1
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Marhoon A, Hernandez MLH, Billy RG, Müller DB, Verones F. Mapping Plastic and Plastic Additive Cycles in Coastal Countries: A Norwegian Case Study. Environ Sci Technol 2024. [PMID: 38703133 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c09176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2024]
Abstract
The growing environmental consequences caused by plastic pollution highlight the need for a better understanding of plastic polymer cycles and their associated additives. We present a novel, comprehensive top-down method using inflow-driven dynamic probabilistic material flow analysis (DPMFA) to map the plastic cycle in coastal countries. For the first time, we covered the progressive leaching of microplastics to the environment during the use phase of products and modeled the presence of 232 plastic additives. We applied this methodology to Norway and proposed initial release pathways to different environmental compartments. 758 kt of plastics distributed among 13 different polymers was introduced to the Norwegian economy in 2020, 4.4 Mt was present in in-use stocks, and 632 kt was wasted, of which 15.2 kt (2.4%) was released to the environment with a similar share of macro- and microplastics and 4.8 kt ended up in the ocean. Our study shows tire wear rubber as a highly pollutive microplastic source, while most macroplastics originated from consumer packaging with LDPE, PP, and PET as dominant polymers. Additionally, 75 kt of plastic additives was potentially released to the environment alongside these polymers. We emphasize that upstream measures, such as consumption reduction and changes in product design, would result in the most positive impact for limiting plastic pollution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed Marhoon
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim NO-7034, Norway
| | | | - Romain Guillaume Billy
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim NO-7034, Norway
| | - Daniel Beat Müller
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim NO-7034, Norway
| | - Francesca Verones
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim NO-7034, Norway
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2
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Vodopia D, Verones F, Askham C, Larsen RB. Retrieval operations of derelict fishing gears give insight on the impact on marine life. Mar Pollut Bull 2024; 201:116268. [PMID: 38492268 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2024] [Revised: 03/03/2024] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024]
Abstract
Abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gear (ALDFG), significantly impacts marine ecosystems and biodiversity by incidental capture known as ghost fishing. Such impacts were quantified during the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries' annual ALDFG cleanup operation in September 2023 by examining the characteristics of retrieved ALDFG and recording the taxonomically sorted catch abundance and biomass. A total of 307 specimens equaling 382 kg of biomass were caught in the recovered gillnets and king crab pots. Gillnets exhibited a 27.3 % greater catch abundance and 50.3 % higher biomass per ALDFG unit mass compared to king crab pots. Margalef, Menhinick, Simpson, Shannon, and Pielou diversity indices showed a more pronounced impact on species richness and biodiversity associated with recovered gillnets. This study introduces an approach to assess the impact of ghost fishing on ecosystems and biodiversity through ALDFG retrieval operations, instrumental in developing estimates of the total ghost fishing capture by ALDFG.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Francesca Verones
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
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3
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Ran Y, Cederberg C, Jonell M, Bergman K, De Boer IJM, Einarsson R, Karlsson J, Potter HK, Martin M, Metson GS, Nemecek T, Nicholas KA, Strand Å, Tidåker P, Van der Werf H, Vanham D, Van Zanten HHE, Verones F, Röös E. Environmental assessment of diets: overview and guidance on indicator choice. Lancet Planet Health 2024; 8:e172-e187. [PMID: 38453383 DOI: 10.1016/s2542-5196(24)00006-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Revised: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
Comprehensive but interpretable assessment of the environmental performance of diets involves choosing a set of appropriate indicators. Current knowledge and data gaps on the origin of dietary foodstuffs restrict use of indicators relying on site-specific information. This Personal View summarises commonly used indicators for assessing the environmental performance of diets, briefly outlines their benefits and drawbacks, and provides recommendations on indicator choices for actors across multiple fields involved in activities that include the environmental assessment of diets. We then provide recommendations on indicator choices for actors across multiple fields involved in activities that use environmental assessments, such as health and nutrition experts, policy makers, decision makers, and private-sector and public-sector sustainability officers. We recommend that environmental assessment of diets should include indicators for at least the five following areas: climate change, biosphere integrity, blue water consumption, novel entities, and impacts on natural resources (especially wild fish stocks), to capture important environmental trade-offs. If more indicators can be handled in the assessment, indicators to capture impacts related to land use quantity and quality and green water consumption should be used. For ambitious assessments, indicators related to biogeochemical flows, stratospheric ozone depletion, and energy use can be added.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ylva Ran
- Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Christel Cederberg
- Division of Physical Resource Theory, Department of Space, Earth and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Malin Jonell
- Global Economic Dynamics and the Biosphere, Royal Swedish Academy of Science, Stockholm, Sweden; Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Kristina Bergman
- KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Imke J M De Boer
- Animal Production Systems Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Rasmus Einarsson
- Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Johan Karlsson
- Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Hanna Karlsson Potter
- Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Michael Martin
- IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Geneviève S Metson
- Department of Geography and Environment, Social Sciences Centre, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada; Ecological and Environmental Modeling Division, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Thomas Nemecek
- Agroscope, Life Cycle Assessment Research Group, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Åsa Strand
- IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Pernilla Tidåker
- Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Hayo Van der Werf
- French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment, l'Institut Agro Rennes-Angers, Rennes, France
| | | | - Hannah H E Van Zanten
- Farming Systems Ecology Group, Wageningen Universityand Research, Wageningen, Netherlands; Department of Global Development, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Francesca Verones
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Elin Röös
- Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
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4
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Borgelt J, Dorber M, Géron C, Kuipers KJJ, Huijbregts MAJ, Verones F. What Is the Impact of Accidentally Transporting Terrestrial Alien Species? A New Life Cycle Impact Assessment Model. Environ Sci Technol 2024. [PMID: 38332475 PMCID: PMC10882960 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c08500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
Alien species form one of the main threats to global biodiversity. Although Life Cycle Assessment attempts to holistically assess environmental impacts of products and services across value chains, ecological impacts of the introduction of alien species are so far not assessed in Life Cycle Impact Assessment. Here, we developed country-to-country-specific characterization factors, expressed as the time-integrated potentially disappeared fraction (PDF; regional and global) of native terrestrial species due to alien species introductions per unit of goods transported [kg] between two countries. The characterization factors were generated by analyzing global data on first records of alien species, native species distributions, and their threat status, as well as bilateral trade partnerships from 1870-2019. The resulting characterization factors vary over several orders of magnitude, indicating that impact greatly varies per transportation route and trading partner. We showcase the applicability and relevance of the characterization factors for transporting 1 metric ton of freight to France from China, South Africa, and Madagascar. The results suggest that the introduction of alien species can be more damaging for terrestrial biodiversity as climate change impacts during the international transport of commodities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Borgelt
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim 7034, Norway
| | - Martin Dorber
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim 7034, Norway
| | - Charly Géron
- Biodiversity and Landscape, TERRA research centre, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Gembloux 5030, Belgium
- Plants and Ecosystems, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk 2610, Belgium
- . CNRS, ECOBIO (Écosystèmes, Biodiversité, Évolution), UMR, University of Rennes, Rennes 6553, France
| | - Koen J J Kuipers
- Department of Environmental Science, Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences, Radboud University, Nijmegen, GL 6500, Netherlands
| | - Mark A J Huijbregts
- Department of Environmental Science, Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences, Radboud University, Nijmegen, GL 6500, Netherlands
| | - Francesca Verones
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim 7034, Norway
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Casagrande N, Silva CO, Verones F, Sobral P, Martinho G. Ecotoxicity effect factors for plastic additives on the aquatic environment: a new approach for life cycle impact assessment. Environ Pollut 2024; 341:122935. [PMID: 37977358 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2023] [Revised: 11/02/2023] [Accepted: 11/12/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
All plastic contains additives. Once in the environment, these will start to leach out and will expose and harm aquatic biota, causing potentially lethal and sub-lethal toxic effects. Even though life cycle assessment covers the toxic impacts of several thousands of chemicals, models to assess the toxic impacts of plastic additives are only emerging. We gathered 461 data points from the literature (266 for freshwater and 195 for marine ecosystems) for 75 species belonging to 9 different phyla. The endpoints effective concentration and lethal concentration, no observed effects concentrations and lowest observed effect concentration tested in acute and chronic exposure, were harmonized into chronic values by applying extrapolation factors. The collected data points covered 75 main plastic additives. This allowed us to calculate 25 Effect factors, 19 for single chemicals and four for overarching categories (alkylphenols, benzophenones, brominated flame retardants and phosphates. In addition, we calculated an aggregated effect factor for chemicals that did not fit in any of the previous groups, as well as a Generic effect factor including 404 gathered data points. The estimated potentially affected fraction (PAF) for the single additives varied between 20.69 PAF·m3·kg-1 for diethyl phthalate and 11081.85 PAF·m3·kg-1 for 4-Nonylphenol. The factors can in future be combined with fate and exposure factors to derive a characterization factor for toxicity caused by additives in aquatic species. This is an important advancement for the assessment of the impacts of plastic debris on aquatic species, thus providing information for decision-makers, as well as guiding policies for the use of additives, ultimately aiming to make the plastic value chain more sustainable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naiara Casagrande
- MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre | ARNET - Aquatic Research Network Associate Laboratory, NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, Caparica, Portugal.
