Ecological Modelling 222 (2011) 2377–2384

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Ecological Modelling
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolmodel

Emergy analysis of the urban metabolism of Beijing

Yan Zhang a , Zhifeng Yang a,∗ , Gengyuan Liu a , Xiangyi Yu b
a
State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Xinjiekouwai Street No. 19, Beijing 100875, China
b
Chemical Registration Center of MEP (CRC-MEP), Beijing 100012, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Cities can be modeled as if they were superorganisms with a range of metabolic processes. Research on
Available online 18 October 2010 this urban metabolism can contribute to solving urban environmental problems by revealing details of
the metabolic throughput of the system. A key issue is how to find a common basis for measuring the
Keywords: environmental and economic values. By providing a single unified unit, emergy theory integrates the
Urban ecosystem natural and socioeconomic systems and thoroughly evaluates a system’s metabolism. We analyzed Bei-
Metabolic flows
jing’s urban metabolic system using emergy synthesis to evaluate its environmental resources, economy,
Emergy analysis
and environmental and economic relations with the regions outside the city during 14 years of devel-
Emergy indices
Beijing
opment. We compared Beijing’s emergy indices with those of five other Chinese cities and of China as
a whole to assess Beijing’s relative development status. These indices are the emergy self-support ratio
(metabolic dependence), the environmental load ratio (metabolic loading), empower density (metabolic
pressure), emergy used per person (metabolic intensity per capita), and the monetary equivalent of
emergy (emdollars; metabolic intensity). Based on our emergy analysis, Beijing’s socioeconomic system
is not self-sufficient, and depends greatly on external environmental resources. Its GDP is supported by
a high percentage of emergy purchased from outside the city. During the study period, Beijing’s urban
system showed an increasing dependence on external resources for its economic development. Beijing’s
loading and pressure on the ecological environment is continuously increasing, accompanied by contin-
uously increasing human emergy consumption. In the future, it will become increasingly necessary to
improve Beijing’s metabolic efficiency.
© 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Beijing, as China’s political, economic, and cultural center, is a
highly centralized region of human activities, and is thus a rep-
resentative region of China’s modern economy. The city (39◦ 56 N,
116◦ 20 E) is located in the northern part of the North China Plain,
and occupies a total area of 16 807.8 km2 . In the context of this
paper, it is important to note that like other Chinese cities, Beijing
includes large areas of surrounding countryside within its admin-
istrative borders; it is therefore more closely equivalent to the
Western concept of a “regional municipality” than to the Western
concept of a built-up urban area. In 2004, the following data pro-
vide a picture of the magnitude of Beijing’s resource flows (all data
provided by Beijing’s Statistical Office): annual rainfall averaged
507.7 mm (the average for China as a whole was 601 mm), and wind
velocity averaged 2.5 m/s. Solar radiation averages 570.24 GJ m−2 ,
and the geothermal heat flow averages 0.035 W/m2 . In 2004,
the exploitation of coal, iron ore, limestone, and sand totaled
∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: zfyang@bnu.edu.cn (Z.F. Yang).
9.08 × 106 t, 7.93 × 106 t, 13.5 × 106 t, and 18.0 × 106 t, respectively.
Soil erosion totaled 1.92 × 106 t. The permanent (registered) pop-
ulation of Beijing was 14.93 million and GDP was US$53.54 billion
(using a conversion factor of 8.1 RMB per US$ at the time of our
data collection).
Beijing clearly belongs to the group of cities with a resource
scarcity. The city has small reserves of coal, iron, and building mate-
rials, but most of the requirements for production and life depend
on external inputs. Because of the city’s vulnerability to interrup-
tions in these resource flows, it is important to clearly understand
Beijing’s urban metabolism.
Wolman (1965) first proposed the concept of urban metabolism.
He believed that the operation of an urban system closely resem-
bled the metabolic processes of a living system. Later, a number
of scholars built on Wolman’s ideas by treating cities as if they
were organisms, and by analyzing the processes and mechanisms
that formed their metabolism (Newcombe et al., 1978; Tjallingii,
1993; White, 1994; Fischer-Kowalski, 1998; Newman, 1999). Other
scholars used this evolving theory to study the metabolisms of Syd-
ney (Lenzen et al., 2004), Hong Kong (Warren-Rhodes and Koenig,
2001), Taiwan (Huang, 1998), Manchester (Douglas et al., 2002),
Shanghai (Zhang et al., 2006a,b), Shenzhen (Yan et al., 2003), Nan-

0304-3800/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2010.09.017
2378 Y. Zhang et al. / Ecological Modelling 222 (2011) 2377–2384

Table 1
Raw data used for the Beijing emergy synthesis from 1990 to 2004.

