Industrial Ecology: The role of manufactured capital in sustainability

Unveiling patterns in human dominated landscapes through mapping the mass of US built structures

Built structures increasingly dominate the Earth's landscapes; their surging mass is currently overtaking global biomass. We here assess built structures in the conterminous US by quantifying the mass of 14 stock-building materials in eight building types and nine types of mobility infrastructures. Our high-resolution maps reveal that built structures have become 2.6 times heavier than all plant biomass across the country and that most inhabited areas are mass-dominated by buildings or infrastructure. We analyze determinants of the material intensity and show that densely built settlements have substantially lower per-capita material stocks, while highest intensities are found in sparsely populated regions due to ubiquitous infrastructures. Out-migration aggravates already high intensities in rural areas as people leave while built structures remain - highlighting that quantifying the distribution of built-up mass at high resolution is an essential contribution to understanding the biophysical basis of societies, and to inform strategies to design more resource-efficient settlements and a sustainable circular economy.

Perspectives on the material dynamic efficiency transition in decelerating the material stock accumulation

The golden rule of material accumulation can be defined as the ability of society to process materials as the benefit of capital, with physical investments as the expense of the process. Societies are incentivized to accumulate resources while disregarding resource restrictions. Since they earn more on such a path, despite how unsustainable it is. We propose the material dynamic efficiency transition as a policy tool for sustainability, with the goal of slowing down material accumulation as an alternative sustainable path. The material dynamic efficiency transition is characterized by a simultaneous drop in savings and depreciation rates. In this paper, we first examine a sample of 15 countries -using dynamic efficiency measures-in terms of their economies' responses to declining depreciation and saving tendencies. We then construct a large sample of material stock estimation and economic characteristics for 120 countries to examine the socioeconomic and long-term developmental implications of such a policy. We found that investment in the productive sector withstood the scarcity of available savings, whereas residential building and civil engineering investments reacted intensely to the changes. We also reported on the continuous rise in developed countries' material stock, accentuating the civil engineering infrastructure as a focal point of the related policies. The material dynamic efficiency transition shows a substantial reduction effect of 7.7%-10%, depending on the stock type and development stage. Therefore, it can be a potent tool for slowing material accumulation and mitigating the environmental implications of this process without causing significant disruptions in economic processes.

EUBUCCO v0.1: European building stock characteristics in a common and open database for 200+ million individual buildings

Building stock management is becoming a global societal and political issue, inter alia because of growing sustainability concerns. Comprehensive and openly accessible building stock data can enable impactful research exploring the most effective policy options. In Europe, efforts from citizen and governments generated numerous relevant datasets but these are fragmented and heterogeneous, thus hindering their usability. Here, we present EUBUCCO v0.1, a database of individual building footprints for ~202 million buildings across the 27 European Union countries and Switzerland. Three main attributes - building height, construction year and type - are included for respectively 73%, 24% and 46% of the buildings. We identify, collect and harmonize 50 open government datasets and OpenStreetMap, and perform extensive validation analyses to assess the quality, consistency and completeness of the data in every country. EUBUCCO v0.1 provides the basis for high-resolution urban sustainability studies across scales - continental, comparative or local studies - using a centralized source and is relevant for a variety of use cases, e.g., for energy system analysis or natural hazard risk assessments.

Regional social-ecological system coupling process from a water flow perspective

The social-ecological system is receiving more and more attention, and water resources have been a focal point for linking social systems and ecosystems, but how to clarify the regional social-ecological system coupling process through the water flow perspective and how to make ecosystem services management decisions still needs further research. This study integrates water quantity and quality and proposes a water-related ecosystem services flow framework. This study applied the framework to the Wuding River watershed and simulated water quantity and quality by SWAT model. The results showed that: (1) there is significant spatial heterogeneity in ecosystem service provisioning and meaningful improvement in water quality under the function of human-made capital in the green phase of the ecosystem services flow; (2) in the red phase, beneficiaries use the water supply for their production and life and discharge >7400 tons pollution loads into the ecosystem; (3) in this process, human-made capital reduces about 35 % of the ammonia pollution, and meanwhile, the ecosystem relies on its environment to further clean up about 44 % of the load. The research framework is suitable for watershed social-ecological systems with simplistic interactions, guiding ecological compensation schemes and related management policies. Furthermore, providing a scientific basis for the sustainable use of regional water resources.

