Energy constrains to increasing complexity in the biosphere

Graphical abstract

Thirty years ago, the systems ecologist Howard T. Odum introduced the concept of transformity, which is a thermodynamic measure of quality within the trial and error evolutionary dynamics of ecosystems, namely an indicator of rank in the hierarchical system structure of the biosphere. Based on a global database of individual processes and whole economies, this paper extends, refines, and updates Odum's idea, demonstrating the strength of the postulated relation. In particular, an inverse linear logarithmic relationship is shown to hold between resource quantity (exergy) and quality (emergy), which is the result of an overall energetic efficiency characteristic of energy transformation processes of the biosphere.

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xinn.2021.100169

Citation:
Liu G., Yang Z., Giannetti B., et al. (2021). Energy constrains to increasing complexity in the biosphere. The Innovation. 2(4),100169.