Gingrich Simone, Theurl Michaela Clarissa, Erb Karlheinz, Krausmann Fridolin
1Institute of Social Ecology Vienna, Universitaet Klagenfurt, Schottenfeldgasse 29, 1070 Vienna, Austria.
FiBL Austria, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, Doblhoffgasse 7/10, 1010 Vienna, Austria.
Reg Environ Change. 2018;18(4):937-950. doi: 10.1007/s10113-017-1145-1. Epub 2017 Apr 7.
We investigate agroecosystem energy flows in two Upper Austrian regions, the lowland region Sankt Florian and the prealpine region Grünburg, at five time points between 1830 and 2000. Energetic agroecosystem productivity (energy contents of crops, livestock products, and wood per unit area) is compared to different types of energy inputs, i.e., external inputs from society (labor, industrial inputs, and external biomass inputs) and biomass reused from the local agroecosystem (feed, litter, and seeds). Energy transfers between different compartments of the agroecosystem (agricultural land, forest, and livestock) are also quantified. This allows for delineating an agroecosystem energy transition: In the first stage of this transition, i.e., in the nineteenth century, agroecosystem productivity was low (final produce ranged between 14 and 27 GJ/ha/yr), and local biomass reused made up 97% of total energy inputs in both regions (25-61 GJ/ha/yr). In this period, agroecosystem productivity increase was achieved primarily through more recycling of energy flows within the agroecosystems. In the second stage of the agroecosystem energy transition, i.e., after World War II, external energy inputs increased by factors 2.5 (Sankt Florian) and 5.0 (Grünburg), partly replacing local energy transfers. Final produce per area increased by factors 6.1 (Sankt Florian) and 2.9 (Grünburg). The difference in the resulting energy returns on investment (EROI) owes to regional specialization on cropping versus livestock rearing and to increasing market integration. Our results suggest that sustainable land-use intensification may benefit from some regional specialization harnessing local production potentials based on a mix of local and external inputs.
我们研究了奥地利上奥地利州两个地区（低地地区圣弗洛里安和前阿尔卑斯地区格林堡）在1830年至2000年期间五个时间点的农业生态系统能量流动。将农业生态系统的能量生产力（单位面积作物、畜产品和木材的能量含量）与不同类型的能量输入进行比较，即社会的外部输入（劳动力、工业投入和外部生物质输入）以及从当地农业生态系统再利用的生物质（饲料、垫料和种子）。还对农业生态系统不同组成部分（农田、森林和牲畜）之间的能量转移进行了量化。这有助于描绘农业生态系统的能量转型：在这个转型的第一阶段，即19世纪，农业生态系统生产力较低（最终产量在14至27吉焦/公顷/年之间），两个地区当地再利用的生物质占总能量输入的97%（25 - 61吉焦/公顷/年）。在此期间，农业生态系统生产力的提高主要通过农业生态系统内部能量流动的更多循环来实现。在农业生态系统能量转型的第二阶段，即第二次世界大战后，外部能量输入分别增加了2.5倍（圣弗洛里安）和5.0倍（格林堡），部分取代了当地的能量转移。单位面积的最终产量分别增加了6.1倍（圣弗洛里安）和2.9倍（格林堡）。由此产生的能量投资回报率（EROI）差异归因于作物种植与牲畜饲养的区域专业化以及市场整合的增加。我们的结果表明，可持续的土地利用集约化可能受益于一些基于当地和外部投入混合利用当地生产潜力的区域专业化。