Emergy components Raw data

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004

Renewable resources
1. Sunlight (×1019 J) 7.19 7.19 7.19 7.19 7.19 7.19 7.19 7.19
2. Wind, kinetic (×1016 J) 2.19 3.40 4.69 5.61 3.88 4.98 3.88 4.98
3. Rain, geopotential (×1016 J) 0.28 0.22 0.33 0.28 0.30 0.15 0.15 0.20
4. Rain, chemical (×1016 J) 5.79 4.50 6.75 5.82 6.08 3.08 3.08 4.01
5. Earth cycles (×1016 J) 1.86 1.86 1.86 1.86 1.86 1.86 1.86 1.86
6. Rivers, geopotential (×1016 J) 0.81 0.73 0.65 0.57 0.57 0.54 0.47 0.70
Indigenous non-renewable resources
7. Soil losses (×1012 g) 3.37 3.33 3.28 3.25 2.78 2.68 10.61 1.92
8. Coal (×107 t) 1.01 1.02 1.01 1.01 0.99 0.55 0.88 0.91
9. Limestone (×1012 g) 4.07 4.84 6.38 7.99 9.14 9.92 10.61 13.52
10. Sand and gravel (×1012 g) 2.71 3.22 4.25 5.33 6.10 6.62 7.07 9.02
11. Iron ore (×1012 g) 3.60 4.35 6.95 7.32 7.51 7.73 7.73 7.93
Imports and outside sources
12. Natural gas (×108 m3 ) 0.83 0.95 1.05 1.50 3.80 10.97 20.48 27.00
13. Coal (×107 t) 1.65 1.64 1.64 1.65 1.65 1.52 1.64 1.69
14. Oil (×106 t) 7.20 7.20 7.20 6.81 6.60 7.55 7.06 8.33
15. Electricity (×1010 kW h) 1.23 1.40 1.28 1.34 1.47 1.37 1.37 1.43
16. Agricultural production (×1016 J) 3.52 3.26 2.97 1.79 1.94 1.40 1.92 1.84
17. Livestock production (×1015 J) 1.36 1.12 0.90 0.68 1.18 0.88 0.96 1.34
18. Fisheries production (×1014 J) 7.74 0.61 1.60 1.94 9.60 9.23 6.80 9.61
19. Limestone (×1012 g) 1.23 1.05 1.17 1.06 0.89 0.63 1.14 0.50
20. Sand and gravel (×1012 g) 1.64 1.40 1.56 1.41 1.19 0.84 1.52 0.67
21. Wood (×104 m3 ) 9.72 10.48 13.49 12.81 6.71 46.72 27.86 12.48
22. Cotton (×105 t) 1.40 2.43 2.58 0.09 3.52 5.99 5.48 5.18
23. Metal ores (×1012 g) 1.96 2.19 0.28 2.42 2.16 2.55 2.61 10.81
24. Chemical fertilizer (×1011 g) 1.76 1.88 2.06 2.32 6.63 14.00 25.48 24.68
25. Pesticides (×109 g) 4.28 5.43 6.57 2.09 92.83 12.56 2.46 0.10
26. Plastics (×1010 g) 1.51 1.52 1.47 3.47 2.22 2.01 10.69 2.56
27. Sugarcane (×1011 g) 1.67 0.72 1.25 1.80 1.48 1.32 1.28 1.86
28. Machinery and transportation equipment (×1010 g) 2.95 3.47 3.68 3.43 12.55 5.47 5.54 6.34
29. Services from outside (×1010 US$) 0.34 0.37 0.30 1.00 1.22 1.28 1.50 2.52
30. Services in imports (×1010 US$) 0.03 0.05 0.09 0.31 0.59 0.75 0.76 1.47
Exports
31. Agricultural production (×1015 J) 2.22 5.40 4.82 5.11 7.57 5.92 9.00 9.80
32. Livestock production (×1014 J) 1.18 2.62 0.38 4.13 1.28 2.02 0.38 0.47
33. Fisheries production (×1014 J) 1.56 1.65 1.36 0.43 20.93 1.44 1.63 1.95
34. Limestone (×1010 g) 5.06 4.83 4.80 63.33 146.54 5.26 5.97 6.15
35. Sand and gravel (×1010 g) 6.75 6.44 6.40 84.44 195.39 7.01 7.97 8.20
36. Wood (×103 m3 ) 2.46 2.98 2.65 2.15 125.71 322.17 32.45 16.79
37. Cotton (×104 t) 2.90 3.91 135.53 1.50 3.74 8.73 5.85 7.27
38. Metal ores (×1010 g) 4.98 4.24 4.02 32.37 254.85 4.72 4.71 4.99
39. Chemical fertilizer (×109 g) 4.58 3.25 0.07 2.10 1592.12 58.64 62.49 630.22
40. Pesticides (×108 g) 3.21 45.69 48.67 2.65 87.05 39.11 21.46 1.96
41. Plastics (×109 g) 3.09 3.07 2.76 1.75 4.50 1.15 1.10 1.25
42. Sugarcane (×1010 g) 1.91 2.37 2.57 13.40 9.84 29.46 31.05 34.52
43. Machinery and transportation equipment (×109 g) 1.55 1.71 1.80 1.58 25.75 0.63 1.03 3.12
44. Services to outside (×1010 US$) 0.14 0.16 0.13 0.24 0.43 0.86 1.25 2.53
45. Services in exports (×1010 US$) 0.10 0.11 0.17 0.67 0.83 0.75 0.48 0.69