| | - Carla O Silva
- MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre | ARNET - Aquatic Research Network Associate Laboratory, NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, Caparica, Portugal
| | - Francesca Verones
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Department for Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Høgskoleringen 5, NO-7491, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Paula Sobral
- MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre | ARNET - Aquatic Research Network Associate Laboratory, NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, Caparica, Portugal
| | - Graça Martinho
- MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre | ARNET - Aquatic Research Network Associate Laboratory, NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, Caparica, Portugal
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6
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Scherer L, Rosa F, Sun Z, Michelsen O, De Laurentiis V, Marques A, Pfister S, Verones F, Kuipers KJJ. Biodiversity Impact Assessment Considering Land Use Intensities and Fragmentation. Environ Sci Technol 2023; 57:19612-19623. [PMID: 37972360 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c04191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
Land use is a major threat to terrestrial biodiversity. Life cycle assessment is a tool that can assess such threats and thereby support environmental decision-making. Within the Global Guidance for Life Cycle Impact Assessment (GLAM) project, the Life Cycle Initiative hosted by UN Environment aims to create a life cycle impact assessment method across multiple impact categories, including land use impacts on ecosystem quality represented by regional and global species richness. A working group of the GLAM project focused on such land use impacts and developed new characterization factors to combine the strengths of two separate recent advancements in the field: the consideration of land use intensities and land fragmentation. The data sets to parametrize the underlying model are also updated from previous models. The new characterization factors cover five species groups (plants, amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles) and five broad land use types (cropland, pasture, plantations, managed forests, and urban land) at three intensity levels (minimal, light, and intense). They are available at the level of terrestrial ecoregions and countries. This paper documents the development of the characterization factors, provides practical guidance for their use, and critically assesses the strengths and remaining shortcomings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Scherer
- Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden University, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Francesca Rosa
- Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Zhongxiao Sun
- College of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Ottar Michelsen
- Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), 7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | | | - Alexandra Marques
- PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, 2500 GH The Hague, The Netherlands
| | - Stephan Pfister
- Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Francesca Verones
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Department for Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), 7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Koen J J Kuipers
- Department of Environmental Science, Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences (RIBES), Radboud University, 6525AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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7
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Pierrat E, Barbarossa V, Núñez M, Scherer L, Link A, Damiani M, Verones F, Dorber M. Corrigendum to "Global water consumption impacts on riverine fish species richness in Life Cycle Assessment" [Sci. Total Environ. 854 (2023) 158702]. Sci Total Environ 2023; 897:165391. [PMID: 37451072 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Eleonore Pierrat
- Quantitative Sustainability Assessment Division, Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
| | - Valerio Barbarossa
- Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands; PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, The Hague, the Netherlands
| | - Montserrat Núñez
- Sustainability in Biosystems, Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA), Caldes de Montbui, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Laura Scherer
- Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Andreas Link
- Chair of Sustainable Engineering, Technical University of Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany
| | - Mattia Damiani
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Via Enrico Fermi 2749, 21027 Ispra, VA, Italy
| | - Francesca Verones
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, NTNU, Høgskoleringen 5, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Martin Dorber
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, NTNU, Høgskoleringen 5, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
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Pierrat É, Laurent A, Dorber M, Rygaard M, Verones F, Hauschild M. Advancing water footprint assessments: Combining the impacts of water pollution and scarcity. Sci Total Environ 2023; 870:161910. [PMID: 36736405 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2022] [Revised: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Several water footprint indicators have been developed to curb freshwater stress. Volumetric footprints support water allocation decisions and strive to increase water productivity in all sectors. In contrast, impact-oriented footprints are used to minimize the impacts of water use on human health, ecosystems, and freshwater resources. Efforts to combine both perspectives in a harmonized framework have been undertaken, but common challenges remain, such as pollution and ecosystems impacts modelling. To address these knowledge gaps, we build upon a water footprint assessment framework proposed at conceptual level to expand and operationalize relevant features. We propose two regionalized indicators, namely the water biodiversity footprint and the water resource footprint, that aggregate all impacts from toxic chemicals, nutrients, and water scarcity. The first impact indicator represents the impacts on freshwater ecosystems. The second one models the competition for freshwater resources and its consequences on freshwater availability. As part of the framework, we complement the two indicators with a sustainability assessment representing the levels above which ecological and human freshwater needs are no longer sustained. We test our approach assessing the sustainability of water use in the European Union in 2010. Water stress hampers 15 % of domestic, agricultural and industrial water demand, mainly due to irrigation and pesticide emissions in southern Europe. Moreover, damage to the freshwater ecosystems is widespread and mostly resulting from chemical emissions from industry. Approximately 5 % of the area is exceeding the regional sustainability limits for ecosystems and human water requirements altogether. Concerted efforts from all sectors are needed to reduce the impacts of emissions and water consumption under the sustainability limits. These advances are considered an important step toward the harmonization of volumetric and impact-oriented approaches to achieve consistent and holistic water footprinting as well as contributing to strengthen the policy relevance of water footprint assessments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Éléonore Pierrat
- Section for Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
| | - Alexis Laurent
- Section for Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Martin Dorber
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Høgskøleringen 5, 7034, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Martin Rygaard
- Water Technology and Processes, Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Francesca Verones
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Høgskøleringen 5, 7034, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Michael Hauschild
- Section for Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
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9
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Askham C, Pauna VH, Boulay AM, Fantke P, Jolliet O, Lavoie J, Booth AM, Coutris C, Verones F, Weber M, Vijver MG, Lusher A, Hajjar C. Generating environmental sampling and testing data for micro- and nanoplastics for use in life cycle impact assessment. Sci Total Environ 2023; 859:160038. [PMID: 36395847 PMCID: PMC9760571 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Revised: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Ongoing efforts focus on quantifying plastic pollution and describing and estimating the related magnitude of exposure and impacts on human and environmental health. Data gathered during such work usually follows a receptor perspective. However, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) represents an emitter perspective. This study examines existing data gathering and reporting approaches for field and laboratory studies on micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) exposure and effects relevant to LCA data inputs. The outcomes indicate that receptor perspective approaches do not typically provide suitable or sufficiently harmonised data. Improved design is needed in the sampling, testing and recording of results using harmonised, validated and comparable methods, with more comprehensive reporting of relevant data. We propose a three-level set of requirements for data recording and reporting to increase the potential for LCA studies and models to utilise data gathered in receptor-oriented studies. We show for which purpose such data can be used as inputs to LCA, particularly in life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methods. Implementing these requirements will facilitate proper integration of the potential environmental impacts of plastic losses from human activity (e.g. litter) into LCA. Then, the impacts of plastic emissions can eventually be connected and compared with other environmental issues related to anthropogenic activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia Askham
- Norwegian Institute for Sustainability Research (NORSUS), Stadion 4, 1671 Kråkerøy, Norway.
| | - Valentina H Pauna
- Norwegian Institute for Sustainability Research (NORSUS), Stadion 4, 1671 Kråkerøy, Norway; International PhD Programme/UNESCO Chair "Environment, Resources and Sustainable Development", Department of Science and Technology, Parthenope University of Naples, Centro Direzionale, Isola C4, 80143 Naples, Italy
| | - Anne-Marie Boulay
- CIRAIG, Chemical Engineering Department, Polytechnique Montreal, Canada
| | - Peter Fantke
- Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Produktionstorvet 424, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Olivier Jolliet
- Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Produktionstorvet 424, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Jérôme Lavoie
- CIRAIG, UQÀM/ISE-Institute of Environmental Sciences, Montreal, Canada
| | | | - Claire Coutris
- NIBIO Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, Division of Environment and Natural Resources, Ås, Norway
| | - Francesca Verones
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | | | - Martina G Vijver
- Leiden University, Institute of Environmental Sciences, the Netherlands
| | - Amy Lusher
- Norwegian Institute of Water Research (NIVA), Oslo, Norway; Department of Biological Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Carla Hajjar
- CIRAIG, Chemical Engineering Department, Polytechnique Montreal, Canada
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Pierrat E, Barbarossa V, Núñez M, Scherer L, Link A, Damiani M, Verones F, Dorber M. Global water consumption impacts on riverine fish species richness in Life Cycle Assessment. Sci Total Environ 2023; 854:158702. [PMID: 36108858 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Revised: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Reduced river discharge and flow regulation are significant threats to freshwater biodiversity. An accurate representation of potential damage of water consumption on freshwater biodiversity is required to quantify and compare the environmental impacts of global value chains. The effect of discharge reduction on fish species richness was previously modeled in life cycle impact assessment, but models were limited by the restricted geographical scope of underlying species-discharge relationships and the small number of species data. Here, we propose a model based on a novel regionalized species-discharge relationship (SDR). Our SDR-based model covers 88 % of the global landmass (2320 river basins worldwide excluding deserts and permanently frozen areas) and is based on a global dataset of 11,450 riverine fish species, simulated river discharge, elevation, and climate zones. We performed 10-fold cross-validation to select the best set of predictors and validated the obtained SDRs based on observed discharge data. Our model performed better than previous SDRs employed in life cycle impact assessment (Kling-Gupta efficiency coefficient about 4 times larger). We provide both marginal and average models with their uncertainty ranges for assessing scenarios of small and large-scale water consumption, respectively, and include regional and global species loss. We conducted an illustrative case study to showcase the method's applicability and highlight the differences with the currently used approach. Our models are useful for supporting sustainable water consumption and riverine fish biodiversity conservation decisions. They enable a more specific, reliable, and complete impact assessment by differentiating impacts on regional riverine fish species richness and irreversible global losses, including up-to-date species data, and providing spatially explicit values with high geographical coverage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleonore Pierrat
- Quantitative Sustainability Assessment division, Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
| | - Valerio Barbarossa
- Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands; PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, The Hague, the Netherlands
| | - Montserrat Núñez
- Sustainability in Biosystems, Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA), Caldes de Montbui, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Laura Scherer
- Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Andreas Link
- Chair of Sustainable Engineering, Technical University of Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany
| | - Mattia Damiani
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Via Enrico Fermi 2749, 21027 Ispra, VA, Italy
| | - Francesca Verones
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, NTNU, Høgskoleringen 5, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Martin Dorber
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, NTNU, Høgskoleringen 5, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
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11
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Kuipers KJJ, May R, Verones F. Considering habitat conversion and fragmentation in characterisation factors for land-use impacts on vertebrate species richness. Sci Total Environ 2021; 801:149737. [PMID: 34525717 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2021] [Revised: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 08/13/2021] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Human land use is one of the primary threats to terrestrial species richness and is considered a priority for meeting global sustainability and biodiversity targets. Decision-support tools, such as life cycle assessment (LCA), are widely used for developing strategies to achieve such objectives. Currently available life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methods apply the countryside species-area relationship (c-SAR) to quantify habitat conversion impacts on species richness. However, additional effects of habitat fragmentation are yet ignored in these assessments. We use the species-habitat relationship (SHR), an adaptation of the c-SAR that considers both habitat conversion and fragmentation effects, to develop a new set of land-use characterisation factors for 702 terrestrial ecoregions (in 238 countries), four land-use types (urban, cropland, pasture, and forestry), and four taxonomic groups (amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles; plus the aggregate of these vertebrate groups). The SHR generally predicts higher per-area impacts of land-use than the impacts estimated by the c-SAR (a median relative difference of +9%), indicating that land-use impacts may be systematically underestimated when ignoring fragmentation effects. Whereas per-area impacts of land-use on regional species richness are highest in temperate regions, reflecting the diminished extent of natural habitat, per-area impacts of land-use on global species richness are highest in the subtropics, reflecting the importance of tropical regions and islands to global vertebrate species diversity. The large variety in magnitude of land-use impacts across the world's regions emphasizes the importance of regionalised assessments. The set of characterisation factors proposed here can be readily used in environmental decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Koen J J Kuipers
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway; Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands.
