A Societal Metabolism Approach to Effectively Analyze the Water–Energy–Food Nexus in an Agricultural Transboundary River Basin
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Study Area and Contextualization
2.1. The Iranian Aras River Basin
2.2. Agriculture in Its National Context
2.3. The Ecological Context: The Transboundary Aras River Basin
3. Methodology: Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism
3.1. The Semantic Framing of the Metabolic Pattern of Social-Ecological Systems
3.2. Formalization: The Accounting Framework
- Secondary inputs derived from the technosphere. These include flows, such as blue water for irrigation, energy inputs, fertilizers, pesticides, and funds, such as land use, labor, and technical capital (machinery).
- Secondary outputs going into the technosphere. This concerns the produced crop (food supply) and eventual by-products. The supply of this output is the reason (the function) that justifies the existence of the process of production in the first place.
- Primary inputs and primary outputs exchanged with the biosphere. These define the feasibility of agricultural production in relation to natural constraints (supply and sink capacity) and include both funds, such as green water (derived from rain but made available by the soil) and other ‘soil services’ (nutrients), and flows, such as the abstraction of blue water from aquifers (this quantity is larger than that used as the input for irrigation because of the losses in distribution), GHG emissions (generated by activities in the technosphere and with land-use changes), and the leakage of nutrients (NPK) and pesticides.
3.3. Formalization of the Set of Relations Used in the Accounting
- Grains (wheat and barley)
- Legumes
- Forage crops or ‘fodder’ (alfalfa)
- Cash crops (sugar beet)
- Fruits (apple, grape, and cherry)
3.4. Data Sources
4. Results: The Metabolic Pattern of Agriculture across Hierarchical Levels
4.1. The Metabolic Profile of Agriculture in the IARB
4.2. The Nexus across Scales: Visualization of Water–Energy–Food Linkages
- Checking how much of the internal food demand (commodity by commodity) of either the local IARB or the entire country is supplied by the local supply system. In this way, it is possible to obtain an indication about the importance of the various crop cultivations in the area studied for the internal food metabolism of Iran (food sovereignty).
- Assessing the input requirements (land, water, energy, labor) inside the system to obtain the actual food supply. This assessment is not only important to identify the supply systems that are more input intensive (per hectare) and create higher environmental pressure, but also to assess the technical and economic viability (labor productivity) of the production systems for the farmers operating in the area.
- Comparing the economic advantages and ecological impacts of the various crops cultivated. This information is relevant for an informed discussion about the relative advantages of trade versus food sovereignty. For example, in certain areas, it may be advisable to produce cash crops with high added value and low environmental pressure (notably on water resources) to obtain earnings for importing food crops that may be produced cheaper and more environmentally friendly (less water demand) elsewhere. Obviously, to extend the analysis of trade-offs to the level of the whole country, other agricultural areas of Iran should be analyzed in the same way as illustrated for the IARB (to cover the whole Iranian agricultural sector).
4.3. Contextualization of Food Production in the IARB
- Moving into lower-quality lands (the best locations already being exploited) tends to reduce the flow-fund benchmark “crop produced per hectare” and tends to increase the flow-fund benchmark “inputs required per hectare”. The effect on both benchmarks can be attenuated by the choice of suitable cropping patterns and production (incl. harvesting) techniques.
- Water constraints: An increase in water consumption (extensive variable) is due to a combination of an increase in the hectares of the fund “land use producing crops” (extensive variable) and a potential increase in the flow-fund benchmark “water required per hectare”. The latter factor can be modulated by the choice of cropping pattern and improved irrigation techniques. However, to date, the implementation of practices for increasing water efficiency have not led to water savings due to a lack of controlling and monitoring measures [92]. Any increase in water consumption and agricultural water pollution (fertilizers, pesticides) in the IARB will have implications for the agricultural production downstream in neighboring Azerbaijan.
