, soft drinks, beer, squash, juice and bottled water).

Results and Discussion

The study shows differences between the drinking products with respect to energy consumption and emissions that can contribute to global warming. Due to large uncertainties in the data, general conclusions regarding the differentiation of products based on environmental performance should be made with care. Production and distribution of tap water is, however, significantly less energy intensive than the other products. For the impact categories studied, production of raw materials was the most important part of the life cycle for most drinking products.

Conclusions and Perspective

The most significant contributions to achieving a Factor 10 development can be made by consuming more water, especially tap water, and through improving raw material production in the agricultural sector. Packaging and distribution is responsible for only a small part of the energy consumption and emissions leading to global warming. Optimal packaging sizes might however reduce loss of products in the user phase, which is important in order to improve the system. A Factor 10 level seems achievable only if the consumption of tap water is increased to a high level.

     

Primary production and humanosphere--is energy sufficient for sustainable humanosphere?

There is a growing concern about the sustainability of our humanosphere. Realizing that our consumption of natural resources is soon to exhaust available ones in this globe, we feel the need for more prudent ways to utilize them. In particular, the need would be greater in the ways for the use of the primary products as we are to continue to face the rapid increase in human population. On the contrary, however, we are rapidly losing the traditional customs of their many uses. For instance, rice straws were once a significant raw material for many manufactured products in Japan, while most of them are now simply burned in the paddy. Here I would like to review the current status of primary production on the Earth from the viewpoint of material cycling and to demonstrate that, unless we quickly turn around our ever-increasing demand for more material and more energy, the humanosphere would never enter a stable phase. At the year 2006 A.D., the energy demand of a possibly sustainable humanosphere surpasses the available energy through the global primary production.     

The Raw Material Equivalents of International Trade

This article aims at estimating the raw material equivalents (RMEs)—the upstream used material flows required along the production chain—of imports and exports for some Latin American countries: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Mexico. Furthermore, the United States is included in the analysis as a reference for a high‐income economy. The RME concept and the empirical evidence are articulated by use of an input?output methodology. Results are set out for the year 2003 for each of the countries and in time series for the years 1977, 1986, 1996, and 2003 in the case of Chile. The findings show not only the physical dimensions behind direct material traded but also how the previous exporter (importer) position of a country (based on standard material flow analysis indicators) deteriorates, alleviates, or changes. Implications for material consumption indicators, such as direct material consumption (DMC) and raw material consumption (RMC), are also drawn. The results suggest basing the discussion of material flows on a broader set of indicators to obtain a more comprehensive picture of the implications of international trade and its impacts on the environment.     

Environmental Assessment of Wood‐Based Biofuel Production and Consumption Scenarios in Norway

In Norway, the boreal forest offers a considerable resource base, and emerging technologies may soon make it commercially viable to convert these resources into low‐carbon biofuels. Decision makers are required to make informed decisions about the environmental implications of wood biofuels today that will affect the medium‐ and long‐term development of a wood‐based biofuels industry in Norway. We first assess the national forest‐derived resource base for use in biofuel production. A set of biomass conversion technologies is then chosen and evaluated for scenarios addressing biofuel production and consumption by select industry sectors. We then apply an environmentally extended, mixed‐unit, two‐region input?output model to quantify the global warming mitigation and fossil fuel displacement potentials of two biofuel production and consumption scenarios in Norway up to 2050. We find that a growing resource base, when used to produce advanced biofuels, results in cumulative global warming mitigation potentials of between 58 and 83 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents avoided (Mt‐CO₂‐eq.‐avoided) in Norway, depending on the biofuel scenario. In recent years, however, the domestic pulp and paper industry—due to increasing exposure to international competition, capacity reductions, and increasing production costs—has been in decline. In the face of a declining domestic pulp and paper industry, imported pulp and paper products are required to maintain the demand for these goods and thus the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the exporting region embodied in Norway's pulp and paper imports reduce the systemwide benefit in terms of avoided greenhouse gas emissions by 27%.     

Description and DNA barcoding of Tipula ( Pterelachisus) recondita sp. n. from the Palaearctic region (Diptera, Tipulidae)

Tipula (Pterelachisus) recondita Pilipenko & Salmela, sp. n. is described. The new species is collected from two localities: Finland, Kittilä (North boreal ecoregion) and Russia, Primorski kray (Zone of temperate broadleaf and mixed forests). Although variation in the structure of male hypopygium between the Finnish and Russian populations is observed, DNA barcode sequences differ only by three nucleotides (0.2 % K2P distance), supporting presence of one widespread species. K2P minimum distances between the new species and 17 other species of the subgenus range from 5.3 to 15.8 % (mean 8.8 %). The new species is forest-dwelling, known from an old-growth herb-rich forest (Finland) and Quercus mongolica forest (Russia). The new species is perhaps closest to Tipula (Pterelachisus) imitator Alexander and in lesser extent to Tipula (Pterelachisus) pauli Mannheims; the inner gonostylus of both species are illustrated.