tong (Yu and Huang, 2005), Paris (Barles, 2007), Toronto (Sahely et
al., 2003; Forkes, 2007), and New York (Kane and Erickson, 2007).
Methods of studying urban metabolism include material-flow
accounting and energy-flow accounting. Material-flow accounting
can compile material flows and interpret them as pressures on nat-
ural systems. The goal is to assess the possible loss of resources
(“dematerialization”) or import of resources (“rematerialization”)
by the economy, thereby implicitly examining a city’s ecological
sustainability (Heinz et al., 1999). In practice, however, the method
fails to measure the environmental and economic significance of
the various materials and substances in the materials flow (Chen et
al., 2003; Tao, 2003). Energy accounting methods, including exergy
analysis and emergy analysis, can resolve this problem by bridging
the gap between the socioeconomic system and the natural ecosys-
tem that sustains it (Hall et al., 1986). In addition, these methods
provide a single unit of measurement that can account for all mate-
rial, energy, and monetary flows between the urban system and its
surrounding environment (Odum, 1988).
The concept of an urban metabolism is closely related to sustain-
able development, since both focus on the persistent ecosystem
services that support humans by providing materials, goods, and
services (De Leo and Levin, 1997). Ecosystem health can be regarded
as a prerequisite for the sustainable development of the ecosys-
tem. In this paper, we attempted to provide such an analysis by
determining the flows of energy, materials, and money through
the urban metabolism. To account for these flows, we adopted
the emergy analysis method (Odum, 1996). Using this approach,
we developed a set of emergy-based indicators for evaluating the
dependence, environmental loading, efficiency, pressure, welfare,
and intensity components of the urban metabolism, thereby com-
prehensively reflecting the operation of the key processes within
the urban metabolism. Based on this analysis, we demonstrate the
use of these indices in a case study of Beijing (China). To illustrate
the kind of insights this approach can provide, we then compare
the results for Beijing with those for five other cities and for China
as a whole.
 Y. Zhang et al. / Ecological Modelling 222 (2011) 2377–2384
2. Methodology
2.1. Statistical data used
We used data on material, energy, and monetary flows from
1990 to 2004, at 2-year intervals, to evaluate the changes in the
development status of the Beijing urban system. The primary data
used in our emergy calculations were obtained from the Beijing
Statistical Office (1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005)
and the Editorial Committee for China Environment Year-Book
(1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005). The raw data
used in this analysis are shown in Table 1. To illustrate the impli-
cations of the emergy analysis for Beijing, we compared the results
with those for other similar cities; to do so, we obtained data
for Guangzhou (Sui and Lan, 2006), Shanghai (Sui and Lan, 2006),
Ningbo (Li and Zhang, 2003), Hong Kong (Lan and Odum, 1994), and
Macao (Lei et al., 2008). We also compared the results with those
for China as a whole (Jiang et al., 2008).
2.2. Emergy analysis
Odum originated emergy theory, and introduced two key terms:
emergy and transformity (Odum, 1971). Emergy is the total energy
of one kind that is required, both directly and indirectly, to form
a resource, product, or service. Its units are solar emjoules (seJ).
Transformity is the emergy input per unit of available energy out-
put. For example, if 10 000 seJ are required to generate 1 J of wood,
then the solar transformity of that wood is 10 000 seJ/J. Specific
emergy is the emergy per unit of mass that is output, and is usually
expressed as the solar emergy per gram (seJ/g). Material resources
can be evaluated using specific emergy data. For financial flows, the
emergy per unit money is used to represent the emergy that sup-
ports the generation of one unit of economic product (expressed
as seJ per currency unit). It is used to convert monetary flows into
emergy units.
The key conversion factors used to create values in a single sys-
tem of directly comparable units are transformity (seJ/J) for energy
flows, specific emergy (seJ/g) for mass flows, and emergy per unit
money (e.g., seJ/$) for monetary flows (Brown and Ulgiati, 2004).
Similarly, solar transformity is the transformity required to convert
these quantities into solar emergy equivalents (Odum, 1996). Thus,
the solar transformity, specific emergy, and emergy per unit money
of a product () equal its emergy divided by the available energy
in a product, and the product’s emergy (M, in seJ) can be expressed
as:
M = E, (1)
where E is the available energy of a product, which is expressed in J
(for energy flows), g (for mass flows), or a currency value for mon-
etary flows (Odum, 1996). During the past three decades, Odum
and his colleagues, and researchers who built on their work, have
calculated transformities for many products and services. Detailed
references now allow the calculation of emergy values for most
forms of energy and resources (Odum, 1996; Brown and Ulgiati,
1997; Odum et al., 2000; Brandt-Williams, 2001; Nelson et al.,
2001; Huang and Chen, 2005; Cohen et al., 2006; Jiang et al., 2008).
The larger the transformity, the more solar energy is required
to produce a product (Odum, 1988, 1996). Thus, emergy analysis
allows us to compare different flows using a single unit of mea-
surement (the “solar emjoule”) for all flows of materials, energy,
and money through a system (Zhang and Yang, 2007). The primary
source of energy for all terrestrial ecosystems is sunlight, deep-
Earth heat, and tides, which provide the energy for the rain, the
wind, and many Earth cycles. In recognition of the importance of
solar energy in sustaining most ecosystems, emergy accounting for
the material and energy flows of the urban system multiplies the
2379
Fuels Goods
F G1
S1
Services
Coal
Iron ore Socioeconomic production
S2
N1 Other
Soil
N GDP Markets
Sun loss N0
G2
Wind
Rain
Rural
Earth cycles/
R renewable
resources Urban metabolic system
Fig. 1. A typical emergy-flow diagram for an urban ecosystem. The meanings of the
parameters are defined in Section 2.3 of the paper.
energy content or mass or monetary value of a flow by its solar
transformity to obtain its solar emergy value (Huang et al., 2006).
Emergy analysis thus provides an integrated evaluation of the eco-
logical and economic values that flow through a system, and makes
it possible to study all aspects of urban metabolism in an integrated
manner.
In Fig. 1, only the major components and flows that propel
the urban system are described, reflecting the general situa-
tion for urban socioeconomic development and evaluation of
eco-environmental quality (Huang and Chen, 2005; Zhang et
al., 2009a,b). To sustain the functions of the urban metabolic
system, the basic emergy flows represented by these indices
must be ensured. These are renewable resources (R), nonrenew-
able resources (N), purchased inputs imported from the external
environment (IMP), and exported products (EXP). Based on this
quantification of emergy flows, a set of emergy-based indicators
can be calculated, and the results can be used to evaluate various
aspects of the status of the urban metabolism. These indices are
discussed in Section 2.3.
2.3. Emergy accounting indicators
Renewable resources (R) mainly includes emergy from sunlight,
rain, wind, and Earth cycles. In the new baseline framework, which
includes the most commonly accepted criteria that are used to
avoid double-counting (Odum et al., 2000), R for an urban sys-
tem is calculated as the largest inflowing emergy from a renewable
source rather than as the sum of all flows. Odum (1996) notes that
the renewable emergy equals the sum of rain’s chemical potential
energy and that of tides. However, Beijing is an inland region, so no
tidal energy is absorbed in its urban system. Campbell et al. (2005)
note that the rules for combining emergy sources into the base-