| | - Roel May
- Terrestrial Ecology, the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Francesca Verones
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway
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12
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Mair L, Bennun LA, Brooks TM, Butchart SHM, Bolam FC, Burgess ND, Ekstrom JMM, Milner-Gulland EJ, Hoffmann M, Ma K, Macfarlane NBW, Raimondo DC, Rodrigues ASL, Shen X, Strassburg BBN, Beatty CR, Gómez-Creutzberg C, Iribarrem A, Irmadhiany M, Lacerda E, Mattos BC, Parakkasi K, Tognelli MF, Bennett EL, Bryan C, Carbone G, Chaudhary A, Eiselin M, da Fonseca GAB, Galt R, Geschke A, Glew L, Goedicke R, Green JMH, Gregory RD, Hill SLL, Hole DG, Hughes J, Hutton J, Keijzer MPW, Navarro LM, Nic Lughadha E, Plumptre AJ, Puydarrieux P, Possingham HP, Rankovic A, Regan EC, Rondinini C, Schneck JD, Siikamäki J, Sendashonga C, Seutin G, Sinclair S, Skowno AL, Soto-Navarro CA, Stuart SN, Temple HJ, Vallier A, Verones F, Viana LR, Watson J, Bezeng S, Böhm M, Burfield IJ, Clausnitzer V, Clubbe C, Cox NA, Freyhof J, Gerber LR, Hilton-Taylor C, Jenkins R, Joolia A, Joppa LN, Koh LP, Lacher TE, Langhammer PF, Long B, Mallon D, Pacifici M, Polidoro BA, Pollock CM, Rivers MC, Roach NS, Rodríguez JP, Smart J, Young BE, Hawkins F, McGowan PJK. A metric for spatially explicit contributions to science-based species targets. Nat Ecol Evol 2021; 5:836-844. [PMID: 33833421 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-021-01432-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
The Convention on Biological Diversity's post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework will probably include a goal to stabilize and restore the status of species. Its delivery would be facilitated by making the actions required to halt and reverse species loss spatially explicit. Here, we develop a species threat abatement and restoration (STAR) metric that is scalable across species, threats and geographies. STAR quantifies the contributions that abating threats and restoring habitats in specific places offer towards reducing extinction risk. While every nation can contribute towards halting biodiversity loss, Indonesia, Colombia, Mexico, Madagascar and Brazil combined have stewardship over 31% of total STAR values for terrestrial amphibians, birds and mammals. Among actions, sustainable crop production and forestry dominate, contributing 41% of total STAR values for these taxonomic groups. Key Biodiversity Areas cover 9% of the terrestrial surface but capture 47% of STAR values. STAR could support governmental and non-state actors in quantifying their contributions to meeting science-based species targets within the framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louise Mair
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
| | - Leon A Bennun
- The Biodiversity Consultancy, Cambridge, UK.,Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Thomas M Brooks
- IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.,World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF), University of The Philippines Los Baños, Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines.,Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Stuart H M Butchart
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK
| | - Friederike C Bolam
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.,United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, UK
| | - Neil D Burgess
- United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, UK.,GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | | | | | - Keping Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | | | - Domitilla C Raimondo
- South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.,IUCN Species Survival Commission, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Ana S L Rodrigues
- CEFE, University of Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Xiaoli Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Bernardo B N Strassburg
- Rio Conservation and Sustainability Science Centre, Department of Geography and Environment, Pontifical Catholic University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,International Institute for Sustainability, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Craig R Beatty
- IUCN, Washington DC, USA.,World Wildlife Fund, Washington DC, USA
| | | | - Alvaro Iribarrem
- Rio Conservation and Sustainability Science Centre, Department of Geography and Environment, Pontifical Catholic University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,International Institute for Sustainability, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | | | - Eduardo Lacerda
- International Institute for Sustainability, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, Brazil
| | | | | | - Marcelo F Tognelli
- Conservation International, Arlington, VA, USA.,IUCN-Conservation International Biodiversity Assessment Unit, Washington DC, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Maxime Eiselin
- IUCN National Committee of The Netherlands, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | | | | | - Arne Geschke
- Integrated Sustainability Analysis, School of Physics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | | | - Romie Goedicke
- IUCN National Committee of The Netherlands, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Jonathan M H Green
- Stockholm Environment Institute York, Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, York, UK
| | - Richard D Gregory
- RSPB, Sandy, UK.,Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
| | - Samantha L L Hill
- United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Jonathan Hughes
- United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Marco P W Keijzer
- IUCN National Committee of The Netherlands, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Laetitia M Navarro
- German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.,Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany
| | | | - Andrew J Plumptre
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Key Biodiversity Areas Secretariat, BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Hugh P Possingham
- The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA, USA.,The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Aleksandar Rankovic
- Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations, Sciences Po, Paris, France
| | - Eugenie C Regan
- United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, UK.,Springer Nature, London, UK
| | - Carlo Rondinini
- Global Mammal Assessment Programme, Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie "Charles Darwin", Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Andrew L Skowno
- South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.,Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Carolina A Soto-Navarro
- United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, UK.,Luc Hoffmann Institute, Gland, Switzerland
| | - Simon N Stuart
- Synchronicity Earth, London, UK.,IUCN Species Survival Commission, Bath, UK.,A Rocha International, London, UK
| | | | | | - Francesca Verones
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Leonardo R Viana
- Conservation International, Arlington, VA, USA.,Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc., Washington DC, USA
| | - James Watson
- Wildlife Conservation Society, New York City, NY, USA.,The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Simeon Bezeng
- BirdLife South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa.,Department of Geography, Environmental Management and Energy Studies, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | | | | | | | - Colin Clubbe
- Conservation Science Department, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London, UK
| | - Neil A Cox
- Conservation International, Arlington, VA, USA.,IUCN-Conservation International Biodiversity Assessment Unit, Washington DC, USA
| | - Jörg Freyhof
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Berlin, Germany
| | - Leah R Gerber
- Center for Biodiversity Outcomes, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Lian Pin Koh
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Thomas E Lacher
- Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.,Global Wildlife Conservation, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Penny F Langhammer
- Global Wildlife Conservation, Austin, TX, USA.,School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Barney Long
- Global Wildlife Conservation, Austin, TX, USA
| | - David Mallon
- Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK
| | - Michela Pacifici
- Global Mammal Assessment Programme, Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie "Charles Darwin", Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - Beth A Polidoro
- Center for Biodiversity Outcomes, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.,School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Arizona State University, Glendale, AZ, USA
| | | | - Malin C Rivers
- Botanic Gardens Conservation International, Richmond, UK
| | - Nicolette S Roach
- Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.,Global Wildlife Conservation, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Jon Paul Rodríguez
- IUCN Species Survival Commission, Caracas, Venezuela.,Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Investigation (IVIC), Caracas, Venezuela.,Provita, Caracas, Venezuela
| | | | | | | | - Philip J K McGowan
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
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13
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Liu X, Bakshi BR, Rugani B, de Souza DM, Bare J, Johnston JM, Laurent A, Verones F. Quantification and valuation of ecosystem services in life cycle assessment: Application of the cascade framework to rice farming systems. Sci Total Environ 2020; 747:141278. [PMID: 32795796 PMCID: PMC7944463 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2020] [Revised: 07/08/2020] [Accepted: 07/25/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The integration of ecosystem service (ES) assessment with life cycle assessment (LCA) is important for developing decision support tools for environmental sustainability. A prequel study has proposed a 4-step methodology that integrates the ES cascade framework within the cause-effect chain of life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) to characterize the physical and monetary impacts on ES provisioning due to human interventions. We here follow the suggested steps in the abovementioned study, to demonstrate the first application of the integrated ES-LCIA methodology and the added value for LCA studies, using a case study of rice farming in the United States, China, and India. Four ES are considered, namely carbon sequestration, water provisioning, air quality regulation, and water quality regulation. The analysis found a net negative impact for rice farming systems in all three rice producing countries, meaning the detrimental impacts of rice farming on ES being greater than the induced benefits on ES. Compared to the price of rice sold in the market, the negative impacts represent around 2%, 6%, and 4% of the cost of 1 kg of rice from China, India, and the United States, respectively. From this case study, research gaps were identified in order to develop a fully operationalized ES-LCIA integration. With such a framework and guidance in place, practitioners can more comprehensively assess the impacts of life cycle activities on relevant ES provisioning, in both physical and monetary terms. This may in turn affect stakeholders' availability to receive such benefits from ecosystems in the long run.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyu Liu
- William G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
| | - Bhavik R Bakshi
- William G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States.
