The biogeochemical imprint of human metabolism in Paris Megacity: A regionalized analysis of a water-agro-food system

Esculier, Fabien; Noë, Julia Le; Barles, Sabine; Billen, Gilles; Créno, Benjamin; Garnier, Josette; Lesavre, J.; Petit, Léo; Tabuchi, Jean-Pierre

doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.02.043

Cited by 48 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Outside the city of Paris, the parameter SEWER was linearly increased from 0% in the 1890s to 33% in the 1940s [12] and extrapolated, by taking into account the historical evolution of sewage management [13], to a total connection rate of 98% estimated in the 2010s [14]. Until the 1940s, it was considered that the connected population of the suburbs was equally distributed between connection to the main sewer network of the Paris conurbation and to an independent suburban sewer network [15].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, human N contained in excreta is converted to N 2 using fossil resources. The N imprint of Paris and the industrial world in general is thus considered unsustainable [14]. Today, one-third of the N of the Paris conurbation excreta is still discharged to the rivers, mainly in the form of nitrates.…”

Section: Pollution Treatment By Resource Destruction (1968 To Today)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Past and Future Trajectories of Human Excreta Management Systems: Paris in the Nineteenth to Twenty-First Centuries

Esculier

Barles

2020

The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry

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This chapter addresses the fate of nutrients in agro-food systems after their ingestion by humans. Depending on how human urine and faeces are managed, they can become a source of pollution to the environment, or they can be used as a resource, notably as fertilisers, thus contributing to closing the loop of nutrients. Taking the city of Paris as a case study from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century, we analyse the fate of human excreta through the evaluation of corresponding nitrogen and phosphorus mass flows. We put forward two major phases concerning the management of human excreta: The circularisation phase (1800s to 1900s): human excreta management is characterised by increasing circularity which peaks in the 1900s with around 50% of human excreta nutrients being recycled. The linearisation phase (1900s–today): human excreta management is characterised by increasing linearity, i.e. a decrease in recycling rates of nutrients. Generalisation and improvement of wastewater treatment have led to decreasing pollution but also confirm the linearisation process (e.g. 5% recycling of human excreta nitrogen). This increase in linearity came together with increased dependency of agro-systems on fossil resources. Ongoing climate change is also putting the current system under pressure since the dilution capacity of the Seine River is decreasing, while the population of Paris is increasing. We therefore analyse three scenarios of future human excreta management (incineration, end-of-pipe recycling and source separation) and show that source separation of human excreta may offer the perspective of a sustainable human excreta management system.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Pollution Treatment By Resource Destruction (1968 To Today)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Past and Future Trajectories of Human Excreta Management Systems: Paris in the Nineteenth to Twenty-First Centuries

Esculier

Barles

2020

The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry

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“…Biowaste metabolism and nutrient recirculation is a recurring theme in the literature on urban metabolism. It relates to early studies on urban metabolism, the emergence of modern chemistry in the 19th century, as well as concerns about the spoliation of soil fertility led by the missed recirculation in agriculture of human and animal wastes which were in turn polluting the cities (Barles, 2005;Verger et al, 2018;Esculier et al, 2018). Such concerns occupy a prominent role in contemporary debates on sustainability and the circular economy (Cordell, Drangert, White, 2009;Kampelmann, 2016;Lehec, 2018).…”

Section: Points Of Departure: Different Perspectives On the Biowaste mentioning

confidence: 99%

Conditions and concepts for interdisciplinary urban metabolism research–the case of an inter-project collaboration on biowaste