Circular Economy in the Food Chain: Production, Processing and Waste Management

Food processing, from agricultural production to domestic consumption, is responsible for generating great amounts of waste per year, resulting in soil, water, and air pollution. These pollutants, together with the uses of petrochemical process inputs such as solvents, additives, or fuels, increase the food chain's environment impacts resulting in wasted resources. In response to this scenario, the circular economy (CE) theory is presented in literature as a liable alternative for the design of more sustainable production chains. In this context, this work was aimed at evaluating the literature's approach on the CE concept within the food processing and food waste management. The works show the centrality of "food waste" as a focus for the application of the CE. However, despite the relevance of management, reuse, or valuation of food waste, particularly due to its contribution to carbon footprint and decrease of food safety, studies have found other strategies for improvement of CE in the food chain. In this case, works in literature were allocated within the framework presented by the Ellen Macarthur Foundation called ReSOLVE, with proposals for modification of production chain to promote the CE. Among the proposals, one should highlight: modification of productive systems for mitigation of environmental impacts and greenhouse emissions, processes optimization for decreasing the use of natural resources and wastes, use of 4.0 Industry such as IoT, big data, or machine learning techniques for improvement of the whole supply chain, development of collaborative platforms for production and market, use of residues or co-products by design of intra- or inter-chain loops, and exchange of process or inputs with high environmental impacts for greener ones.

Resource requirements for ecosystem conservation: A combined industrial and natural ecology approach to quantifying natural capital use in nature

Socioeconomic demand for natural capital is causing catastrophic losses of biodiversity and ecosystem functionality, most notably in regions where socioeconomic-and eco-systems compete for natural capital, e.g., energy (animal or plant matter). However, a poor quantitative understanding of what natural capital is needed to support biodiversity in ecosystems, while at the same time satisfy human development needs-those associated with human development within socioeconomic systems-undermines our ability to sustainably manage global stocks of natural capital. Here we describe a novel concept and accompanying methodology (relating the adult body mass of terrestrial species to their requirements for land area, water, and energy) to quantify the natural capital needed to support terrestrial species within ecosystems, analogous to how natural capital use by humans is quantified in a socioeconomic context. We apply this methodology to quantify the amount of natural capital needed to support species observed using a specific surveyed site in Scotland. We find that the site can support a larger assemblage of species than those observed using the site; a primary aim of the rewilding project taking place there. This method conceptualises, for the first time, a comprehensive "dual-system" approach: modelling natural capital use in socioeconomic-and eco-systems simultaneously. It can facilitate the management of natural capital at the global scale, and in both the conservation and creation (e.g., rewilding) of biodiversity within managed ecosystems, representing an advancement in determining what socioeconomic trade-offs are needed to achieve contemporary conservation targets alongside ongoing human development.

China material stocks and flows account for 1978-2018

As the world's top material consumer, China has created intense pressure on national or global demand for natural resources. Building an accurate material stocks and flows account of China is a prerequisite for promoting sustainable resource management. However, there is no annually, officially published material stocks and flows data in China. Existing material stocks and flows estimates conducted by scholars exhibit great discrepancies. In this study, we create the Provincial Material Stocks and Flows Database (PMSFD) for China and its 31 provinces. This dataset describes 13 materials' stocks, demand, and scrap supply in five end-use sectors in each province during 1978-2018. PMSFD is the first version of material stocks and flows inventories in China, and its uniform estimation structure and formatted inventories offer a comprehensive foundation for future accumulation, modification, and enhancement. PMSFD contributes insight into the material metabolism, which is an important database for sustainable development as well as circular economy policy-making in China. This dataset will be updated annually.

Modeling and Estimating Host Country Values in International Projects to Facilitate In-Country Value Creation

International companies are more and more seeking to act proactively by proposing In-Country Value (ICV) strategies to create sustainable local values in the host countries in which they carry out projects. Still, such sustainable local values are complex to identify because they are often indirectly related to their own value chains, project activities, and outcomes. There are, therefore, both theoretical and industrial needs to model and estimate sustainable values brought by complex projects in host countries, considering direct and indirect effects. In this paper, a systems thinking-based approach combined with a frequency analysis first permitted to build up a model of the sustainable values created by the project in a host country. Then, after underlining the complexity of such a model, a Domain Mapping Matrix (DMM) approach was proposed to help build a process to estimate project impacts in terms of ICV creation. An application to a case study built up with an industrial practitioner (an oil and gas company) permitted to test and validate the overall model and approach. It notably showed how such a model permitted to facilitate discussions among stakeholders and laid the foundations of ICV creation-oriented decision-making processes.