- Labor constraints: Iran has seen a contraction of the agricultural labor force during the past two decades as a result of its progressive urbanization (over the period 2006–2016, the share of agriculture in total paid work hours shrunk from 23% to 18%, see Table A1). Lack of agricultural labor may therefore favor cropping patterns that require less labor-intensive but more energy- and water-intensive (capitalization) production techniques. While energy availability is not a problem in Iran, this may have negative consequences on the consumption of water and GHG emission in the agricultural sector.
5. Discussion: Strength and Shortcomings of the Approach and Future Research Needs
6. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
IRAN | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hierarchical Level | 2006 | 2011 | 2016 | |||||||
HA (Mh) | EMR (MJ/h) | ET (PJ) | HA (Mh) | EMR (MJ/h) | ET (PJ) | HA (Mh) | EMR (MJ/h) | ET (PJ) | ||
Level n | Whole Society | 617,543 | 14.38 | 8883 | 658,311 | 16.59 | 10,921 | 700,154 | 17.71 | 12,401 |
Level n − 1 | Household | 574,154 | 4.40 | 2524 | 614,772 | 4.38 | 2693 | 652,114 | 4.69 | 3056 |
Paid work | 43,389 | 73.28 | 3179 | 43,539 | 94.50 | 4114 | 48,040 | 97.26 | 4673 | |
Level n − 2 | Agriculture | 10,066 | 21.00 | 211 | 8098 | 32.42 | 263 | 8647 | 35.30 | 305 |
Industry | 13,754 | 122.97 | 1691 | 14,542 | 174.02 | 2531 | 15,325 | 192.46 | 2949 | |
Service | 19,569 | 65.24 | 1277 | 20,899 | 63.22 | 1321 | 24,068 | 58.91 | 1418 | |
IARB | ||||||||||
Hierarchical Level | 2006 | 2011 | 2016 | |||||||
HA (Mh) | EMR (MJ/h) | ET (PJ) | HA (Mh) | EMR (MJ/h) | ET (PJ) | HA (Mh) | EMR (MJ/h) | ET (PJ) | ||
Level n | Whole Society | 22,910 | 9.24 | 211.58 | 21,822 | 10.34 | 225.64 | 22,211 | 11.04 | 245.18 |
Level n − 1 | Household | 20,705 | 4.52 | 93.63 | 20,278 | 4.40 | 89.26 | 20,684 | 4.69 | 96.95 |
Paid work | 2205 | 53.49 | 117.95 | 1544 | 88.33 | 136.38 | 1527 | 97.07 | 148.23 | |
Level n − 2 | Agriculture | 713.69 | 10.99 | 7.84 | 478.82 | 18.17 | 8.70 | 514.12 | 18.83 | 9.68 |
Industry | 633.66 | 99.02 | 62.75 | 398.22 | 210.65 | 83.88 | 407.08 | 229.83 | 93.56 | |
Service | 857.44 | 55.24 | 47.36 | 667.04 | 65.66 | 43.80 | 605.28 | 74.32 | 44.98 |
References
- Altieri, M.A. Agroecology: A new research and development paradigm for world agriculture. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 1989, 27, 37–46. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Pimentel, D.; Terhune, E.C.; Dyson-Hudson, R.; Rochereau, S.; Samis, R.; Smith, E.A.; Denman, D.; Reifschneider, D.; Shepard, M. Land Degradation: Effects on Food and Energy Resources. Science 1976, 194, 149–155. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Pimentel, D.; Pimentel, M. Food, Energy, and Society, 1st ed.; Wiley: Hoboken, NJ, USA, 1979; ISBN 9780470268407. [Google Scholar]
- Hoff, H. Understanding the Nexus. In Proceedings of the Bonn 2011 Conference: The Water, Energy and Food Security Nexus, Stockholm, Sweden, 16–18 November 2011; Available online: https://www.water-energy-food.org/uploads/media/understanding_the_nexus.pdf (accessed on 10 March 2021).