line renewable emergy for a system without double-counting will
differ depending on the planetary baseline that is chosen. Using
the 15.83 × 1024 sej/y baseline, only the largest emergy input to
any given area is included. This rule is simpler and works equally
well if the system is broken into areas with distinct differences
in the spectrum of emergy inflows. Thus, we selected the max-
imum renewable flow (sunlight, wind kinetic, rain geopotential,
rain chemical, Earth cycles, and river geopotential) as an indicator
of the renewable emergy sources received by the system, thereby
minimizing the risk of double-counting.
At the same time, renewable production (the direct and indirect
production of free environmental resources) is not accounted for
in the total emergy use; these production processes include local
renewable resources such as agricultural production, forestry pro-
duction, and fish (to some extent) that are used to meet the city’s
production needs and support household use. Because these items
2380 Y. Zhang et al. / Ecological Modelling 222 (2011) 2377–2384
Table 2
Emergy indices used for evaluating the urban material metabolism.
Emergy indices Formula Meaning
ESR (R + N)/U Metabolic dependence
ELR (IMP + N)/R Metabolic loading
ED U/area Metabolic pressure
EDO U/GDP Metabolic intensity
EP U/P Metabolic intensity per capita
are supported by free environmental flows and by additional eco-
nomic investments (fuel, labor, etc.), they are not accounted for
in the total emergy use. We have also defined an emergy value
for nonrenewable resources (N), which equals the sum of the
emergy of dispersed rural sources (N0 ), such as soil erosion, and
local resources for concentrated use (N1 ), such as fuels that can be
obtained from inside the system (for Beijing, mostly coal), lime-
stone, sand, and related construction materials, and iron ore. We
have also accounted for fuels from outside the system (F), goods
(G1 ), and services (S1 ) from outside the system (imports, IMP), and
produced goods (G2 ) and services (S2 ) that are exported from the
system (exports, EXP). The sum of all these flows equals the total
emergy flow (U), whose magnitude is a measure of the system’s real
wealth, including both resources and products; on the other hand,
it also indicates the magnitude of the resource consumption that is
required to sustain economic development. Based on the emergy
analysis for urban systems that was proposed by Huang and Hsu
(2003), we calculated the emergies of urban metabolic flows (R, N,
IMP, EXP, and U) as follows:
R = max(Rsun , Rrain , Rwind , REarth cycles , Rriver )
where “max” represents the largest R value.
N = N0 + N1
IMP = F + G1 + S1
EXP = G2 + S2
U = R + N + IMP
2.4. Emergy indices
Based on the quantification of emergy flows, we calculated a set
of indices and ratios (Table 2) and used them to evaluate the urban
system (Odum, 1996; Ulgiati and Brown, 1998; Bakshi, 2000): the
emergy self-support ratio (ESR), the environmental load ratio (ELR),
the empower density (ED), the emergy used per person (EP), and
the monetary equivalent of emergy (EDO, in emdollars). ESR is the
ratio of the total emergy driving a system that is derived from inter-
nal emergy inputs; a large ratio suggests a low level of dependence
on the external environment. ELR is the ratio of emergy imported
and nonrenewable internal emergy to renewable environmental
resources emergy; a large ratio suggests a high metabolic load on
the environment (Ulgiati et al., 1994). ED is the ratio of the total
emergy driving a system to the area of the system; a large ratio
suggests a high level of metabolic pressure. Because emergy mea-
sures the energy that went into a product, it also measures the
real wealth that the product contributes to the economy and can
be used to justify its production. The amount of real wealth that
money buys is indicated by EDO, the ratio of emergy to money, with
money measured using the GDP (Odum, 1996; Ulgiati and Brown,
1998; Bakshi, 2000). EDO is thus a measure of the ability of money
to purchase emergy. A higher value shows that the system’s econ-
omy purchases a higher quantity of emergy flows. EP is the ratio of
the total emergy driving a system to the population; this emergy
per capita can be used as a measure of the potential mean standard
of living of the population, and a large ratio suggests a high level of
metabolic intensity per capita. These indices reflect the basis of the
urban system’s socioeconomic development, resource utilization,
and waste discharge.
3. Results
Table 3 summarizes the emergy flows that result from the
urban metabolic system’s inputs and outputs. By substituting the
input–output emergy data into Eqs. (2)–(6), it is possible to cal-
culate R, N, IMP, EXP, and U, as well as the indices based on these
parameters (Table 4).
The values of these indices for Beijing’s urban metabolic sys-
tem from 1990 to 2004 are shown in Table 4. Table 5 compares
the values of indices calculating using this data for Beijing in 2004
with published results for five other cities and for China as a whole.
In other investigations, different global emergy baselines were
adopted. Because transformities are always measured relative to
a given planetary solar emergy baseline, care should be taken to
ensure that the transformities used in any particular analysis are
all relative to the same baseline in any comparison of the emergy
indices. However, the results of studies that used different baselines
can be easily compared when the comparison focuses on synthetic
indices such as ESR and ELR because the baseline is present in both
the numerator and the denominator, and therefore cancels out. In
contrast, for parameters such as EP, ED, and EDO, the calculated
value changes when the baseline changes. To permit a fair compar-
ison of the values of these parameters, we have therefore presented
both the original values and adjusted values that were recalculated
(2) using the baseline value that we used in the present study. Trans-
formities used in this paper are given to three significant figures.
The 9.44 E24 sej/y baseline was used by Odum (1996). It has since
been superseded by the 9.26 E24 sej/y baseline, but many transfor-
(3)
mities in the older literature are given relative to the 9.44 E24 sej/y
(4) baseline. We have clarified these points in the revised manuscript,
and have provided the accounting baseline used in each of the other
(5) investigations.
(6)
4. Discussion
From 1990 to 2004, Beijing’s U increased continuously (Table 4).
In 2004, U was 6.51 × 1023 seJ, which equals 3.1 times the 1990
value. During the same period, R fluctuated but showed an over-
all decrease (mostly due to large fluctuations in rainfall during
this period), whereas N, IMP, and EXP increased continuously
(Fig. 2). In 2004, the renewable emergy, non-renewable internal
emergy, and emergy imported represented 0.2, 34.3, and 65.5% of
U, respectively (Table 1). Limestone, sand, and gravel were the main
internal nonrenewable resources, and were used to sustain Bei-
jing’s construction business. These results mean that the metabolic
throughput in Beijing’s urban system increased continuously dur-
ing this period. This is due, in part, to steady and rapid increases in
IMP and EXP during the study period. Although imports remained
higher than exports, this trend may not continue; the IMP value
in 2004 has increased to just over 3 times the 1990 value, whereas
the increase in EXP during this period has been nearly 13 times. The
operation of Beijing’s urban system still clearly depends on nonre-
newable resources, and especially those imported from outside the
system.
From 1994 to 2004, Beijing’s ESR decreased steadily (to 9% below
its 1990 level; Table 4). The ESR of Beijing in 2004 was 34.4%
(Table 5), which was less than that of Guangzhou (67.0%; Sui and
Lan, 2006) and Shanghai (61.0%; Sui and Lan, 2006) in 2002, and less
than that of Ningbo in 2000 (68.1%; Li and Zhang, 2003). Only Hong
Kong in 1988 (Lan and Odum, 1994) and Macao in 2004 (Lei et al.,
2008) had a lower ESR value (2.0 and 1.6%, respectively). Beijing’s
Table 3
Emergy synthesis for Beijing’s material metabolism from 1990 to 2004.