High-Resolution Maps of Material Stocks in Buildings and Infrastructures in Austria and Germany

The dynamics of societal material stocks such as buildings and infrastructures and their spatial patterns drive surging resource use and emissions. Two main types of data are currently used to map stocks, night-time lights (NTL) from Earth-observing (EO) satellites and cadastral information. We present an alternative approach for broad-scale material stock mapping based on freely available high-resolution EO imagery and OpenStreetMap data. Maps of built-up surface area, building height, and building types were derived from optical Sentinel-2 and radar Sentinel-1 satellite data to map patterns of material stocks for Austria and Germany. Using material intensity factors, we calculated the mass of different types of buildings and infrastructures, distinguishing eight types of materials, at 10 m spatial resolution. The total mass of buildings and infrastructures in 2018 amounted to ∼5 Gt in Austria and ∼38 Gt in Germany (AT: ∼540 t/cap, DE: ∼450 t/cap). Cross-checks with independent data sources at various scales suggested that the method may yield more complete results than other data sources but could not rule out possible overestimations. The method yields thematic differentiations not possible with NTL, avoids the use of costly cadastral data, and is suitable for mapping larger areas and tracing trends over time.

Regional disparities in decoupling economic growth and steel stocks: Forty years of provincial evidence in China

Human-made material stocks promote the economic prosperity, while the consumption, maintenance, and operation of them have led to adverse environmental impacts. Decoupling materials stocks from economic growth is a key strategy for relieving environmental pressures and achieving sustainable development. China's unprecedented development offers a unique opportunity for uncovering the relationship between in-use stocks and economic growth. In this study, we analyzed the regional disparity of in-use steel stocks estimated by bottom-up accounting method during 1978-2018 in 31 provinces in mainland China, explored the stocks productivity on provincial and regional scale, and conducted a decoupling analysis of in-use steel stocks with economic growth. The results showed that there was a huge disparity among the provincial total steel stocks, per-capita steel stocks, and stocks density. Some provinces, e.g. Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai, that had the highest stocks density had comparatively lower per-capita steel stocks and total steel stocks, indicating higher share of in-use steel stocks and lower material intensive economic structure. In-use steel stocks in China showed no clear signs of saturation or flatten off pattern although their growth rate declined recently. An increase in steel stocks productivity was found during 1978-2018, which means relative decoupling of in-use steel stocks from economic growth, but still far away from absolute decoupling. The dematerialization pattern revealed in this study deepens our understanding of material-economy interactions. Policy implications for dematerialization transition should focus on developing compact cities, prolonging the lifespan of products, and advancing technological development.

Towards transparent valorization of food surplus, waste and loss: Clarifying definitions, food waste hierarchy, and role in the circular economy

In this study, the key gaps of food waste prevention have been addressed in the context of the emerging circular economy. First, current terminology related to food waste was reviewed and clarified, in particular, the terms food surplus, waste and losses. This work highlights why the clarity of these definitions is crucial for the sustainability of future food waste management systems, especially in the context of circular economy. Through a simple matrix, definitions are linked to the concepts of edibility and possibility of avoidance, leading to six distinct categories of food waste: i) edible, ii) naturally inedible (pits), iii) industrial residue, iv) inedible due to natural causes (pests), v) inedible due to ineffective management and vi) not accounted for. Category I encompasses surplus food only; category II-V food waste and category VI food losses. Based on this, an updated pyramid for food waste hierarchy is proposed, distinguishing surplus food and a new category for material recycling, in order to reflect the future food waste biorefineries in the circular bioeconomy. Nutrient and energy recovery are two separate categories and the terms recovery and recycling are clarified. Finally, a circular economy framework is presented for food surplus and waste, considering closing the loop throughout the whole food supply chain, in connection with the concept of strong and weak sustainability. This is presented along with a review of key EU policies related to food waste and examples of initiatives from the Member States.