- Howells, M.; Hermann, S.; Welsch, M.; Bazilian, M.; Segerström, R.; Alfstad, T.; Gielen, D.; Rogner, H.; Fischer, G.; van Velthuizen, H.; et al. Integrated analysis of climate change, land-use, energy and water strategies. Nat. Clim. Chang. 2013, 3, 621–626. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Gulati, M.; Jacobs, I.; Jooste, A.; Naidoo, D.; Fakir, S. The Water–energy–food Security Nexus: Challenges and Opportunities for Food Security in South Africa. Aquat. Procedia 2013, 1, 150–164. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Biggs, E.M.; Bruce, E.; Boruff, B.; Duncan, J.M.A.; Horsley, J.; Pauli, N.; McNeill, K.; Neef, A.; Van Ogtrop, F.; Curnow, J.; et al. Sustainable development and the water–energy–food nexus: A perspective on livelihoods. Environ. Sci. Policy 2015, 54, 389–397. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Tian, H.; Lu, C.; Pan, S.; Yang, J.; Miao, R.; Ren, W.; Yu, Q.; Fu, B.; Jin, F.-F.; Lu, Y.; et al. Optimizing resource use efficiencies in the food–energy–water nexus for sustainable agriculture: From conceptual model to decision support system. Curr. Opin. Environ. Sustain. 2018, 33, 104–113. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Ringler, C.; Bhaduri, A.; Lawford, R. The nexus across water, energy, land and food (WELF): Potential for improved resource use efficiency? Curr. Opin. Environ. Sustain. 2013, 5, 617–624. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Verhoeven, H. The nexus as a political commodity: Agricultural development, water policy and elite rivalry in Egypt. Int. J. Water Resour. Dev. 2015, 31, 360–374. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Cairns, R.; Krzywoszynska, A. Anatomy of a buzzword: The emergence of ‘the water-energy-food nexus’ in UK natural resource debates. Environ. Sci. Policy 2016, 64, 164–170. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Rasul, G. Managing the food, water, and energy nexus for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in South Asia. Environ. Dev. 2016, 18, 14–25. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Garcia, D.J.; You, F. The water-energy-food nexus and process systems engineering: A new focus. Comput. Chem. Eng. 2016, 91, 49–67. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Hák, T.; Janoušková, S.; Moldan, B. Sustainable Development Goals: A need for relevant indicators. Ecol. Indic. 2016, 60, 565–573. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Endo, A.; Tsurita, I.; Burnett, K.; Orencio, P.M. A review of the current state of research on the water, energy, and food nexus. J. Hydrol. Reg. Stud. 2017, 11, 20–30. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Khan, Z.; Linares, P.; García-González, J. Integrating water and energy models for policy driven applications. A review of contemporary work and recommendations for future developments. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 2017, 67, 1123–1138. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Stirling, A. Disciplinary Dilemma: Working across Research Silos Is Harder than It Looks. The Guardian, 11 June 2014. Available online: https://www.theguardian.com/science/political-science/2014/jun/11/science-policy-research-silos-interdisciplinarity (accessed on 21 July 2022).