Emergy components Solar emergy (×1019 seJ) Transformity Source

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004

Renewable resources
1. Sunlight 7.19 7.19 7.19 7.19 7.19 7.19 7.19 7.19 1 Odum et al. (2000), Folio 1
2. Wind, kinetic 5.36 8.32 11.49 13.74 9.51 12.21 9.51 12.21 2.45 × 103 Odum et al. (2000), Folio 1
3. Rain, geopotential 13.24 10.28 15.45 13.31 13.90 7.05 7.04 9.18 4.70 × 104 Odum et al. (2000), Folio 1
4. Rain, chemical 176.59 137.13 205.94 177.50 185.30 93.98 93.80 122.39 3.05 × 104 Odum et al. (2000), Folio 1
5. Earth cycles 107.60 107.60 107.60 107.60 107.60 107.60 107.60 107.60 5.80 × 104 Odum et al. (2000), Folio 1
6. Rivers, geopotential 38.09 34.34 30.55 26.88 26.68 25.55 22.25 32.89 4.70 × 104 Odum et al. (2000), Folio 1
Indigenous non-renewable resources
7. Soil losses 5.63 5.58 5.48 5.44 4.65 4.49 17.74 3.22 7.40 × 104 Odum et al. (2000), Folio 1
8. Coal 1122.14 1132.96 1125.47 1131.32 1104.24 617.15 983.14 1013.80 4.00 × 104 Odum et al. (2000), Folio 1
9. Limestone 3864.60 4594.20 6060.92 7592.40 8686.80 9427.80 10 077.60 12 847.80 9.50 × 109 Odum (2000), Folio 2
10. Sand and gravel 2305.20 2740.40 3615.29 4528.80 5181.60 5623.60 6011.20 7663.60 8.50 × 109 Odum (2000), Folio 2
11. Iron ore 359.90 435.10 695.00 732.00 751.50 773.24 772.86 792.99 1.00 × 109 Odum et al. (2000), Folio 1
Imports and outside sources