Optimizing the Chinese Electricity Mix for CO2 Emission Reduction: An Input-Output Linear Programming Model with Endogenous Capital

This study develops an input-output linear programming (IO-LP) model to identify a cost-effective strategy to reduce the economy-wide carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in China from 2020 to 2050 through a shift in the electricity generation mix. In particular, the fixed capital formation of electricity technologies (FCFE) is endogenized so that the capital-related CO₂ emissions of various generation technologies can be captured in the model. The modeling results show that low-carbon electricity, e.g., hydro, nuclear, wind, and solar, is associated with lower operation-related CO₂ emissions but higher capital-related CO₂ emissions compared to coal-fired electricity. A scenario analysis further reveals that a shift in the electricity generation mix could reduce the accumulated economy-wide CO₂ emissions in China by 20% compared to the business-as-usual (BAU) level and could help peak China's CO₂ emissions by 2030. The emission reduction is mainly due to a drop in operation-related CO₂ emissions of electricity, contributing to a decrease in accumulated economy-wide emissions by 21.4%. The infrastructure expansion of electricity, on the other hand, causes a rise in the accumulated emissions by 1.4%. The proposed model serves as an effective tool to identify the optimal technology choice in the electricity system with the consideration of both direct and indirect CO₂ emissions in the economy.

The Social Metabolism of Quiet Sustainability in the Faroe Islands

This paper investigates the interrelations between social metabolism and socio-ecological sustainability in the Faroe Islands in a long-term perspective. It traces the trajectory and changes in socio-metabolic configurations from the time of settlement until today and shows how social metabolism has increased to very high per capita levels during the past century. The analysis departs from the recognition that a decrease in social metabolism, i.e., a net reduction in throughput of natural resources in human economies, is necessary in order to curb the impending ecological crisis. It is argued that parallel to the growth oriented formal Faroese economy, economic food-provisioning practices rooted in the traditional, and ecologically sustainable, land management system continue to be practiced by Faroese people. These practices can be conceptualized as practices of so-called “quiet sustainability” and their contribution is estimated in bio-physical metrics of weight. The analysis shows that practices of “quiet sustainability” contribute significant quantities of certain food items to the local population thereby enhancing food security and food sovereignty. Moreover, these practices are an integral element in the biocultural diversity, which has constituted the Faroe Islands for close to two millennia. Therefore, they should be considered real alternatives to import-based consumption and taken into account in sustainability discourse and policy to a higher degree than is currently the case.

Challenges and opportunities in the recovery of gold from electronic waste

Rapid global technological development has led to the rising production of electronic waste that presents both challenges and opportunities in its recycling. In this review, we highlight the value of metal resources in the printed circuit boards (PCBs) commonly found in end-of-life electronics, the differences between primary (ore) mining applications and secondary (‘urban’) mining, and the variety of metallurgical separations, in particular those that have the potential to selectively and sustainably recover gold from waste PCBs.

Rapid global technological development has led to the rising production of electronic waste that presents both challenges and opportunities in its recycling.

Taking Stock of Built Environment Stock Studies: Progress and Prospects

Built environment stocks (buildings and infrastructures) play multiple roles in our socio-economic metabolism: they serve as the backbone of modern societies and human well-being, drive the material cycles throughout the economy, entail temporal and spatial lock-ins on energy use and emissions, and represent an extensive reservoir of secondary materials. This review aims at providing a comprehensive and critical review of the state of the art, progress, and prospects of built environment stocks research which has boomed in the past decades. We included 249 publications published from 1985 to 2018, conducted a bibliometric analysis, and assessed the studies by key characteristics including typology of stocks (status of stock and end-use category), type of measurement (object and unit), spatial boundary and level of resolution, and temporal scope. We also highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of different estimation approaches. A comparability analysis of existing studies shows a clearly higher level of stocks per capita and per area in developed countries and cities, confirming the role of urbanization and industrialization in built environment stock growth. However, more spatially refined case studies (e.g., on developing cities and nonresidential buildings) and standardization and improvement of methodology (e.g., with geographic information system and architectural knowledge) and data (e.g., on material intensity and lifetime) would be urgently needed to reveal more robust conclusions on the patterns, drivers, and implications of built environment stocks. Such advanced knowledge on built environment stocks could foster societal and policy agendas such as urban sustainability, circular economy, climate change, and United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