- Stirling, A. Keep it complex. Nature 2010, 468, 1029–1031. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Wallis, P. A nexus of nexuses: Systemic governance for climate response. In Climate, Energy and Water: Managing Trade-Offs, Seizing Opportunities; Pittock, J., Hussey, K., Dovers, S., Eds.; Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK, 2015; pp. 253–267. [Google Scholar]
- Howarth, C.; Monasterolo, I. Understanding barriers to decision making in the UK energy-food-water nexus: The added value of interdisciplinary approaches. Environ. Sci. Policy 2016, 61, 53–60. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Giampietro, M.; Allen, T.F.H.; Mayumi, K. The epistemological predicament associated with purposive quantitative analysis. Ecol. Complex. 2006, 3, 307–327. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Albrecht, T.R.; Crootof, A.; Scott, C.A. The Water-Energy-Food Nexus: A systematic review of methods for nexus assessment. Environ. Res. Lett. 2018, 13, 043002. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Chang, Y.; Li, G.; Yao, Y.; Zhang, L.; Yu, C. Quantifying the Water-Energy-Food Nexus: Current Status and Trends. Energies 2016, 9, 65. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Zhang, C.; Chen, X.; Li, Y.; Ding, W.; Fu, G. Water-energy-food nexus: Concepts, questions and methodologies. J. Clean. Prod. 2018, 195, 625–639. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Endo, A.; Yamada, M.; Miyashita, Y.; Sugimoto, R.; Ishii, A.; Nishijima, J.; Fujii, M.; Kato, T.; Hamamoto, H.; Kimura, M.; et al. Dynamics of water–energy–food nexus methodology, methods, and tools. Curr. Opin. Environ. Sci. Health 2020, 13, 46–60. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Shannak, S.; Mabrey, D.; Vittorio, M. Moving from theory to practice in the water–energy–food nexus: An evaluation of existing models and frameworks. Water-Energy Nexus 2018, 1, 17–25. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Malek, K.; Stöckle, C.; Chinnayakanahalli, K.; Nelson, R.; Liu, M.; Rajagopalan, K.; Barik, M.; Adam, J.C. VIC–CropSyst-v2: A regional-scale modeling platform to simulate the nexus of climate, hydrology, cropping systems, and human decisions. Geosci. Model Dev. 2017, 10, 3059–3084. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Britz, W.; Van Doorslaer, B.; Witzke, P.; Blanco, M. Exploring the feasibility of integrating water issues into the CAPRI model. In JRC Scientific and Policy Reports EUR 25649 EN; Publications Office of the European Union: Luxembourg, 2013. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Larue, D.K. The battle between Frankenstein and Gilligan and the Law of Increasing Reservoir Complexification: What matters in three-dimensional reservoir characterization modeling? Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol. Bull. 2021, 105, 2041–2062. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Giampietro, M. Perception and Representation of the Resource Nexus at the Interface between Society and the Natural Environment. Sustainability 2018, 10, 2545. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Zellmer, A.J.; Allen, T.F.H.; Kesseboehmer, K. The nature of ecological complexity: A protocol for building the narrative. Ecol. Complex. 2006, 3, 171–182. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Salmoral, G.; Schaap, N.C.E.; Walschebauer, J.; Alhajaj, A. Water diplomacy and nexus governance in a transboundary context: In the search for complementarities. Sci. Total Environ. 2019, 690, 85–96. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Zaki, Y.; Hamidi, A. Identify and Analysis of Effective Factors to Border Security Regions in Aras River. Geopolit. Q. 2021, 17, 92–118. [Google Scholar]
- Heidari, A. Aras transboundary river basin cooperation perspective. In Dams and Reservoirs under Changing Challenges, Proceedings of the 79th Annual Meeting of ICOLD, Lucerne, Switzerland, 1 June 2011; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, USA, 2011; pp. 429–436. [Google Scholar]
- Zarei, M. The water-energy-food nexus: A holistic approach for resource security in Iran, Iraq, and Turkey. Water-Energy Nexus 2020, 3, 81–94. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Giampietro, M.; Cadillo Benalcazar, J.J.; Di Felice, L.J.; Manfroni, M.; Pérez Sánchez, L.; Renner, A.; Ripa, M.; Velasco-Fernández, R.; Bukkens, S.G.F. Report on the Experience of Applications of the Nexus Structuring Space in Quantitative Story-Telling, MAGIC (H2020–GA 689669) Project Deliverable 4.4, Revision (version 2.0); Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona: Bellaterra, Spain, 2021; Available online: https://magic-nexus.eu/documents/deliverable-44-report-nexus-structuring-space. (accessed on 21 July 2022).
- Renner, A.; Cadillo-Benalcazar, J.J.; Benini, L.; Giampietro, M. Environmental pressure of the European agricultural system: Anticipating the biophysical consequences of internalization. Ecosyst. Serv. 2020, 46, 101195. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Cadillo-Benalcazar, J.J.; Renner, A.; Giampietro, M. A multiscale integrated analysis of the factors characterizing the sustainability of food systems in Europe. J. Environ. Manag. 2020, 271, 110944. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- UNDP. Kura-Aras River Basin Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis; Project RER/03/G41/A/1G/31: Reducing Trans-boundary Degradation of the Kura-Aras River Basin; 2007; Available online: https://www.ais.unwater.org/ais/aiscm/getprojectdoc.php?docid=771 (accessed on 7 July 2021).
