CONSTRAINTS ON INFORMATION MEASURES OF EMBODIED SOLAR-ENERGY FLUXES IN THE BIOSPHERE

The structure of the input-output (I-O) model of the Biosphere is inve stigated from the viewpoint of the information theory. The model was u sed to estimate the direct and indirect solar energy cost of different natural and artificial commodities. We showed that the distribution o f aggregated fluxes, different types among compartments, can reflect t he physical and functional ordering and natural hierarchy in the Biosp here to be found in the values of embodied energy. So, if we divide al l the sets of commodities into three groups according to their order o f magnitude of energy intensity, and then calculate the information me asures of fluxes due to proposed subdivisions, we get the following: ( 1) that each distribution of aggregated fluxes among the compartments in chosen groups is increasingly far from equi-distribution; and (2) i nformation of one distribution in respect to another is increasingly c onsequently. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.