| | - Benedetto Rugani
- Environmental Research & Innovation (ERIN) Department, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), Belvaux, Luxembourg
| | - Danielle Maia de Souza
- Département de Stratégie, Responsabilité Sociale et Environnementale, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM), Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Jane Bare
- Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, United States Environmental Protection Agency (United States EPA), Cincinnati, OH, United States
| | - John M Johnston
- Office of Research and Development, National Exposure Research Laboratory, United States Environmental Protection Agency (United States EPA), Athens, GA, United States
| | - Alexis Laurent
- Quantitative Sustainability Assessment (QSA) Group, Department of Technology, Management and Economics, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Francesca Verones
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Norwegian University of Science and Technology NTNU, Trondheim, Norway
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14
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Dorber M, Kuipers K, Verones F. Global characterization factors for terrestrial biodiversity impacts of future land inundation in Life Cycle Assessment. Sci Total Environ 2020; 712:134582. [PMID: 31831240 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2019] [Revised: 08/26/2019] [Accepted: 09/19/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a tool for analyzing and comparing environmental impacts of products throughout their life cycles, facilitating shifts towards more environmentally friendly products. However, LCA does currently not address terrestrial biodiversity impacts related to the conversion of terrestrial habitat into aquatic habitat. This conversion can occur because of sea level rise, establishment of new land-based aquaculture, as well as reservoir expansion or creation. Here, we focus on land occupation and terrestrial biodiversity impacts, while transformation impacts, and habitat gain for aquatic species were beyond the scope of the study. To be able to estimate the regional and global terrestrial biodiversity impacts of future land occupation from terrestrial to aquatic habitat in LCA, we developed new characterization factors (CFs) for 781 terrestrial ecoregions, 5 land cover/use types, and 4 taxonomic groups. The basis for the development of the proposed CFs is the model concept of the currently recommended method for quantifying land use impacts on biodiversity in LCA by the Life Cycle Initiative hosted by United Nations Environmental Program. The global CFs vary between 7.44 E-20 PDF/m2 and 6.25 E-09 PDF/m2, showing that a highly variable terrestrial biodiversity impact of land inundation between land cover/use types, taxonomic groups and ecoregions exists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Dorber
- Department of Energy and Process Engineering, NTNU, Høgskoleringen 5, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Koen Kuipers
- Department of Energy and Process Engineering, NTNU, Høgskoleringen 5, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Francesca Verones
- Department of Energy and Process Engineering, NTNU, Høgskoleringen 5, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
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15
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Laurent A, Weidema BP, Bare J, Liao X, de Souza DM, Pizzol M, Sala S, Schreiber H, Thonemann N, Verones F. Methodological review and detailed guidance for the life cycle interpretation phase. J Ind Ecol 2020; 24:986-1003. [PMID: 33746505 PMCID: PMC7970486 DOI: 10.1111/jiec.13012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Life cycle interpretation is the fourth and last phase of life cycle assessment (LCA). Being a "pivot" phase linking all other phases and the conclusions and recommendations from an LCA study, it represents a challenging task for practitioners, who miss harmonized guidelines that are sufficiently complete, detailed, and practical to conduct its different steps effectively. Here, we aim to bridge this gap. We review available literature describing the life cycle interpretation phase, including standards, LCA books, technical reports, and relevant scientific literature. On this basis, we evaluate and clarify the definition and purposes of the interpretation phase and propose an array of methods supporting its conduct in LCA practice. The five steps of interpretation defined in ISO 14040-44 are proposed to be reorganized around a framework that offers a more pragmatic approach to interpretation. It orders the steps as follows: (i) completeness check, (ii) consistency check, (iii) sensitivity check, (iv) identification of significant issues, and (v) conclusions, limitations, and recommendations. We provide toolboxes, consisting of methods and procedures supporting the analyses, computations, points to evaluate or check, and reflective processes for each of these steps. All methods are succinctly discussed with relevant referencing for further details of their applications. This proposed framework, substantiated with the large variety of methods, is envisioned to help LCA practitioners increase the relevance of their interpretation and the soundness of their conclusions and recommendations. It is a first step toward a more comprehensive and harmonized LCA practice to improve the reliability and credibility of LCA studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexis Laurent
- Division for Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Bo P. Weidema
- Danish Centre for Environmental Assessment, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Jane Bare
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - Xun Liao
- Industrial Process and Energy Systems EngineeringÉcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Sion, Switzerland
| | - Danielle Maia de Souza
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
- Département de stratégie, responsabilité sociale et environnementale, Université du Quebec a Montreal, Montreal, Canada
| | - Massimo Pizzol
- Danish Centre for Environmental Assessment, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Serenella Sala
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy
| | - Hanna Schreiber
- Environment Agency Austria, Spittelauer Lände 5, Vienna, Austria
| | - Nils Thonemann
- Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety, and Energy Technology UMSICHT, Osterfelder Straße 3, Oberhausen, Germany
| | - Francesca Verones
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
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16
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Rugani B, Maia de Souza D, Weidema BP, Bare J, Bakshi B, Grann B, Johnston JM, Pavan ALR, Liu X, Laurent A, Verones F. Towards integrating the ecosystem services cascade framework within the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) cause-effect methodology. Sci Total Environ 2019; 690:1284-1298. [PMID: 31470491 PMCID: PMC7791572 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2019] [Revised: 06/19/2019] [Accepted: 07/02/2019] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
The assessment of ecosystem services (ES) is covered in a fragmented manner by environmental decision support tools that provide information about the potential environmental impacts of supply chains and their products, such as the well-known Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. Within the flagship project of the Life Cycle Initiative (hosted by UN Environment), aiming at global guidance for life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) indicators, a dedicated subtask force was constituted to consolidate the evaluation of ES in LCA. As one of the outcomes of this subtask force, this paper describes the progress towards consensus building in the LCA domain concerning the assessment of anthropogenic impacts on ecosystems and their associated services for human well-being. To this end, the traditional LCIA structure, which represents the cause-effect chain from stressor to impacts and damages, is re-casted and expanded using the lens of the ES 'cascade model'. This links changes in ecosystem structure and function to changes in human well-being, while LCIA links the effect of changes on ecosystems due to human impacts (e.g. land use change, eutrophication, freshwater depletion) to the increase or decrease in the quality and/or quantity of supplied ES. The proposed cascade modelling framework complements traditional LCIA with information about the externalities associated with the supply and demand of ES, for which the overall cost-benefit result might be either negative (i.e. detrimental impact on the ES provision) or positive (i.e. increase of ES provision). In so doing, the framework introduces into traditional LCIA the notion of "benefit" (in the form of ES supply flows and ecosystems' capacity to generate services) which balances the quantified environmental intervention flows and related impacts (in the form of ES demands) that are typically considered in LCA. Recommendations are eventually provided to further address current gaps in the analysis of ES within the LCA methodology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benedetto Rugani
- Environmental Research & Innovation (ERIN) department, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), Belvaux, Luxembourg.
| | - Danielle Maia de Souza
- Département de stratégie, responsabilité sociale et environnementale, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM), Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Bo P Weidema
- Danish Centre for Environmental Assessment, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Jane Bare
- Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Bhavik Bakshi
- William G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | | | - John M Johnston
- Office of Research and Development, National Exposure Research Laboratory, United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), Athens, GA, USA
| | - Ana Laura Raymundo Pavan
- Center for Water Resource and Environmental Studies, São Carlos School of Engineering, University of São Paulo, São Carlos 13566-590, SP, Brazil
| | - Xinyu Liu
- William G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Alexis Laurent
- Quantitative Sustainability Assessment (QSA) Group, Sustainability Division, DTU Management, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Francesca Verones
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Norwegian University of Science and Technology NTNU, Trondheim, Norway
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17
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Kuipers KJJ, Hellweg S, Verones F. Potential Consequences of Regional Species Loss for Global Species Richness: A Quantitative Approach for Estimating Global Extinction Probabilities. Environ Sci Technol 2019; 53:4728-4738. [PMID: 30995027 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.8b06173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Because the biosphere is highly heterogeneous, species diversity impacts are typically assessed at local or regional scales. Because regional species richness impact metrics refer to different species compositions, they cannot be easily compared or aggregated to global impacts. Translating regional species richness impacts into global impacts allows for comparisons between impacts and facilitates the estimation of global species extinctions. This requires a conversion (or weighting) factor that takes into account the characteristics of regionally specific species compositions. We developed a methodology for deriving such conversion factors based on species' habitat ranges, International Union for Conservation of Nature threat levels, and species richness. We call these conversion factors global extinction probabilities (GEPs) of the reference location or region. The proposed methodology allows for the calculation of GEPs for any spatial unit and species group for which data on spatial distribution are available and can be implemented in methodologies like life cycle impact assessment. Furthermore, the GEPs can be used for the identification of conservation hot spots. The results of the proposed GEPs (for various taxonomic groups) show that the risk that regional species loss may result in global species extinctions significantly differs per region and informs where irreversible biodiversity impacts are more likely to occur.
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Affiliation(s)
- Koen J J Kuipers
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Department of Energy and Process Engineering , Norwegian University of Science & Technology (NTNU) , NO-7491 Trondheim , Norway
| | - Stefanie Hellweg
- Ecological Systems Design, Institute of Environmental Engineering (IfU) , ETH Zürich , CH-8093 Zürich , Switzerland
| | - Francesca Verones
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Department of Energy and Process Engineering , Norwegian University of Science & Technology (NTNU) , NO-7491 Trondheim , Norway
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18
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Mutel C, Liao X, Patouillard L, Bare J, Fantke P, Frischknecht R, Hauschild M, Jolliet O, de Souza DM, Laurent A, Pfister S, Verones F. Overview and recommendations for regionalized life cycle impact assessment. Int J Life Cycle Assess 2019; 24:856-865. [PMID: 33122880 PMCID: PMC7592718 DOI: 10.1007/s11367-018-1539-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2018] [Accepted: 10/05/2018] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Regionalized life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) has rapidly developed in the past decade, though its widespread application, robustness, and validity still faces multiple challenges. Under the umbrella of UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative, a dedicated cross-cutting working group on regionalized LCIA aims to provides an overview of the status of regionalization in LCIA methods. We give guidance and recommendations to harmonize and support regionalization in LCIA for developers of LCIA methods, LCI databases, and LCA software. METHOD A survey of current practice among regionalized LCIA method developers was conducted. The survey included questions on chosen method spatial resolution and scale, the spatial resolution of input parameters, choice of native spatial resolution and limitations, operationalization and alignment with life cycle inventory data, methods for spatial aggregation, the assessment of uncertainty from input parameters and model structure, and variability due to spatial aggregation. Recommendations are formulated based on the survey results and extensive discussion by the authors. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Survey results indicate that majority of regionalized LCIA models have global coverage. Native spatial resolutions are generally chosen based on the availability of global input data. Annual modelled or measured elementary flow quantities are mostly used for aggregating characterization factors (CFs) to larger spatial scales, although some use proxies, such as population counts. Aggregated CFs are mostly available at the country level. Although uncertainty due to input parameter, model structure, and spatial aggregation are available for some LCIA methods, they are rarely implemented for LCA studies. So far, there is no agreement if a finer native spatial resolution is the best way to reduce overall uncertainty. When spatially differentiated models CFs are not easily available, archetype models are sometimes developed. CONCLUSIONS Regionalized LCIA methods should be provided as a transparent and consistent set of data and metadata using standardized data formats. Regionalized CFs should include both uncertainty and variability. In addition to the native-scale CFs, aggregated CFs should always be provided, and should be calculated as the weighted averages of constituent CFs using annual flow quantities as weights whenever available. This paper is an important step forward for increasing transparency, consistency and robustness in the development and application of regionalized LCIA methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris Mutel
- Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 PSI Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Xun Liao
- Industrial Process and Energy Systems Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, EPFL Valais Wallis, Rue de l'Industrie 17, CH-1951 Sion, Switzerland
- Quantis, EPFL Innovation Park (EIP-D), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Laure Patouillard
- CIRAIG, Polytechnique Montréal, P.O. Box 6079, Montréal, Québec H3C 3A7, Canada
- IFP Energies nouvelles, 1-4 avenue de Bois-Préau, 92852 Rueil-Malmaison, France
- UMR 0210 INRA-AgroParisTech Economie publique, INRA, Thiverval-Grignon, France
| | - Jane Bare
- US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Cincinnati, OH 45268, USA
| | - Peter Fantke
- Quantitative Sustainability Assessment Division, Department of Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Bygningstorvet 116B, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | | | - Michael Hauschild
- Quantitative Sustainability Assessment Division, Department of Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Bygningstorvet 116B, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Olivier Jolliet
- Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Danielle Maia de Souza
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 2P5, AB, Canada
- Département de Stratégie, Responsabilité Sociale et Environnementale, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, H3C 3P8, QC, Canada
| | - Alexis Laurent
- Quantitative Sustainability Assessment Division, Department of Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Bygningstorvet 116B, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Stephan Pfister
- Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Francesca Verones
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
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Woods JS, Verones F. Ecosystem damage from anthropogenic seabed disturbance: A life cycle impact assessment characterisation model. Sci Total Environ 2019; 649:1481-1490. [PMID: 30308916 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2018] [Revised: 07/31/2018] [Accepted: 08/22/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Despite the high amount of pressure placed on benthic habitats by anthropogenic activities, particularly in coastal shelf areas, as yet, the impact of seabed damaging activities on ecosystem quality has not been included in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). We present a globally applicable impact characterisation approach, parameterized within 17 marine ecoregions in Europe. Our modelling approach includes two perspectives: the single-impact perspective and the repeated-impact perspective. The approach for the single-impact perspective is a function of the spatio-temporal scale and intensity of the anthropogenic disturbance, the initial benthic response, and an estimated ecological recovery period. The approach for the repeated-impact perspective additionally accounts for the industry-specific interval between disturbance events, allowing for consideration of potentially incomplete ecological recovery between disturbance events and therefore the potential for both recoverable and non-recoverable potential impacts. We exemplify the repeated-impact perspective for the benthic trawl fishing industry in Europe. Analogous to current approaches for characterizing land use impacts in LCA, we quantify characterisation factors (CFs) for both occupation and transformation impacts. CFs for occupation impacts are ecoregion-specific. CFs for transformation impacts are spatially differentiated at the resolution of seabed substrate type, categories of hydrodynamic energy, i.e. water movement due to the influence of waves and currents, fisheries management zone (repeated-impact perspective only) and marine ecoregion. We estimate ecological recovery times with consideration of the influence of seabed substrate type, hydrodynamic energy at the seabed and the stock of potential recolonizers. The characterisation factors allow for quantifying indicators of ecosystem damage from seabed disturbance in terms of a time-integrated relative species loss. With a single-impact perspective, the largest impact intensities are found in areas with the longest estimated ecological recovery time. In the repeated-impact perspective, the largest intensity of time-integrated non-recoverable impact occurs when the disturbance interval is equal to half the ecological recovery time.