- Maghrebi, M.; Noori, R.; Bhattarai, R.; Mundher Yaseen, Z.; Tang, Q.; Al-Ansari, N.; Danandeh Mehr, A.; Karbassi, A.; Omidvar, J.; Farnoush, H.; et al. Iran’s Agriculture in the Anthropocene. Earth Future 2020, 8, e2020EF001547. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Karandish, F. Socioeconomic benefits of conserving Iran’s water resources through modifying agricultural practices and water management strategies. Ambio 2021, 50, 1824–1840. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Madani, K.; AghaKouchak, A.; Mirchi, A. Iran’s Socio-economic Drought: Challenges of a Water-Bankrupt Nation. Iran. Stud. 2016, 49, 997–1016. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Madani, K. Water management in Iran: What is causing the looming crisis? J. Environ. Stud. Sci. 2014, 4, 315–328. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- IWWA Updating Studies on Iran Water Holistic Plan for Aras River Basin. 2015. Available online: http://www.azarwater.ir/ (accessed on 30 June 2022).
- Khoshnoodmotlagh, S.; Verrelst, J.; Daneshi, A.; Mirzaei, M.; Azadi, H.; Haghighi, M.; Hatamimanesh, M.; Marofi, S. Transboundary Basins Need More Attention: Anthropogenic Impacts on Land Cover Changes in Aras River Basin, Monitoring and Prediction. Remote Sens. 2020, 12, 3329. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Moshir Panahi, D.; Kalantari, Z.; Ghajarnia, N.; Seifollahi-Aghmiuni, S.; Destouni, G. Variability and change in the hydro-climate and water resources of Iran over a recent 30-year period. Sci. Rep. 2020, 10, 7450. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Vaghefi, S.A.; Keykhai, M.; Jahanbakhshi, F.; Sheikholeslami, J.; Ahmadi, A.; Yang, H.; Abbaspour, K.C. The future of extreme climate in Iran. Sci. Rep. 2019, 9, 1464. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- BKI Agricultural Performance and Yields of Iran Provinces. Cent. Econ. Stud. Bank Keshavarzi Iran. Available online: https://www.bki.ir/Portals/0/SBank/ProvinceRating.pdf (accessed on 25 September 2021). (In Persian).
- MAJ. Statistical Annual Survey of Agricultural Sector of Iran; 2018; Available online: https://maj.ir/Index.aspx?page_=form&lang=1&PageID=11583&tempname=amar&sub=65&methodName=ShowModuleContent (accessed on 30 June 2022). (In Persian)
- Zarghami, M. Effective watershed management; Case study of Urmia Lake, Iran. Lake Reserv. Manag. 2011, 27, 87–94. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Pleitgen, F.; Otto, C.; Dewan, A.; Tawfeeq, M. The Middle East is Running Out of Water, and Parts of It Are Becoming Uninhabitable. CNN, 2021. Available online: https://edition.cnn.com/2021/08/22/middleeast/middle-east-climate-water-shortage-iran-urmia-intl/index.html (accessed on 22 August 2021).
- Mesgaran, M.B.; Madani, K.; Hashemi, H.; Azadi, P. Iran’s Land Suitability for Agriculture. Sci. Rep. 2017, 7. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- FAO AQUASTAT-FAO’s Global Information System on Water and Agriculture. Available online: https://www.fao.org/aquastat/en/ (accessed on 9 July 2022).
- Frenken, K.; Kiersch, B. Monitoring Agricultural Water Use at Country Level; FAO: Quebec, QC, Canada, 2011. [Google Scholar]
- The World Bank Water in Agriculture. Available online: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/water-in-agriculture (accessed on 9 July 2022).
