Maximum (em)power: a foundational principle linking man and nature

Cai, Tingting; Olsen, Thomas W.; Campbell, Daniel E.

doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2003.12.009

Cited by 20 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…all self-organizing systems tend to maximize their rate of emergy use or empower, and those systems that maximize empower will prevail in evolutionary competition 22 24 25 . Some theoretical and empirical research has supported the rationality of MEPP and showed its ability to be used to study the development of self-organizing systems 26 27 28 29 . Recent case studies confirmed that the development of subtropical forest plantations follow the MEPP.…”

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confidence: 97%

Eco-exergy and emergy based self-organization of three forest plantations in lower subtropical China

Lü

et al. 2015

Sci Rep

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The bio-thermodynamic structures of a mixed native species plantation, a conifer plantation and an Acacia mangium plantation in Southern China were quantified over a period of 15 years based on eco-exergy methods. The efficiencies of structural development and maintenance were quantified through an integrated application of eco-exergy and emergy methods. The results showed that the storage of eco-exergy increased over 3 times in all three plantations, as predicted by the maximum eco-exergy principle. This trend was primarily seen due to the accumulation of biomass, instead of an increase in the specific eco-exergy (eco-exergy per unit biomass), although species richness did increase. The eco-exergy to emergy and eco-exergy to empower ratios of the three plantations generally increased during the study period, but the rate of increase slowed down after 20 years. The dominant trees are the largest contributors to the eco-exergy stored in the plantations, and thus, the introduction of suitable indigenous tree species should be considered after the existing trees pass through their period of most rapid growth or around 20 years after planting. The combined application of C-values and suggested weighting factors in the eco-exergy calculation can imply opposite results, but may also supply useful information for forest management.

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confidence: 97%

Eco-exergy and emergy based self-organization of three forest plantations in lower subtropical China

Lü

et al. 2015

Sci Rep

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“…The maximum empower principle provides a thermodynamic explanation (Cai et al 2004) for the ever-present process of hierarchical self-organisation (Fig. 1b), a process observed in all types of environmental and socioeconomic systems so far studied by this means.…”

Section: Systems Ecology and Emergy Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating Participatory Learning and Action Research and Systems Ecology: A Potential for Sustainable Agriculture Transitions

Eksvärd

Rydberg

2010

Syst Pract Action Res

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This article explores the potential of integrating Participatory Learning and Action Research (PLAR) and Systems Ecology (SE) for improving research capability in facilitating sustainable development transitions in agriculture. Goal conflicts that arose in a PLAR group working on sustainability issues in small-scale organic tomato production are analysed from the perspective of SE. The possibility to improve agency for sustainable development by the merger of PLAR and SE are discussed. It is concluded that the approaches together could provide a sounder base for systemic research and transitions in agriculture.

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“…• During the first transmission process (Emi), the rate of emergy inflow (empower) was measured to identify the maximum power principle (MPP). In the case of multiple first energy exchanges, each emergy output must be evaluated [55], because the MPP considers all the energy directly supplied from the source (occasionally, it is difficult to identify every input point in a complex system; thus, a total of dissipated energy is measured instead) [36]. Emergy's uniqueness lies in the universal measurability of energy and material phenomena of all environmental systems in thermodynamic terms and the description of a macroscopic system order based on energy transfer chains.…”

Section: Energy and Emergymentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond Energy Efficiency in Building Sustainability: A Review of Emergy and Information for Systemically Characterizing Building Performance

Yi¹,

Mehrotra²

2022

Highlights Sustain.

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Sustainable buildings tend to maximize power and information rather than efficiency. The multidimensional concepts and tools provided by systems ecology and thermodynamics aid the understanding of building performance and sustainability as part of the global and complex thermodynamic phenomena in living systems—energy is not concentrated, but it flows, increasing the flow rate of useful energy. From such an extended macroscopic perspective, this paper addresses holistic eco-systemic criteria of building performance evaluation, focusing on emergy (spelled with an "m") and information—the two critical indices of extensive and intensive analysis. Emergy aggregates the utmost and upstream energetic impacts, whereas information evaluates the structural pattern of the energy-flow distribution. These indices are theoretically correlated under the principles of ecological energy transformation and are often practically compatible. To clarify the definitions and appropriate scientific contexts of the new indices for environmental building studies, we review information theory, ecological theorems, and a few pioneering studies. Emergy and information have a great potential for advanced environmental building analysis, but building-scale implementation of emergy, information, and system principles remains a scientific challenge. The findings call for further research into the improvement of building-specific emergy/information data and reliable evidence of the analogy between building and open living systems.

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Maximum (em)power: a foundational principle linking man and nature

Cited by 20 publications

References 25 publications

Eco-exergy and emergy based self-organization of three forest plantations in lower subtropical China

Eco-exergy and emergy based self-organization of three forest plantations in lower subtropical China

Integrating Participatory Learning and Action Research and Systems Ecology: A Potential for Sustainable Agriculture Transitions

Beyond Energy Efficiency in Building Sustainability: A Review of Emergy and Information for Systemically Characterizing Building Performance

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