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Affiliation(s)
- John S Woods
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Sem Sælands vei 7, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway.
| | - Francesca Verones
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Sem Sælands vei 7, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway.
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Pezzati L, Verones F, Curran M, Baustert P, Hellweg S. Biodiversity Recovery and Transformation Impacts for Wetland Biodiversity. Environ Sci Technol 2018; 52:8479-8487. [PMID: 29985598 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.8b01501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methods for land use take both occupation and transformation impacts into account. However, for wetlands and impacts from water consumption, it is so far not possible to account for transformation impacts. It is our goal to close this research gap, by determining wetland recovery times and developing characterization factors for transformation. To do this, we conducted a meta-analysis of 59 studies analyzing biodiversity recovery in wetlands subject to passive and active restoration. Generalized linear models were fitted to the biodiversity data and age, along with other wetland characteristics (such as elevation, latitude, or climate class), and were used as predictor variables. The results indicate that elevation, latitude, type of wetland, and restoration method have the strongest effect on recovery speed. Recovery times vary from less than one year to a maximum of 107 years with passive restoration and 105 years with active restoration. Corresponding transformation characterization factors vary between 10-14 and 10-2 species-eq·year2/m3. Finally, recognizing the relevance of this work to real-world policy issues beyond LCA, we discuss the implications of our estimated restoration times on the feasibility of "biodiversity offsetting". Offsetting utilizes restoration to replace biodiversity value lost due to development impacts. Our work can help stakeholders make informed decisions on whether offsetting represents a legitimate policy option in a particular context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorenzo Pezzati
- Institute of Environmental Engineering (IfU), ETH Zürich, John-von-Neumann-Weg 9 , CH-8093 Zurich , Switzerland
| | - Francesca Verones
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Department of Energy and Process Engineering , NTNU , Sem Sælands vei 7 , 7491 Trondheim , Norway
| | - Michael Curran
- Socioeconomics Department , Research Institute for Organic Agriculture (FiBL) , Ackerstrasse 113 , CH-5070 Frick , Switzerland
| | - Paul Baustert
- Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), 5, Avenue des Hauts-Fourneaux , L-4362 Esch-sur-Alzette , Luxembourg
- Department of the Built Environment , Eindhoven University of Technology , 5612 AZ Eindhoven , The Netherlands
| | - Stefanie Hellweg
- Institute of Environmental Engineering (IfU), ETH Zürich, John-von-Neumann-Weg 9 , CH-8093 Zurich , Switzerland
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21
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Núñez M, Rosenbaum RK, Karimpour S, Boulay AM, Lathuillière MJ, Margni M, Scherer L, Verones F, Pfister S. A Multimedia Hydrological Fate Modeling Framework To Assess Water Consumption Impacts in Life Cycle Assessment. Environ Sci Technol 2018; 52:4658-4667. [PMID: 29565125 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.7b05207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Many new methods have recently been developed to address environmental consequences of water consumption in life cycle assessment (LCA). However, such methods can only partially be compared and combined, because their modeling structure and metrics are inconsistent. Moreover, they focus on specific water sources (e.g., river) and miss description of transport flows between water compartments (e.g., from river to atmosphere via evaporation) and regions (e.g., atmospheric advection). Consequently, they provide a partial regard of the local and global hydrological cycle and derived impacts on the environment. This paper proposes consensus-based guidelines for a harmonized development of the next generation of water consumption LCA indicators, with a focus on consequences of water consumption on ecosystem quality. To include the consideration of the multimedia water fate between compartments of the water cycle, we provide spatial regionalization and temporal specification guidance. The principles and recommendations of the paper are applied to an illustrative case study. The guidelines set the basis of a more accurate, novel way of modeling water consumption impacts in LCA. The environmental relevance of this LCA impact category will improve, yet much research is needed to make the guidelines operational.
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Affiliation(s)
- Montserrat Núñez
- ITAP, Irstea, Montpellier SupAgro, Univ Montpellier, ELSA Research group and ELSA-PACT Industrial Chair, Montpellier , France
| | - Ralph K Rosenbaum
- ITAP, Irstea, Montpellier SupAgro, Univ Montpellier, ELSA Research group and ELSA-PACT Industrial Chair, Montpellier , France
| | - Shooka Karimpour
- CIRAIG, Ecole des Sciences de la Gestion , Universite du Quebec A Montreal , Montreal , QC , Canada
| | - Anne-Marie Boulay
- CIRAIG , Polytechnique Montréal , Montreal , QC , Canada
- LIRIDE , Sherbrooke University , Sherbrooke , QC , Canada
| | - Michael J Lathuillière
- Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability , University of British Columbia , 2202 Main Mall , Vancouver , BC V6T 1Z4 , Canada
| | - Manuele Margni
- CIRAIG , Polytechnique Montréal , Montreal , QC , Canada
| | - Laura Scherer
- Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) , Leiden University , 2300 RA Leiden , The Netherlands
| | - Francesca Verones
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Department for Energy and Process Engineering , Norwegian University of Science and Technology , 7491 Trondheim , Norway
| | - Stephan Pfister
- ETH Zurich , Institute of Environmental Engineering , 8093 Zürich , Switzerland
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Dorber M, May R, Verones F. Modeling Net Land Occupation of Hydropower Reservoirs in Norway for Use in Life Cycle Assessment. Environ Sci Technol 2018; 52:2375-2384. [PMID: 29328658 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.7b05125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Increasing hydropower electricity production constitutes a unique opportunity to mitigate climate change impacts. However, hydropower electricity production also impacts aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity through freshwater habitat alteration, water quality degradation, and land use and land use change (LULUC). Today, no operational model exists that covers any of these cause-effect pathways within life cycle assessment (LCA). This paper contributes to the assessment of LULUC impacts of hydropower electricity production in Norway in LCA. We quantified the inundated land area associated with 107 hydropower reservoirs with remote sensing data and related it to yearly electricity production. Therewith, we calculated an average net land occupation of 0.027 m2·yr/kWh of Norwegian storage hydropower plants for the life cycle inventory. Further, we calculated an adjusted average land occupation of 0.007 m2·yr/kWh, accounting for an underestimation of water area in the performed maximum likelihood classification. The calculated land occupation values are the basis to support the development of methods for assessing the land occupation impacts of hydropower on biodiversity in LCA at a damage level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Dorber
- Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) , Sem Sælands vei 7, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Roel May
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) , Høgskoleringen 9, 7034 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Francesca Verones
- Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) , Sem Sælands vei 7, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
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Woods JS, Damiani M, Fantke P, Henderson AD, Johnston JM, Bare J, Sala S, de Souza DM, Pfister S, Posthuma L, Rosenbaum RK, Verones F. Ecosystem quality in LCIA: status quo, harmonization, and suggestions for the way forward. Int J Life Cycle Assess 2018; 23:1995-2006. [PMID: 31097881 PMCID: PMC6516497 DOI: 10.1007/s11367-017-1422-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) results are used to assess potential environmental impacts of different products and services. As part of the UNEP-SETAC life cycle initiative flagship project that aims to harmonize indicators of potential environmental impacts, we provide a consensus viewpoint and recommendations for future developments in LCIA related to the ecosystem quality area of protection (AoP). Through our recommendations, we aim to encourage LCIA developments that improve the usefulness and global acceptability of LCIA results. METHODS We analyze current ecosystem quality metrics and provide recommendations to the LCIA research community for achieving further developments towards comparable and more ecologically relevant metrics addressing ecosystem quality. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION We recommend that LCIA development for ecosystem quality should tend towards species-richnessrelated metrics, with efforts made towards improved inclusion of ecosystem complexity. Impact indicators-which result from a range of modeling approaches that differ, for example, according to spatial and temporal scale, taxonomic coverage, and whether the indicator produces a relative or absolute measure of loss-should be framed to facilitate their final expression in a single, aggregated metric. This would also improve comparability with other LCIA damage-level indicators. Furthermore, to allow for a broader inclusion of ecosystem quality perspectives, the development of an additional indicator related to ecosystem function is recommended. Having two complementary metrics would give a broader coverage of ecosystem attributes while remaining simple enough to enable an intuitive interpretation of the results. CONCLUSIONS We call for the LCIA research community to make progress towards enabling harmonization of damage-level indicators within the ecosystem quality AoP and, further, to improve the ecological relevance of impact indicators.