A database seed for a community-driven material intensity research platform

The data record contains Material Intensity data for buildings (MI). MI coefficients are often used for different types of analysis of socio-economic systems and in particular for environmental assessments. Until now, MI values were compiled and reported ad-hoc with few cross-study comparisons. We extracted and converted more than 300 material intensity data points from 33 studies and provide the results in a comprehensive and harmonized database. Material intensity is reported as kilograms per gross floor area for 32 materials as primary data points. Furthermore, we augmented the data with secondary attributes for regional information, such as climate and socioeconomic indicators. The data are hosted on the version control platform GitHub using accessible data formats and providing detailed contribution guidelines. This “database seed” facilitates data analysis, accessibility, and future data contributions by the research community. In the Technical Validation we illustrate that consistency of the data and opportunities for further analysis. This database can serve scientists from various disciplines as a benchmark to determine typical ranges and identify outliers.

Design Type(s)	data integration objective
Measurement Type(s)	material properties
Technology Type(s)	digital curation
Factor Type(s)	geographic location • temporal_interval
Sample Characteristic(s)	anthropogenic environment

Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data (ISA-Tab format)

Endogenizing Capital in MRIO Models: The Implications for Consumption-Based Accounting

Nearly 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions are associated with the production of capital goods. Consumption-based emission calculations based on multiregional input-output (MRIO) models allocate emissions occurring in the production of intermediate goods to the final goods produced in an economy. Like intermediate goods, capital goods are used in production processes; yet the emissions associated with their production are not allocated to the industries using them. As a result, the carbon footprint of final consumption as well as emissions embodied in trade are currently underestimated. Here, we address this problem by endogenizing capital transactions in the EXIOBASE global MRIO database, thereby allocating emissions from capital goods to final consumption. We find that endogenizing capital substantially increases the carbon footprint of final consumption (by up to 57% for some countries), and that the gap between production-based and consumption-based emissions increases for most countries. We also find that the global emissions embodied in trade increase by up to 11%, and that current patterns of bilaterally traded emissions are amplified. Furthermore, endogenizing capital leads to a 3-fold increase in the carbon footprint of certain product categories. The results suggest that our approach constitutes an important improvement to current input-output methodology.

Critical deposition height for sustainable restoration via laser additive manufacturing

Laser material deposition based restoration of high-value components can be a revolutionary technology in remanufacturing. The deposition process induces residual stresses due to thermomechanical behavior and metallurgical transformations. The presence of tensile residual stresses in the deposited layer will compromise the fatigue life of the restored component. We have developed a novel fully coupled metallurgical, thermal and mechanical (metallo-thermomechanical) model to predict residual stresses and identified a critical deposition height, which ensures compressive residual stresses in the deposited layer. Any lower deposition height will result in tensile residual stresses and higher deposition height will result in excessive dilution (substrate melting). We have validated the model using neutron and micro-focus X-ray diffraction measurements. This study highlights that the critical deposition height corresponds to the minimum cooling rate during solidification. It addresses one of the major outstanding problems of additive manufacturing and paves a way for “science-enabled-technology” solutions for sustainable restoration/remanufacturing.

International Trade Drives Global Resource Use: A Structural Decomposition Analysis of Raw Material Consumption from 1990-2010

Globalization led to an immense increase of international trade and the emergence of complex global value chains. At the same time, global resource use and pressures on the environment are increasing steadily. With these two processes in parallel, the question arises whether trade contributes positively to resource efficiency, or to the contrary is further driving resource use? In this article, the socioeconomic driving forces of increasing global raw material consumption (RMC) are investigated to assess the role of changing trade relations, extended supply chains and increasing consumption. We apply a structural decomposition analysis of changes in RMC from 1990 to 2010, utilizing the Eora multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model. We find that changes in international trade patterns significantly contributed to an increase of global RMC. Wealthy developed countries play a major role in driving global RMC growth through changes in their trade structures, as they shifted production processes increasingly to less material-efficient input suppliers. Even the dramatic increase in material consumption in the emerging economies has not diminished the role of industrialized countries as drivers of global RMC growth.