Y. Zhang et al. / Ecological Modelling 222 (2011) 2377–2384

12. Natural gas 15.02 17.19 19.00 27.14 68.76 198.51 370.61 488.59 4.80 × 104 Odum et al. (2000), Folio 1
13. Coal 1836.04 1825.22 1832.71 1839.96 1841.46 1691.23 1829.53 1887.80 4.00 × 104 Odum et al. (2000), Folio 1
14. Oil 1627.06 1627.06 1627.06 1538.23 1492.25 1707.08 1596.93 1882.95 5.40 × 104 Odum et al. (2000), Folio 1
15. Electricity 1185.26 1344.36 1227.01 1284.84 1417.80 1313.77 1313.77 1376.12 1.59 × 105 Brown and Bardi (2001), Folio 3
16. Agricultural production 503.06 466.55 424.29 256.17 277.29 199.85 273.89 263.00 1.43 × 105 Brandt-Williams (2001), Folio 4
17. Livestock production 124.40 102.83 82.62 62.46 107.83 80.36 87.71 122.37 9.15 × 105 Brandt-Williams (2001), Folio 4
18. Fisheries production 260.00 20.37 53.74 65.07 322.67 310.26 228.52 322.94 2.00 × 106 Lan et al. (2002)
19. Limestone 1167.70 998.54 1109.47 1003.41 845.98 599.99 1079.99 475.53 9.50 × 109 Odum (2000), Folio 2
20. Sand and gravel 1393.05 1191.24 1323.58 1197.05 1009.23 715.77 1288.41 567.30 8.50 × 109 Odum (2000), Folio 2
21. Wood 8.16 8.81 11.33 10.76 5.64 39.25 23.40 10.48 1.68 × 108 Pulselli et al. (2008)
22. Cotton 323.53 561.39 596.56 21.54 813.52 1384.26 1266.35 1197.43 2.31 × 1016 Brandt-Williams (2001), Folio 4
23. Metal ores 196.38 218.88 27.96 242.29 215.54 255.06 260.74 1081.11 1.00 × 109 Odum et al. (2000), Folio 1
24. Chemical fertilizer 0.47 0.50 0.55 0.62 1.78 3.75 6.83 6.61 7.70 × 106 Odum et al. (2000), Folio 1
25. Pesticides 10.65 13.52 16.36 5.21 231.15 31.27 6.12 0.26 2.49 × 1010 Brandt-Williams (2001), Folio 4
26. Plastics 8.14 8.18 7.88 18.65 11.96 10.81 57.47 13.77 3.20 × 109 Brown and Bardi (2001), Folio 3
27. Sugarcane 6.68 2.89 4.98 7.21 5.92 5.29 5.12 7.43 4.00 × 108 Brandt-Williams (2001), Folio 4
28. Machinery and transportation equipment 2.95 3.47 3.68 3.43 12.55 5.47 5.54 6.34 1.00 × 109 Odum et al. (2000), Folio 1
29. Services from outside 4155.97 4474.56 3692.90 12 129.24 14 738.49 15 536.06 18 172.77 30 547.82 1.21 × 1013 Jiang et al. (2008)
30. Services in imports 47.10 87.05 153.20 507.68 974.34 1252.82 1260.83 2439.55 1.66 × 1012 Lei et al. (2008)
Exports
31. Agricultural production 34.07 79.53 69.89 73.72 108.23 84.80 128.77 140.18 1.43 × 105 Brandt-Williams (2001), Folio 4
32. Livestock production 10.77 23.97 3.48 37.82 11.68 18.47 3.44 4.27 9.15 × 105 Brandt-Williams (2001), Folio 4
33. Fisheries production 52.41 55.36 45.59 14.46 703.16 48.33 54.92 65.63 2.00 × 106 Lan et al. (2002)
34. Limestone 48.06 45.87 45.61 601.62 1392.14 49.95 56.75 58.40 9.50 × 109 Odum (2000), Folio 2
35. Sand and gravel 57.34 54.72 54.42 717.72 1660.80 59.59 67.70 69.67 8.50 × 109 Odum (2000), Folio 2
36. Wood 0.21 0.25 0.22 0.18 10.56 27.06 2.73 1.41 1.68 × 108 Pulselli et al. (2008)
37. Cotton 66.93 90.36 3130.80 34.56 86.32 201.59 135.10 168.03 2.31 × × 1016 Brandt-Williams (2001), Folio 4
38. Metal ores 4.98 4.24 4.02 32.37 254.85 4.72 4.71 4.99 1.00 × 109 Odum et al. (2000), Folio 1
39. Chemical fertilizer 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.01 4.27 0.16 0.17 1.69 7.70 × 106 Odum et al. (2000), Folio 1
40. Pesticides 0.80 11.38 12.12 0.66 21.68 9.74 5.34 0.49 2.49 × 1010 Brandt-Williams (2001), Folio 4
41. Plastics 1.66 1.65 1.48 0.94 2.42 0.62 0.59 0.67 3.20 × 109 Brown and Bardi (2001), Folio 3
42. Sugarcane 0.76 0.95 1.03 5.36 3.94 11.79 12.42 13.81 4.00 × 108 Brandt-Williams (2001), Folio 4
43. Machinery and transportation equipment 0.16 0.17 0.18 0.16 2.58 0.06 0.10 0.31 1.00 × 109 Odum et al. (2000), Folio 1
44. Services to outside 1755.33 1992.27 1534.74 2914.65 5225.40 10 427.54 15 109.71 30 560.45 1.21 × 1013 Jiang et al. (2008)
45. Services in exports 1196.65 1298.25 2032.96 8141.36 10 041.05 9126.22 5765.69 8301.22 1.66 × 1012 Lei et al. (2008)

Notes: The total global empower in 2000 was assumed to be 15.83 × 1024 seJ yr−1 (Brown and Bardi, 2001). Data were obtained from the Beijing Statistical Office (1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005) and the Editorial
Committee for China Environment Year-Book (1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005). R is the maximum of items 1–6; N0 is the value of item 7; N1 is the sum of items 8–11; N is the sum of items 7–11; F is the sum of
items 12–15; G1 is the sum of items 16–28; S1 is the sum of items 29–30; IMP is the sum of items 12–30; G2 is the sum of items 31–43; S2 is the sum of items 44–45; and EXP is the sum of items 31–45.