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Affiliation(s)
- John S Woods
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Sem Sælands vei 7, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Mattia Damiani
- ITAP, Irstea, Montpellier SupAgro, Univ Montpellier, ELSA Research Group and ELSA-PACT Industrial Chair, 361 rue Jean-François Breton, BP 5095, F-34196 Montpellier, France
| | - Peter Fantke
- Division for Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Bygningstorvet 116, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Andrew D Henderson
- University of Texas School of Public Health, Austin, TX 78701, USA
- Noblis, Inc., San Antonio, TX 78232, USA
| | - John M Johnston
- US EPA, Office of Research and Development, National Exposure Research Laboratory, 960 College Station Rd, Athens, GA 30605, USA
| | - Jane Bare
- US EPA, Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, 26 West MLK Dr, Cincinnati, OH 45268, USA
| | - Serenella Sala
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Directorate D: Sustainable Resource, Bioeconomy unit, Via E. Fermi, 2749 Ispra, VA, Italy
| | - Danielle Maia de Souza
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, T6G 2P5, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Stephan Pfister
- ETH Zurich, Institute of Environmental Engineering, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Leo Posthuma
- RIVM (Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment), Centre for Sustainability, Environment and Health, P.O. Box 1, 3720, BA Bilthoven, the Netherlands
- Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525, AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Ralph K Rosenbaum
- ITAP, Irstea, Montpellier SupAgro, Univ Montpellier, ELSA Research Group and ELSA-PACT Industrial Chair, 361 rue Jean-François Breton, BP 5095, F-34196 Montpellier, France
| | - Francesca Verones
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Sem Sælands vei 7, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
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24
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Nakaoka M, Sudo K, Namba M, Shibata H, Nakamura F, Ishikawa S, Makino M, Yamano H, Matsuzaki SIS, Yamakita T, Yu X, Hou X, Li X, Brodie J, Kanemoto K, Moran D, Verones F. TSUNAGARI: a new interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary study toward conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Ecol Res 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s11284-017-1534-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
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25
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Verones F, Bare J, Bulle C, Frischknecht R, Hauschild M, Hellweg S, Henderson A, Jolliet O, Laurent A, Liao X, Lindner JP, de Souza DM, Michelsen O, Patouillard L, Pfister S, Posthuma L, Prado V, Ridoutt B, Rosenbaum RK, Sala S, Ugaya C, Vieira M, Fantke P. LCIA framework and cross-cutting issues guidance within the UNEP-SETAC Life Cycle Initiative. J Clean Prod 2017; 161:957-967. [PMID: 32461713 PMCID: PMC7252522 DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.05.206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Increasing needs for decision support and advances in scientific knowledge within life cycle assessment (LCA) led to substantial efforts to provide global guidance on environmental life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) indicators under the auspices of the UNEP-SETAC Life Cycle Initiative. As part of these efforts, a dedicated task force focused on addressing several LCIA cross-cutting issues as aspects spanning several impact categories, including spatiotemporal aspects, reference states, normalization and weighting, and uncertainty assessment. Here, findings of the cross-cutting issues task force are presented along with an update of the existing UNEP-SETAC LCIA emission-to-damage framework. Specific recommendations are provided with respect to metrics for human health (Disability Adjusted Life Years, DALY) and ecosystem quality (Potentially Disappeared Fraction of species, PDF). Additionally, we stress the importance of transparent reporting of characterization models, reference states, and assumptions, in order to facilitate cross-comparison between chosen methods and indicators. We recommend developing spatially regionalized characterization models, whenever the nature of impacts shows spatial variability and related spatial data are available. Standard formats should be used for reporting spatially differentiated models, and choices regarding spatiotemporal scales should be clearly communicated. For normalization, we recommend using external normalization references. Over the next two years, the task force will continue its effort with a focus on providing guidance for LCA practitioners on how to use the UNEP-SETAC LCIA framework as well as for method developers on how to consistently extend and further improve this framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Verones
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), No-7491, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Jane Bare
- US EPA, Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, 26 W West MLK Dr., Cincinnati, OH, 45268, USA
| | - Cécile Bulle
- CIRAIG, Ecole des Sciences de la Gestion, Université du Québec À Montréal, 315, rue Sainte-Catherine Est, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | | | - Michael Hauschild
- Division for Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Bygningstorvet 116B, 2800, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Stefanie Hellweg
- ETH Zurich, Institute of Environmental Engineering, 8093, Zürich, Switzerland
| | | | - Olivier Jolliet
- School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Alexis Laurent
- Division for Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Bygningstorvet 116B, 2800, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Xun Liao
- Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | | | - Danielle Maia de Souza
- University of Alberta, Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, T6G 2P5, Edmonton, A Alberta, Canada
| | - Ottar Michelsen
- NTNU Sustainability, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), NO-7491, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Laure Patouillard
- CIRAIG, École Polytechnique de Montréal, P.O. Box 6079, Montréal, Québec, H3C 3A7, Canada
| | - Stephan Pfister
- ETH Zurich, Institute of Environmental Engineering, 8093, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Leo Posthuma
- RIVM (Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment), Centre for Sustainability, Environment and Health, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA, Bilthoven, The Netherlands
- Radboud University Nijmegen, Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Valentina Prado
- Institute of Environmental Sciences CML, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 2, 2333 CC, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Brad Ridoutt
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Agriculture and Food, Private Bag 10, Clayton South, Victoria, 3169, Australia
- University of the Free State, Department of Agricultural Economics, Bloemfontein, 9300, South Africa
| | - Ralph K Rosenbaum
- IRSTEA, UMR ITAP, ELSA-PACT - Industrial Chair for Environmental and Social Sustainability Assessment, 361 rue Jean-François Breton, BP 5095, 34196, Montpellier, France
| | - Serenella Sala
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Directorate D: Sustainable Resource, Bioeconomy Unit, Via E. Fermi, 2749, Ispra, VA, Italy
| | - Cassia Ugaya
- Federal University of Technology, Avenida Sete de Setembro, Rebouças Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
| | - Marisa Vieira
- PRé Consultants B.V., Stationsplein 121, 3818 LE, Amersfoort, The Netherlands
| | - Peter Fantke
- Division for Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Bygningstorvet 116B, 2800, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
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Verones F, Moran D, Stadler K, Kanemoto K, Wood R. Resource footprints and their ecosystem consequences. Sci Rep 2017; 7:40743. [PMID: 28112168 PMCID: PMC5256307 DOI: 10.1038/srep40743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2016] [Accepted: 12/09/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
A meaningful environmental impact analysis should go beyond the accounting of pressures from resource use and actually assess how resource demand affects ecosystems. The various currently available footprints of nations report the environmental pressures e.g. water use or pollutant emissions, driven by consumption. However, there have been limited attempts to assess the environmental consequences of these pressures. Ultimately, consequences, not pressures, should guide environmental policymaking. The newly released LC-Impact method demonstrates progress on the path to providing this missing link. Here we present “ecosystem impact footprints” in terms of the consequences for biodiversity and assess the differences in impact footprint results from MRIO-based pressure footprints. The new perspective reveals major changes in the relative contribution of nations to global footprints. Wealthy countries have high pressure footprints in lower-income countries but their impact footprints often have their origin in higher-income countries. This shift in perspective provides a different insight on where to focus policy responses to preserve biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Daniel Moran
- Industrial Ecology Programme, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway
| | | | | | - Richard Wood
- Industrial Ecology Programme, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway
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27
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Pfister S, Boulay AM, Berger M, Hadjikakou M, Motoshita M, Hess T, Ridoutt B, Weinzettel J, Scherer L, Döll P, Manzardo A, Núñez M, Verones F, Humbert S, Buxmann K, Harding K, Benini L, Oki T, Finkbeiner M, Henderson A. Understanding the LCA and ISO water footprint: A response to Hoekstra (2016) "A critique on the water-scarcity weighted water footprint in LCA". Ecol Indic 2017; 72:352-359. [PMID: 30344449 PMCID: PMC6192425 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.07.051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Water footprinting has emerged as an important approach to assess water use related effects from consumption of goods and services. Assessment methods are proposed by two different communities, the Water Footprint Network (WFN) and the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) community. The proposed methods are broadly similar and encompass both the computation of water use and its impacts, but differ in communication of a water footprint result. In this paper, we explain the role and goal of LCA and ISO-compatible water footprinting and resolve the six issues raised by Hoekstra (2016) in "A critique on the water-scarcity weighted water footprint in LCA". By clarifying the concerns, we identify both the overlapping goals in the WFN and LCA water footprint assessments and discrepancies between them. The main differing perspective between the WFN and LCA-based approach seems to relate to the fact that LCA aims to account for environmental impacts, while the WFN aims to account for water productivity of global fresh water as a limited resource. We conclude that there is potential to use synergies in research for the two approaches and highlight the need for proper declaration of the methods applied.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephan Pfister
- Institute of Environmental Engineering, Chair of Ecological System Design, ETH Zurich, 8039 Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Markus Berger
- Technische Universität Berlin, Chair of Sustainable Engineering, Office Z1, Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin, Germany
| | - Michalis Hadjikakou
- Water Research Centre, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UNSW Australia, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Masaharu Motoshita
- Research Institute of Science for Safety and Sustainability, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Japan;
| | - Tim Hess
- Cranfield Water Science Institute, Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedford, MK43 0AL, UK.
