Title: An emergy-based analysis of urban ecosystem health characteristics for Beijing city

Authors: Meirong Su, Bin Chen, Linyu Xu, Yanwei Zhao, Gengyuan Liu, Yan Zhang, Zhifeng Yang

Addresses: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China. ' State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China. ' State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China. ' State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China. ' State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China. ' State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China. ' State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China

Abstract: As an embodied energetic equivalent for integrated ecological economic evaluation, emergy was used to assess and analyse the urban ecosystem health characteristics associated with energy and material flows. Emergy-based indicators were systematically established with respect to vigour, structure, resilience, ecosystem service maintenance and environmental impact as five fundamental aspects of ecosystem health assessment. At the same time, set pair analysis was also introduced to quantify the relativity and the uncertainty of the urban ecosystem health indicators. Finally, a tentative case study of Beijing 1986-2005 was also carried out using the proposed method to present a useful tool for the urban ecosystem assessment and management.

Keywords: urban ecosystems; ecosystem health assessment; health characteristics; emergy; set pair analysis; relativity; Beijing; China; ecological economic evaluation; energy flows; material flows; environmental impact; ecosystem service maintenance; urban environmental management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEX.2011.042068

International Journal of Exergy, 2011 Vol.9 No.2, pp.192 - 209

Published online: 23 Aug 2011 *

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