Understanding the Organization of Industrial Ecosystems

Industrial symbiosis (IS) has been used to describe the physical exchange and shared management of input and output materials by geographically proximate firms. Firms that engage in IS are said to belong to an industrial ecosystem. Symbiosis has been found to be motivated by economic considerations, such as lowering costs for waste disposal, as well as by environmental ones, such as accessing limited water supplies. Communication and trust among managers are thought to play important roles in exchanges; however, empirical studies have not been previously conducted. This study used social network analysis (SNA) to identify the prevalence of industrial symbiosis linkages in Barceloneta, Puerto Rico. The study quantified patterns in various relationships among firms and managers, including formal relations through supply chains, and informal ones through interpersonal interactions. SNA and statistical methods were used to explore how these ties correlate with observed industrial symbiosis activities. IS linkages were found to be less prevalent than product sales among firms and were concentrated among pharmaceutical firms at the core of the regional network. Trust among managers and position in the social hierarchy were found to be correlated with IS but not supply chain links. SNA was useful for examining the organization of different relationships in the industrial ecosystem, but contextual information is still needed to add meaning to its findings.     

工业生态学的内涵与发展

作为一门发展不到20a的综合性交叉学科,工业生态学目前需要界定其学术范畴和理论基础.首先评述了工业生态学的4个主要领域:(1)社会代谢是工业生态学起源最早也是发展最为成熟的领域.它提供了宏观层次上观察和测量经济发展与物质流动关系的方法和工具,但需要进一步细化物质流动图景和加强流动机制的解释;(2)工业共生是工业生态学最具特征的领域.它实质上是人们出于观察视角的转变而对工业体系的重新认识.逻辑严谨且规则统一的解释框架有助于工业共生理论的发展和实践;(3)基础设施与产业相互选择且协同演进,二者共同构成了城市的物质基础,而城市又是更大范围内区域经济系统的子集.这一组工业生态学的研究对象需要处理产业全球化与社会和生态要素本土化的矛盾;(4)工业发展的可持续性是工业生态学关注的核心目标,而多样性和复杂性给其研究带来了很大的挑战.这提醒我们要避免陷入简单化、还原论或机械论的陷阱,多开展实证研究.最后,从本体论、方法论和隐喻3个标准给出了工业生态学的初步界定,并指出4个重要的努力方向.     

Aggregate Measures of Complex Economic Structure and Evolution

It is perhaps in the nature of complex systems that they call for aggregate measures that enable analysts to grasp their structure and evolution without being overwhelmed by their very complexity. Complex interindustry theory and models are a typical case, where the underlying database—an input−output table—routinely contains thousands of data points for a single year. Within input−output analysis, quantitative measures have been developed that describe and characterize interindustry interactions and that have been used to compare economies, both in a static taxonomy and through their evolution over time. First, we review and critically discuss a number of concepts that have been proposed and applied to interindustry systems, such as interconnectedness, interrelatedness, linkages, and economic landscapes. Second, we apply these concepts to a case study of the Australian economy between 1975 and 1999 in terms of environmental headline indicators. Our results enable the reader to judge the usefulness and ability of the measures in capturing the key structural elements and evolutionary processes governing the interaction between the economy and the environment. For the Australian case study, the measures showed a diversifying economy occurring together with a specialization of environmental flows.     

Survival, Growth, and Ecosystem Dynamics of Displaced Bromeliads in a Montane Tropical Forest1

Epiphytes generally occupy arboreal perches, which are inherently unstable environments due to periodic windstorms, branch falls, and treefalls. During high wind events, arboreal bromeliads are often knocked from the canopy and deposited on the forest floor. In this study, we used a common epiphytic tank bromeliad, Guzmania berteroniana (R. & S.) Mez, to determine if fallen bromeliads can survive, grow, and reproduce on the forest floor and evaluate the potential impact of adult dispersal on plant and soil nutrient pools. Bromeliads were transplanted to and from tree stems and the forest floor and monitored intensively for six months; survival, growth, and impacts on ecosystem nutrient pools were followed on a subset of plants for 16 months. Six months after transplanting, bromeliad mortality was low (3%), and 19 percent of study individuals had flowered and produced new juvenile shoots. Mortality on the subset of plants followed for 16 months was 14–30 percent. Although survival rates were relatively high in all habitats, bromeliads transplanted to trees grew significantly more root length (x?± SE: 189 ± 43 cm) than those moved to the forest floor (53 ±15 cm) and experienced lower rates of leaf area loss. All transplanted bromeliads rapidly altered the substrate they occupied. Individuals transplanted to and among trees rapidly decreased base cation concentrations but significantly increased P concentrations of their underlying substrate. On the ground, bromeliads increased C, N, and P concentrations within nine months of placement. Our results suggest that in this montane tropical forest, bromeliads respond rapidly to displacement, locally modify their substrates, and can access the resources needed for survival regardless of habitat.     

