Elsevier

Ecological Modelling

Volume 422, 15 April 2020, 108984
Ecological Modelling

Editorial
Modelling matter and energy flows in the biosphere and human economy

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2020.108984Get rights and content

Introduction

Global human population growth and the related increased demand for materials, energy, water, and land are the main driving forces behind the unprecedented planetary change in the Anthropocene, an epoch of strong human interactions with the biogeosphere (Lewis and Maslin, 2015; Monastersky, 2015). Human activities are the dominant cause of most contemporary pollution problems and environmental changes (De Marco et al., 2019; Pauna et al., 2019; Zimmerer et al., 2019). Multiple pressures on natural ecosystems cause biodiversity loss and, as a consequence, can seriously affect the capability of natural capital stocks to provide ecosystem services flows vital for human well-being (Buonocore et al., 2018; Pauna et al., 2018; TEEB, 2010).

The trend of accelerating natural resource exploitation and waste generation is forecasted to continue, thus posing serious threats to both environment and human health (IRP, 2019).

In this context, circular economy models are gaining increasing importance in both scientific and policy contexts as tools for achieving local and global sustainable development goals (Hanumante et al., 2019; IRP, 2019). Circular economy strategies are capable of minimising material and energy inputs and waste output flows through increased resource efficiency and closing systems, thus contributing to preserve and enhance natural capital stocks (EU, 2019; Geng et al., 2019; Velenturf et al., 2019). These strategies require the ability to model and account for matter and energy flows converging into natural and man-made ecosystems to generate goods and services.

Environmental accounting models facilitate the understanding of the complex relationships between natural ecosystems and human economy and the predicting of ecological processes, providing useful information in support of sustainable management strategies (Catucci and Scardi, 2020; Franzese et al., 2019; Schuwirth et al., 2019).

In the last decades, there has been an increasing interest towards methods and tools capable of assessing resource flows on which performance and sustainability indicators can be calculated. Environmental accounting methods allow the quantification of matter and energy flows in natural and human-dominated ecosystems, assessing sustained environmental costs (i.e., inputs of matter and energy flows), generated impacts (i.e., emissions to environmental matrices) and received benefits (i.e., ecosystem goods and services) (Franzese et al., 2014, 2015; Häyhä and Franzese, 2014).

Several authors applied an economic perspective to environmental accounting to assess the value of natural resources performing monetary valuations (Costanza et al., 2017; Dasgupta, 2008; Hein et al., 2016; Nikodinoska et al., 2018), while others implemented environmental accounting models based on a biophysical perspective (Franzese et al. 2008, 2017; Manes et al., 2016; Mellino et al., 2015; Picone et al., 2017; Ulgiati et al., 2011; Vassallo et al., 2017). These different perspectives are complementary and needed for a comprehensive understanding of human-nature interactions across multiple spatial and temporal scales.

Section snippets

Goal of this special issue

The main goal of this special issue is to collect a set of articles exploring the use of environmental accounting models capable of unfolding the role of matter and energy flows in the biosphere and human economy, adopting a multi-scale and multi-disciplinary perspective.

Papers presented in the special issue

Most of the papers gathered in this special issue were presented at the 28th Congress of the Italian Society of Ecology and at the 10th Biennial International Workshop Advances in Energy Studies.

The special issue includes 20 papers, amongst which theoretical, methodological, and applied articles focus on the importance of modelling matter and energy flows in natural, human-dominated, and human-built ecosystems. The articles can be grouped into five main groups (Table 1).

A first set of articles

Concluding remarks

The Guest Editors hope that this volume will boost the interdisciplinary knowledge on modelling material and energy flows in biosphere and human economy. In conclusion, we maintain that a multi-scale and multi-criteria modelling approach to matter and energy flows assessment can provide a deeper understanding on the functioning of natural and human-managed ecosystems.

Acknowledgement

A special thank is due to all the Reviewers who contributed their time and valuable effort. Without their work and scientific support this special issue would not have been possible.

Guest Editors

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