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2382 Y. Zhang et al. / Ecological Modelling 222 (2011) 2377–2384

Table 4
Emergy indices for the material metabolism of Beijing’s urban ecosystem.

Index 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004

R (×1023 seJ) 0.018 0.014 0.021 0.018 0.019 0.011 0.011 0.012
N (×1023 seJ) 0.766 0.891 1.150 1.399 1.573 1.645 1.786 2.232
IMP (×1023 seJ) 1.287 1.297 1.221 2.022 2.439 2.534 2.913 4.270
EXP (×1023 seJ) 0.323 0.366 0.694 1.258 1.953 2.007 2.135 3.939
U (×1023 seJ) 2.071 2.202 2.392 3.439 4.031 4.189 4.710 6.514
ESR (%) 37.84 41.08 48.94 41.20 39.48 39.51 38.15 34.45
ELR 116.26 159.56 115.17 192.74 216.53 388.36 436.77 531.23
ED (×1013 seJ/m2 ) 1.23 1.31 1.42 2.05 2.40 2.49 2.80 3.88
EDO (×1013 seJ/US$) 3.31 2.48 1.77 1.70 1.60 1.35 1.17 1.22
EP (×1016 seJ/person) 1.91 2.00 2.13 2.73 3.24 3.09 3.31 4.36

Table 5
Comparison of various emergy-related indices for Beijing with those of several other Chinese cities.

Emergy indicator ESR (%) ELR ED EDO EP Original baseline (seJ/year) Sources
(×1013 seJ/m2 ) (×1013 seJ/US$) (×1016 seJ/person)

Original Adjusted Original Adjusted Original Adjusted

values values values values values values

Beijing (2004) 34.45 531.23 3.88 3.88 1.22 1.22 4.36 4.36 15.83 × 1024 Present study
Guangzhou (2002) 67.00 4.74 0.19 0.32 0.38 0.65 1.97 3.37 9.26 × 1024 Sui and Lan (2006)
Shanghai (2002) 61.00 17.34 0.40 0.68 0.46 0.79 2.32 3.97 9.26 × 1024 Sui and Lan (2006)
Ningbo (2000) 68.12 17.14 0.31 0.52 0.21 0.35 0.54 0.91 9.44 × 1024 Li and Zhang (2003)
Hong Kong (1988) 2.00 2587.60 5.20 8.89 0.10 0.17 0.98 1.68 9.26 × 1024 Lan and Odum (1994)
Macao (2004) 1.57 743.00 80.50 137.62 0.24 0.41 4.90 8.38 9.26 × 1024 Lei et al. (2008)
China (2004) 81.00 9.29 0.21 0.21 1.21 1.21 1.53 1.53 15.83 × 1024 Jiang et al. (2008)

ESR in 2004 was far lower than the average for China as a whole
(81.00% in 2004; Jiang et al., 2008). Compared to other cities, Bei-
jing’s high metabolic dependence means that the self-sufficiency
of the city’s urban system is clearly limited, that the city’s inter-
nal resources are inadequate, and that its economic development
depends almost entirely on support from outside the city.
From 1990 to 2004, Beijing’s ELR increased remarkably (to 4.6
times its 1990 value; Table 4). In 2004, the ELR of Beijing reached
531.23 (Table 5), which was far higher than those of Guangzhou
(4.74; Sui and Lan, 2006), Shanghai (17.34; Sui and Lan, 2006), and
Ningbo (17.14; Li and Zhang, 2003). Only Hong Kong (2587.60; Lan
and Odum, 1994) and Macao (743.00; Lei et al., 2008) had higher
ELR values. In 2004, the overall ELR for China was 9.29, versus a
world average of 1.15 (Jiang et al., 2008). Many authors suggest
that when ELR is greater than 10, the environmental loading is
unsustainably high (Ulgiati et al., 1994; Ulgiati and Brown, 1998).
Because large amounts of external energy are fed into the urban
metabolic system, and because the city’s environmental resources
are overused without any compensating factors, the pressure on the
7 rate of 7.4% throughout the study period. Beijing’s EDO in 2004 was
seJ)
local natural environment has remained high. The results indicate
that the metabolic environmental loading on the natural environ-
ment caused by Beijing’s rapid economic development is high and
increasing. If the ELR continues to remain high for a long period of
time, the city’s ecosystem may be irreversibly damaged.
Beijing’s ED increased continuously throughout the study
period, at a compound average annual rate of 8.5%, from
1.23 × 1013 seJ/m2 in 1990 to 3.88 × 1013 seJ/m2 in 2004, which
represents 3.1 times the 1990 value (Table 4). Beijing had
a higher metabolic pressure than China as a whole in 2004
(0.21 × 1013 seJ/m2 ; Jiang et al., 2008). In 2004, the ED of Bei-
jing was far higher than those of Guangzhou (0.32 × 1013 seJ/m2 ;
Sui and Lan, 2006), Shanghai (0.68 × 1013 seJ/m2 ; Sui and Lan,
2006), and Ningbo (0.52 × 1013 seJ/m2 ; Li and Zhang, 2003). Only
Hong Kong (8.89 × 1013 seJ/m2 ; Lan and Odum, 1994) and Macao
(137.62 × 1013 seJ/m2 ; Lei et al., 2008) had higher ED values. These
results mean that Beijing’s urban development is imposing great
pressure on the city’s eco-environment.
Beijing’s EDO values decreased from 3.31 × 1013 seJ/US$ in 1990
to 1.22 × 1013 seJ/US$ in 2004 (Table 4), which represents 36.8% of
the 1990 value. EDO thus decreased at a compound average annual