The Industrial Ecology of Emerging Technologies

The modern world increasingly reflects human activities, to the point that many scientists are referring to this era as the Anthropocene, the Age of Humans. A major domain of human activity involves sociotechnical systems, which can be characterized as occurring in constellations of coevolving technological, cultural, institutional, economic, and psychological systems lasting over many decades. The current constellation, still in its early stages of development, brings together five powerful technology systems—nanotechnology, biotechnology, robotics, information and communication technology, and cognitive science—that are even more complex than historical precedents because they enable not just far more powerful capabilities to design domains external to humans but also the potential to design individual humans themselves. Understanding the implications of this sociotechnical landscape for industrial ecology suggests profound theoretical challenges as well as important new areas of research.     

Design and Analysis of Bioenergy Networks

This article presents a new methodology for designing industrial networks and analyzing them dynamically from the standpoint of sustainable development. The approach uses a combination of optimization and simulation tools. Assuming "top-down" overarching control of the network, we use global dynamic optimization to determine which evolutionary pathways are preferred in terms of economic, social, and environmental performance. Considering the autonomy of network entities and their actions, we apply agent-based simulation to analyze how the network actually evolves. These two perspectives are integrated into a powerful multiscale modeling framework for evaluating the consequences of new policy instruments or different business strategies aimed at stimulating sustainable development as well as identifying optimal leverage points for improved performance of the network in question. The approach is demonstrated for a regional network of interdependent organizations deploying a set of bioenergy technologies within a developing-economy context.     

Diversity and Connectance in an Industrial Context

The ecological metaphor of industrial ecology is a proven conceptual tool, having spawned an entire field of interdisciplinary research that explores the intimate linkages between industry and its underlying natural systems. Besides its name and a number of borrowed concepts, however, industrial ecology has no formal relationship with the ecological sciences. This study explores the potential for further interdisciplinary collaboration by testing whether some of the same quantitative analysis techniques used in community ecology research can have meaning in an industrial context. Specifically, we applied the ecological concepts of connectance and diversity to an analysis of Burnside Industrial Park in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Our results demonstrate that these ecological tools show promise for use in industrial ecology. We discuss the meaning of connectance and diversity concepts in an industrial context and suggest next steps for future studies. We hope that this research will help to lay the groundwork of an ecologically inspired tool kit for analyzing industrial ecosystems.     

Assessment of the National Eco-Industrial Park Standard for Promoting Industrial Symbiosis in China

Eco-industrial park (EIP) projects have become more prevalent in China. In order to evaluate the performance of such innovative projects, the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) has set up a new national standard for EIPs, the first of its kind globally. This article examines the applicability and feasibility of the indicator system established in the standard. It first presents the details of this new standard. Then benefits and challenges in the standard's application are analyzed. The analysis shows that the new indicators are eco-efficiency-oriented and do not address the essence of the EIP. In the future, there will be a need to revise this set of indicators by considering the principles of eco-industrial development and local realities in order to ensure that the indicators are indeed used to promote sustainable development of industrial parks.     

A new species of Litarachna (Acari,Hydrachnidia, Pontarachnidae) from a Caribbean mesophotic coral ecosystem

New records of pontarachnid mites (Acari: Hydrachnidia) from the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico are presented. Litarachna lopezae sp. n., from substrata collected from Bajo de Sico, a mesophotic coral reef ecosystem in Mona Passage off Puerto Rico, is described as new to science. The new species was collected from nearly 70 m depth, the greatest depth from which pontarachnid mites have been found until now. In addition, a Litarachna sp. was also found in association with the tube of the polychaete Sabellastarte magnifica (Shaw, 1800) at the shallow waters of north Puerto Rico.     