The Material Stock–Flow–Service Nexus: A New Approach for Tackling the Decoupling Conundrum

Fundamental changes in the societal use of biophysical resources are required for a sustainability transformation. Current socioeconomic metabolism research traces flows of energy, materials or substances to capture resource use: input of raw materials or energy, their fate in production and consumption, and the discharge of wastes and emissions. This approach has yielded important insights into eco-efficiency and long-term drivers of resource use. But socio-metabolic research has not yet fully incorporated material stocks or their services, hence not completely exploiting the analytic power of the metabolism concept. This commentary argues for a material stock–flow–service nexus approach focused on the analysis of interrelations between material and energy flows, socioeconomic material stocks (“in-use stocks of materials”) and the services provided by specific stock/flow combinations. Analyzing the interrelations between stocks, flows and services will allow researchers to develop highly innovative indicators of eco-efficiency and open new research directions that will help to better understand biophysical foundations of transformations towards sustainability.

Global socioeconomic material stocks rise 23-fold over the 20th century and require half of annual resource use

Human-made material stocks accumulating in buildings, infrastructure, and machinery play a crucial but underappreciated role in shaping the use of material and energy resources. Building, maintaining, and in particular operating in-use stocks of materials require raw materials and energy. Material stocks create long-term path-dependencies because of their longevity. Fostering a transition toward environmentally sustainable patterns of resource use requires a more complete understanding of stock-flow relations. Here we show that about half of all materials extracted globally by humans each year are used to build up or renew in-use stocks of materials. Based on a dynamic stock-flow model, we analyze stocks, inflows, and outflows of all materials and their relation to economic growth, energy use, and CO₂ emissions from 1900 to 2010. Over this period, global material stocks increased 23-fold, reaching 792 Pg (±5%) in 2010. Despite efforts to improve recycling rates, continuous stock growth precludes closing material loops; recycling still only contributes 12% of inflows to stocks. Stocks are likely to continue to grow, driven by large infrastructure and building requirements in emerging economies. A convergence of material stocks at the level of industrial countries would lead to a fourfold increase in global stocks, and CO₂ emissions exceeding climate change goals. Reducing expected future increases of material and energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions will require decoupling of services from the stocks and flows of materials through, for example, more intensive utilization of existing stocks, longer service lifetimes, and more efficient design.

Waste Informatics: Establishing Characteristics of Contemporary U.S. Landfill Quantities and Practices

Waste generation is expected to increase in most countries for many decades with landfill disposal still the dominant solid waste management method^1-3. Yet, operational characteristics of landfills are often poorly understood with comparative statistics substantially lacking. Here, we call for a more formal waste informatics to organize and standardize waste management knowledge at multiple spatial scales through analysis of recently reported data from 1232 U.S. landfills and other high resolution data sets. We create the first known estimate of available U.S. municipal waste stocks (8.5 billion tonnes) and go on to resolve these stocks at the county level, reflecting prospective urban mining opportunities. Our analysis of disposal rates and landfill capacities reveals that more than half of U.S. states have more than 25 years of life remaining. We also estimate the gross energy potential of landfill gas in the U.S. (338 billion MJ/yr) by examining 922 operational methane collection systems and demonstrate that the greatest energy recovery opportunities lie at landfills with existing collection systems and energy conversion infrastructure. Finally, we found that the number of landfills reaching the federally defined 30-year postclosure care period will more than triple in the coming two decades, with 264 sites expected by the year 2044, highlighting the need to develop and standardize metrics carefully to define and standardize when it is appropriate to end or scale back long-term landfill monitoring.

Sustainable livelihoods approach through the lens of the State-and-Transition Model in semi-arid pastoral systems

Dealing with complex challenges worldwide regarding sustainable development and environmental management requires applied frameworks to understand and manage change in complex social-ecological systems. In this regard, frameworks that have originated from different research arenas such as the State-and-Transition Model and the sustainable livelihoods approach provide a conceptual basis for theory and operative integration. The aim of this paper was to provide a conceptual model for social-ecological research and sustainable management in semi-arid pastoral systems. We suggest integrating the state-and-transition model by including structural and functional features of social-ecological systems into the sustainable livelihoods approach. Both attributes are analysed at a household level in five types of capital that typically comprise social-ecological systems: natural, human, manufactured, social and financial. We propose to perform the structural-functional analysis for each capital as separate sub-systems in order to assess the impact of different disturbance factors. Some implications of this framework are explained by providing an example of the impact of drought in smallholder pastoral systems from semi-arid rangelands of North-West Patagonia, Argentina. This approach is encouraging as a step towards two main challenges: (i) the provision of applied frameworks for social-ecological assessment and management, and (ii) an attempt to bring closer science and decision making.