SYSTEMIC INTELLIGENCE. A CONCEPT GROUNDED IN ENERGY FLOWS FOR SELF-ORGANIZING ECOSYSTEMS AND SUSTAINABLE SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS
INTELIGÊNCIA SISTÊMICA. UM CONCEITO BASEADO EM FLUXOS ENERGÉTICOS PARA ECOSSISTEMAS AUTO-ORGANIZADOS E SISTEMAS SOCIOECOLÓGICOS SUSTENTÁVEIS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29183/2447-3073.MIX2026.v12.n4.%25pKeywords:
Emergy, Systemic resilience, Systems theory;, Systemic Intelligence Index (SII)Abstract
Intelligence is traditionally associated with centralized cognitive systems, such as brains or artificial algorithms. Yet, ecosystems exhibit adaptation, self-regulation, and resilience, suggesting a distinct, non-cognitive, distributed intelligence rooted in transformed energy-matter flows. We propose Systemic Intelligence (SI) as the systemic capacity of ecosystems and socio-ecological systems to perceive, integrate, and adaptively respond to change, grounded in quantifiable principles of emergy theory: transformity, emergy density, feedback ratio, and efficiency of high-quality energy use. Anchored in systems ecology (H.T. Odum), complexity theory (Holling, Kauffman), and evolutionary ecology, SI transcends individual cognition, emerging from interconnected biotic-abiotic networks that optimize persistence through efficient energy pathway selection. By reinterpreting ecological processes as “emergy networks”, analogous to neural networks, we illustrate how nature processes environmental information via energetic hierarchies. We present an operational definition and a preliminary metric: the Index of Systemic Intelligence (IIS), derived from emergy indicators. Applications span conservation, regenerative design, adaptive governance, and complex systems modeling. SI offers a materialist, measurable framework integrating ecology, thermodynamics, and systems science, moving us toward a “science of nature’s systemic wisdom.
References
BASTIANONI, S. et al. Emergy as a function of exergy. Energy, v. 32, n. 7, p. 1158–1162, 1 jul. 2007.
BASTIANONI, S. et al. The solar transformity of petroleum fuels. Ecological Modelling, v. 220, n. 1, p. 40–50, 10 jan. 2009.
BASTIANONI, Simone; COSCIEME, Luca; PULSELLI, Federico M. The input-state-output model and related indicators to investigate the relationships among environment, society and economy. Ecological Modelling, v. 325, p. 84–88, 10 abr. 2016.
BEGON, Michael; TOWNSEND, Colin R.; HARPER, John L. Ecology: From Individuals To Ecosystems. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub, 2006.
BERKES, Fikret. Understanding uncertainty and reducing vulnerability: lessons from resilience thinking. Natural Hazards, v. 41, n. 2, p. 283–295, 1 maio 2007.
BIGGS, Reinette et al. Toward Principles for Enhancing the Resilience of Ecosystem Services. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, v. 37, n. Volume 37, 2012, p. 421–448, 21 nov. 2012.
BROWN, M. T.; ULGIATI, S. Emergy-based indices and ratios to evaluate sustainability: monitoring economies and technology toward environmentally sound innovation. Ecological Engineering, v. 9, n. 1, p. 51–69, 1 set. 1997.
BROWN, Mark T.; ULGIATI, Sergio. Energy quality, emergy, and transformity: H.T. Odum’s contributions to quantifying and understanding systems. Ecological Modelling, Through the MACROSCOPE: the legacy of H.T. Odum. v. 178, n. 1, p. 201–213, 15 out. 2004.
CARVALHO JUNIOR, Oldemar. Estuary. A systems perspective. Estuarine Management and Technologies, v. 2, p. 43–70, 1 ago. 2025.
CROOKS, Kevin R. Connectivity Conservation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
FOLKE, Carl et al. ADAPTIVE GOVERNANCE OF SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, v. 30, n. Volume 30, 2005, p. 441–473, 21 nov. 2005.
GUNDERSON, Lance H.; HOLLING, C. S. Panarchy: Understanding Transformations in Human and Natural Systems. [S.l.]: Island Press, 2002.
HILTY, Jodi et al. Guidelines for conserving connectivity through ecological networks and corridors. Switzerland: IUCN, 2020.
JØRGENSEN, Sven Erik. Description of aquatic ecosystem’s development by eco-exergy and exergy destruction. Ecological Modelling, v. 204, n. 1, p. 22–28, 24 maio 2007.
JØRGENSEN, Sven Erik. Ecosystem services, sustainability and thermodynamic indicators. Ecological Complexity, Ecosystem Services – Bridging Ecology, Economy and Social Sciences. v. 7, n. 3, p. 311–313, 1 set. 2010.
MILLENNIUM ECOSYSTEM ASSESSMENT. Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Synthesis. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2005.
NIELSEN, Søren Nors et al. Thermodynamics in Ecology—An Introductory Review. Entropy, v. 22, n. 8, 26 jul. 2020.
ODUM, Eugene P. Fundamentals of Ecology. Philadelphia: W B Saunders Co, 1971.
ODUM, Howard T. Self-Organization, Transformity, and Information. Science, v. 242, n. 4882, p. 1132–1139, 25 nov. 1988.
ODUM, Howard T. Environmental Accounting: Emergy and Environmental Decision Making. Edição: 1a ed. New York: Wiley, 1996.
ODUM, Howard T.; ODUM, Elisabeth C. The prosperous way down. Energy, The Second Biennial International Workshop “Advances in Energy Studies”. v. 31, n. 1, p. 21–32, 1 jan. 2006.
PRIGOGINE, I.; NICOLIS, G. Self-Organisation in Nonequilibrium Systems: Towards A Dynamics of Complexity. In: HAZEWINKEL, M.; JURKOVICH, R.; PAELINCK, J. H. P. (Orgs.). Bifurcation Analysis: Principles, Applications and Synthesis. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 1985. p. 3–12.
RICKLEFS, Robert; RELYEA, Rick. Ecology: The Economy of Nature. New York, NY: W. H. Freeman, 2014.
ROCKSTRÖM, Johan et al. A safe operating space for humanity. Nature, v. 461, n. 7263, p. 472–475, set. 2009.
SAATY, Thomas L. The Analytic Hierarchy Process: Planning Setting Priorities, Resource Allocation. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1980.
SAHRAOUI, Yohan; CLAUZEL, Céline; FOLTÊTE, Jean-Christophe. Hierarchy and Centrality in Ecological Networks. In: [S.l.: S.n.]. p. 123–142.
SCIUBBA, Enrico. Shape from function: The exergy cost of viscous flow in bifurcated diabatic tubes. Energy, v. 213, p. 118663, 15 dez. 2020.
ULANOWICZ, Robert E. A Third Window: Natural Life Beyond Newton and Darwin. [S.l.]: Templeton Press, 2009.
ULANOWICZ, Robert E. Reckoning the nonexistent: Putting the science right. Ecological Modelling, Systems Ecology: A Network Perspective and Retrospective. v. 293, p. 22–30, 10 dez. 2014.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Alesandra Bez Birolo, Oldemar de Oliveira Carvalho Junior
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Creative Commons Copyright Notice
Attribution 4.0 International