New genus and species of flea beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae, Alticini) from Puerto Rico, with comments on flea beetle diversity in the West Indies and a key to the West Indian Monoplatini genera

A new genus (Borinken) and five new species (Borinken elyunque, Distigmoptera chamorrae, Kiskeya elyunque, Ulrica eltoro, and Ulrica iviei) from Puerto Rico are described and illustrated. A keyto all West Indian Monoplatini genera is provided, as are keys to all speciesof Kiskeya and to the speciesof Ulrica from Puerto Rico. A list of the flea beetle genera, along with the number of species and some of the faunal features is presented and discussed for the West Indies.     

Methodological Aspects of Applying Life Cycle Assessment to Industrial Symbioses

In view of recent studies of the historical development and current status of industrial symbiosis (IS), life cycle assessment (LCA) is proposed as a general framework for quantifying the environmental performance of by‐product exchange. Recent guidelines for LCA (International Reference Life Cycle Data System [ILCD] guidelines) are applied to answer the main research questions in the IS literature reviewed. A typology of five main research questions is proposed: (1) analysis, (2) improvement, and (3) expansion of existing systems; (4) design of new eco‐industrial parks, and (5) restructuring of circular economies. The LCA guidelines were found useful in framing the question and choosing an appropriate reference case for comparison. The selection of a correct reference case reduces the risk of overestimating the benefits of by‐product exchange. In the analysis of existing systems, environmentally extended input‐output analysis (EEIOA) can be used to streamline the analysis and provide an industry average baseline for comparison. However, when large‐scale changes are applied to the system, more sophisticated tools are necessary for assessment of the consequences, from market analysis to general equilibrium modeling and future scenario work. Such a rigorous application of systems analysis was not found in the current IS literature, but would benefit the field substantially, especially when the environmental impact of large‐scale economic changes is analyzed.     

An investigation of relationships between climate and dengue using a water budgeting technique

Climatic water budget indicators were used to assess intra- and interannual variations in dengue incidence for San Juan, Puerto Rico. Multivariate stochastic relationships between dengue and the water budget were developed to (1) determine and quantify the particular climatic measures and their associated lag periods related to dengue variations, and (2) assess their use for dengue prediction and initiation of emergency response procedures. Such a predictive model would be advantageous because it is based on reliable, easily obtained, and low-cost weather observations. Daily running averages of water budget variables over an 8-week period were related to daily running averages of unconfirmed dengue totals (1988–1993). Resultant models show that a variety of water budget and traditional climate measures over the full 8-week period are associated with dengue. The mean seasonal variation in dengue is highly related (R ²=88.1%) to the mean seasonal climate variation, with those thermal and energy variables immediately preceding the dengue response showing the strongest relationships. However, moisture variables, predominantly in the form of surplus, are more influential many weeks in advance. For the interannual model (R ²=44.1%), energy change, thermal change, and moisture variables are significant across the 8-week period, with moisture variables playing a stronger role than in the intraannual model. Standardisation substantially changes the importance and timing of the variables, and suggests that dengue during this period is more associated with the mean annual variation of climate than deviations from mean conditions. A dengue early-warning model (based on 5 weeks of climate data) was also developed to predict dengue incidence 3 weeks later. While this predictive model is not reliable as a sole predictor of dengue in San Juan, it may be useful as part of a multifaceted watch/warning system. Received: 5 September 2000 / Revised: 12 March 2001 / Accepted: 21 March 2001     

Structure, Function, and Evolution of Proton-ATPases

Proton-ATPases are among the most important primary ion pumps in nature. There are three classes of these enzymes which are distinguished by their structure, function, mechanism of action, and evolution. They function in ATP formation at the expense of a protonmotive force generated by oxidative and photosynthetic electron transports, maintaining a constant pH in the cytoplasm, and forming acidic spaces in special compartments inside and outside the cell. The three classes of proton-ATPases evolved in a way that prevents functional assembly in the wrong compartment. This was achieved by a triple genetic system located in the nucleus, mitochondria and chloroplast, as well as delicate control of the proton pumping activity of the enzymes.     

