Ecosystem energy analysis of Ningxia, China

Ecological energy analysis faces difficulties defining ecological trophic levels and studying relationships among the metabolic system´s energy components. In this paper, by integrating throughflow analysis with ecosystem utility analysis, we used system flow to study the metabolic system´s network structure and the ecological relationships with the system. We generalized an ecological network model for the system, and use all prefecture-level cities of Ningxia as example of how this approach provides insights into the flows within the system at both high and low levels of detail. Using the weight distribution in the network flow matrix, we determined the structure of the Ningxia energy metabolic system and the trophic levels. Using the sign distribution in the network utility matrix, we characterize the relationship between each pair of the system´s compartments and their degrees of mutualism. Studying the structure and functioning of the Ningxia energy metabolic system revealed ways to optimize its structure by adjusting the relationships among compartments, thereby demonstrating how ecological system analysis can be used in future study.