- Mesgaran, M.; Azadi, P. A National Adaptation Plan for Water Scarcity in Iran; (Stanford Iran 2040 Project); Stanford University: Stanford, CA, USA, 2018; 35p. [Google Scholar]
- World Bank. Renewable Internal Freshwater Resources Per Capita (Cubic Meters)|Data|Table. World Dev. Indic. 2015. Available online: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ER.H2O.INTR.PC (accessed on 3 July 2022).
- Mirnezami, S.J.; Bagheri, A. Assessing the water governance system for groundwater conservation in Iran. Iran Water Resour. Res. 2017, 13, 32–55. (In Persian) [Google Scholar]
- CBI. Economic Time Series DataBase of Iran. Econ. Res. Policy Dep. Cent. Bank Iran. Available online: https://tsd.cbi.ir/DisplayEn/Content.aspx (accessed on 25 September 2021).
- WSANW Adaptation to Water Scarcity, Historical and Ecosystem Comprehension for Sustainability and Development. Water Scarcity Adapt. Natl. Work. Available online: https://www.wsanw.ir/ (accessed on 10 September 2021).
- WSANW. National Adaptation Plan for Water Scarcity; 2020; Available online: https://www.wsanw.ir/ (accessed on 10 September 2021).
- AMAR Iran National Census History and Statistics. Available online: https://www.amar.org.ir/ (accessed on 12 March 2021). (In Persian).
- Lim, K. Iran’s Eurasian Wager. PolicyWatch 3306. 27 April 2020. Available online: https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/irans-eurasian-wager (accessed on 11 August 2021).
- Lim, K. Bumped Crops: Iran’s Grain Imports and Geopolitical Shocks|The Wa. PolicyWatch 3324. 8 June 2020. Available online: https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/bumped-crops-irans-grain-imports-and-geopolitical-shocks (accessed on 11 August 2021).
- IMOE Iran Energy Balance Book and Spreadsheets. 2016. Available online: https://pep.moe.gov.ir/ (accessed on 2 February 2021). (In Persian)
- Mirzaei, M.; Jafari, A.; Verrlest, J.; Haghighi, M.; Zargarnia, A.H.; Khoshnoodmotlagh, S.; Azadi, H.; Scheffran, J. Trans-boundary land cover changes and its influences on water crisis: Case study of the Aras River. Appl. Geogr. 2020, 124, 102323. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Rzayev, M.A. Problems of water protection against adverse impact of irrigated agriculture and approaches to their solution in arid zones. Water Resour. 2017, 44, 158–166. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Giampietro, M.; Mayumi, K. Multiple-scale integrated assesment of societal metabolism: Introducing the approach. Popul. Environ. 2000, 22, 109–153. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Giampietro, M.; Mayumi, K. Multiple-scale integrated assessments of societal metabolism: Integrating biophysical and economic representations across scales. Popul. Environ. 2000, 22, 155–210. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Georgescu-Roegen, N. The Entropy Law and Economic Process; Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA, USA, 1971; ISBN 1583486003. [Google Scholar]
- Rosen, R. Life itself: A Comprehensive Inquiry into the Nature, Origin, and Fabrication of Life; Columbia University Press: New York, NY, USA, 2005. [Google Scholar]
- Rosen, R. Anticipatory Systems: Philosophical, Mathematical, and Methodological Foundations; Springer: New York, NY, USA, 2012. [Google Scholar]
- Couix, Q. From Methodology to Practice (and Back): Georgescu-Roegen’s Philosophy of Economics and the Flow-Fund Model, Open archive: Halshs-01854031, version 1; 2018; Available online: https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-01854031/ (accessed on 5 March 2021).
- Guillaume, J.; Kummu, M.; Eisner, S.; Varis, O. Transferable Principles for Managing the Nexus: Lessons from Historical Global Water Modelling of Central Asia. Water 2015, 7, 4200–4231. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- White, W.R. World Water: Resources, Usage and the Role of Man-Made Reservoirs; 2010; Available online: http://www.fwr.org/wwtrstrg.pdf (accessed on 11 August 2021).
