📊 Material Flow & Sankey Diagram Level: Intermediate ⏱️ Estimated: 7 Minutes Module: SANKEY

Exploring Material Flow Analysis and Interactive Sankey Diagrams

How to interpret Sankey diagrams, trace plastic sources to terminal fates, and export mass balance data.

Target Roles: All Users & Prospective Surveyors
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📋 Prerequisites Before Starting
Farm records with plastic flow items exist (or using demo data).

How to Read the APRA Sankey Diagram

The Sankey diagram models agricultural plastic mass flows (kg/year) from left to right:

  • Left Nodes (Plastic Categories): Displays input categories arriving at farms (Mulch film, Fertilizer sacks, Pesticide containers, Drip tape, etc.).
  • Center Nodes (Usage Stages): Represents lifespan retention (In-use retention in soil vs End-of-life yearly discharge).
  • Right Nodes (11 Terminal Fates): Depicts final destinations (Recycling, Municipal landfill, Open burning, Waterways, On-farm burial).

Interactive Diagram Features

  1. Navigate to 📊 Sankey Visualization in the main navigation.
  2. Use the Farm Location Filter dropdown to focus on an individual farm or review regional aggregates.
  3. Hover over flow ribbons (links) to inspect precise volumes in kilograms per year and proportional percentages.
  4. Click Export CSV in the upper right to download mass balance data ready for spreadsheet or statistical analysis.
🎯 Expected Results
Users can filter diagrams by farm, inspect kilogram flow tooltips, and export mass balance CSV files.
⚠️ Common Pitfalls & Troubleshooting
Assuming the Sankey chart is broken when selecting a farm with no plastic flows. An empty-state message appears when zero kg quantities exist.
🔒 Security & Data Privacy Notice
Surveyors only see plastic flows from their assigned farms and demo data; admins can inspect aggregated cross-farm flows.

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📊 Material Flow & Sankey Diagram

Agricultural plastic material flow analysis, law of conservation of mass, and interactive Sankey diagram exploration.

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🔬 Using Demo Data? Simulated data (such as DEMO-01) is provided out-of-the-box for independent training. You can freely test without affecting real survey records.