Bortolotti¹,

Kampelmann²,

Muynck³

et al. 2020

Flux

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Given that many voices have argued in favour of combining insights on urban metabolism from different disciplinary angles, there seems to be no lack of general willingness to engage in interdisciplinary research on urban metabolism. Instead, we argue, the central problem lies in the nitty-gritty and mundane practicalities of working across research teams, departments and temporalities. In this paper, we offer a detailed description of an interdisciplinary collaboration that has occurred in practice: a joint effort on the study of potential transition scenarios regarding the metabolism of biowaste in the city-region of Brussels. This interproject collaboration involved four different research teams from three faculties and two universities, each with a specific set of expertise and interests. Biowaste metabolism and nutrient recirculation is a recurring theme in the literature on urban metabolism. It relates to early studies on urban metabolism and concerns about the depletion of soil fertility and different forms of pollution. The paper describes each research project point of departure in order to allow readers with different disciplinary backgrounds to apprehend the distance that separated the projects before they decided to work together on the urban biowaste metabolism. Furthermore, we present moments of convergences that helped to bring these research processes together. Finally, we offer a critical reflection, suggesting both enabling factors and limits of the inter-project collaboration on biowaste metabolism in Brussels. Titre (FR): Conditions et concepts pour la recherche interdisciplinaire sur le métabolisme urbain-le cas d'une collaboration inter-projets sur les biodéchets à Bruxelles Résumé (FR) Étant donné que de nombreuses voix se sont prononcées en faveur de combiner différents angles disciplinaires sur le métabolisme urbain, le problème central de la recherche interdisciplinaire sur le métabolisme urbain n'est pas à trouver dans le manque de volonté des De plus, nous présentons des moments de convergence qui ont permis de rapprocher ces processus de recherche. Enfin, nous proposons une réflexion critique, revenant à la fois sur les facteurs favorables et les limites de la collaboration entre projets sur le métabolisme des biodéchets à Bruxelles.

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“…km −2 for 2015. Considering sanitation efficient enough according to complementary directives or recycling alternative management of human excretion (Esculier, 2018;Esculier et al, 2018), this population increase might not significantly modify nutrient inputs to the river.…”

Section: Hydrological Impact On Ecological Functioning Of the River Umentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutrient inputs and hydrology together determine biogeochemical status of the Loire River (France): Current situation and possible future scenarios

Garnier

Ramarson

Billen

et al. 2018

Science of The Total Environment

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The Grafs-Seneque/Riverstrahler model was implemented for the first time on the Loire River for the 2002-2014 period, to explore eutrophication after improvement of wastewater treatments. The model reproduced the interannual levels and seasonal trends of the major water quality variables. Although eutrophication has been impressively reduced in the drainage network, a eutrophication risk still exists at the coast, as shown by the N-ICEP indicator, pointing out an excess of nitrogen over silica and phosphorus. From maximum biomass exceeding 120 μgChla l in the 1980's, we observed decreasing maximum values from 80 to 30 μgChla l during the period studied. Several scenarios were explored. Regarding nutrient point sources, a low wastewater treatment scenario, similar to the situation in the 1980's, was elaborated, representing much greater pollution than the reference period (2002-2014). For diffuse sources, two agricultural scenarios were elaborated for reducing nitrogen, one with a strict application of the agricultural directives and another investigating the impact of radical structural changes in agriculture and the population's diet. Although reduced, a risk of eutrophication would remain, even with the most drastic scenario. In addition, a pristine scenario, with no human activity within the basin, was devised to assess water quality in a natural state. The impact of a change in hydrology on the Loire biogeochemical functioning was also explored according to the effect of climate change by the end of the 21st century. The EROS hydrological model was used to force Riverstrahler, considering the most pessimistic SRES A2 scenario run with the ARPEGE model. Nutrient fluxes all decreased due to a >50% reduction in the average annual discharge, overall reducing the risk of coastal eutrophication, but worsening the water quality status of the river network. The Riverstrahler model could be useful to help water managers contend with future threats in the Loire River, at the scale of its basin and at smaller nested scales.

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The biogeochemical imprint of human metabolism in Paris Megacity: A regionalized analysis of a water-agro-food system

Abstract: 51 Animal food production requires 10 to 30 times more resources than vegetal food. 52 Wastewater N imprint per capita is 4 times higher than for vegetal food production.

Cited by 48 publications

References 46 publications

Past and Future Trajectories of Human Excreta Management Systems: Paris in the Nineteenth to Twenty-First Centuries

Past and Future Trajectories of Human Excreta Management Systems: Paris in the Nineteenth to Twenty-First Centuries

Conditions and concepts for interdisciplinary urban metabolism research–the case of an inter-project collaboration on biowaste

Nutrient inputs and hydrology together determine biogeochemical status of the Loire River (France): Current situation and possible future scenarios

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