Fostering Industrial Symbiosis With Agent-Based Simulation and Participatory Modeling

The sciences of industrial ecology, complex systems, and adaptive management are intimately related, since they deal with flows and dynamic interdependencies between system elements of various kinds. As such, the tool kit of complex systems science could enrich our understanding of how industrial ecosystems might evolve over time. In this article, I illustrate how an important tool of complex systems science— agent-based simulation —can help to identify those potential elements of an industrial ecosystem that could work together to achieve more eco-efficient outcomes. For example, I show how agent-based simulation can generate cost-efficient energy futures in which groups of firms behave more eco-efficiently by introducing strategically located clusters of renewable, low-emissions, distributed generation. I then explain how role-playing games and participatory modeling can build trust and reduce conflict about the sharing of common-pool resources such as water and energy among small clusters of evolving agents. Collective learning can encourage potential industrial partners to gradually cooperate by exchanging by-products and/or sharing common infrastructure by dint of their close proximity. This kind of coevolutionary learning, aided by participatory modeling, could help to bring about industrial symbiosis.     

植物几丁质酶的结构与功能、分类及进化

近年来对几丁质酶的研究越来越深入,资料也愈来愈多,有的植物几丁质酶除具有几丁质酶活性,还具有其它的活性,典型的几丁质酶由－N－端信号区,催化区和C－端延伸区组成,有的还有几丁质结合域,各项能域具有各自的功能,对植物几丁质酶的分类已经过多次改进,目前公认的分成4组9个亚组,有证据表明植物几丁质酶在进化过程中有遗传转座现象,但具有进化过程还有待进一步确证,对几丁质酶与其它一些蛋白的关系的了解有助于理解几丁质酶的起源和进化,由于几丁质酶具有独特的抗真菌特性,因而几丁质酶基因成为目前抗真菌基因工程研究的热之一。     

Emergent Global Patterns of Ecosystem Structure and Function from a Mechanistic General Ecosystem Model

Anthropogenic activities are causing widespread degradation of ecosystems worldwide, threatening the ecosystem services upon which all human life depends. Improved understanding of this degradation is urgently needed to improve avoidance and mitigation measures. One tool to assist these efforts is predictive models of ecosystem structure and function that are mechanistic: based on fundamental ecological principles. Here we present the first mechanistic General Ecosystem Model (GEM) of ecosystem structure and function that is both global and applies in all terrestrial and marine environments. Functional forms and parameter values were derived from the theoretical and empirical literature where possible. Simulations of the fate of all organisms with body masses between 10 µg and 150,000 kg (a range of 14 orders of magnitude) across the globe led to emergent properties at individual (e.g., growth rate), community (e.g., biomass turnover rates), ecosystem (e.g., trophic pyramids), and macroecological scales (e.g., global patterns of trophic structure) that are in general agreement with current data and theory. These properties emerged from our encoding of the biology of, and interactions among, individual organisms without any direct constraints on the properties themselves. Our results indicate that ecologists have gathered sufficient information to begin to build realistic, global, and mechanistic models of ecosystems, capable of predicting a diverse range of ecosystem properties and their response to human pressures.     

The Sustainability Balanced Scorecard as a Framework for Eco-efficiency Analysis

To provide valuable support for successful decision-making, managers need a balanced set of financial and nonfinancial measures that represent different requirements, strategic goals, strategies, resources, and capabilities and the causal relationships between these domains. The balanced scorecard is such a measurement system. As an open system the balanced scorecard facilitates the consideration of sustainability issues. But enhanced balanced scorecards require a new type of data. This is where eco-efficiency analysis comes into play.
This article discusses the relationship between so-called sustainability balanced scorecards and eco-efficiency analysis. Eco-efficiency analysis not only provides a data source for sustainability balanced scorecards; in the perspective of environmental information systems it also serves as a link between the balanced scorecard and corporate environmental accounting systems so that eco-efficiency as a component of an environmental information system becomes an adapter with two interfaces, which are characterized in this article. The main focus is on the principle of cause and effect, its different forms, and the implications for the design of appropriate information system components.