- Moridi, A. State of Water Resources in Iran. Int. J. Hydrol. 2017, 1, 111–114. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Madrid, C.; Cabello, V.; Giampietro, M. Water-Use Sustainability in Socioecological Systems: A Multiscale Integrated Approach. Bioscience 2013, 63, 14–24. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- IMOE Iran Energy Balance Book and Spreadsheets. 2021. Available online: https://pep.moe.gov.ir/ (accessed on 2 February 2021). (In Persian)
- WRSWRM Iran Water Resource Management Company. 2021. Available online: http://www.wrm.ir/ (accessed on 13 January 2021). (In Persian).
- IWWA Updating Studies on Iran Water Holistic Plan for Aras River Basin. 2012. Available online: https://waterplan.moe.gov.ir/ (accessed on 12 January 2021).
- IMOE Updating Studies on Iran Water Holistic Plan for Aras River Basin. 2012. Available online: https://moe.gov.ir/ (accessed on 15 March 2022). (In Persian)
- IMOE Updating studies on Iran Water Holistic Plan for Aras River Basin. Report issued by the Iranian Ministry of Energy. 2015. Available online: https://moe.gov.ir/ (accessed on 9 July 2022). (In Persian)
- Khoshnevisan, B.; Rafiee, S.; Omid, M.; Yousefi, M.; Movahedi, M. Modeling of energy consumption and GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions in wheat production in Esfahan province of Iran using artificial neural networks. Energy 2013, 52, 333–338. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Fallahpour, F.; Aminghafouri, A.; Ghalegolab Behbahani, A.; Bannayan, M. The environmental impact assessment of wheat and barley production by using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. Environ. Dev. Sustain. 2012, 14, 979–992. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Houshyar, E. Environmental impacts of irrigated and rain-fed barley production in Iran using life cycle assessment (LCA). Span. J. Agric. Res. 2017, 15, e0204. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Ghaderpour, O.; Rafiee, S.; Sharifi, M.; Mousavi-Avval, S.H. Quantifying the environmental impacts of alfalfa production in different farming systems. Sustain. Energy Technol. Assess. 2018, 27, 109–118. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Elhami, B.; Khanali, M.; Akram, A. Combined application of Artificial Neural Networks and life cycle assessment in lentil farming in Iran. Inf. Process. Agric. 2017, 4, 18–32. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Taghavifar, H.; Mardani, A. Prognostication of energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions analysis of apple production in West Azarbayjan of Iran using Artificial Neural Network. J. Clean. Prod. 2015, 87, 159–167. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Mohseni, P.; Borghei, A.M.; Khanali, M. Analysis of energy consumption and assessment of environmental effects of grape production in Hazaveh area of Arak city. Agric. Mach. 2019, 9, 177–193. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- CBI. CBI Currency Exchange Rate Time Series [WWW Document]. Available online: https://www.cbi.ir/exrates/rates_fa.aspx (accessed on 12 July 2022). (In Persian).