| | - Brad Ridoutt
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Agriculture, Private Bag 10, Clayton South, Victoria 3169, Australia; and University of the Free State, Department of Agricultural Economics, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa;
| | - Jan Weinzettel
- Charles University in Prague, Environment Center, José Martího 2, 162 00 Praha 6, Czech Republic and Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Department of Electrotechnology, Technická 2, 166 27 Praha 6, Czech Republic; phone: 00420 220 199 476, e-mail:
| | - Laura Scherer
- Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Petra Döll
- Institute of Physical Geography, Goethe University Frankfurt, Altenhöferallee 1, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany;
| | | | - Montserrat Núñez
- Irstea, UMR ITAP, ELSA Research Group & ELSA-PACT Industrial Chair for Environmental and Social Sustainability Assessment, 34196 Montpellier, France
| | - Francesca Verones
- Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Industrial Ecology Programme, NTNU Trondheim
| | - Sebastien Humbert
- Quantis, PSE D, EPFL, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland, 0041 79 754 75 66,
| | | | - Kevin Harding
- Industrial and Mining Water Research Unit (IMWaRU), School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, university of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Private Bag 3, WITS, 2050, South Africa, e-mail :
| | - Lorenzo Benini
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Directorate of Sustainable Resources, via Enrico Fermi 2749 T.P. 270, 21027 Ispra, VA, Italy
| | - Taikan Oki
- Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, 1-4-6 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8505, Japan
| | - Matthias Finkbeiner
- Technische Universität Berlin, Chair of Sustainable Engineering, Office Z1, Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin, Germany
| | - Andrew Henderson
- United States Environmental Protection Agency, Sustainable Technology Division, Systems Analysis Branch, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH 45268, USA
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Abstract
Wave and tidal energy plants are upcoming, potentially green technologies. This study aims at quantifying their various potential environmental impacts. Three tidal stream devices, one tidal range plant and one wave energy harnessing device are analyzed over their entire life cycles, using the ReCiPe 2008 methodology at midpoint level. The impacts of the tidal range plant were on average 1.6 times higher than the ones of hydro-power plants (without considering natural land transformation). A similar ratio was found when comparing the results of the three tidal stream devices to offshore wind power plants (without considering water depletion). The wave energy harnessing device had on average 3.5 times higher impacts than offshore wind power. On the contrary, the considered plants have on average 8 (wave energy) to 20 (tidal stream), or even 115 times (tidal range) lower impact than electricity generated from coal power. Further, testing the sensitivity of the results highlighted the advantage of long lifetimes and small material requirements. Overall, this study supports the potential of wave and tidal energy plants as alternative green technologies. However, potential unknown effects, such as the impact of turbulence or noise on marine ecosystems, should be further explored in future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mélanie Douziech
- ETH Zurich , Institute of Environmental Engineering, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland
- Radboud University Nijmegen , Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Stefanie Hellweg
- ETH Zurich , Institute of Environmental Engineering, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Francesca Verones
- Industrial Ecology Programme and Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) , NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway
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Hilbers JP, Schipper AM, Hendriks AJ, Verones F, Pereira HM, Huijbregts MAJ. An allometric approach to quantify the extinction vulnerability of birds and mammals. Ecology 2016; 97:615-26. [PMID: 27197389 DOI: 10.1890/14-2019.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Methods to quantify the vulnerability of species to extinction are typically limited by the availability of species-specific input data pertaining to life-history characteristics and population dynamics. This lack of data hampers global biodiversity assessments and conservation planning. Here, we developed a new framework that systematically quantifies extinction risk based on allometric relationships between various wildlife demographic parameters and body size. These allometric relationships have a solid theoretical and ecological foundation. Extinction risk indicators included are (1) the probability of extinction, (2) the mean time to extinction, and (3) the critical patch size. We applied our framework to assess the global extinction vulnerability of terrestrial carnivorous and non-carnivorous birds and mammals. Irrespective of the indicator used, large-bodied species were found to be more vulnerable to extinction than their smaller counterparts. The patterns with body size were confirmed for all species groups by a comparison with IUCN data on the proportion of extant threatened species: the models correctly predicted a multimodal distribution with body size for carnivorous birds and a monotonic distribution for mammals and non-carnivorous birds. Carnivorous mammals were found to have higher extinction risks than non-carnivores, while birds were more prone to extinction than mammals. These results are explained by the allometric relationships, predicting the vulnerable species groups to have lower intrinsic population growth rates, smaller population sizes, lower carrying capacities, or larger dispersal distances, which, in turn, increase the importance of losses due to environmental stochastic effects and dispersal activities. Our study is the first to integrate population viability analysis and allometry into a novel, process-based framework that is able to quantify extinction risk of a large number of species without requiring data-intensive, species-specific information. The framework facilitates the estimation of extinction vulnerabilities of data-deficient species. It may be applied to forecast extinction vulnerability in response to a changing environment, by incorporating quantitative relationships between wildlife demographic parameters and environmental drivers like habitat alteration, climate change, or hunting.
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Woods JS, Veltman K, Huijbregts MAJ, Verones F, Hertwich EG. Towards a meaningful assessment of marine ecological impacts in life cycle assessment (LCA). Environ Int 2016; 89-90:48-61. [PMID: 26826362 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2015.12.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2015] [Revised: 12/22/2015] [Accepted: 12/26/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Human demands on marine resources and space are currently unprecedented and concerns are rising over observed declines in marine biodiversity. A quantitative understanding of the impact of industrial activities on the marine environment is thus essential. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a widely applied method for quantifying the environmental impact of products and processes. LCA was originally developed to assess the impacts of land-based industries on mainly terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. As such, impact indicators for major drivers of marine biodiversity loss are currently lacking. We review quantitative approaches for cause-effect assessment of seven major drivers of marine biodiversity loss: climate change, ocean acidification, eutrophication-induced hypoxia, seabed damage, overexploitation of biotic resources, invasive species and marine plastic debris. Our review shows that impact indicators can be developed for all identified drivers, albeit at different levels of coverage of cause-effect pathways and variable levels of uncertainty and spatial coverage. Modeling approaches to predict the spatial distribution and intensity of human-driven interventions in the marine environment are relatively well-established and can be employed to develop spatially-explicit LCA fate factors. Modeling approaches to quantify the effects of these interventions on marine biodiversity are less well-developed. We highlight specific research challenges to facilitate a coherent incorporation of marine biodiversity loss in LCA, thereby making LCA a more comprehensive and robust environmental impact assessment tool. Research challenges of particular importance include i) incorporation of the non-linear behavior of global circulation models (GCMs) within an LCA framework and ii) improving spatial differentiation, especially the representation of coastal regions in GCMs and ocean-carbon cycle models.
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Affiliation(s)
- John S Woods
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Sem Sælands vei 7, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway.
| | - Karin Veltman
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences (EHS), School of Public Health, University of Michigan, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029, USA
| | - Mark A J Huijbregts
- Radboud University Nijmegen, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Department of Environmental Science, P.O. Box 9010, NL-6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Francesca Verones
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Sem Sælands vei 7, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Edgar G Hertwich
- Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, 195 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
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31
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Chaudhary A, Verones F, de Baan L, Hellweg S. Quantifying Land Use Impacts on Biodiversity: Combining Species-Area Models and Vulnerability Indicators. Environ Sci Technol 2015. [PMID: 26197362 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5b02507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Habitat degradation and subsequent biodiversity damage often take place far from the place of consumption because of globalization and the increasing level of international trade. Informing consumers and policy makers about the biodiversity impacts "hidden" in the life cycle of imported products is an important step toward achieving sustainable consumption patterns. Spatially explicit methods are needed in life cycle assessment to accurately quantify biodiversity impacts of products and processes. We use the Countryside species-area relationship (SAR) to quantify regional species loss due to land occupation and transformation for five taxa and six land use types in 804 terrestrial ecoregions. Further, we calculate vulnerability scores for each ecoregion based on the fraction of each species' geographic range (endemic richness) hosted by the ecoregion and the IUCN assigned threat level of each species. Vulnerability scores are multiplied with SAR-predicted regional species loss to estimate potential global extinctions per unit of land use. As a case study, we assess the land use biodiversity impacts of 1 kg of bioethanol produced using six different feed stocks in different parts of the world. Results show that the regions with highest biodiversity impacts differed markedly when the vulnerability of species was included.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abhishek Chaudhary
- †Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Francesca Verones
- ‡Industrial Ecology Programme, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, NTNU, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Laura de Baan
- †Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Stefanie Hellweg
- †Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
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Verones F, Huijbregts MAJ, Chaudhary A, de Baan L, Koellner T, Hellweg S. Harmonizing the assessment of biodiversity effects from land and water use within LCA. Environ Sci Technol 2015; 49:3584-92. [PMID: 25719255 DOI: 10.1021/es504995r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Addressing biodiversity impacts in life cycle assessment (LCA) has recently been significantly improved. Advances include the consideration of several taxa, consideration of vulnerability of species and ecosystems, global coverage and spatial differentiation. To allow a comparison of biodiversity impacts of different stressors (e.g., land and water use), consistent approaches for assessing and aggregating biodiversity impacts across taxa are needed. We propose four different options for aggregating impacts across taxa and stressors: equal weight for species, equal weight for taxa and two options with special consideration of species' vulnerability. We apply the aggregation options to a case study of coffee, tea and sugarcane production in Kenya for the production of 1 kg of crop. The ranking between stressors (land vs water use) within each crop and also of the overall impact between crops (coffee>sugarcane>tea) remained the same when applying the different aggregation options. Inclusion of the vulnerability of species had significant influence on the magnitude of results, and potentially also on the spatial distribution of impacts, and should be considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Verones
- †Industrial Ecology Programme, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), 7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Mark A J Huijbregts
- ‡Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Department of Environmental Science, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Abhishek Chaudhary
- §Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Laura de Baan
- §Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Koellner
- ⊥Professorship of Ecological Services, Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences, University of Bayreuth (BayCEER), 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Stefanie Hellweg
- §Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
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Ridoutt B, Fantke P, Pfister S, Bare J, Boulay AM, Cherubini F, Frischknecht R, Hauschild M, Hellweg S, Henderson A, Jolliet O, Levasseur A, Margni M, McKone T, Michelsen O, Milà i Canals L, Page G, Pant R, Raugei M, Sala S, Saouter E, Verones F, Wiedmann T. Making sense of the minefield of footprint indicators. Environ Sci Technol 2015; 49:2601-2603. [PMID: 25675252 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5b00163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Bradley Ridoutt
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Clayton, Victoria 3169, Australia
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Schwab O, Bayer P, Juraske R, Verones F, Hellweg S. Beyond the material grave: Life Cycle Impact Assessment of leaching from secondary materials in road and earth constructions. Waste Manag 2014; 34:1884-1896. [PMID: 24865145 DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2014.04.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2013] [Revised: 04/14/2014] [Accepted: 04/26/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