higher than those of the other five cities, and close to the national
23

6 R N IMP level. Beijing’s high EDO means that more of the economy involves
R (10 seJ), N, IMP, EXP, U (10

EXP U
direct inputs of environmental resources (internal and external)
5
that are not paid for (or that are paid for at a lower rate than in
4 the other cities) and that the rate of economic growth was lower.
Generally speaking, Beijing’s metabolic intensity is relatively high,
3 which means that the city’s rapid socioeconomic development has
been accompanied by a high cost to the eco-environment.
2 During the 14-year study period, Beijing’s EP increased from
1.91 × 1016 seJ/person to 4.36 × 1016 seJ/person, which represents
1
21

2.3 times the 1990 value (Table 4). Beijing’s EP in 2004 was lower
0 than that of Macao (8.38 × 1016 seJ/person; Lei et al., 2008), but
1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 higher than that of Guangzhou (3.37 × 1016 seJ/person; Sui and
Year Lan, 2006), Shanghai (3.97 × 1016 seJ/person; Sui and Lan, 2006),
Ningbo (0.91 × 1016 seJ/person; Li and Zhang, 2003), and Hong Kong
Fig. 2. Values of key emergy flows for Beijing’s urban ecosystem. R, renewable
resources; N, nonrenewable resources; IMP, imports; EXP, exports; U, total emergy
(1.68 × 1016 seJ/person; Lan and Odum, 1994), and also higher than
use. the average for China as a whole (1.53 × 1016 seJ/person; Jiang et al.,
 Y. Zhang et al. / Ecological Modelling 222 (2011) 2377–2384
2008). These results means that the consumption level of Beijing’s
residents is relatively high, at approximately 3 times the national
average level, and that awareness of the need for environmental
protection should be improved.
5. Conclusions
Integrated emergy analysis and material metabolism analysis
can provide important insights into the state of an urban metabolic
system. This approach permits an integrated evaluation of the
status of urban development, and has obvious significance for iden-
tifying the causes of degradation of the urban system and possible
ways to protect that ecosystem.
We used a set of five indices to evaluate the urban metabolic
system: ESR, which reflects the city’s metabolic dependence on
external energy; ELR, which reflects the city’s metabolic loading
on its internal environment; ED, which reflects the metabolic pres-
sure on its internal environment; EDO, which reflects the city’s
metabolic intensity; and EP, which reflects the city’s metabolic
intensity per capita.
Based on our emergy synthesis, Beijing’s socioeconomic devel-
opment depends greatly on external environmental resources, and
the city is clearly not self-sufficient. As a result, its GDP is sup-
ported by purchasing external emergy. From 1990 to 2004, during
a period of strong economic growth, Beijing’s U, ELR, ED, and EP
increased continuously, whereas ESR and EDO have decreased con-
tinuously. Compared to the other five cities, Beijing had a higher
ELR, ED, and EP than Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Ningbo, and lower
values of these parameters than Hong Kong and Macao; this pattern
was reversed for ESR, and Beijing’s EDO was higher than that of all
other cities. Thus, Beijing’s urban system clearly still belongs to the
resource-consumption type, with a continuously increasing depen-
dence of its economic development on external resources. Beijing
has also shown a continuously increasing loading and pressure
on the ecological environment along with continuously increasing
human energy consumption, which is correlated with human wel-
fare in complex ways. In the future, it will be increasingly necessary
to improve Beijing’s metabolic efficiency.
Based on its existing degree of development and the results of
the present study, Beijing should introduce innovative approaches
and technologies to increase the potential for sustainable develop-
ment. For example, sustainable development of Beijing’s ecosystem
can be realized by adopting measures to decrease the environ-
mental pressure that is accompanying the city’s rapid economic
development, such as strengthening the protection and develop-
ment of renewable resources, decreasing the city’s dependence
on nonrenewable resources, improving the utilization efficiency of
nonrenewable and imported resources, and increasing reuse and
recycling of wastes.
The issue of waste management is important, because the waste
flows for any city with a metabolic system as large as Beijing’s are
obviously huge. However, the current state of emergy accounting
for wastes is relatively primitive, and reliable statistics on waste
flows for Beijing are not available. In future research, it will be
important to find ways to account for the emergy of waste flows to
improve the accuracy of our analyses of Beijing’s urban metabolism.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foun-
dation of China (No. 40701004), the Ph.D. Program Foundation of
Ministry of Education of China (No. 20070027033), the Program for
Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University
(No. IRT0809), and the National Basic Research Program of China
(973 Program, Grant No. 2005CB724204).
2383
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