- Giampietro, M.; Bukkens, S.G.F. Analogy between Sudoku and the multi-scale integrated analysis of societal metabolism. Ecol. Inform. 2015, 26, 18–28. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Soltani, A.; Alimagham, S.M.; Nehbandani, A.; Torabi, B.; Zeinali, E.; Zand, E.; Vadez, V.; Van Loon, M.P.; Van Ittersum, M.K. Future food self-sufficiency in Iran: A model-based analysis. Glob. Food Secur. 2020, 24, 100351. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- de Strasser, L.; Lipponen, A.; Howells, M.; Stec, S.; Bréthaut, C. A Methodology to Assess the Water Energy Food Ecosystems Nexus in Transboundary River Basins. Water 2016, 8, 59. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Mokallaf Sarband, E.; Araghinejad, S.; Attari, J.; Ebrahimi, K. Adaptation of a compromise programming approach for evaluating the localized impacts of water allocation. Hydrol. Sci. J. 2021, 66, 1275–1287. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Sarband, E.M.; Araghinejad, S.; Attari, J. Developing an Interactive Spatial Multi-Attribute Decision Support System for Assessing Water Resources Allocation Scenarios. Water Resour. Manag. 2020, 34, 447–462. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Irrigated | Rainfed | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cereals | Alfalfa | Sugar Beet | Legume | Apple | Grape | Cherry | Cereals | Alfalfa | Legumes | |
Water use (m3/t) | 1533 | 1429 | 327 | 4210 | 431 | 642 | 679 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Land use (m2/t) | 3786 | 1424 | 256 | 8926 | 664 | 1090 | 1116 | 11,139 | 4515 | 23,718 |
GHG emission (kg CO2eq/t) | 1023 | 988 | 76 | 3594 | 79 | 509 | 410 | 769 | 682 | 3414 |
Energy use (GJ/t) | 25.45 | 15.20 | 0.90 | 29.43 | 5.11 | 3.60 | 6.16 | 21.31 | 6.51 | 68.81 |
Added value (106 IRR/t) | 1.56 | 0.63 | 0.36 | 2.20 | 1.45 | 0.93 | 2.43 | 1.05 | 0.52 | 2.66 |
Added value (US$/t) * | 169.25 | 68.87 | 38.74 | 239.15 | 158.01 | 100.75 | 264.45 | 114.18 | 56.45 | 289.57 |
Labor (h/t) | 9.5 | 18.0 | 7.0 | 142.7 | 16.5 | 19.1 | 48.4 | 17.6 | 11.7 | 135.0 |
Irrigated | Rainfed | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cereals | Alfalfa | Sugar Beet | Legume | Apple | Grape | Cherry | Cereals | Alfalfa | Legume | |
Yield (t/ha) | 2.64 | 7.02 | 39.10 | 1.12 | 15.06 | 9.18 | 8.96 | 0.90 | 2.21 | 0.42 |
Water use (103 m3/ha) | 4.05 | 10.04 | 12.78 | 4.72 | 6.49 | 5.89 | 6.09 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Energy use (GJ/ha) | 67.22 | 106.7 | 35.03 | 32.97 | 77.00 | 33.00 | 55.21 | 19.13 | 14.42 | 29.01 |
GHG (kg CO2eq/ha) | 2.70 | 6.94 | 2.96 | 4.03 | 1.20 | 4.67 | 3.68 | 0.69 | 1.51 | 1.44 |
Added value (106 IRR/ha) | 4.11 | 4.45 | 13.93 | 2.46 | 21.90 | 8.50 | 21.80 | 0.94 | 1.15 | 1.12 |
Added value (US$/ha) * | 446 | 483 | 1514 | 267 | 2381 | 924 | 2370 | 102 | 125 | 122 |
Labor (h/ha) | 25.1 | 126.2 | 273.5 | 159.9 | 247.8 | 174.8 | 434.0 | 15.8 | 25.9 | 56.9 |
Labor productivity (103 IRR/h) | 164 | 35 | 51 | 15 | 88 | 49 | 50 | 60 | 44 | 20 |
Labor productivity (US$/h) * | 17.79 | 3.83 | 5.54 | 1.68 | 9.61 | 5.29 | 5.46 | 6.49 | 4.83 | 2.14 |
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. |
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Taghdisian, A.; Bukkens, S.G.F.; Giampietro, M. A Societal Metabolism Approach to Effectively Analyze the Water–Energy–Food Nexus in an Agricultural Transboundary River Basin. Sustainability 2022, 14, 9110. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159110
Taghdisian A, Bukkens SGF, Giampietro M. A Societal Metabolism Approach to Effectively Analyze the Water–Energy–Food Nexus in an Agricultural Transboundary River Basin. Sustainability. 2022; 14(15):9110. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159110
Chicago/Turabian StyleTaghdisian, Alireza, Sandra G. F. Bukkens, and Mario Giampietro. 2022. "A Societal Metabolism Approach to Effectively Analyze the Water–Energy–Food Nexus in an Agricultural Transboundary River Basin" Sustainability 14, no. 15: 9110. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159110