In industrialized countries, large amounts of mineral wastes are produced. They are re-used in various ways, particularly in road and earth constructions, substituting primary resources such as gravel. However, they may also contain pollutants, such as heavy metals, which may be leached to the groundwater. The toxic impacts of these emissions are so far often neglected within Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) of products or waste treatment services and thus, potentially large environmental impacts are currently missed. This study aims at closing this gap by assessing the ecotoxic impacts of heavy metal leaching from industrial mineral wastes in road and earth constructions. The flows of metals such as Sb, As, Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mo, Ni, V and Zn originating from three typical constructions to the environment are quantified, their fate in the environment is assessed and potential ecotoxic effects evaluated. For our reference country, Germany, the industrial wastes that are applied as Granular Secondary Construction Material (GSCM) carry more than 45,000 t of diverse heavy metals per year. Depending on the material quality and construction type applied, up to 150 t of heavy metals may leach to the environment within the first 100 years after construction. Heavy metal retardation in subsoil can potentially reduce the fate to groundwater by up to 100%. One major challenge of integrating leaching from constructions into macro-scale LCA frameworks is the high variability in micro-scale technical and geographical factors, such as material qualities, construction types and soil types. In our work, we consider a broad range of parameter values in the modeling of leaching and fate. This allows distinguishing between the impacts of various road constructions, as well as sites with different soil properties. The findings of this study promote the quantitative consideration of environmental impacts of long-term leaching in Life Cycle Assessment, complementing site-specific risk assessment, for the design of waste management strategies, particularly in the construction sector.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oliver Schwab
- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Institute of Environmental Engineering, John-von-Neumann-Weg 9, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland; Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Geography and Geoecology, Adenauerring 20, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Peter Bayer
- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Geological Institute, Sonneggstrasse 5, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Ronnie Juraske
- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Institute of Environmental Engineering, John-von-Neumann-Weg 9, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Francesca Verones
- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Institute of Environmental Engineering, John-von-Neumann-Weg 9, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland; Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Stefanie Hellweg
- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Institute of Environmental Engineering, John-von-Neumann-Weg 9, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
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Verones F, Pfister S, Hellweg S. Quantifying area changes of internationally important wetlands due to water consumption in LCA. Environ Sci Technol 2013; 47:9799-807. [PMID: 23930946 DOI: 10.1021/es400266v] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Wetlands harbor diverse species assemblages but are among the world's most threatened ecosystems. Half of their global area was lost during the last century. No approach currently exists in life cycle impact assessment that acknowledges the vulnerability and importance of wetlands globally and provides fate factors for water consumption. We use data from 1184 inland wetlands, all designated as sites of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, to develop regionalized fate factors (FF) for consumptive water use. FFs quantify the change of wetland area caused per m(3)/yr water consumed. We distinguish between surface water-fed and groundwater-fed wetlands and develop FFs for surface water and groundwater consumption. FFs vary over 8 (surface water-fed) and 6 (groundwater-fed) orders of magnitude as a function of the site characteristics, showing the importance of local conditions. Largest FFs for surface water-fed wetlands generally occur in hyper-arid zones and smallest in humid zones, highlighting the dependency on available surface water flows. FFs for groundwater-fed wetlands depend on hydrogeological conditions and vary largely with the total amount of water consumed from the aquifer. Our FFs translate water consumption into wetland area loss and thus become compatible with life cycle assessment methodologies of land use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Verones
- ETH Zurich, Institute of Environmental Engineering , 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
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Amores MJ, Verones F, Raptis C, Juraske R, Pfister S, Stoessel F, Antón A, Castells F, Hellweg S. Biodiversity impacts from salinity increase in a coastal wetland. Environ Sci Technol 2013; 47:6384-6392. [PMID: 23597228 DOI: 10.1021/es3045423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
A Life Cycle Impact Assessment method was developed to evaluate the environmental impact associated with salinity on biodiversity in a Spanish coastal wetland. The developed characterization factor consists of a fate and an effect factor and equals 3.16 × 10(-1) ± 1.84 × 10(-1) PAF · m(3) · yr · m(-3) (PAF: Potentially Affected Fraction of species) indicating a "potential loss of 0.32 m(3) ecosystem" for a water consumption rate of 1 m(3) · yr(-1). As a result of groundwater consumption with a rate of 1 m(3) · yr(-1), the PAF in the lost cubic meter of ecosystem equals 0.05, which has been proposed as the maximum tolerable effect to keep the ecosystem intact. The fate factor was calculated from seasonal water balances of the wetland Albufera de Adra. The effect factor was obtained from the fitted curve of the potentially affected fraction of native wetland species due to salinity and can be applied to other wetlands with similar species composition. In order to test the applicability of the characterization factor, an assessment of water consumption of greenhouse crops in the area was conducted as a case study. Results converted into ecosystem quality damage using the ReCiPe method were compared to other categories. While tomatoes are responsible for up to 30% of the impact of increased salinity due to water consumption on ecosystem quality in the studied area, melons have the largest impact per tonne produced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria José Amores
- Departament d'Enginyeria Química, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 26 Avda Països Catalans, 43007 Tarragona, Spain.
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Verones F, Saner D, Pfister S, Baisero D, Rondinini C, Hellweg S. Effects of consumptive water use on biodiversity in wetlands of international importance. Environ Sci Technol 2013; 47:12248-57. [PMID: 24087849 PMCID: PMC3825087 DOI: 10.1021/es403635j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Wetlands are complex ecosystems that harbor a large diversity of species. Wetlands are among the most threatened ecosystems on our planet, due to human influences such as conversion and drainage. We assessed impacts from water consumption on the species richness of waterbirds, nonresidential birds, water-dependent mammals, reptiles and amphibians in wetlands, considering a larger number of taxa than previous life cycle impact assessment methods. Effect factors (EF) were derived for 1184 wetlands of international importance. EFs quantify the number of global species-equivalents lost per m(2) of wetland area loss. Vulnerability and range size of species were included to reflect conservation values. Further, we derived spatially explicit characterization factors (CFs) that distinguish between surface water and groundwater consumption. All relevant watershed areas that are contributing to feeding the respective wetlands were determined for CF applications. In an example of rose production, we compared damages of water consumption in Kenya and The Netherlands. In both cases, the impact was largest for waterbirds. The total impact from water consumption in Kenya was 67 times larger than in The Netherlands, due to larger species richness and species' vulnerability in Kenya, as well as more arid conditions and larger amounts of water consumed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Verones
- Institute
of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
- (F.V.) Phone: +41-44-633-69-69; fax:+41-44-633-10-61; e-mail:
| | - Dominik Saner
- Institute
of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Stephan Pfister
- Institute
of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Daniele Baisero
- Global
Mammal Assessment program, Department of Biology and Biotechnologies, Sapienza, Università di Roma, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Carlo Rondinini
- Global
Mammal Assessment program, Department of Biology and Biotechnologies, Sapienza, Università di Roma, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Stefanie Hellweg
- Institute
of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
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Bartl K, Verones F, Hellweg S. Life cycle assessment based evaluation of regional impacts from agricultural production at the Peruvian coast. Environ Sci Technol 2012; 46:9872-9880. [PMID: 22894858 DOI: 10.1021/es301644y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Crop and technology choices in agriculture, which largely define the impact of agricultural production on the environment, should be considered in agricultural development planning. A life cycle assessment of the dominant crops produced in a Peruvian coastal valley was realized, in order to establish regionalized life cycle inventories for Peruvian products and to provide the basis for a regional evaluation of the impacts of eutrophication, acidification, human toxicity, and biodiversity loss due to water use. Five scenarios for the year 2020 characterized by different crop combinations and irrigation systems were considered as development options. The results of the regional assessment showed that a business-as-usual scenario, extrapolating current trends of crop cultivation, would lead to an increase in nitrate leaching with eutrophying effects. On the other hand, scenarios of increased application of drip irrigation and of mandarin area expansion would lead to a decrease in nitrate leaching. In all scenarios the human toxicity potential would decrease slightly, while an increase in irrigation water use would benefit the biodiversity of a nearby groundwater-fed wetland. Comparisons with results from other studies confirmed the importance of regionalized life cycle inventories. The results can be used as decision support for local farmers and authorities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karin Bartl
- Institute of Agricultural Sciences-Animal Nutrition, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland.
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Verones F, Bartl K, Pfister S, Jiménez Vílchez R, Hellweg S. Modeling the local biodiversity impacts of agricultural water use: case study of a wetland in the coastal arid area of Peru. Environ Sci Technol 2012; 46:4966-4974. [PMID: 22463711 DOI: 10.1021/es204155g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Global water use is dominated by agriculture and has considerable influence on people's livelihood and ecosystems, especially in semiarid and arid regions. Methods to address the impacts of water withdrawal and consumption on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems within life cycle assessment are still sparse and very generic. Regionalized characterization factors (CFs) for a groundwater-fed wetland at the arid coast of Peru are developed for groundwater and surface water withdrawal and consumption in order to address the spatial dependency of water use related impacts. Several agricultural scenarios for 2020 were developed in a workshop with local stakeholders and used for calculating total biodiversity impacts. In contrast to assumptions used in top-down approaches (e.g., Pfister et al. Environ. Sci Technol. 2009, 43, 4098 ), irrigation with surface water leads in this specific region to benefits for the groundwater-fed wetland, due to additional groundwater recharge from surplus irrigation water. However, irrigation with groundwater leads to ecological damage to the wetland. The CFs derived from the different scenarios are similar and can thus be used as general CFs for this region, helping local decision-makers to plan future agricultural development, including irrigation technologies, crop choices, and protection of the wetland.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Verones
- Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
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Verones F, Hanafiah MM, Pfister S, Huijbregts MAJ, Pelletier GJ, Koehler A. Characterization factors for thermal pollution in freshwater aquatic environments. Environ Sci Technol 2010; 44:9364-9. [PMID: 21069953 DOI: 10.1021/es102260c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
To date the impact of thermal emissions has not been addressed in life cycle assessment despite the narrow thermal tolerance of most aquatic species. A method to derive characterization factors for the impact of cooling water discharges on aquatic ecosystems was developed which uses space and time explicit integration of fate and effects of water temperature changes. The fate factor is calculated with a 1-dimensional steady-state model and reflects the residence time of heat emissions in the river. The effect factor specifies the loss of species diversity per unit of temperature increase and is based on a species sensitivity distribution of temperature tolerance intervals for various aquatic species. As an example, time explicit characterization factors were calculated for the cooling water discharge of a nuclear power plant in Switzerland, quantifying the impact on aquatic ecosystems of the rivers Aare and Rhine. The relative importance of the impact of these cooling water discharges was compared with other impacts in life cycle assessment. We found that thermal emissions are relevant for aquatic ecosystems compared to other stressors, such as chemicals and nutrients. For the case of nuclear electricity investigated, thermal emissions contribute between 3% and over 90% to Ecosystem Quality damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Verones
- ETH Zurich, Institute of Environmental Engineering, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
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