Ecodynamics Group, Department of Chemistry, University of Siena, Via della Diana 2A, 53100 Siena, Italy.
J Environ Manage. 2010 Nov;91(11):2349-57. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2010.06.021. Epub 2010 Jul 21.
This paper presents an application of an environmental accounting method, namely emergy evaluation, developed for the monitoring and assessment of environmental resource use by local communities in the Abruzzo Region (Italy). Once quantified and classified according to their origin (renewable or non-renewable, local or external), emergy flows were elaborated through a geographic information system (GIS) that allowed us to represent their spatial distribution throughout the region. Outcomes took the form of patterns in which different emergy intensities, namely empower (unit: seJ yr(-1)), were represented through a graduated grey-scale and visualized on a cartographic basis. The concentration of emergy flows, depending on the activity of local communities, showed variable levels of environmental load in different areas. In particular, spatial zones with homogeneous values of empower density (unit: seJ yr(-1) km(-2))--high, medium and low--were detected in order to identify areas with a similar "thermodynamic" nature, emergy being a thermodynamics based function. This allowed for the representation, at a glance, of a kind of geography that mirrors the behavior of a population settled in an area as additional information for investigating the effects of the use of urban structures and functions and improving our understanding of regional systems. A combined use of emergy evaluation and GIS could thus provide a complementary view of a territorial system and inform policy makers for planning specific strategies of future development.
本文介绍了一种环境核算方法——能值评估的应用，该方法旨在监测和评估意大利阿布鲁佐地区（意大利）当地社区对环境资源的利用情况。能值流根据其来源（可再生或不可再生、本地或外部）进行量化和分类，然后通过地理信息系统（GIS）进行详细说明，该系统允许我们在整个地区展示它们的空间分布。结果以不同能值强度（单位：seJ yr(-1)）的模式表示，通过渐变灰度表示，并在制图基础上可视化。根据当地社区活动，能值流的集中程度显示出不同地区环境负荷的不同水平。特别是，检测到具有相同 empower 密度（单位：seJ yr(-1) km(-2)）值的空间区域——高、中、低，以识别具有相似“热力学”性质的区域，因为能值是一种基于热力学的函数。这使得可以一目了然地表示一种反映人口在一个地区行为的地理情况，作为调查城市结构和功能利用的影响以及增进我们对区域系统的理解的附加信息。因此，能值评估和 GIS 的组合使用可以为一个区域系统提供一个补充视角，并为规划未来发展的具体战略提供政策制定者的信息。
